Pandemic: Starting Over

by Halira

First published 10th of May, 2020

A unicorn with an unscrupulous past finds herself as a guardian to five orphaned foals. Now she must help them after their world has fallen down, and they must help her become a better pony.

Sunset Blessing was a mare with a dark history. She had risen to great power and prominence, and it had all come falling down. She wanted nothing else but to withdraw from the world, sure that she had only done it harm.

It was a shock to get a call saying she had been appointed guardian of five foals she had never met before. In doing so, she might help them build a new life, and they might bring life back to her.

This story takes place on a near-future Earth, where over five-hundred million people have been transformed into ponies by a magical pandemic.

Tags: Death and Sad because of deaths that happened before the story, leaving the foals orphans and the main character a widow, not because of any deaths in the story. There is some infrequent cussing.

Short universe background information is provided in the author's notes of the first chapter.

Part of the Pandemic Universe. Note, this AU existed under this title before the actual current pandemic happened.

Cover art by: Mix-up

editors: Javarod, Lawra

Chapter 1: Meeting the Foals

I've never been good at just doing nothing, particularly when I'm dreading something. Doing things gives me something to focus on, other than whatever my more significant worries may be. There is a comfort in accomplishing things, a sense of control when everything else seems out of control. When the demons in my closet are breaking down the door, I will focus on making sure the bed is nice and tidy because that's something I have power over. I've done a lot in my quest to ignore the walls caving in, but I'm unsure what any of that has ever amounted to. Now my figurative and literal house have finally fallen, and here I was, ready to lose myself in another task.

The room in the American embassy in Japan was stately. Everything reeked of wealth and displayed the might of the United States. At one point, not long ago, I would have considered this my proper place in the world. That was before the Cataclysm, that was before I learned how much I had cost myself when I abandoned my slow and steady approach for more immediate results. Quick results earned praise; quick results gave a feeling of accomplishment; quick results can often hide the cesspool of corruption that led to them. At some point, the bill comes due, and in my case, the bill was everything.

For the thousandth time, on so many levels, I questioned why I was even here. There were a half-a-billion ponies more suited to what was being asked for than I was. I was sure there were some worse, as I had seen the worst of the worst that there could be, but that didn't take away from the fact that the vast majority of ponies would be better choices. I reminded myself that the vast majority of humans would be better as well. My prejudices towards humans had been one of my many failings, and one that I was actively trying to curb as I found such thoughts of habit creeping into my mind. A person can learn that they have broken or harmful ways of thinking, but it takes effort and time to change such long-standing patterns. It was at least a task I could focus on.

The answer to my question was, in part, always the same; because she asked me to do this. Why she asked me, I had no idea. What mattered was that she asked me, and I would not refuse her. I had cost her her life, so she could make any demand of me that she wished. She hadn't demanded it, but her smallest request carried no less weight for me.

My ears flicked as I heard the door open. I turned and watched as a pair of government agents shepherded five foals into the room. The oldest of them, a pegasus, was mother to the youngest, despite her being just a filly herself. They were an eclectic lot, two pegasi, a unicorn, an earth pony, and a night pony. The youngest pegasus looked to her mother for direction and followed her closely. The unicorn and earth pony colts seemed nervous, but we're trying to show bravery. The elder pegasus filly looked composed and ready for whatever may come. The night pony colt just looked exhausted. Five foals, how was I supposed to parent five foals at my age? I barely qualified as a passable parent to one child when I was younger.

"Here they are," one of the human agents said and then gestured at the teen mother (a light blue-furred pegasus with a jet black mane). "Lántiān is the only one of them that fully understands English. Some of the others know a few words, but not enough to have a conversation."

I looked up at him in shock. "What? Why didn't someone cast a translation spell?"

"We wanted to, but the colts have all been terrified and refusing to cooperate," the agent said apologetically. "I'm told their mother has been trying to soothe them, so they'll accept it, but no dice so far."

I fluttered my lips in frustration. I'd have to take care of it myself. Casting a translation spell was within my capabilities, but it was a bigger spell than I typically did and would take a lot out of me for each cast. I only needed to do the three colts, but I'd need a few hours break to recover my strength between each casting. That was fine, I supposed. It wasn't like the foals and I weren't going to have plenty of time.

I turned to the older filly. "Your name is Lan Tin?"

She shook her head. "No, guardian, it is Lántiān."

I still couldn't quite get it. "Lan Teen?"

She shook her head again. "Lántiān"

I flicked my tail. "I apologize, but I think that might be a bit difficult for me, for right now. What are your siblings and daughter named?"

The filly pointed to each of her brothers in turn with a wing, listing off their names as she went. I'd be damned if I could pronounce a single one of those names or be able to remember any of them. That was great, just taking custody and already struggling with only their names. The filly pointed to her daughter and said something just as incomprehensible, and I sighed.

I ran a hoof over my face. "This is going to be a problem if I can't even remember your names or even say them. Do they have rough English translations? And would you be too offended if I used English translations?"

"It would not be our names then," the filly replied. I couldn't tell if she was angry or offended because she kept such a perfect poker face. I'd have thought the eldest daughter of Yinyu Wu Yan would be more animated.

Some compromise had to be worked out, and I could only think of one for the moment. "Fine then, I'll just cast a Chinese translation spell on myself for the time being, but they're still going to learn English."

"We speak Mandarin," the filly corrected. "Chinese could refer to several different languages."

Great, a know-it-all.

I beckoned her over. "Come on over here. It's easier for me to get the language from you if you're standing close. You don't have objections to me doing this, do you?"

"No, guardian. I shall do whatever is asked of me," the filly replied. She then walked up to where she was only a few inches from me. I was able to get my first good look at her cutie mark, and it made me uneasy. It was a cloud with a Shimmerist sun behind it. Shimmerists and I had a complicated relationship as of late. The filly noticed my gaze. "Is there a problem, guardian?"

My eyes stayed on the mark for a second or two more before I shook my head. "Nothing that needs to be addressed at this moment. Stop addressing me as guardian; use the term ma'am instead."

"Yes, ma'am."

I looked up at her face and still didn't see any signs of emotion in her features, but her eyes were not the eyes of a filly. There was tightly held anger in those eyes, and hurt, and many other associated emotions. There was also cold determination.

"Before I begin, let me make some things clear. You're living in the United States and will not be returning to China. With that in mind, you're to converse with me in English at all times. Your language is strictly for helping deal with your siblings. You're to help ensure they learn how to use English as well. It is part of my duties as your appointed guardian to see that you properly assimilate into your life here, which begins with language. Do I make myself clear?"

Her eyes hardened even more. "Yes, ma'am." Well, at least her mother taught her good manners and how to keep her temper under tight control. I had to commend her for her control of her emotions. I was sure that I would not be doing half as well controlling mine if our positions were reversed.

There was time to learn more about my new charges later. Right now, I needed to be able to communicate with them. I lit my horn and focused on the appropriate spell. I had only cast this spell once before, so I could gain some mastery of Spanish. I had an excellent memory for spells, though, so doing it properly was not a problem. The issue was the power involved. It used to be I would be ashamed to admit my ability to channel lots of magic into one spell was substandard at best, but I'd recently made my peace with my mediocre magic channeling. I, along with well over a hundred thousand others, had stood witness to one of the most epic workings of magic in history. In the face of such magic, we all understood how weak we truly were. There were gods among ponies, and the rest of us barely qualified as ants.

I touched a hoof to the filly and cast the spell. A tingling sensation ran through me, and I was sure a similar one ran through her as well. The next thing that ran through me was my energy, as it evacuated my body. I fell forward, and the filly gasped as she grabbed me with both her forelegs.

"Ma'am? Are you hurt?" The filly asked. There was legitimate concern in her voice. It was nice to hear some sort of emotion in her voice. It was even touching that it was for me.

"Miss Blessing, do you need medical treatment?" One of the human agents asked.

I steadied myself on my hooves, and my eldest charge released me. "No, I'm fine. The spell took a lot out of me, but I need to take it easy with my magic for a few hours while it recovers."

The filly's expression resumed its slate-like appearance. "Forgive me for asking, ma'am, but I was told you were a great and powerful mage. Is this not so?"

That made me chuckle as I wondered how Trixie would feel about someone calling me great and powerful.

"I'm a mage, but not powerful. As for great, that depends on how you interpret that word and who you ask. I'm skilled and knowledgeable enough to do even more spectacular screw-ups than the average pony is capable of if they were trying to screw-up."

Who else could match my track record for such things? I turned a helpless woman into a monster. Drove a pony to attempt suicide. And let it never be forgotten that I'd inadvertently brought about the destruction of the city I spent years building, killing my spouse in the process. No, no average mage could have accomplished so much. It took someone with extra skill to mess-up so severely. Now the mother of these foals was turning to me to raise them. Perhaps there were bigger fools than me out there.

Of course, here I was taking them in, knowing how unqualified I was. Foolish wasn't the word for that.

I turned my attention to the colts and tried out my new understanding of their language. "<I am Sunset Blessing.>" I caught myself translating my name into Mandarin, with it coming out as Rìluò Zhùfú. "<Excuse me, my name is> Sunset Blessing. <Can you tell me your names?>"

The two older colts looked at each other for direction. The youngest of the three, the night pony, just yawned.

The unicorn colt looked like he really could be my son since he had almost the exact shade of red fur and a purple mane that matched my own, minus the yellow streaks. I guessed his age to be around six. He took the lead and stepped forward. "<I am Shǔguāng.>" I quickly translated his name in my head to roughly Dawn's Light. I saw no cutie mark on his flank. None of them other than the eldest had a mark.

The earth pony colt stepped forward. He looked to be around five or six as well, and was a muddy brown, with a bright blue mane. "<I am Hé Líng.>" I quickly translated his name to roughly River Spirit.

I turned my attention to the youngest of the three, the night pony colt. He couldn't be more than two years old, maybe three, and was a midnight blue with a black mane that matched his sister's. He just sleepily stared at me as I waited for a response. Unfortunately, his energy seemed to finally deplete at that moment, and he fell asleep right where he was sitting.

The older filly hurried over. "That is Hǎo Mèng, ma'am. He has a very limited vocabulary and is up well past his bedtime." I could roughly translate his name to something along the lines of Nice Dream. I was pleased that she followed instructions and spoke to me in English.

I glanced at her. "And can you repeat your name, now that I can better understand it?"

She nodded. "Lántiān, ma'am." She pulled her little filly over to her, a perfect miniature of herself. "And this is Qīng Yǔ, ma'am." I translated the teen mother's name to Blue Sky and the filly to Gentle Rain. Qīng Yǔ was clearly around a year old. My best guess on Lántiān was she was around fifteen or sixteen, and the only one of the five who would have been born human.

One of the agents cleared his throat. "We should let you know. The Chinese government has been threatening sanctions against the United States if we don't return these foals to them. With Yinyu Wu Yan expressly saying she wants you to be the caregiver, there isn't much legal case for them to take them. However, there have been rumors that Shǔguāng's father is Qiánchéng De Érzi. If that can be proven, there could be trouble."

My eyebrows narrowed. "Yinyu slept with the Chinese president?"

"He wouldn't have been president at the time. They are just rumors, and he hasn't tried to claim he is the father, as of yet. It could be politically embarrassing to him if he did. We have to keep the possibility open that he will demand a test to see if he is the father and whether he can press to take back his son if it turns out to be true."

Just great, I might be harboring the son of the head of the Chinese Shimmerists and the Chinese Communist Party. This just got better and better. It could drive a mare to drink.

The agent continued. "We have rooms for all of you here for tonight. A private plane back to the states will leave first thing in the morning. We'll leave you alone with the foals for another hour, then escort you all to your rooms. You cannot leave the embassy. Tensions are high with China right now, and Japan is not so far away from China that it isn't easy for a Chinese sniper to try to put a bullet in you."

Assassins, great. Maybe I could order some alcohol for my room tonight. Why did I ever agree to this?

Author's Notes:

Prologue:

In March of 2023, a flu pandemic, unlike any other, spread across the United States and then to the rest of the world. At first, it seemed like just regular garden variety flu, but it wasn't.

The first warning that it wasn't normal was it didn't result in any deaths, even among the very weak or elderly. This was a good thing, but it was also a sign that this was not normal, as even weaker flu seasons always resulted in some deaths. The second warning was that those that recovered not only from flu but from other long-standing ailments.

Then the changes started happening. Those that recovered from the flu began reporting their hair changing colors and their eyes changing colors. This was followed by growing tails, having ears change shape and location, fur started growing, and losing height. Over two weeks, and with accelerating pace, those who had caught the flu transformed from humans to equines—the earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, crystal ponies, and night ponies (in-universe term for bat ponies). It was called ETS, Equine Transformation Syndrome.

Contact was made with Equestria, and it was discovered that a bioterrorist from Equestria seeking to make more ponies had been responsible. With the help of Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, ETS was brought to an end, but the damage had already been done. By the time it was brought to an end, there were over five-hundred million transformed worldwide, with over a hundred million of those in the United States alone. Some converted back to humans with the Equestrians' aid but most staunchly insisted on remaining ponies.

Since then, there has been a transition period where the Earth is adjusting to there now being two intelligent species that call it home. New powerful beings, the Dreamwardens, have arisen and taken claim and mastery of the new magical dream realm. New philosophies and religions have come into being. Magic is now considered reality, and politics, as they were before, have been upended. It is the post-pandemic works, and it is trying to establish a new normal.

This is an ongoing series with multiple authors.

Chapter 2: Heart of Stone and Heart of Glass

Being left alone with the foals to get to know them started quietly. By quietly, I mean that we all sat around staring at each other without saying a word. Shǔguāng and Hé Líng took up some interest in their surroundings and began to wander around the room, but thankfully touching nothing. Lántiān stared at me without showing any emotion. Qīng Yǔ stayed snuggled up close to her mother. Hǎo Mèng just slept and was welcome to stay that way until we took him to a proper bed.

It was Lántiān that finally broke the silence. "Do you have any questions or instructions for us, ma'am?"

Try as I might, I didn't have a good response to that question. "Have you all been fed?"

"Yes, ma'am. Aside from Qīng Yǔ, who I have yet to feed."

I looked down at the smaller blue pegasus filly. "Do you still nurse her on your teats? She seems old enough to eat solid food."

"Yes, ma'am, I do. I also feed her solid food. She needs all the nutrition she can get at her age. I want her to be a strong flyer."

Qīng Yǔ's parentage presented a question I hadn't thought of. "How much authority do I have over your daughter?"

Lántiān snorted and gave a small whinny, the first open sign of displeasure I had seen from her. "We are all under your guardianship, ma'am. My daughter's life is in your hooves, and what authority I have over her is at your behest."

I pursed my lips as I considered that. "How much care over your daughter did you have under your mother?"

"I attended to the care of all my siblings, except Hǎo Mèng, as well as my daughter, ma'am," she said stiffly. "Our mother is of the night; we are of the day."

"She was of the night," I corrected. I didn't want to rub in the fact Yinyu was dead, but it was best they accepted that fact.

Lántiān leveled her icy glare on me. "Our mother is still of the night. She still visits us in our dreams, even if her body is gone, ma'am."

That was another unique problem in this arrangement. Typically when dealing with orphans, you didn't have their dead parent able to sit down and have a chat with the deceased parent or have said parent be around to give input on how you were doing. I was positive Yinyu would have words with me regularly about how her foals were being treated and brought up. I was not looking forward to what would happen if a disagreement came up.

"What has she said about me?" It was a question worth asking. Best to figure out what preconceived notions she had filled their heads with. My understanding was Yinyu was never particularly fond of me, based on my deeds as a Shimmerist. That made her choice of me as a guardian ten times more befuddling.

Lántiān sat down and lost a little of her tension. "She has said that you are a great and powerful mage, ma'am. She has said that you will protect us. She has said that we are to listen to you and respect you as we would her. That is all she has said."

Yinyu didn't give them many notions to go on. That was perhaps a good thing. It was odd that Yinyu had talked up my abilities, but this whole situation was bizarre.

"I know of you from school, ma'am."

I jerked my head up to look at the teenager.
Lántiān was gazing at me once again with her poker face, saying nothing. I narrowed my eyes at her. "They teach about me in Chinese schools? Me? What do they teach you about me?"

Lántiān looked me in the eyes, and once again, I wondered how such a serious filly was the daughter of the Dreamwarden of sex. "Your Shimmerist teachings helped shape China's Shimmerist teachings, in contrast to the radicals who would destroy it with their recklessness. They are not exactly the same, but they are as much a foundation to Chinese Shimmerism as Karl Marx's work. You are like the Karl Marx of Shimmerism, ma'am."

Great, add shaping Chinese policy to my list of sins. "And what have they taught you about me as of late?" It must have come as a shock to them when I publicly denounced Shimmerism.

She turned her head slightly. "Nothing has changed in our education. Is there a reason you asked me that question, ma'am?"

China had apparently completely censored all my final speech or just suppressed knowledge it had even happened. It shouldn't surprise me. It was typical Chinese propaganda and control of the press. They wouldn't want word that a pony they put on a pedestal in their classrooms had renounced their ideals (even if they were possibly trying to kill me before I ever rejected those ideals. Nor had I been shy in condemning Chinese communists, even back then). She didn't know I renounced Shimmerism. Surely Yinyu had to have known. Why didn't Yinyu tell them? Did they even know about the Cataclysm of Riverview?

It was best not to get too deep into that discussion without learning more about her, especially since her cutie mark screamed she was a Shimmerist. I didn't want to have her at odds with me, especially since I needed her help with her siblings. "We'll discuss it later, and I will appreciate all the help you can give with your siblings. Your daughter you may have full control over how she is raised, provided you stick to teaching her English, as I instructed. If you choose to teach her Chinese, it should be as a secondary language."

She frowned at me. "What you ask of me will stunt her language development, ma'am. She may not yet speak, but she understands many things that are said to her. Starting over the process of having her learning words will set her back."

"Having her unable to speak to others outside her family will set her back even further. Use Chinese where you need to, but focus on teaching her English. It should become her natural language."

That didn't seem to sit well with her. "You seem determined to wash away our heritage, ma'am. My siblings and foal should not be made ashamed of where they come from. Our mother and I have our disagreements, and she stood in opposition to our leaders, but our mother loved and respected our heritage. She will not be pleased if you do all you can to suppress it."

I sighed. "She and I will have that conversation soon enough. She is the one that put you in my care, and she will have to accept that I may not always do things she agrees with. You are welcome to teach them about Chinese history and culture, but that is to be secondary. They are here, and they will become part of this culture. Understood?"

She gave another angry snort. "Understood, ma'am." I was at least getting a rise out of her, and the things that angered her told me much of what mattered to her.

I looked at her brothers, who had drifted off to the edge of the room, and we're looking at a painting of Washington crossing the Delaware. "How much do they know?" I whispered to their older sister. I didn't know why I was whispering. They didn't understand English. "Do they know what has happened to your mother? Do any of you know who your fathers are?"

Her eyes followed mine, and her ears fell low. "They have been told, without detail about how, that our mother is dead, ma'am. They don't understand. She still visits us every time we sleep, as she always has. I am sure she is tending to little Mèng now. How can they understand she is dead under such circumstances? They expect her to come back, and that she is only on some trip."

I noted that she referred to her youngest brother by only half his name and wondered if the same convention could be applied to the rest. It would save time saying their names and perhaps be more personable. It wasn't what was necessary at the moment. I saw what she was saying and wasn't sure if it was my place to break them of the illusion that Yinyu would return. That was probably best left to their undead mother to explain. "You didn't answer my second question."

She bowed her head. "My apologies, ma'am, the first question took my full attention. I will try not to be distracted in the future. No, we do not know our fathers. Our mother was a courtesan; she slept with many ponies. I know who my daughter's father is, a former classmate of mine, but her father does not."

Courtesan? That was the word they wanted to apply to Yinyu's waking world profession? "No need to sugar coat what your mother did. My understanding was that she never did."

Lántiān looked at me with one ear cocked. "Sugarcoat? Ma'am, I do not know what you mean by this expression."

"Make it seem nicer than it really is," I explained. "I don't mean to disrespect your mother, but Yinyu was a whore and prostitute, and I heard she was never ashamed to admit it."

The filly's gaze hardened again. "She disrespected herself by calling herself those things. I will preserve my mother's honor, even if she did not, ma'am."

I should have been better, but I was not the best at controlling my temper, and her glares were starting to get on my nerves. "You got pregnant as a teen, and that foal won't even know who her other parent is. It seems that you follow the same paths as her."

That was enough to get the filly to grit her teeth. "I am increasing the pony population, as our leaders have encouraged. Young mares should start producing foals as young as fourteen to help with our greater cause. This is not shameful in China; it is something to be honored, ma'am. We are making a better future for all by doing so."

Being treated as a breeding horse was something to be honored? What the hell were their leaders thinking? Why would the population even accept being treated that way? Did their mares have no self-respect? They were not stock to be bred; they were people. Damn communists, damn shimmerists, damn heathens! At least here, they'd be broken of such backward thinking.

She looked away. "Mother objected as well. She had no objections to me having sex, for that is her nature, but she objected to my reasons. She, too, disagrees with me contributing to the greater cause. It is as if she doesn't want a better world." Her eyes started to water. "Now she has sent us far from home, into the care of foreigners. She chose to die rather than to let us live our lives in our home. I do not understand why she did such things. I will follow her wishes because I honor my mother, but I do not understand."

"<Sister?>"

I turned and saw Shǔguāng and Hé Líng had come, drawn by their sister's distress. She looked down at them and spread her wings wide. The two colts hurried into her embrace as she wrapped a wing around each of them. She then started openly sobbing. I thought Hǎo Mèng to be deep in sleep, but the sound of his sister sobbing must have triggered him awake. The sleepy colt had his ears erect as he turned to look at her, and he then flattened them as trailed his vision across the room. He gave me a long look, as if trying to determine if I was the one that hurt his sibling, then continued looking for a moment more. Unable to find the perpetrator, he stood up and walked over to his siblings before promptly falling right back to sleep at his sister's hooves. Qīng Yǔ took this opportunity to climb atop her youngest uncle and settled herself in on her new perch. Hǎo Mèng didn't stir a fraction of an inch, and I could hear him start to snore.

As I watched this moment between the siblings, I too asked the same question. Why had Yinyu done this? What would drive her to such lengths? Again I questioned why she entrusted me to take care of her foals and lamented that I was helpless to give them any comfort in their time of need. All I could do is feel sorry for them and try not to feel sorry for myself. It was a more challenging task than it should have been not to feel sorry for myself, but recognizing that fact gave me even more sympathy for the foals that didn't deserve to be going through this.

Author's Notes:

Note: Sunset Blessing is a former politician and sometimes states political and economic opinions. They tend to have shifted back and forth drastically throughout her life between different ends of politics (and will likely continue to change to some degree in the future). She is also a former leader of what was effectively a Christian cult. This is part of her character that significantly impacts how she views the world and is not meant to be political or religious commentary.

Chapter 3: Yinyu Wu Yan

We needed to go to bed early to catch an early plane back to the states. This ended up being more complicated than it needed to be. Aside from Lántiān and her daughter, every foal had issues that needed to be addressed.

Hǎo Mèng was asleep at the moment but would almost certainly going to be awake through the night. The staff assured me they had someone standing by to care for him, but Lántiān let it slip that her youngest brother almost always went straight to their mother upon waking up and would likely throw a fit when he couldn't find her. She said this was likely to happen even with his mother warning him that she wasn't going to be there when he woke up. He was just too young to understand his mother trying to explain. The staff took this warnings and said they'd be prepared for that too, but I knew that I was going to wake up to a very unhappy night pony colt.

His brothers had a different issue, one that truly caught me by surprise. I stared in disbelief at my oldest ward as she finished explaining their problem with going to bed. "The violin? Seriously? They need someone playing the violin for them to go to bed? How- why?"

She closed her eyes and spoke slowly, like she was the one talking to a child. "Our mother always put them to bed by playing the violin, ma'am. What is the term? Lullaby?"

I rolled my eyes. "Lullabies are sung, not played on instruments. I didn't even know Yinyu knew how to play an instrument. Did she just play some recording?"

Lántiān shook her head. "No, ma'am. Our mother was very skilled with the violin, a concert-quality performer. She played it only for us, and only when putting us to bed. She did this even back when I was human. It was our normal ritual for when she was tucking us in bed."

"Concert quality, you say?" I asked in disbelief. "Where did she even learn how to play the violin that well? It doesn't seem like something she ever needed for her… work." How did a night pony even properly manipulate the strings on a violin? They did have thumbs on their wings, but that was only one 'finger', and not even a proper finger at that. She likely did some combination of using her wing and a hoof, but it was hard to picture exactly how that would work.

The filly shrugged. "I do not know, ma'am. She must have learned it as a child, but our mother has always kept details of her childhood secret, even to me."

If she was so great with the violin, why did she whore herself out? It was even more confusing that she'd do that if she was still that good after her transformation. A night pony that could play the violin well seemed like enough of a novelty that it could have led to a decent little entertainment career. At the very least, she could have made a career teaching other ponies how to do the same. The fact that she continued to play for her foals indicated this was something she enjoyed doing, so why didn't she? I couldn't imagine someone would willingly degrade themselves by doing sex work when they had readily available options for a better career doing something they loved.

That was yet another thing that wasn't important right now. Considering that she was now just a spirit in the dream realm, it would likely never be important. Yinyu could keep her secrets, but the colts needed to go to sleep.

I got the attention of a nearby staff member. "Hey! Is there anything in the rooms that can play music recordings?"

The human staff member nodded. "There are computers in all the bedrooms. They have strong firewalls, but I know a few websites that they are allowed to access that might fit your needs."

I gestured at Lántiān. "Can you assist her with getting some music playing for her brothers? I'm sure she knows better than anyone else what would appeal to them."

The staff member nodded. "Of course, Miss Blessing." He then guided Lántiān away to the colts' room.

I headed to my room and silently cursed myself as I entered. I had forgotten to wish any of them a good night. It might seem silly to be mad at myself for forgetting that since I was not their mother, and it was highly doubtful any of them were expecting anything like that from me, but it was at least a general courtesy that I owed them. I might not be the right choice for a guardian, but that didn't mean I should slough off my duties as a caregiver. I had an obligation to at least attempt to show compassion and care for them. Way to go, Sunset; you're still screwing up.

I didn't even bother to look at my surroundings once I was in the bedroom. They were probably full of expensive furniture and art, but I couldn't be bothered to care. I identified where the bed was and where the private bathroom was; those were all I needed to worry about. It was time to go to sleep and face Yinyu.

---

Jetlag made getting to sleep much easier than I thought it would be. I found myself on a flare marble slab surrounded by open space. It uncomfortably reminded me of the old coliseum that the Dreamwardens had crafted years before for the trial of my wife, not my happiest memory. She'd been found not guilty, but only after I'd been tricked onto doing their bidding. It was the biggest relief of my life when the verdict came in not guilty, but having Sha'am Maut's gambit against me succeed left a sour taste in my mouth. I hoped that Dreamwarden was burning in a special corner of hell.

It only took a moment for my host to appear. She looked like what might happen if a seapony and a dragon had a baby. She had two large fins where forelegs would typically be, her whole body was covered in multicolored scales that shifted color constantly, large leathery wings in the same rainbow hue adorned her back, she lacked any hind legs or hind fins, and her tail was a massive meaty extension of her body. The face that stared at me was ponylike but also draconic, and her sharp serrated teeth jutted out of her lips along her muzzle. I was told Yinyu considered this form whimsical; I disagreed.

I looked up at my charges' nightmarish mother. "Let's cut out the run around; you have free reign to speak and act on whatever you're reading in my mind."

She stared down at me with an expression that matched her daughter's earlier one. "That does save time. It gets tiring, acting like I don't know what's going on in your head. Especially since I can't choose not to listen anymore."

I leveled my finest glare I could manage. Dreamwardens didn't scare me. I had a daughter and a wife who were Dreamwardens, and I knew the rules they operated by. Failing to kiss Yinyu's undead rump didn't pose any risks. "Well? You know what I'm thinking. So, where are my answers?"

Yinyu opened her mouth into a toothy grin. "Watch yourself, preacher. You're right that I won't hurt you, but I can choose to be uncooperative if you get rude with me."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll take my chances. Now speak. You've got a lot of explaining to do."

She coiled up in the air like a snake. "I suppose I do. Let me see; your most pressing question is why you were picked to have custody of my foals. The answer to that involves many factors. First, you are the most suitable option out of their surviving family, and I wanted to keep this in the family."

"We're not even related!"

Yinyu vanished and reappeared, placing her fin over my mouth. "Hush! You're close enough to family. I consider all the Dreamwardens my siblings, and that means you have two ties to us. That makes you family, in a roundabout way."

I was about to ask why not some other 'family' member, but she was reading my mind and headed me off. "Out of the living family options, you were the one with the least on your current plate to deal with. Phobia is active in dealing with officials and raising her own family. Krik is contemplating retirement and is older than you by two decades. Psy is available, but much as I love him, I don't want my foals spending every minute of every day being psychoanalyzed; he also doesn't show emotion well, and they need someone who isn't so cold. Wild Growth was strongly considered, really strongly considered, but she has a misplaced sense of invincibility that I feared would put my foals at risk. The remaining options, the Middletons, haven't the resources to protect my offspring."

She swam behind me. "The second reason for why you were chosen is your spouse made a case for you. She is watching us right now but has agreed to give us some illusion of privacy."

She swam back in front of me, and she laid a fin on my shoulder, and there was sympathy and regret on her eyes when she held my gaze. "The final reason why you were chosen is that you and I are very much alike in one important way. You've let your passions lead you to some huge mistakes, mistakes that ended up getting everyone you care about hurt and costing you everything. I won't go onto the details, but I dealt with the same thing twenty years ago. You know what you have done and have taken responsibility for it, even more responsibility than is due in some cases. I know you will do everything in your power never to make mistakes like that again, and I trust you will do everything in your power to protect my foals as a result."

She wrapped her massive fishtail around me and pulled me close to her. "Let's see, next question. Why'd I go and set myself on fire? Well, that wasn't my original plan. I had wanted to get me and my foals out of China. I had the perfect pony in your country lined up to train to be my replacement. I would spend a few years in your country training that pony; then, I was going to take my family and myself to Equestria for early retirement. But our escape was found out, and the only distraction that would allow my foals to get away safely was me."

"Why run at all?" I asked, rushing to get the question out of my mouth before she could start answering it. I don't know why I felt the need to ask the question out loud. Perhaps it was just to make the conversation feel a little less one-sided.

She released me, and her posture sagged As she drifted away from me. "As to why I was doing all that, it's simple. My government figured out that I happen to know a lot about alien tech, and the rules for keeping secrets didn't apply to how to make that tech. They wanted knowledge of weapons, and I wouldn't tell them." Her eyes started to water. "They knew it was useless to threaten me directly, so they threatened the lives of my foals instead. I had to protect them."

She wiped her muzzle with a fin, then shook her head. "They don't even know they were threatened, though I'm going to be telling Lántiān about it shortly. She's so confused about so many things. They've filled her head with Shimmerist lies and convinced her that they're the good guys."

I would have stepped forward, but there was a literal bottomless chasm right in front of me. "Yet you gave them to me, the world's premier Shimmerist."

She chuckled dryly. "Former premier Shimmerist. I don't think you can apply the Shimmerist label to yourself anymore. You've seen through your lies. I'm sorry that it had to happen in such a traumatic way, but you now see the truth about Shimmerism. I'm hoping you can help undo the indoctrination they've done to my daughter." The Dreamwarden bared her teeth in a snarl. "I love her dearly, but she and I don't see eye to eye. I could deal with normal disagreements, but this is more than some simple disagreement, especially since those Shimmerists she admires so much threatened her to get to me. Perhaps she'll listen to you where she wouldn't listen to me."

I turned away. "I tried to convince Shimmerists to abandon their speciest views. I got nothing but rebuke. I’m The Apostate now, which I suppose is accurate if they didn't want to change along with me. I invested so much time forging them into what they are today. Now I'm forced to live with what I made."

"She may yet listen to you, as may others," Yinyu replied. "Don't be discouraged because you have had some initial failures. You did not build Shimmerism in a day, and it will not be destroyed in one. Stick to your convictions and fight back against the monster you assisted in creating. That very well may be what my daughter needs to hear."

I wasn't so convinced but wasn't going to argue the point. "What about the colts? We've said a lot about your daughter, but not much about them. Shǔguāng, in particular, we need to talk about."

She nodded. "You've heard the rumors. To tell the truth, I don't know if his father is who they say. I did sleep with Érzi, that part isn't a rumor, but I slept with a lot of other stallions. I was the whore of Beijing and slept with thousands over the years. He does have a strong resemblance to Érzi and is a unicorn, but the same thing could be said of you, and no one is going to claim you're a relative."

"Your daughter doesn't seem to approve of you calling yourself that," I observed.

She laughed. "My daughter has some misguided ideas about what honor means. I hope you break her of them."

"So what do I do about Shǔguāng if your old bed partner comes claiming to be the father?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I don't want Érzi to take him and will stand by that. I don't know how that will work in the courts since I'm dead, but there are special circumstances in my case."

"And do you have any special guidance on what I should be doing with him, Hǎo Mèng, and Hé Líng? You gave me guidance on what you want to happen with Lántiān, but nothing about the other three."

She shook her head again. "They are so young and malleable. Just give them love and kindness. They'll adjust, and bounce back, even if my death will always be painful. I'm going to try more to make them understand what has happened to me. You don't have to worry about being the one to have to explain it." She smirked at me. "And yes, you can call my two younger sons Líng and Mèng, and you won't upset anyone. I called them by those shortened versions, along with a variety of different nicknames. Lántiān is just trying to be defiant with you by insisting on their full names, and I'm calling her out about it as we speak. Shǔguāng and Lántiān you'll just have to accept their names as they are."

"But no specific instructions about any of the colts?"

She shook her head. "Not much. Mèng I would invest in a human nanny to help him early on, rather than a night pony. I want him to get used to humans and see them in a positive light. You can have a night pony help with him when he gets older. Mèng hasn't reached his demon phase as of yet, so you'll be the one to figure out how to deal with that when it comes. Líng is very fond of water and enjoys boats and swimming. He also tends to get very muddy as a result, and it blends right into his fur. Always triple check him for mud; he loves to track it everywhere. Shǔguāng is a very bold little colt and tends to dominate over his brothers. He can lead them into some misadventures, so watch it if it gets a sly look in his eye. He doesn't like to do things alone, so separating him for periods can keep him out of trouble. I wouldn't recommend doing that too often though, as he and his brothers are very close, and it would hurt them to stay separated for extended periods."

"Nothing else? Like them needing the violin playing when they go to sleep?" I asked, knowing she had to be leaving a lot out.

She looked me in the eyes again. "Lántiān can help you with the rest. She's aware of all their quirks. I was hoping you could get to know them on your own. I'll back your parenting decisions, even if I don't agree with all of them, as long as you are legitimately caring for my foals. If there's anything you do that I think is completely unacceptable, I'll be sure to let you know."

Okay, so I didn't have to worry about fighting with Yinyu over how her foals were being raised, assuming I wasn't abusive or neglectful. I certainly had no intention of doing anything abusive, but neglecting some need was something I was anxious about. I'd turned a blind eye to certain things when raising Phobia, and that showed I was very capable of neglect. I'd give this my best effort, but I still thought I wasn't the best one for the job.

Yinyu gave me another sympathetic look. "Don't be discouraged. You're not alone in this. Lántiān will help you, and you have your daughter and me to consult. Your wife will certainly be glad to give you advice, even though she doesn't have the same experience with foals."

I also had Wild Growth, or at least, Wild Growth's money. She had me on a monthly allowance and letting me use a SPEC condo in Denver to live in. The condo was certainly big enough to accommodate all of us, but I would need to ask for a raise in my allowance, at least for this adjustment period. I'd need to find some way of earning income on my own eventually, and balancing that and giving time to five foals was going to be a struggle, but at least it was one that wasn't here yet. I didn't doubt that Wild would give me that extra money, considering the circumstances, but she'd be wanting to know how long she'd need to keep shelling out, or she'd get unhappy with me taking advantage of her generosity.

Yinyu drifted further away. "I'll leave you be. You aren't a dreamwalker, and non-dreamwalkers shouldn't spend too much time in these types of dreams. It will tire you out as if you haven't slept. If we need to spend too much time this way, you might consider me making you a dreamwalker so it won't tire you, but I know that you prefer not to be given that ability. Sleep well, Sunset Blessing, and do your best."

Chapter 4: Plane Trips

The trip back home was to involve several flights. First would be the flight from Tokyo to Honolulu, the next would be from Honolulu to San Francisco, and the final stretch would be San Francisco to Denver. Adding in expected layover time, it would be nearly sixteen hours to get back to Denver.

On a positive note, the government paid for us to travel in private luxury aircraft for each leg of the trip. This wasn't so much to make us more comfortable, although it greatly helped with that, but because it was easier to keep us safe. There was the fear that some Chinese nationals would try something, but even before I took custody of the foals, there were some who'd have loved to put a bullet in my head. While most of the public didn't have a significant problem with me, and many even saw me in a positive light (to my complete and utter shock), there were still ponies that had an exceedingly deep hatred of me. I was not one to argue that I had earned that hate, but I did generally object to them trying to kill me, and some hated me enough to try.

The flight from Tokyo to Honolulu had been mostly quiet. We'd left early enough that most of the foals had decided to go right back to sleep when getting on the plane. Hǎo Mèng was the exception. The young night pony had made quite the fuss about getting on the plane and continued to fuss for some time after. Even though his responses were mostly one or two words at a time, he made it very clear he wanted his mother, and he was very unhappy about being taken to yet another unfamiliar place. Thankfully, the crew and I finally managed to distract him with some cartoons. He stayed occupied watching Chip and Dale shorts well after his siblings woke up, and eventually passed out watching them. Shǔguāng and Hé Líng took up watching the same cartoons after waking and presented me with no trouble.

The layover in Honolulu didn't take much time at all. It was perhaps thirty minutes before we were back on board a plane heading to San Francisco (different plane, but still a private luxury craft). I had managed to get a quick call in to confirm that Wild Growth knew I was bringing five foals back to the condo and that security there wasn't going to try to block them. I didn't get much time to discuss my allowance on a short call, and my phone wouldn't work out over the ocean. The plane had Wi-Fi, but it was only for authorized devices, which mine wasn't.

To keep the two older colts occupied, I found some Disney movies and put them on autoplay for the trip, and they were both sitting on the floor right in front of the screen. The cabin had several couches set out in a semicircular pattern with the television centered on the wall where everyone could see it, and I was laying on one of the sofas to the right, watching cartoons along with the two older colts. Mèng had stayed asleep through the entire layover, and I'd been forced to carry him on my back from the last plane, to the airport, and back onto this plane. He was now resting peacefully on the couch next to me and hadn't stirred in the slightest. If it weren't for the signs he was breathing, I might have thought he was dead instead of dead tired.

Lántiān was on the couch opposite me and was finishing preening Qīng Yǔ. She had a few feathers set aside, but not many. They looked more like feather fluff than proper feathers, but that might be because they were coming off an extremely young filly, and she didn't have as many mature feathers. I really didn't have much experience with young pegasus foals, so I could only assume. The older filly, having finished preening, smiled down at her daughter and gave her a nuzzle. Qīng Yǔ gave a happy giggle in turn.

Lántiān glanced over at me, and her smile slipped for a moment, but she then turned her attention back to her daughter and forced her smile back. "Say mother. I am mother."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you really want her calling you mother?"

The older filly looked up at me and laid her ears back. "No, ma'am, but you told me to teach her English as her first language. I am doing as instructed."

I grimaced. "That's not what I meant. The term mother feels so… formal to be teaching a young foal."

Lántiān blinked, obviously not expecting that reply. "Is it not the correct word, ma'am?" There was no snark in her response, only honest confusion.

"There are less stiff terms for a mother in English," I explained. "Maybe mom, or mama?"

"Mama?" She asked, emphasizing the A's differently. "That is the Mandarin term I had been using previously. Is this acceptable to your standards, ma'am?"

The way she said mama wasn't that different than English and would fit in with many accents perfectly fine. I realized now that the words were pretty much identical between the languages, although it hadn't occurred to me before needing to use the term in Mandarin. "That's acceptable. I guess familiar terms for mothers and fathers are fairly universal. If there was a primitive language all other languages came from, I'd assume that would be one of the few words in it."

Lántiān didn't seem to want to speculate about theoretical prehistoric languages. I hadn't wanted to speculate either. I was just making conversation. She ignored me and turned her attention back to her daughter and began again. "Say mama. I am mama."

Well, that was an easy enough compromise. If every compromise went that easily this would be a breeze. I doubted there was any chance in hell of that happening, but I could hope.

The current movie was ending, and the colts were starting to stir as the credits rolled. I had spent most of our time learning about their sister, which was as good an opportunity as any to take some time to talk to them. We had several more hours before we were going to be done with these flights, and I was going to focus on being productive with that time.

I sat up on the couch while trying not to disturb the sleeping night pony. "<Shǔguāng, Hé Líng, come to me. We need to speak together.>" I mentally groaned at my Mandarin. It sounded even more formal and stiff than Lántiān's English. Maybe that was part of why she always sounded so stiff, other than she was understandably angry and upset about the entire situation.

The two colts did as instructed with no fuss and with no hesitation. Other than Mèng, they all seemed extraordinarily obedient and never dragged their hooves about anything, nor put up any protest about anything they were told to do. Mèng was a toddler, and his temper tantrums were understandable in that light, but I was still surprised at how well behaved all the others were. It felt almost unnatural how well behaved they were. I was positive that Phobia hadn't been this well behaved at their age. She'd never been bad, but she wouldn't do things right away, and she'd protest anything she didn't want to do. It was just normal child behavior to do so. This strict obedience didn't feel natural.

The two were standing attentively in front of me. "<Sit. You do not need to stand.>" The two immediately plopped their rumps down on the floor. "<I want to learn more about the two of you. We are going to talk, and you will learn some English.>"

"<To understand the cartoons?>" Shǔguāng asked.

I glanced over at the still rolling credits. It hadn't occurred to me they didn't understand a word of what was being said in the movies since they were in English. They still had devoted all their attention to them despite that. "<To be able to understand and speak English at all times. You are going to be surrounded by English speakers from now on, and you need to understand English.>"

"<Yes, guardian,>" Shǔguāng answered. His little brother just mouthed the yes and nodded.

I considered the two of them. "<I know the magic that can teach you the language right away. It is a very powerful spell, and I can only cast it on one of you at a time. I was told that they tried to cast this spell on you before, and you refused. Will you let me cast it on one of you now?>"

The two didn't seem very comfortable about having powerful magic cast on them. "<Will it hurt?>" Shǔguāng asked.

I shook my head. "<It might feel strange when I am casting it, but it will not hurt. You seem to be a brave colt. Will you let me cast it on you first? That way you can tell your brother it will be alright.>"

Lántiān snorted loudly to get my attention. "You nearly fell when you cast this spell on yourself, ma'am. Will my brothers fall down? I do not want my brothers injured."

"No," I answered. "That was just the strain on me casting the spell, not the impact of having the spell cast on me. My magic is not particularly strong, and a single spell that uses that much magic takes a lot out of me. Your brothers will be fine."

She narrowed her eyes. "So, will you hurt yourself casting this spell, ma'am? I do not want the pony that is seeing to my brothers' care to be injured before we have even reached our new residence. We need you in this new country."

It was nice to know where my health held importance to the filly. If I wasn't crucial to taking care of her family, she could care less if I collapsed from exhaustion or burnt myself out. "I'll be winded, but I'll be alright. I figured I could get Shǔguāng done today, and try to do Hé Líng tomorrow. Mèng can learn English on his own, since his vocabulary is already limited, and having the three of you help will make it easier to teach him."

She nodded. "I have no objections, then, ma'am." She turned to her brothers. "<She will not hurt you. She is our guardian and will not let harm come to you. Mama has told us to listen and to trust her.>"

"<When is Mama coming back?>" Hé Líng said with a small peep of a voice.

Lántiān's expression softened to sympathy. "<It was explained to you. Mama is sleeping forever. She is no longer able to be awake. We have a new guardian while awake.>"

That was one way of saying dead. However, it might be the best way of describing Dreamwarden death. I wondered if it would soften the pain to think of Tonya that way, just sleeping forever. It wasn't likely to happen. I still loved her and longed for our time together, but the being she had become was a stranger in so many ways. I could tell she still loved me, but there was an alien nature to her now, something I would never be able to understand fully, and it hurt knowing that was between us. I wondered if these foals would feel similarly about their mother as time went on, and Yinyu moved further and further away from the mortal pony she'd been.

Shǔguāng lifted his head high, perhaps putting on a display of bravery for the sake of his brother. "<I will let you cast a spell on me.>"

I nodded and gestured to the open spot on the couch to my left. I inched my rump in that direction so that there was more space between Mèng and me. "<Climb up beside me. I need to touch you to do this correctly. Casting this spell on you is harder than casting it on me.>" I looked back over at his sister. "If I pass out, make sure that I am put back on the couch and that I didn't hit my head on anything. Knock on the door in the back to inform the staff what had happened. They have a doctor with them who will check me out."

The filly blinked. "You just assured me that you would be well… ma'am."

I chuckled. "Exhausting myself isn't going to hurt me seriously. I've exhausted myself plenty of times in the past few years. I might be able to wait to find a unicorn skilled enough to do the spell that I trust, but that will take time, and we need to start acclimating your family now. Just do as I say."

She didn't look happy about it but nodded. "As you wish, ma'am." I was going to have to have a talk with her about how often she said ma'am. That was getting annoying hearing it every time she spoke to me. It was respectful, but it was still excessive. It made it sound like she was some indentured servant or something.

The unicorn colt climbed up onto the couch with me. He really did look like he could have come from me due to his coloration. I could understand the rumors, as Qiánchéng De Érzi also had red fur and a purple mane and was also a unicorn. I'd like to think that our shared colors were all Érzi and I shared, but I knew that he and I had shared similar shimmerist philosophies. My days as a shimmerist were over, but I recognized how effective those philosophies were at gathering followers, and Érzi had done it on a scale that put what I had done to shame. Had he really based his methods directly on my own? Had I really inadvertently helped shape Shimmerist China? I prayed it wasn't so, but saw no reason for Lántiān to have made the claim if it wasn't true.

I shook my head, trying to banish the demons in my thoughts. There was work to do. "<Just hold still. I am going to touch you with a hoof, then perform the spell. It will only take a few seconds.>"

The colt nodded, and I gently touched a hoof to his head. My horn flared with its red-colored magic, and I began casting the spell. I didn't feel the tingling sensation this time; that would be for Shǔguāng to feel. I did, however, feel the strain, and sweat started to bead beneath the fur near my horn. The few seconds of casting the spell felt like an eternity, but I managed to complete it.

I pulled my hoof back as my horn went dim. I was breathing heavily. "There, you should be able to-" I lost my ability to speak as the room seemed to be spinning. It suddenly felt like a good time for a nap, and everything else could wait. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into the cushions.

Chapter 5: My Angel

I thought I had died and gone to heaven, seeing the angel standing before me, but I knew that was wrong. I didn’t deserve heaven, and a second look made me realize it was no angel; it was my wife.

She had her arms crossed, wings flared, and she was holding that infernal bronze staff in one hand. I had concluded that staff served one purpose and one purpose alone; to bonk people that displeased her on the head. The fact she was in her half-human half-pony angelic form meant she was pissed. She usually appeared as a pony to me when she wasn't mad about something.

"What were you thinking?" She demanded in a harsh voice.

I sat up and looked at her towering form that was far larger than a normal human size. We were in an endless black expanse. "You might need to be a little clearer about what you are referencing."

She bent down and glared at me, her imposing size making the motion far more intimidating. "Not even twenty-four hours after you exhaust yourself with a spell, you turn around and try to cast something even more exhausting. You know you need more time than that to recover. Again, what were you thinking?"

I'd have teleported away if there was anywhere to teleport to, but this was a dream, and she was everywhere. "I, uh… it needed to be done. The colts need to be able to understand English."

"It could have waited!" She shouted, and then stood up straight. "You're lucky you're as exhausted as you are, or else Yinyu would be here screaming at you too! I convinced her that I'd be better to yell at you."

"I don't see what the big deal is," I mumbled.

She bashed the bottom of her staff against the non-existent ground. "The big deal is that you could have injured or killed yourself! What would Yinyu's foals or I do if you had that happen? You shouldn't be so reckless with your health."

"Yinyu could find some better guardian, and you-"

She scowled down at me, dangerously. "Think before you answer, Sunset."

"Tonya, I-"

"Don't Tonya me when I'm mad at you. When I'm angry at you, it's Arbiter, got it?"

I gave her a sullen look. "Well, Arbiter, it's not like you need me anymore. It's not like you ever needed me. I was a mistake on your part. Chances are I'll end up getting those foals in the same state as you."

Her fingers turned into claws as she gripped that staff tighter. "You do not get to say who I should or should not care about. Including me caring for you! It would break my heart if you died. You have so much left you can give the world, if you take care of yourself and stop wallowing around in self-pity."

"I'm not-"

"Are you saying the person that can see all your thoughts is wrong?"

I turned away from her. "My thoughts are a confused mess! Who knows what you would pick out of them."

A wing, a regular-sized wing, gently pulled my vision back to her. There she was, as she was in life; just an orange pegasus with a purple mane. She was looking at me with tears in her eyes. "Sunset. I know you're full of guilt. I'm not going to say your past was spotless, because it wasn't. I'm also not going to say that it may not come back to haunt you time and time again, because it may very well do so. What I will say is that you never had ill intent, even when you were wrong in your beliefs and methods. You aren't dead yet, and I hope you won't die for a long time yet. Just because you screwed up doesn't mean that you can't do good, or that you never did good. No one is perfect, my sunshine."

"Some of us are farther from perfect than others," I replied. She smacked me with a wing.

"I didn't fall in love with you because you were perfect. I fell in love with you because of your passion and your strong desire to be better than you had been. Sure, you ended up going on a bad course with that, but the intent to be better than you were before was always a big part of your drive. You've got five little souls with you right now that are hurting just as much as you, and they need someone to help them. You can't take away their pain, but you can give them something more than just their pain to focus on, and you can protect them. You can be better if you can get your head out of your ass."

I stepped away from her. "Look at everything I ever did. First, I got pregnant in college, had an abortion, and felt so guilty about it I got caught up in a radical and unChristian form of Christianity that made me a disgrace before God for years to come. I treated my child's needs as a defect to be fixed. When I became a pony, I turned my loathing on humans and heightened my bigotry. I did terrible things time and time again for what I perceived to be the greater good. I all but encouraged you to commit murder. I cut corners to get praise, corners that ended with the destruction of my city. Now I'm hearing I might be the mother of Chinese Shimmerism. What on God's green Earth have I ever done right?"

"You admitted you were wrong, and that's a start," Tonya silently replied. "You fought for the rights of others. You brought prosperity to the ponies of the South. Even though you looked down on humans, you managed to forge strong bonds between them and ponies. You gave opportunities to many who might not otherwise have them. You might have been nasty about it, but you made the Equestrians realize that their magical development had stagnated, and they needed to understand that in order to change it. You wrote a scathing rebuke of Shimmerism that has fractured it in certain regions, and change is happening because of that. All the things you said are true, but all I just said is true too. You have a complicated legacy, but your story is not over."

She walked over to me and touched a wing to my side. "You were also willing to put everything on the line to try to save me when I was in trouble. You're capable of being selfless, even if you see nothing in yourself but your selfishness. Stop thinking about all you've done wrong and focus on doing right. I'm asking you to think of the needs of others now, five little souls who need someone to care. They need you, don't abandon them by destroying yourself. Don't abandon me. I need you too."

I looked down and took a deep breath. "I'll-I'll try, but I can't see this going well."

She hugged me. "When you try, you always find a way. I have faith in you. I've kept you too long, and I'm going to let you get back to regular sleep now so you can recover. I love you, Sunset."

Then she was gone, and my mind drifted into unawareness.

---

"She's waking up."

I groaned, and blinked my eyes at the light around me. I tried to remember where I was and when I'd fallen asleep, but came up empty.

"Just relax. You're dealing with magical exhaustion. Don't try to use your magic for anything. You need time to recover."

I turned towards the voice and saw a human man. "Where am I? What happened?"

"You're on a plane from San Francisco to Denver. You passed out from magical exhaustion. I checked you over, and determined that you just needed rest; otherwise, we'd have you in a hospital bed back at the Mills-Peninsula Medical Center in San Francisco. You'll be alright with plenty of rest and laying off your magic for a few days. No levitation for at least the next two days, no spell casting beyond that for the week, no advanced spell casting at all for the duration, just rest. If you follow instructions, you should be fully recovered in about a week and a half."

"We transferred planes?" I asked, remembering we had been in route to San Francisco before.

"Yes, you were transferred by stretcher. The government had already set your course, and there was no need to delay it. We are getting you back home as planned. Wild Growth was contacted, and she has been informed of your condition. She says she will make arrangements for any extra care you need in the next few days."

The place in Denver wasn't really home; it was just where I was staying. I didn't have a home anymore. Getting even more generosity from Wild in the form of extra care didn't sit well with me either. At least she'd be far away, and so I wouldn't have to face her and her magnanimous face directly. It was grating as it was knowing I was dependant on her for everything. I was as much her ward as Yinyu's foals were mine.

"Where are the foals?" I asked, after noticing them missing. There was just me, a few humans, and a crystal pony. We were in a smaller and less luxurious looking cabin than where I'd been.

"In the main cabin. We have you separated to rest without disturbances. Did you want to see them?"

I considered it. I didn't want to see them just now, but I'd need to say something. "If you could just send Lántiān in, that should suffice."

He walked away, presumably to fetch my eldest charge. I just laid where I was. It felt like I'd just run a thirty-mile marathon without stopping, and I had a splitting headache centered right at the base of my horn. Some people thought unicorn horns were just a mass of bone, but they got blood flow and had a fragile layer of flesh and fur over them. Right at that moment, I felt every pulse of blood going through it.

It took me a moment to realize Lántiān was standing right next to the small couch I was laying on. She hadn't done anything to announce herself, at least that I noticed, not that I was paying anything much attention at all at the moment. She was just sitting there, at attention like a little soldier. The little soldier had a smaller pegasus on her back. That was acceptable, as she couldn't be expected to leave her daughter unattended.

"So… " I began, and immediately lost what I was about to say. I tried to sit up slightly to better focus, but that turned out to be too much work.

"You frightened my siblings and daughter, ma'am," Lántiān deadpanned. I didn't need to hear emotion to hear the accusation behind those words. That gave me a spark of anger, and a spark of rage gave me some focus.

"I told everypony… excuse me… everyone all that it might happen," I snapped. I was now annoyed at myself for letting one of the terms that I had worked to purge from everyone's use escape my lips.

Lántiān gave me her flattest stare. "You must excuse them, ma'am. It has been explained to them that our mama has gone to sleep, and shall never awaken. Now they have seen their new guardian fall asleep, and would not wake up no matter how they shook her. You might understand why this upsets them."

That did put a different spin on things. Now I felt guilty for snapping. "Tell them I'm alright. I didn't mean to scare them." Tonya was right. I was reckless. "It-it won't happen again."

"As you say, ma'am." I hated her monotone. It was clear she didn't like me. She wasn't winning any charm awards from me either. If our time together stayed like this, it would be bearable, but I was sure at some point one of us was going to go off on the other. I couldn't blame her hostility. She'd been all but raising her siblings on her own before their mother died. It must have enraged her that she and they were left in the care of a stranger. A stranger who hadn't done much to instill confidence that things weren't going to continue to get worse for them.

I had enough focus to at least continue this conversation. "So, did my spell work? Is Shǔguāng able to understand and speak English, or did I knock myself senseless for nothing?"

One side of her mouth turned down. "Your spell worked, ma'am. My brother is quite impressed by what you did. At the moment, he is explaining the dialogue of the film they are watching to Hé Líng. Hé Líng has started to pick up a few words, with Shǔguāng's assistance. His favorite is one I am not familiar with. What does cowabunga mean?"

I blinked. "Are they watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? If they are, it is like their battlecry or their cheer, depending on the situation."

She nodded. "There are large human-shaped turtles, ma'am. They are wearing blindfolds with eyeholes, although I cannot determine a purpose for them doing that. I also see no ponies in the film, which further confuses me. I would say this is some human propaganda, but they make the heroes turtle people and a rat-man. American films make no sense."

"It's just a harmless older cartoon from before ETS," I explained. "I even watched it when I was a child, at least the original version; they rebooted it like four or five times over the years. Don't you have things you watched from before ETS?"

She shook her head. "No, ma'am. Film from before there were ponies is mostly banned by the culture ministry, with a few rare exceptions. They are human films, and therefore do not have proper quality and values."

I wanted to facehoof, but that would take too much energy. Was I ever this bad when I was proclaiming the greatness of shimmerism? I was pretty sure I wasn't. Sure, I encouraged pony made films and reimaginings of classic stories, but I didn't outright ban the older versions. Even if I wanted to, that would cause a riot. China was more used to authoritarian regimes, I supposed, but I couldn't imagine this would have sat well with everyone over there. No one was going to just let the government outlaw large parts of their past culture without at least attempting to keep it preserved in secret. I guessed Lántiān kept blissfully unaware of anything but what her government told her. Staying in the US would do a lot to open her eyes.

That did remind me of something I hadn't gotten to ask yet. "I know this is an uncomfortable subject, but has your mother taken time to explain to you why she was trying to get you out of China?"

Lántiān visibly stiffened. "She told me what she believed. She must have been mistaken. Mama was not all-knowing, ma'am."

This filly needed to accept the truth. "You think she was willing to die based on something she couldn't be certain was absolutely true? She might not know everything, but she knows a hell of a lot more than you or me. She is a Dreamwarden, one of the most powerful things in existence, and she was terrified of what might happen to you and your siblings. She would not have been terrified if she was not sure the threat was real."

She bared her teeth. "I will not continue this discussion! Do you have any instructions to give me, or are you just going to try to delude me?"

I stared at her for a moment. "You didn't say, ma'am."

With a verbal growl, she turned and stormed back through the door, and slammed it shut behind her. I sat and stared at it for a moment.

"Way to go, Sunset," I said to myself. "You fucked that conversation up." I then laid back down, and let my weariness overtake me again.

Chapter 6: A Sleepy Return to Denver

I couldn't really say much about the flight from San Francisco to Denver, as I spent almost all of it asleep. I was told after I was roused that four of the five foals slept through most of that flight as well, with the notable exception of Méng.

Méng was wide awake through the entire final stretch but happily occupied by the antics of Tom and Jerry. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I was glad he was kept Out of trouble, but I'd always found Tom and Jerry cartoons to be particularly mean-spirited and violent. People liked to point to Tom as the villain of the series, but if you paid attention to Jerry, he was an instigator and terror in his own right. In fact, I was more sympathetic to Tom than I was Jerry, but then again, I'm a cat person. I supposed no harm was done, letting him watch the show. It wasn't like I hadn't watched it myself at his age, and it wasn't like I had gone and done anything abominable.

Oh, wait… I seemed to recall a city blowing up along with a long list of other crimes. Tom and Jerry weren't going to stay on his playlist. They were going to be nice foals, who would only be exposed to violence in the case of heroes defeating villains. He could watch the turtles cartoon with his brothers. At least that wasn't mindless violence and back and forth vindictiveness.

I probably needed some extra advice on him, and Yinyu didn't seem forthcoming with it. To be fair to her, she was awake at the same times he was, so she likely would have had an easier time dealing with him. I had to be awake in the daytime, though. There was an obvious answer for who to ask advice from, my daughter, who had three night pony foals of her own, all older than Méng. She had plenty of experience dealing with toddler night ponies. I'd need to give her a call. Sadly, I likely needed more advice on the others just as much. Where was the book explaining how to deal with a teen mother and colt that might have the most politically powerful pony period as a father (he presided over a population more massive than the entire planet Celestia ruled)? Líng might be the easiest of the siblings to deal with; he just liked to get wet and muddy, and I could happily live with that… provided he didn't go and almost drown or something because I wasn't paying enough attention to him.

Crap. I need to stop thinking about these things.

When we finally arrived in Denver they triple checked me to see if I could walk on my own. I could, as long as I didn't try to move too fast. It was fairly late when we arrived, and they had to rouse the foals from their sleep. We headed to get our shuttle back to the condo. There wasn't much talking, as everyone except Méng was exhausted. The little colt followed close by his sister's legs, and she regularly had to prod him to keep moving because he would stop to look at his surroundings.

When we got into the airport lobby I'd been dreading reporters waiting to jump on me for interviews. Luckily, we arrived so late that many of them must have gone home. There were only two or three of them left, and they looked almost as tired as we did.

"Miss Blessing. Do you have any comment on the death of Yinyu Wu Yan?"

I couldn't help myself. I let myself sneer at the reporter, and be damned with how that would be played on the news. "Are you seriously asking that right in front of all her foals? What the fucking hell is wrong with you!"

"Miss Blessing, how are the foals doing after the dea-"

I stomped a hoof, and almost fell over doing it. "Fuck off!"

"Miss Blessing, do you have any comments about the group in Florida that are now calling themselves the Blessingists? Will you be giving an endorsement?"

That brought me up short, and I just looked at the reporter like he was crazy. "What the hell is a Blessingist? No comment. I don't even know what happened."

As we were hurried out towards the shuttle I overheard at least one reporter giving the report that I had been hostile and refused to answer questions. That would not go over well, but I was too tired and too angry to care.

Once on the shuttle I turned to one of the agents. "What's a Blessingist?"

The human spread his hands. "It's a group of Shimmerists in Florida that denounced the speciest views of Shimmerism and stated that their new mission was to bring magic to all and expand our magical knowledge, which doesn't necessarily require transformation of humans to ponies. That last part is where the break comes from. They were inspired by your final manifesto before your arrest."

I tried to process this new information. "When the hell did they do that? I didn't hear anything about it?"

"They officially broke with Shimmerism earlier today, but there had been arguments going on for weeks. You really didn't hear about the schism you put into Shimmerism? No one reached out to you asking for endorsement?"

I'd actually been avoiding the news altogether and just trying to lock myself away from everything. Only certain people could even contact me by phone, and none of them mentioned anything. Most of my groceries were delivered to me. so I didn't even leave the condo much. I had done my best to live under a rock, and only got taken out from under it because Tonya had shown up in my dreams and told me Yinyu had appointed me guardian of her foals, and the next morning I had government agents at my door. It's kind of hard to ignore a Dreamwarden announcing something in my dreams and then having the government show up at my door, no matter how much I might want to.

"No, it must have slipped my attention," I said with a deadpan.

I looked at the foals. Lántiān was the only one aside from Méng who was awake. The night pony colt she was trying to keep moderately restrained from running all over the car by keeping a leg around him as he looked out the window. Shǔguāng and Hé Líng were cuddled up against one another with Qīng Yǔ making a bed atop the two of them. They made a cute little pile. I wondered what it was like having such a tribally diverse family, but I supposed that I would find out soon enough. Hopefully no one would be dropping any crystal pony foal off at my doorstep to complete the full set.

The condo was part of a small private complex owned by SPEC. The condos were used to host and impress visitors that SPEC wanted to make contracts with. There were five fully furnished condos in the complex, each with large living rooms, large kitchens, and game rooms, in addition to three sizable bedrooms. I had one one these condos all to myself, even though there wasn't any financial value in SPEC housing me. I was a charity case. The complex was gated and walled, with security at the gate at all hours of all days. Our shuttle stopped at the gate, confirmed who I was, and informed the shuttle that they could let me and the foals off right there so we could walk in, rather than letting the shuttle drop us off at the door.

"Why are you making us walk? Can't you see everyone is exhausted?" I protested.

The guard on duty at the gate looked apologetic. "It's my job on the line if I let any unauthorized person through the gates after ten at night. After what happened in Riverview, Wild Growth put down additional security rules across the board. She also made it clear that failures to uphold those rules would not be tolerated. She said if things had been done as they should have been back in Riverview that the disaster wouldn't have happened."

The fight went out of me. I knew exactly what was being referenced, and although that part I wasn't personally responsible for, my failure to run a tight enough operation could be held to blame. I had been lenient on those that had security lapses when I should have come down on them harshly. I thought I was being magnanimous, but it had led to a lot of people getting hurt or killed. At least I could take heart that Wild Growth had no intention of making the same mistakes. Lord knew she had plenty of work to do cleaning up my mistakes.

"I understand," I wearily replied. I turned to my oldest charge. "Go ahead and rouse your brothers. Just one short walk and then they can get into a proper bed. We'll go over the house rules in the morning."

Lántiān gave a pointed look at her youngest brother. "What about Hǎo Mèng, ma'am?"

Crap, what was I going to do about him for tonight? He was going to be awake all night, and everyone else was in desperate need of sleep. Normally I'd say I'd just stay up and watch him, tiring as that may be, but Tonya would probably chew me out for that. It still might be the only option. If I'd been thinking I might have had something arranged, but now there was no time to do that.

"We'll figure that out once we're inside," I answered, dreading what I'd almost certainly have to do. "If I have to I'll stay up to watch him, and arrange for a sitter first thing in the morning. I'd try making arrangements tonight, but there's zero chance I could get someone approved to get by security at this hour. I apologize, it's my fault for not thinking ahead."

The pegasus filly gave the pile of foals a hard nuzzle, and gave commands in Mandarin and English. "<Wake up!>! Wake up! <We are here.> We are here."

Shǔguāng yawned and rubbed his face. "<Mama was talking to me.>"

"Use English, like ma'am instructed," Lántiān scolded. I really needed to find some better way for them to refer to me.

The young unicorn huffed. "Mama was talking to me. I don't want to get up."

"You'll be able to go back to sleep soon enough," I assured him. I then looked over at his little brother who was taking his time to stir. "<Hé Líng, wake up.>"

The earth pony rolled over, dislodging Qīng Yǔ from on top of him, and making the infant pegasus irritably squawk like a bird. She gave her uncle a harsh glare, and aggressively butted her head against him in rebuke. Lántiān put an end to that by grabbing her daughter up by the scruff of her neck, and Qīng Yǔ responded by just going limp in her mother's mouth. Líng took a look around him, and having gotten the idea, stood up.

We exited the car and walked from the gate towards the appropriate condo. I spotted lights on in the next door condo, which was a small surprise. The condo I was in had been the only occupied one when I left for Japan; mine and the condo that served as a guard station and property office. It wasn't a concern, as long as whoever was there didn't make lots of noise. I'd left the front porch light on with my own, and hadn't bothered to lock the door. I found little use in locking doors. Any unicorn worth their salt could use magic to unlock any regular lock, and any earth pony could easily break down the door. If someone wanted to get in and had already gotten past the guards one little lock wasn't going to do much.

I turned the handle and pushed the door open, stepping inside first just long enough to flip the light switch. The foals followed in behind me, looking over their surroundings as they did. However, I stopped Hé Líng when he passed the threshold.

"<How did you manage to get muddy on that short a walk!>" I exclaimed, looking at the wet mud all over his hooves. I did a quick glance at my own and all the other foals', but none of us had a spec of mud on us.

He just stared up at me like a deer in the headlights. His two brothers I spotted already exploring the living room, and his niece came bounding over to them having been set free by her mother.

I groaned. "<Wipe off that mud and then you are taking a bath before bed.>" The colt's expression visibly brightened at the word for bath. Yinyu had warned me about him, but I didn't think he was that adept at gathering mud; it couldn't have been more than a twenty-yard walk to the door. I didn't even remember a mud puddle along the way.

He wiped his hooves as instructed, giving them each a very thorough scrubbing against the doormat, and then stepped inside. I shook my head again in flabbergasted disbelief, before shutting the door. I started walking away from the door only to hear a loud knock on it. What now?

"Who is it?" I called out.

The reply came back quickly and loudly. "The greatest and most powerful neighbor any friend could want!" It couldn't be.

I opened the door back up to see a grinning azure blue unicorn with a mane so light blue that it appeared almost white.

"Trixie?"

She reached her hooves around me and gave me a big hug. "Hello, neighbor! The great and powerful Trixie has arrived!"

Chapter 7: The Great and Powerful Neighbor

I tried to puzzle out why my unlikely Equestrian friend was standing at the door. She said she was my neighbor. Why was Trixie my neighbor?

"Trixie- what- what are you doing here?" I asked the smiling mare.

Trixie cocked her head to the side. "Well, I saw you had finally come home, and since I'm still wide awake, and very very bored, I came to see you."

I facehoofed. "I meant, what are you even doing here in Denver, in the SPEC condos at that?"

Trixie waved a hoof. "Oh… that. Starlight had to come to Earth for some extended mission, and I wanted to come along." She paused and took a deep breath. "But… it seems as if the United States is still mad at me for this tiny little thing I did years ago-"

"You mean smuggling in things from the group that wanted to set up an Equestria protectorate?" I deadpanned.

She gave a weak chuckle. "Oh, you- you heard about that?"

I kept my expression flat. "I had everyone you smuggled information to, except Bob, arrested on treason charges."

"Oh… that made this conversation very uncomfortable," Trixie replied slowly. "You didn't go after Bob though?"

"No, I didn't."

She sighed with relief. "That's good. I always liked Bob."

I frowned. "I didn't because I had already been spying on him for some time before that. So I knew he wasn't really interested in any sort of revolution. I was also pissed when rogue members of the government used my information about him to try to assassinate him. And finally, his mother bribed me and it was too good a bribe to turn up."

"Oh dear," Trixie whispered, then gave herself a shake. "Anyway, the princesses don't want me at the Equestrian embassy, and the United States doesn't want me going anywhere unaccompanied, and they want me far from government installations. They worked out a compromise with Wild Growth where I could stay here when Starlight was off doing her important stuff, just as long as I didn't leave to go anywhere without her. I was going to turn them down, but then they mentioned you were staying here too, and I said that might make it better. I haven't seen you since Twilight invited me to that party, but we seemed to hit it off well."

"Ma'am," Lántiān interjected from right behind me. "My brothers and daughter need to be put to bed. You said that Hé Líng needed a bath before bed, and a plan for Háo Mèng is needed. Are you going to assign us rooms? Are you going to take my brother to bathe? Tasks must be done, ma'am."

"Who are all these foals?" Trixie asked, trotting past me without waiting for an invitation in.

I sighed and shut the door. "They are Yinyu's foals. I'm going to be taking care of them."

Trixie flicked an ear and looked back at me. "Whose foals? Is that a close relative of yours?"

I turned my eyes upward at the ceiling and did a silent prayer. Help me, Jesus! I then turned my attention back to my uninvited guest. "Yinyu Wu Yan. Are you telling me you haven't heard of Yinyu Wu Yan? Have you watched the news lately?"

Trixie shook her head. "It sounds familiar, like a name I should know, but drawing a blank. Trixie doesn't watch the news, Trixie finds it boring."

"Ma'am… my brothers," Lántiān said firmly.

Okay, things needed to happen. "Trixie, how awake are you?"

"Trixie was bored, so she slept all day. Now Trixie is wide awake," the unicorn replied.

"Good," I replied, marching over to her. I scanned the living room with my eyes till I spotted Méng trying to figure out how the television turned on. "<Méng! Come here!>"

The night pony foal didn't do more than give me a twitch of his ear when he heard his name. I didn't actually know how much Mandarin he knew. I knew they said he couldn't say much. His brothers got the idea that I wanted him, and the two of them carefully guided him back towards me. I couldn't help but notice Líng was leaving flecks of dried up mud in his wake.

Once the toddler night pony was in front of me I gestured to him. "Trixie, this is Méng. I'm going to be completely honest with you. I'm exhausted. His siblings are exhausted. Méng is definitely not exhausted. I need a great and powerful favor; I need you to stay up and watch Méng for tonight. I wouldn't normally ask, but if I try to do it I'll end up falling asleep. Can you please help us, Trixie?"

Trixie gave him an apprehensive look. "I don't know… Trixie didn't really plan on coming over here to foalsit."

I decided to play on her sympathy. Was it dirty? Yes. But these were desperate times. I shifted my language to one none of the foals knew, but I was certain Trixie knew, Spanish. "<His mother just died, Trixie. These foals are with me because Yinyu is dead. She set herself on fire as a distraction so they could get to safety. They need all the love and care they can get right now. Please, for their sake?>"

The showmare's eyes went wide and then she blinked as they started to water. "The great and sympathetic Trixie has decided she can foalsit for just this one night. I will give this foal the best show he has ever seen performed!"

"Try not to be too loud. The rest of us will be sleeping," I reminded her, then smiled. "Thank you. I really do appreciate this. I didn't know how I was going to deal with him tonight. Just to let you know, he doesn't speak any English or Equestrian. His native language is Mandarin, but I don't know how much of that he even knows. Your tricks should keep him entertained though. You have full access to the kitchen if you need to feed him or eat."

Trixie gave a relieved sigh. "That's good, because my other reason for coming over here was no one stocked the kitchen over at my place before they left me there. The great and powerful Trixie has a great and powerful rumble in her tummy."

I laid one ear back as I looked at her. "You could have been open about wanting food. I wouldn't have let you go hungry. I suppose no harm was done though." I looked over at Hé Líng and then back to her. "By the way, do you know the spell to automatically teach someone a language?"

"Do I?" Trixie laughed. "It's an easy spell. Back before I got into… anyway, I used to just sit there and cast that spell on ponies and humans over and over again, all day long. It was so boring. Just casting such a simple spell over and-"

Both ears completely flattened. "Okay! You don't have to rub it in!"

Trixie stared at me with both eyes wide. "Um, is this one of those times I'm being unintentionally insensitive about something, and have no clue what it is? Because I get the feeling it is. I'm told I have a problem with that sometimes."

I looked down and muttered. "I magically exhausted myself earlier today, and earlier yesterday, just casting that spell once each time. I'm so exhausted I can't even levitate anything at the moment without potentially hurting myself. It is too powerful a spell for me."

"Oh," the other unicorn replied. "Well, I suppose it is a great and powerful spell, but great and powerful spells just start to feel mundane when you are as great and powerful as the great and powerful Trixie!"

I didn't even shake my head at her ego. I just turned to Lántiān. "The great and powerful Trixie will take care of casting the English translation spell on Hé Líng tomorrow, but that will be tomorrow. Right now I'm going to get him bathed and to bed."

"With how long you have been talking to this clownmare I could have bathed my brother and gotten him to bed. If you had just told me where the bathroom and appropriate bedroom was, ma'am," Lántiān replied in deadpan.

"Clownmare!" Trixie protested.

"Lántiān, please be polite," I said with a weary sigh, and decided to just list off instructions. "Trixie, you've got Méng. Lántiān, there are four bedrooms upstairs. The first one one the right is mine. You can put your brothers in the room directly across from it and take the one next to that for you and your daughter. There's only a single bed in each bedroom, but it is human sized, so sharing a bed shouldn't be an issue. The bathroom is at the end of the hall. You may enter my room and wake me if you need anything through the night. <Líng, follow me so we can get you clean.>" I paused and tried to think of anything I might still be forgetting. "Have you all eaten?"

"Yes, ma'am. We ate while you were sleeping on the plane."

Trixie waved a hoof. "I haven't eaten!"

I looked at her. "I was talking about the foals. I already told you that you're welcome to the food in the kitchen."

"I thought it was an open question to everypony."

I scolded. "Please, avoid using that word. I insist the foals learn the more inclusive term 'everyone'." I didn't wait for any further protests or discussion, I just started walking. "<Líng, come.>"

The earth pony colt did as instructed, and followed me up the stairs. We marched to the end of the upstairs hall to the bathroom. My first instinct upon pushing the door open was to use my horn to flip the light switch, but that sent searing pain through my skull, and made me stumble for a moment.

"<Guardian, are you hurt?>" Líng whimpered from beside me.

I shook my head. "<I am well. Thank you for your concern.>" I then forced myself up, and started to reach up the wall to flip the lights on before realizing I was being stupid, and stopped.

"Alexa, turn bathroom lights on," I commanded. An instant later the lights for the bathroom flicked on. I had forgotten that many features of the condo were operated by smart devices.

The bathroom was spacious. With what would be considered a large tub by even human standards, and a separate freestanding shower with glass door. There were two separate sink areas, one set for ponies and one for humans, with three sinks a piece. A tall metal shelf sat against one wall that was filled with fluffy white towels and smaller cloths. There was a large mats made of some spongy material I couldn't identify directly outside both the tub and the shower. There were dryers on the walls near the sinks that could work as hand dryers for humans or fur dryers for ponies.

"<This needs to be quick, so you can get to bed. We will use the shower. I will scrub you to make sure there's no mud, and help dry you.>"

Líng stepped into the shower and I stood on the edge of it and pulled the door shut just enough so water wouldn't splash everywhere. Like most newer showers this one had faucet controls both high and low, and I adjusted the lower faucets to give a lukewarm flow of water. The mud colored earth pony colt hummed happily as the water started, and quickly drenched his blue mane. I grabbed a nearby scrub brush with my mouth and got to work scrubbing him.

"<You do this just like Mama.>" Líng said contentedly as I was finishing the scrub golf his hooves.

I immediately dropped the scrub brush and quickly turned the water off. He seemed disappointed with the abrupt end to the shower, but put up no objections. I left him briefly to grab a towel, and tossed it on his back when I returned. I patted him down, trying to soak up as much water as I could, and then directed him out of the shower and towards the dryer on the wall.

"Alexa, dryer two, full power, one minute."

Líng gave a startled jump when the hot air hit him, but settled back down. I could hear movement from down the hall, and assumed that would be Lántiān getting Shǔguāng settled in. It was best that the two colts were tucked in together. As soon as the dryer ended I checked him over. He wasn't perfectly dry, but he wasn't sopping wet either. He was dry enough that he wouldn't get his bed wet, and that was good enough.

"<Come. Time for bed.>" I would be so glad after tomorrow when I didn't have to speak in this stiff Mandarin as much anymore. I'm sure it would loosen up with continued use, but I really didn't want to give it continued use. I decided to leave the lights on in the bathroom, just in case any of the foals needed to go to it over the course of the night. I didn't want them struggling around blindly in the dark.

"<Will Mama be playing music for us tonight?>" Líng asked as he followed me out of the bathroom.

I paused. This was a habit that I'd need to break, as they needed to learn to sleep peacefully without a violin playing, but this was their first night in a new country. Plus, if they were stuck awake for too long that meant it was more likely I wouldn't get proper rest.

"Alexa, play Bach's Chaconne on the house speaker system."

Líng cocked an ear as he listened to the music. "<It sounds like Mama, but where is she?>"

I almost snapped that she was dead, and wouldn't be coming back, but I caught myself. I was determined not to be cruel. He needed to understand the truth, but I wasn't sure how to break that to him gently. The fact that his mother still came to him in his dreams might not help with him coming to terms with her death, although it could be helping for all I knew. I wasn't a foal psychologist. That was something I probably needed to hire, but I had no income of my own.

"<Your Mama is waiting for you to go to sleep. Get to sleep quickly so she can see you.>"

Lántiān was waiting out in the hall and placed a wing around her brother as we came up to her. "I can tuck him in, ma'am. My daughter is already asleep. You should get rest. You are still not well."

I didn't detect anything in her tone or wording that I should take offense to. I just nodded, and mouthed my thanks, before retreating to my bedroom and blessed sleep.

Chapter 8: Unwanted Encouragement

I stretched as I woke. There had been no visits in my dreams this time around. The Dreamwardens seemed to have been serious that they wanted me to get proper rest. That was mostly fine. I would have liked to have seen Tonya, even if she was still mad at me, but could do without the almost certainly forthcoming commentary from Yinyu.

I glanced at the clock and noted it was a quarter till six. That was early, even for me. My normal habit was to wake up and lay in bed thinking about my plans for the day for at least a half-hour or so, but I really needed to relieve Trixie of her foalsitting duties so she could leave and get some sleep. I also probably should call Phobia to get some parenting advice. Yeah, it is kind of ironic that I'd need to go to my own daughter for parenting advice, but she almost certainly knew more about parenting than me. Even if I hadn't been a lackluster parent at best, she would know more than me. My parenting experience was as a human taking care of a human. I had no experience with foals.

I almost lit my horn to remove the blanket covering me, but managed to catch myself in time to prevent another stabbing headache. With a sigh I just physically pushed it off of me and onto the floor. Maybe I could try doing some light levitation again tomorrow, but I wasn't going to attempt anything today. One of the odd benefits, if I wanted to call it that, of having weak magic was that it didn't take as long to recover from this sort of thing. A more powerful unicorn might have their magic out of commission for a week or more, but I'd be fine after two or three days. I take whatever benefits I can find from my circumstances. I always have.

My phone was still on my leg from the night before. Now my leg was sore from it rubbing against it in my sleep. I didn't take it off, since I had calls to make, but I really wanted to. Maybe I could take time for a bath in a little while if Lántiān was going to be watching her siblings. A bath would be wonderful.

The selfish thought that I could just dump all the parenting duties on Lántiān crossed my mind. She clearly would have prefered being the one parenting her siblings rather than me. She had experience with them that I didn't. I'd still need to be the one making sure they had food and shelter, but that could be done without getting too involved. I already was going to be depending on her to help me with them as it was, and it would be more her taking care of things despite me rather than with me in many of those cases. It wouldn't be hard to just let her do it.

Except Tonya wanted me to do this. I could care less what Yinyu wanted. If Tonya wanted something to happen I'd find a way to make it happen. If I had listened to her before…

Should have, would have, could have, those things weren't worth worrying over. I was going to listen to her now.

I slowly, not quite ready to be moving yet-but still doing so, walked out of my room and back towards the living room. As I reached the base of the stairs I walked straight into something and fell down against an unseen barrier.

"Sorry! I blocked that off so he wouldn't try going up the stairs. I really should have adjusted the spell to only block traffic from one direction."

That was not Trixie's voice. I didn't immediately go on the defensive against an intruder (not that I could do much to fight one while magically exhausted), since something about the voice was familiar, and not familiar in a bad way. The fact that a unicorn that could put up a non-maintained magic barrier was in the living room was still something worth being concerned about.

The forcefield that had been blocking the stairs abruptly vanished and I tumbled down the last step. It wasn't enough of a fall to seriously hurt me, but my snout connected hard with the floor. That was a new shot of pain to add to my steady stream of aches over the last day. I had previously rethought my theology about God where he took a more passive approach to events. I briefly reconsidered this belief, since it seemed like God was actively trying to punish me.

"Sorry again! I should have let you get back to your hooves before I took that shield down. Are you alright?"

I pushed myself to my hooves then rubbed my nose. The pain was already fading from that. I did however have a new ache in my shoulder. There was probably a bruise under my fur, but that could be ignored. It would just be more of an annoyance than usual since I needed to use my legs to manipulate things while my horn was temporarily out of commission. I could suffer the inconvenience though.

Standing by the couch was none other than Starlight Glimmer. A quick visual scan of the room showed no sign of Trixie. Méng was in the middle of the room. He was chasing what looked like a soccer ball, except it was engulfed in a magic aura and trying to get away from him. Starlight's horn was lit, but she didn't seem to be actively paying attention to the ball she was manipulating. She seemed to be doing a good job of constantly keeping the ball just outside his reach. Where'd she even get the ball from? Did she bring it from the other condo? If so, why did she even have it? It wasn't a very important question, but it was one of those weird things that nagged at my mind. It was my nature to try to figure out how everything fit together or could fit together, and the soccer ball felt out of place.

I quickly put together what information I had before answering. "I'll be alright. I'm guessing you relieved Trixie sometime during the night?"

Starlight nodded. "Yeah. Something you might want to know about Trixie is she gets bored easily. She wasn't going to stop watching the foal, but I could tell she was struggling to keep her eyes open. I sent her back to bed next door and took over."

"When was this?"

She shrugged. "Around three, I guess. I have a tracking spell on her just in case she decides to break her restriction. So I knew where she was as soon as I got back to the condo. She explained the situation to me, and I said I'd take care of it."

I heard footsteps behind me that stopped abruptly halfway down the stairs. "Ma'am? What is she doing here? She's an enemy of all ponies on Earth. She should not be welcome into our home."

I sighed. What a way for Lántiān to start off the morning. I turned around and saw her glaring daggers at Starlight. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if she actually tried to put a dagger into Starlight, if she had one.

"Lántiān, Starlight Glimmer is a guest, and you will mind your manners," I said firmly.

The filly gave me a look of disbelief. "Ma'am, she is one of the ponies that stopped ETS. If not for her we would be living in a world of ponies. She should not be trusted."

"Manners, Lántiān!" I repeated harshly. "I understand your feelings. I used to feel the same way. I've moved past that, and now I consider her a friend. She is a friend and a guest, and you will not behave this way towards her. Do I make myself clear?"

She gave Starlight one last withering glare before turning back to me. "I will do as you say, ma'am. Do you have any instructions for me this morning?"

I sat and considered it for a few seconds. "You have free reign of the kitchen, and should prepare breakfast for yourself and the younger foals… I'm assuming you can do that."

She gave me a stiff nod. "I can do that, ma'am."

"Good," I replied. "It will be up to you to figure out where things are in the kitchen, but it should be simple enough. You don't need to wake your brothers up until whenever they normally get up. I have several calls to make, and I need to be undisturbed unless there is an emergency. Can I count on you to make sure of that?"

She nodded again, but less stiffly this time. "Yes, ma'am. You can have faith in me. May I make a request?"

I tried to figure out what she could be requesting, but came up empty. "Yes, what is it?"

She scrunched her head back towards her body as if embarrassed. "Do you have paper and pencil that I may use, ma'am?"

Did she need to make a list of something? I had no idea what she'd need to be writing. "Uh, yes. There's an office across from the kitchen. It has a big desk and a printer. You should be able to find some pens on the desk and some paper in the printer."

"I would prefer pencils with erasers, ma' am."

"There may be pencils in there as well. I don't really know. Are you trying to write a formal letter or something?"

She shook her head. "I wish to draw, ma'am."

That made me blink. I suppose having a hobby wasn't a bad thing though. "You're an artist?"

For some reason this question made her scowl. I had thought I had figured out how this filly thought, but apparently I was wrong. She gave a quick flick of her tail like she was cracking a whip before answering. "No, I am not, ma'am. Something Mama said to me last night made me want to get better at drawing."

Well, if Yinyu was encouraging her daughter to draw I wasn't going to complain. "That's fine. Although you should also make a list of things that you, your brothers, and your daughter are going to want, and especially anything that is needed. You can review it with me tonight. I need to figure out exactly what kind of budget we need. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, ma'am." She stood straighter as she answered.

I got the impression her ability to do what she was ordered to do came as some badge of pride for her. Many pegasi were like that, needing constant affirmation of how capable and talented they were. It wasn't strictly a pegasus trait, since I knew I sometimes was guilty of the same thing- to my detriment, and Tonya didn't really display that trait, but it was still very common in pegasi. If making peace with this filly meant stroking her pegasus ego then I'd happily stroke away.

"You're my most important resource when dealing with your brothers. I need to say ahead of time that I appreciate your assistance, and will listen to your input. I can't promise that I'll always go along with what you say, but I promise to listen. Thank you for stepping up. I'm sure your mother is proud." I was mainly trying to butter her up, but I wasn't lying.

Unfortunately, that didn't go over as well as I hoped, since she started scowling again. "I will not disappoint you, ma'am." She then turned and walked back up the stairs. I'd figure that filly out, sooner or later. I'd figured out how much more complicated individuals ticked.

With my grumpy charge taken care of I turned my attention back to Starlight. The powerful unicorn seemed unperturbed by being ignored during my conversation with Lántiān, and had gone back to playing with Méng. Right now she was levitating the ball at low altitude and letting Méng try to jump at it.

"Sorry for ignoring you, and sorry about Lántiān," I apologized. "That filly is a diehard Shimmerist."

Starlight looked back at me with a raised eyebrow and then broke out into giggles. "A few short years ago you'd have treated me the same way. I have faith that ponies can learn to be friends." Her laughter stopped and she frowned. "But I do get a lot of that from Chinese ponies, and tend to avoid going to China if I can help it. It reminds me a lot of my trip to Riverview during that first year where everypony was glaring at me."

I hung my head. "I'm sorry about that as well. You can tack on about a thousand nasty things I've said about Equestria on top of that for me to make apologies for."

She walked over to me and gave me a light embrace. "One apology is good enough, if it is sincere. I did some bad things way back when that I needed to apologize for. I was lucky I ended up with a teacher who accepted my first one, and was ready to accept me as a friend after that. Trixie even badly betrayed my trust a few years ago, and we've since repaired our friendship. You don't need to keep apologizing to me."

"You Equestrians are too forgiving," I mumbled.

She pulled back from me. "Hardly. I might have gotten forgiveness from others, but it took me a long time to forgive myself. I'm told Princess Luna went through the same thing, punishing herself long after everyone else had forgiven her for the whole Nightmare Moon thing. We can be pretty unforgiving to ourselves."

"I empathize with that," I mumbled.

She laid a hoof on my shoulder (thankfully not the sore one). "You'll find ways of making peace with yourself in time. The key thing to remember is you aren't that same pony anymore. When you actually start believing that you'll feel better." She withdrew her hoof. "Now, even though I just said that, I did have reasons I wanted to talk to you before I ended up taking over foalsitting duties last night. Are you making some sort of shadow play to get back into politics?"

My eyes went wide. "No! Why would you think that?"

"Because your name has come up linked to two different major events in the last week," she replied. "The Dreamwardens assure me that they didn't get pressured by you to make you the guardian of these foals, but you have to admit, you're a pretty high profile and unusual pick to be chosen to do so. Then we have a large group of Southern Shimmerists declare themselves no longer Shimmerists, and they literally name their new group after you. You have a reputation as a behind the scenes manipulator, so I want answers. I'm not accusing you of any wrongdoing, but anyone looking sees the same things I do. We want to know what your goal is, so nopony can assume the worst."

I stepped back. "I'm not trying anything. I was completely blindsided by Yinyu appointing me the guardian of her foals, and I didn't even hear about these Blessingists until last night. I still don't even know what the heck that group stands for. I've been trying to keep my head down and stay out of trouble. All I just want is to retire from public life, not get involved with any other organizations or philosophies."

Starlight cocked her head. "But, I'm sure the Blessingists must have tried to get in contact with you. They quote off things from you like you're some sort of divine prophet."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Great, let's keep a tally of wacko-groups I influenced: the Southern Shimmerists, the Chinese Shimmerists, and now this new group that slaps my name on themselves."

"To be fair, the Blessingists don't have the same speciest tone of the Shimmerists," Starlight replied, as she wiggled her hoof in front of her. "They seem more focused on the things you said from a few days before Riverview blew up to after you were pardoned. They're all about responsibly advancing magical knowledge and making it so humans have equal use of magic. You kind of demonstrated there are ways of giving humans magic without making them permanent ponies, and that kind of undermines one of the big draws that Southern Shimmerism had for humans."

I sighed. "Okay, so a somewhat less hateful group. I still just learned about them, and I'm not getting involved with them. Whatever they are doing they are doing it without me. I'm done with all that crap. I did nothing but harm, and I'm never going to mislead people like that again."

Starlight frowned. "That's actually kind of disappointing."

I did a double-take. "What? How is that disappointing? Were you hoping I'd go off and do something else that needed to be stopped. Are you sad that I refuse to be the villain of the week for better people to fight against?"

"No, I'm disappointed because you aren't making any attempt to live up to your potential or use your talents for good. You're just giving up," Starlight replied in a quiet voice. "You're not an average pony, Sunset. You've influenced so many things on Earth since ETS. Yeah, some of it wasn't good, but a lot of it was. Your reasons might have been misguided, but you were one of the primary ponies that helped with bringing about peaceful relations between humans and ponies. You're an influencer, a leader, and a very brilliant mage, and it's sad seeing all that you could be doing going to waste."

I shook my head dismissively. "I'm no brilliant mage. Everything I ever discovered or came up with was based on the work of others. I just tweaked it."

"That's what makes you brilliant," Starlight said as she stepped next to me. "Those ponies dismissed all that work as failures, but you found applications and possibilities in their work that they never saw. It takes a special type of mage to do that. I should know, I adjusted Starswirl's time travel spell to be much more powerful, and had a habit of combining spells to create powerful effects the original creators never thought of. Even my cutie mark removal spell is based off of the 'failed' work of other ponies. You and I are alike, where others see failure we see possibility."

"Well, it's time that someone else got a chance to build something better from my failures," I replied. "I've reinvented myself enough times. Each time has just highlighted how flawed I really am. I can't keep doing this; I've lost too much. If I accomplished anything worthwhile it should be someone less screwed up who should be taking advantage of that and building on it. As I said, I'm done."

Starlight gazed unblinking at me. "You know, Twilight and Luna said you not being out there doing things would be a waste. Luna advocated for you with the hope you could help make a better world. You're free and walking around because others have faith in you. You were given a second chance, since when does Sunset Blessing not take advantage of whatever she has?"

"Since I got my wife killed and hurt everyone I ever cared about!" I screamed, making her backpedal and fall over. "I don't want to discuss this anymore. Can you just let it go?"

She looked at me with big eyes then got back to her hooves. "Okay. I need to go take a nap anyway. It wasn't my intention to hurt you. I'm your friend, and I just want you to heal. Maybe you just need more time. I'm available if you ever need me."

With that she teleported out of the room, and only then did I notice that I had started to cry.

"Um… ma' am?" Came a hesitant voice from the stairwell. I turned and looked up and saw all the foals gathered, including Méng who must have slipped by me at some point. They all looked upset, with the exception of Lántiān who still looked deeply concerned. "I was going to feed the others. Is it alright if we pass by you?"

I nodded and stepped aside. The foals cautiously made their way down the stairs and gave me a wide breath as they reached the foot of the staircase. Lántiān was the last down, and she paused briefly in front of me with her ears and tail sagging. "I'll see to it that you are not disturbed, ma'am. I hope… I hope the rest of your day is less stressful."

With that she quickly retreated to the kitchen with her siblings and daughter in tow. I stood alone, crying, and wondering why anyone thought this was a good idea.

Chapter 9: Interrogation

Work. When there was nothing but confusion and angst in my mind, there was always work to distract me. Unfortunately, my work and one of my primary stresses melded together into one at the moment. My tasks were for the sole purpose of trying to provide care for these foals, and that fact I had to care for them was one of my great stresses. It at the very least let me escape thinking about her and my responsibility for what happened.

I took a deep breath and dialed one of the many people I needed to contact today. This one would be the hardest, and I wanted to get it out of the way first. From a practical standpoint it needed to come first anyway. I waited as the phone rang, hoping someone else would answer it than who I needed to talk to, just to buy me additional time.

The line picked up, and a voice came over the speakerphone. "Hello? Mom, is that you?"

Crap, she picked up. She had two different bodyguards, a wife, three foals, and who knew how many random night pony mares that all but were attached to her house, but she was the one who picked up. So much for hoping for more time.

"Hi, Sweetie." I winced at my calling her Sweetie, as if I ever called her some pet name before. She'd know for sure I was calling just to get something after hearing that, but there was no point abandoning my planned out conversation. "I know I haven't called in a while, though I'm sure you've been watching me. How are you doing?"

Phobia sighed. "Still exhausting myself dealing with many nightmares from last year, although they seem to be calming down some. Those that are still having daily nightmares are still often as vivid as when they started. It is exhausting to deal with those. Other than that, the foals are being privately tutored, Rosetta is taking a year off teaching to focus on her degree, and we are finally getting regular trash service again."

I was a bit miffed she hadn't tended to my nightmares at all, but didn't complain. I continued on with the idle chatter even though she and I both knew I was stalling. "Oh? Well, I hope your wife does well with her degree, and very glad to hear about the trash service...I'd have hoped they'd have already had that back up and running a long time ago, but I suppose they may have been overworked and understaffed- all things considered. Anything else of note happening down there?"

Phobia played along. "We got word from Rosetta's parents that she's going to be getting a new brother or sister- singular, no twins this time. She and the demons are going to take a little vacation over to Equestria to meet the new little one sometime next year, and we are fussing over passports for it. You'd be surprised how hard it is to get them portal crossing permission."

"You aren't going with them?" I asked, slightly surprised. "You really should. I know you're busy, but family is family."

"Mom, I'll only be making one trip to Equestria in my life, and it's going to be a one way trip," Phobia said flatly. "But you aren't calling about that. You want advice and some guidance on foalsitters, correct?"

I hung my head. "Yes."

"I've had reporters trying their darndest to get my opinions about you getting Yinyu's foals," Phobia groaned. "They've even tried coming to the house, despite the welcome wagon outside. Just to let you know, I had nothing to do with the decision for you to get them. That's all Yinyu and Arbiter."

I didn't know if I should be happy about that or not. "I'm guessing you've been waiting on my call."

"You have a night pony colt. Who else were you going to call for advice about dealing with him?"

"You read me well," I replied with a half-smile, then frowned. "It's not that I haven't wanted to talk to you-"

She cut me off. "It's okay, Mom, you don't need to explain yourself to me. I get it. I understand your pain. Are you still using the same private email you had before?"

I nodded, and felt stupid for doing so. "Yes, although I haven't checked it in ages."

"I'll send you a list of reputable foalsitters in your area for night ponies. Psychic drew it up for me, since he also anticipated you'd be calling me about it."

"Thank you, and thank him for me," I said, not needing to fake my gratitude.

"Mom," Phobia said in a voice that said to listen to her closely. "I know why you chose there to run, even if you lie about the reason to everyone else. I don't need to look into your dreams to guess that either. I think it might be a good idea for you to actually follow through with why you're there."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly. Was the air conditioner on? It was starting to feel hot in the room.

"Are you going to try to deny the truth to me?"

"I- I d-don't have time for this right now," I stammered out. "Thank you for your help. I'll call again soon!"

"Mo-" her voice died out as I abruptly hung up the line. I laid my head down on the desk. I had enough stress without her saying I should add that to the mix. Who did she think she was, trying to psychoanalyze me? Where had she picked up-

Okay, dumb question.

Without lifting my head, because that was too much effort, I looked at my notebook that was gathering dust in the corner. A trip to Pony Hope and back would take a full day. That was if I made it short. I'd be more likely to be gone at least a day and a half. I couldn't take off and do that right now. Phobia was out of her mind. I wasn't even convinced that trip was worth making if I wasn't busy with other things.

I banged my head on the desk. "Lord, give me peace."

There was immediately a knock at the door to mock my prayers. I groaned, but lifted up my head. "Come in!"

The door opened to reveal Lántiān holding a teacup on a saucer with her teeth. The teenaged filly brought the steaming cup over to the desk and set it down. "I brought you tea, ma'am. I hoped it would help calm you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. I still hadn't figured this filly out. What did she want out of me that she was bringing me things to try to appease me? "Thank you, but it wasn't necessary. Are your brothers and daughter doing well this morning?"

She looked back at the door. "They are feeling- confined, ma'am. I think they would like to be able to go outside. Ponies are not meant to be cramped up in buildings all day, especially young colts."

I leaned back. "There's a fenced backyard to this place. They may go outside, as long as you supervise them. Is there anything else I can do for you, young lady?"

She looked purposefully at the teacup. "You have not told me if you find the way I brewed you tea acceptable, ma'am."

I looked at the steaming cup. The thought crossed my mind she might try poisoning me, but I dismissed that idea as paranoia. "I typically don't drink hot tea. I drink it chilled, with enough sugar in it to give an elephant diabetes."

Her eyes went wide. "Ma'am, why would you do that to your tea?"

A smirk formed on my face as I used my hoof to pull the teacup closer to myself. "It's a southern thing. I spent most of my life in the south, and picked up the majority of my habits there. I'm practically a southern native." I gave the steaming cup a sniff. It had a faint scent of ginger, not my normal cup of tea (pun intended), but not unpleasant. "I will try this after it cools a little. I'm not used to using my hooves for picking up hot items, and I am trying to avoid using my horn at all today."

Her expression shifted from one form of mortified to another. "I apologize, ma'am. I was not thinking."

I tilted my head and tried again to figure her out. I supposed it was time to just cut to the chase. "I'm assuming you are in need of something. What do you need?"

She bit her lip and held her head high and defiant. The sudden shift in mood was puzzling. "I wish to know more about you, ma'am. Your angry words at that traitor to the pony race upset my brothers and daughter. We have a right to know more about our guardian."

I looked at the computer, and thought about how I needed to be checking for that email, and using it to make calls. I also needed to call Wild Growth to make sure I could afford to pay a foalsitter.

"I have tasks that need to be done," I said flatly. "If you have specific questions, ask them."

Her expression shifted yet again, with her ears dropping. She sat down and looked to the floor. "You mentioned a spouse that you killed, ma'am. How?- I would like this explained."

My brow furrowed and a sneer spread across my lips. "Have they taught you nothing?! I refuse to discuss it. The television has a connection to the internet, and you can do a basic search there. Search for information about the Cataclysm of Riverview." I forced a more neutral express. "It is best you keep your siblings from seeing any of it. The images can be disturbing."

She shrank back slightly, but returned to her defiant look. "I have them distracted with your American cartoons and food right now. I will find the opportunity to do this search. I have more questions, ma'am."

"Continue," I ordered in a half-growl.

Her defiant look didn't drop. "You mention the South, ma'am. Is the South different than here? What is this region referred to then? Is the southern region referring to Texas? I have heard of Texas."

My hostility came up short. It made sense she didn't know much about US geography. I would certainly fail any geography test focused on China, so I couldn't be upset about it. "The South is in reference to the southeastern part of America, and Texas is usually included in that, but is only a portion. I've never lived in Texas. I lived in South Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas out of the southern states, but there are more southern states than those four. They share some history and culture, and are often grouped together."

She nodded. "I understand now, ma'am. You also said things that seem to mean you are not from there."

I frowned. "I practically am from there, as I only spent perhaps a year or two outside the south, but no, I wasn't born there. The hospital I was born in closed back in the nineties, but it wasn't far from where we are now- in a suburb town called Aurora. Returning to Denver is, in a sense, really starting over at the beginning for me. This is considered the Rocky Mountain region, named for the mountains you can see in the distance when you are outside. I'll see that you get learning materials about US geography and history. Do you have any further questions for the moment?"

She refused to take the hint that I was ready for her to leave me in peace. "You were just speaking to some mare that called you mom. Do you have foals of your own, ma'am?"

"They really left you ignorant," I grumbled, but she didn't shirk away. I sighed. "That was Phobia Remedy, a Dreamwarden like your mother, and she is my only daughter. My wife was Ton- is Arbiter, the newest Dreamwarden."

That made her step back in shock. "So… you are our aunt then, ma'am?"

"I'm the person put in charge of your care, no more and no less," I replied in the neutral tone. "I have things I must attend to in order to make sure you get proper care. You seem to be just throwing whatever random question comes into your head at me, and I don't have time for it. If you have more questions, compile an organized list of them, and we can address them later. Right now you are an unneeded distraction. Go attend to your siblings and daughter, and let me work."

For the first time I thought I saw something that might have passed for hurt appear across her face, but it came and went so fast I could have been imagining it. She stood and stiffened her posture. "As you wish, ma'am."

I watched her walk out and shut the door. I told her I didn't want to be disturbed. So she shouldn't be upset at being told to leave. My work was for their sake, so she should be grateful.

Wild Growth was next on my list to contact. I found her number in my contact book and carefully dialed it on the desk phone with my hoof (it was extremely annoying having to be doing things without my magic). A moment later the speaker phone started ringing, and I waited patiently for her to pick up the line.

"Hello? Is this Sunset, Starlight, or Trixie? If it is Trixie, then no, for the last time, you cannot perform any firework shows on that property. It is against city ordinances there."

I wondered how many times Trixie had asked. She'd only been here a day or two. "It's Sunset."

"Oh!" Wild Growth all but growled over the line. "Well, I needed to talk to you anyway. I had debated just calling federal authorities and having you hauled off for questioning, but I wanted to give you a chance to explain first."

For the life of me I couldn't imagine what she was going on about. "Explain myself about what?!"

I heard stomping and things being thrown around on the other end of the line. She was pissed, beyond pissed. I hoped she wasn't near any walls, or she might bring whatever building she was in down. She might be magically burnt out, but she was still stronger than any living creature had a right to be.

"I just completed a tour of one of your secret labs. This one is in Nevada. You abruptly shut it down a few years ago, ring any bells?" She snarled over the line.

I only knew of one lab that had been in Nevada that I shut down. "I'm familiar with it. I shut it down because it's researchers had gone radical Harmonist on me, and started attempting to use our work in temporary transformation research to try to make an alicorn. They didn't get very far, obviously, but I couldn't allow that to operate."

"I see that you cleared everything out, but what about the thing they were keeping in the underground cave!?"

"Underground cave? The whole lab was underground. What are you talking about?"

The ruckus stopped on the other side of the line. "You don't know?"

"If I knew about anything else there I'd say so. What underground cave? What did you find? That place should have been stripped of anything of value."

I heard her taking a long breath. "You really don't know, do you? I suppose you could be lying, but I don't see why you would deny it to me. Where can I find the contact information for any of the researchers who were here? I need to find them. They need to be charged with crimes against intelligent species."

Crimes against intelligent species? "Did you find some sort of test subject? I promise you, I never knew of any such thing. If I had, they would have been arrested, not fired. I shut them down before they could start testing."

"Yeah, there's definitely a test subject, and she definitely ain't an alicorn," Wild grumbled. "I'll be sending someone to question you still, and I will be getting the feds and Equestrians involved in this, so don't be surprised if they show up at your door. I'm not having my tenure as head of SPEC tainted by these kinds of projects. If you're truly innocent you don't have anything to worry about, but I'm going to see that justice is done."

I suppressed my curiosity. Whatever this was, it was from a part of my life that was over. "I was just calling about my allowance. I need to hire a foalsitter for Méng for overnights. I also need to pay for tutors, toys, food, and probably half a dozen things that I'm not thinking about at this moment."

She snorted. "Just send me an email with your budgetary needs and I'll see that they are taken care of expediently. I understand you looking for work was going to be hard as it was, given your notoriety, and it just became harder. I'm not going to leave those foals lacking basic needs because of that. I don't want you to stop looking for your own independent source of income, but I'll make sure everyone is taken care of in the meantime."

I sighed with relief. "Thank you and bless you, Wild. Your generosity is unmatched."

"Save your honeyed words for the foals. I'm just doing the right thing. Now, let me go, because I have a huge shitty mess you left me to clean up."

The phone line clicked, and left me wondering when I would have federal investigators showing up at my door to question me about what went on at that lab. I honestly didn't know what I was going to tell them; the truth as far as I knew it, but that might not be enough to satisfy them. I hadn't even gotten to tell her that the head there was Doctor Rossman, and they'd need to question him about it- although I had no idea what rock he scurried under after I shut him down. I suppose that could be included in my email to her. Calling her back right this second wasn't a good idea.

I turned my attention to the computer, and tried to remember my old email password. There were still things that needed to be done, and I could worry about being arrested for things I wasn't aware I even did later.

Chapter 10: Mistakes Repeated

I had accomplished all the work I could come up with to do alone. Wild had replied to my email with a dramatic increase of my credit line, I'd made some calls and found a sitter who would be available to start tonight, and I'd forwarded the foalsitter's information to the guards at the gate. Everything I immediately needed to take care of was done. I glanced at my neglected notebook in the corner and immediately turned away from it. That wasn't on my list of things to do, and I wasn't sure if it would ever be something to do.

The tea turned out to be reasonably good, even if it would have been better hot. That was no fault of the filly who prepared it, though. After finishing that, I gave another look around the office. I supposed I could research those so-called Blessingists while I had the time, or research potential sources of income, but my heart just wasn't in either of those things at the moment. That left me with doing the thing I was putting off, check on the foals.

I walked out of the office, and as soon as I did, I heard my own voice coming from the living room.

"-from this moment on, I renounce my association with the philosophy of Shimmerism. It is a fundamentally speciesist philosophy, and it's filthy for being so. There is no room in a loving society for such hate. Those hit hardest by the tragedy in Riverview were the ponies, and the ones who were there giving help and aid with kindness and compassion were humans. I tried to reach out and lead the other Shimmerists to a better course, but they won't let their hatred go. To anyone listening to this who was ever inspired to take up the flag of Shimmerism by my words, I want to tell you right now I was wrong!"

I recognized the speech; it was part of the final one I ever gave. I continued out and saw Lántiān positioned where she could look out the glass doors towards the backyard while still watching my speech on the television. At the moment, her attention was more focused on the television, although she kept making glances out towards the back to monitor her brothers. Qīng Yǔ was laying on the ground beside her, watching in fascination as Lántiān's tail flipped about in a catlike manner.

"I see you took my advice," I said aloud. The filly jumped with a start, and her daughter scrambled not to be trampled accidentally. Lántiān immediately checked her daughter over to make sure she hadn't been hurt and did another quick glance at the outside before turning back to me.

The teen gestured towards the television with a wing and a look of disgust on her face. "How could you say these things, ma'am? They are slander! Shimmerists do not hate humans; we pity them for their disability and wish to help them better themselves."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry no one told you sooner, but many actually do hate humans, and those Shimmerists that don't hate humans still look down upon them as lesser creatures. This isn't right, and it took me a long time to realize that I was still unjustly prejudiced, even if I didn't hate humans. I was treating them as less worthy than myself, less capable, unequal, like they were a problem to be solved, and it was wrong."

She glared at me. "They are unequal and less capable, ma'am!"

I walked over beside her and looked out into the back yard. The two older colts were doing short sprint races back and forth from one side of the yard to the other and back again. Méng had huddled up between the shadow of the wooden fence and the shade of a bush looking unhappily at the bright sky. "Why do you say that? What makes them unequal and less capable?"

"They don't have the magic to shape and change the world, ma'am," she replied in a boastful tone.

"Some humans have magic; some of them have awe-inspiring magic," I countered.

"They are exceptions which should have been ponies, ma'am. They gave up their true gift of magic for a lesser and weaker form."

"So, you believe that magical strength determines worth?" I asked. "How about me? I'm magically weak, yet others constantly remind me about how much I have influenced the world. There are ponies such as Wild Growth, Sunrise Storm, Starlight Glimmer, Sapphire Sky, El Capitan, and more that have magic levels that make the rest of ours look like nothing, not to mention the alicorns in Equestria. Are we all less deserving than they are?"

"No, because we are all ponies, and you forgot Qiánchéng De Érzi on your list, ma'am."

"Oh yes, Érzi," I said with a shake of my head. "He is strong, not in the same league as those others I named, but I guess your country needed to find some willing poster-pony since none of the truly powerful will have anything to do with what they promote. Érzi was almost certainly the pony that gave the order to blackmail your mother with your lives; I'd bet every hair in my tail on it. If that is what someone does with their magical power, I think I'd rather deal with the magicless humans. Take it from someone who once did similar despicable things in the name of the greater good."

She didn't seem pleased with me putting her glorious leader down or pointing out how that glorious leader had led to her current predicament. "Humans have ruined this planet; they pervert nature purely for their greed; they are violent and cruel, ma'am."

I had to laugh. "Isn't magic by definition perverting natural law? Our magic, our very bodies, are not even supposed to exist in this reality. I also thought you said humans were incapable of shaping the world, but now you say they are capable of ruining it? Ponies are more than capable of being violent and cruel; I can name Sha'am Maut, your president's little pet Subutai, and Érzi himself as examples of violent and cruel ponies. You may not have heard in those news reports as of yet, but there was also a particularly nasty one by the name of Poly Glot, who I still have nightmares about. Are you saying there aren't good and kind humans? No humans that help make the world a better place?"

The filly snorted and flapped her wings in frustration as she shuffled her legs, her foal cutely trying to mimic her mother like it was a game. "Shimmerists wish to make the humans like us, so we can all work together. Our leaders will someday find the magic to change humans to ponies, and the humans shall be happy and grateful for it once they realize the gift they’ve been given."

"You forgot to say ma'am that time around," I observed. "Little filly, I already know that magic, and I will do anything to stand in the way of anyone who tries to do what you suggest."

She stared at me with a dumbfounded look. "You're- you're lying. You cannot know that spell, ma'am."

"I know it. It was confirmed by Twilight Sparkle herself that I wasn't bluffing after I made that claim," I said with a satisfied grin. "No one will be learning it from me. They had the Dreamwardens block me- with my blessing- from ever communicating or helping to disseminate how to do it, and I am too weak to cast it myself. I will remain the only pony from Earth that knows that spell for a long time, hopefully, generations."

The filly shook her head in disbelief. "It is the right of humans to have that spell used, ma'am."

"Humans have rights now? My, you are inconsistent," I mockingly replied. "They have a right to self-determination, a right that forcing transformations denies, and China would force it- just like Sunset Shimmer did. You also forget there are plenty of ponies who have used that right to be turned back to humans. Your arguments are not very good, the products of systematic propaganda that requires you not to think. Your mother must be so embarrassed."

I'd have said the devastated expression on Lántiān's face was one of a child who'd been told that Santa Claus wasn't real, but it was more as if it was a child that had just been told that Santa Claus personally hated them. Perhaps I had gone too far in pulling her mother into it. It was certainly a low blow, but I was not going to candy-coat things for her. This filly needed some tough love.

"Your mother died protecting you from ponies that were willing to murder you in order to get what they wanted from her," I growled. "How must she feel hearing you defend them so fervently? Perhaps you should have been the one threatening your brothers on your government's behalf to try to force the mare that gave you life to do what they wanted. You could have threatened to slice your brothers' throats, or crush your daughter's skull beneath your self righteo-"

The next thing I knew, I was smashed back against the wall and then crumpled on the ground. My head hurt like hell. She'd somehow gotten me in both the nose and the horn, at least it felt like it. It had happened so fast I only had the pain to go by. I was reasonably sure it was a hoof that had connected; she had a strong buck.

I looked up at her. Her wings were spread, and she was crouched aggressively. She was breathing hard through her nose with gritted teeth. I saw her daughter had fled over to a corner, and the tiny filly was now wailing in distress. I wondered if the colts outside had noticed. If they hadn't, they would notice something was up soon enough. I pulled myself slowly to my hooves with a pained groan. I needed to stop doing stupid things to get myself hurt.

"Well," I said as my breath returned, but paused as I blew some blood from my nose out onto the hardwood floor. "My point is made, proving ponies can be violent. I probably deserved that, though."

Lántiān settled back slightly on her haunches but still looked ready to pounce at any second. "I'll take whatever punishment you give me, as I should not have struck my guardian, but I will not apologize, ma'am."

I shook my head slowly, partially to clear it, partly to say her apology was unnecessary. "I don't expect you to apologize. Go soothe your daughter. She just watched you attack another pony in rage, and she's terrified."

She looked at her crying filly and her entire posture transformed into one of worry. She immediately went over to the filly and then looked like someone struck her harder than she struck me when her daughter flinched away from her.

"I think seeing your daughter do that is adequate punishment," I said through the pain. "Remember, filly, ponies are just as capable of violence as humans, and everyone being ponies wouldn't make us all get along. It would be best if you reflected on that. You're not a sheltered princess anymore, and it's time you abandon your fantasies."

She glared back at me. "You're a cruel pony, ma'am."

I nodded. "I don't want to be, but sometimes it's needed,” I closed my eyes and took a breath. “I have a task for you, once your daughter is calmed down. I was hoping you could help me compile a list of what I need to get each of you. My budget has been expanded, and we will be taking a trip into town within a few days to shop. Foods you all enjoy, toys for the younger foals, items to help you care for your daughter, you said you desired art supplies, more personalized bedding, those kinds of things."

She looked at me in shock. "You will still give me the art supplies after I struck you, ma'am? Why?"

"Even if it hurt like hell, I still have a responsibility to be as good a guardian as I can," I said with a snort and watched as even more blood-splattered from my nose onto the floor. Damn it; she got me good. "You need to find things that bring you satisfaction and enjoyment. I have no intention of treating you just as the help, even if I rely heavily upon you. I may be cruel, as you said, but I want to be better than that, even if I don't always succeed." I touched a hoof to my nose and felt the blood all over it. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go put some pressure on this thing before I bleed out. Your tea was good, by the way, thank you for it."

I started to walk away, but she called out to me. "Ma'am! I have a favor to ask, in regards to my needs."

"What is it?" I asked impatiently over my shoulder.

"I have been stuck on the ground for days, ma'am. I need a few hours of extended flight after I have settled Qīng Yǔ. It is not healthy for me to remain out of the air for so long."

Which meant her flying off who knew where right after she had a significant argument with me. That would usually have 'attempting to run away' written all over it, but I knew she wasn't, not when her brothers and daughter were here. "Very well. Let me take care of this bleeding, and then I will take over watching your brothers and your daughter. Please keep to the air as much as you can, don't go landing on random houses or buildings when you don't know who will mind it, and don't talk to strangers. You'll have two hours, and then I expect you back here. Does that satisfy your needs?"

She nodded at me. "Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Perhaps we can make it a scheduled daily routine if you can be punctual in your returns. Now I need to take care of my nose."

I made my way back to the stairs, and I reflected on the conversation. I should have perhaps been a little kinder, and I wondered why I was so nasty to her. The filly was trying her best in an extremely stressful situation, and I wasn't making things easy for her. It was the Shimmerism at issue and my anger at myself for my past beliefs. I couldn't lash out at myself, so I lashed out at her. I always did this crap, and the cycle never stopped. My becoming a Shimmerist in a first place was a product of me lashing out at how horrible a human I had been. Lord knew I always directed my self-hate at the wrong targets.

Maybe I needed a psychiatrist. I'd add that to my list of things to find, but first, I needed to find an ice pack for my nose.

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.>"

Chapter 12: Dealing With Challenges

Some days the world laughed at me.

There are things that people can take for granted when they've done them a certain way so long. One thing I took for granted was how much I used my horn for everyday tasks.

The foals all sat behind me in the kitchen, as I stared up at the cabinets that had the necessary food in them. Oh, there were a few things in the refrigerator, but all the dry goods were kept high. It might seem silly, being a pony and keeping essential goods in cabinets that weren't easy to reach, but with my ability to just grab what I wanted with my magic I never had a problem with it. It was a holdover from how I stored things when I was a human that I never stopped doing. In my old house back in Riverview I'd even done it this way, since Ton- since my wife could just fly up and grab what she wanted as well. I now had a new appreciation for what earth ponies endured.

"Why are they so high?" Shǔguāng asked, staring up at the cabinets.

I scolded. "Because that's where I keep things."

"But why even put cabinets that high for ponies?" He asked. "They should be lower."

"Because this place is for hosting people with lots of money that SPEC wants to impress, and most of those people are humans."

"Why do they want to impress the humans?"

"So the humans will give money to SPEC."

"What's SPEC?"

"Something I'm not explaining right now."

"Why do they have stuff high?"

"Because humans are taller than us, and it isn't a problem for them."

"Why not make it all low, since they can reach stuff low easier than we can reach stuff that's high?"

"Because we want to be accommodating to them."

"But why is there pony stuff in other places in the house and not here?"

"Because it just is," I snapped, not remarking that there were cabinets lower than these and I just failed to utilize them. "Can you stop asking questions?"

"But why-"

I spun around and glared, and whatever he was going to ask died on his lips.

Hé Líng decided to start immediately after I was done silencing his brother "<Why are we sitting here? Where's lunch?>"

I groaned. I had earlier cursed about the fact the items were out of reach, but had done it in English. Apparently Hé Líng didn't pick up on what was going on, and I didn't feel like another round of questions in Mandarin.

"<We need some help getting lunch,>" I replied in a gruff tone that I hoped would cut off any more questions. "<Everyone follow me. We're going to walk next door for a minute. Méng should be safe on the couch by himself for a few minutes.>"

Rather than worry about whether Qīng Yǔ would be able to keep up, or would even understand she needed to follow me, I simply bit down on the scruff of her neck and transferred her to my back. Thankfully, she put up no protest about it, and she simply gripped onto me. I then led the two brothers out of the kitchen and out the front door of the house.

It was summer, and that meant it was hot outside, although not as hot as the summer days in South Carolina, plus it was a dry heat rather than a humid one. The mountains were visible on the western horizon, and a red brick wall surrounded the mostly vacant condo complex. There was an unmarked van that either paparazzi or government agents parked just across the street from the gate. I didn't see any signs of reporters out by the gate, and smiled that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I spotted Hé Líng eagerly eying the complex's swimming pool, and decided that might be a good distraction for the colts that required me to only to supervise- if they knew how to swim.

"<Follow me,>" I instructed, and led them all to the condo next door.

I gave the front door of the neighboring condo a few knocks and then patiently waited. After less than half a minute the door opened to reveal Trixie standing with a bathrobe on and a steaming cup of coffee hovering beside her.

Trixie yawned wide and looked at them sleepily. "The great and powerful Trixie doesn't do magic shows until at least an hour after noon."

I smiled pleasantly at her. "Hi Trixie, I was wondering if you could give us some assistance. My horn is still on the fritz, and I have all the food I need for lunch out of my physical reach."

She arched an eyebrow. "Do I get included in lunch if I help? All we have here is a dozen varieties of coffee and twice as many types of alcohol."

"Of course," I replied.

Trixie's mouth curved into a big grin as she set her coffee mug down somewhere out of sight. "Then the great and magnanimous Trixie will be more than happy to help you with your tasks as you wait to overcome your distressing temporary disability! No one is as helpful and as caring for those in need as the great and helpful Trixie!"

I gestured at Hé Líng. "I'd also appreciate it if you could cast the spell so he can understand English."

Trixie whipped back her mane dramatically. "Once Trixie has been given dessert in addition to lunch."

I rolled my eyes. "Dessert it is. Bless you, Trixie."

She turned to me and blinked. "Why'd you say that? I didn't sneeze."

"It's a way of saying thank you in addition to what is said after a sneeze," I explained.

She grimaced and flicked her tail. "Earth languages and expressions are weird."

The sound of the gate opening caught my ear, and I turned to see a black car driving in. They were here much quicker than I thought they'd be. So much for having lunch. "You can just go next door with the foals and make yourself at home in the kitchen. I think I'm going to be busy for a little while."

Trixie looked out at the car and frowned. "Right." She turned to the foals. "Come along, and let's get some chow."

I transferred the filly from my back to Trixie's and stepped away, and started walking out towards the car as it parked. The car doors opened and I saw that the agents consisted of a human man, a pitch black earth pony mare, and a dull brown unicorn stallion. I took a second look at the earth pony mare and realized she wasn't an earth pony at all, but instead a crystal pony. I only knew of one crystal pony that was pitch black, and I didn't know if I should be more honored or worried that they thought she was necessary for dealing with me. Any regular crystal pony would have been more than enough for dealing with me, even if I wasn't dealing with magical exhaustion. Having her here was overkill.

"Sunset Blessing," the man greeted as he stepped towards me. "I'm Anthony Heller, here on behalf of the US government. We would like to ask you a few questions in regards to an investigation."

I stopped a few feet from them and sat down as he was pulling out his identification. "No need for the ID, Agent Heller. We've never met, but I've followed your career since ETS. I'm a little surprised such a high profile inquisition came out to meet me." I pointed a leg at the crystal mare. "Don't you think she is more than a little excessive? In case you haven't heard, I'm currently suffering magic exhaustion, and I'm not exactly the strongest magic user when at my best."

"There is something to be said about how skill is normally more important than raw power with a mage, and your reputation suggests that you could be quite formidable in that regard. We want the best when dealing with you," Heller replied. "But to clarify, procedure says when questioning any pony in regards to potential federal crimes we are required to have sufficient enough crystal pony backup in case of trouble. I think she counts as being sufficient, and she also just happened to be close by when the call to come question you came in."

I had no way of being sure if he was being honest about her just happening to be the closest available crystal pony, but decided not to press the issue. "Well then, ask your questions. I don't have access to my old files, so I can only answer them as best I can from memory."

He nodded. "Understood and noted. Before we begin, there are some other matters that I feel need to be addressed, off the record."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"Your decision to move to this area is of some concern to members in my department," Heller explained. "It seems you are deliberately putting yourself at risk, and we would like to better understand why. Especially if we have to come out and try to save you at some point."

At risk? "What are you talking about? Why am I endangering myself by living in Denver?"

Heller frowned at me. "Surely you know, there are radical Shimmerist elements in the region that very much want you dead."

"Is that all?" I asked with a dismissive laugh. "There are always people that want me dead. I was told that- that abomination of a pony that attacked my wife was there for that very purpose." Things might have been better if he had easy access to me and killed me. Maybe everything wouldn't have gone to hell in Riverview if he had.

"These Shimmerists are in connection to a particular lab you shut down- a different lab than the one we need to question you about," Heller further explained. "This one had the ponies arrested in regards to treason against the United States. Does this ring any bells?"

"I remember that one," I said slowly. "What I seized from them ended up being critical in my own research. I don't see where they are a threat though, unless you let those treasonous fools out of jail."

Heller shook his head. "Those researchers had families who weren't arrested, and they've gone to ground after making it very clear they intend vengeance. These aren't reasonable people. They may well attack you and the Dreamwarden's foals without care for their own safety. In their mind you ruined their lives and took their loved ones away from them."

"It doesn't matter where I go, Agent Heller. I am no more at risk on their doorstep than in New York, Paris, or Tokyo. If they want me so badly they will find me," I replied wearily. "Colorado is one of the few places I have ties to that don't involve me dominating its local politics. I needed to get away from all of it. That's the whole reason I'm here, no more and no less. Please, just get on with your questioning."

"As you wish," he replied gruffly. He then signaled the unicorn agent and the stallion pulled out a recording device.

My interrogation went on for most of an hour. There wasn't much in the way of surprise questions. I detailed as best I could what I knew about the staff at the Nevada lab- which wasn't much since I was only familiar with their lead, Doctor Rossman. I explained the circumstances that led to my severing ties with them, which involved a staff member who wasn't in agreement with the rest of the staff leaking to me plans Rossman had been making for experiments in trying to create an alicorn. Denying that I knew of any experiments which had taken place, and confirming I believed I dismissed them before any such thing could happen. Explaining that I had not reported anything as I thought I had stopped it before any crime could happen, and didn't think they could continue without SPEC resources, and not wishing to have people prosecuted for crimes that they may have intended, but ultimately did not do.

There was also a line of questions that I had been expecting and dreading, ones related to the projects Wild had been grilling me on. It wasn't like I didn't want to answer, or want to instruct them to just go ask the Dreamwardens because I had no earthly idea what on God's green Earth I was contracted to make. Compelled contracts were ironclad, and I could not break them. I'd myself tried in vain to find out what I'd been doing, but both Phobia and Tonya both flatly refused to discuss it with me. It hurt, especially in regards to Tonya, having them refuse to be open with me about it, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

"I think that is enough for now," Heller finally said. "If we have any more questions we will follow up at a later date. Currently you aren't being charged with anything, and are simply a person of interest in this investigation."

"Anthony!" A voice called out from somewhere behind me. I turned and saw Starlight trotting out of her condo towards us with a big smile on her face.

Heller smiled in turn. "Starlight, it is good to see you. I was not aware you would be here."

Starlight came to a stop beside me, still beaming at Heller. "Wild Growth is giving me and Trixie somewhere to stay away from the main hustle and bustle. It's great to see you too. I only ever seem to see you when there's some crisis happening." She paused and looked at me, then to the crystal pony, then back to Heller, then frowned. "Okay… what is she in trouble for, and should I be concerned the world is going to blow up or something?"

I laid my ears back at her. "Starlight! A little faith, please."

She gave me an embarrassed look. "Sorry, but I'm a reformed villain and I am friends with several reformed villains. I know nopony is perfect, and old habits sometimes die hard."

The onyx crystal mare looked ill and Starlight redirected her attention to her. "Something wrong?"

The mare shook her head. "My fault for trying to read your magic. You top elite level powers always feel a little overwhelming, even for me. You'd have to be a crystal pony to really appreciate the difference between an average pony's magic and a pony like you, Wild Growth, or an alicorn."

Starlight blinked. "Oh… um, sorry about that. I hope you feel better," She turned back to Heller. "You were saying about my friend here?"

"As far as I know at this time there has been no wrongdoing on Miss Blessing's part, and if there was, it was not something she did recently," Heller explained. "I wish I could stay and chat, but we really must be going. Have a pleasant day."

"Okay…goodbye," Starlight said in a disappointed voice. She then turned to me. "I just woke up a few minutes ago. I hadn't planned on being awake all night watching your foal."

I watched as the agents got back in the car and it slowly left the area. "Thank you for doing that. I've arranged for a foalsitter for him going forward, at least for the time being. Wild is moving me, and I need to see if the same person will be available there. I'm not even sure where I'm going yet, other than it's some historic mansion."

"Mansion? Well, at least it's an upgrade in accommodations," Starlight replied with a grin.

I frowned. "If it is a historic mansion I doubt it will have much in it that will be easy for ponies to use. It shouldn't be too much trouble for me personally, and probably not Lántiān, but the younger foals might need extra help with things there. I suppose we'll work it out though. It isn't as if we have much choice."

"I'm sure Wild Growth will give you leeway to make changes where needed," Starlight said.

I nodded. "Yeah, she said she was considering giving it to one of my grandfoals when they're older. That assumes that it has been made pony ready, and that means someone has to actually do the remodelling before then. I guess I'm her handymare."

Starlight looked down towards the ground. "About earlier… I didn't mean to come off as insensitive to what you're going through and push you to do things you aren't ready to do yet."

"And may never be," I added in, then sighed. "But I understand what you were trying to say. Wild told me she was helping me in part because Twilight Sparkle said she thought I could do good. I remember Princess Luna also seemed to think I could as well. Luna even has an open invitation for me to call upon her in my dreams when she is on Earth. She wants to mentor me."

Starlight's head shot up and she stared at me wide-eyed. "Luna wants you as a personal student? And you didn't say yes?"

"I didn't say yes or no. I told her I just wanted to be away from everything right now," I said quietly. "I thought I was doing a good job of that, but my wife and Yinyu decided to force me out of my personal seclusion. I still don't understand why they thought I'd be a good caregiver."

Starlight glanced back at the house then back at me. "Those foals have just gone through a major loss of the most important family member in their life, while at the same time trying to cope with the idea that family member is now a permanent spirit in the dream realm and likely becoming more alien to them by the day. Tell me, does that sound familiar? Is there any other pony other than you who can fully emphasize with what they're going through?"

"They haven't really talked about it much," I replied.

"But you know they are thinking about it," Starlight stressed. "I doubt you've done much talking about your own loss, based on your outburst, but I can tell it's been constantly on your mind. Just because they aren't talking about it doesn't mean much. It's only a matter of time before they are having their own outbursts."

I shook my head. "I'm not a psychologist."

She stomped and I involuntarily flinched. "Horsefeathers! I learned a lot about you on my own back when Twilight suggested I try getting to know you and help you. I know you would study the psych profiles of everyone you were going to try to influence so you would know what to say to them. You're also a public speaker who spends time reading the crowd and a politician who reads situations and plans accordingly. You might not be a psychologist in a traditional sense, but you have always employed those skills. I am your friend, and part of a friend's job is reminding their friends how capable they really are."

I didn't reply, afraid that if I did I would fire off another angry retort. Starlight watched me for a moment then laid a hoof on my shoulder. "Look, I can't understand what you are going through right now, much as I want to, but those foals might. Right now you're the friend they need, because you're the only one who can possibly understand what they're going through. Maybe in time they can be the friends you need for the same reason. I think that might be why Yinyu and your wife pushed for you to be the guardian. Just consider that, okay?"

"I'll consider it," I answered, although she neglected to think about how those foals had no reason to feel responsibility for their mother's death, while I had every reason to feel responsibility for my wife's. "I guess I should be getting inside. Trixie is watching the foals at the moment, and it isn't that I don't trust her, but-"

"But she's Trixie," Starlight finished for me. "I'll come with you. I'm only needed on business a few sporadic days over the next two weeks, and today isn't one of them. It's part of the reason I wanted to get housed away from things while I was on this current trip. I could be on-world in case anyone here needed to get in contact with me quickly- if there was something that happened on a day I wasn't working that I needed to know about, but I could treat this as a mini-vacation on the days I wasn't needed."

I smiled. "I appreciate it. I need all the help I can get." My smile instantly fell as I saw Lántiān coming in for a landing. I had told her that she needed to be back before two hours were up, and it had been over an hour. It was just that I had wanted time to appreciate the respite from her. Hopefully she at least enjoyed her time away from me.

I forced my smile back on for Starlight. "Go on in and I'll be behind you in a minute. I just need to check on Lántiān before we join you."

Starlight looked over at the filly and her ears sagged. "I'll do that. By the way, I stand by what I said about them needing you as a friend, but I think she especially needs you even more than her siblings do. Good luck with her."

I groaned internally. She might need me, but I needed an aspirin every time I was around her.

Author's Notes:

Chapter 13: Get Away

Lántiān landed in the grass near me, and I walked over to meet her. "Thank you for being punctual. Did you enjoy your flight?"

She finished a quick stretch of her wings before doing a quick flap of them before returning them back to her side's. "Yes, ma'am. Where are my brothers and my daughter?"

I gestured with my head towards the house. "They're inside. Trixie is watching them, and Starlight just joined them."

Her brow narrowed. "The clownmare and the traitor?"

"My friends, and you need to try to be a little more respectful towards them," I stressed. It seemed giving her time away hadn't cooled her off that much.

She gave an agitated flap of her wings and a flick of her tail. "Yes, ma'am. I won't call the clownmare or the traitor what they are to their faces- or would it be more respectful for me to only address them directly that way instead of describing them that way in private?"

I slapped a hoof to my face. Of all the disrespectful… "You will not use those terms at all, or any other disparaging names." I poked her with my leg. ”You don't have to like them, but you will not be rude."

She glared at me. "Very well, ma'am."

Try to be nice. How hard can it be to be nice to her? "So… where did you fly to? Did you see anything you thought was interesting?"

"I don't know the names of any locations around here, and you forbade me from talking to anyone, ma'am. I didn't even land anywhere because I was unsure what was allowed in this country," she said in a short tone.

"You flew the entire time you were gone?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, there weren't any strong winds to wear me out, ma'am. Did you think I'm a weak flyer?"

"Well, no. I just assumed since you were young that it might be harder to stay in the air that long," I explained.

That earned me a flat look. "How much do you even know about foals and teenagers, ma'am?"

I glanced downward. "Admitably, not much. My own daughter was full grown when ETS happened, and I never really foalsat for her. I showed up for my grandfoals' births, birthday parties, holidays, and an occasional just drop in, but I was never really involved with them."

She visibly groaned. "I was required as a prospective mother to learn everything there is to know about pony growth and development, ma'am. It would seem I know more than you. It's unfair that my siblings and I are in your care instead of them being all under mine."

I snorted. "Complain to your mother about it. I didn't ask to take care of you. Your mother and my wife forced this on me."

Lántiān stomped a hoof and turned away from me. "She shouldn't have even killed herself!" The sudden fervor in her voice out of nowhere took me off guard and I took a few steps back.

"So what if the authorities wanted knowledge?" she continued to growl and hiss. "Was that knowledge more important than all of us? Were we not important enough for her? She could have given it to them and stayed with us! She could have said we mattered more than whatever her duties were for once. Instead she was selfish and tossed us to some stranger."

The filly broke then into sobs and tears. "She could have cared."

I had never been the comforting type, and I didn't know what I was supposed to do here. She just went from annoyed at me to sobbing about her mother at a drop of a pin. How was I supposed to respond to that?

"She died so you could get away," I said as soothingly as I could manage. "I don't know much about your relationship, but I know she loved you enough to die to protect you."

She rounded on me. "She could have just told them what they wanted to know and everything would have been good! We would be together, back home, treated well, and safe!"

My eyebrows narrowed. "And the entire rest of the world would have suffered for your sake. Does that not matter to you? You selfish little filly!"

"The world outside of China," she growled.

I advanced on her quickly and slapped her across the face. "So, it's okay for me, my daughter, my grandfoals, and all the people living in this country and elsewhere to suffer and die so you can have your precious little life kept the same?! Your mother and I have never been fond of one another, but I can tell you one thing; your mother had an impossible choice to make, and she did the best she fucking could! Have some God-damned respect for the mare who not only gave you life, but gave her own to make sure you had one that wasn't stained with the blood of millions- if not billions of lives!"

She sneered at me. "And do me and my brothers not matter?"

I sneered right back. "If you didn't matter to her she could have just let them do whatever they wanted to you and told them it didn't matter. Don't you get it? You were her breaking point. If they had hurt you she would have cracked under the pressure. She'd have traded the world for you, and that's why she died making sure you'd be safe."

The filly sat there snorting and breathing heavily. I was half expecting her to pound me in the face again. After all, I had just struck her. She surprised me by forcing herself to attention and holding my gaze. "May I be excused to go attend to my brothers and daughter, ma'am?"

I waved a hoof dismissively. "Go on. I don't think there is any point in carrying on this conversation any further at the moment. You'd probably beat the crap out of me if we did, and there wouldn't be much I could do to stop you. I still expect you to compile that list I asked for, but we both need time to cool our tempers."

"Agreed, ma'am," she said through gritted teeth. She then turned and marched back into the condo, shoving Starlight aside as the unicorn stepped out onto the patio.

Starlight glanced back at the filly then walked out to meet me. "I'm guessing your talk with her didn't go that great."

"That's an understatement," I replied.

"Want to talk about it?"

"She's an ungrateful, disrespectful, selfish brat!" I declared, stomping a hoof with each word.

Starlight frowned. "I might not be a parent, but my experience with teens is they can be a little headstrong, and she's got a lot to be upset about."

"I understand she has reasons to be upset. She has every reason to be upset," I explained with outrage. "But she blames all the wrong people for what happened, and she doesn't seem to care about anyone but herself."

"I've done that in the past, and so have you," Starlight replied. "I'm not sure you've stopped doing that, if you want me to be honest with you."

I grimaced. "I'd rather you not."

She sighed. "Fine, but you are a parent. You dealt with Phobia as a teen. Surely she had her moments where she behaved similarly."

I shook my head. "Not really. Phobia was always very quiet, and kept mostly to herself. The only real major beef she and I had was she had a best friend I didn't agree with her having, but I have since learned I was wrong about that, and I ended up marrying that friend. Otherwise, she didn't give me much trouble as a teen."

"Marrying your daughter's best friend seems a little creepy," Starlight said slowly, and took a step back when I glared at her. "Not that I'm passing any sort of moral judgement. How about your experiences with your own parents? My mom died when I was really young, but I know I wanted nothing more than to get away from my overprotective dad and gave him a hard time."

"I don't know, maybe I could've been a pain sometimes when I was a teen. My parents and I haven't spoken in decades," I said quickly. "We had a falling out that had been building through my college years and blew up shortly after Phobia was born."

Her ears fell. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know I avoided my dad when I was finally away from home- and still do a little, but I know how much he loves me and I love him. I started talking to him again a few years ago. He's really not so bad, in limited doses. At least now that he sees me as a grown mare and not his little filly to protect. Are your parents still alive? Believe me, it hurts knowing you never got to say things to a parent who passed away. There's so much I'd like to say to my mom that I'll never get a chance to. Maybe they can even give you some advice, since Lántiān seems to share a similar temperament with you."

I gave her the stink eye, but she was unphased. "Oh please, you know you have a temper as well. She and you are very similar from what little I've seen. Or at least she's more like you than Phobia was. So I think asking your parents for advice might be a good idea… if they're alive."

I looked out towards the mountains in the west. "They're alive… I recently researched what became of them- which wasn't easy. They're a pair of earth ponies living in Pony Hope."

Starlight blinked. "Pony Hope, really? That isn't far from here at all. You haven't reached out to them yet?"

I shook my head. "There were some really hurtful things said last time we spoke. I didn't even know if they were alive still until recently. Also, my previous human identity isn't something most people know unless they really dig for it. So while they almost certainly have heard of Sunset Blessing, they probably don't know I'm their daughter."

Starlight came and sat down beside me. "I've got a spot in Pony Hope I'm authorized to teleport to at any point, provided I let them know to make sure it is clear. I could take you to Pony Hope and you could just call me when you're ready to come back. Trixie and I can watch the foals. You could use a few hours away from Lántiān."

"Do you realize just how much she detests both of you?" I asked. "I'm not sure leaving you two with her is a great idea."

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Trixie and I have faced far bigger challenges than an angry filly and a few younger colts. We can deal with them for a few hours without the house burning down, and you need the break from each other. I don't think you two getting ready to tussle in the grass is a sign that you're doing great with her."

"I'm not sure talking to my parents would exactly cool me off," I objected. "I told you, we stopped talking because we had a major falling out."

"And does whatever happened that many years ago still matter, even after everything your world has gone through since then?"

I looked down. "I don't know."

"What was the fight about?"

I snorted. "Politics."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Politics? Seriously?"

"Politics in the US can get very heated," I said with a hint of shame. "I started off like my parents, what conservatives in the US call far-left. It wasn't really that far left to tell the truth, at least in the scheme of world politics, but it is in regards to the far-right, if that makes any sense to you."

She shook her head. "Not really, but I'm guessing that it changed."

I nodded. "In college my views shifted to the far-right and friction started between us. It got progressively worse, and after I married and had a baby we had one particularly nasty argument and I just cut them off.

"Were you or they in politics back then?" Starlight asked in confusion.

"No, but that doesn't mean much," I replied.

"Okay…" Starlight said as she shook her head in bewilderment. "I'm glad it's Twilight and not me who does most of the political stuff, because I don't get it. Regardless of that, all that stuff was at least twenty-five or more years ago, right? Even if everything hadn't changed with ETS that seems like a lot of time to get new perspectives. You aren't the same person you were back then, in more ways than one."

I exhaled slowly. "I am in some ways, but you're right that a lot has changed. I guess I'm just afraid of meeting them again after all this time. I mean, it's an old hurt."

We both jumped in fright as Lántiān came storming out of the house, throwing the door back so hard I wondered if it was going to come off its hinges. "Ma'am, that clow- that- that pony in there has filled my brothers' heads with Equestrian words! I demand you tell her to undo it!"

"Come again?" I asked while blinking.

She huffed. "That blue unicorn has used her spell to make my brothers able to understand and speak Equestrian. I know this was not something you requested, ma'am. I also don't like it!"

"Urgh! Trixie!" I groaned. "Now I'm going to have to learn yet another language so those two can't have a conversation I don't understand behind my back."

"She needs to just undo it, ma'am!" Lántiān raged.

Starlight shook her head. "Undoing something like that is a lot more complicated than doing it in the first place. It's better if we just do the same to you two so you can understand what they are saying."

The filly spat. "I am not learning their filthy tongue!"

I rubbed my head. "Did she at least use the spell to teach Hé Líng English like I asked?"

"She did that before I walked out here," Starlight replied.

I continued to rub my head for a moment then stopped and looked at Lántiān. "You'll be learning Equestrian, we both will. You don't have to actually speak it, but you need to know it in case your brothers try to use it to hide conversations from us."

The filly looked like I'd just slapped her again. "We can just forbid it be spoken, ma'am."

"Yeah, like that will work," I replied dryly. "We're just going to have to adapt to the situation. And to make it clear, any forbidding of anything is done by me, it is not a joint decision with you.. Starlight, can you kindly tell Trixie to not do things like that without asking my permission?"

"You can tell her that yourself, ya know," Starlight replied.

I shook my head. "Fine. Lántiān is right, what Trixie did was out of line, no matter if she was just trying to be nice. Lántiān, do your brothers know how to swim?

"They do, ma'am," the filly replied, seeming a little calmer now that I was agreeing with her about Trixie.

"Great, then Starlight and Trixie can take them to the pool and supervise them there. That should keep them from getting too bored," I asserted. "Make sure they are dry before they come back inside."

"What will you be doing?" Lántiān asked, sounding almost hurt that I would be leaving so quickly after finally taking her side on an issue, or perhaps just hurt that she wasn't given some supervising authority.

"I'm taking Starlight up on her offer," I answered. "As soon as I'm done explaining at length to Trixie that she is never to cast such an invasive spell on a minor without a parent or guardian's permission, and if she tries it again I'll make her the pathetic and bald Trixie, I'd like to go to Pony Hope."

Chapter 14: Sunrise and Sunset

Pony Hope was a jarring hodgepodge of building styles. There were plenty of residences and businesses that looked as if they were taken straight out of Equestria. However, sprinkled among these were buildings that would not look out of place in any small town or even major city from before ETS. The building Starlight had teleported me to looked like a simple one-story office building, aside from the fact someone had taken the time and effort to paint elaborate murals of ponies and humans on the side of the building. The streets were mostly dirt roads still, but there was at least one major paved road that ran through town and built within a depression that allowed for the residents to build walkways over it for safe crossing. This was not too dissimilar to how roads for cars were handled back in Riverview- or at least had been.

The city (using the term lightly, since less than ten thousand people lived here) was still a major public works project in progress. Most streets had crews working on them laying powerlines, putting in sewer drains, and more. However, there wasn't much heavy machinery being put into use in those projects. There was an occasional construction vehicle here or there, but most of the work seemed to be done by hoof, hand, and horn.

While the streets followed a nice gridlike pattern (or as much of one as was possible with uneven terrain), there didn't seem to be much in the way of ordering districts. There were shops right next to residential houses. It was chaos by my sense of organization, since I preferred a place for everything and everything in its place; clearly defining where to find living residences, businesses, and other types of buildings. I was glad I was living in Denver instead of here.

Walking down the street was causing quite the silent buzz. Not a single pony came and greeted me, which would be an oddity for most people visiting these western towns. Eyes followed me, though, and conversations went quiet as I neared ponies. I'd only visited this town once before, and that had been years ago, but everyone knew my distinctive appearance and cutie mark from the news. The Shimmerists around were easy to pick out of the crowds, since I could see them trying to hide their sneers at me (although a few didn't bother even to try to hide them). Whether they had seen me in person or not before, all of them knew my face. All of them were no doubt wondering what brought Sunset Blessing to their town.

The fact it was effectively just a small town suited me just fine at the moment. Considering they didn't have anything resembling public transportation, I'd need to walk to where I was going. Unfortunately, that was going to be a different type of pain. Most mapping applications didn't give directions for where to go in Pony Hope. It was a place where you either had to know your way already or ask directions. I had a feeling most ponies I attempted to get directions from would flee, and those that didn't would be obstinate Shimmerists who would much rather pick a fight with her. At least there were some humans here. It was kind of ironic I was in Pony Hope and was going to be counting on the humans and not the ponies to be helpful.

I tried approaching a human who was talking with a group of ponies. The ponies all gave me nervous glances and started backing away. The human picked up on his companions' anxiety and joined them, giving me an accusing glare- like I had done something to them or something. I sighed and continued down the dirt road until I found another human, but she quickly ducked into her house. Alright, it seemed the humans weren't going to be much better than the ponies. It confirmed my worst fears, that I was so associated with the Cataclysm that these people likely expected the worst to happen if I was here.

I started approaching another group, and right away, I saw them getting flighty. "Hey! I'm just looking for directions. I'm not trying to steal your firstborn or anything!"

A shape came down abruptly in between the group I'd been approaching and me. It hit the dirt hard enough that it stirred up a cloud of dust, and I had to turn my head and cough. A moment later, I heard the beating of wings and the dust cloud cleared from the air.

I turned to see a yellow pegasus with a curly orange mane, hovering a few feet in the air, and my eyes narrowed upon recognition that it was Sunrise Storm

The newcomer turned to the group I had been approaching. "Don't worry; I'll make sure everything is alright. She's not going to cause any problems."

They nodded and did a collection of various words of thanks, but still backed a few more feet away. She didn't seem to take any issue with this, and still hovering in the air, turned back to me. "I’ll walk with you to make sure you get where you need to go."

That was enough to make me smirk. "My understanding was you don't do much walking if you can help it. You don't even have your hooves on the ground right now. I'm going to get a crick in my neck, staring up at you."

"Sorry, a force of habit, but I know that makes some ponies uncomfortable.” She did me the courtesy of landing. “Speaking of making ponies uncomfortable, I noticed you were scarring my friends and neighbors."

And my smirk was gone. "I'm sorry. I don’t know what I did to make them all so skittish. I was trying to get some directions since there's no good map of this place. There's no need for Sunrise Storm swooping in to save the poor citizens of Pony Hope from my dastardly plans."

She fluffed her wings. "I’m not here to save anypony or thought you had any dastardly plans. But I try to talk things out and defuse trouble where I can. I'd been watching you a few minutes from up above. There seems to be a lot of ponies that are either scared of you or really don't like you. When you started yelling, I could see that some of the ponies I know are Shimmerists started looking like they might do more than just glare at you; that’s when I figured it was time to intervene. Ponies around here normally feel better if I get involved before something happens."

"Well, if you can just give me some directions, I won't be bothering anyone else," I replied. "At least I can count on you not to act like a frightened foal."

"Or how about I just walk with you to wherever you’re going," Sunrise suggested. "I’m not sure how much you noticed, but all your old buddies seem to have it out for you. I rarely see ponies getting ready for violence without at least being provoked, but you seem to have a special effect on them."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. I'm looking for an elderly earth pony couple that lives on Applejack Street."

She raised her eyebrows. "You don’t mean Dry Soil and Hook Line?"

"You know them?"

“I get around,” she gestured around her with her wings. "I know most ponies that have been here for a while. Hook Line teaches some classes on installing electrical wiring into houses, and I've dropped into a few of them to tell everypony how great a job they are doing. They like hearing the encouragement."

"Regular cheerleader," I muttered.

She shrugged. "Why do you want to see Dry Soil and Hook Line? A flower pony and an old electrician don't seem to be anypony you'd care about."

I looked down with a quick sigh. "They're my parents."

That caused her to do a double-take. "That nice old couple are your parents?"

"What? Did you expect my parents to be psychopaths or something?" I asked, growing annoyed again.

She shook her head. "No- not really. They just never mentioned you."

My ears dropped. "They might not even know I'm their daughter; we hadn't spoken in nearly eighteen years before ETS. People can find out my human name if they go digging for it, but they typically don't."

"Well, around here, it's considered bad manners to do that," she replied, matter-of-factly. "Sure, I can take you that way. They should both be home. Dry Soil typically spends most of her time in her garden at their house, and Hook Line doesn't teach classes today. It should only take a few minutes on hoof."

"Can you stand to be on the ground that long?" I asked snidely.

She harumphed. "I can make the sacrifice."

Sunny started leading me away, and we walked in silence for several minutes across dirt and grass. Ponies still stopped and stared, but her presence did seem to make them less nervous than they had been earlier. Not that I cared, now that I didn't need directions.

"You um— have my condolences," Sunrise said, quietly breaking the silence.

I didn't need to ask what she was talking about. I just gave a stiff nod rather than discuss that. I punctuated my desire not to have the conversation go that way by directing it elsewhere. "You seem to be handling leadership well."

"I was never given a lot of choice about it," she replied with a dry laugh. "But I've adapted to it. I've chosen to make it my own, and I think I've managed to do some good things. I actually should be thanking you."

I looked at her out of the sides of my eyes. "For what?"

"I didn't know much of what was going on outside of my region after ETS, but you got the southern ponies to integrate back into something closer to their old human lives early on. If you hadn't done that, I'd never have decided or been able to get ponies here to bring things back that they'd thought unnecessary."

"Well, it was foolish and stupid for ponies to be tossing all that stuff away to live like medieval serfs," I grumbled.

"And you were right- about that much," she replied.

"It seems I was right to think of you as a leader as well," I countered.

"Not the leader that you wanted," she said in a neutral tone.

I hung my head. "I'm glad you didn't listen to me back then. The smartest thing you ever did was not getting involved with us. Shimmerism is a plague that needs to be wiped out."

She turned and raised an eyebrow at me. "Jenny said she met you, and that her voice thing told her that you weren't the same anymore," Sunrise continued. "I know the Shimmerists around here despise you, to put it extremely lightly, but I'm a little surprised to see that the feeling is so mutual. I didn't think I'd ever see the day Sunset Blessing became rabidly anti-Shimmerist."

"The most passionate of voices are of the convert and the disillusioned," I replied, and then decided I'd rather not talk about Shimmerists anymore. It would put me in a bad mood. "I didn't spend much time talking to your sister. She wasn't in Riverview long, and she was there to visit my niece instead of me. I do remember her chasing Phobia all-around Wild Growth's mansion demanding a fee waiver."

Sunrise stopped in her tracks and stared at me. "My sister chased a Dreamwarden around a house demanding a fee waiver?"

I stopped and chuckled. "She sure did. I didn't even know my daughter could move that fast before that- and while wearing a dress!"

She broke down laughing. "And to think she used to be terrified of Dreamwardens, and all she had to do to scare them in return is be a dissatisfied customer!"

My mood fell again. "I'm told she gets along well with my wife."

Sunrise realized that the subject matter was drifting into the wrong territory and stopped laughing. We resumed our walk, and it was another minute or so before she started talking again. "So, how is your niece? I heard the stories about what happened to her. She's a very brave little filly."

"She's not a filly; she's a girl," I tersely corrected. "Not great, to tell the truth. Her parents tell me she started having magic surges recently. They've been painful for her and everyone else in the household. They've called in some experts, along with some crystal ponies, to try to get them under control as well as try to figure out what the hell she's even doing- something with sound, but they haven't figured out quite what it is yet. Add to that she just began having human menstrual periods, and she's an unhappy young lady right now. Poor girl, no eight-year-old should have to be going through that, especially after all she's already gone through."

She nodded. "Jenny told me your niece is physically and mentally advanced for her age. My memories of human puberty are kind of spotty. They weren't exactly ones I eagerly tried to keep fresh in my head, but I remember human puberty is rough. Add to that magic surges, and that's just an all-around bad time. She has my sympathies." She paused. "I did want to ask you about something."

"What?"

"My mother has recently taken a lot of interest in these Blessingists. It's the first real group she's ever shown this kind of interest and backing for. I try to keep myself a relatively neutral party to all these groups, but I figured the best pony to tell me more about them would be the one they are named after."

"You probably know more about them than me if Sarah is talking all about them," I answered. "I just heard about them the other day, and I haven't even bothered to research them yet. I'm not involved with that kind of stuff anymore. Your mother isn't stupid, and she's a good mare, so they can't be that bad. I'm just a simple unicorn, trying to get by. Trying to deal with the five foals I was given custody of, and I just need to worry about myself and them. I feel like my time spent in the larger arena was a waste, and I did far more harm than good."

She stopped and gave me a surprised look. "You actually mean that, don't you?"

I stopped as well. "Every word of it."

She looked at me curiously then extended out a hoof at me. It took me a moment to even realize what she was doing, and then I touched hooves with her.

After we set our legs back down, she smiled at me. "I think we can start being friends now. Jenny's right; you aren't the same. I just needed to see it for myself."

"I'm not sure that makes me better," I replied glumly.

"You're trying to find yourself, and I can support that," she said with a gentle smile. She then gestured at a small wooden house. "We're here. I'll keep an eye out above when you're leaving. Good luck with your reunion. They're good ponies."

I looked at the door of the house and took a deep breath. Were my legs shaking?

Sunrise walked over and touched a wing to my side. "It will be okay. It's a fresh start. If you're serious about mending fences, you'll do fine."

I nodded, and after taking one final breath, I marched up to the front door, ready to get this done.

Author's Notes:

Sorry about the delay here. Should resume with normal updates.

Chapter 15: Mom and Dad

The house I was standing in front of didn't look remarkable at first glance. It was a simple wooden structure with the boards running diagonally along the walls. Each board was painted either white or red, making the entire building resemble a peppermint. There was a simple roofed porch which had a porch swing and a few daisies in planters. There was a larger garden off to the side with a broader array of flowers growing, although no one was tending them. There were large square windows that had gaudy looking curtains in amber-yellow with lemon-yellow smiling suns upon them. The porch light was electric, and there was a simple welcome mat with the word welcome written on it. It was the kind of gaudy design that ponies who idolized Equestria thought looked good.

It took me several seconds, puzzling over what felt off about the house, before it finally came to me. This was literally the first house I had ever visited that was not built to accommodate humans at all. The roof was too low; the front door would require a human to squat down low to their knees to get through. Most houses I was familiar with were either built with humans in mind and given some additional accommodations to make usable for ponies, or were built with ponies in mind but with the idea that humans might be entering them regularly. This was a strictly pony house.

I took one final deep breath and knocked on the door.

"I'll get it!" Came a voice that didn't belong to someone around seventy years old, more like seven. The door opened, and I found myself staring down at a blue earth pony colt with an orange mane. He grinned broadly up at me. "Hi, there! Who are you?"

Maybe Sunrise had been wrong about which house was theirs. "I might be in the wrong place. I'm looking for some ponies named Dry Soil and Hook Line."

"That's my mom and dad!" He said excitedly and turned around.

What did he mean that was his mom and dad?!

"Mom! Dad! There's a funny lookin unicorn at the door looking for you!"

My breath seized up in my lungs. Maybe I had made a mistake and had identified the wrong ponies as my parents? They couldn't have had another foal. Not at their age. This had to be a mistake.

"I made an error," I said. "I'll just be leav-"

An elderly brown earth pony mare with a bleach white mane came to the door, and I knew I'd made no mistake. She gasped as she saw me. "Sinker, go to your room and play."

"But, Mom-"

She shook her head, and her eyes darted around the neighborhood as if looking for something. "No arguing. Just go to your room for a little while." She quickly turned her head to look back into the house. "Hook! We've got a guest. It's that unicorn from TV- the one the President pardoned."

"Well, get her inside, before Morning Flower notices her," called out a stallion from somewhere inside. "You know how that mare is!"

Sinker walked off in a huff, and the pony I assumed to be my mother quickly motioned me inside, still darting her eyes around the neighborhood like a mob was hiding in all the bushes waiting to jump out and make a rush for the house. As soon as I got inside, she shut the door quickly behind me, almost slamming it.

She gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry about that. Our neighbor is normally a very nice pony- at least with other ponies, but she tends to rant at length about you and says some very shocking unponylike things about what she'd do if she ever saw you."

I didn't respond. I just kept staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. She blinked and looked me over. "Are you alright? The Shimmerists didn't give you a fright, did they? Don't worry, you don't need to worry about any of that from my husband or me; we're Lunites, and we have no quarrels with you. We saw you on television. That was a courageous speech you gave, but what brings you here?"

"I have a brother?!" I blurted out in disbelief. Maybe I yelled it. I really didn't know.

She stepped back. "What? Who are you-" Her eyes went wide, and her lip trembled. "Charlotte… is- is that you?!"

I started tearing up. "Mom-"

She leaped forward and wrapped her forelegs around me, pulling me into a tighter hug than someone her age had a right to do. She laid her head down on my shoulder, and I could hear her take a huge sniff of me before she broke down crying.

A blue earth pony stallion with equally white mane came walking in. "Dry, what's wrong? What's going on?"

My mom kept a hold of me as if she was afraid I'd vanish if she released me. "It's Charlotte! She's come back to us!"

My dad was now the one staring with his mouth agape. "Is- is it true? Is that you- Charlotte?"

I nodded as best I could with my mother gripped tightly onto me. "It's me, Dad. I'm sorry I-"

I didn't get to finish before he joined my mother in grabbing me into a hug. I broke down sobbing at this point. After all this time, all the cruel and harsh words that were said, and all the things they knew about Sunset Blessing from the media, all they cared about was I was home. I didn't even get to say my apologies yet.

It was several minutes of hugging, but it needed to come to an end. I started to pull away. "I hate to end this, but if I don't, you two are going to crush me to death with your earth pony strength."

They reluctantly released me and stepped back just outside my personal space. "Sorry, baby," my mom began. Then she shook her head. "Well, not really my little baby filly anymore. I always knew that you were capable of big things. I'm glad you didn't end up just wasting yourself as a housewife."

At a different time, that comment might have been the start of an argument, but things had changed, and somewhere along the line, I had come to agree with her on that. Although, as of late, I wasn't so sure I shouldn't have just stayed a housewife. "We've all changed. You two are looking very hardy for ponies your age."

Dad chuckled. "Maybe not as hardy as I look. I'm not up to doing all the work I used to do."

Mom nuzzled up next to him. "He's right. If we didn't get help building this place, I swear your father would have dropped dead from the work that went into building it. He still insisted on being the one to put in all the wiring."

He snorted. "I wanted it done right. You never know with these younger ponies if they'll end up doing it correctly."

I chewed on my lip. "And you both seem to be doing well enough in other ways. Was that my literal brother, or just some colt you adopted?"

"Sinker?" Mom asked. "Oh, he came out of me. I don't think I was half as surprised to find out I was turning into a pony years ago as I was when the doctor told me I was pregnant again- at my age! I should be visiting grandfoals, or even great-grandfoals, not having another one."

"But he has been a little blessing," Dad added in, then looked at me and laughed. "No pun intended on you."

Mom gave him a jab with her foreleg. "Yeah, right. You were probably spending that whole time hugging her, just trying to think of some way to make a play on her name."

"So… you two aren't afraid of me?" I asked quietly.

They stopped their jovial back and forth. "Why would we be afraid of you?" Mom asked.

I shrugged and rubbed the back of my head. "Well- I was kind of at fault for a city blowing up, and all the people in this town seem ready to run whenever they see me."

Mom came up and put her hoof on me. "My baby filly, you've been reading the town wrong. Those ponies aren't scared of you, they're scared for you. We have ponies of all walks and creeds here, and we all know some Shimmerists. This past year it has become like a national pastime for the Shimmerists to talk about how much they hate you. The conversations go like this; Hi, how was your day? How are your foals doing? Did you hear about whatever mischief so-and-so got up to? Also, have you heard about how much I hate Sunset Blessing? Let me tell you about it again, just in case you forgot. Really, it would get boring if it weren't so shocking the things they say. A lot of us have started avoiding them when we can. I mean, I've never heard anypony hate another pony like that."

Dad nodded. "When the average pony sees you, they aren't thinking of you doing anything wrong; they're thinking about all those Shimmerists, and they know that trouble is getting ready to happen. As for the city blowing up- the president himself said you weren't to blame. I trust him more than the Shimmerists."

"Frankly, I'm surprised you were able to even get to our house without causing a riot," Mom added in.

"Sunrise Storm escorted me here. She said it would help put ponies at ease," I explained.

Mom grinned. "She's such a nice young mare and so talented! It was good of her to do that. The Shimmerists wouldn't dare do anything to you with her right beside you."

I frowned. "She failed to mention I had a little brother."

"Maybe she was just trying to let it be a surprise," Dad suggested. "Or maybe she thought you knew. Don't be mad at her for such a little thing. Especially since she kept you safe through town."

"Speaking of colts," Mom cut in. "What about Matthew, and that husband of yours?"

"Uh...hmm. How do I put this," I replied. Trying to figure out the easiest way to go over these details. "I'm guessing you didn't listen to my whole speech."

"We'd been hearing stuff about the Cataclysm on the news nonstop for weeks before that," Dad explained. "It was like 9-11 all over again. Lots of ponies and humans had gotten up and made speeches about things to that point."

Mom rolled her eyes. "They still are."

"We mainly remembered the parts about condemning Shimmerism and the part about you getting pardoned since we have a neighbor who doesn't want to shut her trap about it," Dad finished explaining.

Mom rubbed her head. "If she didn't help me so much with my garden, I'd probably avoid her for that. I don't like hearing ponies talking about anypony that way. It's just not right!"

I sighed. "Okay, where to begin- Matthew is Phobia Remedy."

They stared blankly at me for a moment. I was afraid now I'd have to explain who the Dreamwardens were because they didn't keep up with things.

"But isn't Phobia Remedy a mare?" Dad finally asked.

I nodded. "Phobia, my one and only foal, is a mare."

"So she's one of those ones," Mom said in understanding. "We know somepony like that, don't we, dear? His name is Victory Bird, he's a stallion, a big massive brute of a pegasus that could probably wrestle most earth ponies, but he'd been a woman as a human. Not many ponies like that, and you tend to forget those details when dealing with them. I mean, who cares what they used to be? I don't look at Victory and think about how he used to be a human woman. I look at him and think- how much does that lunkhead work out? Those muscles are obscenely big!"

"I always do forget Victory switched sexes," Dad replied and then frowned. "So our granddaughter is the Warden of Fear? That's a lot to take in."

"How did you and your husband take that?" Mom asked hesitantly. I knew why she was hesitant.

"It changed my worldviews about some things, changed Tom's as well," I answered. "And Tom and I divorced, right after ETS. We still talk, mainly because of Phobia. He's remarried and has two nice young daughters- a pegasus and a unicorn." I took a deep breath. "I remarried too."

"Well, good for you!" Mom exclaimed. "I never liked Tom. Who's your new husband? What's he do? When will we get to meet him?"

Awkward…

I hung my head. "My wife can't really visit. She's kinda dead. She died in the Cataclysm."

Mom's eyes went wide again, and I saw her mouthing the word 'wife' in astonishment. She didn't linger on that long, though, before I found myself pulled into another hug. "My poor baby! I'm so sorry to hear that."

"She's also sorta alive," I added in. Mom broke away from me and stared in confusion. Dad echoed her expression. I took a deep breath and explained. "She's a Dreamwarden too. She's Arbiter, although she'll always be Tonya to me."

Dad blinked. "I never knew we were so well connected to famous and powerful ponies."

Mom jabbed him again. "Hook! Don't be saying things like that! Can't you see she's upset about the loss of her wife? I don't know how the whole dead-not dead thing works, but it's clearly still some form of dead."

I gritted my teeth. "Thank you, but can we just not talk about that anymore? It's a painful subject."

Mom brought a hoof up to her mouth in embarrassment. "Of course! Why don't we go to the living room, and we can talk about other things. It's rude of us to have kept you standing here by the door for so long. Maybe we could let your little brother meet and talk to his big sister he didn't even know he had."

It was my turn to gape. "You never told him about me?"

Mom and Dad looked at each other, then me with their ears hung low. "Well… you kinda made it clear you didn't want us in your life anymore, last time we spoke," Dad answered timidly. "We figured it might be better just not to tell him, rather than rip open an old wound. We hadn't spoken to you in over twenty years when he was born."

"But you're here now!" Mom added in, giving me a bright smile. "And I'm proud you have become such a notable pony. You know, your aunt is a pretty big figure in local politics. I guess politics is just in the family blood. I could introduce you to her. She's a unicorn now that goes by the name Gold-"

"I'd rather not, Mom," I said quickly. "I'm done with politics. Let's just go to the living room. We can talk about other things and catch up. I also wanted to ask you for some advice."

Mom gave me another confused look. "Advice from us? About what? We're just simple ponies. I'm sure whatever your problem is, you know tons of experts in whatever it is."

I sighed. "I just became acting guardian to five foals, and the oldest of them is a teenager that I can't stop butting heads with. Phobia was never this kind of problem. I need some parenting advice."

My parents gaped at me again. I was afraid at this point that I was going to get their faces frozen like that.

Mom broke out of her stupor first. "Let's go sit down, and you can tell us all about it. Come on."

Chapter 16: Anchors

My little brother had finished circling me and now sat examining me, trying to make sense of the elder sister he never knew he had. I did much the same, still trying to reconcile in my brain that he existed.

"You're my sister?" He finally questioned, not seemingly able to believe it. I wasn't sure I fully believed it yet.

I nodded. "It would seem so."

He kept gazing at me another few seconds. "You're old."

"You're young," I countered.

"You're like grandmare old."

I smirked. "I am a grandmare, which makes you a great-uncle."

Mom let off a massive squeal in response to this, and both me and my sibling turned to look at her. She was grinning ear to ear. "You didn't tell me I'm a great-grandmare! You have to tell us all about them!"

"Dry, we're supposed to be letting Sinker get to know his sister," Dad said, placing a hoof on Mom's flank. "We'll have time to hear about them later."

Sinker turned his attention back to me. "Nuh-uh, I can't have a sister so much older than me."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why not? It might be a little strange, but it's the truth."

"That would make Mom and Dad grandparents too. They aren't that old if they're my mom and dad," Sinker reasoned.

I pointed at them in disbelief. "What?! I think you can tell by looking at them that they're older than me." I gave my parents a sheepish smile. "No offense, you two look great." I turned back to my brother. "I have a daughter old enough to be your mother. How old are you anyway?"

He stuck his muzzle up in the air. "Six. How old are you? Like six-hundred?"

"Fifty-one, and a very young fifty-one it is," I replied. "And I do have grandfoals, three of them, and they're all older than you. They're all seven years old."

"Triplets!" Mom blurted out again in excitement. Dad jabbed her in the side and put a hoof over her mouth to quiet her down.

I sighed. "Not actually triplets. The fillies are twins, but Alfonso is a month younger and- it's a long story."

"Alfonso is a funny pony name," my brother continued.

I smiled. "So is Sinker. How did you end up with that name?"

Our Dad spread his forelegs wide "Hook Line and…" He kept his legs spread wide and waited for me to complete the phrase with a big stupid grin spread across his muzzle.

I gave my parents a flat look. "You've got to be kidding me."

Mom shrugged. "Pony naming conventions are still kind of new to all of us. There's no wrong way to name your foal."

Of all the ridiculous- it didn't matter. I turned back towards my brother. "Well, my daughter and her spouse decided that if their foals were going to have pony names, that could choose them for themselves after they got their cutie marks. Most adult ponies used to be humans, and we all had human names before. Mine was Charlotte. One of my granddaughters is named after me. Mom and Dad had human names too."

Sinker flicked an ear and seemed to be considering this. "So if you turned into a pony, can I turn into a human?"

I blinked. "Um- technically... yes, it is possible. My niece did that after being a pony for most of her life. She isn't much older than you. Do you want to be human?"

He shook his head. "Not really; I want to be an electrician, like Dad."

"That's not exactly what I- never mind," I shook my head again. Why did I keep asking questions I was going to get these kinds of answers for? "I'll just take that as a no."

"What do you do?" Sinker asked.

My ears folded. "Me? I used to be a preacher, a mayor, a mage, a businessmare, a researcher, and a pretty cruddy philosopher."

Sinker went wide-eyed. "That's six things! You can be more than one thing?"

I gave him a soft smile. "There's nothing stopping you from pursuing many goals. Never let the world tell you that you have to be something, or tell you that you can't change your mind about what you want to be."

"So, I can be an electrician and a big hero like Wild Growth?" Sinker asked in wonder.

I raised an eyebrow. "Wild Growth, huh? That's a pretty lofty goal. I'm actually friends with Wild Growth."

He frowned. "Are you fibbing? Do you really know Wild Growth?"

I chuckled. "I definitely know Wild Growth. She used to be someone I worked with. She's my daughter-in-law's sister. She's also my current landlord. I'm kinda surprised she hasn't called me while I was here so she could yell at me. She's been calling a lot to yell at me."

He tilted his head. "Why would Wild Growth yell at you? She's a hero, like Sunrise Storm. An even bigger hero than Sunrise Storm because she's an earth pony, and she makes plants grow like FWIP FWIP!" He stomped each of his forehooves with each FWIP.

"Like what?"

"Like FWIP FWIP! That's the sound plants make when they grow real fast!" he sat and repeatedly threw each forehoof into the air like plants were sprouting around him.

I didn't have the heart to tell him Wild Growth couldn't do that anymore. I wanted my brother to have his heroes. "She yells at me because she keeps finding things in my old secret labs."

He gaped at me. "So, you're like an evil mad scientist!"

I rubbed my hooves together in embarrassment. "I wouldn't put it quite that way…" I might not have brought it up if not for the fact it might end up on the news anyway.

"Can I be your evil minion sidekick!"

I sat still and blinked. "What- why- what? No! Definitely not! I'm not even an evil mad scientist. I'm retired!"

“But you were,” Sinker looked disappointed. "Aww! Why'd ya quit? That sounds like a great job. Now I want to be a hero, an electrician, and an evil mad scientist."

Mom gave a light cough from the couch to get our attention. "Sinker, how about you go to your room and draw a picture of you doing all those things for your big sister. All the grown-ups need to talk about boring grown-up stuff now. We'll tell you when the coast is clear. If you stay in your room and be good, you can have some ice cream later on."

His ears perked up. "Chocolate?"

She nodded. "Three whole scoops."

The little colt got up and started dashing out of the room. "I'll be good!" He yelled as he went.

"We'll talk to him about not saying anything about you," Dad said wearily. "Maybe we can tell him that you being here is part of a top-secret mission, and he has to do his part to protect you."

Mom gave a sad nod. "If he goes around saying you're his sister, it might cause trouble. Some foal with a Shimmerist parent will say something, and the next thing you know…"

I flinched, then lowered my head. "I didn't mean to cause you any trouble. Maybe coming here was a mistake."

"No, it wasn't," Mom replied. "You coming here has healed something we didn't think would ever be healed. Don't worry; we can take care of ourselves. You said you wanted some advice from us, and we want to hear all about what you have been doing all these years."

That was a very tall and dangerous order. "How about we start with you two," I suggested. "I was able to track you down with government records, but that doesn't tell me anything about your lives that I missed."

"There isn't much to say about us," Dad replied. "Your mother and I were living in Telluride for most of the time. I did some basic electrician work; your mother worked at the local convenience store. It more or less was just that for years."

"We thought on and off about trying to reach out to you," Mom added in, then sniffled. "But you had been so angry with us. We figured that if you wanted to talk to us that you'd take the first step. We kept waiting, but it never came."

"Then, about a year before ETS, they diagnosed your mother with lung cancer," Dad continued.

"Pack a day finally caught up to me," Mom whispered. "I spent so much time getting treatments after that."

Dad nodded. "It seemed hopeless. I was at the point I was going to try to contact you to tell you that your mother wasn't going to have much time left." He lowered his head and started to cry. "I kept putting it off. It wasn't even really about you. It was about having to admit that it was hopeless. I didn't want to do that."

Mom snuggled up closer to him on their flannel couch. "But then ETS happened. I thought that flu would do me in, but imagine my shock when I started to feel better, and the doctors came back to tell me the cancer was miraculously all gone."

"After the changes started, and we learned the truth about ETS, we just took it as a chance for a fresh start," Dad said. "Your mother was being given a new lease on life, and if the price of that was getting turned into a colorful pony- well, it seemed like a fair enough trade to us."

Mom gave a dry laugh. "When we found out they were building this place, we just up and left Telluride to come here. We did manage to get the house sold for a fraction of what it was worth. We used part of that money for some things here, but most of it we use to keep a storage space rented with all the sentimental stuff we gathered over the years. About a year later, the doctors told me I was pregnant."

Dad wiped his nose then pulled Mom in closer against him. "And that's pretty much it. Nothing that exciting, really."

My gut clenched up. My mom had almost died, and I wouldn't even have known about it. I didn't even blame them for not contacting me to let me know. I knew how hard that had to be after everything that had been said.

"And what about you?" Mom asked. "You've seemed to have had a much more eventful life than us."

I took a deep breath and started talking.

I don't know what prompted me, but I didn't hold anything back- save the stuff I was under compulsion never to speak about. Confession is good for the soul, and I had a lot to confess to. I started before the break with them, telling them something I'd never told anyone but my poor wife. I told them about the unplanned pregnancy and abortion in college that started me on the path that drove a wedge between us. I told them about my life as a housewife and Sunday school teacher. I told them about all the high and low moments of Phobia growing up, along with information about her family. I told them about the first days after ETS and my rapid rise to power with my fanatical commitment to bring about a pony world for the glory of God. I told them about Tonya and how much I loved her. I told them about many of the dealings I had through the years. I told them about the final days of Riverview. And I finally told them about how I was now the acting guardian of Yinyu's foals.

I'm not sure how long I talked; it felt like hours. My parents sat silently through the entire thing, just listening intently as I told them all about my follies and the harm I had done. They kept their expressions neutral most of the time, but sometimes inhaled in shock. They didn't interrupt me, even in the most shocking moments. I saw my mother cry at a few points- Phobia's rape, the death of Tonya, Luna visiting me, and asking me what I would do if set free.

It went quiet for a minute after I finished recounting my life. My parents needed time to process all of this, and I wasn't going to rush them.

"That's… quite a story," Dad finally said. "Some of the things you say you've done, I can hardly believe. If it weren't for the fact we've seen so many astonishing things in the past decade, I'd think you were pulling our tails."

"Like a character in a fantasy novel," Mom breathed.

I laid down and put my head down between my forelegs. "The villain in a novel."

"No!" Mom objected. "Maybe somepony who was misguided at times, but never the villain."

"Doesn't every villain see themselves as the hero of the story?" I asked and then sat back up. "I know I've done so much wrong, caused so much pain and suffering, and my actions continue to have negative impacts around the globe. I might not have been a ha-ha evil villain, but that doesn't make me a good person."

Mom hopped down from the couch. "So you made a few mistakes, maybe more than a few, but you always had the best of intentions, and you now recognize and regret the actions that turned out to be not so great. You always drew lines you felt you should not cross. You always had some sense of right and wrong, and did your best to be on the right side, even if it didn't always work out."

I looked away and shut my eyes. "What do my intentions matter if their guiding concepts were warped, or if the results ended up being so disastrous? I'm indefensible. Please, don't try to absolve me of my guilt."

Mom looked pleadingly at Dad, and he got down from the couch as well. "Honey, nopony is going to say you didn't do some wrong things, but you're your own harshest critic. If half of what you did is true, then you have so much to offer the world."

Urgh! First Starlight and now them! "Can we just drop the subject?"

They looked disappointed, but they nodded. "Alright, we're just glad you're back," Mom answered. She then brightened up again. "So when do I get to meet my great-grandfoals?"

I looked at my phone and saw I had a signal here. "I can try calling them."

Mom hugged Dad and started bouncing and squealing on two legs like a foal. He just accepted being used as a brace and smiled.

I hit a few quick keys, and the phone started ringing. It didn't take long to get answered.

"Hello? Who is it?"

I stared at my leg in puzzlement for a second. "Jordan? Why are you picking up the phone?"

"Because it was ringing. Is this Auntie Sunset?" Ask a stupid question-

"Yes, it's Auntie Sunset. What I meant was where is your sister, or Rosetta, or Crystal?"

"Hi, Auntie Sunset! Jackie is getting yelled at by Crystal. Phobia and Miss Rosetta are sleeping, and Crystal's yelling at Jackie."

"Okay, I see. Can you-"

"Auntie Sunset, Auntie Sunset!" Jordan interrupted. "I found out that both Phobia and Jackie are both my half-sisters. So cause they’re half, does that mean I only have one sister?"

"That means you have two sisters, dear. Why would you think you have only one?"

"Because, the other day at school, we were learning about fractions, and they said two halfsies equal one."

"That doesn't apply with sisters, Jordan- and the term is halves."

"Really? Math is confusing."

Foals were going to be the death of me. "So, is everyone asleep still?"

"Yeah," Jordan answered. "Mom and Dad said they are having a date night, which means they are doing icky kissy stuff, so Jackie and I are sleeping over here."

"Who is that?" Mom asked.

"She's one of Tom's daughters," I answered. "Jordan, can you tell Crystal to tell Phobia when she wakes up that her grandparents would like to talk to her? Can you do that for me?"

"I can do that!" Jordan declared excitedly. "Auntie Sunset, I moved a rock with my horn today! I was trying to make it float, but I still moved it- a little. It gave me a headache."

"That's very good," I replied. "Don't push yourself too hard. You'll be casting spells before you know it. I need to get going. Remember to pass that message along, okay?"

"I will. Bye-bye, Auntie Sunset."

"Bye-bye, Jordan." I ended the call and saw my Mom looking ready to have another happy outburst for some reason. "What is it? Are you excited that Phobia will be contacting you?"

"Well, I am excited about that, but also excited because that filly seemed to adore you," Mom said with a massive grin. "Sinker did too. I don't see where you would be having much trouble with foals. They all seem to love you."

I rolled my eyes. "I honestly don't understand why. I'm not sure yet how I get along with Yinyu's younger foals, to tell the truth. I spend all my time fussing with the oldest- who definitely doesn't adore me."

"Is she disobedient?" Dad asked.

I shook my head. "No, she's extremely obedient—one of the most obedient kids I have ever seen. What we do is argue. For starters, she's a Shimmerist. She is also a teen mother, and she acted as a kind of surrogate mother for her siblings. I can't tell half the time if she loves her mother or hates her. She's insistent on her mother being respected by others, but at the same time tries to discredit her mother's reasons for doing things and badmouths her. Arguments between the two of us have gotten bad, and we've only had to deal with each other a few days- so bad we've both struck one another."

Mom looked aghast. "You struck her?"

I should have figured that she'd be upset about that. My parents were always against physically disciplining a child, and I could only imagine becoming ponies had only reinforced that.

"I slapped her," I clarified. "She was mouthing off about how her mother didn't love her enough to endanger the world, and I lost my temper. It wasn't my proudest moment."

"You shouldn't be doing that," Dad agreed but seemed less upset about it. "She sounds just like a confused teen going through a very confusing time. She also sounds like she's had to shoulder far more responsibility than any teen should have to, and she's been doing that for a while."

"And I understand that," I replied. "If I didn't understand that, we might be getting into it even worse than we are now. It's just that she's so disrespectful. I had Starlight Glimmer over, and she was calling Starlight a traitor to ponies because she helped stop ETS. She said things about how it was okay if China got alien weapons as long as it didn't disrupt her life. I just can't deal with the things that come out of her mouth!"

"Maybe because so much of what she says reminds you of things you might have once believed?" Dad suggested. "Maybe you aren't angry at her, but angry at yourself. It's obvious you're carrying around a ton of guilt. Can I say something I observe about you without you getting angry with me?"

I scowled. "I can't promise that, but I can say I'll try not to get angry and that I'll understand you are only expressing an opinion. It's probably right, if it's something negative."

He sighed. "You're very… reactionary against yourself. You get upset about things that you've done, and you go full force against everything you were when you did them."

I sat up and crossed my forelegs like a human would cross their arms. "Well, I should be completely against what I stood for as a Shimmerist. Are you saying I should be okay with any of that?"

"I'm saying it isn't the first time you have turned on yourself," Dad answered. "You did it in college when you felt guilty about the abortion. You did it again when you turned into a pony, and you're doing it again now. You see the entire paradigm of your life as either right or wrong, and once you see it as wrong, you do everything you can to rip it all down, regardless of whether there were elements of that weren't bad."

"If that filly had been from here and content with our country getting those kinds of weapons, so long as it didn't disrupt her life, would the old you have had any disagreement with her?" Mom asked.

I wanted to argue that of course I would, but hesitated. Maybe they had a point. "So what? I've seen where that kind of thinking is wrong."

"You still see yourself in her, though, and just like yourself, you don't have any mercy for what she does," Dad concluded. "You may be harsher on her than she deserves. She's desperately clutching to what she understood to be true, as well as trying to make sense of a major loss, and she needs you to guide her, not condemn her."

Mom touched a leg to me. "And the same could be said of you. You want everyone to condemn you, and in your mind, they might be, but that isn't what you need. You need to find your new truth, just like that filly does."

I laid my ears back. "My truth?"

"Your anchor; what you believe in," Dad clarified. "Good or bad, right or wrong, you've always anchored yourself to something, even when you were a child, you had a guiding view of what you perceived to be right. Right now, you don't have that."

"And all you can do with that filly is tell her how wrong she is because you can't guide her to something you believe is right," Mom finished. "You're right; you don't have anything to offer the world at the moment because right now, you don't know who you are or what you believe in. You need to find that again."

My brow narrowed, and I snarled. "And how well has that ever worked out for me?! I kicked you out of my life because I thought I found a truth that was better than yours. I spread Shimmerism far and wide because I thought humans are inferior, and that was a great truth to believe in. Tell me what I'm supposed to believe in because I clearly can't judge truth."

Mom looked again to Dad for him to say something, and he stepped forward. "We can't tell you what to believe in. We're just simple ponies. I'm not sure there's anypony that can tell you what to believe in. That's something you have to find for yourself. I do have a suggestion, though."

I glared at him with tears in my eyes. "What?"

He sat down. "You said Princess Luna wanted to take you under her wing. If you're looking for somepony with some wisdom, you could do worse for yourself than a thousand-year-old demigod. Maybe she won't be able to help you, but you never know if you don't give her a chance. She wouldn't have offered to do so if she didn't think there was hope for you."

Mom hugged me. "We want you to be happy, baby. You can't be happy like this. You can't make peace with that filly like this. Do you want her growing up feeling like you do now?"

I sagged in her grip. "No- I don't want that for anyone."

"Then figure out what matters to you, so you can give her guidance," Mom whispered. "What matters to me is that you know I love you, and I never stopped hoping you would come back to us. I'm so happy you came, and I want to keep seeing you, but I want to see you happy again before I die."

I snuggled against her. "I'll do my best."

Author's Notes:

Been kind of down as of late. It's just been a very stressful year. I hope everyone is doing alright.

Chapter 17: Time to Go Home

It might surprise some people, given that I had been a Shimmerist, but I had always found Lunites to be rather narrow-minded. That isn't saying that Lunites are bad people, far from it, but I found their views to make little sense. Lunites believed in ponies and humans each having their specific place in the overall order of things. Ponies could manage the weather, grow food, and do feats of magic. Humans controlled things like heavy industry, electrical power, transportation, and commerce beyond the small towns. There was no need to focus on a greater philosophical harmony, like the Harmonists, but there was a view that every creature contributed something unique to their tribe or species to the overall good. I always questioned Lunites on why ponies couldn't do the same jobs that humans did, and they always seemed to counter by asking why would they want to do that? You might as well be asking unicorns to try to control the weather as ask ponies to work like humans.

My dad was an earth pony electrician and a Lunite, which seemed contradictory to me. As we sat talking, I asked him how being an electrician reconciled with his Lunite beliefs. He stated that he didn't provide the electric power or make the wiring; he only helped ponies utilize what humans provided. Lunitism just seemed like lunacy to me, Shimmerism I had learned to be the evil that it was, and Harmonism felt like some far-eastern religion that tried to encroach on Christian beliefs. The major three pony philosophies all seemed to fail me. Regardless of whatever those Blessingists believed, I wasn't getting myself mixed up in some organization that wanted to put me on a pedestal. Sunrise Storm might have had the right idea not to take sides (aside from the fact she needed to be harder on Shimmerists), but it didn't give me any guidance on what I should believe. However, my parents were right; I couldn't just live my life condemning without defining what I felt was right. My Christian beliefs were a start, but only a start, and my warped mind had twisted those in the past. I needed more.

My parents, being Lunites, enjoyed living with other ponies, building a pony community while still appreciating humanity. In this case, their appreciation of humanity meant they appreciated the fact humans provided them with satellite television and internet- with my mom having an almost religious love of game shows, something that hadn't changed much since I was a child. I endured the latest iteration of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with calm grace. I didn't understand what she saw in this show, since she didn't even care about money. The only thing a contestant could do was weigh when it was time to cut and run with what they had- deciding when they had enough risk. I didn't like that there was no way of determining beyond simple statistics whether the risks were worth it. Statistically, most people couldn't win a million even if they had the best guesses in the world. A person should be given the agency to reach the best outcome.

We ate ice cream as a family, and Sinker made himself a chocolatey mess with his promised three scoops. I couldn't complain, as I was quite embarrassed by my efforts at using a spoon in a pony strap. I was just so used to using my horn for everything. That, of course, led to the uncomfortable admission to my parents that I was dealing with magical exhaustion and then having to deal with them insisting I spend the night to recover more, rather than try to walk through town again with no means to defend myself from Shimmerist hoodlums. I made clear that spending the night was not an option, as I had five foals at home that needed me to return. Not to mention that the government would be peeved if they misconstrued that I was on the run from them.

We also discussed the rest of the family. My parents regretfully did not know what had become of my sisters, Andrea and Kristin, who I had failed to locate in my research as well. I had tracked them up to where they were before ETS, but they'd dropped off the map after ETS- as if they never were. My parents were grateful for what news I did provide, and hoped that one day they'd return home as well. Most of my aunt's and uncles were deceased, save my mother's youngest sister, who was only a few years older than me. The identity of that one had been shocking to me, as I knew of her as a pony, but without realizing she was my aunt. I quickly decided I preferred not to contact her, as I recognized she would just try to use me for her political advantage. I had no intention of being part of her games. Mom was disappointed, but agreed to keep me secret from my aunt. For all I knew, my aunt already knew she was the aunt of Sunset Blessing and was holding that as a card to play at some point later- I wasn't the only person who could do research.

The time came for me to go. We exchanged emails and phone numbers so we could keep in contact with one another, and my mother couldn't contain her tears. We were alike in that. We were both very emotional individuals. It was just different emotions that were dominant- she was full of sentimental feelings and excitement while I often found myself at the mercy of my rage.

I was saying my final goodbyes when my phone began ringing. I lifted my leg and gave the phone a quick tap. "Hello, Sunset Blessing speaking."

"Sunset, where are you! I'm at the condo, and you aren't here." Demanded the voice on the other end of the line.

"Hello, Wild Growth," I replied, just to impress my brother. "I'm visiting my parents in Pony Hope. Starlight should have told you that if you're there." Then I narrowed my brow. "Starlight is there with the foals, correct?"

Wild's voice relaxed. "She and the eldest one of them are in the middle of a shouting match- something about how rice should be prepared. Neither of them is willing to break from the argument to talk to me, and Trixie is no help. She's busy hiding in the closet."

I gave my phone a dumbfounded stare. "Where are the rest of the foals? Why is Trixie hiding in the closet?"

"They're all huddled together behind me at the front door," Wild explained. "And Trixie is hiding in the closet because she's terrified of who's swimming around in the pool."

"Who's swimming in the pool?"

"Bursa, you know, the person your scientists twisted into something monstrous and mistreated," Wild said casually.

My mouth dropped. "What?! You brought that thing with you!"

"Bursa is not a thing; she's a person," Wild said firmly.

"Semantics. You told me she was swinging you around like a ragdoll, and now you have her within a mile of the foals! Are you insane!"

"She was swinging me around like a ragdoll because I wasn't fighting her, and was trying to gain her trust," Wild replied. "And I'm continuing to gain her trust by not locking her away somewhere like she was. As for the foals, I'm between them and Bursa, and if she were to try to hurt them, I would fight her, and things would go very differently. I'm monitoring the situation. She seems quite content to swim and enjoy actual daylight."

"Why are you and that thi- that person at the condo?" I asked, more than a little flustered. "If you have a monster with you, then you should be going somewhere a little more secure, with less vulnerable people."

"It's a pit stop on the way to such a place," Wild replied. "I'm stopping here because I want you to apologize for what was done to her."

"Me?! I had nothing to do with it!"

"Who employed those ponies?" Wild questioned. "Who gave them the knowledge and means to do this to her?"

I shook my head. "I never intended them to do that to her. If you want me to say that to your pet monster, then fine. Are you going to protect me if she decides that's worth ripping my head off for?"

"I doubt she'll try, but I'll protect you if she does," Wild assured me. "And I apologized already for my part in her creation. It isn't like I'm without guilt. I'm going to get her trusting again, and that means giving her some freedom and making sure everything is being done to get her justice. I know you didn't intend this, but that doesn't mean you don't owe her an apology."

I stomped my other foreleg. "Fine! I'll do it, but I'll never forgive you if she rips one of my legs off or so much as breathes hard on one of those foals."

"Well, hurry up and get back here," Wild ordered. "I intended to make this trip an in and out affair. How much longer will you be?"

I didn't like being rushed. "I'm getting ready to return to the place Starlight has marked for teleports and will contact her to come to get me when I arrive there. It should be less than an hour. Pony Hope isn't that big."

"I'll see you then," Wild replied, then hung up on me.

Sinker bounced on the edge of his hooves. "That was Wild Growth!"

I nodded. "Sure was. I told you she liked to call and yell at me."

"Wild Growth has a pet monster?" Sinker asked eagerly.

"Apparently she does now," I replied warily. "Hopefully, her pet monster doesn't eat me."

"I'm sure it can't be bad if Starlight Glimmer thinks cooking rice is more important," Dad assured me.

I sighed. "Good point. Trixie is probably just being dramatic. I trust Starlight’s judgment. If she's not worried, then I won't be worried. I do need to get going, though."

Mom grabbed me into another hug. "You better keep in touch, don't forget that we're here for you. I love you, baby."

I squeezed her back. "I love you too, and I'll keep in touch."

She released me, and Dad immediately grabbed me instead. "You be careful on your way back. I don't trust the Shimmerists. Have your phone at the ready to call for help if anything happens."

"I can take care of myself, too, don't worry," I replied.

Sinker just hugged me without saying much else. I gave him a good squeeze, then turned and exited the house.

Luckily, whoever their neighbor was, she wasn't out in her garden. There didn't seem to be any pony out on this section of the street. That suited me just fine. It meant it was less likely that anyone would tie my parents to me, and they wouldn't face any harassment because of me. I glanced upwards, and while I saw some pegasi up in the sky, it was impossible for me to tell if any of them were Sunrise Storm. They were just too high up to make out the details. Again, this was fine. If they were too high up for me to tell anything, they likely couldn't identify me from the height either.

I started walking back the way I came, and it didn't take long to begin seeing ponies once again. Things went just as they had earlier—lots of staring, lots of hushed conversations, and the telltale stares of Shimmerists. This time around, I had no reason to engage anyone in conversation, and I just kept towards the middle of the dirt road. I had yet to see a car on any of these dirt paths, so I had no fear of being run over. It made me more visible, but it also gave ponies the most opportunity to put space between them and me. A less significant benefit was that if anyone wanted to jump me and drag me behind a house would find it more challenging if I wasn't near any houses.

The walk seemed longer without a companion. I glanced up again at the sky, hoping to see Sunrise. She wasn't someone I would be eager to see usually, but she was a face that didn't have fear or hate for me. Her joining me for the return walk wouldn't be entirely unpleasant. I was more aloof than many ponies, but that didn't mean I enjoyed the isolation and shunning any more than the rest- I just cried about it less.

When I was about halfway back to where I needed to be, I noted that I had picked up a shadow. It didn't take long for that shadow to gain some companions. Ponies seemed more eager to get away when they saw me now. I glanced down at my leg. Should I stop to call for help, or at least prepare it to be ready to call? Stopping gave my slow-moving pursuers time to close the gap further. No, stopping wasn't an option just yet. I looked to the skies again as I walked. Where was Sunrise? The situation was starting to make me nervous. I kept walking, keeping to the center of the street as best I could. If anyone started anything, I needed to be visible.

A group of three unicorns—a mare and two stallions, stepped out into the street in front of me and looked at me menacingly. Crap, this was bad. Sunrise needed to get her flank down on the ground, and she needed to do it now. I was no match for three unicorns even when healthy, and right now, my magic was still primarily exhausted. I might manage some little things, but not a shield or anything to defend myself. Maybe flicking some dust up in their eyes, and even that was questionable.

One of the stallions stepped forward, a giant beefy white unicorn with a purple mane. "If you're looking for Sunset Shimmer's forsaken protegé to come save you, save yourself the trouble. She got called away on other business, and it should keep her busy for a while."

This was coordinated then. I quickly lifted my phone but immediately felt a searing pain in my leg as the phone burst into flames. With a burst of adrenaline, I was able to light my horn and remove the phone from my leg. I winced and looked at my leg. It seemed I'd been quick enough to avoid any severe damage, but it was still a nasty burn that hurt like hell and would hamper any attempt to run.

"Poor little Apostate," the stallion mocked as he stepped closer. "Nopony is going to help you this time. It was foolish to come around here and not bring any of your human friends to protect you. Did you think we had forgotten or forgiven your betrayal?"

No Sunrise Storm, no police, no magic- that only left me with my tongue. I looked the stallion in the eyes. "Ganging up on an old mare? I thought you believed ponies were better than humans. You’re behaving worse than a human street gang."

He sneered. "Even ponies in Equestria have to rally themselves against villains from time to time. You've proven yourself to be the enemy of all ponies time and time again. You're no better than those Humanity First humans, in fact, you're worse."

I arched my brow at him. "Because I denounced Shimmerism in front of the whole nation? Please! I was not the first, and I certainly won't be the last. I'm not even the first prominent Shimmerist to do so. Go cry me a river over how I said mean things about you, colt."

His sneer turned into a snarl. "That was just what you did to top it all off! For years you worked as an agent for those humans to arrest honorable ponies who were just trying to make a better world. You took the secrets of transformation magic, and you perverted it so that even a pony with a mark could be turned into a human. You even bragged about how you knew how to recreate Sunset Shimmer's spell and that you'd keep that knowledge to yourself rather than help save the world. You even gave humans access to chaotic and unnatural forms of magic. You had my wife arrested for treason! You're a traitor to your species a hundred times over, and you need to face the consequences!"

So much for being reasonable and shaming them about being violent. This was a personal vendetta if I'd had his wife arrested. I was in deep shit.

"Hey! Leave that mare alone!"

I turned and saw an earth pony stallion had stepped out from a group hiding on the side of a building. The rest of the ponies in his group seemed terrified.

The unicorn I assumed was the leader of my lynching committee leveled a glare at the other stallion. "This doesn't concern you, Brookstone. Be about your business and look away. We don't want to hurt anypony except her, but if you get in the way,” he left the threat hanging.

I jumped on my chance. "Now you're threatening your neighbors for trying to be decent ponies? You don't seem so righteous to me."

The unicorn gave me a deadpan look. "Stow it, Apostate. You won't confuse the issue."

"I don't think she's confusing anything!" A new voice rang out. I turned to see a pegasus land down in the street between him and me. She was quickly joined by two more between the ponies behind me and me. None of them were Sunrise Storm, but I wasn't going to complain about any aid.

"Yeah! You aren't acting the way ponies should!" Another voice called out. This time it was one of the first one's friends, who seemed to have grown a little backbone with the arrival of the pegasi. He stepped out of hiding, and a moment later, the remainder of that group stepped out as well.

I suppressed the urge to smile as I looked at the unicorn. "Are you ready to mow down all these ponies to get to me? Are you ready to turn this street into a battleground of pony against pony? Turn and leave. There doesn't need to be any violence here."

The stallion's two companions looked around uneasily, and I knew they were on the verge of bolting. I didn't look behind me, but I could only imagine those ones were as well. He still stared defiantly at me, though, with burning hatred in his eyes.

There were a few more seconds of tense silence before he relaxed his posture. "Another day. We will have justice, Sunset the Apostate!" He then turned and marched away as if there wasn't a large group of ponies here who had just been gearing to fight him.

Just then, the mare I had been hoping would be there the whole time came flying down from the sky in a rush. She brought herself to a hover a few feet above the ground as she surveyed the area.

After she seemed satisfied that nothing had happened, she turned back towards me. "I'm so very sorry. Somepony deliberately set fire to an old barn, and I was helping deal with the fire and find out what happened. It took time for me to realize that it was meant to divert me away. Are you alright? Did anypony get hurt?"

I lifted my leg. "Only slightly singed. I got lucky. It seems that your friends aren't as skittish as I accused them of being." I looked around. "You all have my thanks. I'd be dead without you. I wish I could repay your kindness."

"Ponies should never have to stand alone," the first stallion that had come to my aid declared in a very Harmonist way. A sentiment I could agree with at the moment.

One of the pegasi walked hesitantly over to me. "Are the things they say about you true?"

I frowned. "About how I betrayed ponies time and time again?"

She rapidly shook her head. "No! About how you learned how to bring magic to the humans. Is it true? My brother never transformed, but he dreams of having his own magic."

I sighed. "Giving a human magic is no guarantee that they'll ever be able to use it."

She gasped. "But you do know how, don't you? It isn't just a rumor."

I looked away. "It's something that better people than me need time to study and understand. I gave them the foundation and clues about how to go about it. Maybe someday they'll know how to safely and effectively use that knowledge. I'm done with all that. It brought me nothing but misery."

She didn't seem to be dissuaded. "But-"

“Everypony,” Sunrise flew in front of her. "Sunset Blessing has just had a very trying experience, and she needs to have her leg looked at. I think everypony needs to give her some space and try not to stress her."

The mare looked disappointed but backed off. "Of course, you're right, Sunny." She brightened up. "Hey, could we call her Sunny too?"

"Not on your life!" I barked.

Sunrise chuckled. "I think she made herself clear about how she feels about that. Thanks, everypony. I'll take care of her from here."

The crowd dispersed, and Sunrise gave me a concerned look. "Let’s go get you to our local doctor to take a look at that leg."

I shook my head. "I'll be fine. I just have to take it slow. No worse than touching a hot pan. Getting home as soon as possible is all I care about. I hope that someone at that office Starlight teleported me to knows how to contact her. My phone is fried, literally."

"I might be able to get you a replacement," Sunrise offered. "I feel awful that I let this happen."

"Not your fault," I replied. "I’ll just get Wild Growth to pony up the money for a new phone. If only because she needs me to have a phone if she's going to call me up regularly to tell me how much of a screw up I am."

Sunrise pouted. "That's not very friendly of her."

I waved my sore leg dismissively and instantly regretted it. I didn't let her see me flinch, though. "She can do so if she wants. She pays my bills and has more right to be angry at me than most people. I need to get back home so she can feed me to her monster."

"So she can what?!" Sunrise exclaimed in shock.

"She's got a new pet monster," I replied. "I'm exaggerating; she probably won't feed me to it. I just need to tell it I'm sorry and hope it doesn't dismember me before she can tackle it."

She still stared at me in disbelief. "A literal monster? Where did she find a monster?"

I looked down. "She found it while digging the skeletons out of my closet. I'll be alright. Wild isn't going to let anything happen to me. She wouldn't have anyone left she felt justified yelling at."

Sunrise still didn't seem like she was content with hearing that but didn't push the issue. "Well, I'll still escort you. Are you ready, or do you need a few minutes to rest?"

I took a few steps to prove I could walk. Each step gave me a jolt of discomfort, but it was bearable. "Let's get going, and please land, so I don't have to keep staring up at you!"

She rolled her eyes and landed. "As you wish. But tell me if you need to take a break."

"I’m not made of glass," I snapped.

She just accepted my attitude with grace. "Of course, Sunset."

Author's Notes:

Pony Hope mini-arc is complete. Will be doing updates on some other stories for the next week. I do have a new art being commissioned for this story which I hope will be ready by the time I get back to this one.

Side note: today is my birthday, big number 40.

Chapter 18: Home Again

The office did indeed have a way of contacting Starlight Glimmer, and it didn't take long for the powerful unicorn to arrive.

Starlight gave me a discerning examination. "What happened to you? Is that a burn on your leg?"

I pulled my leg back to conceal it partially from view. "Walking around by myself might have been a little too brazen. I'll be fine. I just want to get back home and deal with Wild's monster."

"Her name is Bursa," Starlight corrected. "She's- a fascinating looking creature. She certainly seems to enjoy the pool."

"Is she dangerous?"

Starlight shrugged. "She hasn't done anything threatening. I know better than to try to judge a creature based on appearances. Wild Growth has at least a dozen guards armed with tranquilizer guns standing around, so I doubt she would be able to cause much trouble. Even if they weren't enough to deal with her, both Wild Growth and I are nearby, and between her strength and my magic, there's not much she could do that the two of us couldn't stop. There's a huge truck blocking the entrance to the complex, so reporters can't get a view."

"I heard you were arguing with Lántiān," I said with a smirk.

Starlight huffed. "That filly needs to understand there's more than one way to cook rice. She can stand to be open to something different."

That made me laugh, which shook my leg, which ended the laughter abruptly as the pain flared up. "I agree with you, but I'm inclined to let her cook rice however she pleases at the moment. She knows her siblings' tastes better than anyone, and they are going through enough adjustments as it stands."

Starlight frowned. "I suppose it was a little inconsiderate of me to try to force her to try something new right now. I'm guessing the actual visit to your parents went well since you're being more considerate."

I sighed. "It's like a load I didn't know I was carrying has been taken off my shoulders. Thank you for insisting I do this; I needed it. I also found out I have a little brother around the same age as Shǔguāng. Wonders never cease."

She smiled at me. "I'm thrilled to hear that."

I paused. "Before we go back, I need to ask you something. Forgive me if this is a sore subject. After you were defeated by Twilight Sparkle twice, how did you find something new to believe in?"

Starlight blinked. "I can't say. I wanted to prove I was worthy of the opportunity I was given, and early on, was put into a situation where I saw a chance to make a positive difference during a crisis. It wasn't all smooth sailing; I had a few embarrassingly bad mistakes I still made after that. It takes time to break bad habits. What I knew was that I wanted friendship and that I couldn't stand by and let bad things happen to others. That was all I needed to know and believe. I always cared about others, but I learned a better way of caring."

I frowned. I'd hoped for some greater insight.

She touched a hoof to mine. "Hey, we aren't so different in that way. You have always cared about others too. That's a great foundation that you can build on. You'll probably make some mistakes, but if you surround yourself with good friends and listen to them, they can help you recognize those mistakes and do better. My friends had to be very patient and understanding with me early on."

I wasn't sure how many friends I could surround myself with. Starlight and Trixie were just visiting for a few weeks, so they weren't a constant presence. Wild Growth had every reason to hate me, and she was busy elsewhere most of the time anyway. Tonya and Yinyu were only there when I slept. Looking at my interests, I wasn't sure who to talk to either. I suppose I could join a church to try to reconnect with others about faith. My other primary interest was magic, and I had a love-hate relationship with it. I'd caused a lot of misery with my magical research. Still, at the same time, others seemed to want me to continue with it, and I had an affinity for finding new possibilities with magic that few others could match- even if I rarely could cast the spells I came up with. The problem was very few unicorns I was on speaking terms with were as knowledgeable about the intricacies of magic as I was, aside from Starlight.

Maybe I should take Luna up on her mentoring offer. She'd be just as infrequently available as Starlight and Trixie, but if I got enough friends who were only there sometimes, then maybe that would lead to at least one of them being available when I needed one. She'd also been the first to try to reach out to me when I was at my lowest point. Thinking back to my first encounter with her years before, I realized she had faith I was capable of good even back then. I owed it to the ones who always wanted to help me be a better person to try. The visit to my parents had changed something in me. Their faith and forgiveness for me, even after all the hurt that I'd done to them, made the possibility I could be better seem more likely than it did before.

"I'm ready to go back home and see Bursa," I announced.

Starlight nodded and directed me to the center of the room. The room itself was empty and windowless, with only the two of us and a door. I went where directed, and Starlight lit her horn up. After a brief flash, I found we were now standing on the back patio of the condo.

"By the way, how's your magic doing?" She asked me.

I frowned. "I managed a brief use of telekinesis earlier without it causing pain, although I was hyped on adrenalin at the time. I'll try doing some light use of my horn again, starting tomorrow; move some small objects, use a spoon, that kind of thing."

"Just don't overdo it. You don't want to set your recovery back," Starlight cautioned.

"I'll be careful. I have no intention of relapsing. I miss my magic too much, " I replied.

"I had to go without magic for most of a day once," Starlight said as if recalling something miserable. "I felt utterly helpless. It didn't help that I was in a dangerous situation on top of that, but the fact I had a few good friends with me made it better."

"I don't know how Wild stands it," I said, then my ears sagged as I realized I was about to go talk with Wild, and I was a big part of the reason Wild didn't have her magic anymore.

Starlight picked up on what I was thinking. "It wasn't all your fault. Twilight says that Wild Growth blames herself more than anyone else. She might not talk about it, but she's still hurting just as much as you are. She lost more than her magic that day."

"Yet she threw herself right back into doing things again while I withdrew from the world," I replied bitterly.

Starlight gave me a sad look. "I think you more than anyone else could understand the desire to bury yourself in work to avoid thinking about other things."

I grunted. I couldn't argue that point, because she was entirely right. It made me feel more sorrow for Wild, though.

We walked back inside, and I had barely made it four steps before I had a wing with a mug of some drink stretched out in front of me.

"Cold tea with lots of sugar," Lántiān announced in a deadpan. "You said that you preferred it prepared this way, ma'am."

I was thirsty so I sat down and carefully grabbed the mug with my forehooves and took a sip. "Is this ginseng?"

"Do you not wish it to be ginseng, ma'am?" Lántiān questioned in the same deadpan.

I pursed my lips then lifted the mug again to them for a long sip. I finished most of the cup and then set it down on a small table near the door. "I'm just not used to ginseng tea being used for sweet tea. It is perfect, better than normal sweet tea. Thank you for that, Lántiān. I'll finish it in a few minutes."

The ghost of a smile appeared for just a second at the edges of her mouth but was quickly gone. "I am happy you found it appealing, ma'am."

"And now you want her to chase us out of the house, right?" Starlight asked the filly.

Lántiān kept her face blank. "I will not say that, Miss Glimmer. I also finished preparing dinner, properly, while you were away. I am sure Ma'am will approve."

Starlight frowned. "So, you undid all my hard work?"

Lántiān arched a brow. "Miss Glimmer, I just corrected your errors. You cannot help you come from an uncultured, uncivilized world that doesn't understand how to cook rice, while I come from a highly civilized nation that was mastering the art of cooking rice before Celestia's grandmare was even conceived."

Starlight gave her an incredulous look, and I stifled a laugh. Starlight then turned back to me with a raised eyebrow. "You two are incredibly similar. I'm confident that you'll eventually work things out with her."

I blinked. "What?"

She frowned. "You know what. I could have sworn I was dealing with you from two years past just a second ago with her."

I wanted to object, and even opened my mouth to do so, but then reconsidered. Yeah, that insult sounded like something I'd say. It actually sounded eerily similar to something I'd say. I might still say things like that sometimes, although not directed at Equestria.

There was no point boding on that—other things needed to be done. "I'll be sending the colts back in to eat if they are still at the front door. I'm sure dinner will be excellent." I wasn't sure, but I needed to do what I could to butter my combative filly up. "Lántiān, I need to take care of the situation outside, please get your siblings ready for dinner. It shouldn't be too long, but I honestly don't know. Starlight, I would feel safer if you could keep an eye on me while I'm out there." I glanced around. "Where's the youngest two?"

"Napping on the couch, ma'am," Lántiān answered. "My daughter enjoys using her uncle as a pillow. I'd be jealous if it weren't so cute."

That might have been the most conversational thing she'd said to date. It was enough to make me feel a tiny amount of hope things might work out, and I let myself smile, even if I might be eaten alive in a few minutes.

"You go to see the pony who's chi is blocked," Lántiān said slowly. "Good luck, ma'am."

Chi was blocked? I heard the term before, but didn't understand it, and didn't have time to get a lesson on it. I instead took a deep breath, stood up, and marched to the front of the house. Starlight followed behind, saying nothing. The front door was standing wide open, and I could see Wild Growth sitting outside with her back to the door. The two colts we're peeking around the door from inside. When I got close, they both jumped in startlement.

"<There's a monster outside>!" Shǔguāng exclaimed in awe.

I looked down at him. "In English, Shǔguāng."

"There's a monster outside- ma'am," he repeated, this time in English. The ma'am felt tacked on. I didn't recall telling anyone but Lántiān to call me ma'am, so he must have heard her doing it.

I decided I needed to be less formal with the foals. I ignored his concern about the monster, which I hoped would be a sign to him not to worry. "You don't have to call me ma'am. You can call me Auntie Sunset."

He didn't get a chance to respond before Wild called out to me. "Auntie Sunset needs to get her wrinkled old flank out here. I've been very patient, but I have a schedule to keep."

"Yell cowabunga if you're scared, Auntie Sunset. It will make you not so scared," Shǔguāng instructed me, then ducked back into hiding.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied. "You two go see your sister. She has dinner for you."

"You're coming back?" Hé Líng asked in a trembling voice. "You aren't going away like Mama?"

I gave him a soft smile. "Of course I'm coming back. Don't worry. Now, go to your sister for dinner."

They hurried away towards the kitchen, and I walked outside to join Wild, while Starlight remained at the door, staring at the pool with an unreadable expression. There was a vast white semi-truck with a SPEC logo blocking the gate, and several dark cars parked out in the grass. Several human members of the SPEC security forces were standing in a perimeter, with rifles at the ready. I could see the pool, and something was moving around under the water, but I couldn't tell what, only that it was big.

Wild finally looked at me. "Glad you finally joined us. Are you ready? I want to be on my way soon."

"Ready as I'll ever be," I answered.

She nodded. "Follow behind me. Don't come up beside me or step ahead of me. If Bursa decides to do something, I prefer to have myself between you and her. The guards have tranquilizers, but I have no clue how much it will take to bring her down."

That wasn't very reassuring.

She started walking, and I followed. She stopped a short distance from the pool and called out to it. "Bursa! There's someone here to talk to you. I need you to come out of the water."

Whatever was in the water ignored her, and Wild stomped. Even with no magic, the force of her stomp was still enough to shake the immediate area and make the water splash. "Bursa! Don't make me come in there and pull you out. We need to get going soon anyway. I'm going to take you somewhere with an even bigger pool, and fewer people, but I need you to cooperate with me."

The thing stopped moving, and an inhuman face emerged from the water. It looked vaguely human, but the eyes and mouth were far too big. Each eye was as big as a pony eye, but on a human head, both eyes were a sickly yellow. The mouth stretched from one side of her bald head to the other, and I could imagine her opening it and tilting the entire top of her head back like some oversized Pez dispenser. The fact that her nose and ears were almost entirely human in size and placement only added more to the uncanny valley. It growled at Wild. "Don't want to come out and talk."

Wild growled right back. It was like watching two beasts trying to show dominance. "This pony hired those mages that hurt you. She needs to see what they did so that she can understand that she owes you an apology."

Bursa's enormous eyes clicked to me, and I saw the rage in them.

"You can't hurt her!" Wild ordered.

"I can hurt any pony I want!" Bursa yelled back, loud enough that I had to restrain myself from taking off into the house. I stood my ground, though.

"You may not hurt her!" Wild yelled in clarification. "If you hurt her, the guards will have to use their guns on you. You need to prove you aren't a monster."

Bursa gave a bestial scream. "I am a monster! Ponies made me a monster!"

Wild stared at the thing. "Only if you allow yourself to be. I have faith you don't want to be a monster. Get out of the pool and face her like a person instead of an animal."

The thing growled again and locked eyes with Wild. Wild didn't flinch away from that gaze. I was amazed at how the broken earth pony could stand her ground like that. Yes, she was still strong, but that thing was unnatural.

Bursa was the first to break her eyes away, unable to match Wild's strength of will. The beast then moved to the side of the pool and reached a nightmarish clawed arm over the side, which was quickly followed by a reptilian leg, and then another leg, and then a tail, and then...another tail? What the hell was I even looking at?

The thing pulled its massive bulk out of the pool and then began to stand. I gasped and took an involuntary step back as it did. It did indeed have two tails, and four reptilian legs that were arranged around her in a way that no living creature had legs; with one to her left, one to her right, one in front of her, and one in back that the two almost tentacle-like tails flanked. I had no idea how that thing was even supposed to walk with that configuration of legs. Her entire upper body was covered in coarse brown fur, and her arms, though they lined up with how human arms were placed, looked more akin to something found on a gorilla- aside from the sharp three-fingered claws that each ended in. At her full height, she towered at least eight feet tall, perhaps more. I'd expected a monster, but this was a horror.

"Cowabunga," I whispered.

Chapter 19: Bursa

The great beast turned its head towards me, and even with the guards, Starlight, and Wild all there to stop it, I still wanted to turn and run. This was no creature of God, but some demon from Hell.

Bursa tried to take a step towards me and then collapsed down to the ground in a heap. I heard the monster cry out in pain.

What? Had someone shot it?

Wild didn't move, but her posture relaxed. "Bursa, are you hurt?"

The thing sobbed. "Always hurt. I want to go back in the water. Pony cruel to make me walk."

"I'm sorry, " Wild said mournfully. "Sunset needed to see."

Confusion overrode fear as I looked at Wild. "What happened? Did one of your guards shoot it?"

"Her, not it," Wild corrected in a growl. "No, they didn't. She can't walk well at all. Her body and skeleton aren't made to move around. She has learned how to swim, and that takes some of the strain off her. If you look closely at her, you'll see she has tumorous lumps all over her. I'm going to get doctors to try to do what they can to treat them, and I hope that will further reduce the pain she continually endures. First, I have to convince her to let anyone get close enough to treat her without her trying to dismember them."

I looked at Bursa again, more closely than I had before. Now that the initial shock of seeing her had worn off, I could see the lumps that Wild was talking about. The fur on her upper body hid many of them, but they were legion. There was even one that was visible outside the coat that looked like some massive pimple, and it seemed the fall had caused it to leak pus and blood into the grass. Those legs I could now see were not of even length, and her reptilian feet didn't all face the way they should. Her arms were indeed muscular, but I now saw that many gnarls in them were not muscles. Bursa's body convulsed as she sobbed where she lay.

My breath caught. "This is horrible."

Wild nodded. "You see a monster, but I see a victim. Her resonance is broken and unstable. I would say it's a miracle that she's still alive after all this time, but saying miracle might indicate there's something good about this. She's dying; her body is falling apart at the molecular level."

I continued to stare in horror, but not the same kind of horror I had earlier. "You described her as dangerous. You act like she is dangerous."

Wild nodded. "Don't underestimate her. She is still powerful and angry. If she can grab you, it would probably be all over for you. She's still capable of doing a surprise lurch at someone, even if it causes her agonizing pain to do it. She'd have been a significant threat to any creature when she was first shaped, before the deterioration started."

I continued to stare. "How long does she have?"

Wild shook her head. "I don't know. A few years at most, but it could only be months. The normal Equestrian mages say there is no hope. Twilight Sparkle is going to see what she can do for her, if there is anything to do for her. That's where you come in."

I whipped my gaze back towards Wild. "Me? What do you mean where I come in?"

She looked back at me. "Twilight Sparkle is the greatest mage there is. However, you know almost as much or just as much about transformation magic as she does. You also have a talent for seeing possibilities in things where others don't. You might not be working directly on Bursa, but Twilight is going to be sharing her notes and ideas with you to see if you can see something she doesn't."

I shook my head in denial. "I- I can't; I swore off doing anything else with transformation magic. I've hurt too many people. I almost killed my grandfoals. I almost caused a greater disaster than the one that happened. I got my wife killed."

The earth pony turned and fixed her rock-hard gaze on me. "You're right, about the things you're guilty of, and you can add what has happened to Bursa to the list of your crimes. However, you don't bear the sole responsibility in any of that. I helped enable you, and others more twisted than you abused our work. Bursa is still suffering, and by God, the two of us are going to do what we can to fix our mistakes. I'm going to give her shelter, safety, medical care, and I hope justice. You're going to put your talents towards something good, with no ulterior motive for once than to help one person who is suffering."

I stepped back. I wanted to run again, but not from a monster I could get away from. I had considered getting back into magic, but this-

"Everyone tells me I need to give you a chance to prove you can be a better person," Wild said in a dead tone. "I wanted you to rot in a cell for the rest of your life. I still have a big part of me that wishes you were still behind bars. Instead, here I am, trying to give you your chance against my better judgment. In the end, it isn't just me that you need to prove yourself too."

That gave me pause. "I don't know."

She snorted. "Tell her you will help do everything you will to make this right. I won't blame you if you and Twilight fail. I will blame you if you don't even try. Step-up or step-out, Sunset, if you don't agree to try, then I'm done with you."

Having a figurative gun put to my head didn't seem like the best way to get a heartfelt attempt from me. Still, she was right. I needed to fix my mistakes. If there was anything I could do that could make this better, then I should be doing it. It would be Twilight Sparkle directing things, not me, so I didn't need to fear my bad judgment.

I turned back to Bursa and forced myself to take a step forward. "I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I gave Rossman the knowledge to do this, and he twisted it into this. I knew there might be some questionable things about him, but I thought I needed his mind. I saw a means to an end, and that allowed this to happen. I'll assist in any way I can to help make you well. I swear this to God and you."

"Rossman-" Bursa hissed with hate. "- I remember. I remember Rossman. He- he did things…"

Wild stepped forward. "And I'm going to bring Director Rossman to justice. I'm going to find whatever hole he's hiding in and see that he never hurts anyone like this again. I promise you that. Even if we can't fix you, we can make sure that happens."

Bursa gave Wild a stern glare. "Why should I trust ponies?"

Wild again didn't flinch away. "I got you out of that cave and back into the sunlight; I'm going to get you medical help, so you don't hurt so much, and I'm going to bring you somewhere you can be safe and comfortable. You trusted me enough to bring you this far. Have I done anything to betray that trust?"

Bursa turned her head and looked at the armed guards. "You have them to hurt me."

"I have them to discourage you from hurting anyone," Wild corrected. "If you hurt someone, you'd be treated like a monster. There would be calls to put you down."

Bursa turned back towards Wild. "Maybe I want to die and stop hurting."

"You'd not live to see justice done then, and you'd sacrifice your chance to be fixed, " Wild replied. "You'd also die a monster in people's eyes. You've had enough taken from you as it is, but you are the one who controls whether you are a monster or a person. Don't give what you have left away."

Bursa glared silently for a few seconds before she gave a long blink. "I will trust you for now."

Wild let out a long breath in relief. "I'm happy to hear that. I'm also sorry that we must get moving, and that means you need to get back on the truck. You aren't safe here, and you deserve far more space than some community pool. Do you need my help getting back into the truck, or do you want to do it yourself?"

Bursa hissed. "Myself! Don't want a pony near me!" She then began to pull herself along the grass with her arms towards the semi.

Wild watched Bursa's progress for a moment before turning back towards me. "Thank you for agreeing to try."

"You're right; I need to do this for myself. I need to prove to myself I'm capable of being a better person," I replied, then sighed. "Although, that feels selfish. How do you do it?"

The earth pony blinked. "Do what?"

"Be so damn selfless and righteous all the time," I answered. "Even when I'm trying to do something for someone else, I'm still stuck thinking of myself."

Wild didn't answer right away. Instead, she walked over to a saddle bag that I hadn't previously noticed. She must have removed it and set it there at some point earlier when she was concerned she might need to jump in front of Bursa. She opened it up and fished out an old smoking pipe and carefully lit it, before turning back to me.

"I don't have an answer for you, Sunset. I am who I am, and I can't imagine thinking any other way," she answered. The earth pony took a draw from the pipe then continued. "It's good that you ask the question. It means that you don't want to be selfish. I think that has to be an excellent place to start."

I scrunched up my nose at the smell of tobacco. "I thought you quit that."

She shrugged. "I keep it out of the public eye, but I take what little stress reliefs and distractions from the pain I can. It's not like it's even hurting me. I heal whatever it does to my lungs as fast as it damages them. My magic hurts."

I tilted back an ear in confusion. "What do you mean your magic hurts? You're burnt out."

She closed her eyes. "It's all still there," she said in a pained voice. "I can't channel it into the earth anymore, and it has nowhere to go. It's like a storm inside me that never stops. It heals me, makes me strong, and it does those things to even greater extents than it did before because that's all it can do. Do you remember how it ruptured my body before? It is still doing that, only now it heals itself as fast as it can destroy, and it hurts like hell. I take pain medication and have mages who try to dull things, and this tobacco is spiked with more painkillers. It isn't so bad right now, and there are plenty of times the pain retreats to a dull ache, but there are other times I need to retreat to my room and tremble."

"Have you talked to Twilight Sparkle about it?" I asked.

She nodded. "She says she's never seen anything like it. Then again, there's never been a pony as powerful as I who burnt themselves out. It's like all that channeling I did that day never stopped, but it can't go anywhere but me anymore. No one I have gone to for answers has come up with anything to fix it."

This was another thing that was my fault. If I hadn't been so negligent and determined to push ahead with my great legacy, she'd never have had to be in the position she needed to save Riverview. She had so many reasons to hate me.

I made a silent decision. If I did see things that others might dismiss, I needed to use that to help her. I'd ask Twilight Sparkle for the notes she had about Wild's condition. Maybe I'd find something that others had missed. Perhaps I could undo another crime I'd done to someone. I wouldn't tell Wild about it. I didn't want to get her hoping for something I might not be able to do. I also didn't want her to have any reason to forgive me if I did figure something out. I deserved her ire.

Bursa was still trying to make her way up the ramp onto the truck and was struggling with it. I watched her struggles and let the shame flow. I had a lot to make up for.

"I need to attend to the foals," I said at last. "I trust you don't need anything else from me."

She shook her head. "I'll be on my way as soon as Bursa manages to get up that ramp. If she takes much longer, I'm going to insist on helping her. She can claw and try to crush me all she wants, but I'm not going to leave her futilely struggling. I'll let her try to do it on her own for a few more minutes, but she needs to get used to accepting help, even if she doesn't like it."

I nodded and turned to walk back into the house. Starlight had left the front door at some point in the past few minutes, and I could hear her trying to coax Trixie out of the closet. I'd completely forgotten that Trixie was even in the house.

"Oh, I'm not sure if I need to say this or not, but please keep your foals out of the pool and the area Bursa was in for the remainder of the day," Wild instructed from behind me. "I'll be paying for cleaning crews to come to clean up, and paying them to arrive by tonight, but she's been bleeding and leaking pus into the pool and grass. I don't think you want them getting into that."

That was disgusting and unsanitary. I didn't verbally reply, only gave a nod, before walking back into the house. I had foals to take care of and friends to thank. I had no intention of neglecting all of them just because I had other things I'd soon be dealing with alongside them. Work kept the fretful mind at ease, and God, in His infinite wisdom and mercy, had given me many opportunities to work.

Chapter 20: Chi and Rice

"No, Trixie is not coming out!"

Starlight sighed as she watched me walk in and close the door. She was standing next to the closet and seemed to be on her last nerve. I wouldn't be surprised if she just dragged Trixie out with her magic. She had a lot more patience than me.

"Bursa is out of the pool and getting back on the truck. She'll be gone shortly," I announced.

Starlight nodded. "I came back inside when Wild Growth asked her to get back on the truck. That poor creature."

"Have you examined her?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, her resonance is a mess. My understanding is that once they break down, there isn't much that can be done. I'm not going to discourage you and Twilight from doing everything you can to help, and I'll be investigating it as well, but this is not my regular magical fare."

My ears sagged. "But you don't have much hope."

"I don't put anything past Twilight," Starlight said firmly. "If anypony can come up with an answer, it's her. I also know that if she gets on the right track and doesn't realize it, there's a good chance you can spot it. That's what you do, isn't it? You don't come up with stuff yourself, you look at what others came up with and see things in their failures they didn't."

"I figure out how to use other's leavings, that's about right," I agreed. "My brilliance is overrated. I'm a glorified refurbisher of second-hand magic. I just hope your friend gives me something good to work with. I don't know how to fix this either without something from her."

She gave me a small smile. "There are different types of genius. Don't discredit yours because it relies on others. It's why we need you out in the world again to be useful; you're nothing by yourself, but you're a powerful force when combined with others. I think there might be a friendship lesson in that."

I looked back at the door as I heard the engine of the truck start, followed by several car engines. "Have you examined Wild too, and her problem?"

Starlight closed her eyes and gave a sad nod. "Yeah, I have. Twilight noticed it early on when Wild Growth healed so fast after burning herself out. That's not a natural thing. She spent a long time examining her, and I did too after I arrived. I've never seen or read about anything like it."

"And did you two just give up on fixing it?" I demanded.

She opened her eyes and shook her head. "We still look into it when we have time. There's always a lot to do, and as much as we want to help, it isn't a crisis. We've already spent a lot of time on it."

I bit my lip and glanced back at the door for a second. "I want your notes and Twilight Sparkle's. It's my fault this happened to her."

"Are you sure?" Starlight questioned while arching an eyebrow at me. "Bursa is one thing, you're pretty adept at transformation magic already, but this is something else entirely. You may be out of your depth."

"I don't care," I spat. "I've learned plenty of things in the past few years; I can understand more if I apply myself. I've got to undo this."

Starlight walked over to me and touched a hoof to my side. "It's great that you want to fix your mistakes, and I understand where you're coming from, but you've got plenty to take care of already between the foals and helping with Bursa. You can't give both of those the attention they deserve if you take on too many extra projects. Especially ones you need to familiarize yourself with so much new material. How many things did you have your hooves in when the Cataclysm happened? Don't you think you might not have made some of the mistakes you made if you had been more focused and given each the proper attention it needed?"

I looked down at her leg that was touching me. "You think I'm falling into the same old traps."

"I told you that old habits die hard," Starlight reminded. "And you should count on your friends' advice to help stop you from making those old mistakes. I'm your friend. I'm trying to look out for you."

I chewed it over in my mind. I didn't want to let this go. "If Bursa gets help, with or without my aid, will you share your notes on Wild with me? That's me keeping focused on just one project at a time other than the foals- who are a task that isn't going to go away."

She sighed and held an outstretched hoof in the air. "Okay, that's fair. You've got a deal. As soon as Bursa is taken care of, if she's able to be taken care of, I'll be happy to have you help us with Wild Growth."

I touched hooves with her, and we shook in it. As we were shaking, Trixie stuck her head out of the closet. "The monster is gone?"

"Bursa's gone, " I confirmed.

"And we need to be on our way as well," Starlight announced. "I do have work I'm supposed to be doing, and I'll need to go out again tomorrow."

"Trixie is going to be left here again with no food or entertainment," the showmare grumbled.

"Which is why we need to get going," Starlight said with a chuckle. "I figured while Sunset gets to spend some quality time with the foals, you and I can go out and enjoy ourselves for a little while and buy some food to stock the fridge. I'll do my work tonight when we get back."

The showmare grinned. "Trixie would enjoy getting away from this place for a few hours."

The two Equestrians hugged as I watched. When they broke their hug, Starlight gave Trixie a big smile and motioned with her head to go. "Come on, let's leave Sunset in peace."

I smiled at them as they walked by me towards the door. "Thank you both for all the help you've been with the foals. I feel like I've been imposing on you."

Trixie stopped and smiled. "The great and powerful Trixie always enjoys a young audience. Young foals are the most dazzled by my acts of prestidigitation." Her smile dropped. "That oldest one though-"

I hung my head. "I'm sorry about her. I'll be talking to her tonight. I can't promise things will immediately get better, but I'm going to try some different methods of dealing with her. Shouting at her and getting into slap fights certainly isn't working."

"Good luck, we're rooting for you," Starlight said encouragingly as she opened the door. "Twilight might have encouraged us to get to know you, but that's because we've been through our points where we needed to turn our lives around. We empathize with you, and that's an excellent place to start a friendship. It's how Trixie and I became friends. Show that filly some empathy, and maybe you can make another friend. I can already tell she wants your approval."

I frowned. "Hard to tell from my perspective. Especially when she's boxing me and being a little snot."

Starlight chuckled. "Not so hard to tell from the perspective of somepony watching. I had to listen to her telling me about what Ma'am would or would not approve of while we were making dinner and her fretting over making sure you had tea ready when you arrived home. I also caught her smile when you complimented her and agreed with her. Believe me; she wants your approval."

I snorted. "I only have so much I can approve of with her right now, but my parents gave me some advice, and I'm going to see if it helps. Thank you both again."

We said our final goodbyes, and they finally left. I turned and walked back towards the dining area, ready to see if I could start fresh with the foals.

They were all seated around the dining table, which was an impressive feat, considering it was a human dining table. The colts all had to stand up on their hind legs with their forehooves on the table even to eat. Lántiān was tall enough she could sit normally, and had her daughter in the chair with her. The colts, including the now awake Mèng, all forgoed any silverware and had their faces right in their bowls of rice. Lántiān had found a large wooden spoon she cradled in a wing and was using it to feed Qīng Yǔ small bites of food. There was an empty chair with a bowl of rice in front of it. Lántiān had even remembered to set out both a spoon and pony strap for me, along with my now refilled cup of tea. I had to admit; she did try to do her best to be dutiful.

I walked in without a word. I could see Lántiān watching me out of the corner of her eye, but she said nothing. The colts were all so engrossed in their food that I'd be amazed if they even noticed me. I carefully climbed up into the vacant chair and looked over the still steaming bowl of rice. I then put my legs together on the table and bowed my head.

"Lord and Savior, thank you for this food and the nourishment it brings. Please, forgive me for my sins, for they are many, and protect the foals under my care. In your precious and holy name, I pray, amen."

I lifted my head to see everyone had stopped eating and were now staring at me.

"Auntie Sunset, who were you talking to?" Shǔguāng asked in confusion.

"<Sister made the food>." Líng chimed in.

"English, please," I said as I began working on getting the pony strap on. "And I want to thank you as well, Lántiān. This looks very good."

"But who were you talking to?" Shǔguāng persisted.

I finished getting the strap on and started working on getting the spoon strapped into it. "I was speaking to God. It is called saying grace. I do it before every meal."

"Do we need to say grace too?" Líng asked, looking around as if he wasn't sure he had done something wrong. I could see Lántiān watching me suspiciously.

I shook my head. "No, it is part of my religion, not yours. It would be wrong of me to ask you to participate in that if it is not your beliefs. I once tried to force others to do so, and I think I may have done more harm than good. If you wish to learn more about my faith, we may discuss that later, but please, enjoy your food."

Lántiān visibly relaxed after I said this, and I knew exactly what she had feared. That was one set of mistakes I wasn't going to make. Faith and religion were something personal, not to be dictated, and I would not dictate them to these foals if they didn't ask me to teach them.

"You were expecting me to force them to adopt my beliefs, " I said to her, and then scooped up a bite of rice and tried it. It wasn't bad at all.

The filly looked down. "I would not presume to know your intent, ma'am."

"It's alright. You don't have to hide your concerns," I assured her. "However, if they do choose to inquire more about it, I will teach them. Does that bother you?"

She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable. "Yes, ma'am. You have already insisted on them changing their language."

I nodded. "I will not force them to learn any more than they want to in regards to faith. It will be their choice if they do or do not adopt my religion. Would you deny them their free choice?"

She licked her lips. "Never, ma'am."

"We understand one another then," I replied. I took another bite of food, and after I swallowed, I decided to continue the conversation. "I confess, I am not very familiar with whether you have religious beliefs of your own. You had said something to me earlier about chi. Can you tell me more about your beliefs? I wish to know more about you."

"I am a Taoist, ma'am, although I am not very devout," the filly answered. "Our mother taught me some of it, but she is not very devout either."

"What is chi?" I asked, then reached and picked up the tea to take a sip.

The filly looked at a loss for words. "I do not know how to explain chi, ma'am. It is just chi. It is life, spirit, energy; I do not have the word other than chi."

"Magic?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I do not know, ma'am. I am not devout and do not understand these things well. I am sorry I have disappointed you."

I needed to head that off right away. "You didn't disappoint me. I was only curious because I wanted to know more about you, and because you said earlier that Wild Growth had her chi blocked. How could you tell she couldn't channel magic? Was it because you've been researching?"

She shook her head again. "I know nothing about that pony's magic, ma'am. I did not know she could not channel magic. I just know her chi is badly blocked."

I arched an eyebrow. "Okay, so how can you tell?"

Lántiān sat silently as if struggling for an explanation. She shook her head once more. "It is how she moves and carries herself, ma'am. I can tell that something is not right with her chi."

"You can tell by just watching her?"

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"And how is my chi?"

She looked uncomfortable again. "It is also blocked, but not as badly, ma'am."

I frowned, considering this information and trying to make sense of it. "Is your chi blocked?"

"I do not know, ma'am. I cannot observe myself the same way."

At least it was an honest answer. I tried to think of another way of approaching this. "What is your cutie mark for again?"

"For cloud clearing, ma'am."

"Are you certain of that?"

She sat up straight as if offended. "I am sure. I received my cutie mark on a day that I cleared away grey clouds and brought out the sun. My classmates were sad. They did not say so, but I could tell that the extended grey and gloom that we had for days was depressing them. I went up to the clouds and cleared away some to bring out some sun. They weren't so sad anymore, and I got my cutie mark, ma'am."

I believed she might be misinterpreting what she got her cutie mark for if that was true, but I wasn't going to correct her.

"Ma'am, may I express a concern?"

I blinked. "Is it about my chi?"

She shook her head. "No, ma'am. It is about your religion, and you might teach my brothers."

"You don't want me doing it."

She laid her ears back. "You are our guardian, ma'am, and it can be hard to tell what should be done to earn your approval, or what your unsaid expectations may be. My brothers may seek to learn solely for your approval and because they think you expect them to, not because they would otherwise want to. Is this their free choice then?"

I would indeed be disappointed if none of them wanted to learn about my faith. Spreading my faith was tantamount to my Christian beliefs. However, she might have a point that this could be a concern. As me being a concerned Christian, this could mean false conversions, which was worse than no conversion.

"And how would you propose I deal with it if they ask to learn?"

"Delay it, ma'am," she answered quickly. "Tell them you will teach them when they are older if they are still interested. They are too young to grasp these concepts anyway."

"Very well," I said slowly. "That's agreeable. I'm glad we can discuss this calmly and without fighting. You may call me Auntie Sunset as well if you wish. You don't have to keep calling me ma'am."

I was surprised when she shook her head. "I prefer not to, ma'am."

I wanted to tell her that it got tiring hearing her go ma'am ma'am ma'am all the time, but decided to let it drop. It was respectful. What was I supposed to do? Tell her to disrespect me?

The colts had finished eating and had scurried away at some point. Qīng Yǔ had decided to move onto her mother's teat since she wasn't being given any more spoonfuls of food. I was primarily done with my food, but I noted my eldest charge had barely touched her own. Perhaps she had not eaten anything yet since she had been giving some of hers to her filly.

She noticed me looking at the food. "I will eat and then clean up, ma'am. I only wished to make sure everyone else had a chance to eat first."

I nodded. "I would help you clean up, but I'm not going to work my horn any until tomorrow. I'm sorry that you've had to take on so many duties while my horn has been on the fritz."

She sat up straight again. "I am proud to do these things, ma'am."

I believed her and still didn't understand why she was so insistent on doing all of this. It was a mystery for another time. "Alright. Well, your meal was delicious. I'm going to speak to the colts. I feel as if I have been ignoring them."

She looked a bit disappointed but nodded back. "I have no objections, ma'am."

Well, getting through an entire conversation with the filly without an argument, growling, or snide remarks, I could count as a victory. I'd even managed to learn a little more about her. I doubted every conversation would go so smoothly, but at least we'd demonstrated it could be done. I still needed to get her to abandon her Shimmerism, but for right now, I would take a night of peace. Tomorrow I would try again to make progress with her, and maybe little by little, we could both become better people.

Chapter 21: The Hawk and The Hen

I was looking forward to spending time with the colts. Actually, I was looking forward to dealing with anyone but Lántiān for a few minutes. It wasn't like I hadn't already had breaks from her; it was just that I hadn't had enough breaks from her. Perhaps if we could avoid one another for a decade, I'd be more up to it. Not that I would ever get that. Still, I went out to see the colts with enthusiasm.

The foals were all out in the living room. Shǔguāng and Líng were facing one another while hopping back and forth. Mèng and Qīng Yǔ were both standing in a line behind Shǔguāng, with Mèng biting Shǔguāng's tail, and Qīng Yǔ biting Mèng's tail. Líng seemed to be trying to get by his older brother to reach the younger two foals. The two younger foals had to beat their wings to balance themselves when Shǔguāng took too big a hop for their smaller legs to keep up with, although it seemed like Qīng Yǔ did it at times just because Mèng had done it first. There was a great deal of giggling going on from all the foals; except Qīng Yǔ, who seemed focused entirely on mimicking her youngest uncle's actions.

I took a seat on the couch as the game progressed. It was clearly a simple game for young foals, and the rules didn't seem hard to figure out from mere observation. I watched as Líng paused and considered new ways of getting around his older brother after having no previous luck.

The little earth pony smirked slyly, and suddenly charged straight forward, as if trying to go under Shǔguāng. There was no physical way another pony was fitting under Shǔguāng's stubby little legs. He might have been the oldest colt, but he wasn't old enough to have that kind of size difference. Líng's action was enough to throw him off balance, though, and he stumbled to the side, dragging the two youngest along with him. Líng was down on the ground and took quick advantage of his brother's fall to clutch and bite down on Qīng Yǔ. The tiny pegasus let off a muffled squeak, but she didn't release Mèng's tail.

"<Yǔ, you need to let go. You are caught>, " Shǔguāng explained in Mandarin.

Líng reached his hooves forward and tried to loosen her grip on Mèng. "<Let go>!"

"English, please," I called out as a reminder.

Shǔguāng turned to me with his ears tilted back. "But Mèng and Yǔ don't know English. They didn't have the spell cast on them."

"I'm not sure if they know much Mandarin either," I replied calmly. "I've yet to hear Yǔ say a word, and Mèng has only uttered the word Mama. They can learn English instead of Mandarin. I'm not having that spell cast on foals that don't understand even one language yet."

"They know words," Líng said defensively. He patted Yǔ. "<Say Mama. Say>Zǔmǔ."

Whatever Zǔmǔ meant, it didn't translate correctly in my brain, but it got an immediate reaction from both the youngest foals. They released their bites and looked around expectantly.

"Mama?" Mèng said in what seemed a very hopeful tone.

Yǔ looked around. "Zǔmǔ?"

Shǔguāng got up angrily and boxed Líng's shoulder. The earth pony colt didn't respond in anger, like I thought he would. He instead went wide-eyed as he realized he had just made a grave mistake.

The two youngest continued to look around, crying out the respective terms. Their search became more frantic as they got no response back, and the two older colts looked at them mournfully. I didn't need to have Zǔmǔ translated for me. I now understood exactly who the young filly was looking for and failing to find.

It didn't take long for their failed search to turn into crying and wailing. Lántiān flew into the room in a blur, landed, and grabbed both of them up into a hug. She then gave me a resentful look like it was my fault.

Shǔguāng came to my defense before my squabble with the filly could resume. He pointed at his earth pony brother. "His fault."

Líng looked downcast at the floor, and gave a barely perceptible nod. "My fault."

Lántiān turned her disapproving glare at her little brother for a second, then went back to trying to soothe the two toddlers. The two older colts and I watched in silence as she hugged and kissed them. When they seemed to be calming down a little, she picked Mèng up and deposited him on her back and put her daughter on alongside him an instant after.

She then stood up and gave Líng one last glare. "Don't do that again." She looked at me and nodded in acknowledgment of my presence. "Ma'am." She then marched out of the room.

Líng looked pitifully at me and then his older brother, who was still staring at him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

Shǔguāng snorted and whinnied. "Stupid!"

"Don't call your brother that," I ordered.

The unicorn colt shook his head and walked away towards the back door, and sat down, staring outside with his back to us.

Líng continued to look miserable as he turned towards me with tears streaming down his face. "I didn't mean to. I miss Mama too. When is Mama coming back?"

God, help me. I didn't want to lie to the colt, but I couldn't find the will to tell those tear-filled eyes that she never would. I could be heartlessly blunt to any adult, or even his older sister. I'd been direct and to the point with children as a Sunday school teacher, bordering on cruel- not that I was proud of that. However, seeing him looking to me like that, I just didn't have it in me.

"Did we do something wrong?" He asked, near sobbing.

I sighed. I had to say something. "Come up next to me. Let's talk."

The colt stood up and wiped his nose with one of his legs, before climbing on the couch next to me. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate or not, but I wrapped a leg around him and pulled him closer to me.

I gently wiped his eyes. "You did nothing wrong. Your mama loves you and your siblings more than anything else in the world."

"So, why'd she send us away?"

That was a far more loaded question than the colt knew. "She isn't back at your old home. She had to go away too… just to a different place."

"Why?"

I chewed on my lip. I glanced over at his brother and saw the other colt still had his back turned to us, but his ear was cocked as if listening intently.

I turned my attention back to the colt in my grasp. "There were some bad people that wanted to hurt you and your siblings. Your mama had to make a choice. She could go away and only be in dreams, or she could let them hurt you. Your mama would never let anyone hurt you, and she did what she had to do."

Líng laid his head down on my flank. "I don't understand."

I did some more chewing on my lip. I didn't want to try to explain this to someone so young. "Imagine if someone wanted to do something terrible to all your family. Something so terrible they would never get better. Imagine you had a choice. You could never be in the same room with your family again, or your family could be hurt like that, and you'd still never see them again. What would you do?"

He flattened his ears. "That's not fair!"

"I hate to say this, because it is said far too often, but life's not fair sometimes," I replied. "That was the kind of choice your mama had to make, and she took the only option she could. You didn't have those terrible things happen to you because she would do anything to protect you. Even if it meant she could only visit you in dreams from now on."

"But, I miss Mama."

I smiled. "That just means you love her, just like she loves you. You're lucky. A lot of foals don't get to see parents that go away at all anymore. You still have her in your dreams."

He snorted and got wet snot all over my flank. I did my best not to look disgusted. Snot from a runny nose was easier to clean up easier than emotions.

"I had a wife, and she had to make that kind of choice," I said slowly. He looked up at me, and I forced myself to continue. "There was a bad person who was going to hurt everyone. She had to make a choice, she could go away, forever into dreams, or she could let him hurt people."

Tonya had less of a choice. He would have killed her, no matter what. I wish he could have lived so that I could murder him. I wanted to make him suffer. Dying so quickly that he didn't even get a chance to feel anything was too much a mercy for him. Hell was too good for him.

"She didn't want everyone to get hurt, so she made the only choice she could," I continued, and I felt pressure in my eyes as tears threatened to break free. "I still see her in my dreams, but it isn't the same. I m-miss her so much."

He rubbed a hoof against me. "Auntie Sunset, don't cry."

I took a few seconds to recompose myself, and then forced myself to smile at him. "But I think that might be why I'm the one she chose to take care of you, or so others tell me. I understand what you are feeling right now. It doesn't feel alright. It doesn't feel fair. You had someone precious taken away from you, no matter if anyone claims you haven't really lost her, and nothing makes that any better."

He started to cry again, and I touched a hoof to him to still his crying. "But you still have your brothers, your sister, and your niece. They are still there, and they love you just like your mama does. Your mama went away so you could still have them. You have a long life left to live. One that will let you meet lots of people who will be important to you. Don't ever forget the precious people you still have and have yet to meet. They're your mama's gift to you, and you're her gift to them."

That sounded like it encouraged arrogant and self-centered thinking, but I was an arrogant and self-centered pony, and that was the best way I could word it.

He sniffled. "I still want Mama."

I hugged him. "I know you do. I still want Tonya. We just have to grieve and try to accept it. It isn't going to get easier, but I think it is unfair to them if it did get easier. We should never stop loving and missing them just as much as we did when we first realized they were gone. At least we have our dreams; that's more than most people get. Tonight, when you dream, make sure you tell your mama how much you love her, okay?"

He nodded weakly. "Okay."

I released him and gave him a little nudge. "Now, go wash up. You've made yourself a mess. You can ask your sister to run you a bath. Tell her I asked her to."

His ears perked up at the word bath. If that colt didn't get some water-related cutie mark, I might die of shock. He got down from the couch in a hurry and ran towards the kitchen. "Sister! Auntie Sunset says I need a bath!"

I almost felt bad for dumping more work on Lántiān, almost. Running him a bath wasn't that much work, and she probably wanted to give the two toddlers one as well anyway. I had other things to do. There was still one colt in the room. One who had been eerily silent through the entire exchange.

I left the couch and walked towards the back door, before sitting down beside Shǔguāng. The young unicorn was making a show of not looking at me, instead staring forward at the glass door as if it held all the world's secrets.

"She didn't just go away, did she?" he asked, still staring forward, expressionless.

I shook my head. "No, she didn't just go away."

"She's dead, " he said, still a face of stone. So young to have an expression like that.

"She is," I confirmed.

He still didn't bat an eye or flex any feature of his face. "Why didn't you tell him?"

"Why haven't you told him?" I contested. "I don't think you just realized it."

He finally broke his gaze outside to turn his face away from me. He stayed silent.

I took a deep breath. "I think it is because you're afraid of hurting him. You don't want him to stop believing she's out there."

"It's because it's our fault."

I jerked my head and stared. "You shouldn't think that!"

"But it's true," he replied, not turning around. He wouldn't face me, but I could hear him crying.

I put a hoof on his back. "No, it's not. It's the people who threatened you. It's their fault. Don't you ever blame yourself for her sacrifice."

"She's dead, and we aren't!"

I shook my head. "Better than the other way around, and she agrees with me. Are you going to disagree with your mother?"

He wiped his face and turned to look at me. He had red irises, but the whites of his eyes were red as well from crying. "Are you our replacement mama?"

I shook my head. "I'm not replacing anyone. I'm here to take care of you, and make sure nothing bad happens to you. Your mother is still your mother, and nothing will ever change about that."

He turned away again. Yeah, these colts might still play and watch cartoons, but these weren't issues they were just thinking about now.

"You're not like your brother; you get angry when you get hurt, don't you?" I asked.

His ears wilted. "I don't mean to. It just happens."

"Don't apologize for getting angry, " I snapped. "I get angry too. So does your sister. Some people go and cry in a corner when bad things happen; some get angry- some of us do both. What matters is what you do with your anger."

He looked at me again. "What do you mean?"

I looked out the backdoor now as I spoke. "Your first instinct is to lash out at everyone, but then you realize that is wrong, so you try to bottle it up. That never works. Sooner or later, it comes out. The next thing most people tend to do is redirect that anger at someone. It could be towards whoever made them angry, or to yourself, or to someone that doesn't deserve it. I admit I have a problem because I tend to do those things. It isn't what you should do."

He blinked in confusion. "What should I do?"

I turned and looked him in the eyes. "You take whatever made you angry. Whatever injustice was done to you. You take that thing, and you say you will make it so that it doesn't happen again. You're angry because you lost a loved one. Look at your brothers and your sister, look at them and say to yourself; no one will take any more of my loved ones away. Then you make sure no one does."

"What if I can't figure out why I'm angry?"

I leaned in closer. "Then make sure figuring out why you're angry is what you do before you take action. Make sure you know good and well. Also, make sure you have a right to be angry. Spend a lot of time thinking about that, because if you don't have a right to be angry, nothing good can come of your anger."

"Do I have a right to be angry now?"

"You have every right to be angry at the people who threatened you and your family," I replied. "Make sure you guard and look out for your siblings, let that rage remind you of what you have to lose. But look out for their happiness too, don't forget why you care about them."

He stared at me. "Mama told me things like that. Only she said, don't let my emotions get the better of me."

I frowned. "She's not wrong. There's a balance to it. I wish I could tell you how to figure that balance out, but I'm not sure I understand it."

"But… you're a grownup."

I shook my head. "Grownups don't always know everything, kid. If you figure it out, take time to tell me how to do it."

We both just stare out the glass in silence for a few minutes. It wasn't that great a view, but we weren't really looking at it.

"I'll protect them. I promise," he said after the silence had stretched on. Saying it like a pony two or three times his age. "I'll protect them and you."

I chuckled. "Thanks, but it's my job to protect you."

He didn't stop coldly staring forward. "I'm not going to lose another mama."

Author's Notes:

https://youtu.be/4QtXMimbf_w

Chapter 22: A Little Mèng Before Bed

Violin music played over the house's audio system as I settled down on the couch. Lántiān was upstairs, tucking her siblings into bed, and would be going to bed herself within minutes. I had done my best to avoid Shǔguāng since our talk earlier. Despite my objections, I was his new mama, right alongside Yinyu, and he refused to take no for an answer. I had been adopted, and I didn't get a say in the matter. Lántiān was not pleased with the development, but had said nothing. When I had questioned her about it, she said if her brother deemed me part of his family, then I was. She wasn't going to take another loved one away from him.

At least I would have some peace for the evening-

CRASH

-if Mèng's foalsitter would ever arrive.

I got up from the couch to investigate the noise. Mèng was huddled under the dining room table, and three of the chairs were knocked over. How he managed to get three at once might be a mystery for the ages, as I saw no practical way he could have done it. The crash had spooked him, though, and he was whimpering.

I bent down low and locked eyes with him. "How in the world did you manage to knock three chairs down at once?"

Mèng didn't know English, and his understanding of Mandarin was likely fuzzy, so I didn't expect an answer, nor was I given one.

I gestured for him to come to me. "Come on out. I can find something to distract you and keep you busy till your foalsitter gets here."

He didn't budge. I sighed and decided I could budge a little on the Mandarin. "<Come here. We go play>."

He stopped whimpering, and his ears perked. "<Play>?"

My God, he did know more than just one word. We now had two! One of them was in the wrong language, but it was progress.

"<Play>, " I confirmed, then decided to repeat it in English so he could start learning the word. "Play. <Play>." I was sure I sounded like an idiot.

He got up and cautiously walked out into the open, before looking to me expectantly. Great, now I was expected to play with him. I didn't know how to play with a three-year-old colt. I had no idea what games I could do that could keep him entertained. I wasn't ready to use my horn yet either, so I wasn't going to be able to pull the same tricks I'd seen Starlight doing.

My cluelessness about how to play was becoming quickly apparent to him, and I could see the demon in him ready to start acting out. I needed advice, quickly. It was laughable, but even though I was the adult in the house, I had a sudden fear of Lántiān hurrying downstairs to the sound of her brother's wails, and looking at me disapprovingly. It was an irrational fear, but I still was determined to avoid it happening.

I hurried over to the landline phone and dialed up the number for my daughter. When in doubt, ask an expert. There was no shame in running to someone else who knew more about the subject.

After a few rings, the line was picked up. "Dreamwarden's residence, this is a recorded line. All prank callers will be hunted down mercilessly."

I rolled my eyes at Crystal's greeting. "It's Sunset Blessing."

"Oh! Hiya, Sunset," Crystal replied. "We never get together and talk. Remember that time I kicked you so hard that you had to be hospitalized? Good times."

I wasn't going to let her get a rise out of me. "Is my daughter available to speak?"

"Nope, meeting with some people, doing important- stuff. Nothing too Earth-shattering. She and Tempest are talking with some officials about Tempest's plan for applying for citizenship. I tell you, it's crazy seeing Tempest as a human. I didn't think she'd go through with it."

Mèng had followed me to the phone, perhaps thinking I would do something fun, but he seemed to be under the impression he was being ignored, and his eyes were starting to water. I couldn't spend a long time on the phone talking with my daughter's buffoon bodyguard.

"That is all fascinating, and I will pray all goes well, but I need help." I was sure I'd regret this next question. "Is Rosetta available?"

"Uhhhh- are you sure you want to talk to her? I'm pretty certain she hasn't fully gotten over you turning her mother into a monster, one that put her into a brief coma and tried to eat all the magic out of her foals. She was pretty pissed off about all that for some reason, can't imagine why. It's not like little mistakes don't happen."

I didn't have time for this. "Okay, maybe you can help me since you're a glorified foalsitter. How do I occupy a three-year-old night pony colt?"

"Just one colt?" Crystal asked.

"Yeah, just one."

"They like to chase things, explore, fight with other foals; you can distract them with short cartoons too- just make sure they are short cartoons, they haven't got an attention span for a movie. Also, they aren't quite at an age for climbing correctly yet, but that doesn't mean they won't try their darndest. Really, think of night pony foals like little kittens instead of ponies, because they act more like cats than equines. Little cats with bat wings instead of claws. You like cats, right? You left us this wonderful ball of fluff that you had the foresight to name Satan."

"I don't intend to treat him like a pet cat, " I snapped. "I told him I would play with him."

"So, why haven't you asked him what he wants to play?"

"Because he has said two different words in the three nights I've had him."

"Oh, he's just quiet. You're too used to Phobia, Rosetta, and the twins. The fillies will yak your ear off, normally with a lot of snark. The colts tend to be quieter. Alfie tends to keep quiet while his sisters do all the talking; even Robby is kind of quiet. I promise you that colt knows a lot more words than what he's saying. Probably a few hundred words, if he's three."

I looked down at Mèng. That little devil had been holding out on me! I wondered about the other one. "Side question, how much should a one-year-old know?"

"Eh, not much. They might recognize two dozen words or so, but only be able to say two or three, if that. It can vary. I'm told that Jessie was talking in short sentences by the time she was one, and just starting to read those Little Golden Books, but then again, she's a super genius."

"That's good to know," I replied. Mèng or his niece might not be geniuses, but I'd still been underestimating the average intelligence of a foal. "You've been a great help. I need to get going, though. God bless."

"Same to you."

I turned my full attention to the distraught night pony colt as I disconnected the call. "<Time to play>."

That instantly shifted his demeanor. "<Play>?"

I nodded. "<Word game. You say a word, and I say a different word. You say both words then. You understand>?"

He shook his head in confusion. He understood me well enough to know I was asking him if he understood. That was something.

"<I will help you. Say> Mèng, " I instructed.

"Mèng," he repeated, then pointed a hoof at himself while giggling. I didn't see why that was worth laughing about, but I wasn't an expert on toddlers.

I gave him a big smile and stomped my hooves. "<Good. You get a point>."

He stomped his hooves in turn and flapped his wings. "Ya!"

I pointed to myself. "Auntie Sunset. <You say> Auntie Sunset."

He gave me big eyes as if I'd just asked some very hard. "Ahyee Sunseh?"

My ears folded, even though I did my best to prevent them from doing so. I was hoping I wouldn't have to sit around working on pronunciation with him, but it seemed that I would have no choice.

The sound of knocking at the door stopped me from continuing.

"<Hit>!" Mèng said excitedly, and bounded towards the door. I hurried after him, and quickly passed him. I hoped he didn't intend to hit the foalsitter. Maybe that was just his way of describing a knock at a door?

I reached the door first and gently shoved him back away from it as I opened it. A night pony with midnight-blue fur and wings, a purple mane and tail, stood just outside the door. Her dark green eyes went wide as she looked at me.

"Holy sh-" She cut herself off as she noticed the foal. "You really are the Sunset Blessing! I thought it was just a joke."

I could see workers cleaning the yard and pool behind her. I couldn't get a good view of her cutie mark from where I stood. "You're Josie Woods? I was expecting a human after reading your name."

The younger mare, who I guessed was somewhere in her twenties, looked relieved for some reason. "Yeah, that's me. I never really saw the point in a pony name." Her eyes widened again as she realized again who she was speaking to. "Not that there's anything wrong with pony names."

I stepped aside. "Come on in, Miss Woods, and I'll introduce you to Mèng. No offense taken, by the way. To each their own. The Lord loves variety."

She stepped inside and looked down at Mèng with a big smile. "Hi, there! Are you Mèng? I'm Josie."

I shut the door as Mèng was staring blankly in response to her greeting. She turned and looked at me. "I'm guessing he's shy?"

"He doesn't know a lick of English," I explained. "The only thing he likely caught out of all that was his name."

Mèng blinked a few times, then sat down. Josie watched him and pursed her lips. "Oh… well, that's going to make this interesting." She then turned back to me. "I was a little shocked when I got your email. I don't get a lot of people emailing me out of the blue to foalsit. I'm great with kids, and I need the money, but I’m still a little baffled about how you found me."

"Your name was recommended to me by my daughter, the Warden of Fear, who had the name passed to her by the Warden of Peace. They gave me a list of names of potential foalsitters, and your name was the first name on the list."

Her ears flattened. "The Dreamwardens gave you my name?"

I raised an eyebrow. Typically night ponies took being noticed by a Dreamwarden as a badge of honor. She looked horrified. "Is that going to be a problem?"

She looked back and forth between Mèng and me, and started muttering to herself. "It's just a foalsitting job. You love foals. It pays well. You need the money."

"Is there a problem, Miss Woods? Is it Miss or Mrs, by the way?"

She shook her head. "Definitely Miss, no night pony stallion would- nevermind. Anyway, the Dreamwardens and I have a messy history, but it won't be a problem."

I looked her over. Her cutie mark was a stylized eye, which was as cryptic a mark as I'd ever seen. She had no tattoos on her wings, so that meant she wasn't a lesbian, as night pony lesbians always tattooed their wings. Her half-finished remark about stallions meant other night ponies scorned her for some reason, and having a messy history with the Dreamwardens indicated she'd done something at some point to run afoul of them. Was I letting a criminal watch over Mèng? She hadn't faced the worst punishment the Dreamwardens could do; otherwise, she wouldn't be here, but being scorned by night ponies didn't usually happen if justice had already been served or if she was just one of those unfortunate souls who made Sha'am Maut angry. Still, it was the Dreamwardens that gave me her name, and I wasn't someone with the right to judge other people's checkered pasts.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "A messy history with the Dreamwardens isn't going to be an issue with me. My wife had her own messy history with them, and she ended up being selected as a Dreamwarden to replace that horrible mare, Sha'am Maut. However, I need to let you know that Mèng is one of Yinyu's orphaned foals."

Her eyes briefly almost seemed to pop, but she closed them and took a few deep breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she seemed calmer. "I have no personal issues with Yinyu, and even if I did, who his mother was doesn't change the fact he's a foal going through a difficult time. I focus on doing what I can for upset foals."

I looked at her odd cutie mark. "Is that what your mark is for?"

She frowned and covered her flank with a wing. "My mark is for… something else. I still have a passion for helping foals and children, though."

If she wasn't sharing, I wouldn't force her. "Well, Miss Woods, you have free rein to go about as you please downstairs. He is to be supervised at all times. You can cook anything you please in the kitchen. You may use the television, but keep the volume low, since the rest of us need our sleep. He is allowed into the backyard. I would normally allow supervised time in the front, but I don't want him out there till they confirm everything is clean. He is not to leave the grounds under any circumstance, and should be within sight of the door if he goes outside. The only time you are to go upstairs is if you need to get me because of an emergency. I should be awake and downstairs around dawn, but if his older sister comes down first, she is acceptable to release him into the care of, and at that time, your shift shall be done. You shall need to wait on me for payment, though. Is this fair and clear?"

She nodded. "That's all fair and clear. How many days a week do you need me?"

I looked at Mèng. "Ideally, I need a nanny seven days a week who just moves in, but I understand that's impractical on such short notice. I need to have multiple interviews with anyone going to be moving in. I'll divide your time with another sitter until I can procure a permanent full-time nanny for him. How many nights a week are you available?"

"I can do three, for sure," she replied. "I may be able to do more, but I don't want to promise I can do more and then have something come up. I can do the next two nights as well, and will need at least one day off after that."

I nodded. "That will do. It gives me time to find an additional sitter for the other days. We are moving to a different house soon. I'm not sure when. It is still within Denver. Will that be an issue for you?"

"Not as long as you give me some directions and landmarks. I might be a little late the first day after the move, just because I have to find the place, but I should be prompt after that."

"Good," I said with a smile. "Everything is in order then. Try to keep the noise down, and good luck." Mèng was still quietly sitting where he had been since first seeing Josie. He seemed fascinated by her. I wondered how many night ponies the colt had seen in his life, other than his mother and himself. I assumed night ponies had flocked to his mother like they did to Phobia, but then again, she hadn't had any real protection while running for her life. "<Be good, Mèng>."

"Sleep well," Josie replied. Then turned her attention to Mèng. "Now, let's figure out how to communicate."

I silently wished her good luck on that in my head, as I headed towards the stairs and up to bed. Yinyu and Tonya were almost certain to have words to say tonight. I was sure Yinyu, in particular, was going to have some harsh ones about having struck her daughter, and wouldn't be very understanding about the circumstances.

Chapter 23: Trust

As I was making my way to my room, and was almost at the door when my ears twitched at the sound of sobbing. I turned my head, zeroing in on the source of the sound, realizing it was coming from Lántiān's room, and it wasn't the sound of her daughter. Frowning, I wondered if I should do something or say something. I stood there, debating whether I should leave it be, with my ears twitching with each sob.

God damn it.

I turned away from my door and walked over to hers, hesitating in front of it. This was stupid. Why was I doing this? I knew why she had to be crying, and I couldn't make anything any better. Nothing could make it better. That proud filly wouldn't appreciate me intruding on the moment that she allowed herself to let some of the grief out. It was something she kept private, out of sight, and it was sacred. She should be left alone, with her dignity.

Tonya wouldn't have left her alone. Tonya would have done what she could to make it better.

God damn it.

I rapped gently on her door. "Lántiān, may I enter?"

The sounds of her rapidly trying to compose herself followed, and it took her several seconds to manage a reply. "Yes, ma'am. It is not my place to deny you entry."

How that filly managed to be such a snot yet so respectful at the same time was a wonder. I pushed down in the handle of the door and let myself in.

The room was simple. Looking around it, there was no feeling of ownership that a room in a home had. Not much was her; a queen-sized bed, decked in a dark brown blanket, with white sheets; some framed watercolor paintings of flowers in a vase; a plain dark writing desk, beige curtains, and the walls were done in a dark green that somehow bordered in being brown. It felt like a hotel room, something that existed by design to be unobjectionable rather than homey. It was a place for people just passing through, who would leave no trace of themselves when they were gone.

Qīng Yǔ was curled up asleep on a pillow. Lántiān was sitting on the bed, and the covers showed no signs that she'd made any attempt to tuck herself in as of yet. Her face was a mess, and even in the dim light of the single lamp she had on, I could see that her eyes were reddened, tears had soaked her fur, and there was still a small amount of snot that wished to escape her nose. Still, she looked at me with that stonelike expression that tried to hide her emotions.

“It’s late, and I expected you to be asleep already,” I started, unsure of how I should start this conversation. She was staring at me, waiting for me to speak some more. I didn't know a way of dancing around the subject, so I might as well be blunt. "I heard you crying, did you need to talk?"

"I do not wish to talk, ma'am," she replied sharply.

Little snot. "I don't recall asking what you wished, I asked if you needed to talk. I may coddle your brothers, since they are young foals, but you, filly, are essentially a young mare who should know the difference between wants and needs."

This made her fluff her wings slightly, at least for just a moment, but they quickly deflated, and she cast her eyes down. "I am crying about wishes, so there is no need to concern yourself, ma'am. I will focus more on what is real."

Starlight told me to show this filly some empathy. How was I supposed to do that when she wouldn't talk? I was trying; God damn it!

I walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down before her, in a position where she would look down on me. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what I was about to try, and dreading it. "If you do not wish to discuss what is on your mind, perhaps I can share some of mine. I’ve asked a lot of you and I should be more open with you."

She sat more erect, more proud, than before. That was one thing I'd come to understand in her. She valued being trusted and being given responsibility. I suppose the two could be seen as one and the same, to many. I had no such illusions that the two always went together. I'd given many responsibilities to others in my time, and I trusted hardly a one of them. The government'd also given me a great deal of responsibility over the years, and if they had trusted me, they were greater fools than I was. No, giving someone trust and giving someone responsibility was not the same. In fact, sometimes it was best to give responsibility to those you trusted least; so that when they failed you, you had a perfectly reasonable explanation of why you disposed of them.

I recoiled at my thoughts. I was a disgusting monster. As much as I tried not to be, it was my nature. Not to mention a liar, telling her things I didn't even fully believe.

I looked her in the eyes. "I'm thinking about the difference between trust and responsibility, and I think that your mother gave you a great deal of responsibility but never really trusted you."

The filly flinched as if I slapped her, and I knew that I'd struck a chord. I continued, "I have so far been doing the same. I have been dumping responsibility upon responsibility upon you, but I have not trusted you."

She ruefully looked at me. "And what have I done not to be trusted, ma'am? Is it because I struck you?"

I shook my head. "You've done nothing wrong. I haven’t given you a chance to earn it."

She breathed heavily. "I returned from my flight within the time you told me. I have done every chore you asked of me, ma'am."

I nodded in agreement. "And you've proven you can be responsible, for yourself and others. That does not mean you have my trust."

She was all but growling now. "Then what would, ma'am?"

That was an excellent question. Where should trust begin?

I stood back up and motioned with my head. "Follow me. I’d like to show you something private, something I do not wish you to discuss with others."

We walked over to my room. I clicked the light on, and I went to my personal effects. It took me longer than usual to fish out what I was looking for since I was still wary of using my horn, but I eventually pulled out a photo album and motioned for her to join me.

"I've been married twice," I explained. "My first marriage was to a man who became a unicorn as well. Our marriage ended soon after ETS. I think it was ETS that made us both realize how unhappy and unfit for each other we were. There was some additional drama involved that I won't get into now. Before I came here, he gave me this. I don't know if it was a gesture of kindness or spite. He might not know either, but it is very sentimental to me."

I opened the album, and there she was, staring back at me from the photos, Tonya.

"You asked me about my dead spouse, and I rebuffed you," I said quietly. "Here she is, my Tonya. My ex-husband is quite the photographer. I was surprised he had taken all these, each at various family gatherings. Please, flip through it. See my life with her."

She did as instructed, examining each photo closely. I saw her eyes linger on the images that also included my grandfoals, which I suppose could be expected.

I tried not to look at the pictures too closely as she turned through the album. "Trust, young mare, is letting someone into your heart, letting them see your secret thoughts and feelings, your worries, and your hopes. Trust is a very sacred thing. I trusted Tonya completely. I loved and trusted her. They often go together, and they did with her."

She didn't look up from the album, but seemed to stop looking at the photos. "And you say my mother did not trust me, ma'am?"

"Would you have put so much loyalty in your government if she had been open with you about what was going on in her head?" I asked. "I can't know for sure, unless you tell me, but I am guessing that you were rather blindsided by her saying you were all going to be running for your lives. She gave you responsibility for your brothers, but she never gave you the trust to tell you what was going on until the last minute when she had no choice, didn't she?"

She gulped, saying nothing, and in doing so, gave her answer.

"Your mother didn't trust you, but she did love you. It is important to distinguish between trust and love. Love can exist even when there is no trust at all. People like to play the fantasy that love requires trust; it does not. My daughter loves me dearly, I know she does, but she doesn't trust me at all."

"Family should- should trust one another, ma'am," she said, choking back tears.

"Should is another word for hopeful wishes," I replied. "Trust has another factor. That trust that they won't ever betray you, that they always have your best interest at heart, and would never do anything to hurt you. Trust is a dangerous thing to give. Tonya trusted me, and I got her killed."

The filly lifted her eyes to me. "How?"

I noted that she didn't ma'am me that time, and I stared off at the wall. "I was concerned about her safety. I was so concerned with rioters and rogue crystal ponies that I failed to think about or appreciate the greater danger that I'd been harboring. It was my fault that he was there. I thought I was clever, taking someone that belonged in the electric chair and extracting use from him. I always thought I was so clever. The sad part was that I could outsmart one person after the next, despite being such a fool. Maybe, that means everyone is just a fool, waiting to be taken for a ride. I thought I knew best that I was sending her to safety but I sent my wife to her death."

I started to cry. "I sometimes think about everything I could have done differently that day. I'll spend entire days obsessing about what else I should have done. The truth is she died in each and every possibility I can see. Her death was determined before that day happened, all because of the decisions I made before that day. She was the one who brought about the Cataclysm, and the Cataclysm was the best-case scenario to stop the disaster I had created. Isn't that sad?"

At this point, I couldn't hold it back any longer; I broke down sobbing. "She trusted me to keep her safe, but I killed her. My decisions, my cleverness, all brought those things to us. She should never have trusted me."

“You…” Lántiān looked at me, quizzically. "You said that the Cataclysm was the best-case scenario, ma'am?"

I sniffled, wiping my nose with my leg, and nodded. "Yes, it would have been a million times worse if that monster had had his way."

"And she was the one that stopped him, ma'am?"

I nodded again. "Yes, she sacrificed herself to save us all. She was such a good mare, much better than me."

The filly frowned. "And you were the one that put her there, ma'am?"

I snapped my eyes to her and narrowed them. "I didn't do it so she could save us. I did it thinking that was how to keep her safe. She's dead because of me."

She didn't look away. "So, you say, ma'am. Yet, you also say this Cataclysm was the best-case scenario. Would she have lived if you had not sent her there?"

"I- I don't know," I stammered. "I have no way of knowing that."

"But she may have still died," Lántiān said with emphasis. "The way you speak, ma'am, it seems almost inevitable. Perhaps you would have died as well?"

I fiercely glared back. "So? What does it matter?"

"You wanted her safe, and she lost nothing by trusting you if she would have died either way," the filly replied. "But her trust did give her the chance to save you, ma'am." She then hung her head. "My mother never gave me a chance to save her. You're right; she didn't trust me."

"That wasn't what I was-"

"But, my lack of trust in her may have killed her," Lántiān said in a whisper.

"That isn't what I-"

She held up a wing, and her eyes started to water again. "I hesitated! She needed us to be moving, and I kept hesitating, kept resisting, kept questioning. We were moving, but we weren't moving as quickly as we should have, and it is my fault. My brothers listened; they did not question her; they trusted her. I delayed us so much that we couldn't escape as she planned. Mama was forced to change the plan, forced to sacrifice herself."

She wiped her face and looked at me again with anguish in her eyes. "I think it was stupid, her plan to run to the United States. If she was so intent to run, we could have run to Russia, but she had set her heart here, all because her chosen successor was here. It was not my place to question her at that time. It was my place to listen and trust. I don't know if she might have gotten away too if I had not hesitated, but I know that I took away all hope of it."

I tried to lay a hoof on her shoulder, but she jerked away from me. Instead, I just tried to calm her with my words. "As you said, you don't know-"

She shook her head. "They were almost upon us, and she looked back, and then looked at us. She was crying as she said to us, you keep running. Don't stop until you reach the ones who will help you escape. Then she turned and went back. My brothers took off, and I had no choice but to follow. I looked back one last time, and I saw it happen. I saw her pull something from her saddlebag, and then she was engulfed in flames. My brothers did not see it, and I couldn't cry out, or they would stop. I could only keep running, knowing what she had just done."

I gasped. Good Lord, she had seen it happen?

"Now she says that you will keep us safe, ma'am. I don't know if I agree with her, but I will trust her this time." The filly stood and walked back towards her room, pausing only briefly to look back at me from my doorway. "Have a good night, ma'am. Thank you for sharing these pictures with me and for giving me much to think about."

She returned to her room, shutting her door behind her. I sat looking at my album and the images of Tonya. "Did I make things better or worse?"

It was time to sleep and to speak once again to the betrayed dead.

Chapter 24: Dream Visit Intermission

There was a knock at my door, and I opened it. My dad, as a human, was standing there in pain, staring at me.

"Something- something is wrong," he said, then collapsed down on to the ground.

I rushed forward to catch him, but couldn't manage it. As he lay crumpled on the ground, my sister Kristin came running down the hall.

She shoved me out of the way and glared at me. "You were supposed to be taking care of them!"

I stepped around her as she lifted my dad and took him into my room, and I walked deeper into the hall. My other sister came running up to me.

She looked at me with a frantic expression. "What's wrong? Where is he?"

I feebly pointed back towards my room, and she ran by me. I turned away from my room and was immediately confronted by my mom, also human, stumbling towards me.

She floundered about as she spoke. "I don't want to take a car ride!"

She then took a tumble into the bathroom, and my heart was pounding in my chest as I followed her. She lay on her back in the tub as she tried to stand back up. "I- I don't want to go away-"

Then a hand grabbed me from behind and pulled me back, as the bathroom door shut.

I wasn't in the hallway or my childhood home; I was nowhere but a dark abyss. I wasn't human either. Lucidity returned to me as I realized that I was in a dream.

Tonya stepped in front of me, in her pony form, giving me a sympathetic look. "This is an unusual dream for you. I don't think I recall any point you've dreamed about your sisters and parents like this, or at all. Do you want to talk about it?"

I shook my head. "No, it's just my mind distorting things after having seen my parents again and thinking about my sisters for the first time in years."

She sat down in the nothingness. "The mind does odd things when trying to process information, and dreams can be a distorted reflection of that. It is worth thinking about the feelings that warped vision imparted, but if you don't wish to talk about it right now, that is alright."

The serpentine form of Yinyu swam out of the nothingness and joined my departed wife in examining me. "You have had an eventful day, and we won't keep you long," Yinyu said in a neutral tone. "I did want to talk to you about how today went with you and my foals."

I'd been expecting this and was ready for her to start yelling. "I know I shouldn't have struck your daught-"

Yinyu held up a fin. "It's fine- well, it's not at all fine, but I understand. Both of you did unacceptable things today, and I know you deeply regret it. While I never laid a hoof on her, I know I was sorely tempted to do so on more than one occasion. I once lashed out against a family member in anger, much worse than what you two did today, and what I did still haunts me. I am just thankful that today ended with only one blow thrown by each side, and no lasting harm was done."

I blinked. "This isn't the response I was expecting. You should be screaming at me. I hit your daughter. That isn't okay."

Yinyu gently smiled. "If you are the one emphatically insisting you should be chewed out, then there's no need for me to yell at you. Scolding is for those that need to be instructed about what they did wrong, so they understand not to do it again. Scolding is correctional, so if what I hope to correct has already been understood and steps taken, there is no value in scolding."

I shifted position, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. "I just have a hard time believing you aren't ready to skin me."

Yinyu's gaze hardened. "Oh, make no mistake, I'm furious. I just know that there isn't anything productive done by yelling at you. I'm furious with her as well."

"Are you yelling at her right now?" I asked. "I deserved to get bucked after what I said. It was completely insensitive and cruel. Please, don't be hard on her."

Yinyu sighed. "What my daughter and I discuss is between her and me, unless she chooses to share with you. I am glad you are advocating for her; it shows you care. We will move on from this incident; let's not discuss it any further."

"But-"

Her change in demeanor was frightening fast. Yinyu suddenly grew in size, her teeth lengthened and sharpened, and her colors became darker. "IF YOU ARE DIRECTLY ASKING FOR PUNISHMENT, I CAN GIVE IT TO YOU!"

I cowered in place. Tonya shifted shape to her angelic form, and used her staff to bonk Yinyu on the head. "Enough!" Tonya yelled. "Sunset, drop it. You don't want what she will dish out. Yinyu, heel!"

The Warden of Lust reverted to her usual proportions and gave Tonya a sullen glare. Tonya ignored her and reverted to her pony form.

Yinyu looked back at me, and I could see her forcing herself to appear calm. "What I wanted to address was two things. First, I want to make it clear that I don't blame Lántiān for what happened."

"Would you have made it if she hadn't slowed you down?" I asked.

Yinyu's fins and expression slouched. "I do not know. I cannot give the answers to what-if scenarios any better than you can. I know that my distraction did pull away many of those chasing us. We still may have been caught if she had been quicker. I do not know the answer, and I won't speculate about it."

That was no more than what I had told the filly, but I had hoped that Yinyu would say it for sure it didn't matter that her daughter had slowed them. "What about the other options, like running to Russia? She seemed convinced that it was a better idea to go that way."

She shook her head. "I checked into whether we could flee that way and then be given safe passage to the United States from there or at least safe harbor; the Russians said they would consider options once I was there. I wasn't willing to risk without stronger assurances. The only other country that was willing to give us guaranteed safe passage was India, and they would not have been able to help in our escape. There was no way my foals were going to be able to cross the Himalayas safely, and even if we could, there was no way we could cross that much of the country without being caught."

I had expected that Yinyu would have explored all options. I didn't know how bright she was, but I knew that Luna wouldn't have selected a Dreamwarden who was stupid. I still felt better knowing I could refute Lántiān's claims that her mother had made the wrong choice.

Yinyu bit at her lip before continuing. "The other matter I needed to discuss was Shǔguāng deciding to adopt you as a new mother."

My eyes went wide as I shook my head. "I had no intention of-"

My mouth disappeared; it wasn't just shut; it was taken away. Yinyu stared down at me. "He's a strong-willed colt, and it would be pointless to try to convince him that you aren't his new mother. It was probably going to happen sooner or later if they spent time with you. I'm a little surprised it happened so fast with him, but not completely. I'm still his mother, but I can share him. I wanted to let you know that he will not stop insisting you are his new mother and that you must accept it. His brothers normally follow his lead, so don't be surprised if they do here. Treat them as if they are your offspring. They need their sense of family. Family is essential to us all, don't discourage it."

Tonya stepped forward. "I'm not going to return your mouth just yet. I know you will try to object to being a mother. I'm not going to listen to that nonsense, and neither is Yinyu. What I needed to say is that your parents wanted to let you know they are in contact with me. I know you haven't been able to contact Phobia about them as of yet, and I will be taking care of that for you."

She stepped forward some more and pulled me into a hug. "Your family is growing, and your family needs you. I know how important family is to you, so take care of yourself. We need you; me, Yinyu's foals, Phobia, Phobia's foals, your parents, your brother, even Yinyu herself, we all need you. Never lie to yourself and try to convince yourself that isn't true."

I still didn't have a mouth, so I couldn't verbally reply. I just nodded my head against her shoulder.

"There is one last matter," Yinyu said as Tonya released me. "Luna will be contacting you soon. I don't know the full details about what, and even if I did, I don't have permission to disclose about what. I was only permitted to tell you she'll be contacting you. Just be prepared for it."

Luna had contacted me previously, although it had been many months since I last heard anything from her. I had rejected her efforts to take me on as a pupil back then. I didn't even know what she could teach me since most of her expertise was in dream magic, mind magic, several forms of combat magic, and whatever crazy magic let her move her world's moon- all forms of magic I had little interest in mastering. While there were almost certainly things outside of those types of magic that she knew that I didn't, the list might not be as long as a person might expect. Of course, magic might not be the focus of my education if she took me on as a student. I was still on the fence about how I felt about it, so maybe she would try to sell me on the idea again, and this time I could bother to ask exactly what she hoped to teach me. I'd never allowed her to explain.

"We'll let you return to regular sleep now, and I'll keep any nightmares at bay," Tonya said gently with a smile. "I am glad you are trying."

Yinyu gave me another unreadable look. "Continue to keep my foals safe. Just because they are far from China doesn't mean they are out of reach of those who'd want to hurt them to get to me. Family is our biggest asset in keeping us grounded to the world, but it is also our biggest weakness."

"And that goes for you too," Tonya said firmly, giving one final hug. "Keep yourself safe. You're my Achilles heel. I love you now and forever."

They faded away, and my mind drifted into a regular dream.

Author's Notes:

I'm going to need a few background ponies in a coming chapter, Ponies of Walmart. If you'd like your OC to be a background pony wandering around Walmart, feel free to describe them in the comments. Yes, they are going to be at Walmart.

Chapter 25: Two Founders

The morning came, and I rose with the sun. It always seemed ironic that I typically awoke with the rising of the sun each morning, yet I had taken the name Sunset, a time of day that had little meaning to me. Of course, my first instinct was to reflect; to reflect on my dreams, my meeting with Yinyu, and what I wanted to accomplish that day. Unfortunately, the first thing that came to mind was the fact that Mèng was currently downstairs with young Miss Woods, and I promised that I would be down to relieve her early. I needed a shower, but that could wait until after Lántiān was up and ready to watch her siblings. Oh well, there were things to do, and the world was right when there was work to be done.

I got up and cautiously tested my horn with a simple dim light spell. It lit up with no discomfort, and I smiled. I didn't want to overdo things by trying to do multiple spells at once, so I ended the light spell and tried levitating over my Bible. The Bible felt slightly heavier in my magic than usual, but it wasn't a strain. I knew I shouldn't be at a hundred percent quite yet, so that wasn't any cause for alarm. The good thing was that I was recovering, and I could do some simple tasks with magic again.

I decided to keep doing single levitation and grasping spells, which were among the simplest spells, for the remainder of the day. I could try expanding to two levitation spells at once come tomorrow, and try some slightly more complex spells the day after that. As long as I didn't strain myself, I should be back to my normal levels by the end of the week. It was a relief that my brief use of magic yesterday didn't seem to have set me back at all.

With that done, I left the room and trotted down the stairs. I found Josie on the couch, holding a bowl of cereal in her forelegs, and using a spoon she had grasped in a wing to feed Mèng. The colt was sitting quietly and accepting the spoonfuls without fuss.

"Good morning, Miss Woods; how was Mèng over the evening?" I asked as I walked into the living room.

"Surprisingly quiet," Josie responded as she fed Mèng another bite. "Night pony colts have a reputation for being particularly rowdy, but he followed me around quietly, laid beside me when I sat down, and hasn't given me any problems at all."

I frowned. "About that… I failed to ask Yinyu about it last night, but I am not sure how many night ponies he has been around, aside from his mother. I think seeing you might have reminded him of his mother."

Josie nodded as she continued feeding him. "I'd wondered about that myself. Even if he wasn't thinking of his mother, he could be lonely, not seeing any ponies like himself. I know I had that kind of experience right after I transformed. He may be a toddler, but that doesn't mean he is incapable of recognizing the fact he's a little different than the ponies around him. Kids are a lot smarter and more aware than most ponies are willing to give credit."

"Well, when you’re done feeding him, I can see about paying you for the night," I said as I made my way towards the kitchen before pausing. "I don't suppose you made any progress on communication with him, did you?"

She shook her head. "No, but if you wish, I can dreamwalk to him later today. There is no language barrier in dreams. I wouldn't spend much time there with him, since he is so young, but I could try to make some progress that way… I wouldn't charge extra for it."

I considered it as I watched her feed him. "If he can't learn language through a dream, what would dreamwalking accomplish?"

She shrugged. "I could try to help him to understand certain concepts, maybe try to understand how he thinks but can't effectively communicate. Make him understand I'm trying to teach him words when we're awake."

I frowned. "That's all well and good, but you are aware of who his mother is, right? She'd almost certainly want to supervise it. I'm not sure how she'd feel about you intruding on her time with her foal."

Josie stiffened, and I could see the spoon paused on its journey to Mèng's open mouth. When Mèng realized that his mouth had been open longer than it should have, he closed his maw and glared at the spoon. After a second or two of consideration, Mèng reopened his mouth and lurched forward to get the food. The sudden jolt nearly spilled the cereal but knocked Josie out of her temporary stupor, and she resumed feeding him.

I arched an eyebrow at her. "I didn't want to pry, but that wasn't a normal reaction. What went on between you and the Dreamwardens?"

Josie sighed as she set the spoon down in the empty bowl, then set the bowl aside. "I'm always surprised how few day ponies and humans know who I am. Every night pony does, or at least, any night pony that was a teen or an adult right after ETS knows who I am. I know the government must have some extensive file on me somewhere, and I always heard rumors that you spent days and nights reading every notable pony file the government had. Like Big Brother from that book, you were always watching."

"The stories are true, to a point. It depends on who you consider notable," I replied. "The thing about reading every such file is that it is far too much to remember, and if I didn't have a reason to continue to be interested, I would forget most of what I read. Even experts keep books and files on their subjects, since there are details that they don't often use, and forget about. So, remind me about your file."

She shook her head. "I don't know exactly what it would have said. I'm from Lazy Pines, the first person that transformed into a night pony. I'm also the night pony with the most potent magic, even if I try to keep a low profile. I'm the originator of the vision you all experienced right as you finished the transformation. Sunset Shimmer guided me on how to do it and what to make it do, but I was the one who was the source."

"I remember something now-" I said slowly. "Like the spell that cured ETS, it had a single source, but it sought out each night pony as a spreader, just like the cure spell sought out the crystal ponies."

She nodded. "Almost the same principals, they had to be willing, but if they were, they spread my magical vision, like conduits. I tried to craft more visions, but the Dreamwardens disapproved. Luna asked them not to do anything to hurt me, and they listened out of respect for her, but they still took action against those that assisted me." Her voice caught, and a tear dripped down the side of her face. "That sadistic bitch Sha'am was the absolute worst; she did unspeakable things to my friends and followers, and made sure I watched. More than once, the other Dreamwardens had to intercede to stop her."

It all came back to me. "I remember your file now. I went over it twice. The first time when I was accessing whether you'd be of use to me. By the time I could even consider it, Dreamwardens were a thing, and your powers were a moot subject. The second time was when doing threat assessment and suggestions on neutralizing threats regarding powerful ponies for the government. It was the same case; Dreamwardens were the perfect counter. It's probably why the government didn't lock you up and throw away the key."

She gave me a sick look. "I'd rather not have known all that."

I shrugged. "Doesn't much matter. Although, it is quite the twist of fate that we are sharing the same room. Between the two of us, I think we've influenced or given birth to every single major philosophy and religious cult that has sprung up since ETS, whether we intended to or not. Harmonists, Lunites, those crazy Celestia-worshiping cults out in Russia and other parts of the world, all of them would not have existed without your visions."

"I'd prefer I wasn't associated with any of that," Josie replied in a downtrodden voice.

"You and I both. It is nothing but misery and regret. I know I wish I never influenced Shimmerism or any other group, and it feels like I can never escape reminders of how much I did," I replied in agreement. "I understand; you don't have to elaborate more on your regrets. If there is any pony on Earth that can get it more than me, then I feel deeply sorry for him or her. Let's agree that I don't bring up your past, and you don't bring up mine. We both just want to move on and live as close to a normal life as we can."

She nodded, and gave a small smile. "Agreed, and thank you."

I heard footsteps coming down the stairs that were too heavy to be one of the smaller foals. "Lántiān, I'd like you to meet Josie Woods, she's going to be your little brother's foalsitter overnight, at least for half the time. Please treat her nicely, and with respect. She doesn't mean Mèng any harm. Josie, meet Lántiān, Mèng's big sister. If she says something regarding her brothers, you should comply unless you think it might endanger one of them. She does not have the power to dismiss you or turn you out the door, and if you disagree with something she says, that isn't an urgent safety concern, bring the matter to my attention when time permits."

I turned to see Lántiān accessing Josie like a hawk observing a mouse, even though Josie was a grown mare, a night pony, and the more physically intimidating of the two as a result. Having a night pony as a mother must have rubbed off some character traits to the filly, pony behavior was not determined strictly by nature.

Lántiān turned her hawkish gaze back to me. "I want to make clear to her that she is never to touch or do anything with my daughter, ma'am. I'd prefer that she not involve herself with any concern in regards to my brothers, aside from Mèng, but I will allow it if you say she can, ma'am."

"She is a grown adult, and you are not young lady, but I will not ask her to do anything with your daughter, " I replied. "Now that you two have been introduced, I have some instructions for you, Lántiān."

The filly stood up straight. "What do you wish, ma'am?"

"See to it that everyone has bathed and eaten quickly this morning. I'm planning an excursion."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "An excursion, ma'am?"

I nodded. "I'm going to call Wild Growth about a small escort for us, along with a ride, but we need to buy some things. I need a new phone, I promised you art supplies, we need food, the younger foals could really do with some toys-"

Josie nodded along in agreement as she gave Mèng a pointed look.

"-and since the lot of you arrived here with just the fur on your back, there are many other things we will be needing."

"So, you are taking us to the market, ma'am?" Lántiān asked.

"I'm taking us to probably the most American store there is, that has everything we will need."

Josie started laughing, and Lántiān turned to her with a deep from. "What is so funny?"

The night pony shook her head, still chuckling. "Nothing, I'm pretty certain I know where she is going to take you. I just find the term most American store hilarious since it’s true for all the wrong reasons. She's probably right about that description, but it still gets a chuckle out of me. Have fun with that."

Author's Notes:

Next chapter update is the Ponies of Walmart. This is your last chance to get your oc included, by describing them in the comments.

Aside from that, hope everyone is doing well and keeping safe.

Chapter 26: Ponies at Walmart Part 1

Wild Growth had been groggy when I called her, and I wasn't sure if she was hungover or what. She did arrange for two SPEC agents to come to the condo in an amazingly short amount of time. I had worried that I would be bringing a sleeping night pony colt with us, but we were out the door and on our way while it was still breakfast time for most people.

The two agents were a pair of humans named Larry and Moe. I'd asked them where Curly was, but they just gave me a confused look. Some people just didn't know about the classics.

They picked us up in a large SUV that provided plenty of space for all of us. Each of the colts stared out the windows with rapt fascination through the trip. Earlier, I'd managed to find a pair of sunglasses while digging through my desk and had used some string to keep them tied to Mèng's head. The colt had initially been very unhappy about having them on his face, but after he managed to knock them off and gotten the sun in his eyes, he didn't fuss with them much at all.

Lántiān quietly looked out her window as we traveled and held her foal up so her daughter could get a good view of the outside. That pair didn't show the same energy as the colts, but they did seem legitimately interested in the scenery. Lántiān had been able to get out for a while yesterday, but the view from the ground was undoubtedly very different from the air.

The part of the city we were going into didn't seem to have been too overturned by ponies, meaning that I didn't see tons of pony stalls and the concrete pavement pulled up in favor of dirt roads. I heard lots of reports of that following ETS. Our surroundings looked not too much different than what I would have expected out of Denver ten years before. There were, of course, billboards and signs that advertised pony products or had ponies on them, but they were still just signs and billboards. The only thing that wouldn't have fit into a human city was the large number of ponies flying in the sky and the ones I saw walking along the sidewalks. Most of the cars were human cars, rather than pony ones. The front ends of the pony cars had a visibly different shape, so it wasn't hard to tell them apart. Although there weren't many pony cars, they were still a relatively new thing.

After arriving at Walmart and filing out of the car, I gathered everyone around me for instruction. "Everyone is to keep together. I don't want anyone wandering off. Would one of you gentlemen be willing to push a cart for us?"

Larry and Moe looked at one another. Moe shrugged then raised a hand.

I turned to Lántiān. "Moe will have our main cart. You'll be pushing a pony cart with safety seats. Mèng and Qīng Yǔ can ride in that cart where you can more closely watch them. That won't be a problem, will it?"

She shook her head. "No problem, ma'am."

I turned to Shǔguāng and Líng. "And you two stay close. If you can't reach out and touch one of us or the cart, then you're too far away. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Auntie Sunset," the two colts said in creepy sync. I wondered if they practiced that. I wouldn't be surprised; kids liked to do weird things.

"Alright, follow me, and we'll have a nice fam-" I paused halfway through the word, and then decided that it was already that far out of my mouth and might as well be said. "-family outing."

The first hiccup in my plans happened before we were entirely in the store. The pony-sized carts that had seating for small foals were all in use. I debated waiting for one to show up, but standing around near the doors would have made me feel like an idiot.

"Larry, do you mind taking a second cart and keeping Mèng in the seat?"

He didn't look thrilled about it but went and grabbed another human-sized cart. I levitated Mèng up in the seat, and he laid down in it and looked around curiously at his surroundings from his new vantage point. A second later, I grabbed Qīng Yǔ with my magic, earning a surprised squawk from the little filly. I quickly released her as her mother came over and grabbed her with her mouth while giving me an icy glare. Lántiān did follow what I had intended and flew up and gently deposited her daughter in the seat of Moe's cart.

We were set to go in when a pony gave a loud gasp. "You're Sunset Blessing!"

I turned to see an excited unicorn mare, with night sky blue fur, tail and mane in different shades of pink, and a mark that was a rose embossed on a sword embossed in a shield. She was staring at me, looking downright giddy. Her announcement had drawn attention to me, and there was now a crowd looking at me, with human staking pictures and video with their phones, and ponies pointing and whispering.

There was no point trying to claim I was only a close look alike, and I needed to say something. "That's me. I'm just here to do a little quiet shopping, just like everyone else."

"Can my friend take a picture of you and me together?" the mare asked, practically bouncing. "I would love to have a picture of me and such a great transgender rights activist!"

"Say what now?" I asked in confusion. I didn't recall ever being called that. Nor did I remember ever giving any speeches on the subject, aside from disparaging talks back when I was human, or having donated to any cause. I was definitely no activist. "I think you might have confused someone else's actions with mine."

"You're a close family member to the two most notable transmares ever, Arbiter and Phobia Remedy!" the mare explained. "They give so much visibility, and you've given them so much support."

Great, now I would have people talking about me getting involved again with civil rights causes. I had no idea if the whole trans-rights thing was still even a thing since ETS, but I could only imagine it was for someone. It clearly was for this mare, but I didn't want to be in the spotlight. I also wanted to argue there weren't any transgender ponies, ETS had sorted all that crap out, but I felt I might be stepping into some social minefield I didn't know about if I did. These weren't my fights; I didn't have any fights left to fight. Why did everyone want to pull me into things that I had nothing to do with? Why couldn't they let me be?

I wanted to say no, but her eyes looked so pleading, and I resisted the urge to roll mine. Refusing her would cause just as much talk as taking a picture with her, so I was already trapped. I sighed and motioned her over to me. "Okay, a quick one, but then I want to be left alone to shop."

She squealed and hurried over next to me. A human man held a camera up and took a picture of the two of us, and she turned to me with a big smile. "Thank you. I can't wait to show all the ones left behind that I got a picture with Sunset Blessing!"

The ones left behind? I wanted to ask but decided not to go down that rabbit hole. I had satisfied her, and now I could shop.

The door greeter gave me a wary look as I passed by and didn't even bother to greet me. I decided not to be put out by it and quietly took in the lay of the store.

"It's so big and so many people!" Shǔguāng said in wonder.

I gave him a raised eyebrow. "I figured you would be used to lots of people since China has so many."

"They didn't get out much, ma'am," Lántiān explained. The way she was looking around the store made me wonder if that statement included her as well.

The store didn't seem much different than Walmart before the pandemic, at least at first sight. To our left was the grocery section, which covered that full side of the store. To our immediate right was clothing, primarily human clothing. The first part of grocery was the produce section, and it was swarmed with ponies, with a smaller mix of humans, and the displays of fruit were set lower to the ground than they would have been ten years before. I was also fairly certain the produce section had more than doubled in size from the average produce section before ETS, and based on the crowd, could stand to be doubled again. I intended to avoid the crowds of people packed together in the produce section if I could help it.

If nothing else has changed, then most of our shopping would be done out past the clothing. I directed everyone to follow me, and started trotting off to the right.

We were passing the smaller pony clothes section when I brought our group to a halt and considered looking at some things there. Pony fashion was not as broad as human fashion, at least not on Earth, but some clothing wasn't that uncommon. The foals could all do to have some saddlebags, and Lántiān could do with something to cover up her mark. Actually, I wouldn't mind something to cover mine up as well, although I needed more than just the mark covered to blend into a crowd properly. Also, a hat for Mèng might be an excellent alternative to sunglasses when he went out in the sun.

As I was considering whether to check into clothing, a tall black pegasus stallion came stumbling out of the clothing rack. He had a grey mane, and for some reason, he had a fake horn strapped onto his head. I couldn't see his eyes since he was wearing sunglasses, but based on his stumbling, I could assume he was drunk, on drugs, or had taken a heavy blow to the head at some point. No matter the cause, he wasn't steady on his hooves.

"I am Surn, guardian of the hyper sword, and master of mania!" the pegasus bellowed. "Tremble before me, evildoer! Your judgment awaits!"

A man came hurrying over and steadied the stallion. "Mohamed, maybe we should take you home. I think you've had enough time outside today."

The pegasus turned to the human and flared his wings. "My name is Surn, guardian of the-"

The man waved a hand. "Right, you're Surn, guardian of the thing. How about we go home, and we can play some Sonic Forces Hyper Remix Edition?"

Surn seemed to calm down. "I get to play as Sonic?"

"Yeah, I won't take your character. We can pick up some fast food on the way back. Sound good?"

Surn considered, then nodded. "I shall crush you at Sonic Forces HRE!"

The man started escorting Surn away and briefly turned to us and whispered. "Don't ask." I had no intention of doing so.

"Americans are strange," Lántiān observed dryly. She wasn't directly addressing me, so she didn't bother with the ma'am.

I wanted to say something in response but couldn't come up with an appropriate one. "We'll check on clothes later." I then led us past the section.

I led us to the health and beauty section. The sheer variety of smells given off by the various shampoos, conditioners, and soaps were slightly overwhelming. Still, I knew I needed to get a fair amount to deal with a household of six ponies, especially if Líng was going to coat himself in mud at every opportunity. I made my selections as quickly as possible, but then found that our group was trapped in the aisle by shoppers both ahead of us and behind us.

Behind us was a human woman with an electric cart that had the thing dead center in the aisle, and was taking her time browsing body soap. She stood up out of the cart and started checking out some more closely, and I quietly observed that there didn't seem to be any reason for her to be using an electric cart, since she was moving around just fine. Other shoppers were waiting to get into the aisle on the other side of her, but she seemed far more focused on the various types of Herbal Essence body wash than the people around her. At least she wasn't concerned she was sharing an aisle with a famous pony.

Ahead of us were a pair of pegasi, a mare and a stallion, fussing over different types of feather conditioner. The mare had a yellow coat and dark green mane and tail with light blue highlights, with a grey rain cloud as a mark. The stallion had an extremely dark blue coat with an orange mane, and I couldn't quite make out his mark.

"I'm telling you, Downpour, that stuff will mess up your feathers. You shouldn't cheap out on conditioner," the stallion said as he tried to pull a bottle of conditioner away from the mare.

"Let go!" Downpour yelled back. "It may be cheap, but that's just because it isn't as big a name brand, not because it is bad. I like the smell of it too."

"It makes you smell like Pinesol," the stallion replied, as he tugged harder at the bottle.

"Does not!"

"Does so!"

The stallion did a bigger yank and dislodged the bottle from the mare's grip. He then went tumbling backward into the display and knocked a full shelf down, instantly making all the various conditioners come crashing down on the floor, cracking bottles, breaking lids open, and spilling their contents everywhere.

The two pegasi looked at one another and took off into the air. I heard someone yell that there was no flying over the shelves allowed, but didn't have time to care. There was a wet mess, and it was drawing Líng to it like a moth to a lightbulb.

I grabbed the colt with my magic and hauled him back, but not before he got the mix of chemicals over his hooves. I looked around helplessly for something to wipe them off with so he didn't make tracks all over the store, but didn't see anything. With little other option, I wiped his hooves off with the sides of my legs. Great, now I got to walk around feeling disgusting.

The human behind us decided to leave and stop blocking traffic. No one else seemed eager to come onto the aisle while a third of it was coated in conditioner. We retreated while we could.

I directed everyone to stand out of the way by the bicycle racks. "Stay here, I'm going to grab two last things from health and beauty, and then we can look at toys."

"Toys!" Shǔguāng and Líng shouted in an enthusiastic response. Mèng, for some reason, looked around with equal excitement, even though I knew he didn't understand the word. Maybe he was just excited because his big brothers were excited.

"Yes, we'll look at toys as soon as I get back. Just stay here and don't make any trouble." I turned to Lántiān. "Make sure they don't go wandering off."

She snorted. "I won't let them out of reach of my wings while here, ma'am."

I nodded and went back into the cramped and busy section, one side over from where we'd just been. This aisle had dyes: dyes for human hair, pony manes, and fur. The foals probably wouldn't be recognized as anyone famous when we were out and about in the future, but I was far too distinctive. I didn't want to hide away my natural colors, but I also didn't want any incidents like the one that happened in Pony Hope, or even like the one in the cart bay. I wanted to be just another unicorn in the crowd. Cutie marks were hard to cover with any dye; just about everything that went over a mark would wash off with even a light spill of water. I would have to figure something else out for that part.

It took me longer than I would have liked to pick appropriate dyes. I had to spend time looking over the different colors, trying to determine what went well together, reading over the directions to figure out how much of a hassle it would be to apply the stuff, and making sure that there wouldn't be problems covering my particular colors. I did eventually get selections made, just in time to hear a loud crash near the bike area.

After hurrying back out of the aisle, I saw that several bikes had been knocked down from the bike racks and Shǔguāng was quivering under Lántiān's wing. Larry and Moe were already busy trying to put the bikes back on the rack, and thankfully nothing seemed to be damaged. Qīng Yǔ was crying. Mèng was looking around like he was on the hunt for something to attack. Líng looked a little spooked, but otherwise okay.

I hurried over to Lántiān. "What happened? You were supposed to be watching them." I turned to the two agents. "And why weren't you two keeping him safe?"

She looked down in shame. "Shǔguāng tried spinning the wheel on a bike. I thought nothing of it, and I didn't realize how clumsily they were set on their racks. I managed to pull him away before they fell on him. I am deeply sorry, ma'am."

I looked down at the shaking colt under her wing. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, Auntie Sunset. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

I nudged Lántiān's wing out of the way to get a better look at him. "You're sure? No scrapes, no bumps, no bruises? It's okay to tell me. I'm not mad at you."

He shook his head. "I'm okay, Auntie Sunset."

I looked him over closely, just to make sure, then turned my head up at the two SPEC agents. "Is anything damaged?"

"Tag or two got scuffed and ripped, but the bikes are fine. It should be all good with the store. They're probably more concerned about whether you'd sue them for unsafe displays than a few ripped tags," Larry replied.

I was tempted to sue. Shǔguāng could have been seriously hurt. It ultimately wasn't worth it. If I sued, some news outlet would pick up the story, and there'd be more attention than I wanted. He had avoided injury, and that was what was important.

"I'm not in a suing mood. Let's just try to keep out of trouble," I said with a sigh. I had been holding the two boxes of dye stacked on top of one another in my magic, and took the time to deposit them in one of the carts. "Since no one is hurt, let's go look at the toys now."

Author's Notes:

If you don't see your OC and you requested it, don't worry, this visit goes over multiple chapters and I have a lot of OCs to cover.

Chapter 27: Ponies at Walmart Part 2—Toy Section

Certain constants existed in the world, things that would be true, no matter how much the world changed. One thing that could be counted on ever since I was a small child was that if I walked around the toy section of a major store, there would be Transformers action figures. The world had been irreparably changed in the last decade, but this simple fact of life remained the same.

"They can be switched back and forth between a robot man and a robot pony," I explained to the two older colts as I held up the package of Optimus Alicornis.

Shǔguāng and Líng looked at the toy, then looked at me, then looked at the toy again. The looks on their faces screamed, Is this supposed to be interesting?

"Oh, come on! Transformers are cool!" I said in disappointed frustration. "I played with them all the time when I was a little girl."

"Cool? They are cold?" Líng asked.

I shook my head. "No, cool, like really good and fun."

The two colts looked at one another as if trying to see if the other understood what I was going on about.

I floated the toy into the cart. "You know what? I'm just going to get this for myself because I think it's interesting. You two can look at the toys up and down this aisle, but don't leave it."

The two colts brightened up and walked away to investigate the various action figures and vehicles around them.

I lit up my horn and floated Mèng onto my back. The smaller colt gave off a quick yelp of surprise when I grasped him with my magic but didn't struggle. I almost moved Qīng Yǔ onto Lántiān's back, but stopped myself.

Instead, I turned to Lántiān and motioned to her daughter. "Can you collect up your daughter so we can look for toys for these two younger ones in the next section?"

She nodded and flew over the cart, grabbing her daughter out of the seat with her mouth and depositing her on her back. Moe took the flying pony two feet in front of his face without so much as flinching.

"Will you two gentlemen please keep an eye on the colts and make sure they stay here?" I asked. "The two of us should be right back. If they find anything they want, add it to the cart."

"If that's what you want, Miss Blessing," Larry answered. "Miss Growth is paying us to do whatever you need, at least for the next four hours."

I wondered how much they got paid, not that it was any of my business.

"Come along," I instructed Lántiān. "We can find some Fisher-Price toys and stuffed animals for these two."

The filly gave me a confused look. "Fisher priced? Why do we need toys priced for fishermen, ma'am? Is there something special about a fisherman's wage?"

"It's the name of the company. They make toys for toddlers," I explained as I led her to the next area. "Did you want a toy as well?"

"Why would I want a toy, ma'am?"

"You're never too old to have toys. I'm getting myself one, didn't you see? Adults buy toys for themselves all the time."

A woman who had been on the aisle gave me a dirty look and stormed away. It took me only a millisecond to realize why. Humans had such dirty minds and took everything out of context.

Lántiān seemed to have been unaware of the exchange. "I thought you were getting it to try to interest my brothers in it later because you were disappointed that they found it dull, ma'am."

I turned and looked at her. "Well, perhaps, in part, but if they don't like it doesn't mean I won't enjoy having it. I wasn't lying when I said I played with toys like that when I was young. A little nostalgia never hurt anyone. I can sit and play with it as I think, like a stress ball."

"Ma'am, what's a stress ball?"

I paused it. "It's a little bean bag that you squeeze in your—you know what, nevermind."

We started walking down the aisle, and as is instinctive for everyone surrounded by little buttons that said push me, I started pushing buttons to see what would happen.

"The cow goes moo! Moooo!" A picture of a cow and the word moo flashed on the plastic earth pony's stomach. Why they chose this design, I had no idea. Perhaps the designer had no idea how to adjust a toy for a pony, and this was the pathetic attempt to do so. I pushed the same button again. "The chicken clucks! Bak bak bak!" The exact spot lit up with an image of a chicken and the word cluck, which made little sense if they were going to make a bak bak bak noise.

I glanced at Mèng to try to judge his interest, but found it hard to do. Needing more feedback, I levitated him off my back so he could walk around and help me figure out what he found appealing. Lántiān followed my lead and deposited Qīng Yǔ on the ground. Lántiān then started carefully pulling stuffed animals out of a nearby bin and showing them to her daughter one by one.

Mèng wandered beside the toys without touching or engaging anything. I followed closely behind, and was getting a triffle bit annoyed that he wasn't making this any easier. Deciding to speed this along, I walked up to a toy he could easily see and pushed a button.

What looked like a picture of a toy train flashed lights along it and played a jingle. "Hi! Let's play! Can you find the letter C?"

The flashing lights and music succeeded in getting his attention, and he almost put his nose up to the thing to examine it.

The toy flashed its lights again. "Do you need help? Find the letter C!"

Mèng turned and gave me a confused look, and I reached out and pushed the appropriate button.

"Yea! You found the letter C! Can you find the letter M?" Mèng still did not seem to know what to do, so I made a tapping motion with a hoof and hoped he'd figure it out. He turned back to the toy and pressed the B button. The toy made a wah-wah sound. "Sorry, that's the letter B! Find the letter M!"

Mèng giggled and proceeded to start hitting buttons at random. The toy could barely get out a response before trying to give the next reaction.

"Ma'am, you are aware he is awake all night, right?" Lántiān asked as she watched her daughter grab and snuggle a stuffed husky.

I frowned at her. "I'm well aware of that."

She gave me a look that screamed, Are you stupid? "And that we are trying to sleep at that time; the time he will be playing with this toy, ma'am?"

She had a point, but it brought to mind a different concern for me. "Tell me, are we expected to keep his brothers and your daughter silent while he sleeps? I can't very well require kids to remain silent that often. It would also be extremely unfair if I required him to keep silent all night and didn't require the same out of them during the day. I am not going to raise him with a different set of behavior standards just because he's nocturnal."

I could tell by the look on her face that she disagreed, but she kept it to herself.

After trying to interest Qīng Yǔ in a few further stuffed animals, and failing, Lántiān picked her daughter up, while Qīng Yǔ continued to hold onto the fuzzy toy dog. I wondered if it might be a good idea to get a puppy, once we had moved into the new place. I was more of a cat person, but I remembered the difficulties Tonya sometimes had with Satan. Cats would be cats, and effectively untrainable, and I didn't want a cat terrorizing tiny little Qīng Yǔ to try to get her feathers. Tonya had been a grown adult who could deal with a pesky feline; Qīng Yǔ would find a cat far more intimidating and threatening. Plus, the benefit of a dog was it could also act as an extra defender for them, in addition to being a pet. It was something to consider, once we were settled, and I knew what Wild's house rules would be.

I let Mèng try out some other toys and finally settled on an electronic tablet with various activities loaded into it, with the option of downloading more. It was a toy that talked to him, and hopefully, that would help him develop his language skills. Once that was settled, I returned him to my back and levitated the toy along to the shopping carts.

Lántiān returned her daughter to the seat of the cart and did not attempt to separate Qīng Yǔ from the plushy, which might have ended in a temper tantrum if it had been tried.

The two school-aged colts were still browsing the section, picking up and investigating toys, before setting them back on shelves. A night pony stallion wearing a Walmart vest was following along and moving toys from spot to spot. He had dark navy-blue fur and a mix of deep blue and black in his mane and tail. His mark reminded me a lot of Josie's, an outline of an eye. I wondered what the eye meant, as I'd now seen some variation twice on night ponies. It could be just an odd coincidence, though.

I could hear the worker grumbling to himself, even if the colts were ignoring him. I was reasonably sure he hadn't realized their guardian was on the aisle as well. "I work so hard to keep this nice and organized, and is it too much work for foals to put things back where they found them? Adults are just as bad—no wonder the foals can't show respect. Bad enough I have to work the first shift, but can't they show some respect for other ponies' hard work?"

I wanted to say something about his unprofessional behavior but didn't want to make a scene. I just caught sight of his name tag, naming him Keen Eye—which I guessed explained the mark, and noted it. If he decided to address either of the colts like that directly, I would have some words to say with a manager.

I placed the toy in a cart and returned Mèng to his seat before turning to his brothers. "Have you made any selections yet?"

The two colts excitedly pointed at some action figures. I wasn't surprised when I saw that they were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"They're like the show but look different. There are ponies too," Shǔguāng said, as he pulled a rather buffed looked Raphael figure off the rack.

"They've redone the series a few times, and you have only seen the original cartoon. All the great cartoons from when I was a kid get rebooted over and over—except The Simpsons, that one keeps going and going," I explained. I looked at the action figures and decided to head off trying to figure out which characters to get. "If I get one of each figure, do you two agree to share and to share with your little brother if he wants to play with them overnight, and let him play with you?"

The two nodded enthusiastically, and I turned to the two agents. "Can you two gentlemen please look through the shelf and add one of each figure to the cart?" I paused and considered. "And if you see any foot soldiers, add four of those as well. I always found it annoying as a child to only have one of those when they were supposed to be an army."

Larry and Moe went to work gathering the toys and adding them to the cart. This would leave neither of the older colts with a personal toy if these were all supposed to be shared as a group. "I think I'm going to get each of you a personal stuffed animal as well. Since Qīng Yǔ has already chosen one for herself and is unlikely to play with the action figures, she will need another small toy or two—just to keep everything fair."

By the time we were done with the toy section, Qīng Yǔ had added a stuffed octopus and a tiny plush doll of Fluttershy to her plushy pile; Shǔguāng had a stuffed dragon; Líng had a stuffed crocodile; Mèng had gotten a stuffed lion, and I had also added a small selection of balls and a few head-mounted water cannons which were the pony equivalent of water guns. I even convinced Lántiān to get a stuffed animal, an obese hamster that could have doubled as an extra pillow, after picking out a plush cat for myself. All and all, it was a very impressive toy haul that filled one of the carts to the top.

I pondered over where to go next. "Let's see, I need to replace my phone still, and I probably need to get one for you, Lántiān."

"Why do I need a phone, ma'am?"

I smiled at her. "I want you to have a way of contacting me if you need me while you're out or when I need to leave for short periods. It gives me peace of mind and should give you peace of mind as well, knowing you can reach me if I'm not home."

"I understand, ma'am." I couldn't tell if she was pleased or not. She was giving me those infuriatingly neutral responses again. Most teens would be thrilled at having a new phone. At least there was no fight.

There was another reason I hadn't mentioned. Most phones these days had GPS trackers, which would allow me to track her when she went out on her flights. It wasn't that I expected her to get up to no good, but I felt better if I always knew where she was. I didn't think she would realize that the account holders or emergency services could track the phones, and if she ever decided to run away, I had a good chance of finding her if she didn't ditch her cellphone.

"Electronics section next, to get the phones," I decided. "After that, we will try to find some sketchbooks, drawing guides, and pencils. We'll see about saddlebags after that, and then finish up by getting groceries."

I loathed wearing clothing, but it might be a good idea to start wearing something that could cover up my mark. Even after I dyed my fur and mane, my mark would still announce who I really was. Necessity forced people to do things they didn't like all the time, and there were worse things to fuss about than being forced to wear a dress. I'd look into it at the same time we were looking for saddlebags.

Something bumped into me from behind, and I yelped and jumped. Larry and Moe moved quickly to bring down my assailant.

"What, what? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bump her! I just wasn't watching where I was going! Please don't kill me!"

I turned to see a brown-furred night pony stallion with a deep blue mane with some grey in it getting pinned to the ground by the two agents. I noticed he had eyes of two different colors and had been wearing glasses that were now lying a few feet away from him.

"Jesus! Let him go! Do you want to get us arrested for assault?!" I cried out in disbelief. I usually didn't use the Lord's name in such a way, but I was too shocked to care.

They released him, looking abashed. "Sorry, it was a night pony—and we all know that night ponies are highly aggressive."

My mouth dropped. They couldn't be serious. "What the fuck?! I have a daughter and three grandfoals who are night ponies—you are helping guard a night pony! Where the hell do you get off saying something so tribalist about-" I could barely speak; I was so mad.

I hurried over to the stallion and helped him to his hooves. "I'm so sorry. These men are supposed to be guarding me. I deeply apologize." I levitated his glasses onto his face. "If there is anything I can do to make up for this, please, just say it." Please don't say you'll take me to court.

The stallion seemed a little dazed still but shook his head. "I suppose I can't fault someone for being protective. In the good old days, right after ETS, Sha'am might have disemboweled me if she thought I was assaulting her." His mismatched eyes focused on me and widened. "Your Phobia Remedy's mother, right? You don't need to apologize. I am mortified that I might have hurt a Dreamwarden's mother. I'll just excuse myself. It was an honor meeting you."

The stallion made good on his word, retreating off the aisle as if he was about to face the wrath of God. I couldn't complain; that could have been a lawsuit.

I turned to my supposed bodyguards. "If you are so worked up about a customer bumping into me, then how did someone get that close to me, to begin with? What kinds of guards are you anyway?"

Moe rubbed a hand against the back of his head. "Um, technically, we are IT techs. It was looking like it would be a slow day, and the local office got a call from Miss Growth to send someone out to help you shop. They just called us into the manager's office, gave us a company credit card, keys to a company car, and told us to do what you wanted till the end of our shift."

"We might have gotten carried away with the SPEC agent thing," Larry said in a low voice. "I mean, we're guarding a really high profile pony."

I wanted to scream. I wanted to scream at them, at the manager at the SPEC office, and at Wild. I knew she sounded hungover! She probably called the office and gave as vague instructions as possible so she could go back and nurse her hangover. Biting the figurative hand that fed me was never my way, but she and I were going to have words.

I shook my head in exasperation. "No more jumping to my rescue! You do what you are told, and that's it. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." The two said in chorus.

If there wasn't more that needed to be bought and they weren't the ones that had the money, along with our ride, I would have dismissed them. There was still shopping to do, and they were our ride, so I would just have to endure the two stooges for the time being.

Author's Notes:

Still waiting on your OC to show up? Don't worry; there's a part 3 coming.

Chapter 28: Ponies at Walmart Part 3—Electronics and stationery

The electronics section was one of those sections that constantly evolved over the years. I remembered when I was a little girl that it was filled with VHS tapes, music cassettes, classic eight-bit Nintendo games, and stereo boomboxes. As I got older, VHS tapes made way for CDs, then later DVDs, and again later Blu-rays. The boomboxes of old vanished from the shelves, and the music section moved from cassettes to CDs to being devoid of music. Over the last few years, as progress had continued to march on, so had the electronics section.

Most of the section was now dominated by cell phones, in twice the number of styles now that they had to accommodate both ponies and humans. Flat-screen televisions still lined the back wall, which were more computer than television these days. There was a section for laptop computers, but no desktops, as the standard desktop computer seemed to be on its way out, at least by what I'd observed, and I wasn't sure when was the last time I'd seen a desktop for sale anywhere but online. There were still movies and video games, but they no longer came on disks; instead, now all coming on flashcards that were to be inserted directly to a television or laptop—if the consumer didn't just download the things. Video game companies now acted like movie studios, with individual franchises under their belt, making the console wars a thing of the past, aside from some gimmicky peripherals.

Before looking at phones, I grabbed a pair of pony-friendly video game controls and a charging station for them. I wasn't going to buy games on this trip, but I could download some later on that the foals wouldn't find too challenging to play during rainy days. The controllers were things that sat on the ground, with actual joysticks like the arcades of old, and four large action buttons. I also grabbed a few flashcards for some cartoon series: Tiny Toons, Ninja Turtles, She-Ra, Power Ponies, and Transformers—I'd get at least one of the foals interested in Transformers yet.

I spotted yet another night pony stallion wandering around, looking at video games, this one with a light brown coat and forest green mane. He had what looked like a twenty-sided game die rolling over a sheet of paper for a mark. This was the third night pony stallion I'd seen in the store, and that was a significant oddity. Night ponies were in the running with crystal ponies as the smallest tribe, and night pony stallions made up less than one-tenth of the night ponies. That meant it was typically rare to see more than one in a short period unless you were at a gathering of mostly night ponies, and even then, they'd be outnumbered by the mares nine to one.

"Excuse me, is there a night pony stallion convention going on or something?" I asked the stallion. "I don't mean to be rude, but I've noticed a lot of you in this store."

He turned and blinked at me, as if unsure what I was talking about or whether he should be offended. It seemed to register a second later, and he chuckled. "Oh, that. Many of us like to come to hang out here after work because our mares don't come here. They can get to be a bit much for us, and we want to have some peace without some mare sizing us up as a potential mate."

It was my turn to blink. I hadn't noticed that there were no night pony mares around before, but now I did. "Why don't they come here?"

"Last year, a bunch of them got into a big brawl in the store, nopony even remembers what started it, but it was a huge mess. They had to call in the cops, shut down the store for over an hour, and everything. The store management banned seven of them from the store for life, and the rest started boycotting the store in retaliation. Since then, this has been one of the few safe spaces for night pony stallions in the city."

"Surely they can't all be that bad," I responded in shock.

He shook his head. "It doesn't need to be all of them that are that bad or even most; it is enough of them that every time we see an unfamiliar night pony mare, we get nervous. I have a buddy of mine that said he never understood how women felt about constantly being hit on until he became a pony, but he sure as hell does now. I fully agree with him."

This did sound eerily familiar to what I heard many women say back when I was human. It wasn't an exclusively female problem since that kind of abuse could go both ways, but it was a far more prevalent one. It sounded like the scales tipped the other way for night ponies. "What about the good ones?"

He smiled. "The good ones are great. I'm dating a mare named Night Angel, who treats me like a prince and doesn't try to treat me like her property. My marefriend before her I thought was great, a really good looker, but she was controlling about who I was talking to, and if I said two words to another mare—it could be just an old friend innocently saying hi, she'd go nuts. Angel doesn't do that." He looked more closely at me. "Hey, aren't you—"

I turned away. "Nice speaking with you, but I'm rather busy. Good luck with the whole night pony mare thing."

Lántiān raised an eyebrow at me as I came hurrying by her. "Ma'am, is every human and pony going to react to your presence?"

I sighed as I walked over to the cell phones. "I don't know. I've been staying out of public places since I was pardoned, so I don't know if this is the new normal or just an anomaly. Based on how my trip to Pony Hope went, everyone is going to stare, and if that is all they do, then I should be happy."

"How did your trip to Pony Hope go, ma'am? You seemed in good spirits after returning."

I shook my head. "Visiting my parents was great. It was a healing experience to reconnect with them and to meet my little brother. I'll have to introduce you all to them sometime. However, I was attacked in the street, and I wouldn't be surprised if my attackers would have tried to kill me if given a chance."

Lántiān went wide-eyed and laid her ears back. "Did you go to the authorities about these criminals, ma'am?"

"No, not sure it would have helped," I answered as I started looking at phones. "For all I know, their police department may be packed with Shimmerists. The situation was dealt with by the citizens of the town, and Sunrise Storm escorted me out of there. I'll be looking into ways to minimize incidents like that, don't worry."

She stomped a hoof. "Ma'am, any threat to you is a threat to me, my brothers, and my daughter. I have every reason to be concerned."

I gave her a flat look. "And I shall work to make sure there are fewer threats to us all. We'll discuss this later." I looked back at the phones on display and finished making my selections. I then looked at the man standing on the other side of the display counter while pointing a hoof at a strap-on phone. "Sir, is this the best model you have for GPS tracking and signal coverage?"

The man walked over and took a look at the phone I was pointing at. "Not quite, it's the most expensive pony phone, yeah, but that's because it has health monitoring options. It's up there on coverage, maybe in the top three, but the iPhone F8 is going to give you the best coverage, both with signal and GPS; it has satellite options in addition to normal cellular coverage," He pointed to the phone beside the one I had been looking at, which was the third most expensive of the pony phones.

"I'll take two and two sim cards," I replied. "I want to buy them outright, no contracts that bake the price of the phones in. I've got the money." Well, SPEC and Wild Growth had the money, but they were the ones paying for this, not me. I looked at Larry and Moe. "Whichever one of you has the credit card, please get that ready."

Larry started fishing in his pockets as the clerk rang up the phones. The clerk looked at me. "Do you have existing numbers that you need to be loaded onto the sim cards?"

"Just one, 303-321-8798. The other can be a new number," I answered.

"The previous carrier?" the clerk asked.

"Um, Sprint, I think. Who am I signing up with?" It didn't matter to me who the carrier was, Wild was going to pay the bill, but I still needed to tell her who she was paying so my phone didn't get shut off.

"Walmart Family Mobile, it works in conjunction with T-Mobile. There are instructions on how to set up your account included with your sim card. You will still be able to use your old number, but there is a service fee for transferring it."

"That's fine, just finish ringing up the phones."

He paused and stared at me. "Are you Sunset Blessing?"

I gritted my teeth. "Just ring up the phones. I'm just a customer trying to make her purchase."

Shǔguāng tapped my leg. "New Mama, I'm bored."

My throat seized up, and I had to cough to clear it. Jesus, this kid moved fast with his adoption! "First of all, don't call me that. Call me Auntie Sunset. Second of all, we'll be out of here soon, just be patient and behave."

"I'm bored too, Auntie Sunset," Líng chimed in. Mèng was unable to vocalize his agreement properly, but his wide yawn told me that he was ready to be done as well.

I looked around. Perhaps this was a bit too much for them for today. "After I finish with these phones, we're going to go get drawing stuff for your sister. I'll get crayons and paper for the rest of you as well; then we will head back home, okay?"

"Okay," Shǔguāng and Líng chorused.

"What about food, ma'am?" Lántiān questioned. "And bed covers, and other needed items? I thought we were getting all these things."

"Wild Growth is moving us to a new home soon," I explained. "We will get the bed covers when we know what your beds will look like. As for food, we can order take out if needed until the move. I don't want to fill the cupboard with extra food until then. It is less for us to try to move."

Honestly, I had initially planned on getting both those things today, but I had been growing steadily more anxious the longer we were out. Too many people recognized me, and who knew how long it would be until someone made a scene. The colts were not used to being out around so many people either, and I had given them enough time out for today. It was best to ease them into being around others.

The phones were paid for, and their bag with a stapled receipt was added to the cart. All that was left to worry about was art supplies and checkout.

The stationery section was in sight of the electronics section, and I guided everyone over to it. This particular section looked like a hurricane had gone off in it, with everything scattered about in the wrong places, piles of mismatched writing materials laying at the bottom of the shelves below their pegs, and at least half the labels either missing or identifying an utterly different item than what was there. I was immediately disgusted by the chaos, but I'd made a promise to get art supplies, and I wasn't going to break a promise just because I was annoyed at a mess.

Thankfully, this wasn't a section that I needed to let the foals browse around for their preferences. I walked around and started tossing crayons, pencils, pens, paint sets, sketchbooks, construction paper, and drawing guides all into the cart. Mèng watched the first few items that went flying over his head in fascination, but whatever entertainment that provided was short-lived, and he let off a long-drawn-out yawn.

I glanced over at the neighboring book section. "One more thing, some educational materials to fill in your knowledge. Do any of you even know how to read the writing in this country?"

"I can, ma'am," Lántiān replied before grimacing. "At least, I can if I take my time reading it. Your letters are taught to foals in Chinese schools at a young age, but the way you spell words is nonsensical and hard to understand. I confess, my head swam trying to understand silent letters and why a letter should sound one way in one word and entirely different in the next, or how two words that are spelled the exact same way could be pronounced two very different ways."

"We know all the letters, but don't know how to make them into American words," Shǔguāng said, apparently speaking for himself and Líng.

That was more than I expected. They were still going to need private tutors. I had no intention of trying to force them into public school if they were all on a first-grade level at best when it came to writing in English. It shouldn't take more than a few months to bring the colts up to speed; their sister might be a different matter. I grabbed some books for reading and spelling skills and added those to the cart.

I looked around and saw no ponies or humans sharing the aisle with us. "We made it through this section without any misadventures; maybe we can check the remaining areas briefly before we leave." The two older colts visibly groaned, but their sister seemed pleased.

The next closest area that was of interest was clothing and accessories. I led the group into the pony section and paused dead in my tracks as soon as we got among the racks. Standing before me was a familiar pony with freakishly-long glowing wings. What the hell was she doing here?! Of all the mad scientists I had previously employed, Candace was among one of the hardest to keep in line. My eyes went wider as she was joined by two more pegasi, stallions this time, that seemed to share in her glowing feather mutation. There were more of them?

Both of the stallions had night pony-like features to their ears and eyes and coloring. One of them had a dark purplish coat with a slightly lighter purple mane and a burning heart for a mark. The other was a dark greenish brown-furred stallion with an orange and yellow mane. The wings weren't glowing all the time, but I caught glimpses of each having their feathers glow. Had she somehow altered other pegasi to be like her, or were there just more people that had pulled the same reckless trick to turn into ponies during the end of ETS and ended up with similar results?

They hadn't seen me, and I had no interest in them seeing me. I knew for a fact that Candace would immediately try to corner me and drill me for information about transformation magic. She had dreams of making herself into an alicorn and was sure it could be done with just enough understanding of science and magic, and I had a lot of knowledge she would want. I had no idea what her companions' feelings about this were, but they were like her and with her, and that didn't bode well.

I turned back to the group. "I changed my mind; we'll go check out now. Larry and Moe, can you two please keep the buggies to either side of me till we get out of here? I don't want these ponies to see me. They're potentially more dangerous than Shimmerists."

They shrugged and did as they were told. I was ready to leave; I had enough of Walmart for one day. I'd shop online in the future.

Chapter 29: Calm Afternoon After Hectic Morning

We arrived back at the condo, and Larry and Moe hung around only long enough to unload all our purchases into the living room. Mèng was promptly put to bed since he hadn't managed to stay awake even through us checking out at Walmart, and now the great mess-making had begun as the packaging was opened and cast into a great pile like it was Christmas day.

Shǔguāng and Líng had quickly opened each of their action figures. They were now examining each in closer detail, testing out articulation, and already in the process of losing accessories that I would inevitably step on at some point.

"Hey, keep track of all their weapons," I ordered as I found one almost knocked under a couch. I levitated what looked like a cat in the shape of a gun back over to the foals and went back to setting up the phones.

Lántiān was on the opposite couch, half playing with her daughter and half looking through a learn to draw book. I didn't think she was doing much actual reading with her attention divided as it was. More likely, she was only looking at the illustrations as she played stuffed animal games with Qīng Yǔ. The toddler was happily giggling and rubbing her face on her new stuffed friends, which was far more animated than she typically was. I had to admit; it was pleasant listening to her joyful play. She'd been far too quiet for such a small foal. It seemed good for Lántiān as well, since she looked noticeably more relaxed than usual.

I finished setting up the phones and put them both on chargers. They should have excellent battery life, able to go a full day of regular use between charges, but new out of the box they’d barely had a chance to charge while I set them up. While still connected to its chord, I put mine on and did a test run with it by dialing the one number I knew by heart.

After a few short rings, it was answered. "Hello? Sunset? What do you want?" Wild's voice asked, loudly and clearly.

"Just checking in. I have a new cell phone with a different carrier," I replied.

"Okay, send me over the account information later. I guess I'm glad you called, as I needed to speak with you anyway."

I bit my lip, dreading more bad news. "About what?"

"A few things. First, I'm moving you tomorrow. I'll have a van sent out there in the morning. I won't be meeting you at the new property, as I am preoccupied with Bursa. Number will be there in my stead. I've already informed the government, so they know where to find you if they need you. There should be a person familiar with the property there to give you the basic tour. I can't remember their name, but Number will take care of introducing you."

One thing I could say about Wild, she moved fast. "Okay, that makes me glad I didn't invest in food today. What else?"

"Second, Phobia is going to be contacting you by dream to amend your compulsion. I don't know the full details, other than it's a change to it, not removing it. I just know that you aren't able to work on fixing Bursa with that compulsion the way it is. Before you ask, yes, the government is aware, and they've approved it at Twilight Sparkle's request. You should feel special. I didn't think they'd budge on that."

I blinked. "I didn't either. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it is necessary. I do have another issue—why did you allow SPEC to send IT techs to guard us today? Those bozos could have gotten me kicked out of Walmart."

Wild sighed deeply. "I apologize. You woke me up early, and I hadn't had my pain medication yet. I may have been too brief and vague as a result, but that doesn't mean that it was acceptable. I'll see that it doesn't happen again."

Now I felt guilty for assuming she was hungover, especially since she had already told me about her pain, pain that she wouldn't be in if not for me. I thought the worst about others far too quickly. "How early in the morning do we need to be ready tomorrow?"

"Not sure, it'll be later in the morning, no earlier than ten. So you don't need to be ready by the crack of dawn. There'll also be a courier coming by the new place once you're there, with the information you need to start dealing with Bursa. I don't know the full details, since I'm not the one who is sending the courier. I'm just passing the information along. There'll probably be future ones, to carry your work back and to pass along more for you to look over."

I blinked. "That was fast. It's only been a day."

"We don't know how many days Bursa has left," Wild replied stiffly. "She's survived this long, which is a miracle, but her resonance is in bad shape. There isn't time to waste if we are going to save her."

I hated to bring up the obvious solution, considering how badly it had gone in the past. "We can buy time with the temporary transformation spell."

"I asked about that and the regular transformation spell. It requires Bursa's cooperation and willingness to do the regular one, and I'm working on trying to get that, but Twilight says that it still might not work due to the nature of the damage done. I assume that's one of the things you'll be trying to figure out how to resolve."

"Asking me to try to solve a problem that the Element of Magic—" I began, but Wild gave a loud cough to cut me off.

"Twilight isn't perfect, any more than you are, and she isn't all-knowing," Wild replied. "Yeah, she's better at magic than anyone else, but that doesn't mean others can't come up with solutions she wouldn't have thought of. She also knows that she can turn to others for help and doesn't have to figure it all out by herself—she's the Princess of Friendship, after all. Her strength is in who she surrounds herself with, much like you. She perhaps could figure it herself if there were time, but there isn't. That's why she's calling on the best mages in this field for help, which includes you. You may know more about this type of magic than anyone except her, and Bursa needs you. This isn't just righting your wrong, Sunset; it is life and death."

No pressure. "I'll do my best. I swear to God, I will."

"You better," Wild said grumpily. "If you don't have anything else to talk to me about, I need to get going. I'm extending your credit line, so you don't need to keep asking me about things for the foals. You don't need to be stingy with my wallet, either. I'll be reviewing the charges, and if I see purchases for things like rare minerals or science equipment, I will have words for you, very angry words."

"There won't be any purchases of the sort," I replied quickly. "I appreciate you are giving me the chance to help fix this and all the help you are giving with these foals."

Wild angrily snorted over the line. "The one thing I learned from you is to make the best use of what resources I have available, and you're a resource. I don't like you. I'm never going to like you, and I'm never going to forgive you. That doesn't mean I don't recognize that you can be useful, and I'm not going to screw those innocent foals over just to get back at you. Doing something to get back at you would be petty anyway, and I try to avoid being petty. I only ask you to do your best and don't give me more reasons to hate you, and I'll do my part to help you do better."

My shoulders slumped. I couldn't blame her since I had essentially ruined her life. Some things couldn't be fixed, and my friendly relationship with her was one of those things. I could only count my blessings that she was so insufferably good that she'd still do her all for me and the foals despite the suffering I caused her.

"I understand, but I still thank you," I replied. "Goodbye, Wild, and God bless you."

"Bye," she replied and abruptly hung up.

"The pony with the blocked chi does not seem to like you, ma'am. Why is that?" Lántiān asked as she looked up from her book.

I shook my head. "It's a long story, not one I want to go into with your brothers present. We'll talk about it some other time, in private."

Lántiān looked at her brothers, who seemed oblivious to the conversation, and nodded. "I understand, ma'am."

"Good," I replied. I then levitated her phone over to her. "This is your new phone. I expect you to be wearing it when you're out on your flights and when I'm not at home. I have already loaded myself as a contact. To call me, lift it close to your face and say Alexa, call Ma'am. If you get into any trouble when I'm not around, call me immediately. Make sure you charge it every evening."

The older filly took the phone and carefully strapped it around a foreleg. "Have you decided that you are allowing me to fly for a few hours every day, ma'am?"

I nodded. "It wouldn't be healthy for you to stay stuck indoors on the ground. I'll make sure you get your time every day. You're free to fly indoors as well, provided there is space to do so safely. I don't know what our new home will be like, so we'll have to wait to see if indoor flying will be workable or not."

She looked at her phone and lowered her leg back down. "I understand, ma'am. Are you going to be busy working most days? The other mare seemed to have assigned you a job."

I sighed and rubbed a hoof against my face. "Yes, I'll probably spend a few hours a day trying to figure out how to resolve that problem. I'm sure you heard it's urgent. I'll do my best not to neglect the five of you because of it." I floated the shopping bag that had the dyes in it over to myself. "Now, I'm going to the bathroom for the next hour or so. I'm going to be coloring my fur and mane, so I'm not so recognizable. Hopefully, I won't make a mess of myself. Once the dye has dried, I'll let you take your flight. You have the run of the house in the meantime. I'm leaving my phone down here, and if any phone rings, you may answer, tell them I'm indisposed for a few minutes, and take a message. Let me know when I return if there were any calls."

"Yes, ma'am."

I took my phone off and grabbed up the bag with the dyes, then proceeded upstairs.

---

I was mostly dry and observing my reflection. An unfamiliar pony stared back at me from the other side of the mirror. She had bright yellow fur, and her mane was straight purple, lacking the yellow highlights sported by mine. The same orange eyes watched me, though. My mark, which had been initially covered by the dye, was once again fully visible upon my flank.

The reflection gave me a chilling callback to an unnatural dream from years before, when I gazed into the mirror, and my human past had stared back. My daughter told me that whatever that dream was, it had existed outside the dream realm and the Dreamwardens reach and understanding. It had existed in some pocket between domains, a meeting of different times, and my past had been no memory, but instead as sentient and as real as my present. Did some equally aware being stand on the other side of this mirror now, judging me harshly, or perhaps pitying me? Watching her was unsettling, and I turned away from the specter's judgemental eyes.

I brought a towel to sit on as I went downstairs, just in case the dye wasn't as dry as I thought. As I came into the foals' view, their play stopped, and they all stared at me.

"Ma'am, you are very… yellow," Lántiān observed in a bemused tone.

I entered the living room, placed the towel on the couch, and jumped upon it. "I hope this cuts down on the number of people that immediately recognize me in public. How does it look?"

"Yellow, ma'am. It looks yellow," Lántiān replied.

I squinted my eyes and glared at her. "I meant, does it look natural?"

"Your eyelids are still red!" Líng shouted. Shǔguāng and Lántiān nodded in agreement with the young earth pony.

I'd had my eyes open through the entire coloring process, so of course, I'd missed those. It hadn't even occurred to me that maybe I should have closed my eyes and put some dye on my lids—uncomfortable as that might have been. I sighed and turned back around. "Crap. Give me a few more minutes."

Author's Notes:

An intermission chapter before things move onto the next arc.

Next up Haunted Mansion

Chapter 30: Night With Phobia

The remainder of the day and night passed with little to note. Lántiān took her flight, and I used the opportunity to test the tracking app. I was a little surprised exactly how much area the filly could cover in a brief flight, and it made me mildly jealous of pegasi. I wished I had that level of mobility.

Her brothers and daughter gave me no trouble while she was gone, and I even pulled out the Transformers toy and played along with the colts. They insisted on making it the monster for their turtles to fight, but if that was the way they wanted to play, then that was the way we were going to play. Of course, none of the turtles were prepared for the mighty power of Qīng Yǔ—who marched into the action figure battlefield and proceeded to savagely club everything with the stuffed Fluttershy she held in her mouth. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Autobot didn't stand a chance against such an onslaught.

After Lántiān returned and Mèng woke up, I ordered some Chinese delivery. Once it arrived, my eldest charge proceeded to lecture me, at length, that the food should not be labeled Chinese, and doing so was a grievous insult to her heritage. The colts and Qīng Yǔ all seemed to enjoy it. It wasn't the best Chinese delivery I'd ever eaten, but not the worst.

Josie arrived earlier than the previous night, and didn't recognize me initially, at least until I started talking and she got a look at my cutie mark. That made me feel better about my dye job. I still needed to do something about covering my mark, but it seemed the new coloring would do the trick. I informed her that we would be at a new location tomorrow and that I would email her the address as soon as I had it. She, in turn, informed me that she had sought out Mèng during the day, but it had taken her a while to find him in the dream realm. Yinyu had not bothered her after her arrival, and she was reasonably sure she had gotten through to him that she was going to try teaching him English. Still, with a three-year-old, it was impossible to say if he understood.

With all the foals, except for Mèng, in bed, it was time for me to go to bed and have another fun-filled night of Tonya and Yinyu inevitably yelling at me.

I'm not sure how long it took me to get to sleep. It couldn't have been long, as I didn't recall laying in bed for a long time. The setting I found myself in was my bed in my room, only a distorted version of my room. If I hadn't developed some vivid dreaming skill after many visits from Tonya and other Dreamwardens over the years, I might have thought myself still awake. As it was, I wondered why they didn't bring me somewhere grander.

There was no bedroom door, only the closet door, and the edges of it were glowing. That meant my host wasn't Yinyu or Tonya; it was my daughter.

I sat up in bed and glared at the door. "I know that's you, Phobia. Your preference for this particular type of theatrics is too well known. You've gotten predictable."

There was no response. The edges of the door kept on glowing. I gave an exaggerated sigh and got out of bed, and marched over to the closet.

I threw open the door with my magic. "Really, Phobia, I don't see the point-" The door opened up to just a regular closet, with no sign of Phobia. "-to all this… Where the heck are you?"

"Boo."

I about jumped out of my fur as I turned to face my daughter standing behind me. I nearly had another heart attack when I saw just a massive shadow with glowing eyes.

"Phobia!" I screamed in indignation. "Is that really necessary?! Are you trying to have your poor old mother die of fright in her sleep?"

She shifted into a close match of her natural form, except she made herself a unicorn instead of a night pony. "I have a reputation to maintain, and it is customary for me to give a little scare to whoever I visit, or at least try to—some are braver than others, and some are so distraught that giving them a little jumpscare would be downright cruel. Your heart is still in great shape, Mom. If it weren't, then I would take more care with you."

"My heart won't stay in good shape if you keep doing that," I muttered and then looked up at her horn. "Why are you a unicorn?"

She shrugged. "Typically, after I've given someone a scare, I immediately shift to the form of something more familiar, which includes the form of their tribe and species. It helps with demystifying fear if I am similar to them."

"That sounds like psychological hocus-pocus to me. Does it work?" I asked in a doubting tone.

She shrugged again. "I've had some successes with it, but it isn't universal, nor do I expect it to be. Everyone is an individual, and what works for one person doesn't work for every person."

I'd never gotten many visits in the dream realm from my daughter. She preferred to visit me in person or give me a call rather than see me in a dream. In the past eight years, I think Phobia had visited me in dreams no more than two or three times, counting this visit. I heard things from others about her visits, which is how I knew about the whole closet thing. I had never been much a fan of being dreamwalked before, except for Tonya, and figured Phobia knew that and avoided doing it out of courtesy, but I had expected her to do it when I moved away. Those late-night visits never came, till today.

"So, you're going to adjust my compulsion?" I asked.

She nodded. "That is what I was asked to do. Yinyu, Arbiter, or Ghadab could have just as easily done the same, but the government gets nervous when trusting dead ponies. It is irrational, considering they have no problem turning to Arbiter or Ghadab already for other services, and may yet do the same for Yinyu. Psychic or Krik could have done it as well, and there would be strong merit to having Krik in particular deal with it, given he is the Warden of Silence and the world's foremost keeper of secrets. They felt it might be better if I just did it, though, since I am more familiar with you."

I gave her a flat look. "I love you, but a yes or no would have sufficed."

Phobia seemed to relax some, and before that moment, I hadn't realized she'd had any tension. "I love you too, Mom. I don't think I tell you that enough. Although, I'm not sure how often you should tell someone that you love them before it gets to being habit rather than heartfelt. Yinyu's death has made all of us who remain alive think of our mortality more and those that we care about. I've been thinking of all my family, as of late, and that includes you." She took a deep breath, unnecessary though it may be in a dream. "I'm sorry for being so long-winded. I like to make sure I communicate myself clearly. I also have a lot on my mind."

I laughed to myself. "My daughter, one of the most feared demi-gods in the universe, and still unsure if she's able to make her points without a load of explanation. You'd do that sometimes when you were a kid too, and I always found it endearing—except for when I was in a hurry."

"And now you're raising foals again," Phobia replied with a smile. "How is that going? How do you feel about them? Do you like them? How are they coping with Yinyu's death?"

I blinked. "Um, you're a Dreamwarden; you know the answers to those questions better than I do."

"I prefer to hear answers from people rather than read people's minds," she said. "Yinyu, Ghadab, and Arbiter can't help but read minds, but I try to keep out of them as much as I can. I see too many things I prefer I didn't when I do, and it feels like I lose some ability to relate to others when I know what they are thinking, like they are less individuals and more just predictable characters doing predictable things. They become less valued as people to us, and we lose our sense of joy, wonder, empathy, and expectation. No, Mom, I don't want to read your mind. I prefer to interact with you as Dreamwarden as little as possible. I'd rather be your daughter. I feel sad that I must interact with poor Jessie as much as I do in the role of Dreamwarden, but am trapped by necessity."

I thought about Tonya and how different she seemed. She was still Tonya, but there was a distance there that went beyond merely her being only able to communicate with me in dreams. She wasn't just Tonya anymore, she was Arbiter, and I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about Arbiter. That also made me think of the foals and their relationship with their mother. Was Yinyu becoming something alien from the mother they knew? Phobia had become different when becoming a Dreamwarden, but not to that extent. How much of what made the Dreamwardens themselves died with them when their bodies died?

"You aren't going to let yourself die and be trapped here, are you?" I asked in a low, worried voice.

She shook her head. "I have no plans to, but I can't predict the future. I can do everything I can to make sure I get to retire to Equestria safely before my time has come, but there is always the possibility of tragedy. Krik has now begun making plans for his departure to Equestria, and we have already begun our search for his replacement. He plans to leave within a year. Yinyu's death hit him hard. Psychic is musing about retirement as well, but he doesn't plan on going quite yet; a few more years and he may leave as well, and I'll be the last living Dreamwarden still on Earth out of the original six. I was the youngest, but in a few short years, I'll be the oldest living, since the new Dreamwardens will almost certainly be younger. We'll bring them in young, so they can serve for decades and still have time to retire safely with decades left to live. Currently, I'm planning on retiring immediately after the primary crisis has passed."

I frowned. "How young, and what primary crisis are you talking about?"

Phobia looked down. "We're looking at younger twenties and even teens. The knowledge to do the job comes with the job, and there is no way of getting relevant experience. We want them young, have something unique they can contribute, and be of good disposition to handle the burdens of being a warden. As for the crisis, doom is coming, Mom, doom on a scale you cannot imagine. For all my efforts to reform the Dreamwardens' image, my primary concern is doing all I can to help prepare the world to face the coming apocalypse. If we fail, whether I retire or not will be irrelevant, because there will be no more dream realm, because there will be no more magical life—or any life on Earth, likely not in Equestria either if any of the randomly occurring portals can provide a path between our dimensions."

My eyes bulged. "What! What could possibly… " Then it came to me. "The Devourers, the magic eating death robots from space, I thought they were just a story, or at the most, something that was so far away it was pointless to care about them. They're the only thing you could be describing."

Phobia gave me a sad nod. "They aren't just a made-up story to scare foals, they're real, and they'll be here sooner than anyone expected. We realized this days before the Cataclysm."

I thought back to what was going on with Phobia back then. It had been such a busy and hectic time, but I remembered something odd that had happened involving the Dreamwardens that I didn't have the time to care or worry about back then. "Which is when you also put an abrupt halt to that project you had me working on. You needed to shift priorities, and whatever that project was, it ceased to be important."

"That project was a possible long-term solution to the Devourer problem, one we might revisit if we can survive the first wave. It wouldn't help us in the time we needed it, not with them coming in our lifetime," Phobia explained. "Unfortunately, we do not have the needed centuries we thought we had; thankfully, a little filly made us realize that all our best estimates and models on how long the Devourers would take to teach us were drastically incorrect."

"Jessica…" I breathed. "Little Jessie figured this out?"

"To be fair, she combined research from various other researchers. There was quite a buzz about it. Both from researchers wanting her to properly give them credit for their work, and for what it demonstrated and predicted. I know you were very distracted at the time," Phobia replied. "They've been running repeated tests with what she demonstrated, and those tests have consistently shown she is right. They may soon be putting it down as the sixth law of physics, Middleton's Law."

I shook my head to clear it. "I'm thrilled for her accomplishment, but what about the Devourers? I understand why there's been no public notice about this since it would create wide-spread panic, but what are you doing to stop them?"

"That is not something I'm at liberty to discuss," Phobia said in a neutral tone. "I'm giving you a great deal of trust by even letting you know about the threat. I know you won't say anything to anyone. Just know all that can be done to prevent it will be done, and if we fail… well, you won't have time to panic. We'll all be dead before you realize we failed. I'm not going to speculate or give you any indication of how likely we are to succeed. This is still many years away, and many things may yet change. You should live your life like no Devourers are coming."

"Because I should be living every day like it was my last already," I said with a small smile. "I trust you, and Tonya, and even Yinyu. I know you'll do everything you can, and if you fail, then there was no way it could have been done. I'll pray to God to give you all the help he can."

Phobia stood up straight. "Now, let's get onto the business reason I am here. I'm going to adjust your compulsion; you're being given a lot of leeway and trust in this. The new wording has been reviewed by the Pentagon, the president, and the president's advisors. It has not been reviewed by the United Nations, as you are a US citizen, and this is considered a United States matter. It is only happening because Princess Twilight Sparkle has insisted that she needed your expertise to be available. I am also required to inform you that your phone calls and communications will be monitored to ensure that there are no leaks of information regarding transformation magic. Refusal to have your communications monitored or attempts to subvert monitoring will result in returning to the previous wording and possible federal criminal charges. Monitoring of your mail may result in delays of mail delivery. Disclosures that your compulsions have been adjusted are not public information, and will not be made public information. Declining these terms before the agreement is in place will result in the withdrawal of the agreement to change your compulsion and no adverse action. Do you understand and accept monitoring requirements?"

I sighed. I hated her having to interact with me in an official manner, but she was an official. "I agree."

She spent the next several minutes outlining the differences in the compulsion and making me go over disclosures. There were no signatures since verbal agreements done in the dream realm in front of a Dreamwarden counted as legally binding. Most people were incapable of reading in the dream realm anyway—writing appeared as gibberish. The rare few who could read in the dream realm couldn't make written contracts either since there was no way of converting a document from a dream to the waking world.

Still, it was done quickly enough, and I found myself free again to work on transformation magic.

Chapter 31: Welcome to Wabash Manor

Morning came and with it the beginning of a new adventure.

Our new adventure started slowly. I got up and met with Josie. The mare had some limited success teaching English to Mèng. He now had a vocabulary of two words, those words being no and please. In his case, please indicated he wanted something. The word yes was still a mystery to him, but two new words was a massive improvement. Technically he had learned a third word, Josie, but I didn't think that counted.

The morning passed by with no notable drama. I had to spend a few minutes packing things. I didn't have much of my own in my room, and the foals toys I put back into the shopping bags they had come in. Qīng Yǔ refused to be parted from her toy dog, and I decided just to let her hold onto it. It would be up to her mother to ensure the thing made the trip with us. Shǔguāng, Líng, and Mèng spent much of the morning distracted by cartoons, occasionally breaking to go out the back door and run around outside.

Shortly before noon, a pair of SUVs arrived at the condo, this time with legitimate SPEC agents instead of IT techs, and a familiar face I hadn't seen in the past year.

"Sunset!" Number Crunch shouted as she exited the passenger door of one of the SUVs. "Good to see you. Wild sometimes mentions you, but it doesn't stop me from worrying about you."

I crossed the yard to greet my fellow unicorn. Number looked healthy enough; the crow's feet near the edges of her eyes were a little deeper, but her blue fur was as vibrant as ever, and her brown mane was still free of grey. She wore a small saddle bag that might have qualified as just a large purse with a SPEC logo embroidered on it. What was different about her was she seemed legitimately happy to see me.

"I… It's good to see you too, Number," I said as I approached her. I was shocked a moment later when she pulled me into a hug, but I returned it. When we broke our hug, I smiled. "I didn't expect this warm a greeting from you."

Her ears sagged a bit. "Yeah, Wild is always angry at you and will likely remain so, but I don't blame you for what happened. Yes, things could have been done better, but I don't think anyone could have anticipated what happened."

Number Crunch had gone to college with me when we were young and human. We had been roommates for a short time before drifting away from one another. Somewhere along the line, she had become involved with organized crime and became what would be considered a financial cleaner. Shortly after we became ponies, we reconnected. She then used those nefarious ties to my advantage, financing much of SPECs early operations with stolen money—money stolen from criminals, but stolen money all the same.

Events had forced her to clean up her act soon after that and since then she’d walked the straight and narrow. As far as I knew, she had never been caught or prosecuted for her crimes as a human and had become Wild Growth's business mentor, best friend, and right-hoof mare. She ardently believed that Wild Growth represented the best in what people could be and did everything she could to help further Wild Growth's goals, plans, and influence.

"I'm still surprised you seem so happy to see me," I said as the foals cautiously came up behind me.

She smiled at me once again. "We had our bad blood in the past, but that's the past. I know you're a changed pony, and the you who is here today is someone who wants to be better. I'm someone who understands having a past they're not proud of and want to put behind them, and I'm ready to be your friend again, if you'll accept my friendship."

I hugged her again, and she hugged me back. I felt close to tears. "Thank you, Number. That means a lot to me."

"There's still room for you in the former Shimmerist recovery club, funnily enough the club is getting big—thanks to you," she replied in an amused tone. "I'm joking about there being an actual club, but your final manifesto and speech made a big difference."

I pulled back from her. "You're talking about those so-called Blessingists."

She tilted her head slightly. "Well, them and many others who have turned away from their hatred. I'm not really on the Blessingist bandwagon, but their ranks are proliferating at a rapid pace, and I prefer dealing with them over Shimmerists anyday. I take it you aren't a fan of them?"

A resisted the urge to grumble. "I wish they didn't put me up on a pedestal. I certainly don't want my name getting slapped on some group. I don't condemn them, and I don't endorse them, and I don't want to be involved."

Number shrugged. "You may not have a choice about those first two things, but whether you get involved or not is completely in your control, and I can respect you not wanting to. There are so many now that they aren't just going to go away anytime soon. They’re not just former Shimmerists, they are pulling ponies and humans from all walks of life and backgrounds; they've even leeched people away from Humanity First."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Humanity First, seriously?"

She nodded. "Not enough to put Humanity First out of business, or significantly reduce it's threat, but Blessingists present a very hopeful message to humans—they can have magic too, that they have a right to have magic, and they don't need to be permanently transformed to get that magic. That kind of message sells like wildfire."

"With me as a pseudo-prophet," I deadpanned.

"Like it or not, Sunset, you can't stop it," she cocked her head. "By the way, I love the new fur color. I knew it was you when I saw your mark, but the fur does look very good. Was it done by a professional?"

I chortled. "No, I did it myself. I may start wearing a dress or frock to cover the mark. I don't care for clothes, but I care less for people recognizing me and making a scene." I motioned the foals forward. "Meet Lántiān, Shǔguāng, Líng, Mèng, and Qīng Yǔ. Foals, meet my friend, Number Crunch."

Number inclined her head to the foals. "Pleased to meet you. Forgive me if I don't remember all your names right away; my Mandarin is a little rusty. I'm not sure about the exact translation for some of those names, that last one, does that mean light rain?"

"A gentle rain or I believe you say drizzle in English," Lántiān answered. "We pegasi find a gentle rain to be enjoyable."

"I think most people do, although I enjoy sunny days most," Number replied. "We had best be going. Your mouths are going to drop when you see Wabash Manor; the place is huge, with plenty of yard space to play in."

"Wabash Manor? That's the name of the mansion?" I asked.

She turned to the agents briefly. "Go gather their things and load it all up." She then turned to me. "Yep, Wabash Manor. It's an old Victorian mansion, one of the oldest in the state. It belonged to an old mining baron. It got passed around through various owners for the last century until Wild finally bought it. It has a huge stone privacy fence and even larger gardens than the ones you had back in Riverview."

"And she expects me to keep up with it all," I lamented.

"Hey, it's room and board, and there are worse places to end up with room and board," Number replied. "Come, all of you get in the car; we can talk more on the way there."

---

We passed through the wrought-iron gates of the manor grounds a few minutes later. The grounds were indeed big and heavily wooded on all sides—something you wouldn't expect in a major metropolitan area like Denver. It was like we were going to some retreat far out in the middle of nowhere, instead of a location within the city limits.

The trees I recognized as crabapple trees. Yet, I didn't see very many crabapples on the ground, which confused me. Perhaps there were just very industrious squirrels about. Overgrown bushes and flowerbeds in extreme disrepair could be seen in all directions from the car windows as we drove up the path to the mansion itself. I saw several statues with algae, vines, and fungus hiding much of their features, and long dry fountains that were filled with vines. Years' worth of fallen leaves covered much of the grass and made me question if there was any healthy grass beneath some of those piles. There were broken stone benches and fences meant for cultivated vines that had long ago collapsed. This place was going to be a nightmare to get back in order. I did some gardening, but not anything near the scale and expertise needed here. It would take a large team of earth ponies a considerable amount of time and effort to fix all I saw.

It took a minute or two of driving from the gate to reach the mansion itself, and my jaw did indeed drop when I saw it.

If I described every mansion I had ever seen in a horror movie, this place would fit right among those descriptions. It was three stories tall, with an east and west wing spreading out from a main central section. The center section had a tall tower rising out of its side, adding perhaps a fourth or fifth floor to that section, and a steeply sloping tiled roof. The windows were octagonal in shape throughout the mansion, aside from two large rectangular ones that stared out the house's front like eyes. The wings had less steeply sloping roofs, with each wing ending in its own tower. Beyond each tower, there was a small covered walkway leading out to a separate gazebo on each side—one of which looked like it had the roof collapsed and the other's integrity looked highly suspect. A bone dry fountain sat directly in front of the house, with the road curving around it. A few side buildings could be seen, all looking like they hadn't been cared for in ages, and there was even a well.

"Wild expects me to keep up with all this?" I asked in disbelief as the car came to a stop in front of the house.

"She's going to send some gardeners and carpenters to fix up the outside, don't worry about that. She does expect you to do maintenance after she has it fixed up," Number explained as she lit her horn and opened the passenger door to let all the foals out.

I stepped out of the car onto the sandy dirt that surrounded the dry fountain. "If the outside looks this bad, what does the inside look like? Is this place even habitable?"

"The inside is in mostly excellent shape," Number replied as she stepped out and joined me. "There is a handypony who has been keeping the inside in shape and squatters out. He's got a little house out behind this one, and he keeps up with that side of the grounds, but he can't keep up with everything on this side as well as everything else, not by himself. He kind of came with the place, and Wild only recently bought the property and hasn't gotten teams out here yet to do this side of the grounds."

I cocked an ear. "He lives in an outbuilding? Why not inside the main house?"

Number shrugged and looked around. "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask him. He was supposed to be meeting us, but I see no sign of him. We kind of need him; he has the keys."

Lántiān pulled her siblings and daughter close to her with her wings; her brothers seemed unhappy they weren't being allowed to wander or explore, but didn't fight her.

"This place does not seem safe for foals, ma'am," Lántiān said in a brisk tone. "My brothers could end up trapped or hurt while trying to play in these ruins, and who knows what they might step on underneath these beds of leaves. This is not acceptable."

"Don't worry; I don't intend on letting them wander around in the front until this is all fixed," I informed her. "Now, if the inside is not habitable or the backyard is as bad, we may need to go back to the condo or find a hotel until Wild makes this building fit to live in."

"I came by yesterday, and Mister Tibbs—that's the handypony, showed me the inside. It's safe," Number said. She then levitated a human-style cell phone out of her bag and dialed a number. It rang for about twenty seconds before being answered.

"Hello?" It was a male voice.

Number glared at the phone. "Mister Tibbs, we've arrived, and you're not here to greet the house's new residents. Where are you?"

"Oh! I'm very sorry! I'll be right out. I was installing in that new refrigerator and getting rid of that old clunker that was here since the seventies. The old waterline for it had given me some trouble. It's all done. I'll be at the front door in just a moment."

"Good, we'll be waiting," Number replied. She then put away her phone and turned to the agents. "Gather up their things to bring inside. Make sure nothing is left behind by accident. I don't want to be getting any calls about one of the foals missing a favorite toy or worse."

The agents got to work unloading the SUVs and the front door, a massive wooden thing with a big W carved on it, opened up, revealing a middle-aged cloudy white crystal pony stallion with a scraggly yellow mane. His mark was three purple swirls surrounding a star. He was also notably missing one of his eyes, with an off white glass one in its place that had no iris. The glass eye was highly reflective, and I could see myself in it.

"Sorry to keep you mares waiting. I'm Malcomb Tibbs, and I welcome you to your new home, Wabash Manor. I hope you breathe some new life into the place; it's been so dead here."

Chapter 32: Tour of Wabash part 1

Malcolm Tibbs looked around in confusion, then turned to face Number Crunch. "Hey, you said that Sunset Blessing and her family were moving in. These ponies look nice enough, but I don't see Sunset Blessing or Phobia Remedy, and that night pony colt doesn't look six or seven years old." He turned briefly to me. "No offense to you, madam. It was just that I was told someone else was coming."

Number smirked. "Take a look at the mark on the pony you just apologized to."

He turned back towards me and gave me a closer look; then his eyes went wide. "Oh! I see the mark now, not one that would be common. I suppose you could be her, with a fur dye, but there are still a few reasons for me to doubt."

This was a change of pace. For the first time, I had someone doubt my identity. "If you are looking for my daughter and her family, they aren't the family that was referenced. These are my… these are Yinyu Wu Yan's foals. She has entrusted them into my care."

He looked at the five foals again. His eyes lingered on Lántiān's mark for several seconds with him frowning, before he turned back to me. "I suppose that is believable, but it still leaves one matter that doesn't line up."

I arched an eyebrow. "And that would be?"

"Your magic," he replied. "Sunset Blessing is known to be well below average for her PREQUES number; a lower two from what I heard, while you register a pretty even three. That isn't particularly strong, very run-of-the-mill, really, but it is several times more powerful than she is reported to be."

I pursed my lips. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're misreading it since there is no way I'm a three."

"I can read magic power levels quickly and accurately; it's what my mark is for," He replied briskly, then turned and started pointing at the others. "Number Crunch there is a low four, the older pegasus filly is a high three, the unicorn colt I reliably put at one-point-eight, one-point-six for the earth pony, one-point-three for the night pony, and a zero-point-nine for the pegasus toddler. The foals are all still young and growing, so I expect them to be low and rise with age, but adults, especially older adults, don't typically change too much. You're too strong to be Sunset Blessing."

I wanted to argue and protest, but the pragmatic part of my brain decided to kick in. Instead, I smiled at him. "You've got us. There's no fooling you. None of us, except Number Crunch, are who we say we are. We're all convincing body doubles, and Yinyu's real foals and the real Sunset Blessing are all in a secure undisclosed location."

Lántiān stomped her hoof. "Ma'am! I am no body-"

I clamped her mouth shut with my magic. "No point in arguing, Bright Sunshine-" Her eyes bulged at the name I made up for her. "-the gentlestallion is onto us. He's too smart." I turned back towards him. "I do ask that you still treat us as the roles we're playing. It wouldn't do for you to blow our cover, now would it?"

He stood up straight. "Of course, this must be some deep government protection program. I'll do my part. From this moment on, I'll treat you like the real Sunset Blessing. Won't even ask your real name or hint that you're anyone else than her."

I released Lántiān's mouth and nodded to the handypony as Lántiān gave me a look that could kill. "Thank you, Mister Tibbs."

He nodded. "No problem, Sunset Blessing, and please, call me Malcomb. Make sure to pronounce it Mal-comb and not Mal-com."

"I'll make sure of it, Malcomb," I replied. "Now, can you please show us around our new home?"

He nodded, turned, and motioned for us to follow him in. I hurried over to Lántiān and whispered to her. "Just go with it. It's another line of protection for us. Don't argue about it."

She glared at me. "As you wish, ma'am. Please, don't call me that fake name ever again."

I nodded and started walking into the building, pausing only long enough to see if everyone was following. They were, although Number looked highly amused as she followed. The SPEC agents followed as well, and they looked mildly confused. That was good. If anyone's tongues wagged, then that would leak the false information that we were fakes. If everyone researching us came to the conclusion we were just a decoy, then they wouldn't bother us. I would love to have more powerful magic than I did, but that half-blind crystal pony misreading it was a lucky break.

We entered, single-file, through the door and got our first look at the inside of the house.

The entrance hall was a large room with two curved staircases leading up to the second floor, which were joined by a landing connecting to hallways at either end. Hallways were leading left and right on the current floor as well, and ahead of us was a painting of a mustached human man in a bowler hat with a woman in an elaborate gown surrounded by four hounds with a backdrop of trees. To either side of the painting were two other doors, one which was closed, and the other led into a brightly lit room with a large dining table. All the walls were done up with wood paneling, and there were candle sconces—which had been converted to electric lighting with the small candle bulbs—set every four feet or so along the wall, as well as a few small tables pushed against the walls here and there. The floors were all hardwood with narrow Persian rugs run along walkways. A large chandelier hung overhead. All the lights were off, but the room was being flooded by light from the two large rectangular windows high above us.

"Welcome to the main foyer and heart of the house," Malcomb announced as he gestured around. "The closed door over there leads down to the basement with the furnace. I've cleaned out most of the random junk down there, along with the majority of non-essential items from the west-wing, and moved them all to storage in the east-wing. I would recommend keeping all the foals and guests out of the east-wing unless supervised. There's a lot of priceless and delicate antiques in storage there. Sunset, I'll walk you through what's over there sometime soon since it is part of our duty to make sure we don't lose any of it."

I was technically the housekeeper for this place, so it followed that I had a list of duties "I'll make sure the foals stay out of that wing."

Malcomb nodded. "The door down here for the east-wing is locked, and later I have a copy of the key to give you. The upstairs hallway doesn't have a door, but I put up a secure child gate already. The staircase that leads to the third floor is just out of sight from here if you take a few steps down the upstairs hallway." He gestured to the open door to the side of the painting. "If you follow me, this way leads to the dining room, which connects to the kitchen. The agents can leave your belongings here since I'd rather they weren't all walking through the house with us."

My ears picked up the sound of rhythmic tapping and pounding that had been going on quietly in the background since we entered. It was coming from the upstairs. "What is that sound I'm hearing? Is someone else here?"

He paused. "Oh, that… don't worry about that. No one else is here. I do a magic search of the house twice a day to find any ponies that tried to sneak in—found only three over the last few years, one that snuck in through the window of the attic and two others in the buildings outside. This house is old, though, and makes a lot of noise. There's always boards creaking, foundation settling, and the furnace can sound awful when it's on. That tapping you're hearing is the sound of the doors upstairs when a breeze is coming through the windows. I opened several windows this morning to help air the place out a little. The doors will rock on their hinges and repeatedly hit their frames when a breeze comes through. You learn to tune it out."

"Lovely," I muttered. This meant listening to noise all night long. I knew why the foyer was called the heart of the house; it sounded like it was beating. I could hear a light breeze blowing through the halls as if the house was taking in a deep breath.

Just as Malcomb was about to walk through the door to the dining room, it slammed shut, right on his face. The rest of us jumped back in surprise as the crystal pony started cursing.

"Oww! Dammit! Stupid doors, always slamming shut!" Malcomb yelled as he rubbed his nose.

I looked at Number to see if she had used her magic to slam the door and saw her doing the same with me. She shrugged, and the two of us looked at Shǔguāng for good measure, but he looked just looked spooked.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" I asked as Malcomb stood back up and began opening the door again.

He turned his head back and gave me a confused look. "What? Oh, yes, it is. It was my fault. I must have forgotten to put the doorstop in place when hurrying out to meet you. It's the same as that banging upstairs—a little breeze and doors will slam shut on you."

"That's going to have the foals on edge," I replied. "Is there anything to be done about it?"

He shook his head. "Not really. These doors are all original, and replacing them is out of the question. I can maybe see about making their hinges stiffer, so they aren't so easy to move, but I have to be careful, or I might damage something. They'll get used to it. This place will get into your head, making you imagine ghosts and goblins, but it's just old, that's all. There ain't nothing to be afraid of here."

I walked up to the stallion and put my mouth up to his ear to whisper. "These foals fled armed guards that were literally hunting them not even a full week ago. I'm not sure if there was gunfire since they haven't shared too many details about that day, but I don't rule it out. They may have flashbacks that I would rather avoid if they hear bangs."

He gave me a doubting look. "You're really playing this part to the hilt."

"My role is to make sure these foals are well taken care of, and that means being mindful of their unfortunate circumstances. Please, do something to minimize the slams and bangs, Mister Tibbs," I said in my most authoritarian voice.

He sighed. "Okay, I'll see what I can do." He opened the door and fetched a doorstop to hold open the door—a small wrought-iron lion that looked like it might have once been a bookend.

We progressed into the dining room. There was a long table in the center, and I counted a dozen chairs. The wall in front of us had two large windows that looked out to a far more well kept part of the property grounds, and the wall to our right had a fireplace as well as a large piano that looked too new to go with the rest of the property—since it had a power cord plugged into the wall. The wall to the left had some small narrow tables I imagined were for setting food aside and a painting of the original owner's dogs hanging above with a backdrop of what looked like a stable. Another closed door was located on the far end of the left wall.

"A piano!" Shǔguāng shouted in excitement. "Can Sister play it for us?"

"Please!" Líng shouted in turn.

Mèng looked at his brothers, then the piano, then stared up at his sister with big pleading eyes. "Please!"

"Not right now, and I'm not sure if ma'am would approve of it anyway," Lántiān replied. I blinked as I thought I caught a hint of a blush on her face.

"You play the piano?" I asked.

She didn't meet my eyes. "Mother insisted that I learn to play an instrument, ma'am. She had a passion for music. I took piano lessons for several years. She seemed… pleased with my ability. It is not my passion, but I do enjoy it."

I looked back at Malcomb. "That doesn't seem to be an antique, at least not in terms of what qualifies as an antique in this house. Is it functional and usable?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a leftover from the last owners. From what I understand, there was an antique piano that used to be in this room, but the children played on it often, and the owner moved it elsewhere and bought this for regular use. It still works perfectly fine. It's expensive because it's a big electric piano, but it's not something Miss Growth would likely care too much about."

I glanced back at the piano. "How long has this place been without occupants? I'd assumed ages, but that piano says otherwise."

"Not too terribly long," he replied. "Last owners went and took off around the time of ETS—probably are a bunch of ponies living out in some farming village now. The house sat vacant for about a year until it was declared an abandoned property like so many other places after ETS. A historical society group bought it at auction and hired me to take care of the place, but they had some money trouble and weren't able to open this place for tours like they wanted, and ended up selling it to Miss Growth quite recently."

"Did the kids here have toys? Are the toys still here?" Shǔguāng asked eagerly.

Malcomb smiled. "Yeah, they had toys. We have them mostly in storage right now. There may still be some stray ones about the rest of the house. I remember about three years ago walking into this very room and tripping over a toy fire engine. I never did figure out how it ended up in the middle of a walkway I'd been through hundreds of times. I thought we had a squatter, but I searched the place top to bottom after that and found no trace of anyone."

"If no squatter, how did it just suddenly appear somewhere it hadn't been?" I asked. This made me wonder how reliable a searcher of intruders this pony was.

He shrugged. "It was battery-powered, and the batteries seemed almost dead. Toys that have dying batteries will sometimes do odd things. I figured it was in the corner under something before, and I never noticed or paid attention. When the batteries were dying, it might have done one last run."

I couldn't deny that was quite possible, but it still strained possibility, in my opinion. "Have there been other incidents like that one?"

He shook his head. "Naw, just that one time. It was just a fluke thing. If it happened more than once, I'd worry, but it has only happened once, and it was three years ago."

Maybe it was just a fluke incident. If it had been squatters or burglars that were here, they were long gone. They also were unlikely to appear again if it was apparent the house was being lived in again.

I turned towards my eldest charge. "You can try out the piano later tonight, after dinner. I highly doubt there is a house speaker system that I can play a recording of violin music on, so your siblings hearing you play the piano shortly before bed might be the best alternative we have."

She bowed her head. "I understand, ma'am."

Malcomb opened the next door and put the twin to the doorstop in place at the next door. led the way to the next room. "If you follow me, we can look at the kitchen."

We followed him in, and I gaped at the size of the kitchen. It was the biggest kitchen I'd ever seen in a house. It was definitely bigger than the one back in my old mansion, and I was reasonably sure it was larger than the one in Wild's estate. The wall to our right had two large windows to let in light and a door exiting into the backyard. Out those windows, I could see a well-maintained garden and two side buildings—one that looked like the stable seen in the dining room's painting, and the other looked like it might be Malcomb's small dwelling.

The other three walls were primarily covered with counter space, with a few breaks in the counters. There were three stoves; two sat side by side and looked relatively new, the third was an old pot-bellied stove that sat off in a corner near the window. There was a new refrigerator a short distance from more contemporary stoves, and the sink was installed in a central island in the middle of the room. All the counters and most of the cabinets were too high for a pony to use comfortably, but someone—assumably Malcomb, had put small metal steps in different locations to climb up onto the counters and island. The walls in the kitchen lacked the wood paneling found elsewhere and were instead done in brick, painted white. The counters and cabinets were well-polished and finished wood—cherry if I didn't mistake my guess. There was a final closed door leading back into the direction of the main house.

"Everything in the kitchen is new, aside from that antique in the corner. Please, don't attempt to use the antique stove," Malcomb announced. There aren't any pots, pans, or cups here, not any silverware. All of those things have been moved into storage. I'm not sure what ones are antique and what ones aren't, so it is best to keep them in storage. You'll need to supply your own cookware and utensils, the same with food."

It seemed like another night of delivery, and I'd need to hurry to get the necessary supplies for the kitchen.

"I'll do a little shopping trip for you today," Number offered. "Just don't complain about my choices. I'll be doing them as a gift on my dime. I know Wild will be paying for just about everything you need, but I want to give you a gift on my own."

"Thank you, Number," I gratefully replied. I then looked at the other door. "Is that the pantry, Malcomb?"

He walked over to it and opened it, revealing a staircase going down. "Yes and no. It's an entrance to a pantry cellar. I need to fix the light in the stairwell—which I might need your assistance using your horn since it is out of my reach and ladders on stairs are just not safe. To describe it without taking you down there, it's rectangular and about a hundred square feet in size with some wooden cabinets and shelves. It has another door that leads into the main cellar as well. I don't recommend using it, though, because it just smells musty and is unneeded with only a small family here. I stay out of it because it's dark, and the stairs have an odd curve to them that it's easy to trip on. Now that there are foals in the house, we might want just to have this particular door locked to avoid any potential accidents on the stairs."

I could barely make out the stairs from where I stood. "That is advisable. I don't want any of the foals getting injured.

Number levitated her phone back out as Malcomb was closing the door to the stairwell. Her eyes went wide, and she hurriedly put the phone away. "I'm sorry, Sunset. I'm needed elsewhere. I've been taking greater and greater control of SPEC's operations the last few weeks because Wild is gearing up for a congressional run."

I blinked. "I thought she wasn't interested in getting into politics."

Number shrugged. "Times change and her circumstances have as well. She's no longer able to go out and make a difference with her powers, so now she's forced to find other ways of making a difference. I think you can appreciate that. We're all looking to redefine ourselves after everything that has happened."

I walked over to her and hugged her. "That we are."

She hugged me in return. "I'll be back by with kitchen utensils and food for you; it just may be later this evening. Take care of yourself, Sunset."

"I shall. Take care of yourself too, and Wild. That mare tries to do too much for others sometimes," I replied as I released her.

She chuckled. "Yeah, she doesn't know when to say enough is enough, but I love that about her. She never stops trying to help. I'll see you later. Goodbye for now."

"Goodbye," I replied and watched her hurry back out the way we came.

Malcomb waited till Number left before speaking. "Are you ready to see the living area and where your rooms will be?"

I nodded. "Yes, let's get on with it."

Chapter 33: Tour of Wabash part 2

Almost the entire first floor of the west wing was one huge room, fully illuminated by a string of windows on either side of the room. There was a half bathroom and a door at the far end with yellow tape blocking it off, but otherwise, it was the most oversized living room I'd ever seen.

"This is the main living and hosting area," Malcomb explained. "The first floor of the east wing is the ballroom, but it is being used for storage, and I advise keeping your foals and guests out of it. The furniture here is contemporary, all stuff from the last occupants before ETS, and you don't need to worry about damaging anything. It should be clean; I just removed all the dust covers yesterday and did a full sweep and mop of it."

The room seemed to be divided up into areas. In the far left corner of the room, near the taped-off door, looked like a gaming area. It had a ping-pong table, a pinball machine, a driving arcade game, and an old Street Fighter machine—with none of the electronic devices plugged in. The corner to our immediate left had a few small overly cushioned chairs, a couch, and a loveseat, along with a vacant computer desk —perhaps a study area? Most of the right side of the room and center was clear, except for some throw rugs. The center of the room to the right was a large wrap-around couch that made a perfect half-circle facing a large older television that looked like it was from the eighties or early nineties. There were tall standing lamps in each of the corners and next to each of the areas, and the walls were done in the same wood paneling as every room but the kitchen.

Malcomb gestured around the room. "The arcade games all work, as far as I know. Although I doubt anyone here will be using them since they are all too big for ponies. The television works, but it won't connect to any modern satellite or cable boxes without an adapter. We do have cell phone coverage, but no internet in the house otherwise. I suppose you could try getting it off the cable lines, but they’d really need to run new lines—the ones here are ancient. All electrical outlets have been tested and are working."

"And the taped off door?" I asked.

He looked down at it. "That leads onto the walkway leading to the west gazebo, and that isn't safe right now. Miss Growth assured me she'd have carpenters here either tomorrow or later in the week to start repairing it, along with all the other things that need repair."

I shook my head in disbelief. "How did the outside get so bad, and why does the contemporary stuff still look thirty or forty years old if there was a family here not even ten years ago?"

"Word from one of the older neighbors is this place was in worse shape when the last family moved in," Malcomb explained. "It had been sitting abandoned for over thirty years at that point. They started work on the house itself to get it livable, but it was a lot of work." He paused and looked around. "As for why everything from them is still older, I was told the owners were paranoid about computers and other electronic devices made after the turn of the millennia—believed the government was spying on them. If that's true, I can imagine that if they got ETS, they'd have been some of those more ardent pony separatists a few years back when that was a thing."

"Lovely," I replied absently. "That's the base of the tower I saw outside, right? I'm guessing it isn't just a stairwell going up."

He shook his head. "No, the third-floor has a small standard room in it; the second-floor part of the tower is effectively just a maintenance closet that contains the water heater and the AC unit for this side of the house. The other wing is pretty symmetrical with this one, with minimal differences. Pretty sure those second-floor rooms were used for something else when this place was built, since they didn't have water heaters or ACs back then, but probably were just more storage."

I nodded and did one last look around the room. "I think this room is covered. How about-"

SLAM!

We all jumped. The older colts each took refuge behind Lántiān and me and started whimpering. Qīng Yǔ, who was on her mother's back, was now crying and wailing. Mèng, who had previously looked ready for bed, now was fully awake, head lowered aggressively, his fur fluffed like an angry cat, and his wings spread wide, all while glaring in the direction we had come. He was even growling.

Malcomb took a deep breath. "Damn stupid doors. They're going to be the death of me. We should have either shut it or propped it open. No harm was done, just a scare."

I gave myself a shake. "Everyone, let's make it a point not to leave any doors hanging open, so we don't have that constantly happening." I looked down at Shǔguāng, who had ducked behind me. "It's alright. Nothing is going to hurt you or anyone else."

He lifted his head high, even though his ears were still flat against his head and his tail tucked between his legs. "I wasn't scared. I was just protecting you."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I didn't want to make him feel I didn't take him seriously, even if I didn't. I had no idea how strong or fragile his ego was. "I understand and appreciate your effort, but you can see that none of us are in danger. You can relax. Can you do me a favor? I need you to be a good big brother and try to calm your angry baby brother down."

"I was scared," Líng admitted as he came out from behind his sister, still looking nervous. Qīng Yǔ just continued to cry and wail while Lántiān tried to soothe her. Shǔguāng hurried over to Mèng and started saying quiet words in Mandarin.

Since Lántiān was occupied with her daughter, and Shǔguāng was now dealing with his fluffed night pony brother, it fell to me to comfort Líng so he wouldn't feel neglected.

I reached a leg out and gestured for him to come to me. He immediately rushed over, and I pulled him into a hug. "There there. It's okay to be a little scared. New places can be very scary, and you've been a real trooper with how well you've held up going from new place to new place this week. Once we get settled in, you'll get comfortable, and in no time at all, you'll feel like home here."

"It's not a new place. It's an old place, and it smells funny and has all kinds of scary noises," he protested.

I sniffed. It did smell a little musty, but that was nothing a little air freshener or scented candle couldn't fix. "We'll get those things taken care of soon. You know, with a house this big, you'll be able to have your pick of a bedroom all your own, one you won't have to share with your brothers. It will be all yours. Doesn't that sound good?"

"But I like sleeping with Shǔguāng. I feel better when I'm not alone," he whined.

That caught me off guard. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. When I was his age, I would have been happy to have my own room separate from my sisters. We were all very independent, even at a young age, and the idea of happily sharing anything with one another was a completely foreign concept. These foals weren't my sisters and me, though, and it would be a mistake to assume they'd be like my sisters and me.

"Well, if your brother agrees, then you two will still share a room, but if he wants his own room, you'll need to be a big colt and learn to sleep by yourself," I said after a moment of consideration.

"Can I sleep with you?" he asked, almost pleading.

I sighed. "Only if you have a nightmare, and I hope you don't have many nightmares."

"What if I have a nightmare every night?" he asked.

I frowned. "Then I'm going to have a very long talk with your mother about fixing that." I let him go as I noticed the others had calmed down. "Now, let's go see the rooms upstairs, and you and your brothers can decide what bedroom is best."

"We get the best one, not Sister or you?" he asked in wonder.

That earned a giggle from me. "Yes, I'm not going to fight you for the best one, and your sister will just have to accept second best."

"Shǔguāng! Did you hear what Auntie Sunset said?" Líng yelled as he tackled his older brother. The two of them came down hard on the Mèng, who let off a pained squeak, then began crying.

"Hey, be careful with your baby brother! You both weigh more than him!" I yelled, then lit my horn to lift them each off Mèng.

"Sorry, Mèng," Líng said contritely as he reached the ground. He flinched as Shǔguāng boxed his shoulder.

"Why do you have to do stupid things!" Shǔguāng shouted as he glared at his brother.

Líng cowered down. "Sorry, Shǔguāng."

"Shǔguāng! What did I say about calling your brother stupid?" I demanded as I lifted the night pony in my magic and floated him over to examine. Mèng immediately went quiet once he was in my magical grip.

Shǔguāng snorted. "But he does do stupid things!"

"Shǔguāng! Don't be disrespectful!" Lántiān shouted in outrage.

The young unicorn relented and let his ears sag. "Okay, sorry I called you stupid. Just stop doing stuff like that," I suppose that was the best anyone was going to get.

I concluded that Mèng wasn't hurt and levitated him onto my back. He immediately dug his wing thumbs into my mane and gripped on tight and secure.

"Nothing like sibling squabbles," Malcomb observed. He then walked over to the door to go back into the entrance hall. "If everything is settled, just follow me, and I'll show you the rooms upstairs."

We all exited the room, and Lántiān made sure to shut the door behind us. The SPEC agents were all gone, and all our stuff was lying in a heap in the middle of the floor.

The stairs were surprisingly not creaky at all. Sure, we could hear our hoofsteps on the wood, but there wasn't a single squeak of a board as we ascended to the second floor.

Once we were up the stairs, I could see the child safety gate blocking off the east wing, and I also saw another staircase that had been just out of sight that went up to the third floor. No doors were blocking the halls on this floor, and I could see straight down either one. Each hall looked more or less the same, with a few paintings and the sconces with the candle light bulbs made up the decoration. Each hall had several doors along it and ended in a final door at the end of each hall. There was a steady sounding of thumping as each door gently shook in its frame.

"Third floor has almost exactly the same layout as this one," Malcomb explained. "The only real difference is there's an entrance to the central tower room up there, a few hall windows that look out at the back, and there's an entrance to the attic on either wing."

I looked down the west hall. "I was told fifteen bedrooms; I count seven doors. I know one of those is the space for the water heater and air conditioner, and I'm assuming one of those is the bathroom. That leaves five doors for other rooms. If everything is symmetrical, as you say, and the upstairs has three additional bedrooms with those tower rooms, that totals twenty-three bedrooms—or am I missing something?"

"No, fifteen bedrooms is accurate," Malcomb replied. "There's a study-slash-workroom on each floor wing and a master bedroom on each section that has its own bathroom with a door. That makes three symmetrical bedrooms on each of the four hallways and the three bedrooms for each of the towers, which bring the total to fifteen. Tower bedrooms are a bit smaller, so we have three sizes of bedrooms. Counting all the rooms in this place, there's an even forty rooms inside the house."

I looked at the staircase leading upward and frowned. "I want us all to be close together, and the colts have expressed their desire to share a room—if that's what Shǔguāng wants to." I turned to the colt in question. "Do you want to share a room with your brothers?"

Shǔguāng looked back and forth between his brothers then silently nodded to me.

"Alright, so, I think the colts would be best served with the master bedroom," I decided. "If they decide at some later point they want individual rooms, then we can worry about the third floor. Until then, I prefer that stairwell to be gated off as well—unless you were intending on moving inside, Malcomb."

He shook his head. "Thank you, but no, at least for now. I've got myself set up comfortably in my little cottage. It would be a hassle to move everything from it inside."

That brought up a point I'd been curious about. "Why didn't you stay in the house, to begin with?"

He shrugged. "It's a big place and old. If you spend a lot of time in here by yourself, it starts getting in your head. It makes you jump at shadows. It wouldn't be so bad now, with the rest of you here, but when it was just me around, this place would give me the heebie-jeebies at night. I might move in later down the line, but not right now."

"Is the master bedroom the best bedroom, Auntie Sunset?" Líng asked crossly. "You promised we'd get to pick the best bedroom."

I smiled at him. "Well, it should be the biggest, so you and your brothers can have lots of space, even with the three of you're sharing a room. It also has a tub all its own. Having a bathroom with its own tub sounds good, doesn't it?" I paused and looked at Malcomb. "It does have a tub, right?"

He nodded and gestured dramatically with a leg down the hall. "Would you like to finish our tour and see if it is to your liking, young sir? The second door on the left."

Líng and Shǔguāng looked at one another, smiled, then raced each other down the hall, giggling all the way. I then realized something that was missing.

"I do not hear many squeaks from the floor," I observed.

"Most the squeaks come from the walls and roof, especially if it is windy," Malcomb explained. "We occasionally get a squirrel or raccoon in one of the attics. That always makes a ruckus—running around, knocking things over. I had one raccoon knock the attic door open once and got into the main house. Catching him was an adventure I'd rather not repeat."

"Hey, the handle is all strange!" Shǔguāng shouted.

"It's round, and the door is shaking," Líng clarified, as he crouched down, almost comically, behind his older brother.

I sighed and walked over to them. "That's a doorknob. A lot of older doors have them. Brace yourself up on your back legs and press one of your forehooves against the side of the doorknob. Use the pressure to turn the knob clockwise."

Shǔguāng used the door to brace himself and reached a hoof up, and started turning the knob. I gave him a flat look and coughed. "The other direction, Shǔguāng. Clockwise is the other direction."

"Oh, sorry," Shǔguāng said quickly, then began turning the knob the other way, all while his tongue stuck out the side of his mouth. I heard the door latch go as the door opened, and he fell forward, landing safely on all fours.

Líng may have been behind his brother when his brother was opening the door, but the young earth pony zoomed past Shǔguāng as soon as the door opened. "Whoa! Look how big the bed is!"

I stuck my head into the room, still carrying Mèng on my back, as the two other colts went dashing into the room. The room was indeed large, but mostly empty, aside from a king-sized four-post bed and an ottoman that could be used as a step to get into the bed much too big for any pony. I finished walking in and noted that there were two doors to my left, one that was likely a closet and the other likely the entrance to the bathroom. Unlike the hallways and downstairs rooms, this room had wall to wall carpet—it was a tacky white shag. There were three windows, all octagonal in shape, and one of them was open to let in a breeze. There was no other furniture or decoration in the room.

The two colts used the ottoman to get up on the bed, and once on it, began to bounce with enthusiasm. Lántiān entered in behind me, still carrying her daughter, and gave her brothers a dirty look. "Will you two behave? You will damage something."

They brought there jumping to a halt and looked suitably chastised. "Sorry, Sister," the two said in chorus.

"Why do they do that?" I asked.

She turned and gave me a confused look. "Do what, ma'am? Speak together?"

I shook my head. "No—call you sister instead of by your name. It seems odd."

She shrugged. "I am much older than them and am an authority figure to them. I have done more raising of them in the last few years than our mama. They would not refer to her by her name; that would be disrespectful and presumptuous. They likewise do not refer to me by my name. Do you disapprove of this, ma'am?"

I shook my head. "If you're all comfortable with that, then it's fine. I was just curious." I turned and looked at Malcomb. "Can we find a few more doorstops? I'd prefer if all the bedroom doors for this area were kept open all the time. The foals may be able to open a door when it involves pushing it, but may struggle with pulling a door with a doorknob open. I'd really like handles put on all the doors, to tell the truth, so that I don't have to worry about any of the colts getting trapped in a room."

He grimaced. "I'm not sure replacing them is possible; these knobs are all original, just like the doors. Maybe we can work out some method to help them pull doors open. A rope tied to the knob or something. Doorstops I can do. I'll be right back."

He took off down the hall towards the east wing. While he was doing that, I turned my attention to the bathroom. "Okay, Mèng, potty-time, then bedtime. I know you're tired."

Something wet started to spill across my back, and I instantly regretted declaring it potty-time.

I hung my head. "Actually, the two of us are going to take a bath."

Chapter 34: The Courier

Washing myself and Méng together ended up being a small struggle, primarily because Méng in no way shared his older brother's enthusiasm for being drenched in water. Satan, my old cat, would have struggled less when put in a tub. It took several times being slapped in the face with a wing, boxed in the gut by a hoof, and many times flattening my ears as Méng cried blue-bloody-murder, but after more than an hour, we finished the bath.

I didn't care if it was Lântiān or Josie who would be doing it from now on, but I decided I wasn't personally bathing Méng anymore. I was a pony with a temper and keeping it in check through all that had been difficult. I had to keep reminding myself Méng was only a small foal and didn't know any better.

With the two of us clean and him exhausted from his struggles combined with the hour, it was now time to get him to bed. The king-sized bed in the room made him look even tinier than he was. He'd be sharing it with his brothers, which there was more than enough room for, but not at the same time. It was a large four-post bed, and I had to levitate him up on it to get him up there. After getting him up, I briefly lost track of where the small set of steps to help ponies get up there was and briefly debated trying to blink up there—short distance teleport. I was recovering, but anything on the scale of a teleport was still out of the question. Luckily, I found the steps had been knocked over into a corner, probably by his brothers.

I put the stairs back in place and climbed up on the bed with Méng. I tucked him in, and he looked up at me with big eyes.

"<Song>," he begged in Mandarin. I'd add that word to his known vocabulary.

"You want violin music?" I asked. He just stared at me. He didn't understand a word I was saying.

"<Song>," he repeated. "Please."

I didn't have a speaker system to play him violin music, and I wasn't going to sit up here forever with my phone playing it. I needed to come up with something.

"Would you like a lullaby?" I asked. Again, there was no way he could know what I was even saying. He just stared at me.

I didn't really know any lullabies. Rock-a-bye baby he was too big for, twinkle-twinkle little star felt highly inappropriate for when the sun was up. I was at a loss. I finally decided on the first song I could think of other than those two that had a calming melody.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me."

I paused to see how he would react. He didn't seem upset. He appeared to be expectant now. I guessed that it was fine.

"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind, but now I see

Was grace that taught my heart to fear

And grace, my fears relieved

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

We have already come

T'was grace that brought us safe thus far

And grace will lead us home

And grace will lead us home

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind, but now I see

Was blind, but now I see."

As I was finishing the last verse, he yawned and wrapped a wing over his head. I could hear him snoring within a second or two of that. Either he was pleased with the song, or I had bored him to sleep. At least he was out like a light.

Satisfied that he was properly tucked in and would be asleep until at least early evening, I carefully got down from the bed, shut the window, and exited the room, making sure the doorstop was in place to keep the door open.

As I stepped out into the hall was met by Lântiān.

"Before you raise a fuss about me singing something religious to him, I made sure not to mention God directly anywhere in the song," I said quickly, then realized something that was missing. "Where are your brothers and daughter?"

"They are in the large family room, ma'am," she replied.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "And they are unattended?"

She sniffed and responded as though I were stupid. "If they cannot be trusted to be left alone for five minutes, we have much more to be concerned about, ma'am. Méng will wake with no one there to supervise him. Do you think he shall get into trouble as well?"

That was something to be concerned about, and a concern I wasn't sure yet how to address. Lântiān might not have thought so, but I could imagine the youngest colt getting up and wandering into places he didn't belong in search of his family and me. Maybe I could purchase and put a baby monitor in the room.

That was something to resolve later. Right now, I needed to deal with the filly in front of me. "So why are you tracking me down?"

She gestured back at the stairs. "There is a rather demanding pony at the door, looking for you, ma'am."

I raised an eyebrow. "Demanding? Did this pony give their name?"

"Sapphire Sky, ma'am."

Great, Twilight Sparkle and Wild must have been trying to poke fun at me. I had only had one public conversation with Miss Sky back in Riverview shortly before the Cataclysm and had used her as a prop to drum up support for my project. She had to be the courier. I couldn't imagine she decided to just drop-in out of the blue or even knowing I was here to drop-in on. This must be some sort of trial.

"Tell her I will be down in a moment," I instructed. "I figure you can fly back to the door faster than I can walk, and I'm not running for her."

"Should I allow her in, ma'am?"

I thought about it for a second. "She can come into the entry hall, but she stays there.” There's too much chance she could attract a passing pegasus's attention if they saw her flank parked out in front of our door.

The filly did a small trot away from me and then launched herself into the air and took off down the hall and then down the stairs. Once again, I envied her mobility as a pegasus. I began walking after her, deliberately taking my time more than I needed to.

I wanted to let that pegasus wait and stew. I appreciated her efforts helping get the fires out in the city after the Cataclysm, and I appreciated moreover her helping rescue my families' foals from their predicament. My niece might not have lived to be turned into a human if not for that pegasus's efforts. Those things outweighed the fact she added to the chaos that had escalated to the Cataclysm, and if I had to admit, her added disorder had forced Wild Growth into action, and that action had saved many. Sapphire could get a cookie for that.

But she was still a headstrong, arrogant mare, who wanted to take action as fast as she could fly without thinking about the consequences.

The doors of the hallway were still softly beating against their frames, giving the house an erratic heartbeat. It was unnerving, being surrounded by all those thumps and bangs. I added making sure all the doors were propped open with doorstops to my list of things to do before the day was out. I still marveled that even with the rest of the house being so noisy, the floors were silent. I could barely hear my hoofsteps. True, I was walking slowly and not trotting, but even in a newer house, my steps would have been more audible. I wondered what trick of acoustic construction kept the floor so silent.

I started walking down the stairs and saw the greyish-blue pegasus mare with a white mane that Twilight Sparkle chose to torment me with.

"Sapphire Sky, have you escalated any riots, caused any mudslides, possibly drown any people as of late, or have you been saving it all for me?"

She looked up at me with a smug look on her smug youthful face, a brief moment of confusion was quickly buried underneath a smug grin. "Sunset Blessing, yellow really suits you as a color. But you know for a disguise to work, you really shouldn’t keep your charming personality front and center."

I wanted to fire back an angry retort, but the damned mare was right. I reached the ground floor and took a deep breath. "I apologize. I shouldn’t shoot the messenger; you haven’t done anything to chastise you over—yet."

"I owed Twilight a favor," Sapphire muttered under her breath. "Okay, let's start over. I won't treat you like a fanatic megalomaniac, and you lay off barking at me. A fresh start, no expectations tainted by your past failings. Deal?"

Lântiān looked back and forth between us. "Ma'am, why do you two insult each other so?"

I gave my charge a raised eyebrow. Then flattened my ears. "Sapphire's reasons for disliking me boil down to a few things—not all of them my fault. I think our biggest shared point of contention is an incident that happened several years ago. Some people that tangentially worked for me pissed Miss Sky off. Miss Sky's rational and reasonable response was to drop a hurricane on a desert research town, causing massive property damage that I had to foot the bill for and endangering the lives of the people there. While I agree that what my former employees did was criminal, what they did in no way justifies her dramatic response."

“Oh, stop,” Sapphire responded with false bashfulness and waved a hoof. "You're making a bigger deal out of it than you should. The bill couldn't have been that bad."

My brow narrowed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't aware you were well-versed in the costs of replacing and repairing delicate scientific machinery, paying for surveyors, paying for resurfacing of areas that were washed away, paying for rezoning permits to accommodate that damn lake, and paying for all these workers to go out to the backend of nowhere and keep their traps shut. You know, things that have to happen when an entire valley is reshaped in a day, because people don’t magically take care of those things that you think are trifling concerns."

Sapphire rolled her eyes. "I'll apologize for causing you some bills if you apologize for what they did."

I stomped a hoof. "Fine! I'm sorry. I fired all of them right after, and it should never have happened. As the person who made the mistake of hiring them, you have my personal apology. Are you happy?"

Sapphire stuck her nose up. "Yes, and I'm sorry too."

"We're good then?"

"We're good."

"Good."

"Uh-huh."

Lântiān looked between us again and shook her head. "I'm going to go check in my brothers."

Sapphire watched the filly go before taking a deep breath. "Now that we’re done with that bit of drama. How are you doing, preacher?"

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

She flattened a single ear. "I know what happened in Riverview must have hit you hard, and that’s very understandable. You've been off the grid since then. And with those Blessingists coming out of the woodwork and getting a lot of support, if you weren’t changed by what happened, you would have been everywhere supporting them. Taking advantage of the next big thing… But I haven’t heard you do anything with them. So somethings up, and I’ll ask again, how are you holding up?"

That question was a hard one to answer, and it took me off guard because I didn't expect a legitimately caring question after we had just been at each other's throats.

"I'm… focusing on just a few things, primarily taking care of Yinyu's foals, and soon this project assigned to me by Twilight Sparkle," I replied at last.

Sapphire glanced at her saddlebag. "Figured the second part, given she sent this stuff, whatever it is. Want to tell me what’s up with this?"

"It's related to transformation magic. I'm trying to help fix something another of my former employees did," I answered. "I trust they already asked you to keep this private."

She nodded. "I wouldn’t be here if I couldn’t be trusted to keep this private. Doesn’t sound like something I really need to know all the details about. And the foals, how are they holding up?"

I shook my head. "God only knows. Well, God and the Dreamwardens, but good luck getting answers from any of them. The foals are being very brave about it and trying not to show their pain."

"The filly seems like she has a bigger stick up her butt than you do," Sapphire observed.

"She's taking it harder than her brothers, I think," I replied. "She and I have gotten into some… disagreements. She boxed me pretty well yesterday."

"Somepony decided to box you? Get out of here," Sapphire chuckled.

I flattened my ears at her. "I'll let that one slide. Because I was out of line, and I deserved what I got." I looked towards the family room and got an idea. "If you have some free time, maybe you can spend some time with her. Help her unwind. She seems to be a good flyer, at least as much as I can tell as a ground-bound unicorn. Maybe someone pushing her a little in an activity like that will help her release some stress. She still needs to get her flight in for today."

"You sure she would want somepony joining her?" Sapphire asked with a skeptical raise of a brow.

"I think she will. She doesn’t have anyone to be a pegasus with, and I don’t think she’s ever really had peers," I answered. "She’s in need of praise. I'm in no position to give her legitimate praise about her flight skills or help her develop them. You can show off a little then give her pointers."

Sapphire seemed to consider it, even though I could tell by her expression she had already decided to agree. "I did have a job opportunity I needed to look into..."

"Please?"

She nodded. "I'll do it. But you’re going to have to take these saddlebags off my back. It’s all yours; bags are part of the package. No one else can even open them. Twilight said they are keyed to your magic."

I lit my horn, undid the straps from around Sapphire, and lifted the bags off her and then onto me, grunting lightly as the weight settled. "Figures that she would know my magic signature. Not sure how she learned it, but not my concern. Stay right here; I'll fetch Lântiān."

I walked over to the open door leading into the family room. I saw Lântiān supervising as Malcomb worked to plug in the arcade games and the colts worked together at pushing a chair close to the machine. Lântiān's daughter was perched on the side of a couch, giving her own quiet supervision.

"Lântiān! Come here, please," I called out.

She turned and walked over to me and flicked her tail. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I know you still need to get a flight in for today. You may do that now. Sapphire will be going with you. Behave yourself with her, and be polite. She is a very accomplished flyer and weather pony. Perhaps she can teach you a thing or two."

She flicked her ears, but otherwise remained expressionless. "Perhaps, she can." She glanced backward briefly, then stepped close to me to whisper. "I do not trust this Malcomb Tibbs, ma'am."

That made both my eyebrows rise. "Malcomb? Why?"

She shook her head. "I have caught him giving me hostile looks, ma'am. He is all smiles and friendliness when you are watching, but I have seen the looks he gives me when he thinks no one is looking."

I had no reason to suspect her of being paranoid. I would need more than her say-so to be deeply concerned, though. Still, it would be foolish on my part to disregard her warnings. "I will keep an eye on him. Thank you for alerting me. You may take an extra hour on top of your normal hour for today. I'll be here with your brothers."

She bowed her head. "Yes, ma'am. Thank you, ma'am." She then hurried back out towards the front door.

“I’ll try not to teach her anything that’ll flood your new house,” Sapphire teased as she turned to leave with Lântiān.

“You do that,” I trotted into the room and grabbed Qīng Yǔ with my magic. The filly didn't resist as I placed her on my back and went to get a closer look at what was going on.

Malcomb finished what he was doing, and the Street Fighter arcade cabinet flared to life just as the colts were finishing pushing the chair up against it. They gasped with excitement as they climbed the chair and got a closer look at the screen. I wasn't sure how I felt about them playing such a violent game, but I supposed it was better than Mortal Kombat. I doubted they would be able to get much mastery over the controls anyway and would become bored soon enough.

Chapter 35: Overthinking

I spent some time looking over the saddlebags. They were of Equestrian manufacture, which meant they could be enchanted. Most things from Earth likewise could not hold an enchantment. Everything from Equestria, or at least, most items from Equestria, had inherent magic all their own that objects from Earth lacked. There were methods of making enchantable objects on Earth. Still, the process was a complex one. It only worked with specific materials—primarily gems and crystals, and was beyond my meager magical strength to do even if I had the right materials.

However, a spell was a spell and could always be examined and learned from. There were at least three different enchantments on these saddlebags, and I was not familiar with the spells. I assumed the one concentrated on the clasp was the one keying it to my magic. Another may have been a security measure if someone tried to rip the bags open—something to make the bags and their contents instantly combust, at least based on my best guess after seeing the runes involved. I had no idea what the third was doing, nor was I certain there were no further enchantments that were evading my probing skills. These spells could be taken apart and neutralized, but it would take a very skilled mage to do it. I was a very competent mage but didn't want to attempt it, nor did I have any reason to. I also wasn't sure if I could reapply the spells if I neutralized them, and there was a possibility that the unknown third spell may have been a countermeasure against someone attempting to neutralize them. I knew I would cast something like that in this situation.

The spell work on the bags presented me with a puzzle, and I was fond of trying to figure out puzzles. I also happened to be highly interested in the workings of any new spell I came across. It was an old habit, but I could stay my curiosity for the time being. I eventually settled on making sure I could indeed open the clasp and making sure the spell tying it to my magic was still in place after closing it again. The contents were a few bound notebooks, and I didn't bother looking them over yet. There would be time later for that after I had decided on a secure place in the house where I could work undisturbed.

From what I could tell, the colts never really engaged much in fighting in Street Fighter. They spent the majority of their time merely seeing how the characters reacted to various button presses. Their random button mashing had allowed them to learn the characters did unique things with the right combination of inputs, but being young foals, they were not very good at figuring out exactly how they performed these particular moves. This made me consider encouraging them to play more. There was value in learning how different actions put together could produce a result other than the sum of those pieces. Special moves in video games were like spellcasting in that way and could be a valuable tool to acclimate them to this concept. I had become a skilled mage not by being powerful or naturally gifted, but by learning how to make more from small parts.

The two colts, for the moment, had moved on to playing with their action figures and were occupied with that. Unfortunately, Qīng Yǔ had come down with a bad case of restlessness and was now no longer satisfied to simply sit on her perch on the couch and was on the move about the room.

I watched as the filly first tried to interest herself with the racing game—Mario Kart Arcade GP DX. Qīng Yǔ was able to climb into the seat and propped herself up on the steering wheel to get a good look at the screen. She was unable to start the game, and would have been incapable of operating the pedals even if she managed to start it somehow. Still, the images on the screen held her interest for a short time—about three minutes, an eternity for a foal her age.

Having gotten bored with that machine, she left the seat and went to examine the other device. This second one proved to be too much of a challenge for her. Her uncles were small as well, but they were bigger than her, and while they were capable of scaling the chair they had propped against the machine, Qīng Yǔ was too young to make the jump.

After her second failed attempt, the small blue filly began to whimper. I laid my ears back in expectation, and a moment later, Qīng Yǔ lifted her head high and proceeded to loudly express her feelings about the injustice of being less than half a foot high in a world built for taller ponies and hairless two-legged apes.

"MAMA!"

"I think Qīng Yǔ is upset," Líng said with a wince.

Ya think?

I left the couch and hurried over to the tiny pegasus. I tried levitating her on the chair, but that did nothing to appease her. She just continued to cry and scream. She walked right off the edge of the chair and fell in a heap on the ground before I even knew what was happening. This made her scream even more. Why would she even do that?

Okay, next plan. I got her back on her hooves and brushed her black mane out of her eyes. There wasn't any change in her disposition. She was still angry, still crying, and had probably forgotten why she had started crying to begin with. At this point, she was crying because that was the mode she was stuck in. I just had to figure out how to get her into a different mode.

"Amazing gra—"

"MAMA!"

Everyone is a critic. Note to self, Qīng Yǔ was not a music lover.

I checked my phone. Lântiān still had forty-three minutes. A flick of my horn's magic, and I was checking the GPS. She was a few miles outside the city limits. She'd been in the same several mile radius the last few times I'd checked. Sapphire was probably running her through some sort of drill. I'd hoped she was on her way back, but no such luck. I would have to figure out how to deal with her daughter on my own.

"MAMA!"

I winced at her latest ear-piercing scream. At least we didn't have close neighbors who could hear it. I grit my teeth as I resisted the urge the shout at her to be quiet.

Deep breath, calm. I had to keep my temper under control. No yelling. This was a foal. I couldn't scream at her. She wasn't an adult, she couldn't be reasoned with, and I would only do harm intimidating her into silence.

Using one leg, I pulled her close to me. This didn't calm her, but it didn't get any more distressed. I sat down and let her cry her self silly into my fur.

"Please stop crying, please," I begged.

She kept on crying.

I grit my teeth. "I don't know how to deal with a crying foal that won't stop."

Qīng Yǔ kept crying.

"You have to be getting tired. Won't you shut up?" I asked, temper heating again.

Qīng Yǔ kept crying.

I forced my temper down. "Phobia never cried like this."

Qīng Yǔ kept crying. The colts retreated to the far end of the room, opposite us, to get away from the sound. I couldn't blame them.

I sighed. At least she wasn't as loud, with her cries being muffled by my fur. Phobia had never cried like this when she was a child. Thinking back, she had been an unusually quiet kid, who had been very reserved with showing their emotions. Not much had changed in that regard over the years.

Actually, there had been times Phobia had cried. They had been few, but they did happen. My ears sagged when I thought of them.

"I have my own daughter," I informed the crying foal beside me. Qīng Yǔ didn't seem to be listening and wouldn't understand me if she were, but I continued. "Looking back, she only cried when I messed up with her—when I forced her to hide or deny her true nature. I wasn't a very good mother, I guess. She'll tell me I was when I ask, but she denies the truth. Isn't it sad the only times she cried were because of me?"

Qīng Yǔ continued her crying, unabated.

"It's lucky I have your mom to help me. She might be too young to be a mother, but she has a better track record than I have. My experience doesn't amount to much, other than showing how bad I'm at being a mother."

Still more crying. At this point, the filly had likely given herself a migraine from all the crying. I couldn't give her any medication for that since everything I had available was too strong for foals. That was something else to add to the shopping list, and something I should have thought of when I was at Walmart.

"What do you want?" I asked. "You have to want something. Are you hungry?"

She didn't answer. She didn't let up in her crying either. I didn't have any food handy anyway. I should probably order some take out soon. We'd all missed lunch and would be needing dinner in a few hours.

I started trying to think about her unique needs and tried to think of her not as just a foal, but as Qīng Yǔ. At such a young age, it was hard to say what comprised her personality and wants. They were likely much more straightforward than her uncles', but that didn't mean they didn't exist. Phobia had some at a young age.

Start working through the problem. It's just a puzzle, like any other. You can figure out puzzles. Fill in the missing pieces. I instructed myself in my head.

Right. I'd established that she was a young foal. What else was she? Well, the next part was she was a filly, not a colt—or at least she was biologically a filly, and I had no reason to doubt her gender matched her biology. What did that add to the equation? Not much; there didn't seem to be any special needs or wants she would have based on her sex or gender at her age. Still, it was something to check off.

What was next? She was a filly missing her mother. That was understandable, but not something I could resolve at the moment. Her mother would return in less than an hour, but there was nothing I could do to make that happen now. Well… I could call Lântiān and ask her to return early, but I had promised her two hours, and she needed to fly to stay healthy. Calling Lântiān was out of the question.

Continuing with my assessment, I added that she was a pegasus. This one I frowned over. There could be a lot bundled into what it meant to be a pegasus. What were the specific needs and wants of pegasi compared to unicorns or other tribes?

I thought about my ex-husband, Tom, and how he interacted with his pegasus stepdaughter. Jackie adored Tom and had from day one. She seldom cried, and when she did, Tom always knew how to soothe her—even though he was a unicorn, like me. What kinds of things did Tom do?

To be a unicorn was to want to impact and control the world around you. Not necessarily to lead or govern—though it could go that way, but there was an inborn desire to use our magic to manipulate objects around us. With unicorns such as myself, it led to wanting to reshape reality around me to fit my desires. That was the dark side of being a unicorn. One that I was trying to move away from, but it was important to remember that unicorns on some level all desired the ability to control.

Pegasi were not unicorns. Their existence was not defined by their ability to use their horns to shape magic spells that could alter the world around them. No, a pegasus was born with wings. They did desire to impact the weather, but the thing they valued most was their mobility—their freedom. While a unicorn sought control, a pegasus would seek freedom. I was told that the unicorn and pegasi tribes in particular had been the most heated of rivalries back before the founding of Equestria. This opposing set of needs would be a good explanation of why. One wished to control, while the other wanted nothing other than freedom. Sure, there were individuals that bucked this trend, but as a cultural mindset the two tribes were diametrically opposed in their mindsets, and rivalry between the two seemed inevitable.

With that in mind, I thought about what had set off the crying. Qīng Yǔ wanted to get somewhere, and she couldn't. It didn't matter that I helped her up there later. She had been blocked earlier by her small size and inability to jump high or fly.

Fly.

Sometimes it was easy to overlook the obvious answer, and sometimes I could be such an idiot.

I released the filly from my physical grasp and placed her into my magical one. It was a gentle grip, but secure. I only wrapped my magic around the central part of her body, leaving her head, tail, legs, and most importantly, wings free to move as she wishe them. The filly wasn't heavy, the saddlebags I had been examining weighed more than her, and it was no problem at all lifting her. There was no fear of dropping her. This was simple levitation, and even a weakling like me could keep such a small weight floating for a long period—perhaps an hour or more, before tiring.

She didn't notice it at first, and kept crying, but then I lifted her into the air and she went silent after a brief gasp. When she was about seven feet in the air I stopped, and let her take stock of her position. Qīng Yǔ looked around herself and realized she was in the air. Instinctively, she started flapping her wings. I smiled, and began moving her forward. The filly squealed with glee, convinced that she was flying on her own. Around the room, she flew, unaware that it was me giving her flight.

Sometimes, doing the right thing meant not overthinking things.

Author's Notes:

Feeling ill again, but still able to get out a simple chapter. Hope everyone has a good new year.

Chapter 36: Things Down Below

I just happened to be standing close to a window when I caught sight of Lântiān returning with Sapphire perfectly on time. My curiosity was piqued as I saw the two share what looked to be a brief, one-sided conversation as Lântiān took deep breaths. With her back to me, I couldn’t see the filly’s face or hear what was being said, but Sapphire, with her smug face, appeared to be complimenting Lântiān. It was only a brief talk before the pegasus acting as a courier left, sparing only a quick smirk towards me in the window and a wave before she flew off away from the home.

Not wanting to be caught snooping, I went back to watching the foal’s activities, and Lântiān entered the house a minute later alone. I asked her how her session with Sapphire went, and in typical teenager fashion, she told me it went fine, with no further elaborations. That was something that I had dealt with while raising Phobia, and I understood most parents dealt with it as well. I could have pressed her for more details but decided against it. Knowing Lântiān, at least from our few days together, the filly would have been intensely vocal about it if she was disappointed or unhappy about how it went.

I'd ask for more details during dinner. I wanted to encourage dinner conversation, and that seemed to be an excellent starter for discussion.

With Lântiān back, I decided to turn my attention to finding a secure place to work. There were two main options, one of the towers or the basement. Since it was closest to me at the moment, I went to check the basement first.

I walked back out to the entrance area and looked at the painting hanging center between the door leading to the dining area and the door leading down to the basement. Upon closer inspection, it had an engraving at the bottom of the painting, and I stepped forward to read it.

Mister Jonathan Wabash and Misses Maria Wabash Outside The Manor With Their Hunting Dogs, 1889

I frowned in distaste. Old Mister Wabash didn't have a gun on him, which made me wonder if most of the hunting was done by the dogs. That seemed a grisly way for an animal to die, being mauled by dogs—not that being shot by a gun was much better. I had what I assumed was a pony's instinctual disgust for hunting. It was a foolish thing to be disgusted about. Humans were omnivores, which meant that meat was essential, especially in the eighteen-hundreds, but this rich man was more than capable of buying whatever he needed. Instead, he hunted for pure sport, and my instincts revolted at the idea of killing for the sake of fun and showing off manliness.

My old thoughts of filthy humans surfaced, and I immediately forced them back down. I reminded myself I had once been human, and, if I were honest with myself, I shared more in common with them than the average pony, so it was not my place to judge. I needed to be better. I needed to put my old prejudices aside. The foals needed to grow up trusting and respecting humans, something they wouldn't do if I were letting my old trains of thought come to the surface. Regrettably, it was easier to say in my head that my prejudices were wrong than it was to banish them from my heart completely. I shook my head and said a silent prayer of forgiveness for my evil thoughts.

I turned away from the painting and opened the door to the basement. There was a staircase leading straight down into the darkness below. Luckily, there was a standard light switch just inside the door. I flipped it on and frowned as I saw the light only worked for the staircase itself. There must be a separate light in the basement itself.

Taking each step carefully, I descended into the basement, cringing and shivering as I looked up and saw cobwebs. Maybe I could convince Lântiān to help clear them. I could do it with my magic, but if there was anything still living in any of them, they could drop down on me. Just thinking about that made my stomach curdle. I was going to have stern words with Malcomb about his cleaning habits in the basement.

I reached the bottom and saw only a pitch-black void ahead of me that somehow went untouched by the stairway's light.

SLAM!!

I jumped. Damn stupid doors, constantly slamming shut. They were going to give me a heart attack yet. I took a few deep breaths and lit my horn for some light. It cast a faint glow silvery glow across the room (my magic had recently started glowing silver, and I didn't know what to make of that. I knew a unicorn's natural magic color could change, but I wasn't sure what the trigger or meaning was since that wasn't one of my expertise. I knew it wasn't dangerous, though), and I could see many freestanding shelves, a table, and other shapes I couldn't quite make out.

Using my small light source, I searched the edge of the wall near the staircase and found the light switch. I flipped it, and the darkness was forced to retreat to corners and between shelves as a pair of long halogen lights flickered on above everything.

Shelves, lots of shelves. It was like a library of random objects. The table had the kinds of things you would expect a workable to have. It had some clamps, a bandsaw, and what I assumed was a sander. The shelves were harder to say what they contained in full. I saw toolboxes, fishing gear, old canning supplies, holiday decorations, random assorted toys; hanging from the ceiling was a pair of bicycles and a pair of sleds. There was more I couldn't see from my vantage point, but this all looked like the same kinds of things that might be found in a garage or shed back in South Carolina. If I stumbled on a riding lawnmower, I wouldn't be surprised.

I couldn't see the entire room from where I was standing, but guessed it was about forty by forty feet, quite large. The shelves blocked the view of the opposite wall completely. There was something large with a dust cover over it to my right; to my left, it was a blank wall with two small vents set high in the wall. No central AC, other than the wings' AC? Those sure as hell looked like AC vents to me. Maybe one of the wing’s AC directed down here. I felt ill as I saw air blowing cobwebs. I hoped all those webs were long abandoned, and there wasn't anything alive down here.

Then I remembered.

"Ahhhhh! Get it off! Get it off!" I screamed.

Tonya came rushing over to me with a brush in her mouth. With one swipe, she knocked the spider out of my tail and onto the ground. A second later, she pounced and crushed it under her hooves.

I sat down, shaking, and crying. She walked over to me and wrapped her wings around me.

"It's okay. It's gone," she gently said. "I never knew that you were afraid of spiders."

"I… I never was… before, but that… that was a widow… and it was in my tail! How did… how did it get there?"

"You must have picked it up while outside," she replied as she held me tight. "Don't worry. It's dead, and I'll always be here to protect you from the scary spiders."

Except now she couldn't. She was dead. She was dead, and it was my fault.

I walked over to where the dust cover was and removed it. There was surprisingly little dust, despite all the cobwebs. The dust was all higher; the floor and objects around the room had virtually none. With the dust cover removed, I gazed upon a large display case filled with Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. It was quite the collection, at least thirty dolls, all well cared for. They even all had their fake birth certificates sitting in front of them.

Another memory.

"Give it back. You little brat!" my eldest sister screamed.

I gripped the doll closer to myself. "Why? You don't play with it!"

"It's mine," Kristen screamed. "I've had it since I was younger than you! Grandma gave it to me before she died. You have no right to be putting your grubby little hands on it!"

She grabbed the doll, but I didn't let go. She pulled, and I pulled back. The next thing I knew, I heard the rip. Kristen looked at me in horror, then rage.

The next thing I knew, my sister's fist connected to my face, and I was on the ground crying.

"You always ruin everything," she hissed at me.

I didn't know how many years it had been since I last thought of that. It was like a forgotten memory that had come back. My sisters and I were always at each other’s throats. We only drifted further and further apart as we got older. It had been so many years since I had seen them—even longer than my last time seeing my parents. I had attended Kristen's first graduation from college when she got her Bachelor's degree. She was the first person in the family to get a four-year degree. That was the last time I gave either of my sisters any time. There had been no big fight or argument that had pushed us apart; we just didn't give a damn about one another. Ironic, considering how deeply I felt about family. I just didn't include my sisters as part of that.

I'm such a horrible person.

Continuing my inspection of the basement, I walked around the shelves to the far end of the room. There was a large wooden door. I opened it, and it was pitch black inside. There was a light switch just within the door, but it didn't do anything when flipped. I was forced to delight my horn to get a look inside.

It was a small room with some wooden cupboards against one wall and a stairwell twisting in a curve upwards. I could hear the rhythmic beating of the door hitting its frame somewhere up the stairs. This must be the stairway up to the kitchen. There was not much of interest down here otherwise. I closed the door and reminded myself I needed to ensure a padlock went on the door leading down here from the kitchen.

I left the room as it was. One final door was on the left side that I had overlooked earlier. I checked it as well. It was a small room, this one had no light switch, but after lighting my horn as bright as possible, it became clear what this room was, the old furnace room. It still had piles of coal waiting to be shoveled in, even though it must have sat cold for decades at the least.

I closed the furnace room door and did one last glance about. I then grabbed the dust cover and covered the Cabbage Patch dolls again. This place would be adequate for my needs. Someone would need to come to clean the cobwebs out first, but it had plenty of privacy, and working underground was an old habit for me. I still wanted to check out the tower, but I doubted it would have enough space. This would also keep me closer to everyone if I were needed for anything in a hurry.

I made my way back to the staircase, and just as I was about to turn off the light, my ears twitched at a sound. I looked back at the room and frowned.

"Is anyone there? Malcomb? Is that one of you foals?" I called out.

No answer. I was sure I heard someone moving around; it wasn't just the house settling or some random noise made by pipes and vents.

I passed my eyes to the left and right. "If you are one of the foals, I'm not angry, but I don't want you down here. Come on out, and we can go upstairs together."

Still no answer. I scowled. "Malcomb, if you are down here playing some joke, it isn't funny. Come out."

Silence persisted, but I know what I heard. There had to be someone else down here.

I cautiously put up a shield. If it was not one of the foals and not Malcomb, then that meant a trespasser. Trespasser didn't immediately mean dangerous. It could be just some squatter looking for shelter in what they assumed was an abandoned building, caught off guard that it suddenly had become occupied. Malcomb hadn't instilled me with much confidence that he was able to root out every squatter. Sure, he could detect magical signatures, but most humans didn't have detectable magical signatures—not even the majority that had some small amount of magic; it was too weak for any but the deepest probing to find for most.

"If you are homeless and just looking for a place to stay, we can work something out. Wild Growth owns this property, and if you haven't heard, she will happily do all she can to help a person in need."

No answer. I strained my ears. I heard the vents pumping in air, some faint squeaks and groans that old buildings make, and the thumping of doors in the distance. None of these sounds was what I had heard to put me on guard. If someone were breathing heavily, I would hear them from here, but if they were breathing normally, I would need to get closer. If they were hiding, they might be holding their breath—people can only hold their breaths so long.

Receiving no response, I was left with few options. I could call the police to come to check it out. I didn't know if they would come because I said I heard a sound. I could go back upstairs, find Malcomb, and have him search, but if this was a human or an animal, he might not be much good. Animal was another option I hadn't considered till now—a squirrel or raccoon that had made its way in, or perhaps a bird. I had no reason to think whoever or whatever was down here was dangerous, but didn't have any reason to foolishly assume they couldn't be a threat.

I kept my shield up and began walking out to the shelves. Getting closer would let me get a better listen. My shield wasn't particularly strong, even when I was in perfect shape, but it could deflect any initial attack before failing or at least slow it down enough to give me time to react if it came in hard enough to break through my shield right away. There was a specific advantage to being weaker with shields; it gave less feedback to the caster if the shield buckled. Someone with a powerful shield would feel it like a physical blow to the head when it went down due to assault on it, but someone like me would only feel a light tickle. The more magic power, the bigger the snapback. That meant precious milliseconds of recovery time, which gave me an advantage over stronger unicorns in that regard—a small blessing.

I started strolling between the long shelves; there were five of them, creating four narrow paths between them. I started from the left, walking slowly, holding my breath, and straining my ears for any sound.

Nothing caught my eyes as unusual on the shelves here, just old decorations for various holidays—a deflated inflatable snowman, Christmas tree ornaments, an inflatable… something or other for Halloween, a creepy little skull-shaped candy bowl, wreaths for both Christmas and fall. There also wasn't any sound that I could hear, other than my hoovesteps and the thumping of the doors.

I turned the corner and began down the next stretch of aisle between shelves. Each shelf was about fifteen feet long, and I had no problem seeing down each aisle as I entered it, but walking it let me look to see if anyone or anything was hiding on one of the lower shelves. This aisle was mostly tools and such, aside from an open fishing tackle box. Some items were too high for me to see, but I didn't care what was up top. If whatever I was looking for was on top of the shelves, I'd have almost certainly have seen them when standing near the stairwell. The lower shelves were where there was a possible cover.

There was still no sound and no sign of anyone else. Maybe I was just hearing things, but I still wanted to be thorough in my search. This wouldn't take that long, and finding nothing would give me peace of mind.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I turned into the third section. A huge cobweb was about halfway down the passage. I shivered and shakingly used my magic to brush it aside. I stood still for a moment staring down the section, now more concerned with creepy crawlies than creepers. I decided that this section was checked well-enough without me walking down it. I would move onto the next.

After three steps down the next section, my ears twitched again.

Huurruhhhh…

That was definitely not the sound of someone moving or any typical old house sound. What the hell was that? It came from the section I had just skipped. I took a few steps back and looked between the shelves.

"Hello? Anyone there?" I asked, still not releasing my shield.

There was only quiet. I was starting to get pissed off. Someone was messing with me.

My earlier reasons for avoiding the section were forgotten as my temper started to flare. The idea that someone was messing with me in this manner infuriated me. Were they trying to make me jump at supposed ghosts and spooks? I regularly communed with two dead ponies as it was. They picked the wrong pony to pull this crap with because I would be among the last ponies to be afraid of ghosts.

I moved in, looking back and forth among the shelves. This section was toys, lots of toys. If I had to guess, I figured most of these were made sometime in the twenty-teens, a bunch of random electronic junk, some toy cars, some dolls, all things meant for smaller children. I wondered where those kids were now. Statistically speaking, fifty-fifty odds they were young adult earth pony, starting families somewhere out in the rural parts of the state. Perhaps one was a pegasus or a unicorn. I couldn't imagine any kid that lived this kind of life had the mindset to become a night pony, and it was anybody's guess who would turn out as a crystal pony. This was no different than any other abandoned house from this side of the country. They just got up and left, mistakenly believing that none of this mattered anymore. Fools. Western ponies made me sick sometimes with their stupidity.

Not that I was one to condemn them. Pot calling the kettle black. I was a different brand of foolish, but foolish all the same. I was worse; I had been arrogant enough to think I knew the mind of God, and even more arrogant thinking I had been doing his work. These idiots were damn magi compared to me. I hoped that wherever they were, they were living happy lives.

Huurruhhhh…

I whipped my head around. I was halfway down the section and the sound had come from just behind and above me. I looked up and didn't see anything. "Show yourself, now! I'm one of those most skilled mages on the planet. You can't hurt me!"

It was all bluster. I was skilled, one of the most skilled. That didn't mean much when it came to defending myself, but sometimes people presumed just because I knew a lot about magic I could just do whatever I wanted. Always let your enemies think you are more powerful than you are, it buys you time.

No further sound came as I stared up ted upat the spot I had been sure I had been sure that vocalization had come from. I frowned, then grabbed with my magic. A moment later, I was starting at my mysterious trespasser.

It was an Olaf the Snowman doll. I squeezed it in my magic.

Huurruhhhh…

I chuckled to myself with relief. A toy with a dying battery had me ready to try to magically fight. I was glad no one had seen it, I'd never live it down. I put the toy back it's shelf and turned to exit—

—and came face to face with an eight-legged nightmare.

"Ahhhh!"

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year, everyone! Let's hope 2021 is a better year for all of us!

Thank Lawra for the art.

Will be moving back to a few updates on Marshmallow Dreams again after this.

Chapter 37: Watch What You Say

I sat under the painting of Mister Wabash and his wife, huffing, and trying to catch my breath. My heart was thudding against my chest, and I felt like it would break through if it beat any harder.

"What's wrong, Auntie Sunset?" Líng asked as he touched a hoof to my leg, staring up at me with fearful eyes.

"Did someone try to hurt you?" Shǔguāng asked as he looked around. He seemed ready to charge and fight whoever the perpetrator was, even though he really couldn't do much against any real threat—maybe bite their ankles. Small as he was, he had a lion's heart.

Qīng Yǔ just sat and watched at me. She seemed on the verge of tears as well for some reason, even though nothing had happened to her. Perhaps she was distressed just because I was distressed.

Lántiān chose then to return up the basement stairs with a dusty glass jar tucked under one wing. She gave me an annoyed glare. "You are safe now, ma'am. The horrible monster has been captured. I will take it outside and release it."

I looked at the jar and inched away from her. She rolled her eyes and started walking to the front door. Before she reached the door, a loud knock sounded from it. She paused and looked at me. I wasn't really in a position to give coherent orders, and she groaned, set the jar down, and then opened the door.

Number stepped in with a smile, but her smile immediately fell off as she saw me. "Sunset? What happened? Are you alright? Do I need to call a doctor? Where's Mister Tibbs?"

Lántiān pointed to the glass jar. "Ma'am encountered a fearsome beast in the basement. I have captured it."

Number bent down and looked at the jar. She then cut her eyes to me. "That tiny little spider? Seriously?"

"Don't judge me!" I shouted. "Just get that thing out of here!"

The colts looked at one another in confusion. "Auntie Sunset is afraid of spiders?" each asked the other in concert as if the other brother was more informed than themself.

"Yes! I can't stand them!" I cried.

Lántiān snorted as she picked the jar up and walked out the door with it. Number looked almost embarrassed for me, but didn't say anything.

Shǔguāng joined his brother in laying hoof against me. "It's okay, Auntie Sunset. The spider is gone." Now I felt embarrassed, having to be comforted by foals because of my irrational fears.

Number cleared her throat. "Well, if you need a distraction, I bought you cookware and groceries. Give me a few minutes, and I can get them all in. It is just my driver and me, and I'm not going to make him do something he's not paid to do by asking him to haul all that stuff in." She glanced around. "I asked before, but no one answered. Where is Tibbs?"

"He's out somewhere on the grounds," I answered. "He is making sure everything dangerous that the foals could step on is clear from the front before we walk the outside grounds tomorrow. I can't keep them cooped up in here forever."

"Is there a pool?" Líng asked eagerly.

I shook my head. "Not that I saw." However, there were a fair number of dry fountains. I wondered how the plumbing worked and what it would take to get them operational.

"Oh," Líng said as his expression drooped. "We didn't get to swim in the pool at the other place."

Well, I had intended on them getting a chance to swim. It wasn't my fault that Wild had brought Bursa or that she ran us out of the condo as fast as she did.

"I'll figure out something for you," I assured Líng. "I know you love water. Maybe there is a community pool somewhere that we can visit." I paused a second to consider this. If this was an upscale neighborhood, it was probably all humans—except for us. They might not be too appreciative of ponies invading a community pool if there was one. Then again, being an affluent neighborhood, they likely had their own private pools. "Perhaps Wild will spring for an above ground pool—pony-sized."

"Can we get it today?" he asked eagerly.

I shook my head. "Wild can do a lot of things, but I doubt she could get a pool here and ready to use before dark. It may be a few days if it happens."

He bowed his head and pouted. "Oh."

"I'll make sure you get a long bath later before bed," I assured him. I highly doubted Líng would put up a fight like Méng had. I watched his expression brighten a little.

Lántiān walked back in and gave me a flat look. "I released the spider next to the well, ma'am. I tossed a small rock in the well while I was there and can inform you it has no water in it. Also, Mister Tibbs was out cleaning the yard and gave me an unpleasant look again. I don't trust him."

I sighed. "Your distrust of Malcomb has been noted. I'll be keeping an eye on him and may confront him about giving you dirty looks if I can catch him doing it."

Number cleared her throat. "Um, I might know why Tibbs is giving Lántiān dirty looks."

I arched an eyebrow. "And that reason is…?"

"I did a background check on him since he would be living near you," Number explained. "Many crystal ponies worked in rehumanization centers after ETS; Mister Tibbs was one of these ponies. A group of local Shimmerists took an extreme dislike to traitor ponies, and such a group assaulted him. He had severe injuries, most of which he eventually recovered from, but he permanently lost an eye in the attack. Lántiān's mark happens to include Shimmerist iconography, and I don't think he takes too kindly to Shimmerists."

"Well, not much can be done to help it if that's the case," I replied in resignation.

Lántiān narrowed her eyes and spread her wings slightly as she growled. "If he sided with those who tried to reverse what Sunset Shimmer did, then he deserved it, or worse."

I jumped to my hooves and slammed them down on the ground. "Shut the hell up, you insolent child! Even when I held to Shimmerist beliefs, I never stood in the way of anypony's self-determination!" That wasn't entirely true. There had been one time, but only one. "They had the right to choose to rehumanize, and he had a right to help them with that process!"

Number raised a hoof. "Sunset, your pronouns are—"

"I don't give a damn about my pronouns right now!" I seethed. I knew she was trying to distract me and cool me down, but I wasn't having it. I pointed a hoof at Lántiān. "This faithless daughter continues to expound not only the doctrines of those that killed her mother, but the worst forms of those beliefs. Her mother must be rolling in her grave with shame! She deserves every nasty look she gets!"

"Sunset, your temper, you need to control it. The younger foals are right here, listening to what you say," Number pleaded.

I turned to the other three. Shǔguāng was staring down at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Líng was turning a horrified gaze back and forth between his sister and me. Qīng Yǔ chose that moment to start bawling her eyes out.

"M-Mama is...d-dead?" Líng asked in a trembling voice.

My rage vanished. "Líng…"

He got to his hooves and backed away from all of us. "<It's not true.>" he whispered, falling back into Mandarin. "<She…she just went away somewhere. She talked to me last night! You're lying!>"

"She's not lying, stupid," Shǔguāng growled, still not lifting his head to look at anyone.

Lántiān extended a wing out to her brother with a look of pity and sorrow on her face. "Líng, come here, and we can talk about this."

He backed further away. "<Get away from me! You- you made Mama…>" He couldn't complete the sentence. He just started blubbering and sobbing.

"I know it hurts, but you—" Lántiān said as she advanced toward her brother.

Líng turned and ran up the stairs. "<Go away!>"

"Líng!" I shouted as he scampered up the stairs and quickly out of sight. "Dammit!"

Lántiān spread her wings as if she was going to go flying after him, but I lit my horn and forcibly grounded her, angry at myself for not doing the same with the colt before he ran off. "No!" I yelled. "You are going to stay here and watch Shǔguāng and your daughter. Number will come with me, and we'll find him."

She glared at me in anger, but Shǔguāng retorted before she could.

"I don't want to stay with Lántiān," Shǔguāng growled. His sister visibly cringed at this declaration, like she had just been struck.

I glared at him. "Sometimes we don't get what we want. I expect you to stay here with her and not give her any trouble. Do you understand me? Look at me when you answer."

Shǔguāng finally looked at me, and I could see his eyes were red from crying. "Yes, Auntie Sunset. I will stay here."

He didn't promise not to give his sister trouble. Shǔguāng was much like me. He had rage in him. The difference was he was better at bottling it up and hiding it. Right now, that rage was directed at Lántiān. I'd need to do something about that, but I had another foal who was a more immediate concern.

I hurried up the stairs with Number following me. A glance to my left showed that the child gate had not been disturbed. He was in the right to wing, somewhere.

"You check this floor, and I'll go up to the next. If you find him, make sure he doesn't run off again, stay where you are and call me," I instructed as I made my way to the stairs to go to the third floor.

Number nodded and started down the hall. I went up the stairs.

When I reached the top, I looked to my left and right. I spotted Líng down the right hall, which looked very much like the one a floor below. He was about halfway down, facing away from me, curled up on the floor next to the wall, and whimpering. All the doors were doing their infernal thumping.

"Líng?" I gently called out as I quietly walked over to him. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

He just stayed curled up and crying as I reached him. I gave him a look over, but didn't see any injuries. He just chose this spot as where he would sit and have his tantrum.

I sat down next to him and sighed. "Your mother isn't completely dead," I explained. "You did see her last night, and she'll be there again tonight and every other night. I know it is hard to understand. I don't fully understand it myself, but just because we don't understand some things doesn't make them any less true. Know that she loves you and will never stop loving you, even if she no longer exists while we are awake. She lives in dreams, forever."

He looked at me with tear-filled eyes. "I don't understand."

How was I going to explain the concept of a Dreamwarden to a foal? I had heard explanations from both my daughter and daughter-in-law about what it meant to be a Dreamwarden. I knew the official line of what it meant. Tonya had even given me an easier to understand explanation shortly after she passed, but how was I supposed to boil that down to an explanation a small colt could grasp?

"Look at your fur," I instructed, hoping this would work. "Can you see that it is made of countless little hairs?"

He didn't look, but nodded that he knew this.

"Imagine that each of those hairs is a different dreamer, that each of the hairs on your body is a little person with a mind that has a soul. They are all alive, but they are all part of you. You are a life made up of millions of little lives, with your own mind, separate from all those lives." This explanation felt very wonky, but I was doing my best.

"Am I made up of lots of little people?" he asked in confusion. "What's this gotta do with Mama?"

I wasn't sure I could explain cells and microbes and such to a colt his age, but technically each person was made up of many other living things, so my explanation wasn't completely invalid. "You are made up of lots of little lives. Some might not even realize they are part of you. Your Mama is the same, except with her those little lives are the dreams of everyone. She used to have two bodies. She has one that was like ours, and another made of dreams. The one that was like ours died, and we can't bring it back, but the one made of dreams still lives. You, me, and every pony you ever meet is a part of her, but she is made of dreams and has to stay where dreams are."

His ears perked up. "So, Mama's alive?"

I bit my lip then took a deep breath. "A part of her is still alive, just not the part of her that can touch you. My wife is the same. They'll always be there when we sleep, but they can't be here when we are awake."

"So, if I stay asleep, I can stay with Mama?"

"NO!" I shouted and immediately regretted it when I saw him cringe again. "Your life is here, awake, and it would make your mother, your siblings, and me all very sad if you stay asleep forever. You don't want to make everyone sad, do you?"

"No, but I want Mama," he whimpered.

I used a leg to pull him close to me. "I know you do, but you have to accept you only get so much time with her a day, during your normal sleep. You only spent part of the day with her before, right? This is kinda the same thing, only now it is the hours you sleep. You have time with her, but you also have time with everyone else, away from her."

"I guess that's alright," he said as he cuddled closer to me.

I gently rubbed his fur. "Good. Now, we'll sit here a few minutes, and when you're ready, we will go back downstairs."

"Okay," he agreed. "Auntie Sunset, what about the dogs?"

"Dogs?" I asked in confusion. "What dogs?"

He pointed a hoof at the tower room at the end of the hall. "In there. I heard them. There are dogs in there."

I looked down the hall at the door. It was doing the same thumping as every other door. I strained my ears, but heard nothing.

"You must be mistaken. You were upset and might have heard things that aren't there," I replied.

He shook his head. "But I did hear them! I was going to go hide in that room, but I heard the dogs growling and came back here."

I gave the door another look and frowned. "Alright. Stay here. Don't follow me. I'll go check it out."

"Okay, Auntie Sunset."

I stood up and walked down the hall, surrounded by the constant beating and breathing of the house. I kept listening. He had to be imagining things, but it didn't mean I shouldn't be careful.

When I reached the door I put my ear up to it and listened. I didn't hear anything. Erring on the side of caution, I put a shield up, and carefully opened the door.

There was nothing inside. Just an empty, circular, red-bricked room with a single window cracked open.

I walked over to the window, which was low enough that a pony could look out it without having to prop themselves up or climb on something. It gave a view of the destroyed gazebo, some trees, and I could see the fence for the property in the distance and just make out the next property's house, as well as the familiar backdrop of the Rocky Mountains far away. I saw no dogs out in the yard.

SLAM!

I cried out and put a leg to my chest to steady my breathing. Those fucking doors! I took a second to catch my breath and reopened the door and stepped back into the doorway so Líng could see me.

I smiled at him. "There's nothing here! You must have imagined it. There are no dogs."

"But I did hear them! You have to believe me!" Líng protested.

I left the room and closed the door behind me. "I'm guessing you heard something else and it must have sounded like dogs, but the room is empty."

He didn't seem convinced. "Are you sure?"

I nodded as I walked back to him. "I'm sure. Now, let's go back downstairs and let everyone know you are alright, okay?"

He let me guide him back towards the stairs, but glanced back at the room. "Okay, Auntie Sunset, but I know I heard dogs."

Chapter 38: Family Chat

Shǔguāng was being sullen. Lántiān was also sullen. Qīng Yǔ was under her mother's chair, looking like she was ready for a fresh round of crying. Líng was doing surprisingly well, all things considered. I was grumpy. Number was in the kitchen, putting away the groceries that needed to be frozen or refrigerated. Méng was still asleep in bed and was blissfully unaware that any drama had transpired.

I had the colts and Lántiān, sitting at the dining room table. They were watching me pace back and forth, and they were making a concerted effort not to look at one another. Some grievances needed to be addressed before they festered, and I was trying to decide how to do so without blowing my top.

Number walked out of the kitchen and shut the kitchen door behind her before it could slam. "I think I will be going. I've got the cold stuff put away. All the cookware and dry groceries are still sitting out for you to put where you want them. Is there anything else you need before I leave?"

I stopped pacing and considered it. "I would appreciate it if you would send Malcomb in. I need to get some things settled, and I want to address everything."

"Are you sure?" Number asked skeptically. "I can't imagine him hearing Lántiān's colorful opinions will do anyone any good."

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'll work it out as I go along. I know I don't want to have to keep dealing with some of these issues."

"I'm no parent, so I am not the best one to give advice, but I don't think you can resolve all this in one conversation," Number said doubtfully.

She had a point. I had tried already to convince Lántiān that her views were wrong, and had come up empty. "I still need to address it."

"Good luck with that," Number said with a shrug. "I'll be sure to tell Tibbs to come in. Take care of yourself, Sunset."

Number left us, with me returning to pacing and the foals still all sitting at the table.

"Why do we have to sit here?" Shǔguāng asked.

"Because we need to talk," I replied without stopping my wearing a groove in the floor.

"Talk about what?" Shǔguāng asked.

"I don't know," I answered.

Honestly, I didn't know where to start. Shǔguāng was resentful of his sister because she supported the ponies that killed their mother, and much as I agreed, I couldn't let that resentment linger. I had just gotten Líng calmed down after he learned what everyone else but his niece knew, and I didn't want to bring that subject back up immediately. I was also still pissed as hell about Shimmerism and Lántiān voicing support for its worst elements.

Shǔguāng blinked. "I'm confused."

Líng started bouncing in his seat. "Can we talk about turtles?"

"No, we’re not going to talk about turtles," I answered.

"But you said you didn't know what to talk about!" Líng protested accusingly.

I stopped pacing and groaned. "Alright, let's start talking. First of all—"

"I think turtles are cool! They have hard shells. Where do they get their shells? Does someone make them for them?" Líng asked.

"We aren't talking about turtles," I reasserted.

"Líng's talking about turtles," Shǔguāng replied in defense of his brother.

"We'll talk about turtles some other time!" I half-shouted, and the colts cringed back, while Lántiān flattened her ears. "First of all, Lántiān, I need you to be silent."

"I wasn't saying any—" she started to protest.

I cut her off. "And you will continue to say nothing, no matter how much you want to protest."

She gave me an egregious angry look and clamped her mouth shut.

I looked at the two colts. "Now, your sister has some opinions about humans that you two have overheard, and I am not sure what you have learned in school, but I’m sure similar opinions would be pushed. I am going to state this directly, those opinions are wrong."

"Ma'am, I—" Lántiān began.

"I did not give you permission to speak, filly," I hissed. "Keep your trap shut."

Since I was denying her a voice, she made to get up and leave, but I forcefully pushed her back down into her seat with my magic. "With that said," I continued. "Your sister is still your sister, and the fact she is wrong about humans doesn't change that fact. I don't want either of you disrespecting her, saying you don't love her, or any of that nonsense. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yet you are shaming me in front of them," Lántiān muttered.

I was tempted to tell her to shut up again, but she had a point. Actions spoke louder than words, and I was not living up to what I was telling the colts to do.

Malcomb chose that moment to walk back in. "You needed something?"

I nodded at him. "We are having a family discussion about Shimmerism, particularly Lántiān's Shimmerist beliefs. I heard you might have even stronger opinions than I do. I'm trying to make sure everyone is clear on some things."

His face darkened. "I see."

I turned back towards the teenaged filly. "Lántiān, much of my anger at you is anger at myself for what I used to believe," I said in a low voice. "In the past year, I have developed a strong aversion to Shimmerism. That means I am coming down harsher on you than I might otherwise. I want to help you to be better, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that. While you're part of this household and part of this family, I cannot tolerate Shimmerist talk. Shimmerism has hurt this family too much. Do you agree with me, Malcomb?"

The stallion blinked. "I am not part of the family here."

"You're part of the household since you live on this property," I countered. "My focus is on making sure everyone here feels safe, that includes you."

He relaxed a little. "I appreciate that, but you don't need to—"

"I also lied to you to smooth things over. I am the real Sunset Blessing; I just had a dye job for my fur to be less recognizable. I did a great deal of wrong in my day as a Shimmerist preacher—may God forgive me. I have renounced those beliefs, but I want to apologize for what was done to you personally. I may not have been directly involved, but I helped spread Shimmerism, and for that, I am very sorry. What was done to you was another example of Shimmerism's blatant hypocrisy and inherent hateful nature."

"You'll need to do more to convince me you are really Sunset Blessing," Malcomb replied. I could see myself reflected in his glass eye.

"She's Auntie Sunset. I know! I can tell you!" Líng called out helpfully.

I sighed and ignored the outburst. "Do you object to being visited by a Dreamwarden in your dreams? They will not allow me to lie to you in a dream, and they can confirm my identity at my behest—it could be my wife Arbiter, my daughter Phobia Remedy, or their mother Yinyu Wu Yan, take your pick."

"Arbiter," he answered quickly. "I trust her more than the night ponies—no offense intended to Yinyu Wu Yan or Phobia Remedy."

"Hey! That's our mama!" Shǔguāng protested angrily.

"Don't say you don't trust Mama!" Líng echoed his brother. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Lántiān was giving him a dark look as well.

Malcomb backed up a step and gave an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"We all are guilty of prejudices," I said tiredly. He'd insulted my daughter as well, but I was going to let it go. At least he hadn't insulted both my daughter and my wife, and I was familiar with prejudice towards night ponies. I'd learned not to rage about some things, even if those things deserved someone getting kicked in the flank.

I turned back towards Lántiān. "No one is a traitor to ponykind. You can disagree with rehumanization, but you are never to say hateful things about those who underwent it or those who assisted. They had their reasons, and they should be respected. Do I make myself clear?"

"Do I have leave to speak now, ma'am?" Lántiān replied in a snide voice. I nodded, and she took a deep breath. "I am willing to confess there are bad Shimmerists and that violence and hate are unacceptable, including what my government attempted to do and what those ponies did to this stallion. I am not willing to turn against the truth that everyone is better off as ponies. That is the most you will get from me, and I don't care if it displeases you."

"It's a start," I replied. "I have faith that you'll have a change of heart in time. I was not won over until my world came crashing down; it seems you will need more than that."

"It is impossible to change my mind, ma'am," she snapped.

"Young people are always so sure of everything," I said with a disdainful sniff. "Malcomb, can you please try not to give Lántiān dirty looks all the time? I understand your feelings about Shimmerists, but I have a responsibility to ensure she feels safe here as well. She is still young, and she can't help that she was brought up under a backdrop of constant propaganda. Her mother lamented that she could never speak up against it out of fear."

"Don't be a meanie to Sister!" Líng yelled. This time Shǔguāng kept his mouth shut and turned away. I would have preferred if he had jumped to his sister's rescue as well, even if it meant another interruption. It would have been a sign of family solidarity after his earlier outburst about Lántiān.

Malcomb gave Lántiān an unreadable look then turned towards me. "I understand she's young, and this could be considered just a phase normally…" Lántiān gave a loud snort of disagreement. "But her mark… it is hard to believe she will ever move past it when it is part of her very identity."

"We can redefine what our marks mean. My wife saw a different meaning in my mark than I did, and I have since taken that as the meaning, instead of the one I originally assigned it," I replied with a glance back at mine, a Bible held in a pair of hooves. "She can yet redefine herself. At the very least, can you accept she wouldn't engage in violence against anyone just because of her misguided beliefs, and you'll try to get along with her despite your differences? She needs to learn that people that don't believe the same things as her are still good people."

"I never said they weren't, ma'am," Lántiān objected.

"Do you want me to repeat back what you said?!" I snapped.

Her ears folded, and she emphatically shook her head. I gave a satisfied nod.

"I'm guessing I don't want to know," Malcomb said in a tired voice.

"She said that-—" Shǔguāng began.

I cut him off. "Please! Please don't say it. Hearing it the first time was enough. I know you are being helpful, but I was trying to call your sister's bluff, not trying to get the answer. Your sister has reconsidered her position since she said that, and we're putting it behind us and moving on like it never happened. Understood, Shǔguāng?"

"Not really, Auntie Sunset," Shǔguāng replied in genuine confusion.

"I'll explain it to you later," I groaned.

Malcomb leveled his one eye in a stone-faced gaze on Lántiān. "I can't promise to smile around someone that has said things about me that were so bad they can't even be repeated, but I avoid being hostile."

"I can understand that, and accept it," Lántiān replied.

"I guess that is the best we are going to get at the moment," I said tiredly, before turning to the eldest colt. "That just leaves you, Shǔguāng. I noticed that you made a point of addressing Lántiān by name instead of as Sister. I saw her reaction to it as well. Do you have anything to say about that?"

Shǔguāng started crying and grit his teeth. "<She helped the bad ponies kill Mama>!" He cried out in Mandarin as he turned towards Lántiān, who stared back at him in horror. "<Why? I don't understand. Why did you hate Mama? Do you hate us>?"

Líng might indeed be a little slower on the uptake than his brother, but that was likely because he was slightly younger. A year or two of age could mean a lot to reasoning abilities at such a young age. He was not so far behind that he couldn't catch that direct an accusation. He stared at his sister with a trembling lip. Lántiān seemed so shocked and hurt by the charge she couldn't even manage a reply. She just stared back in terror, frozen like a statue.

"What did he say?" Malcomb asked in confusion.

I shook my head. "He just accused his sister of assisting in the murder of their mother. You may go, if you wish, this part has nothing to do with you."

Malcomb nodded and beat a hasty retreat out the door towards the central part of the house.

I flared the light of my horn to get everyone's attention. "Lántiān did not kill your mother. Your mother was a suicide. That means she killed herself. Do not blame one another for her death."

Líng and Shǔguāng turned to me, and their lips quivered as tears welled up in their eyes.

"<Why>?" Líng managed to gasp out.

I walked over to him and pulled him into a hug. "Because there were bad ponies that wanted to hurt you that she was keeping you safe from them, and those bad ponies only stopped because they were so surprised at what she did. She died to give you time to get away. I can't imagine she was even sure it would work, but she was desperate, and she was out of ways to protect you. This is something your mama might be better explaining to you, now that you understand this much."

"But you said that Lántiān—" Shǔguāng said in confusion.

I pulled him off the chair and into a hug as well. "You are very bright, Shǔguāng, but that doesn't mean you can't misinterpret things you hear. Your mother, in her last moments, turned to your sister and told her to take all of you and keep running. Lántiān did what she was told, and for that, she was a loyal daughter and a sister that loves you and wants to protect you."

"B-but—" Shǔguāng stammered.

"Hush," I said gently. "Your sister is much older than either of you, but that doesn't make her any less a confused foal as well. She was told all at once that the people she had always been told were the good guys were the bad guys, and that you all needed to run for your lives from them without much explanation at all. In the end, she did what your mother told her to do. She trusted your mother more than what she had been told her entire life. She still has to figure things out, but your sister isn't a bad pony. I'm sorry if I led you to believe that."

"But you are so angry at her," Shǔguāng replied in confusion.

I took a deep breath. "Once upon a time, not too long ago, I believed things that I now deeply regret believing. I'm told I did some good, but that good is always going to be tainted by what I believed back then. I see the same sort of beliefs in your sister. I have faith she will turn away from those beliefs, eventually, but I don't want her to end up living her life full of regret like I do. I'm angry at myself, and I took it out on her. You remember how I told you different people react to being angry differently, and that sometimes they do that? It isn't a good thing, and I'm sorry you saw it."

Lántiān left her chair and came slowly over to us. "Ma'am, I—"

CRASH! BANG! CLANK!

SLAM!

Everyone jumped. Qīng Yǔ started screaming. Lántiān recovered first and hurried over to her upset daughter.

I released the foals and headed to the kitchen door. "What in the hell?!"

I opened the kitchen door and saw that many of the boxes filled with pots and pans had fallen on the floor, some of the canned goods as well. That accounted for most of the noise, but I was sure the final slam had been a door. The back door was closed, and I could see the deadbolt had been thrown. The door going down to the basement was closed, and I was sure it had been closed earlier. The windows were shut, so there wasn't a breeze going.

"Lántiān, go around to the basement door in the front; if anyone comes out of it, don't try to stop them, just get a good look at them and call me on the phone. The rest of you stay in the dining room," I ordered.

I didn't get any argument from the filly, although she did pause to make sure Qīng Yǔ was nestled between the two colts. She then hurried out back around to the front. The younger foals all huddled under the dining room table.

I opened the cellar door and lit my horn up to give some light. I didn't see anyone on the stairs, but what I heard indicated this door had been opened and slammed. A light draft through the house couldn't do that.

I descended the stairs keeping my horn glowing bright and projecting its light forward. The stairs didn't squeak, which at this moment wasn't comforting, because that meant people could be moving around without me hearing them. I reached the cellar and looked about, spreading my light to each corner. The door going into the main basement room was closed. There was no sign of any intruder.

I did a quick check of the cabinets just to see if anyone was inside. I even took the risky move of pulling on the cabinets to see if there was anything hidden behind them, but they were securely fastened to the wall. That was good since there was a chance they might have fallen on me otherwise. I checked the stairs to ensure there wasn't any place to hide under them but found nothing.

With the cellar clear, and no call yet from Lántiān to alert me someone had come up from the basement, I opened the door for the main basement and stepped inside.

Straining my ears, I heard nothing other than the standard house sounds I had heard earlier—no sounds of steps, no sounds of true breathing, no movement. I closed the door behind me and put the deadbolt in place. I then began walking the area as I had done an hour or two before.

The furnace room door I locked as I passed by it. If anyone was in there, there wasn't any other exit. If it was empty, then I would hear someone opening the lock if they tried to run inside. After that, I removed the dust cover from the doll rack and put it flat on the floor, leaving one less hiding place. I moved to the far end of the room and flicked the lights on.

There was no sign of anyone. I decided to risk a call and lifted my leg, and entered in the number for Lántiān.

It rang once before being answered. "Yes, ma'am, did you find anyone?"

"No," I replied. "I am guessing no one has come up the stairs either."

"The stairs are clear, and the front door is locked. I have seen no one, ma'am."

I frowned. "Come on down and do a hover at the bottom of the stairs. Again, if anyone tries to run by, let them. We can hurry up to the foals the other way. Just get a good look at them. I'm going to keep walking around and searching for hiding spots. I know I heard the door leading down here slam, and I know it had already been closed."

"I'm on my way, ma'am."

Hanging up the call, I went back to searching. I would be damned if anyone thought they'd be able to hide out in the house and get away with it. The timing of my arrival with the foals the same day was troubling. Was this someone who had already been here and Malcomb had overlooked, or was it a new intruder here precisely because of us? I wish I had gotten Malcomb's phone contact already; I needed him down here. I didn't like having Lántiān this close to a possible intruder who may be out to get her or her brothers, but I couldn't effectively search and corner any intruder by myself.

I lifted my head high and called out. "I know you're down here, and I'll find you."

After searching for forty-five minutes, and having Malcomb arrive and join in, we found no trace of anyone.

Chapter 39: The Infestation Below

Unsatisfied with our initial failure to find an intruder, I called upon every person I could to help. In a short period of time, I had Number back at the house with several SPEC agents, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie. Every inch of the house was going to be searched.

The foals were all gathered in the family room, including Méng. I was out by the staircase, awaiting any word that anyone found something.

Starlight came out from the east wing and gave me a shake of her head. "I understand you are being precautious, Sunset, but there isn't anyone here. There aren’t even any teleport signatures."

Trixie followed Starlight in and raised her nose high. "The great and powerful Trixie has performed many an amazing disappearing act in her day, but Trixie feels that you are a smidge paranoid."

"I am not paranoid!" I growled as I stomped. "I know what I heard. Someone went through that cellar door after knocking all that stuff in the kitchen over. That door didn't open and slam on its own, and that stuff didn't get scattered because of a draft. There wasn't even a draft!"

Starlight sat and spread her forelegs. "Earthquake? I know those are more common here on Earth than Equestria."

"There was no earthquake. Someone was there," I snapped.

Number came down the stairs, followed by six agents. "We searched everything upstairs. There's no one there, just a bunch of antiques, and none of those seemed to be disturbed. I even sent people into the attic. No one is up there."

Malcomb came up the stairs from the basement and shook his head. "Nothing. I have felt around the house for magic as well. The only magic I can detect is coming from ponies we can account for. There's a camera feed for the fence's perimeter that I can view back in my cottage. I'll review it to make sure no one went in or out, but there isn't anyone here."

"This is an old house. Does it have secret passageways or anything that we can search?" I asked, getting increasingly anxious as one thing after another came up with no results.

"Secret passages?" Malcomb replied in a bemused tone. "You’ve watched too many old movies and read too many stories. There aren't any secret passages here." He paused. "Except for an old passage into the sewer system, that's where all the piping for the fountains and everything runs through, but that's outside. The way down is a sheer drop that has a ladder. A night pony or human could manage it—if that ladder isn't ready to rust off, and that's a big if, but your average pony would probably break their neck trying to climb down even if the ladder is stable, and it's too tight a passage for pegasi to try to fly through."

"I want the grounds checked, that sewer checked, that video feed checked. I want no stone unturned," I frantically ordered.

Number scowled at me. "You aren't the absolute master of Riverview anymore, Sunset, and even if you were, we aren't there. I understand you are scared and concerned about the welfare of you and the foals, but you can't be barking orders at us. We're here to help, as your friends, but you need to calm your flank down."

"Trixie and I can spend the night to help you feel more secure," Starlight offered. "I can deal with any intruder if I catch them. I can easily deal with an armed human, and I'm not going to be magically overpowered by anypony."

"Didn’t Sunset Shimmer defeat you?" Trixie reminded Starlight.

Starlight scowled. "Sunset Shimmer was the greatest mage of her generation, and she caught me off guard."

"And there was that icky Queen Chrysalis…" Trixie continued.

"She's not a pony, and she had me at an unfair advantage where I couldn't use my magic," Starlight protested.

"Queen who?" Number asked in confusion. "I have read about most of your adventures, but don't remember that person being mentioned."

"No one important. The journals are not comprehensive," Starlight replied quickly. "Can't expect us to mention every minor villain we have run up against."

"A queen doesn't sound that minor," Number countered.

Starlight waved it off. "Ohhh, it's just what she called herself, just a crazypony, nopony to ever worry about."

"Trixie thought that—" Trixie began, then got a Starlight's hoove shoved in her mouth.

"Trixie… we don't discuss certain things for specific reasons," Starlight said gravely. She then turned to us. "Okay, not a minor villain, but not someone who would ever be on Earth. Her existence is classified information when it comes to Earth, only to be discussed with certain people in authority for security purposes. I think everypony here can appreciate that we don't tell you everything about every threat on Equestria, just like we don't hear about every possible dangerous thing from governments here. There is information that would cause panic, even if there is no reason for panic."

"I am not worried about any monster from Equestria. I'm worried about Shimmerists, either the homegrown variety or the ones from China," I snapped.

"I highly doubt they'd even know you are here yet. You just arrived today," Number said in a long-suffering tone. "Even if they somehow found out and wanted to make a move, it wouldn't be on your first day here, especially when they had plenty of time to get you at the condo. If there was an intruder, it is unlikely to be Shimmerists—more likely a burglar or a squatter, or your runaway imagination."

Was everyone going to question my senses? "I know what I—"

There was a knock at the door, and Number went and answered it. Josie stepped in timidly and looked around, then spotted me. "Um, am I at the right place? This place is huge, and right now, it is crawling with men in black."

"You are at the right place," I confirmed. "We had an intruder."

"Possible intruder," Trixie corrected. "Probably just paranoid."

Starlight rolled her eyes at her friend's statement, then smiled at the newcomer. "Josie? Josie Woods from Lazy Pines?"

The night pony seemed just to take notice of Starlight and blinked. "Yes… hi, Miss Glimmer. What are you doing here?"

Starlight walked up to Josie and hugged her. "Just helping figure out what Sunset got spooked about. How are you doing? You've filled out. You were practically a filly last time I saw you. What are you doing here?"

Josie smirked when she was released. "I was seventeen last you saw me, which is kinda on the border. I'm doing well, trying to save up for a new place. Dreamwardens might finally be getting around to forgiving me since they recommended me as a foalsitter. I'm the overnight foalsitter for her night pony foal."

Starlight gave her an initially confused look, which shifted to one of horror. "Dreamwardens forgive...oh Celestia, I didn't even think…"

"It's okay; it was probably best everypony forgot about me," Josie replied.

"If I had known…" Starlight whispered. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Josie looked down. "Not directly, because Luna spoke up for me, but it wasn't a fun time. Let's not talk about it, it’s over with."

"Still, if I had known—" Starlight repeated.

The night pony pushed her back. "If you had known, it wouldn't have made a difference. Nothing stands between a Dreamwarden and taking their justice out on ponies that do wrong. As I said, forget about it." She looked around. "So what's this about an intruder?"

"Sunset says something knocked some things over in the kitchen then ran down into the basement," Starlight explained. "We've searched the basement. We've searched the whole house. We haven't found anything."

Josie stared at me for a long moment, frowning. "You seem very convinced, I can tell."

"I know what I heard," I grumbled.

The night pony looked around. "Where's the basement?"

I pointed to the door that led down to it. "There it is. Do you want to take a look? Maybe someone who can see in the dark can see something everyone else missed."

She nodded. "I'm sure they gave it a good look over, but I have other tools to find things."

"No offense, but I'm not sure what seeing in the dark will do," Starlight said. "We lit that place up bright as day. Nothing is hiding in the corners."

Josie chuckled. "You don’t know everything about me. If someone is hiding down there, I'll find them."

"I'm willing to give it a go. Follow me," I said as I marched back to the basement.

She followed me back down, and Starlight, Trixie, Malcomb, and Number followed after her. When I reached the bottom, I went to turn on the lights.

"Leave them off. I see better in the dark," Josie instructed. She then flew over me and out of my range of vision in the dark.

I heard her moving about. Night ponies could fly around cramped quarters better than pegasi, nature's trade-off for them not being as effective flyers in the open skies. I was pretty sure she was landing on top of each of the shelves, and I hoped she wouldn't knock anything over. I heard her move a few times and tracked her general location by sound. She opened the door to the furnace room, and I could hear her going inside.

"Stay where you are and stay quiet," she called back to us. "I'm going to do something where I am not going to be making any sound or moving for several minutes, and it is best not to disturb me."

Whatever she wanted. Each of the unicorns in our party had our horns dimly lit, and I looked back at the others. Trixie looked bored while Starlight had a puzzled expression on her face and seemed to be fighting the urge to check on Josie. I could imagine why, she shared my curiosity about what Josie's unique ability might be and wanted to go see. Number was checking her phone. I could make out Malcomb through the light of everyone else, and saw he was focused and gazing in the direction of the furnace—probably tracking Josie's magic.

"She's doing something...odd," Malcomb whispered as he continued to stare. "And she's strong, really strong, strong like Miss Glimmer. I don't think a team of crystal ponies could subdue her, not unless it was one huge fucking team. Miss Glimmer, don't take this wrong, but you and that night pony are terrifying."

"You haven't had the pleasure of running into an alicorn or Wild Growth," I mumbled. On the day of the Cataclysm both Twilight Sparkle and Wild Growth had pumped out so much magic that the crystal ponies that were still at home when evacuations were underway had to be carried away because they were so overwhelmed, even if they weren't trying to absorb magic, and that was with them being miles from the alicorn and the earth pony.

"I've heard stories. I didn't believe them, but now I do," Malcomb replied. "How can anyone hold that much magic? It's unreal. Why aren't you screaming in pain, Miss Glimmer?"

"It’s just normal for me," Starlight replied. "Didn't realize Josie was that strong as well. We need to hush and let her work in peace."

"I don't think we can disturb her," Malcomb replied. "Her magic, whatever it is, it is moving around through the walls and it’s moving fast."

"Let her work; she can explain later," I said.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Malcomb grunted. "She’s finished. Whatever that was, it's done."

He barely finished talking before Josie flew over us. "Okay, you'll want to come upstairs. This is going to bowl you over when you hear it, and you'll want to be on level ground instead of stairs."

She flew over us and was through the door before we could turn around. We shuffled in the tight quarters to get ourselves turned around and marched back upstairs with me, bringing up the rear. When we exited the stairway, we found Josie giving us a satisfied smile.

"You've got a major infestation of humans living in your walls," she announced smugly.

I flattened my ears. "What?"

"Humans living in your walls," she repeated. "Actually, below the house, but they've got secret passages that go throughout the house, and even out to the sewer. You should have figured there were secret passages with a house this old."

"There's no secret passages!" Malcomb insisted.

Josie shook her head. "I found four separate entrances into the passages. There's one inside the cabinets of that cupboard down there. There are separate ones in each of the towers on the opposite sides of the building, and there's another that leads into what I assume is the sewer. Pretty sure they have been siphoning off the water that should be going to those fountains outside."

"You said they. How many are we talking about? Are they armed? How do you know?" I asked, dumbfounded at what I was hearing, and more than a little ticked that Malcomb had these people living underneath his nose for years.

"Six of them. Three adults, a teen, and two older kids. Two men, a woman, a teen girl, a boy, and a girl," she listed off. "They are decked out with supplies. They have jars filled with crab apple preserves, a little indoor garden with UV light, enough canned goods to feed an army, some bunnies and squirrels in cages, and a nice little living area. Looks like a family. I don't think the people that used to live here ever left. They went full fallout shelter mode."

"They must have gone to ground when ETS broke out," Number said thoughtfully. "Which means they must think that they are living in a post-apocalyptic world that has been conquered by alien equines."

"They've got guns too," Josie said soberly. "Placed at the entrances to their living space so they must be ready to defend themselves. I don't recommend we go barging in."

I definitely didn't want any terrified humans coming out and opening fire on the first ponies they saw.

Starlight turned towards me with a worried look. "So, how do you want to deal with this? Those people have been living scared, cut off from the world for years. Who knows how rational they are."

That was an excellent question.

Chapter 40: How to Draw Out a Nut

I was at a loss. We couldn't go in to remove the humans; otherwise, they would almost certainly start shooting. They probably knew at this point we suspected them being there. They had avoided Malcomb for years and hadn't attempted to hurt him, so that meant they weren't inclined to go hunting ponies—at least up to this point. There was no telling if that might change after they knew we were aware they were there. Something needed to be done for everyone's safety.

"Malcomb," I said in a tired voice. "You say they have neighbors that are still living nearby from before ETS that knew these humans?"

"One of them for sure, Miss Gretchin. She seems to like to gossip," Malcomb replied.

I nodded. "Maybe we can get her help to convince them we aren't dangerous, but how do we best communicate with them without sending them in a panic?"

"Starlight could just teleport in there with a shield up and tell them ponies aren't dangerous," Trixie suggested.

"That would have them firing guns right away!" Starlight protested. "I could shield myself, but they might hurt each other in the process, and it isn't going to convince them we mean no harm if I force my way in."

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Well… the night pony just pranced in with no problem."

"Not exactly," Josie replied.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What did you do? That was a lot of detailed information you got. I have heard of scrying spells, but what did goes beyond anything I ever heard of. Maybe I'm wrong. Starlight, have you heard of scrying spells that are that effective?"

Starlight shook her head. "Not without a prepared area to be scryed on or an artifact. I'm not an expert on every obscure piece of magic, so there might be something I don't know about."

Josie shuffled her hooves nervously. "I'd rather not say exactly how I did it. I could talk to them safely if I wanted to, but it would probably lead to them panicking as well."

"So, that's out," I said as I considered options. I was still curious about Josie's magic, but it wasn't going to fix the immediate problem.

"I’ll post some SPEC guards here tonight to protect the property," Number said. "These are intruders on one of Wild's properties. These humans may have previously owned the property, but failure to pay property taxes means the state seized it, and they lost ownership. Posting human guards should help protect you and the foals for the night."

"We could just call the regular police," Starlight suggested.

Malcomb shook his head. "These people sound like conspiracy nuts who think the world is out to get them. If the police go in there, it's going to be trading fire."

I needed to know exactly where they could get. "Josie, you said passages all through the house. How and where can they go? I'm guessing their bunker is a whole secret room below us, but what about the rest."

She nodded. "The passages are very narrow; some of them aren't even passages, but crawl spaces in the floor. The primary passages are a pair of extremely narrow stairs that go up each tower and exit out the ceiling into the room—there's a drop-down hatch with a fold-out ladder. Most would be tight on the sides, even for a pony, but can be managed if they walk slowly and sideways. The passage to the sewer is the only one that has a normal hallway width and height and leads out to a proper iron door. The passage in the basement is wider, but requires them to get down and crawl to get through the exit. The bunker goes out under the east wing behind the furnace room. I'm not good at estimating square footage, but it is one big open room, bigger than the basement, with a lot of support pillars. I could draw a map if you like."

"The bunker might have been an old storage or service area in the sewer that they expanded," Number said thoughtfully.

"They can't get anywhere else?" I asked. I remembered that the tower room seemed smaller than it should, and the red brick seemed out of place. They must have bricked up the stairs to hide them.

Josie shrugged. "Technically, they could crawl through some of the floors, but it would be literally crawling on their bellies, and I didn't notice any regular passage out of that. They could bust through the floor, but that would be a pretty impressive feat if they are already crawling on their bellies."

"Desperate people will try desperate things, especially if they feel they are cornered," Number said with a sad shake of her head. "If we close their entrances or put guards at them, they may very well try breaking through the floor."

Which still left us wondering what the hell to do about the armed and extremely paranoid humans under our feet.

"Okay," I said and took a deep breath. "I would like those guards, but just to stay near me and the foals—and Malcomb."

"Thanks," Malcomb mumbled.

"What I'm going to do is attempt a peace overture," I concluded.

Trixie raised an eyebrow at me. "And how are you going to accomplish that?"

"I'm going to write them a strongly worded letter," I answered. Everyone looked at me as if I was insane. "I am not kidding!"

"A letter?" Starlight repeated in disbelief. "How are you going to deliver them a letter?"

"I figured they are exiting out regularly, slamming doors to hide their movement, stealing crabapples, and everything else," I replied. "I will simply leave a copy at each possible place they can exit and assume that they'll find at least one of the copies."

"Which tells them you know where they are and how they get out. I'm not sure that is going to ease their tension," Josie replied in a doubtful tone.

"Depends on how I word the letter. And I know how to talk to people when I need to."

"I can't possibly think of anything you could say to make them trust the alien equines they think have conquered the world," Number deadpanned.

I arched an eyebrow at her. "Do you have a pen and paper in your bags?"

Number sighed and lit her horn, levitating out a composition notebook and a pen. I took them up in my magic and began writing on the first blank page I found. I spent a minute or two considering my wording, and when I finished, I gave the notebook back to Number to read.

The blue unicorn read the note, gave me an incredulous stare, turned back to the message to re-read it, looked at me again like I was insane, and then proceeded to read the note again.

"What's it say?" Starlight asked. "You don't seem impressed."

Number shook her head. "She explains that since they haven't paid property taxes, they are no longer owners of the house, and says they now owe rent for the past seven years. She is also charging them for the groceries. She even has totals listed, which I assume she just made up off the top of her head, and says that if they have questions about their charges, to leave a note where they found this one."

"You're giving them a bill?!" Malcomb asked. "How in the world does giving them a bill help? Plus, isn't that going to piss them off?"

I nodded. "Oh, it will. It is supposed to."

"And why would you want to do that?" Josie asked in confusion. "Making them mad is the exact opposite of what we want to do."

I smirked. "Have you ever had to deal with crazy conspiracy theorists before?"

"I try to avoid it," Josie replied.

"They love to argue and tell you how they are being mistreated. They tend to be the same people that will demand you get your manager if they don't get their way in a store—very entitled people," I explained. "I'm giving them something to feel entitled about and argue about. They won't even bother considering that ponies are aware they are there; they'll be too concerned about yelling about the bill."

"Trixie does not expect this to work very well at all," Trixie said as she looked at the notebook.

"I don't either," Starlight said. "But I suppose that at the very least, they'd be confused about why we aren't attacking them and are instead demanding money. I know I'd be."

"We're opening a dialogue," I replied. "It also happens to be a dialogue that doesn't involve threats of violence. Evil aliens they don't know how to deal with… someone sending them a bill they disagree with, they sure as hell know how to respond to that."

"I don't know if it is genius or if Sunset has finally lost it," Number said as she re-read the note again. "She has set the terms of engagement, and the terms of engagement are… customer service."

"I still want SPEC agents near the foals to protect them, just in case something goes wrong," I insisted. I gave Number a concerned look. "And I hope they are agents this time and not IT people."

Number nodded. "We're reducing the size of SPEC's security force after closing shop on many of our research installations. The government cut most of their research contracts with us after the Cataclysm, and we're trying to refocus on economic aid and development more. As a result, SPEC security has been reduced to about a tenth of its previous size, which is still very expensive without those government contracts. However, we still have enough agents to spare in this area."

I felt a small urge to argue they should have fought to keep more of those contracts since that was the largest part of SPEC's outside funding and that it was our duty to understand magic better through research and development, but it wasn't my place anymore. It would probably have been an uphill battle anyway. After the Cataclysm, it was a miracle the government kept any contracts with an organization involved in the largest magical disaster in history. Wild's course was the right one, refocusing the organization on philanthropy to rebuild SPEC's reputation and goodwill. I needed to keep my mouth shut about things I left behind.

Number closed the notebook and put it in her bag. "I'll make copies of this, make it look official, and Miss Woods can put them in their appropriate places. While she is doing that, I'll make some calls."

I nodded. "I'm going to go talk to the foals. They are completely unaware of what is going on."

"We'll join you for that," Starlight said. "Trixie and I will still spend the night. I'm assuming you have extra rooms for us."

"We have plenty of those," I chuckled. I then turned and headed back to the family room with Starlight and Trixie following me.

Lántiān was on the couch, nursing Qīng Yǔ. The three colts were engaged in an action figure battle, although the war was primarily between Shǔguāng and Líng while Méng sat with the transformer and moved its parts around. I almost smiled that at least one of the colts that the transformer was interesting.

Lántiān took mediate notice of me as I came in. "What is going on, ma'am?"

"We have some unexpected co-habitants, but the matter is being dealt with," I said confidently. I looked at the tiny pegasus that was nursing. "I thought she was on solid food."

Lántiān draped a wing over her daughter. "She has mostly waned off my milk. I am barely producing any at this point, but she has picked up on the tension in the air, and this is comforting for her, ma'am."

"Trixie thinks she is adorable," Trixie said. We all looked at her, and she gave us a defensive look. "What? I like small foals, as long as they aren't mine."

"What do you mean by co-habitants, ma'am?" Lántiān asked. "Are there animals loose in the house?"

I walked close to her and whispered. "We have a family of humans that have been living below the house for years. I am going to try to draw them out peacefully."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "A yes would have sufficed, ma'am."

Don't slap her. Don't slap her. I repeated silently to myself.

"Anyway…" I said through gritted teeth. "We are going to have some guards for the duration. There are a few additional places I don't want anyone to be until the matter is sorted out. Those would be the basement, any of the towers, the kitchen, or wherever that sewer entrance is outside."

"The kitchen? How am I to prepare food, ma'am?" she asked in a concerned tone.

"You don't have to prepare every meal," I replied. "As for tonight. I was going to order pizza."

Shǔguāng and Líng's heads shot up. "Pizza!" they yelled in chorus.

Lántiān sighed. "They have been eager to sample that American dish since you exposed them to that cartoon, ma'am."

"You'll get to try it tonight," I said with a grin. "I figured I am going to be placing a massive order. Enough to feed us and all the guards that will be coming to watch over us. Wild is going to be throwing us a massive pizza party."

"Cowabunga!" the two older colts shouted in chorus.

"Howunge!" Méng shouted happily.

Chapter 41: Standoff

Me, the foals, Starlight, Trixie, Number, and Josie, were all sitting on the dining room floor with the table vacant. No one seemed to want to take a chair when everyone else was on the floor. Malcomb was out in front of the house, waiting for the rest of the SPEC security to arrive. The original agents Number had brought were doing a patrol of the house. We had a mountain of pizza in boxes, some that would go towards the agents, and we were chowing down.

Number looked in the pizza box again as if its contents would magically change from the last time.

"Sun-dried tomato and brussel sprout pizza," Number said aloud once more in a mixture of wonder, disgust, and disbelief.

I finished chewing my slice of spinach, olive, and mushroom pizza and shrugged. "It seems a little unorthodox, true, but it was on the menu as a specialty pizza, and if it is a regular menu item, I assume that it must be better than it sounds."

"I don't see you trying it," Number replied as she wrinkled her muzzle up in disgust. "And is that sauerkraut they added on?"

"Sauerkraut!" Trixie shouted excitedly as she ran over and pushed Number away from the pizza box. The showmare looked in the box and squealed at the sight. "Trixie will have all this pizza."

"See, someone likes it," I said as I pointed to Trixie.

Starlight finished putting out a round of pizza slices for the older colts and turned to us. "It's the sauerkraut. Until contact with Earth, nopony in Equestria ever made the stuff. A few visitors to Earth tried it here, and they figured out how it was made. There aren't a lot of farmers producing it right now back home, and they aren't producing much of it—I'm pretty sure they are guarding the recipe and controlling how much is made. That has made it into this really trendy and really expensive food that mostly only the rich get access to. You're serving her a pizza that would cost as much as a house in Equestria."

"Huh," I replied. "I always thought of Equestria as more egalitarian, not capitalist."

Starlight shrugged. "We have capitalist elements, even if prices of basic goods and services, along with basic housing, are much lower than you'd find comparatively around this country. Luxury goods can still cost quite a lot back home, but I've still always been shocked at how expensive basic needs can get in this nation. If you have a job in Equestria, you can get by. It might be very meager living, but you can get by. Over here, it's crazy that people have to work two, sometimes three jobs just to meet basic needs."

"I realized early on that the key to peace between ponies and humans was money—at least in the USA," I said as I put another slice of pizza on my paper plate. "My early commitment to bringing ponies back into the economy was what earned me government favor, despite my Shimmerist beliefs at the time. In the immediate aftermath of ETS, it seemed like all the ponies wanted to turn away from the economy, and here I was, a pony who was an influencer, ready to bring them back. The government practically heaped aid on me. I was a Shimmerist, but I was their Shimmerist. It helped that I pushed a more moderate doctrine of Shimmerism and ratted out the radicals."

"And backstabbed even the nicer ones," Trixie said, then immediately stuffed her face with pizza.

I frowned. "They were a group that had worked to overthrow the US government. They were traitors."

"Traitors that you just happened to seize notes concerning transformation magic from," Starlight dryly commented.

I nodded. "I had learned that you had a temporary transformation spell. One that Sunset Shimmer frequently used a modified improved version of to travel among and blend in with the human population for years. I figured the real transformation spell was out of reach, but the temporary one might be possible in my lifetime. I seized those notes hoping it would lead me to that discovery. Unfortunately, they were not enough. I was at a dead end.

"But then something unexpected happened," I said with a sigh. "That maniac, Poly Glot, created a broken time travel spell, and I got hit with it. By sheer accident, I obtained a live sample of ETS, and with that to study, and what I had learned from those notes, I suddenly had the knowledge I had previously thought impossible to obtain before I died."

I stood up and turned, and faced a wall. "That changed everything. I felt like God was giving me all the tools to make a pony world happen centuries earlier than I could have ever dreamed. I pushed on with more projects, becoming reckless in my pursuits rather than my previous slow and steady pace. I could see the finish line and ran to it with complete abandon. I felt anointed by God. I was just as much a fool as Sunset Shimmer."

A hoof touched my shoulder, and I turned to see Number standing there. "Not a trip down memory lane we need to take," she said. "You have a second chance to live your life the right way. That's more than Sunset Shimmer got. I wonder if she regretted her actions before she died."

"No, she was committed to her course to the end, even after we told her about the coming threat she had summoned upon us," Starlight said darkly. We all turned to her, seeing her scowling at the floor. She looked up and cleared her throat. "Ignore me, just thinking out loud. I was there when she died, and her refusal to repent was a painful blow for us all."

The unrepentant went to Hell. Would my repentance save me from the same fate? Was it enough to repent when the wrongs were so great? I thought so until recently. Now, I wasn't as sure anymore. I deserved Hell, and I saw no reason for God to forgive me. I just hoped that I could make up in some small part for the wrongs I had done.

Líng finished eating his slice and made got up to find more pizza. Opening the first box he saw, he gave the contents a confused look. "What are those round red circles?"

I blinked. "Something you don't want to eat. Leave that one alone. I got that for the humans."

He completely ignored me and pulled out a slice and bit into it, and took several other bites of it in succession.

Josie stood up and headed for the door. "This can't end well. I'm going to find some towels to clean up what's coming. You might want to get him to a bathroom now to limit the mess."

Everyone else inched away from Líng, except for his brothers, who were oblivious to what was about to happen.

I looked over to Lántiān. "Aren't you going to do something?"

She shook her head. "I don't see you coming to his aid. He needs to learn, ma'am, and experience is the best teacher."

"Líng did something stupid again, didn't he?" Shǔguāng asked.

"He did something unwise," Lántiān corrected.

The earth pony colt sat down and clutched his belly. "I don't feel good."

I quickly lit my horn and moved him over to a corner away from the food. "I don't think we're going to have time to get him to a bathroom."

Trixie closed the pizza box she had been eating from. "I think I'm about to lose my appetite."

"I agree," Number said as she set her food aside.

"Hopefully, the first upchuck will be all it takes," I said as I watched the colt. "Josie should be back with a towel quickly if she already surveyed the whole house with her scrying or whatever that was. I'll get him some water to drink after he finishes."

"We may need to keep him up a little later to make sure he doesn't have diarrhea as well, ma'am," Lántiān said as she gave her brothers a considering look. "We don't want him spoiling the bed as he sleeps. Shǔguāng and Méng have to share it with him."

Starlight looked around at us with scorn. "You're all just going to let the little guy suffer?"

I shrugged. "There's not much that can be done at this point to stop that from happening. Maybe next time he'll listen to me when I tell him something. We'll comfort him once it's over."

Líng started coughing and gagging.

"Here it comes," Number said as she stepped further away.

I multitasked by lifting Líng slightly off the floor with my magic, moved an empty pizza box under him to catch the incoming mess, and gently patted his back with my magic. "Come on, just let it come out. The sooner you do, the sooner you'll feel better."

"Your magic seems to have largely recovered," Starlight observed.

Líng's coughing continued. "I think your announcement was a little premature, Number. As for my magic, Levitation isn't much of anything," I said dismissively. "I'm not about to try anything more complex yet. My reaction time is still fairly slow too."

"Mister Tibbs says differently," Number reminded me. "He says you're stronger than before."

"Really?" Starlight said, sounding amazed. "That's interesting. I wonder what could be the cause. There are a minimal number of ways magic power can suddenly increase later in life. Temporary increases due to emotional state are the most common, and I can attest to their potency, but I don't think this is the case here. A more interesting but unconfirmed method comes from Sunset Shimmer's notes. She did a study involving Princess Celestia that could demonstrate the power of—"

I cut her off. "My power has not increased. Malcomb is mistaken."

"His record doesn't indicate he was prone to exaggerating magical power," Number said. "Maybe you should at least entertain the idea. He didn't claim you were a powerhouse or anything. His reading would still make you the weakest magical power out of the adult ponies in this house, just not as weak as you previously were."

I shook my head. "If it was an accurate reading, it may have just been one of those temporary surges brought on by emotions. You all know I have a temper."

"You didn't seem angry at the time he read you," Number countered. "Why are you fighting this idea? Normally you are quick to study anything involving magic you don't understand, and you have always lamented your weaker power. It's like you want to reinforce the idea you are incapable of being anything but a magical weakling."

Líng did a rapid series of coughs, followed by a long gag, then the indigestible stuff finally decided to exit his mouth and out onto the empty pizza box.

Shǔguāng waved a leg in front of his nose. "That smells bad!"

"Ooooff, that's fragrant," Number said as she fanned in front of herself with a paper plate.

"Trixie needs to go to the little mare's room," Trixie said as she got up and ran out of the room.

Méng sniffed the air and then gagged.

I held Líng steady with my magic and continued to pat his back. "If you've got any more, get it out. We don't want any more of that nasty stuff in you."

Lántiān lifted her daughter onto her back and headed for the door. "I'm going to find that night pony and the towels."

There were a few more gags from Líng, and another, less dramatic emptying of his stomach. I kept him suspended in the air for a few more seconds to satisfy myself he was done. When he didn't continue to gag, I floated him back to myself and hugged him.

"There, all over," I said soothingly. "Now, what did we learn?"

"Round red circles are bad," Líng said weakly.

"Pepperoni," I corrected. "That is human food, not for ponies to eat. If I tell you don't eat something in the future, listen to me."

"Yes, Auntie Sunset," he said in a whisper.

Starlight lifted the putrid pizza box, and it vaporized in her magic. That was a convenient way of dealing with trash.

Using my magic, I gently floated the tired earth pony between Starlight and Number. "Can you watch him for a minute or two? I'm going to go get him something to drink."

"I bought some ginger ale and put it in the fridge," Number said as she used a clean paper plate as an impromptu napkin to wipe Líng's face. "My mother always swore by ginger ale to help settle upset stomachs."

I nodded as I opened the door for the kitchen and walked in. The mess from earlier was still all over the floor. There wasn't any spilled food, although some of the canned goods were dented. The mess could wait till morning. I remembered to shut the kitchen door as I walked over to the refrigerator to find the ginger ale.

A sudden thump at the cellar door, followed quickly by the unmistakable sound of a muffled obscenity.

"If you have questions about the bill, be sure to respond with a note," I called out. I had no idea why I did that. It was a stupid thing to do. It was a force of habit, perhaps—an inexplicable need to needle people that I had the intention of riling up.

It went dead silent for a few seconds after I spoke, and I held my breath as I watched the door. They knew I was in the kitchen, and I knew they were on the other side of the cellar door. More importantly, we knew that we were aware of each other's immediate presence. It hadn't been my intention to escalate to this point yet, but the moment had happened, and there was no undoing it. The other room had gone still as well, and I knew they were listening. That was good, because if a crazed human came barging through the door, I would be dependant on Starlight to defend the foals. There would be no hope for me. I wouldn't be able to disarm them in time, and my shield—if I could even manage one, wouldn't stop a bullet at this range.

"I accept direct bank payments, but no credit cards," I pressed on, playing the part I had chosen to the letter. "If you're experiencing a financial hardship, we can discuss some sort of payment plan or settlement, but I can't have you freeloading in my home."

"Your home?!" came a deep booming shout. The cellar door slammed open right after, I heard a girl scream, and I was face to face with an angry human.

His anger evaporated as soon as his eyes fell on me. I continued to hold my breath and heard movement from the dining room, but the dining room door did not open. The man looked around my age, with a short unkempt black beard and equally messy black hair. He was wearing dirty jeans and a brown leather jacket. I saw a gun in a holster hanging on his belt, but thankfully his hand wasn't on it. Standing behind him was a teenaged brunette girl who looked terrified as she tried to pull him back.

"I take it you have a complaint," I said with false bravado. I wanted to pee all over myself, but I couldn't let him see my fear. I also needed to reinforce that seeing a human was not unusual to me.

He seemed dumbstruck that I was talking to him as the girl I assumed was his daughter continued to plead for his retreat.

No movement on his part. I had to press on. "My human name is Charlotte Portsmith. I was born not too far from here at Fitzsimmons medical center—which closed during the nineties, I think. I'm a preacher, a person of God, a proud American, and I have a family I need to protect. I don't want any trouble. I understand you have been hiding down there with your family since before the ETS pandemic ended and may be out of the loop about what has been happening beyond this property. You must be starved for information. Do you need supplies, medicine, food, or new clothes? We can work something out. I am not here to hurt you or get you in trouble with the authorities."

He continued to remain silent. His daughter turned and went back down the stairs. I didn't trust that. Was she going to get a weapon?

"If you aren't up to talking. How about you close that door, write me a note as I asked, and we can continue this conversation that way. I understand if you feel safer that way," I said gently as I could. "I have friends and family in the next room who must be listening right now, and I know they must be very nervous knowing you are right here. Your family must be anxious, as well. I think everyone down below and up here will feel better if you just retreat to your bunker."

He continued to stare for a moment, then stepped back, closing the door as he went.

I collapsed down on the ground as the dining room door banged open and Number, Starlight, and the human SPEC agents came hurrying in.

As they reached me, I looked up at Number. "Did you buy any alcohol? I need a strong drink."

Chapter 42: Intervention

"If you aren't hurt, I'm going to beat the ever-loving crap out of you!" Number yelled in my face. "What were you thinking?"

I didn't answer her; I just rolled over on my back and stared at the ceiling, trying to control my breathing. My heart was beating like crazy.

"Should we go down there?" one of the human agents asked from somewhere in the direction of the door.

"No, yes, no, I don't know!" Number said flusteredly as she paced around. "Stay up here. That hornet's nest has been poked enough today."

Starlight's face appeared above me and started examining me. I had never realized she looked kinda cute before. Not that I would ever cheat on my wife. I heard from her that she was attracted to a particular unicorn stallion back in Equestria anyway—not in so many words, but by the way she talked about him. Still, it wasn't an unpleasant view.

"I think she's unharmed, just in shock," Starlight announced as she left my field of view. I felt a little disappointed at her leaving.

"I hope Yinyu and Arbiter run her through a nightmare gauntlet to teach her a lesson!" Number seethed. "What was she thinking? She could have been shot!"

The mention of my wife and Yinyu made me shiver. No, they would not have kind words to say to me about this. I could deal with whatever Yinyu dished out, but a look of disappointment on Tonya's face was always unbearable.

"Why didn't you go in and protect her, Equestrian?" I heard Lántiān demanding of someone in a harsh tone. I could only assume it was Starlight since Lántiān didn't have much expectation of Trixie.

"If I came in, it would have spooked the already spooked humans!" Starlight said defensively. "I assumed she had a plan."

"Trixie knows an improvisation when she hears one. Sunset was completely winging it," Trixie said from somewhere. She sounded worried about me. I felt touched.

The next thing I felt was a wing slapping my face.

"Why did you do this, ma'am?!" Lántiān screamed as she buffeted my face with wing slap after wing slap. "Do you want me to have to tell Shǔguāng that he has lost another mama? Do you not care about him? Do you not care about us? You could have subdued that human with ease, but you stood there waiting for him to gun you down! Why?! Why do those who are supposed to care about us keep doing this? Why?"

She pulled away, or was pulled away—I wasn't sure which. I could hear her sobbing somewhere close by. I couldn't have subdued that human. If I had before he drew his gun, he would never come to trust me. If he had drawn his weapon, I wouldn't have been able to stop him before he could use it. To show trust, you had to leave yourself vulnerable.

"Damn it, filly! Please don't make me drain your magic to take the fight out of you. Stop struggling and stay off her!" Malcomb yelled. That answered the question. She had been pulled away.

"Maybe we should move her somewhere else," Trixie suggested.

"Move her into the dining room. My brothers need to see that she is alright," Lántiān ordered.

"Trixie would not call this alright, and you bloodied her nose," Trixie replied. Lántiān had bloodied my nose? I hadn't even noticed.

"Damn it, Sunset. That filly just wailed on you. People are yelling at you, but you're just lying there like a piece of deadwood. Where is your anger? Where is your outrage? Why aren't you at least saying something?" Number demanded. "You ask me for a drink and then nothing."

Where was my anger? That was a good question. I thought about the time I pinned Swift Strike to a wall and nearly burned him alive, and the time I tried to restrain Crystal Dreams when she made a move to attack Phobia. I was so angry, but of course I was. They were trying to hurt my daughter. This time was different. This time it wasn't anyone I cared about the line. This time it was only me. Yeah, I had been scared, but I couldn't muster that same rage on behalf of myself. Even the Shimmerists who attacked me days before I could rage at for being Shimmerists, but not for the attack on me. I was not worth being angry over.

"I'll go down there and show those dirty humans they can't threaten us!" Lántiān yelled.

My head cleared instantly, and I lifted it while scowling. "You'll do no such thing, filly! What are you going to do? Get yourself shot to get back at me? Don't you dare go down there."

"Finally, something you care enough about to stir some life out of you," Number grumbled. "You seem to give at least half-a-damn about keeping them safe. How about you give the other half-a-damn by remembering the position you'd put them in if you went and died." She growled then stormed off across the kitchen towards the back door. "I'm going outside to have a smoke and call Wild. Stressing me out! Guards, stay in this room until I say otherwise."

I rolled over and got back to my hooves, waving Trixie and Starlight away from me. "I can stand and walk. Let me go see the colts to tell them everything is fine. I'm safe. I was safe the whole time."

"And that was why you laid down on the floor and let your life pass before your eyes?" Trixie asked snidely. I turned and glared at her, and her ears sagged. "Sorry. You just don't seem like you believe that you were safe. I understand putting on a show, but it's okay to admit you weren't sure you'd come through it. It is okay to ask us to help you, because we're your friends and that's why we came here, to begin with. Nopony here wants you to get hurt."

"Trixie can be rough around the edges sometimes, but she's right," Starlight said. "That could have ended with you dead on the floor. You know it, and we all know it. I might have been able to save you if you called out for assistance, but you misled me by acting like everything was under control. It is back and forth with you. You seem like you are making real progress, then out of the blue, you go inextricably suicidal."

"Sounds almost manic-depressive. Maybe she needs a psychologist," Malcomb suggested.

"I don't need a shrink. I'm fine," I snarled.

Starlight gave me a long sad look and then sighed. "No, you aren't, and I think it is time for an intervention." She lit her horn up. "Sorry about this, Sunset. She was going to wait until later, but I think we need to do this now."

"What are you...do…" My head felt foggy, and my eyelids felt heavy. Some part of my mind screamed that she was using a sleep spell on me, but I couldn't do anything about it.

---

It was storming. Not just raining, it was storming. I was in between a row of marble columns, and beyond them, rain and wind came down like a hurricane while one lightning strike immediately was followed by another.

In front of me, on a golden throne, sat Tonya… no, better to say Arbiter. She was in full angelic mode, except for her hands. She had them both gripped around her staff, and a wicked-looking claw replaced each finger. It didn't take a genius to guess she was pissed off. Night ponies always warned never to piss off a Dreamwarden because you'd live to regret it.

A scowling face appeared on each and every one of the pillars. "You could have left my foals with no guardian! You could have traumatized them!"

"Hush, Sister. It does no good to yell at her," Tonya said in a tight voice.

"I have a nightmare ready to go since she is so ready to be punished!" Yinyu screamed.

"There will be no nightmares unless Phobia chooses to do one," Tonya replied, still sounding grim. "Phobia knows how to make productive use of them. I have summoned the others. They should be asleep shortly. Do you have anything to say, Brother?"

"Not at this time, you sycophant. I do not share the same privileges with her that you and the whore do," a male voice I didn't recognize said from no discernable location.

"What's happening?" I asked in confusion.

Tonya gave me a sad look. "An intervention. All seven of us are going to speak with you."

"Seven?" I asked, even more confused. "There are only six Dreamwardens."

Tonya nodded. "Luna is coming too. She had made plans to see you tonight already, but we are speeding those up. You need help, my sunshine. This frequent habit of endangering yourself needs to stop."

"You can make that eight of us if you allow it," a new voice echoed.

Both Tonya and Yinyu scowled, and Yinyu's faces turned to look at Tonya. "Do we allow it?" Yinyu asked.

Tonya seemed to think about it. "I have no objections; she may have wisdom and insights we lack in the matter. What say you, Brother?"

"I am not happy about the junk-peddler's presence," the male voice growled.

"That wasn't the question, Ghadab. Will you allow it?" Tonya repeated.

"I'll allow it," Ghadab replied in an irritated voice.

"And you, Yinyu?" Tonya asked as she raised her eyes to look at the faces.

"I, too, will allow it," Yinyu grumbled. "Willing to try anything at this point."

"Then we await one more vote to allow it; then you'll have your answer, Triss," Tonya said with a tone of finality. "The others should be here soon."

"This seems a bit much just to tell me you aren't happy," I said as I looked around. "How often do you all get together to chew a person out?"

"Not often. You should feel special, false-prophet," Ghadab replied.

Phobia appeared in front of me, looking completely normal, and gave me a frown. "And while Yinyu, Arbiter, and I have a personal interest in you, all of us have a vested interest in you pulling yourself together for other reasons." She turned her head to Tonya. "I vote against Triss's presence. Now is not the time for her."

A night pony stallion who I recognized as Psychic Calm appeared beside Phobia. "I, too, vote against Triss's involvement. The patient is not well, and Triss's interests require the patient to be at full capacity."

"I change my vote," Ghadab said.

"He can do that?" the voice I assumed was Triss asked.

"He can indeed," Tonya answered. "I change my vote, as well. If both Phobia and Psy object, I trust their assessment."

"I change my vote too, for the same reasons," Yinyu chimed in.

A great grey minotaur appeared beside Tonya and gave a thumbs down.

"It seems unanimous; you will have to wait for another time, Triss," Tonya said. "Don't worry, if Sunset can get her head out from her ass, you'll get your opportunity."

"I am well acquainted with waiting," Triss replied in an annoyed tone. "Very well, Dreamwardens. As we agreed, I will continue to wait until you approve."

Luna appeared out of a hole in nothingness and looked around as the hole disappeared. "Are we still awaiting Ghadab?"

"I am here, Princess," Ghadab replied in a much kinder voice than he had previously used.

"This is too much!" I protested. "Surely you all have better things to do with your time than give me a heart-to-heart talk."

"We intervene frequently and have helped many who are struggling with crippling emotional problems," Psychic Calm assured me.

"Although it is typically just one or two of us at a time," Yinyu added on.

"Those possibly suicidal and endangering themselves get priority," Phobia said as she gave me a sad look.

"There are things worth dying for, but self-hate isn't one of them," Ghadab intoned.

"And you are very special, Sunset Blessing," Luna said. "I told you before that you have the tools to be great, but that you waste them. I was not being pretentious. I truly meant that. I know that both our worlds would lose out on so much if you never harness them for the good of all."

"You are loved by Arbiter, Phobia, my foals, and countless others, many that you may never meet. Even if you were a typical pony, your life has great value to all of them," Yinyu said in a firm tone.

"Number said it to you well," Tonya said. "You value the lives of others, but you fail to see how much your life matters to them. You fail to see the hurt you can cause them by putting yourself in danger, and for what?"

"I know you fear death," Phobia said. "You fear you are irredeemable. You fear punishment in the afterlife. Mom, you drilled the Bible into me my entire life; I know very well that God is in the business of forgiving. The person who needs to forgive you is you."

I found my rage. "How many lives have I ruined?! Yes, I am trying to do better now, but didn't I always think I was doing the right thing before? I have a whole life of failure behind me. I have recognized my failures repeatedly, trying to be better, only to end up worse somehow! I can't trust my judgment. I can't trust my sense of right and wrong. I can't even trust my interpretation of someone telling me what's right and wrong! What can I trust that I know I won't screw up?"

Luna stepped forward and placed a wing on my shoulder. "My little pony. If you wish to discuss failings and the harm they have done, I have my own sordid history. A whole tribe of ponies nearly died under my watch and lived in fear of me for generations after I managed to save those I could. I tried to strike down my only family out of envy and tried to force a world to love me because I needed somepony to tell me they loved and appreciated me, and my self-loathing made it so I would not believe any of them. My need to punish myself once created a monster of alicorn and Dreamwarden magic that could have turned all reality into a living nightmare. I also was the one who thought Sha'am Maut would make a worthy Dreamwarden and failed to see the darkness within her. Sunset Blessing, you do not have the same weight of regretful actions I do, yet I understand well how you feel."

"If I had your power, my crimes would surely have been greater," I muttered in a half-whisper.

Luna sat down beside me. "That is something we may never know. If true, then we can be thankful you've been spared that guilt. There are beings that Harmony bends itself around, whether they choose to let it or not. Even if they try to hide from the world, it will push them to be a part of it and allow them to shape it. It has chosen them, and I cannot say why. Twilight, the other Elements, Starlight Glimmer, and others in Equestria and Earth are all such beings. There's even one pony on your world where that seems to be their primary talent. You are another such being. You live to impact destiny and to make change, and we would be remiss to let you struggle with such a burden alone."

"Oh yeah, I influence things," I said through gritted teeth. "Made the Southern Shimmerists an economic powerhouse, am taught in schools in China to help brainwash people, blew up a city, wrecked Wild's dream of using temporary transformations to help the sick—and burned her magic out in the process. I even delivered you a nice new Dreamwarden to replace Sha'am by sending her to her death. What a great track record."

"Sunset, stop saying you killed me!" Tonya yelled. "I was as good as dead, no matter what. If I hadn't been in the Bastion that day, what happened during the Cataclysm would have seemed like a picnic in the park. Yeah, you took Poly Glot in and used him, but you weren't the only one taken for a ride on that. The government was tricked into giving him over to you by others. Someone set it up, and you weren't the only one fooled. You don't carry that blame and need to stop trying to. You sending me to the Bastion was the most fateful decision you made that day, and it saved lives! You may not have known what was coming, but thank God you sent me there that day—over my objections, because you gave the world a chance."

"And you may not be aware of current events while in seclusion," Luna said. "The Southern Shimmerists have fractured due to your words. We now have a group of humans and ponies that echo your teachings against Shimmerism. Some of these humans came from groups who previously hated ponies and are now joining with ponies who previously hated humans. This is a momentous and joyous occurrence, and it is because of you."

"And the Chinese Shimmerists distort your older teachings and refuse to let the people hear your newer ones. If it wasn't you they were distorting; it would be someone else. Your influence there is not the influence you think, and they fear your newer teachings getting widespread appeal there," Yinyu added on.

"You protected ponies early on from losing their homes, their possessions, and their identities," Ghadab said. "Your reasons may have been warped, but these are good things, and just."

"You've helped advance magical knowledge, encouraged the Equestrians to take a good long look at their education system, and advocated for the loosening of magic restrictions on ponies," Psychic Calm said.

Phobia stepped forward and touched a wing to me. "We aren't saying you didn't make mistakes along the way, but everyone is guilty of making mistakes. You were misguided, and you know that now, but despite that, you always had the best of intentions, and you did manage to do a lot of good. You once went on about your legacy. It is a complicated legacy, but it is more good than bad, and there is still time to make an even more positive influence."

"But how can I stop messing up!" I cried. "If I am such a big influencer, that means I have more potential to harm others. I don't trust myself."

Luna dried my eyes. "I wish to help you. I made the offer before, and I am making it again now. I want to take you as my student. I cannot visit you often, and what I can teach you of magic is limited. However, I have learned from my sister that sometimes that isn't what is most needed."

"So what would you teach me?" I asked.

"I would have your experiences teach you, and give advice and an ear," Luna explained. "I would follow my sister's method with Twilight Sparkle that helped her grow to the pony she is today. I would ask you to send me reports, once a week, telling me about your experiences over the week that you learned lessons of friendship, love, compassion, empathy, joy, and forgiveness from. You need to focus on these experiences and learn from them."

"You want to be a better pony, my sunshine, and that is where you need to focus," Tonya said gently. "It isn't just sentimentality; it is what makes a truly good person. You experience all these things regularly, but you don't let yourself reflect on them. You reflect on all the negativity instead. Let Luna help you learn to love others and yourself."

"You make us mad, disappointed, and hurt at times, but we are all wanting you to be the best you can be," Phobia said as she nuzzled me. "It can be a process, turning your life around, but we know you can do it; otherwise, we wouldn't be here trying to encourage you. As you said, we would have better things to do. I love you, Mom, and I don't want you making the biggest mistake of your life by giving up on yourself."

"You aren't at the lowest you can go yet, but we want to keep you from sinking that far," Psychic Calm said in a monotone. "Given your prominence and how closely tied you are to half of us, we felt that it was worth all of us stepping in now, rather than later."

"If we all showed we cared, maybe you would take it more seriously," Yinyu added on.

I narrowed my eyes at the closest face on a pillar. "You wanted to toss me in a nightmare!"

"Well, we did say you make us mad sometimes, too," Yinyu said defensively. "No more reckless endangerment of yourself."

"Please, no more," Phobia echoed. "I don't want to lose you. I was scared when I heard what you did, and this hasn't been the only case lately."

"And these cases need to stop," Tonya said firmly. "A lot of people love you, Sunset; please, show yourself some love, for our sakes."

"What is your answer, Sunset Blessing?" Luna asked as she stared down into my eyes.

I still thought that I wasn't worth all this attention, but it mattered to Tonya, Phobia, and my friends. "I agree. I'll write letters to you once a week."

Luna smiled. "I look forward to reading them, and what time we can spend together, my student. I hope one day soon I can add good and faithful to that honorific."

Time would tell.

Chapter 43: Why You Should Never Sleep In

I opened my eyes to see a window with bright sunlight pouring in. I was in bed, and I didn't recall going to bed. It was also well into the day, and I was reasonably sure it was evening when Starlight zapped me. I hated sleeping in late. It was a loss of productive hours.

"You're awake! Sorry, I didn't intend for the spell to be that strong. At least you got some good rest," I heard Starlight say from somewhere close by.

I turned over in the bed to face her. She was sitting on a chair beside the bed. I could see all my bags, including the saddlebag from Equestria, piled in a corner behind her.

"What time Is it?" I asked as I shook off the blanket that had been covering me. Enough of the day had been wasted already if the sun was that bright.

"A quarter till eleven in the morning," Starlight replied. "You've been out about fourteen hours. Josie was in here with Mèng, watching over you all night. I relieved her when I got up."

I hopped down from the bed and gave myself a good shake to get the blood pumping. "Tell her I appreciate that."

Starlight seemed uncomfortable about something. "Number Crunch paid her extra for her services already and is going to pay the fine the Dreamwardens levied on her."

My head jerked up. "Fine? What did they fine her for?"

Starlight shrugged. "She wouldn't give details. She is clearly annoyed about the fine, but said it could have been worse. She violated some dreamwalking rule by doing that scrying yesterday. They gave her a hefty fine, suspended her use of the ability for thirty days, and warned her not to do it again."

"Well, that seems unfair," I muttered. "She was only using that ability to help protect the household."

"You know how Dreamwardens get with rules and regulations. They don't even pull favors for anyone, even family, even if they want to. They aren't known for letting things slide unless it was a matter of life and death, and Josie was not in any immediate danger when she did it. This is the closest to overlooking such a violation that they give," Starlight replied in a weary voice.

"True, and at least it just boils down to a month long inconvenience for her instead of a lasting punishment. Depending on how often she uses that ability, it might not even be an inconvenience for her, but I wish we could have used that again to scout out what's happening down there," I said with a sigh. I then looked up and met her eyes. "So what did I miss while I was asleep?"

Starlight hesitated. "How about you tell me how things went with Luna first. Then you can shower and get ready for the day."

I snorted. "I have been successfully intervened. You are looking at Luna's new personal student, yippee. I can skip the shower. Tell me what's been happening."

Starlight's eyes went wide. "Personal student? I didn't expect her to do that. Congratulations. That is a big honor. Although, you don't seem that happy about it."

"I just have to write her weekly friendship reports. It isn't like I'm getting any perks out of this, only more work to do. The whole thing seems ridiculous to me, but I'll do it because it matters so much to Tonya and my daughter," I grumbled. "Can you stop stalling and tell me what has happened?"

Starlight frowned. "There are now a dozen SPEC security agents spread out around the house. There were no further incidents with the people in the basement overnight or this morning, but they did leave you a return letter, which you can read over breakfast—I guess it would be lunch now. Everyone spent the night and is still here. Josie says she canceled her original plans for this evening and will spend the day and night here. I think she is being protective. Last but not least, three earth ponies showed up about an hour ago claiming to be your parents and little brother."

"My parents and Sinker are here?!" I yelled in shock. "Why? How did they even know where to find me? We've still got crazy humans below us. So, why didn't anyone tell them now is not a good time to visit?"

Starlight blinked. "They said that they were speaking to your daughter-in-law on the phone yesterday, and she gave them the address. Speaking of which, they said Rosetta Stone and your grandfoals should be arriving tomorrow."

I sat down with an audible dejected thump. "Oh, screw me."

Starlight tilted her head. "Um...no offense, but you aren't my type." Then she chuckled. "Sorry, I was trying to lighten the mood. I know what you meant—although you really aren't my type."

I put a hoof to my face and shook my head. "Where are my parents and the foals?"

"In the big family room," Starlight answered and pointed at the floor. "They are all getting to know one another. Not sure how it is going because I've been up here and only have ponies drop by here and there to give me updates. The last update was about half-an-hour ago."

"I suppose I should go see them," I muttered.

Starlight walked over to me and touched my shoulder. "I know things are a little weird right now, but we have plenty of security here to keep them safe. You should value all the time you have with your family."

"You don't have a family quite like mine," I replied. "Really dreading Rosetta coming here tomorrow. She and I have never gotten along, and after what I did to her mother…"

She gave me a sympathetic look. "I know my dad can get on my last nerve. He was so overprotective of me he wouldn't even let me leave town to go to magic school after I got my cutie mark in magic—something that mattered dearly to me after my only friend left the year before to attend Celestia's school. However, I lost my mom at a young age, and it took me a long time to realize that was his way of coping with grief. If he and I had been more open in communicating, it could have changed everything about my life, and I wouldn't have made some of the mistakes I did. I know what went on between you and your daughter-in-law isn't the same, but that doesn't mean you can't try to talk things out."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "How did not going to magic school turn into you trying to get rid of cutie marks?"

Starlight shrugged. "In my mind, a cutie mark took my mom away—she had a soldier cutie mark and died fighting off invaders on the Equestrian frontier. Then another mark took my only friend away, and then when I got mine, it didn't fix anything. My mark just made me feel unfulfilled because I couldn't even study magic. I was young, and angry at the world. I twisted all those thoughts and rage up and turned them into cutie marks are evil."

I nodded. I could empathize with turning thoughts and anger into something perverse. It was the story of my life. What I lacked was the excuse of being young. Sure, I was young when it all started, but it kept going well into middle age.

"Let me go deal with my parents and read that note, and I'll deal with Rosetta tomorrow," I said as I made my way out of the room. Starlight followed behind me.

Guards were posted in the stairwell. They gave me and Starlight a cursory look, but didn't say anything. Someone had taken the initiative to open every door on the second and third floors and put door stops against them, so there was no more constant thumping. It also meant that if anyone were moving about upstairs, they would be heard much more easily.

We entered into the family room and saw everyone but Lántiān were caught up watching Trixie perform an act. The only ponies that didn't have their backs to us were Lántiān—who was on a couch trying to draw in the sketchbook I bought her the other day, and Trixie—who was so caught up in her act and her audience she probably didn't even notice us. Sinker was lying on top of my dad, who was lying down next to my mom. Mèng had taken up a similar position on top of Josie. Líng and Shǔguāng were sitting side by side with their attention entirely focused on the showmare. Malcomb and Number were sitting a short distance away and were only half paying attention to the show as they quietly talked together. Qīng Yǔ was standing on top of her mother with her forelegs propped against the back of the couch, watching the show from a safe distance. A guard stood at the door and acknowledged us as we entered, but went back to watching the show after that.

Lántiān noticed me quickly and seemed excited to see me up and about, but immediately realized that she couldn't rush over to me without dislodging her daughter. Caught in a choice between going to greet me and upsetting her currently entertained foal, the filly ruled in favor of Qīng Yǔ's happiness. It was good to see she had her priorities in order.

Trixie did a flourish with her hat and showed the audience it was empty. "And for my final trick, the great and powerful Trixie shall pull a rabbit out of my hat." She then turned it upside down and stuck a hoof into it.

"Um—" Starlight called out skeptically. "They made you leave your rabbit back in Equestria. It didn't get through customs."

Trixie looked up with a surprised expression. "Really? Then who has Trixie been feeding all those carrots to!" Trixie turned her hat over and shook it. Carrots began to pour out and kept pouring out until she had a pile of carrots beside her, almost as tall as she was.

Okay, I had to admit, that was a nice trick and a great gag. I stomped my hooves in appreciation; everyone else did as well—except the guard who clapped and Lántiān who groaned and rolled her eyes.

Trixie bowed. "Thank you. Thank you. Trixie adores all of you." She then gestured to me. "And it looks like the guest of honor has arrived!"

"It's my home! I'm not a guest!" I protested.

Everyone turned as a group, and the colts all gasped with excitement. The next thing I knew, I was being tackled and knocked on my back by four pint-sized equines in succession.

"Auntie Sunset!"

"Auntie!"

"Ahyee Sunseh!"

"Old Sis!"

A fifth voice came with a giggle and nothing intelligible as another small weight joined the others. Apparently, Qīng Yǔ decided she wasn't going to be left out.

"We were worried about you!"

"Why are you yellow?"

"Gabba doooo!"

"Are you feeling better?"

"Sister wouldn't let us come up and see you!"

"Your house is huge!"

"We met a new friend! His name is Sinker!"

"Bwwaba!"

This was too much for me to process. I couldn't even make out who was saying what. "Can someone give me some help?"

The foals were all lifted off me by Starlight's magic, and each neatly deposited in a semicircle off to the side. I then pulled myself to my hooves.

"Why are you yellow, and what is this about you were doing something foolhardy that could have gotten you killed?" my mother demanded.

I cut my eyes over to her. "Hi, Mom. Nice to see you again too. I'm yellow because I dyed my fur and mane to stand out less in a crowd. As for the other thing, I have a habit of making stupid mistakes. I thought I made that clear."

"We also heard about how the Shimmerists tried to lynch you after you left our house," Dad said in a grave tone. "You should have called for help well before it got to that point."

"Wait—what happened in Pony Hope?!" Number asked in shock.

"I knew that burn on your leg and you losing your phone was suspicious, ma'am!" Lántiān hissed. "You said nothing about it, but I knew something happened!"

Starlight gave me a disappointed look. "I knew something had happened in Pony Hope as well, but I made the mistake of not pushing you about it after you downplayed it. Just like you downplayed what happened yesterday."

I suddenly wished I was back to fielding the foals' questions. I stomped a hoof. "Six Dreamwardens and an alicorn just got on me about putting myself in danger. I get it, you are all worried, and you'd all be hurt if I bit the big one. Let me say that I'm touched. Now, can we drop this conversation because there's nothing productive about it?"

"Just don't do it again, ma'am, and we will," Lántiān said with a contemptuous snort. "We are concerned with your health."

I grimaced. "Says the filly who has bloodied up my nose twice in as many days." I took a deep breath. "Moving on—Mom, Dad, Sinker, why are you here?"

Mom gave me a hurt look. "Do we need a reason to come visit our daughter and see our new adopted family? I thought we moved past this the other day when you came and mended fences with us."

"We spoke with Phobia and Rosetta Stone—who seemed like very nice ponies, by the way," Dad said. "They thought it would be a good idea if we could meet all your foals and grandfoals together, and give their foals a chance to meet their new aunt, uncles, and cousin. Phobia said she had meetings she couldn't cancel, but Rosetta spoke with her sister, and her sister made arrangements to bring them all here. We're looking forward to meeting them all."

"And your lovely wife found Kristin and Andrea for us!" Mom added in excitedly, tearing up as she did. "We got to see them for the first time in years through our dreams. It will take some more time to get to meet them in person with their families, but we're finally getting to reconnect with all our family after all these years!"

My eyebrows shot up. "Tonya found Kristin and Andrea? How?"

Dad smirked. "She is a Dreamwarden, hun. She kinda knows everything about every pony. We asked about them and asked her if she could get us in contact with them. She said she could make no promises and couldn't give out any details, but if she were to hypothetically ask them if they wanted to speak with us—if they were hypothetically ponies or humans with magic, that she would pass the request on. A few minutes later, they were both in a shared dream with us!"

Great, I'd have to deal with my sisters soon, but first I would be dealing with Rosetta. I turned on Number. "Wild made these arrangements, and you didn't tell me?"

Number held up her forehooves defensively. "Sometimes Wild doesn't tell me about things until the last minute. She's a very busy mare. She just called me about it this morning while you were sleeping. She also made arrangements to shuttle your parents here and is paying for Rosetta and the foals' transportation here."

"Such a kind mare," Mom said admiringly.

"Damn bleeding-heart billionaire philanthropist," I muttered. "Did you tell her we have a bunch of crazed humans living under the property?"

Number shrugged. "I told her yesterday. She thinks we can deal with it, and if we can't, at least having Starlight Glimmer here ensures everyone will be safe."

"And the great and powerful Trixie!" Trixie chimed in.

Number gave Trixie a dismissive glance. "And if we haven't dealt with it in the next two or three days, then Wild will show up and deal with it herself. She isn't concerned they are capable of hurting her if she marches in there to talk to them."

Trixie took notice of Number's continued dismissal of her and pouted.

That didn't reassure me much. Starlight was a powerful pony, but she was just one pony. She couldn't be everywhere at once, and Trixie really wasn't a unicorn you wanted for this kind of situation. Also, unlike Wild, Starlight wasn't practically bulletproof. Wild could shake off a gunshot like it was a bee sting, but if Starlight was taken off guard before she could put up a shield, Starlight would have the same resistance to being shot as the rest of us.

"I will want to see that note they left as soon as this discussion is over," I instructed. I then turned back to my parents. "So, how are my sisters doing? I assume they permitted you to share since you already mentioned them."

Dad nodded. "Kristin goes by Amicus Curiae now; she's an earth pony, but still doing all her lawyer stuff—couldn't leave it behind. Her husband and sons are all earth ponies too. Andrea didn't change her name, but she's a crystal pony, and works for the FBI now. Her husband divorced her after ETS since she changed and he didn't, and her kids—well, their grown adults now, are human too, but she still keeps in touch with all of them."

Mom rubbed her forelegs together nervously. "Amie—that's what Amicus said to call her for short, and Andrea said they both knew about you, but decided to keep their distance. Amie said she just learned about it recently by chance when researching stuff for a Blessingist case, and was still trying to decide if she should try reaching out. Andrea said she's known for a long while since it came up in her background checks the FBI does. You've got quite a profile with them."

"Andrea said she's fairly certain she's been denied promotions because she's related to you. They didn't want to grant security clearance to ponies closely related to you. She is a little bitter about it, and may have avoided making contact with you because of it," Dad said sheepishly.

I grimaced and laid my ears back. "Andrea is unhappy because of me. The more things change, the more they stay the same."

"Don't be like that!" Mom half-shouted. "I'm sure that she's angrier at the FBI than you. It isn't your doing, and things might have changed since you aren't the same as you were."

"Why is everyone yelling at Auntie Sunset?" Shǔguāng asked in a partially worried, but also partly angry tone.

"I have even more sisters?!" Sinker asked, focusing on but one detail.

"Abbabwoo ga!" Qīng Yǔ shouted with a giggle. She was undoubtedly more talkative than usual today. Everyone else had something to say, so she must have felt the need to contribute. It wasn't Mandarin, just noise for the sake of noise, but wasn't that what half of all conversations were composed of anyway?

Family always stressed me out up until recently. I always felt the need to be liked and impress all my family, at least the ones I associated with. Wild Growth knew how I got about family. Tonya knew too. Yet despite that, the two were conspiring against me by burying me under a mound of relatives, most of whom I hadn't seen in ages. I wondered if this was some sort of revenge plot.

"I need a minute," I announced.

Lántiān moved like lightning, putting herself between me and everyone else, and glared at them all while doing a stuttered hop with her wings outspread that practically screamed fight me, I'll take you all on. "Give Ma'am space! Can't you all see you are overwhelming her!" She turned and looked at me. "Ma'am, you can go to the dining room where there is food waiting. The older blue unicorn said you like to work when stressed. You can eat while reading the note that those humans left you and decide on a reply. I will stay by your side and assure you aren't bothered by anyone."

She wasn't wrong. I nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Lántiān. That is very considerate of you."

The filly scowled, but straightened her posture in response to the praise. "You do my brothers and me no good if you are too stressed to think clearly, ma'am."

Complete loyalty to her siblings and herself, that is what that filly had. My well-being was tied to their well-being, and I couldn't fault her for being pragmatic. I doubted I would ever get any sort of genuine affection from her, but we could at least understand one another. There would never be sentimentality for me clouding her judgment, just cold self-interest, and that earned her my trust. I was her primary resource, and like me, she understood she shouldn't sabotage herself by not minding and holding onto her most valuable resources.

Mom stepped forward. "Maybe I can come along to—"

Lántiān rounded on her with a hiss. "You can talk to her later when she is ready again. You are all coming at her at once, and you need to step back."

Dad came to Mom's defense. "I'm sorry—Lántiān, was it? Maybe we got off on the wrong hoof with you. We never intended to stress your adopted mother—"

"She's not my mother! She is my guardian! My brothers may feel differently, and that is fine if it brings them comfort, but I won't have her referred to as my mother," the filly growled. "Give her time. She will attend to you shortly."

"Please don't be rude to my parents or anyone else in this house. Just take me to the dining room," I pleaded. I then gave my parents a half-smile. "I told you, she is extremely responsible, just not very polite."

"I see that," Mom muttered. "Good luck with her."

"I think Auntie Sunset is our new mama," Shǔguāng spoke up.

Líng switched his gaze between me, his older brother, and his sister. "Is she our new mama?"

"She is," Shǔguāng asserted. "Sister is just stupid!"

"Stop calling your siblings stupid, Shǔguāng. How many times do I have to ask you?" I demanded.

He gave me a confused look. "You only told me to stop calling Líng stupid. You didn't say anything about Sister."

I facehoofed and shook my head. I just couldn't deal with this at the moment. I was dealing with family overload. "Let's get going, Lántiān."

"Yes, ma'am."

Chapter 44: No Easy Answers

Cold pizza was not the most fabulous lunch, but an adequate one. I chowed down on plain cheese pizza as I read the letter that the humans left me.

Dear Mutants,

Since you spoke in English, we must assume you possess human-level intelligence. We don't know how you found out about us, but I don't see any armor or anything on your bodies to protect you from good old fashioned guns. If you try to set one foot into our bunker, we'll fill your guts full of lead.

I paused and took a sip of my tea. My, this letter certainly started on a positive note. Which was better to be seen as, a mutant or an alien?

Further, this is OUR house, and you are the trespassers. We won't be paying any rent. We don't know how you found us after all this time, but we've got a whole army down here ready to fight to retake our world.

That was pure bluster, meant to scare us away. They had no army. Still, the aggressive stance was concerning for achieving a peaceful resolution.

We will not engage in any more of this stupid passing of notes. We expect you to leave!

They didn't even sign it. I supposed I could get their names from either Number or Malcomb. One or both should know the names of previous owners. That still left me to figure out how to continue communicating with them if they were going to refuse to write notes. I wasn't going to send anyone in there, that was for sure.

I took another sip of my tea and weighed options.

"Is the tea still to your liking, ma'am?"

I looked over to Lántiān, who was now sitting at the piano, examining it more closely. A human guard stood by the door going into the kitchen, and I knew another guard was in the kitchen itself.

"The tea is excellent, thank you," I answered, then took another sip to reaffirm that to her. "You know, if you want to try the piano, you are welcome to do so. You aren't a small foal who would mistreat it and damage it."

She didn't reply, but began testing the piano's keys. Perhaps she was checking the sound quality or tuning. I never learned how to play the piano, so I was unsure. I had played three types of drums in marching band back in high school, but hadn't touched an instrument in ages. I doubted I could still play a drum. After all, holding a drumstick in magic was different than holding one in a hand; certain learned reflexes didn't translate, and it would require relearning everything over again. It was odd, suddenly finding nostalgia for the drums.

It also made me think again of Yinyu and her dedication to her instrument that made her relearn to play it after her transformation and having more significant physical challenges in doing so than I would face if I were to try to relearn the drums. It seemed like something she was extremely passionate about, yet she didn't get her mark in it, and she kept her music private, only sharing it with her family. She was a puzzling mare at times.

Yinyu and Krik were the two Dreamwardens who no amount of digging through the existing records could reveal anything about their pasts. It was clear Krik's records were kept hidden by the Russians, but Yinyu's records didn't seem to exist at all. China didn't have anything to suppress. All that was ever said was she was a prostitute, possibly a thief as well before ETS—and those accounts were strictly hearsay. People born on the streets typically didn't receive formal music education, that was for sure.

"Your mother never said why she didn't perform her music?" I asked Lántiān. It was mild curiosity. Yinyu presented a puzzle, and I wanted to understand it.

Lántiān gave a sad shake of her head. "She only said she had a deeply painful experience, ma'am, but would never give further details. She was always guarded about her thoughts and history. I know she loved playing her music. When we were preparing to run, she felt pained as she realized she could not afford to bring her violin with her. I could see it in her face as she gave it a final look. It was the only possession she seemed distraught about leaving behind."

Maybe I could ask her, but I doubted Yinyu would tell me anything she would not tell her own family.

None of this speculation about Yinyu did anything to help me figure out what to do about the humans down below. I needed to reestablish communication with them, let them know we were not going to be intimidated, try to get them to understand that we weren't out to kill them or turn them into ponies, and I needed to do that without inciting violence. I was honestly stumped on how to accomplish any of that.

Lántiān began playing the piano in earnest. The filly used her forelegs to press the keys closest to her and used her wings to reach keys further away. The tune seemed familiar—not something classical, perhaps something from a movie score or video game. I was sure I had heard it somewhere before, but could not place it. It was a sad tune, a lonely tune.

I sat and listened. Trying just to relax and let my thoughts drift. There was work to be done, but I was so caught up in stresses and distractions to properly focus. I needed some time to relax and clear my mind.

The song went on for a minute or two before she stopped. I privately wanted her to keep going, but decided not to ask. "My wife… she was a lover of music as well. She didn't play an instrument; she was an instrument. She had such a lovely voice, and she would sing when she was sad or afraid. Songs gave her comfort and hope."

"I assumed as much, ma'am. Her title is the Warden of Song," Lántiān replied.

"She would also sing to encourage others. I miss truly hearing her voice. In the dream it’s not the same," I continued, as grief welled up in me. "She was the first person I ever lost. I never really knew my grandparents, so their passing had no effect. My parents and siblings are very much alive, as is my daughter, my grandfoals, my nieces and nephews, in-laws, even my ex-husband, and his family. Every single member of my family is alive but her. You would think I wouldn't take one death so hard when everyone else is alive, but it is so hard."

"It was not my intent to distress you further, ma'am. I am sorry," Lántiān said quietly. I could hear the shame in her voice—such a puzzling filly.

I shook my head. "No, I enjoyed your playing. It was beautiful. I am sure your mother is proud of how talented you are."

She frowned down at the keys of the piano. "I am glad you enjoyed it, but there is no talent, ma'am. It is only hard work to try to earn her praise. Just as I will learn to draw, though I am without talent. I strive to earn her approval—even now that she is…"

I focused my gaze on her. "And why do you think art is so important now? Nopony should define their abilities or interests purely by their talent, but you seem to avoid doing anything with yours."

She glared back at me. "It is something I cannot speak of, ma'am. I shall master drawing and painting. It is important."

I frowned, trying to decide how much to push. "Well, don’t dedicate your life to earning the praise of others, you should take time to develop the things that bring you joy. You enjoy flying, how did your flight go yesterday? And don't say fine. Give me details."

"I could not match her, ma'am," Lántiān said bitterly. "I could tell that she deliberately flew in such a way as to match my ability yet she still easily outperformed me."

"I wouldn't expect you to match her," I replied. "She is one of the most powerful pegasi and greatest fliers that our world has to offer. Even if she wasn't blessed with such advantages, she is still a grown mare while you are still just a teen who hasn't finished growing. And what opinion did she have of your performance? Sapphire Sky is an arrogant snot, but I trust she knows how to judge another pegasus's talents."

"She said I was a strong flier for my age, ma'am. She also suggested forms of training that would improve my skills. I did not like that some of them came from Equestrians but they admittedly have more experience," Lántiān answered reluctantly.

"Good!" I exclaimed. "So, improve your flight skills. I am not your mother, but I have spoken to her, and know of her. She would want you to pursue what brings you joy. You could only disappoint her if you suppress your passions."

Lántiān looked me in my eyes. "Did you know that is my mother's true title, ma'am? She is the Warden of Passion. Some ponies started calling her the Warden of Lust very early on as a derogatory joke, and she embraced the joke and started introducing herself that way, but Passion is her true title. She would say to me that passion is a great spear with points on both sides, able to help you slay mighty beasts, but if you are not careful, you may find yourself as the beast impaled."

I grimaced. "I think something gets lost in translation, and it’s an odd saying for a pony. Why would you even have a spear like that?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps, it is odd. She says she remembers the phrase from the fragment of another life, so we may lack the cultural context to fully understand it. Still, the meaning is evident, ma'am. Passion can be a great tool, but it can also be your undoing."

That just left me wondering how many things that weren't Tonya's memories were in her head now, things from beings dead thousands if not millions or even billions of years ago. I didn't want any more reminders of how different she was now.

I sighed. "Fine, I will indulge you trying to impress your mother with art, but I want you to work on your flight as well. I want you to take the next three hours for flying. The first hour I want you practicing whatever Sapphire instructed you on. The next two hours of flying are for you. After you get back I want you to focus on your daughter for the rest of the day, and not worry about your brothers. You may have an hour to work on your art this evening. This is going to be the normal routine. I am going to be the primary one worrying about your brothers, not you. I may ask your assistance at times, but they are my responsibility."

She narrowed her eyes and fluffed her feathers. "I am being punished? What have I done to earn punishment, ma'am?"

I blinked. "What? Why do you think you are being punished?"

"You took away my responsibility to my brothers, ma'am," she replied stiffly.

"Correction, I am taking back the responsibility that I and your mother have unfairly dumped on you," I replied. "You are a teenaged filly who already has the immense responsibility of taking care of her own foal. How long have you been acting as second mother to your little brothers? Tell me."

"Since they were born, ma'am," Lántiān replied. "Seven years for my first brother."

"So… since you were about nine, more or less?" I asked.

"That would be correct, ma'am."

I shook my head. "That is too young for a filly to be forced to try and be an adult. No wonder you're so serious all the time. You've had to give up all the times you should have been playing with friends and finding yourself. You still have a filly you need to care for, but you need to care more about yourself and your needs, otherwise you'll end up hurting her just like your mother hurt you."

Lántiān fluffed her wings, and seemed completely flustered. "My mother didn't— I would never—"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "What is your daughter going to think when you never smile at her or laugh with her? Is she going to understand that you are busy and never learned to express your emotions well because you had to be so grown-up from a young age, or is she going to be just like you, wondering what she has to do to make you proud and happy with her and feeling like she can only fail? You need to stop focusing on what will make your mother proud of you and start focusing on what will make you happy. Otherwise you won't ever be happy and your daughter will think it is her fault."

My words must have struck a chord, because Lántiān's cold exterior broke. "I… you are cruel mare, ma'am, for suggesting that I—that she—"

"For giving you the cold hard truth?" I questioned. "I'm in charge of all the foals of Yinyu, which I remind you includes you. It's my job to see you grow up to be fully functioning and well-adjusted ponies. Your brothers are typical for their ages, despite their hardships, but you are the one who is the real damaged goods. It isn't your fault, but it is my responsibility to try to help heal you. I don't know if I can do that, because I am damaged goods too, but I sure as hell am going to try."

"You think I am broken? Worthless?" she asked, lips quivering.

I left my chair and walked over to where she was sitting on the piano bench. I stared her in there and then did something else that might have been stupid. I lit my horn, gently grasped her in my magic, brought her down to me, then grasped her with my forelegs.

She stiffened as I hugged her. "You are not worthless," I said gently. "To Qīng Yǔ, you are the most important and most loved person in her life. I don't know your mother's history, but I have a feeling she didn't get the love that she deserved, and it meant she had a hard time showing you her love. I don't want you to continue that cycle. I don't want you to be like your mother, hiding your talents and your feelings away from the world. I'm sure she doesn't want that either."

Her head leaned into me, and for a moment I thought she was going to have herself a good cry and let me comfort her, then she suddenly shoved me off her, and the next thing I knew, I had a wing barely graze my face as she tried to slap me. I stumbled back and saw her glaring and snorting at me. "I would believe you more if you took more care of yourself, ma'am. You are a hypocrite! You are also not my mother and need to stop trying to be!"

I was getting tired of being struck by that filly. Sure, I probably deserved a lot of it, but it was getting old. What did I need to do to get through to her? I had to remind myself it had only been a few days, and she was carrying far more baggage than her brothers.

"I am never going to be your mother but I am in charge. New rule," I said through gritted teeth. "You will cease to express your displeasure with me through violence. It is not a habit I will have you get into. Do I make myself clear?"

She straightened up her posture. "Perfectly, ma'am. May I be excused to go do as you wished? I think I would like to be away from you for a few hours."

I waved a hoof dismissively. "Go on. Make sure you have your phone on so I can reach you if I need to."

The filly stormed out of the room in a huff, and I sat trying to figure out how I managed to screw up this time around.

"For what it's worth, I thought the hug was sweet," the human guard spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

I didn't reply. I just banged my head against the piano. I was just incapable of doing right by that filly.

Author's Notes:

What was played.

https://youtu.be/9osyZ7lxC_8

Chapter 45: The Next Step

My mom gave me a curious look as I returned to the family room. She, my dad, and the two Equestrians were supervising the foals play. "You don't look any less stressed than before. Where is your filly?"

"She's not my daughter, as she emphatically likes to remind everyone," I said with a hint of annoyance. "She is out flying, to clear her head and take care of her needs. You can't have a pegasus stuck sitting inside a house all the time. She's angry at me, but there's no help for that. I'm quite used to people being angry at me," I looked around. Number and Malcomb were both gone, as were Josie and Méng. "I'm guessing the night ponies have gone to bed? Where are Number and Malcomb?"

"Malcomb went to run some errands, and Wild Growth called Number Crunch to go take care of something for her," Starlight explained. "The night ponies went upstairs just a few minutes ago."

I nodded and looked at the foals. The colts were all engaged in playing with action figures again, while Qīng Yǔ was being entertained by Trixie, who was levitating around stuffed animals and making animal sounds—not all of them accurate to the type of animal.

"We heard the princess from Equestria and Wild Growth have you working on a big magic project," Dad said with pride. "It seems like all the big shots still think you are pretty smart and talented if they are coming to you for help."

"I don't know what we did right to have three such intelligent and accomplished daughters," Mom beamed. "A great mage, a lawyer, and an FBI agent; that's an impressive upgrade from parents who were a retail clerk and an electrician."

"You endured our constant bickering and made sure we always applied ourselves. You also always encouraged us, no matter how hard we were on ourselves," I answered. "You reap what you sow, and you did everything you could to make sure we would grow up successful and happy." I grimaced. "I wish I was half the parent either one of you are."

"Your foal grew up to be one of the most important ponies on Earth. I think you might be selling yourself short," Dad replied with a chuckle. He then put his forehooves on Shǔguāng and Líng's heads and mussed their manes. "And I am sure these whipper-snappers will turn out great too!"

"Ack! Gramps quit it!" Shǔguāng shouted with a giggle.

That made me instantly scowl and raise an eyebrow. "Gramps?"

Dad stopped messing with their manes. "Well, sure. If these two have adopted you as their new mother, then your mother and I are their grandponies."

"I'm not sure we should encourage—" I began.

Mom cut me off with a raised hoof. "Even Lántiān said it was their choice."

"I know Shǔguāng has been very clear about what he thinks he wants, but Líng is another story," I replied. "And it has only been a few days; there is no need to rush these things with any of them. They need more time to get used to me, so they don't turn around and regret adopting me later."

"Not to mention what it would do to Sunset if she accepted that role and it didn't work out," Starlight added in. I gave her a dirty look, but it didn't faze her. "I'm serious. I know family is a huge deal to you, even more than most ponies, and you would not take rejection well if they changed their minds down the line."

Trixie raised her nose in the air. "That older unicorn said, and I quote, Sunset Blessing can get downright psychotic when it comes to family. There's no moral line she won't cross to protect her loved ones, and has a crazed need to be liked and loved by her family, end quote."

"You're getting good at those impressions. You sounded exactly like Number Crunch," Starlight complimented the showmare.

Trixie beamed. "Thank you! I'm trying to figure out a way of incorporating them into my act."

"Psychotic might be a little too extreme a word," I muttered. I looked at my parents and saw them not coming to my defense. "Or maybe it's perfect. I don't know."

"Sorry, hun. You did describe the things you did specifically to Number Crunch," Dad replied, seeming uncomfortable. "I just realized now that was the mare you mentioned in your retelling. It's amazing she will even speak to you and hasn't filed a restraining order or something. Maybe you exaggerated it?"

I shook my head but didn't reply. If anything, I had probably underplayed what I had done. Psychotic still wasn't the correct word. That word implied that I was emotionless through it all. Murderous, wrathful, vindictive, irrational, evil, but never unemotional.

"Ponies forgive," Mom said knowingly.

I didn't want to call out that foolish axiom. I knew it wasn't true. There were plenty of ponies that would never forgive me, and several that I could never forgive—some of them still alive. Some of those ones still alive I would gladly torture without hesitation, even now. Whoever had arranged Poly Glot to come to me was at the top of that list. If I ever found out who that was, I would make their life never-ending agony. I wouldn't let them die; dying brought an end to the pain, and they didn't deserve the right to get out of it. I wouldn't seek them out, but if they ever revealed themselves, they would pray for Lucifer to take them before I was done. What I lacked in power I made up for in creativity, and I would be very creative with their fate.

I'm a horrible person.

None of that mattered. I had enemies, lots of them, more than I could count, and it was doubtful I would ever learn for sure who had pulled the strings. Ironically, Tonya probably knew exactly who did it, but the unbending Dreamwarden rules would make her keep the knowledge secret until everyone involved was dead—which could be many decades, a lifetime even. They would get away with it, and there would be no justice for what had happened. Me never getting to find out was one of the many punishments I would suffer for my sins. God would punish them, not me.

I was getting off track again. What was I supposed to be focused on? Oh yeah, humans, parents, colts, brother, Rosetta, sisters, Bursa, friendship report, hooray.

"Starlight, I'm not coming up with any great ideas for dealing with the humans. They don't want to pass any notes, and they made it clear they'll shoot on sight if we come down there. Do you have any suggestions?" I asked.

"I have a suggestion on how to talk to them," Starlight replied. "I can do a spell that will project a voice. I don't know the exact location of their bunker below us, but I can make it so that it won't matter because the voice will be heard everywhere below the house. They can't reply back, but we can talk to them."

"You might want to say something that won't make them mad this time around," Trixie suggested.

That was something, at least. "How soon can you do it? Do you need prep time?"

"A minute or two in order to calculate the area I’ll need to broadcast to, but that's it," Starlight answered.

Shǔguāng stopped playing and leveled a serious expression on me. "You aren't going to get hurt again, are you, Auntie Sunset?"

"We don't want you to get hurt," Líng added on worriedly.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," I assured the two colts.

"Yeah, Old Sis is a mad scientist. She can handle a few humans!" Sinker said proudly. I wasn't sure I liked being referred to as Old Sis or a mad scientist, but I decided not to object to it. I wondered what he would call our older sisters if I was already labeled old.

Líng was now the one with a serious expression. "Are you really our new mama, Auntie?"

"She is!" Shǔguāng answered before I could even process the question.

I knew what Yinyu said about Shǔguāng, and how she said his brothers would follow his lead, but this was too fast. These colts barely knew me. If they knew me, they wouldn't be trying to make me their mother. They were just trying to establish a new familial order for themselves and rushing to try to fill the void left by the death of their mother.

"We can discuss it at a later time," I answered, not wanting to devastate them by outright telling them no.

"When is later?" Líng asked.

"I don't know," I replied.

"Is it in a few minutes?" he asked.

"No, longer than that," I answered quickly.

He was undeterred. "Is it before dinner?"

"No."

"Is it during dinner?"

"No, not today."

"Tomorrow?"

Lord, give me patience!

"I am unsure when. I will let you know when later is," I said, trying not to sound like I was growling.

"Okay. I hope later is soon," Líng replied, and went back to playing with his toys.

Mom walked over to me and whispered in my ear. "Don't put it off forever; otherwise they start to equate you saying later to you saying never, and you lose their trust. I learned that lesson the hard way with your eldest sister. Please don't do that to them. These two trust and adore you completely."

They didn't have much reason to trust and adore me. I had only been with them a few days, and they barely even knew me. Still, I had no desire to hurt them, and I wanted them happy. How to deal with such a conversation was a mystery, though. I looked at the foals. Both the colts had gone back to playing action figures with Sinker. Qīng Yǔ was happily squealing as she cuddled with her stuffed animals. I nodded to my Mom and left it at that.

"Ready to go," Starlight announced and gestured to a clear area to her side; her horn was glowing, as was a small circular area on the ground where she had gestured. "If you stand here, I can project your voice down to the humans below."

I nodded and walked over to the indicated area. Now I had to determine what to say.

I took a deep breath.

Starlight suddenly interrupted. “No need to shout.”

I hadn’t planned to, but I nodded. "People living in the bunker below. I introduced myself to you yesterday as Charlotte Portsmith. That was indeed my human name, but my name now is Sunset Blessing. I am the new head of this house, and I have several foals living with me. We mean you no harm, but I can not allow you to continue living down below as a potential threat to them or me.

"I don't know the exact time you went into hiding down there. But from your reaction, it was likely during the ETS pandemic. The pandemic did not last long, and there have been no reported cases since it ended. There is no reason to fear infection. Those of us who caught ETS and transformed mean you no harm and live in peace with humans. It may comfort you to know that there are still far more humans than ponies in the world. Due to your aggressive stance, we brought in a dozen armed guards on the property who are all human, I have fully human relatives, and the majority of the government is human. Ponies are not here to conquer the world."

I needed to call them out on trying to frighten us, but gently. I wasn't great at being gentle in my speeches.

"I know you claim you have an army down there. We know that’s not the case; it is just a few adults and children—a single family. Up here, I have five foals—children. I know you want to protect your children just like I want to protect the ones in my care. We are very much the same in that regard. We want a peaceful resolution and to help you rejoin society, so your children and mine can both live safe and happy lives.

"Our landlady is a pony of great wealth and generosity. She will do everything she can to accommodate you. She is also a very special pony, unlike any of us here now. You cannot threaten her or bring her harm, and if we are unable to resolve this on our own,” I paused to consider exactly how this threat should be made.

“She will march into your bunker, ignore every attempt that you make with your weapons, and that will be it. She isn’t going to harm you, but you may hurt yourselves in the attempt to stop her. I recommend you listen to her if she shows up. She is like Superman, a perfect girl scout, but also an unstoppable force."

Now onto the part that would have everyone up in arms, but I saw no way around.

I took another deep breath. "I propose a meeting: just you and me, and my friend, Starlight Glimmer. I promise you that no one will try to capture you or your loved ones while it happens, and you are free to retreat down into your bunker again once we are done talking. We are not going anywhere, and we need to resolve this. We can meet in the basement in two hours. I will wait patiently for you to come out of the cupboard down there, and there will be no armed guards. I will wait an hour. If you do not speak, I will assume we must wait for our landlady to arrive and address the situation herself. All your exits are known and being watched by humans. I hope to see you soon. God bless."

Starlight released her spell, and now it was time to get yelled at.

"You are putting yourself in danger again!" Mom yelled.

"I am not; we can handle this. The last time was unexpected. I was surprised and alone. This time… I’m prepared,” I explained. "Starlight can shield us from any threat. That is why I said she would be included. We are in no danger."

"And Starlight is an expert in making friends!" Trixie said enthusiastically.

"Uh— Trixie, this might be a little harder than dealing with a friendship problem back in Equestria," Starlight replied in a doubtful tone.

"I guess I will have excellent material for my friendship report if we succeed then," I concluded.

Author's Notes:

Doctor found something wrong with my most recent blood test and has called me in for an appointment today. Fingers crossed it isn't too serious.

Chapter 46: Dear John

I gazed around the basement and tried not to shuffle nervously as Starlight and I waited. We were standing beside the case with the dolls and had a clear view of the door leading to the cellar area and the cupboard within. Twenty minutes of the hour I allotted had passed, and there were no signs of the humans.

"You don't need to be so nervous," Starlight said.

I glanced around at the corners of the ceiling. "I'm not nervous about them. I'm worried that there are more spiders down here."

Starlight raised an eyebrow at me. "You have arachnophobia?"

"Yes," I muttered. "Had a widow get into my tail, and it freaked me out so bad I now jump at every spider."

"Have you tried asking your daughter for help?" Starlight asked. "That's part of her job, helping ponies overcome irrational fears. It's even in her name, Phobia Remedy."

"I don't want to deal with any psychological mumbo-jumbo," I replied.

"It would seem to me that your fear is mumbo-jumbo," Starlight replied. "Talk to your daughter, give her a chance to help you. I know it has to be embarrassing being terrified of a little spider."

"I—" My response was cut short at the sound of the cellar door opening.

Starlight immediately lit her horn, and a shield surrounded us. The particular shield she put up would not be immediately visible to most, but I had a good eye for recognizing spell work, even if it were variations I wasn't thoroughly familiar with. The humans would see her horn glowing, but they wouldn't be aware of the shield in these poor lighting conditions.

The same man from before cautiously came through the door with a shotgun clutched in his hands. He spotted us almost immediately and turned the gun towards us, but not in a position to fire immediately. That could change in an instant.

Even knowing about the shield, my heart started racing. "Hello again, I assure you that a gun isn't needed. We aren't going to hurt you."

"I'll decide if it is needed," he said harshly. "So what do I call you, mutant? Do I call you Charlotte or Sunset Blessing?"

"Sunset Blessing would be preferred," I replied, then gestured to Starlight. "This is my friend, Starlight Glimmer. She means you no harm either."

He entered with the barrel of the gun at her. "What's she doing? What’s with that glow around her horn?"

"Ensuring our safety," Starlight replied evenly. "Just making sure nothing you do can hurt us."

The man pulled the gun up, so he was ready to shoot if needed. "You're going to have to be a little more specific than that if you don't want to get shot."

Starlight frowned. "It’s a shield, but I’ll make it visible so you can see what I’m doing."

True to her word, her shield shifted from invisible to having a transparent lavender hue. However, the man didn't lower his gun. That was worrying.

I cleared my throat. "You have your gun, and we have our magic. Everyone has their tools to keep each other feeling safe. We won't argue about you having a gun ready to shoot us, and you don't argue about us having a method of preventing you from shooting us. Does that sound fair?"

He still didn't lower his gun. "Talk then."

"Alright," I replied and took a deep breath. "We can do far more with our horns than make shields. It would be no effort at all to disarm you and lock you in place. We can also teleport straight into your bunker and do the same with everyone there, but we aren't going to do that because we don’t want violence."

"You seem hostile to me. You've taken over our house and are intent on forcing us out," he replied through grit teeth. "You could be just bluffing about what you can do."

I licked my lips. "We don't want to have to prove ourselves on that. How about a small demonstration that we can grab things from a distance? It wouldn't be you or your gun or any attack on you or your family."

He shook his head. "You just sit right there. So you’re saying you with the horns on your heads are like telekinetic or something."

"We're unicorns, and we work what in popular nomenclature would be called spells," I explained. "We can convert and use a certain type of energy—what scientists used to refer to as dark energy—into controlled effects."

"Unicorns!" he laughed. "I suppose you shit rainbows too?"

I narrowed my eyes. "We are not a joke."

"I actually met a pony who did that once," Starlight said sheepishly. I turned to look at her, and she gave me an uncomfortable-looking toothy grin. "Don't ask. You don't want to know."

I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the human. "Anyway, since you're out of the loop, unicorns are a subgroup of ponies, and each subgroup we call a tribe. There are five recognized tribes on Earth. Roughly about five hundred million humans on Earth became ponies after the ETS. There are also rehumanized humans—humans that had been in the process of becoming ponies or fully became ponies, but had all or most noticeable physical changes reversed."

"I don't think he wants that much detail, Sunset," Starlight said. "You're going to put him to sleep with your lecture."

"I'm trying to be open and honest about the situation," I replied.

"How about you let him ask the questions he feels are important, and then you can fill in the gaps after everything is done?" Starlight suggested. She looked over to the human. "I have a question for you. I know we can look up the information from the old deed information, but can you please let us know your name so we can stop referring to you as the bunker human."

"When did that start?" I asked.

"When you were passed out all night and most of the morning, before your parents and little brother showed up," Starlight answered.

I snorted and looked at the human. "Did your family raise a fuss at you for our little meeting yesterday? Mine sure did. They went so far as to stage an intervention."

"My wife and daughter gave me hell," he responded. I noticed the gun barrel dip just slightly. Was he relaxing a little? I wasn't sure. Time to switch up tactics and continue to talk to him like he was just my neighbor who I was venting to, rather than a possible hostile force living under my floor.

"And it is completely unfair!" I proclaimed. "Look at me. I'm old and sluggish, a grandmother. But that doesn’t mean I need to have someone watching over me. They honestly think that I'm in mortal danger just having a conversation. I clearly knew you were there before you opened the door yesterday, so what harm was there in opening the door? There wasn't any!"

"That's what I told them," the human replied. "You knew I was there, so there was no point in hiding. I had my gun on me. They still got on my case. Everything was under control."

"See! A complete overreaction on everyone's part," I replied. "No one got hurt. You didn't draw your gun on me, and I never lit my horn. Yet they treat us like we lost our minds."

"Nothing worse than being called crazy," the man muttered, his gun dipped a little more. He then lifted it back up towards Starlight. "But her horn is glowing right now."

"And you've got a gun pointed right at me," Starlight replied dryly.

"There's two of you and one of me," the man said, keeping his gun locked on Starlight. "If you were human before, you know what I am capable of with a gun, but I have no clue what you two can do. I am at an unfair disadvantage here."

It was time to take a gamble. I hated gambling.

I took a deep breath to steady myself. "Do you want her to leave so we can talk alone?"

"Sunset, no!" Starlight objected immediately.

I ignored her. "Starlight is a powerhouse—one of the strongest, if not the strongest, unicorn there is. I'm not even fully sure what all she is capable of doing. I'm weak. A thousand unicorns of my stature couldn't match her in sheer power. You're right. Her being here puts you at an extreme disadvantage."

The man motioned with his gun. "She needs to go. Then we'll talk."

"I'm not going anywhere," Starlight growled. She then glared at me. "You just told everyone you would stop putting yourself in unnecessary danger."

I endured her glare with a calm look. I felt anything but calm because she was right, but I needed this guy to start to trust me. "Do you really think he would shoot me, knowing that it would have everyone up above on the warpath to come to get him if he did? This gentleman—" I looked at the human. "I'm sorry, I still haven't gotten your name."

"John," he answered, his gun still trained on Starlight.

I turned back towards Starlight. "John here is not crazy. He is just being reasonably cautious. Teleport back upstairs and wait for me. I'll be just a few minutes. You'll hear it if a gun is fired."

With both John and me insisting that she go, Starlight was not in a position to refuse. She could, but Starlight had to know that would cripple any chance of peacefully talking things over with the humans. I hoped I was right that he wasn't crazy enough to shoot me. He was a conspiracy nut, but conspiracy nuts you could appeal to if you pampered their egos and insisted they weren't nuts—regardless of the truth. In truth, they were some of the easiest people to control if you were willing to do reprehensible manipulation. Starlight had a history of manipulating others with cult-like ideas; she should understand this. It was how the game was played.

She grimaced. "Will you at least put up your own shield before I go? I'll feel better knowing you have some protection in place."

I nodded and lit my horn. A moment later, a much smaller shield surrounded me within Starlight's larger and more powerful shield. I could tell by her eyes she knew the truth about my shield. It wouldn't stop a bullet—at best, only slow it down. Although, that could be the difference between sustaining a severe injury and a fatal one. If we were optimistic about it.

"You be careful, Sunset," Starlight instructed before giving me a brief hug that ignored my shield somehow. She then vanished with a small flash.

"Holy shit, you can teleport!" John exclaimed in shock, lowering his gun completely as he gaped before bringing it back up, now focused on me.

I nodded. "Yeah, we can." I then let go of my magic and let the shield drop, which visibly shocked him again. "I'd rather not waste the effort on it. Don't tell anyone I let it drop. I'll never hear the end of it."

I then laid down on my stomach, facing him. It was supposed to display that I was relaxed and non-aggressive, but it had the ulterior motive of making sure my legs didn't start shaking where he could see.

John gave me a puzzled look. "You aren't like her. You're less paranoid."

This human was going to talk about other people being paranoid? It took everything I had not to laugh. Still, it was encouraging. He seemed to be getting to where he could trust me a tiny bit.

"ETS made me better at being less paranoid and reassessed my old biases since I had so many humans looking to me to help keep the peace," I explained. "I was living in the Charleston area of South Carolina at the time. Have you ever been to South Carolina?"

"Can't say that I have."

"It's hot and humid most of the year, at least in the Charleston area," I said casually. "During the winter, it rains and rains and rains, but only snows once every few years. Most years, you can wear summer clothes on Christmas day. I spent so much of my life down south that coming back to Colorado was a big adjustment—totally different climate."

He lowered his gun most of the way. "I thought I heard a little bit of an accent in your voice. You saying this ETS made you less paranoid?"

I smiled. "I'll have to give some background information. During ETS, almost everyone that was transforming in my area were in shelters. During the last days of it, the transformations happened at an accelerated pace, with the last day moving through the stages at lightning speed."

John interrupted. "You said no one has caught it in years, but you also said it only lasted a few weeks. How did they stop a major outbreak like that in just a few weeks?"

"This might be hard to believe if you didn't just see what we can do, but there was this massive light show, like a worldwide aurora and ETS just stopped— completely gone, no more people transforming," I answered. "The thing was, it didn't reverse what had already been done. A quarter of the country was ponies."

"It just stopped, all at once, with no inoculations or vaccinations anything?" John asked skeptically.

“The flu may have carried it, but it was magic,” I nodded.

"Magic from where?" he asked.

"Turns out, it was an alien terrorist behind the whole thing, as in an actual out of this world alien trying to take over the world, trying to turn the entire world into beings of her species. It also turns out that she was a criminal among her kind, and they came looking for her. She eventually was gunned down by the government when she refused to stop her plan. The aliens helped bring an end to ETS, even if they weren't happy that they couldn't take her into custody."

"I'll believe in aliens when I see one," John grumbled.

I chuckled. "You already have. I may have been born human, but Starlight Glimmer is one of those aliens."

John looked doubtful. "She's an alien."

I nodded. "One of the very ones on the team that came looking for the terrorist. She frequently is invited to visit our country on official business and has a good relationship with the government. You should almost be thanking her. You’d be one of the last humans on Earth if not for her. She helped stop the attempted genocide of the human race when it would have benefited her more just to let it happen."

"I still don't believe in aliens," John asserted. "Or at least, I don't believe she is one."

This baffled me. He was a conspiracy theorist. Telling him this was the work of aliens should be nothing but validation for him. "Why don't you believe it?"

"Your eyes," he replied, taking one hand off his gun to point at me. "I was an evolutionary biologist, and eyes like that are strictly mammalian, even if yours and hers come in odd colors. I can accept an alien might develop a four-leg and tail in a bilateral body, but those eyes seem like a stretch for something that would develop in a completely alien world."

That was an interesting observation. I had heard others comment before about how it seemed impossible that biology developed so similarly between Equestria and Earth, even producing the same species in many cases. I knew there was ongoing research into whether random portals had been seeding Equestria with Earth's wildlife for millions of years. Still, there was no verifiable proof yet, despite the fact it seemed impossible life could develop to such an advanced stage and so mirrored to ours on Equestria with how young their world supposedly was. However, that was mostly aimed at things like both planets had things like blue jays, bunnies, brown bears, apple trees, and numerous other things. Ponies were typically treated as entirely alien and unique to Equestria, but if he was right, maybe the Equestrians had an Earthly ancestor. Humans and ponies could share a common primitive rodent ancestor back when dinosaurs walked the Earth.

"Our worlds may have a connection that stretches farther back in time than you can imagine," I responded. "There are ongoing studies of how closely related the ecosystems are and why. I'm not fully versed on these, so I can only say for sure she was not born on Earth. Officials from our world have gone to hers and can verify it is very similar, almost impossibly similar, to ours. If you come out of the bunker, you can look at these studies yourself. There are even videos. I have a computer you can use if you come upstairs."

He chewed on his lip for a second before speaking again. "Videos can be faked, but you were saying how you worked for peace."

"Yes, I was getting to that," I replied. "During ETS, everything shut down, and I mean everything. Interstate travel, stores, you name it, it was closed. This led to severe food shortages. Now, those of us in the shelters had been supplied with lots of donations of food. After the threat of ETS was over, the government had to let us out of quarantine. I began a food drive for the humans in our area. Collecting all the canned goods that were donated to the shelters and dispersing them to the humans."

"What did you eat if you were giving all the food away?" John asked in confusion.

I stuck my tongue out in disgust. "Hay. The government had tons of the stuff and could produce it quickly. It tastes exceedingly bland, but it is nutritional enough for ponies. The important thing was everyone was getting food. The government saw my efforts and took an interest in me as a local leader who could help them integrate ponies back into society. I got lots of funding and support from the government. I helped set up communities, businesses, industry, and even became a mayor of a rapidly growing city for a while. For a time, I was the most politically powerful pony in the south."

John considered this with a skeptical look. "If you are so big and important, why are you here, in my house?"

"Was," I corrected as my ears sagged as I laid my head down on the ground. "I made some huge mistakes trying to push our new magic too far, and it led to a major disaster. I’ve been in seclusion since then. I'm disgraced and swept under the rug. The person who houses me and pays my bills sent me here after she was afraid yet another scandal involving people who used to work for me might make the news."

"For a post-apocalyptic world, this sounds like the same old stuff," John commented dryly. He didn't seem to doubt I was a disgraced politician kept out of the spotlight, but I guess that ran well with someone who believed in government cover-ups.

I shrugged. "The world has changed, the apocalypse was averted, but people are still people. The world has settled into a new normal, adapted, and moved on. I'm sorry that you were hiding down there for years for essentially nothing."

He scowled at me for that, but didn't say anything.

I stood back up. "I'm going to head back upstairs before they start to worry. Talk it over with your family, and decide what's next. If you want your house back, I'll advocate for you and help you all get your lives back together, but you can't keep living in that bunker. That's no way to live your lives. Think of your children's future."

"Why would you do that? What do you have to gain from it?" John asked in a suspicious tone.

I lowered my head. "I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, John, mistakes that hurt a lot of people. I want to be a good person. I want to say I did some things right when I face my judgment before God. You have a family that you have done everything you can to protect, no matter how drastic it might have seemed, and I can empathize with that. Do you wish to speak again later? I know we covered a lot in a short time, and will need time to think about it."

He shuffled his feet. His gun had long since been put at ease. "Yeah, give me a few hours. Maybe, around six? Here again?"

I nodded. "Six it is. You've done a good job hiding over the years, and I need to commend you for that. The groundskeeper says he checks this place over nightly, but never noticed you."

"That other pony? The one with no horn and the sparkly fur?"

"Yeah, that's Malcomb Tibbs," I replied. "He's a crystal pony, which is another tribe. I want to give him grief about not noticing after years, but he wasn't living in the house itself. We might not have noticed for a while if not for whoever knocked over the groceries in the kitchen."

John huffed. "That was my daughter; she went up without permission and was trying to raid your food. She was so scared she vomited right away when she got back. Her mother and I yelled at her for about an hour."

"Well, you can tell her that after our meeting yesterday, I flopped on my back and let my life pass before my eyes while my family and friends yelled at me. I also had a panic attack over a spider yesterday," I said bitterly. I looked up at him. "By the way, what is up with the dog barking in the tower?"

"Dog barking in the tower? I don't know what you are talking about."

I pointed hoof upward in what I hoped was the general direction of the tower. "One of my colts swears he heard a dog barking up there when he ran upstairs. Third story tower room, the side that doesn't have all the stuff in it."

John shrugged. "I don't know. If he is a kid, maybe he just has an active imagination."

I couldn't detect any deception in what he was saying. He seemed honestly confused about it. Maybe Líng had just been imagining things as I supposed initially.

"That's probably it; he is very young," I agreed. "I will see you again at six. It was a pleasure speaking to you, John."

"See you again at six, Sunset Blessing," John replied, and we both retreated from the room at an unhurried pace.

Chapter 47: Twilight's Spark(le) Notes

I walked upstairs and poked my head in the family room. Everyone was sitting around, looking on edge. I noted that Number and Malcomb had returned.

"I'm alive and unharmed!" I called out. They all turned to look at me, but before anyone could say anything, I continued. "I'm going up to my room for a little while to work on a project I've been putting off. I'm scheduled to meet with the humans alone in the basement again at six. Please keep the foals safe and busy."

They didn't even get a chance to respond before I turned and left. Was it inconsiderate? Yeah, but I had no intention of getting yelled at for the next hour or more, and I really did have work to do.

I managed to reach the stairs before the first pony came running after me, my mom. "Hey! You can't worry us like that, then walk off!"

I turned to look at her. "Sorry to be rude, but that is exactly what I'm doing. There is a person whose health is rapidly deteriorating, and I've been tasked with doing everything I can to help save. I already lost all the time I planned on working on it yesterday evening and have lost most of my time for it today. She doesn't have time for me to waste getting yelled at. Please, Mom, just go watch the foals for me. There's a person's life at stake."

Mom stepped back with a worried expression. "Is that the project Princess Twilight and Wild Growth assigned you?"

I nodded. "Yes, it is. You can all yell at me later, but I have a lot of stuff on my plate. If you are going to be here, I need you to help me, not hinder me. The help I need right now is someone to take care of the foals while I work. I'm trying to lessen how often Lántiān is forced to do that so she can stop having to play second mother to her brothers, but I still need help so I can deal with this project as well as the humans."

Mom shuffled her hooves and chewed her lip. "Okay, but we're going to have a long talk later about you being down there by yourself."

"You'll have plenty to yell about because I am meeting them again by myself in a few hours," I replied. "I am making progress earning their trust. I am not going to squander that. I will talk to you later, and thank you for what you are doing."

I heard her gasp in dismay at my announcement that I would meet with the humans alone again, but she didn't call me back as I went back up the stairs. Before I reached the top, I heard her practically gallop back into the room—probably to alert everyone I was being foolhardy again. Hopefully, no one would attempt to stop me.

The guards were still posted where they had been, looking bored and playing on their phones. Not exactly the most disciplined bunch, but they weren't the army. They noticed me long before I reached the second floor, so I suppose they were alert enough for what we needed. I didn't speak to them as I passed them.

I did take a few seconds to look into the colts' room. I could see a shape under the bed covers that likely corresponded with Mèng. Josie was at the foot of the bed and unfurled her wing from around her head briefly as I looked in. I saw her eye me and then cover her head with her wing again to sleep. She had some fairly impressive senses to pick up on my presence in her sleep. I wasn't loud or anything. I was satisfied Mèng was well guarded. I reminded myself I needed to find a second foalsitter for him still as soon as possible. Josie was supposed to have last night off, and it seemed likely I would need her tonight as well since I had no one else. She needed free days for herself—well, nights. It was another thing to add to the plate. I also added that I needed to do something in appreciation of her sacrificing her time the way she was.

Upon returning to my room, I grabbed the saddlebag from Equestria with my magic and shut the door. After a second of thought, I put another piece of my luggage up against the door, so it would not repeatedly bang while I was trying to concentrate. I didn't put anything heavy, just heavy enough to keep the door from banging, but light enough that anyone trying to open the door could still easily do so.

I laid on the floor and opened the bag, extracting the notebooks Twilight Sparkle had sent me. A quick flip through the first few pages showed her analysis of Bursa's resonance and biology. I only had a basic education in biology and wasn't familiar with many of the terms that the princess used in reference to Bursa's condition. However, the number of times the words critical and terminal came up were disheartening.

What I was more familiar with was the information about resonance. They told me it was terrible, but that word didn't give credit to what I saw here. The resonance was deteriorating and deteriorating at an accelerating rate. Bursa may have lasted for years, but she couldn't have more than weeks with the speed of decay highlighted here. It might not even be that long, as depending on how it decayed, a vital organ could fail out of nowhere.

I paused before moving onto the next section and prayed. This situation may seem hopeless, but God had chosen in his infinite mercy to let Wild Growth find Bursa before she perished. I had to believe that we could find the answer to save Bursa. There was always an answer, only a question of whether you could find it. I had to believe I could find that answer. This was my doing, if indirectly, and I needed to make it right. I never knew Bursa, and still didn't know her, but she was another person in danger of dying because of my actions. Too many had already died, and I didn't want to add another name to that list—stranger or not.

Continuing through the first notebook was Twilight's prognosis of the situation, which more or less matched what I had figured. Twilight gave Bursa twenty-two days from today at most. In another week, Bursa would be unable to move independently and would begin experiencing seizures, increased bleeding, and fur loss. The deterioration would continue past the twenty-two-day mark till Bursa's body was nothing more than a pool of goo, probably by the forty-day mark. She'd be dead long before it reached that point.

I moved onto the second notebook. It began with speculation about what type of spell or set of spells had been used on Bursa. In the end, it was impossible to tell. It continued with everything Twilight knew about transformation magic and resonances. There were several transformation spells listed. Among those spells, I recognized my temporary transformation spell, the inferior Equestrian version of the temporary transformation spell, Sunset Shimmer's full transformation spell—which I noted matched my understanding of the spell almost exactly, the rehumanization spell—which was the first time I had seen it, and the spell that Twilight had ultimately used on Jean and Roger Martinez—a spell the griffons would ransom their kingdom to obtain. There were also notes about something called changelings and their magic.

It was humbling, having this in front of me. This particular notebook was one that people would kill for. Years ago, I would have certainly done so. I immediately vowed to myself that it would stay enclosed in the saddlebag at all times when I was not reading it. I had to believe the government did not know she had sent me this information; otherwise, someone would have tried to seize it, even if it created a diplomatic incident. Twilight Sparkle was showing a surprising amount of trust in me, letting me have this. True, I had a compulsion on me not to share this information with anyone but her and who she approved, and I knew much of this information already, but I hadn't known all of it.

I put that notebook back in the bag, closed it, and moved on to the third and final one, which also happened to be the largest. This one quickly proved to be the most fascinating. These were the princess's failed ideas and spells in relation to transformation magic and stabilizing resonances. This notebook was the reason I was being given such trust. I had a particular talent for picking through the failures of others and finding applications they may have overlooked. I had spies gather such information for me for years, from all the best mages Earth had to offer. Failures were less closely guarded than successes, and combing through those failures, I learned much and developed many ways of applying them that their original mage never considered. Bob McDermott had been a particularly valuable mage to pick the trash from, and many of my most unique designs were based on the application of his 'failures'. He was smart, but having Twilight Sparkle's failed ideas in front of me was a whole other level.

So, I sat, and I read, and I pondered. Today was not going to be solving anything. Today was me taking in information and gathering inspiration. Tomorrow would be much of the same, as I re-read the texts and reconsidered each spell, having read about all the others already. Perhaps in two days, I would start to have ideas. The urgent nature of what I was trying to help solve might not seem like it could afford two days of no progress, but developing answers required a firm understanding of what I was working with. Luckily, I was well-versed in transformation magic. Otherwise, it might be weeks or months before I began to think of anything. My prior knowledge could be an obstacle—it encouraged me to think in specific familiar patterns rather than outside the box.

Time passed as I studied. I became utterly enraptured in exploring Twilight's failed ideas and the impact each of them had in her simulations. There was so much potential here. I was unsure if it was the potential that would help with the immediate problem. Still, I found myself considering applications to other situations and ways different aspects of different spells could interact in tandem. My talent was making the most use of what I had been given, combining elements to create something greater, and I was being given a great deal to work with.

A knock at the door finally brought me back to awareness about the rest of the world. "Who is it?" I asked.

"It's Starlight. May I come in?"

I lit my horn and moved the luggage away from the door. "You may."

The door opened, and she walked in. Starlight quickly took note of the notebooks and seemed to recognize them. She probably was present for at least part of the time the princess was filling them out. She may even have contributed to some of the ideas included within.

"You said you had a meeting with the humans at six. That is half-an-hour from now," Starlight announced.

I blinked. Had I spent that much time up here? I grabbed my phone that I had never put on earlier, but someone had thankfully put it on the charger after taking it off me. It confirmed the time. I did a quick check of Lántiān's location with the GPS and saw that she had returned. I hadn't intended on spending the entire time studying since I needed to arrange a foalsitter for Mèng still, and that was going to be last minute as it was. Now I was unsure if it would be possible at all. There were a few humans I knew in the area. Maybe I could pull a favor for a one-night assist from one of them. None of them would be happy about it, especially calling them last minute like I would be doing. Some of them had every reason to dislike me, but they might do it for a foal in need, at least for one night.

I put the notebooks back in the saddlebag and placed it under the bed before standing up. "I suppose I should head down there. I need to make some calls still— or you could do me a favor and make them for me while I am dealing with the humans."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Call who about what?"

"Josie needs a night off," I explained. "I'll lose her services if I don't give her at least a night or two off every few days. I don't have time to find a proper secondary foalsitter tonight, but I have three humans I know who might possibly help. You have met all three. I just need one of them."

Starlight nodded. "I understand. Who are they?"

"In order of preference, my brother-in-law Paul, his wife Devon, or Jennifer Tanner as a last resort."

Starlight gave me a skeptical look. "Jenny seems to be a stretch. You two aren't friends, and it would be a long—possible, but long— drive for her to get here tonight."

I nodded. "That's why she is my last resort. I am fairly confident Paul will help. They moved to the area not long ago so their daughter could begin college here in the fall, and have been bugging me to visit them since they arrived."

"Why haven't you?"

My head lowered. "Seeing them reminds me…" I licked my lips. "It is one thing to talk to them on the phone. It is a whole other thing to see them in person. It hurts, Starlight. I know they want to see a familiar face and family, but seeing them reminds me of Tonya's death, and seeing Jessie reminds me of how I almost got her and my grandfoals killed. If I knew Jessica was going to be applying to the University of Colorado, I might have moved somewhere else."

Starlight came close and hugged me. "Avoiding them won't make the pain go away. They lost a family member too. Mourning is never easy, but it helps to have others there who share your pain."

I sighed. "I suppose I can invite them over, if everyone else is going to be here anyway. Although, I just need Paul for tonight. Luckily this place has a lot of rooms. We might need to clean out some of the rooms on the other side if this keeps up."

"Number Crunch is staying in a hotel nearby, so you don't need to worry about her. Trixie and I are sharing a room for now, even though she rehearses her routines in her sleep," Starlight replied.

"We should be okay, for now. Rosetta and her foals sleep during the day, so they can double into existing rooms if we have to," I replied. "Let me go down and talk to John again. I think I'm making progress. He seemed a little skeptical of everything, but he also seemed like he was listening. I'm trying to coax him into coming out and getting him on the internet to look things up himself."

"While you're doing that I'll make those calls you wanted," Starlight replied. "I'm still not happy about you going down there alone again; no one is. You should have heard Lántiān explode when she got back and heard. She got right in my face and started screaming at me for letting you do it."

"Great," I muttered. "I guess I should be happy she didn't try to slap you around. I told her to stop that."

"She mentioned that, and said it was the only reason she wasn't doing it. She also said that she needed to set an example for her brothers about a pony keeping her word, since you can't seem to do so."

Would anything ever get any easier with that filly?

"Thank you again, Starlight. Wish me luck with John."

"Just don't get shot!"

I nodded, I hoped it wouldn't come to that, but couldn't promise anything.

Chapter 48: A Minor Domestic Disturbance

When I got to the bottom of the basement stairs, I got a nasty surprise—a shotgun two inches from my face.

"Lauren, don't shoot her!" I heard John yell out.

The door at the top of the stairs slammed open. "Drop the weapon!" a man, presumably one of the security guards, yelled.

"You're human!" a woman, presumably the one aiming a gun at my face, yelled in response.

Me, I was busy pissing all over myself with my eyes locked on the gun barrel, so I didn't see much of anything else.

"Lauren, lower the gun," John said again. "I told you we shouldn't threaten her."

"We don't know what this monster is capable of," the same woman, presumably Lauren, replied.

"Well, right now, she is urinating on the floor. That isn't threatening," John replied.

Lauren must have noticed the spreading puddle of piss and danced a step or two back to avoid it. That moved the gun farther away from my face, which let my brain start moving again.

"Whoever the security officer is up there, don't fire!" I called out, still staring at the gun barrel. "Lower your weapon!"

"I can't do that, Miss Blessing. You are being directly threatened with a firearm!" the guard shouted back.

"Believe me; I noticed," I replied with a gulp. "You won't be able to shoot her before she shoots me. You don't fire unless she takes me out. Please close the door, and focus on defending my family. I'm sure you'll be able to hear it if she shoots me. Let me talk to them."

"We already are calling the police," the guard replied. Crap. What was I supposed to do about the police if I got through this? I'm sure the security was trained to call the police in the event of an incident since they weren't actual law enforcement, but did they have to act so fast?

"If they aren't on the line yet, cancel that call!" I yelled. "Only call if there is gunfire."

"I'm sorry, Miss Blessing, but this is now a hostage situation. We have to contact the proper authorities," the guard called back. Damn it all.

"Fuck, Lauren, lower the damn gun," John growled. "Do you hear how quickly this is escalating? Why did you even do that?"

"It… the creature…" Lauren said pitifully.

It was difficult, but I managed to shift my gaze up from the gun barrel to my assailant's face. I guessed she was maybe about ten years younger than me, though she was dirty and seemed to be suffering from a mild case of adult acne. I could see tears in her eyes which likely came from a combination of fear and a realization she had just made a grave error in judgment and was now frozen in indecision.

"You're scared. I understand. You saw me, and you panicked," I said slowly, trying to force myself to sound calm and understanding. I wasn't sure how successful I was at that. "If you lower your gun, the security guard can lower his gun or at least back-off. When the police come, I will smooth things over with them—somehow. This only ends in violence if you make it end in violence."

"How do I know he won't shoot me the second the gun is lowered," Lauren demanded.

"Just take two or three steps back, and you won't be in his line of sight, and he can't shoot you," I said with the same forced calm. I'd stopped pissing, but only because there was nothing left. I couldn't tell if my legs were shaking or not. I couldn't feel them.

Lauren did take two or three steps back, but kept the gun locked on me.

"She has lowered her gun; you can close the door," I lied to the guard.

Suddenly, the gun just disintegrated. It didn't go up in flames; it just turned to dust. Before the dust even hit the floor, both Lauren and John were thrust together and bound in what appeared to be a tight purple magical rope. Gags of the same binding were around their mouths. God damn, Starlight could move fast.

"It appears as if Starlight Glimmer has the situation under control," I informed the guard as I finally let my posture relax. I almost fell over in a heap, but just barely stopped myself.

Starlight stepped forward out of the shadows. She didn't pay the humans much attention beyond keeping her horn lit. Her eyes were focused on me. "Is this the way you deal with things?"

"The woman was scared and wasn't thinking straight. I could have talked her down," I replied. I did a quick look at the pile of dust on the floor. "But thank you for coming to my rescue."

Starlight grimaced. I knew she would have a lot more to say later, but she turned her attention to the humans who were staring at her with mortal terror.

"I'm going to remove those gags, but not the bindings—not yet anyway," Starlight informed them. "My magic seals the door to the cellar, so you won't be able to run even after I release the bindings. We're going to sit and talk in a civilized way like Sunset wanted. Normally I am much more friendly, but I don't take well to my friends' lives being threatened. I'll remove the gags now so you can respond."

"Let us go!" Lauren cried and began to sob as soon as her mouth was free.

"Hush, you got us into this situation," John scolded. Lauren continued to cry and repeat her plea in half-muted sobs.

"What's the deal, John?" I asked harshly, more harshly than I intended. "I thought things were progressing well—maybe not perfect, but we were building some trust."

"She insisted on coming to guard me," John explained. "Said I needed someone to watch my back. I didn't expect her to do all that!"

Lauren continued to sob incoherently.

"Well, we've got issues now," I informed them. "Those guards were sent to guard me, but they don't work for me. I can't control what they do, and now they've called the police. Given the gravity of what they reported, I expect they'll be here within a minute or two—with a swat team not far behind. That adds multiple complications."

"They're going to come in here and arrest us?" John asked in a small voice; then his eyes went wide. "Oh no! The kids!"

I nodded. "Yes, they'll probably take your kids and send them into foster care."

Lauren started sobbing even louder.

Starlight stepped forward. "I'm going to release you now, but stay where you are. I still have the door sealed, so there is no running, and I won't tolerate any act of violence. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," John replied. Lauren continued to sob, but managed a nod.

As soon as they were released, Lauren let off an agonized cry. "My babies! What have I done? I'm going to lose my babies!"

I stomped a hoof. "You haven't lost anything yet! Be quiet and let me think! I'll fix this!"

It didn't take me long to figure out the first thing I needed to do. I had my phone on me this time around, and I dialed Wild's number.

After a single ring, it was answered. "Sunset! You're on a conference call with me and the local chief of police. What the hell is going on down there?!" Wild yelled over the line.

"Everything is under control. It was a misunderstanding," I replied. "You can call off the police."

"I'm sorry, Miss Blessing, but the report says you had a shotgun held up to your face. That's something I can't have my men ignore. You could be speaking to us under coercion," a second voice said over the line. "I'm also obligated to tell you that this call is being recorded and may be used as evidence in future court cases."

The government was already recording my calls, so that was redundant.

"They aren't dangerous," I insisted. "I wish I had a regular cell phone so I could take a picture of them right now, then you'd see." A cell phone materialized in the air and hung suspended by Starlight's magic. "Or I guess Starlight can just teleport one in here from places unknown."

I grabbed the phone with my magic and found the camera option. I took a quick picture of the pitiful-looking pair and quickly sent it to Wild.

"Officer, Sunset just sent me a picture of the humans in question," Wild announced. "I can confirm by the picture they appear to be distressed but unarmed. If Sunset isn't pressing charges, I won't either. Do you want me to send you the picture for confirmation?"

"Do so," the police chief replied. "But note, my officers arriving on the scene will still need to do an investigation into this. Reports of this nature cannot be taken lightly."

"Can you tell your officers not to come charging downstairs?" I pleaded. "I'll be up within five minutes along with the humans. We can answer their questions then."

The officer could be heard sighing. "They are still arriving and have yet to set up a perimeter, so you can have your five minutes. I will relay that order. I will even say ten minutes since they need time to get in place, but if you aren't out at the end of that, they are going to be ordered to treat the situation as if there are still armed hostiles present."

"I understand and hope we can resolve this as just a minor domestic disturbance with no charges filed," I said gratefully. "Wild, I'm going to need your help with all this. I know you are already aware of the situation with the humans. I want to help them, but I'm dependent on you for that."

"You know me. If this can be resolved peacefully, you'll get that aid, but they need to be able to sit down and speak with me reasonably. I'm not as inclined to listen if I get attacked," Wild replied stiffly.

"I'm sure they'll speak to you in a reasonable manner," I assured her. "Let me talk to them, and we can smooth this over."

"If you are able to, can you please keep the line open, Miss Blessing?" the officer asked.

"Of course," I promised, then lowered my leg with the phone back down as I turned my attention around to John and Lauren. "Okay, this is what's going to happen. I need you both to cooperate completely. We are going to be completely honest with them. Lying will do us no good."

"But I aimed a gun at you! They'll lock me up for sure!" Lauren cried.

I scowled. "And they now have you confessing that on record. Didn't you just hear me talking to the officer, the one still listening?"

Lauren broke down, bawling like a baby again.

I took a deep breath. "No one is going to lock you up. We are going to get this resolved. Wild is a good person. She isn't going to let that happen to innocent people, and you're only guilty of being scared and confused. I promise you this, I swear on my soul to God, but you have to listen to me and do what I say."

"What do you need us to do?" John asked.

"I'm going to go up there and show them I'm perfectly fine. Lauren is going to sit right here with Starlight. You're going to go fetch your kids and bring them to this room, so you're all together," I explained.

"Don't you dare touch my children!" Lauren screamed with animalistic fury. She tried to charge me, but John pulled her back before Starlight even got a chance to react.

I took the scream in stride. My fear had long since disappeared. I was in control of the situation, with Starlight's assistance. "I'm not planning to, but if we have those police barging in here, they need to see that your children are safe and sound, and that you aren't a threat to them. If they aren't out here, they'll go into the bunker looking for them, and I'm guessing that at least one of your kids will be scared enough to shoot. That will make this situation go further downhill fast. If you have more weapons down there, do not bring them with you. Starlight has already demonstrated your weapons are useless anyway. I'm doing what I can to keep you from losing your kids. Family means a lot to me. Work with me here."

"You promise we won't be separated?" John asked gravely. "That's the only thing I want out of you. You've done everything you can to make the case you're a decent person, and you haven't said anything I can say for sure is a lie, but I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that my kids will not be separated from us."

I lifted my phone back up. "Officer, are you still listening? I can promise till I'm blue in the face, but you're the law enforcement."

"If no one is harmed and no charges are filed, then we will not take any further action," the officer assured me.

I looked John in the eyes. "I promise you that there will be no charges filed."

He stared at me for a moment, as if judging my sincerity, then nodded. "Let me go get the kids."

"And I'll go upstairs and show them I'm alright," I said with a nod.

Lauren gasped. "Wait! You can't leave me alone with that creature!" She pointed a shaking finger at Starlight.

"I have a name, you know," Starlight said in annoyance. "I'm not going to hurt you."

I growled to myself and hoped the growl wasn't loud enough to be heard. "You have two choices. You can stay here with her, or you can come upstairs with me. There will probably be lots of humans upstairs by now, with guns drawn. Probably some ponies too. If you choose that option, you need to listen to whatever orders the police give. I cannot order them around. When John comes back with your kids, Starlight is going to escort everyone upstairs."

Lauren seemed to be torn on her decision. "Are they alien ponies, like her?"

"I thought you two didn't believe in aliens," I replied with a raised eyebrow.

"What she did… it isn't anything a person from Earth could do," Lauren replied shakingly.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to lie to you, there isn't likely to be a unicorn on Earth that can match Starlight, but she isn't powerful just because she isn't from Earth. She is just an outlier on power levels. However, they should all be from Earth upstairs. What's your call? Are you staying here or heading up now? One way or another, you need to head up there in the next few minutes. They won't wait forever."

She took a tentative step towards me, shying away from Starlight. "I'll go with you."

I nodded. I turned to go and stepped right into my piss puddle. I gave my hoof a disgusted shake and wondered how many hours I would still need to wait to take a bath.

"Mind the puddle. I don't want you to slip. Also, please don't follow so close that you step on my tail," I instructed.

I headed back up the stairs. Hopefully, this would go without any further hitches, but this jumpy woman had me doubting that.

Chapter 49: Out of Hiding

The security guard had never shut the door, but he had backed away from it. Lauren stayed at least five steps behind me the entire way up the stairwell, whimpering the whole way. I paused and looked back at her.

She stared up at me with wide eyes. "Why did you stop? Are you going to do something to me?"

"I'm going to restress to you that there are armed police officers through that door," I replied. "I wouldn't be shocked for an instant if they all have weapons drawn and treat you as if you are still armed and dangerous. It will be frightening, I'm sure. You mustn't panic, and you must follow their instructions without a fuss. This is imperative for your sake and the sake of your family. I will advocate for you, but it becomes tough to do that if you make a commotion or assault anyone. Can I count on you to keep it together?"

"Are they going to try to arrest me?" Lauren asked.

I frowned and raised my phone. "Are you there, chief? Can you tell us what to expect?"

"I'm still here and still listening," the police chief replied. "I have already ordered my officers to lower their weapons. The woman will—Lauren, I believe her name is— will be asked to sit in the open, with hands raised, and allow herself to be searched for weapons. If no weapon is found, she will remain sitting, and an officer will proceed to question her. At the same time, you will be questioned and checked for injury. If no injury or weapon is found, she makes no verbal or physical threats, and her children show no sign of abuse, then she will be free, and the officers will withdraw."

I nodded and put my leg down. "You hear that? Can you deal with that?"

Lauren's eyes drifted warily to my leg. "You have an injury… I think. Is that a burn?"

I looked down at the spot just above where the phone where my previous phone had been. I had adjusted the strap for this new one to sit a little lower and not irritate the spot. The fur was still slightly blackened, and it was somewhat sensitive to touch. I knew the flesh below my coat there was puffy.

"I got this injury before I even arrived at this house, and it is healing," I replied. "Don't worry; you won't be blamed for it. Anyone checking it should be able to tell it's a few days old. I'd largely forgotten it until you mentioned it."

Lauren licked her lips nervously. "I can avoid causing a commotion."

"Good," I said in a tone that said I expected no nonsense.

I continued up the stairs and paused in the doorway. The entry hall was filled with police, over a dozen officers, and I saw no sign of the SPEC security guards. Some of the officers were on the staircase. Over half of the officers were human, but there were also two earth ponies, a unicorn, and a crystal pony—no pegasi or night ponies. Night ponies would likely be asleep around this time of day. The lack of pegasi could be just the random luck of the draw, or perhaps they were used in more specialized positions that took advantage of their flight. None of the officers had weapons drawn, but I saw all the humans had their hands on their holsters. I wondered how close the station was if they were able to get so many here so quickly. Maybe they teleported.

"I'm unharmed!" I announced. "Lauren, the human woman who you had reports about threatening me, is right behind me and completely unarmed. She's rather skittish and has never spoken to a pony before today, so you might want to keep your pony officers at bay. She is willing to submit to a search and questioning without giving you any trouble. Her husband, kids, and Starlight Glimmer should all be up shortly as well."

"Thank you for informing us," one of the officers, a human man, closest to me, replied. He gestured to his right, towards the dining room. "Please step aside and allow her to exit the stairwell."

I did as instructed, and another officer gestured for me to get behind him. A human paramedic was there, previously out of my view, and she went to work silently checking me over for injuries. I didn't say anything. I just tried to stand where I could see what was happening as she worked.

"Lauren Young! This is officer Higgins from the Denver City Police. For your safety, please come into view slowly with your hands raised. We thank you in advance for your cooperation."

I guessed they already knew who they were dealing with. Maybe Wild Growth researched it and provided the last name? That was not an important detail. What was important was whether Lauren would do as she was told.

For several seconds it seemed like she wouldn't, but then she slowly emerged from the door with her arms held high. She was trembling violently and looked ready to turn around at any second to retreat. She was crying, but not outright sobbing like she had been earlier. Her eyes flicked from the humans to the ponies, and stayed latched on the ponies. No one drew a weapon, but hands remained in place on them.

The human who seemed to be in charge made a calming motion with his hands. "Thank you, Mrs. Young. We will try to make this as easy as possible. I need you to get down on your knees, and put your hands on the ground, spread as far apart from one another and your body as you can comfortably manage."

Lauren got down on her knees and started sobbing again, but completed the instructions.

"Good," the officer said. "I know this is a frightening situation for you, but I need to have one of my officers frisk you. Once she has confirmed you have no weapons on you, you can stand back up, and we can all relax. I know Miss Blessing says you're unarmed, and I have no reason to doubt her, but we're required to confirm that after a report like the one we received. It is just a procedure."

Lauren continued to whimper, but nodded. A policewoman walked cautiously over to her and, upon reaching her, knelt and began patting down Lauren. After a few seconds, the officer stood back up and gave the one in charge a thumbs up.

"Alright, Mrs. Young, you can stand up and relax," the officer said. "An officer will be asking you a few questions privately. After that, we'll check out your family. Once everything is done, barring any complications or anyone pressing charges, we will call this a false alarm and get out of your hair."

"Giant waste of time and resources," I heard one of the officers near me mutter.

"Did you want there to be an actual hostage situation?" the officer beside him whispered.

"Would break up the monotony," the first one replied. "Violent crime rate has plummeted the past few years. It's mostly just shoplifting, breaking and entering, and a few domestic disputes we get called for anymore. I'm glad, but I would like a bit more excitement."
I rolled my eyes. I would take a dull day rather than have violent crime. The decline was probably because ponies tended to be more pacifist by nature, but that didn't mean they never got violent. I had a burn on my leg that was a testament to what a pony could do when they got violent, and I had a history of violent outbursts in my past.

"Sunset," Wild prompted over my phone. I raised my leg to hear her better. "Things seem to be going smoothly. I'll be disconnecting this call and making preparations to be there tomorrow to talk with the Youngs and figure out how to integrate them back into society. I don't plan on staying more than an hour or two, so do your best to put them at ease."

"Join the crowded house," I grumbled. "I need to figure out where they are sleeping tonight. I don't want them crawling back into their bunker, but it might be the only sleeping area available. At least until we start doing something with the other half of the house."

I could hear her teeth grind over the phone. "As long as they come back out. I'm sure it will be fine. Call me if there are any problems. The chief has already signed off. Take care, Sunset."

"God bless, Wild."

Lauren was still being questioned. She had gone up against the wall and was sitting with her back against it, and arms clutched around herself as she was asked questions. My physician had gotten up and left at some point without saying anything to me.

Starlight came into view in the doorway and looked around. "Hey, I've got five people behind me. Most of them are pretty spooked, but none of them are armed. They are primarily concerned about Lauren's. Am I clear to let them in to see her?"

Higgins looked over to the officer questioning Lauren and that officer nodded and backed away. "I think most of us can exit the house now. Jones, you stay to question and help take statements, and the attending paramedics can finish checking people over. Everyone else, give them space. Miss Blessing and Miss Glimmer, you need to stay for questioning."

Starlight looked behind her. "We're giving the police a moment to clear most of their officers out. I know you aren't used to being around many people, so this is good for you. There's still going to be some paramedics, two officers, and Sunset Blessing present. No one is going to hurt you. You don't need to be afraid."

Lauren was staring at Starlight nervously and inched further away. "That...pony… she's an alien."

"I'm well aware of that, Mrs. Young. I was in the military when ETS was happening and saw firsthand her working on a cure for the pandemic," Higgins replied as the room emptied. "I fully trust her. You, me, Jones, those paramedics over there, we're all still human because of Starlight's work. I trust her more than any other pony in this house. She may be an alien, but she's a hero for Earth."

I wondered if that was an off-handed way of him saying he didn't trust me. Not being trusted would be entirely fair, given my track record. He also had every reason not to trust Trixie, given what she had done. Everyone else were unknowns to him.

Starlight looked behind her. "I'm not sure how much you heard, but most of the police have cleared out. I think everything is going to be alright. Thank you for being patient and being brave. I'll step out of the way and join Sunset on the far side of the room. Some paramedics will want to check you out, and the remaining officers might have some questions. You can come on up. Your mother is waiting for you."

I jumped when Starlight did a blink teleport right next to me. She immediately whispered in my ear. "We'll need to talk later about the eldest son and daughter. I have concerns, lots of them."

Great, as if Lauren wasn't enough of a loose cannon. Were her kids worse than her? It would make sense. They spent their formative years growing up in a fallout shelter with a high level of paranoia. I nodded and kept my attention focused on the basement door.

John was the first to appear. He did a quick look around, noting each of the humans, as well as me and Starlight. He then hurried over to his wife and knelt beside her, and then the two embraced.

The teen girl was the next to appear. She stood at the doorway and spent longer looking around. She was trembling, and seemed just as scared of the humans as Starlight and me. John and Lauren motioned her to come to them, but she continued to hesitate.

"Bring everyone over here," John instructed his daughter. "Don't look at anyone but us. Come out holding hands like we agreed."

The girl hesitated another second before turning to whisper to whoever was behind her. I couldn't make out what was being said, only stray words here and there, but it seemed like she was trying to reassure and give a child instructions.

She came through the door in a rush, going to her parents. Dragged along in a daisy chain were two younger children and a man who had to have been a teen when they went into that bunker. The youngest child looked young enough to have been born in the bunker.

Even if they stayed with their parents, these four were going to need a lot of social work and therapy to get to where they could have normal lives. There was an argument to be made that their parents committed child abuse by locking them away from the world as they did. The situation was a mess, and I was privately glad that from here on out the majority of decisions would be made by Wild instead of me. Social services might generally be taking the lead, but Wild had a lot of pull and influence—the perks of being rich, having the power of SPEC behind her, and being a beloved national hero.

The family embraced, but the children all continued to look at all the people as if they would be attacked at any moment. The younger children may not recall ever seeing any other people before this.

Higgins walked over to Starlight and me. "This is going to be a social worker's nightmare," he said in agreement with what I had already been thinking. "I'm not going to try to remove anyone from the house. Chief feels like that would only cause them to panic more, and I agree. This needs to be taken one step at a time. We're going to be ordering some social workers to start tomorrow to assess the situation. I don't think I can even let the paramedics at them today with the way they are. These people have a long road ahead."

"So, what's going to happen today?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Leave them in your care and hope you can ease them up some?"

"I can go into their bunker and get their things out," Starlight said thoughtfully. "That takes away any reason for them to go back in."

"I'll need to clear some rooms out of the other wing to give them somewhere to sleep," I said. "It is already late, so that's going to be a pain."

Starlight waved a hoof. "Oh, I can take care of that too."

I flicked an ear. "Are you sure? You are already doing a lot."

Starlight chuckled. "If I can reshelf every book in Twilight's library and put everything back in order after a magic duel, all in a few seconds, I can clear a few rooms and put their belongings in them in no time at all. It's no trouble."

I smiled in gratitude. "Thank you. I don't know what I would do without you here to help."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Let's not get into that right now. Today could have gone much worse if I hadn't been here. We have a lot to talk about later."

"If anything comes up, call us immediately. I'll have some officers stationed outside," Higgins said. He then turned and looked around. "Okay, people, let's head out for today. There is no emergency. Miss Blessing and Miss Glimmer will take things from here."

I looked over at the terrified humans still huddled against the wall holding each other. I hoped I had everything under control.

Author's Notes:

I have a host of personal problems I am dealing with right now, and all I can do is write. Except more updates soon.

Chapter 50: We're Going to Need More Rooms

I decided to give the humans a few minutes. Starlight shut the basement door to make it clear they were not to retreat. They stayed huddled where they were and worriedly whispering.

"What's the deal with the two eldest?" I asked Starlight, using a spell to silence my words for any eavesdroppers. I found it highly unlikely they could read pony lips.

Starlight grimaced. "They are far more combative than their parents, the son in particular. The other main thing I can't confirm for sure, but they've been down there for years, and they believed they were the only humans left… I let you fill in the blanks."

"Aww hell," I muttered darkly. "If that's true, we can't let the social workers hear about it… or maybe we should—I don't know what the fuck I'm supposed to do under these circumstances. I know what to do under normal ones, but as you said, they've thought they were the last humans on Earth. Do you have any strong evidence of it?"

She shook her head. "Just some body-language. Nothing beyond that. I don't want to make any direct accusations with just that, but it bears keeping an eye on. In the more isolated parts of Equestria, marrying first-cousins isn't uncommon. Still, in most decent-sized towns and cities, it would be enough to get ponies run out or condemned—even if not technically illegal."

"It's taboo for good reason," I replied with a scowl. "I'll keep an eye on them. This is all so screwed up."

"It's not the kids' fault," Starlight replied.

"Doesn't change how bad it is," I countered and then took a deep breath. "I'm not going to assume that there's anything like that happening. Exposure to other humans might break that if there is. Dealing with one thing at a time."

"Agreed, but what do we do first?" Starlight asked.

I looked at the family and began walking towards them. "Let's consult them."

All of them shrunk back as I approached, except for John and his eldest son—who placed himself in front of his younger siblings.

I tried to give them my friendliest smile. "Your days of living in that bunker are over. Starlight is going to fetch your things and ready rooms for you. You say this is your house, well, it is time you start living in it again. We'll all be living together up here until Wild Growth decides what to do. She'll be coming tomorrow to talk to you."

"Who or what is Wild Growth?" John asked.

"She's a billionaire pony, a well-respected hero, and the person who legally owns this house." I saw John get ready to argue that point, but I held up a hoof to cut him off. "You can discuss with her what you need to do to reacquire the deed to your home tomorrow. She can be very reasonable if you are polite."

"Is she another alien that came and stopped the mutant virus, like your friend? Is that why she is a hero?" John asked in a suspicious tone.

I shook my head. "No, she's a former human, and what she did was hold back the equivalent of a nuclear bomb blast by herself, saving tens-of-thousands of lives." Well, technically, Twilight Sparkle bought her the time to get her trees into position, but close enough.

I saw the disbelief in their eyes. That was understandable. "If you don't believe me, you're welcome to research it yourself. I have a computer you can use for that purpose. Regardless of her accomplishments, the bottom line is that if you want your house back, you need to be on her good side, and she is coming tomorrow."

"And what do we need to do to be on her good side?" John asked.

"I don't want to speculate. It could lead to me giving you bad advice by accident," I replied. "I do know it would help if you can all be polite and civil with ponies and not so afraid. Would you like to meet the other ponies currently in this house? You can witness them giving me a dressing down. I ordered pizza yesterday, but I can order more for tonight or whatever else you might like. I'm assuming you haven't had much variety in your diet these past eight years."

"Are you sure that won't be overwhelming for them, Sunset?" Starlight asked from behind me. "We have a lot of ponies in the house right now, even if half of them are foals."

"The family room is large, and they can watch us from a comfortable distance and choose when they feel safe to engage," I suggested.

"We don't have to get close if we don't want to?" the eldest son asked.

"Just share the room," I answered. "Although I will have to come to ask you what you want for food." I narrowed my brow. "However, I need to remind you that these are my friends and family. I am doing everything I can to help you, but if you hurt any of them, you will know my wrath. I am sure you can understand the feeling."

"We understand, and the feeling is mutual," the eldest son replied in a tone that said he expected us to be the ones to cross that line.

"Goo—" My response was cut off by a knocking at the door. I flattened my ears as I looked at it. "What do they want now?"

"I think that might be your brother-in-law," Starlight explained. "I was able to get in touch with him before everything happened, and he said he would be coming over shortly."

My ears picked up. "Oh… hold a minute while I get that."

I trotted off to the door, leaving everyone sitting where they were, and used my magic to open it. Upon opening the door, I saw Paul, but was shocked to see his daughter standing just behind him along with a crystal pony mare I didn't know.

Paul's face contorted in confusion at the sight of me. "Sunset, is that you?"

I nodded. "It's me; I recently dyed my fur. Thank you for coming. Come on in."

He stepped inside, followed quickly by Jessica and the teal furred green maned crystal mare with a checkmark for a cutie mark. Jessica was now as tall as her father. She'd been rehumanized a year-and-a-half ago, and it had left her aged up by several years—while failing to get rid of her pony ears and tail, which were still on display. She was eight now, but she looked more like she was in her mid-teens. She was wearing a blue short sleeve shirt with a NASA logo on it, had a mid-sized purse at her side, and a pair of white shorts that, if I were still human, I would say were too short, but they exposed her yellow furred legs.

"Sorry if you weren't expecting Jess," Paul apologized. "She has just been very cooped up in the house, and this was a chance for her to get out. This mare is Silvia Gartenberg, by the way. She is Jess's professional therapist—to help her with her magic."

"Helping humans and ponies deal with unusual and difficult to control magic is what I do. It's a pleasure to meet you," Silvia said as she held out a hoof. I quickly tapped my hoof to hers in polite greeting.

"Hi, Auntie Sunset. The outside of your place is a dump," Jessica said bluntly.

Paul immediately stepped forward to apologize. "Sorry about that. She's going through some difficult changes. Being eight years old and a teenager at the same time would make her moody by itself, but add in her recent magic struggles and she becomes grumpy a lot of the time. She tends to take it out on the world by forgetting her manners."

Jessica crossed her arms and scowled in indignation but didn't say anything.

I smiled. "Jessie has always been advanced for her age. I assume nothing much has changed in that regard. I can sympathize with her having a lot of unique struggles that would put anyone in a bad mood."

"It's Jess, not Jessie," Jessica corrected in annoyed tone. "Jessie was my pony name. I'm not a pony. Jess is my human name."

Paul rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, she just started insisting on the different nickname recently. Whatever she prefers. Oh, and on'tday entionmay erhay onypay artspay."

Jess's ears flattened back against her skull. "I understand Pig Latin, Dad. They aren't pony parts. I'm a human. They are part of me. Therefore it follows that they're human parts." She then looked at me like I had done something to offend her. "And before you ask; I don't want them surgically removed or altered. People always ask me that, and it is annoying! I just want people to stop staring at them."

My ears pulled back slightly. "I didn't think I was staring. If I was, then I apologize."

Jess grit her teeth. "You aren't." She then pointed a finger at the Young family. "But they are!"

I looked over at the Youngs, who were all staring at Jess with wide eyes. "Them? You'll need to forgive them. They've been hiding underground for the last eight years, and literally came out for the first time in years just minutes ago. They don't understand ponies aren't monsters yet, and your features may be extra disconcerting to them. Come with me. I'll introduce you."

"Great, a bunch of morlocks," Jess muttered.

"What did you call them?" Paul asked in confusion.

"Morlocks, underground dwellers in H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, Dad," Jess said in a slightly condescending tone.

"Try to be nice, Jess," Paul pleaded.

I rolled my eyes. I felt for Paul. Teenagers were a difficult species all unto themselves. Jess wasn't technically a teen, but biologically she was, and seemed to be on that emotional level too. Maybe Jess could get along with Lántiān and bond over being unhappy with the world in general. I also wondered how the filly would respond to the rehumanized girl. It could be a transition into trying to better understand humans, or it could be an explosion waiting to happen. Knowing how things had gone thus far with Lántiān, I expected the latter.

I led them over to the Youngs and smiled. "Sorry about the delay. Meet my brother-in-law Paul, his daughter Jess, and Silvia. They'll be spending the night. I can tell you have questions about Jess. She had been a pony up until a year-and-a-half ago when she underwent the procedure for turning back into a human. The procedure left her with some unusual traits, but she's a perfectly healthy human girl. Being around her isn't going to get you infected with ETS."

"Ponies can turn back into humans?" Lauren asked as she stared. "Why didn't you and the rest do that then?"

I frowned. "There is a window for when the procedure can be done, and my window for being able to do it had been tiny. I also hadn't had any desire to be human again until very long after that window closed. Our species ultimately doesn't matter, only the content of our character. We are all God's children, and he loves us all equally."

"But now you wish you had done the procedure?" John asked.

I licked my lips. "I sometimes question whether it would have been better if I had never become a pony, but it is pointless speculation. Me rehumanizing now wouldn't undo things that have already happened, even if it were an option, which it isn't."

"And all the others?" the eldest son questioned.

I gave a patient smile. "As for others, for many it was a fresh start with new abilities to explore and marvel in, and friends and family that had transformed along with them. There is a strong sense of community among ponies which brought a sense of belonging many lacked until then. It also felt perfectly natural to be a pony, and thinking of ourselves as humans very quicky started to feel strange and unnatural. Given all these factors, it is easy to understand why so few of us rehumanized when we had an opportunity. Some people had regrets about whether they ended up as pony or human after the fact, but it is what it is now. No one should feel ashamed of their species."

"Um, what am I walking into, Sunset?" Paul questioned in a concerned tone. "I thought you just needed someone to watch a night pony foal tonight."

"You're just starting to wonder that?" Jess asked in startled disbelief. She then looked down at her hands, gripped then together, and took a deep breath. "Sorry, I'm being rude again."

I took stock of everyone's mood. Starlight had been quietly watching, and the humans seemed to have largely forgotten she was there. Paul was still looking at everyone in confusion. Jess seemed annoyed at herself. The younger children were doing the best the could to hide behind their older siblings. The eldest son was still giving me and Jess dirty looks. John seemed thoughtful. Lauren and her teen daughter were looking at Jess not in fear, but like trying to figure out a puzzle.

"I think it's time to go to the other room. Just follow me, and I will handle introductions," I announced. I then turned to lead the way and looked back at the Youngs. "Everybody up! You can't walk while sitting down, and you'll be more comfortable on the couches in the other room."

"So… you're not going to say what's going on," Paul said flatly as John and Lauren tried to get their kids to stand.

Jess gave a ponylike snort. "Let's just follow, and we can figure it out faster than she can explain it." She looked over to Starlight. "Hi, Miss Glimmer."

Starlight smiled. "Hello, Jess. Are you excited to be starting college at last?"

Jess gave an arrogant smirk. "A little, but I plan to breeze through it like I have done all my other school."

Paul sighed. "We haven't been able to convince her that college courses might be harder than her high school ones, and she might not be able to do everything without trying anymore."

"It will be easy. I'm smarter than anyone at that school. I defined a law of physics—once they officially certify it," Jess asserted confidently.

"That doesn't mean everything will come easy to you," Paul cautioned. "I know the concept of you being academically challenged is a completely foreign one to you, but I don't want you to fail just because you end up being challenged for the first time and getting discouraged as a result."

"I'll be fine," Jess insisted.

"Hey! Less chitchat and more getting ready to meet everyone else!" I shouted. I watched as everyone finally got up. "Everyone ready? Good then follow me."

"After all of you," I heard Jess say. "I prefer they have all of you to pay attention to before I get in there and get stared at."

"How's your magic doing, Jess?" I heard Silvia ask. "You've been making excellent progress, and we'll do some more practice later, but you haven't been out interacting with others as much as you should, and increased stress can cause unexpected surges."

"It's fine, for now," Jess responded quickly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to lose control."

"Good to hear. Just say something if you think you might need me," Silvia replied. "Making all the sound go berserk is not the way to make a good first impression."

"I'm well aware," Jess said in another annoyed tone. "This is fine, it helps me prep for being around more people in the fall. I haven't had an incident in the last two weeks."

Okay… maybe I needed to talk to Paul more about what exactly his daughter's powers involved. I knew it was something involving sound, but not the full details. Sound going berserk sounded a little ominous. How much control did she have over her fledgling power and how strong was it?

I would question them about that later. It was time to deal with introductions and hoping no one ended up freaking out.

Chapter 51: First Friendship Lesson

I stepped into the family room and immediately realized I forgot a critical detail.

I was knocked onto my back as a wave of foals hit me. This time they were not shouting for joy, this time they were crying. One foal had wrapped their legs around my neck, while the other foals, each did the same with each of my legs.

"Auntie! We thought you were going to dieded!" How did Líng mess up that word when the translation spell was supposed to give him accurate use of the language?

"I wanted to come protect you, but they didn't let me!" Shǔguāng exclaimed through sobs.

"Auntay Sunsat!" Mèng wailed. Josie must have helped him with his pronunciation because that was a much clearer attempt than his previous ones.

"Old Sis!" Sinker wailed.

Qīng Yǔ just wordlessly bawled. She was the one that had a death grip around my neck.

Unfortunately, the Youngs were right behind me, and a second round of yelling and crying ensued as the humans started panicking at the sight of the vicious pony attack.

The Youngs started trying to retreat, but Starlight put an end to that with a shield. This just added to the confusion, and there was shoving, yelling, and tripping going on.

"Those things can't be trusted! They attack even their own!" the eldest son yelled.

"It's a double-cross!" John hollered.

"Let us through!" Lauren screamed.

"I don't want to be eaten!" one of the children cried

"Ow! Watch it! Someone stepped on my tail!" Jess yelped.

This was a headache on its own, but the chaos was still escalating. The commotion with the humans gave the foals a fright, and then they started running and screaming in turn. The majority of them went running back towards the adult ponies. Shǔguāng was the exception. Bless his brave, foolish, little heart; he went charging after the humans.

"You bad humans, you leave Auntie Sunset alone! Cowabunga!" Shǔguāng yelled, screaming his battle cry as he charged, horn lowered, into the fray. Running over my face in the process and slowing my response time even further.

"Oh no, you don't," Jess yelled and lurched forward from where she'd been apparently knocked down to the ground, grabbing the unicorn colt in the middle of his charge. "Got ya! Pew! You stink. Did you pee on yourself?"

"Let go of me, weird human!" Shǔguāng screamed as he struggled against her grasp. "And I did not pee on myself!" He had been one of the colts grasping my back legs, which had been soaked in piss.

"Enough! Starlight bellowed. I felt my whole body being grasped and held still by her magic and cries of alarm from everyone that indicated I was not the only one being held still against their will.

"Ack! The humanses got me!" Sinker yelled.

"Why are you grabbing Trixie! What did Trixie do?" Trixie cried out with affront.

"Release us, alien!" the eldest Young son ordered.

There was another pulse of magic, and suddenly there was a magic gag in my mouth. I hadn't even been running and yelling!

"Now that everyone is still and quiet, I need you all to listen to me," Starlight said with elevated volume. "No one was attacking anyone. The foals were just worried about Sunset and went straight to her when she came in. They were a little too rambunctious, but they weren't hurting her; they were hugging her. Everypony, the humans aren't attacking you. They got scared and therefore ran and yelled. Everyone needs to calm down!"

There were several seconds of silence while Starlight let her words settle in.

"Now," Starlight continued in a calmer, lower volume. "I'm going to release everyone, and everyone is going to remain calm. Let's start over without the running, yelling, and accusations. I put all the kids under ten years old asleep. It won't hurt them and will last for about two minutes before they're up again. It is the only way I can be sure they'll calm down."

The magic released, and I flipped over so I could get back on my hooves. My face still was sore from getting run over, but it wasn't that bad.

"Hey, I'm not asleep," Jess said.

Starlight narrowed her eyes as she glared at my niece. "Would you like to be?"

Jess shrank back from the glare. "No."

"Then don't complain. I'm not in the mood," Starlight snapped.

I saw Lántiān gallop over to her daughter's still form, and my parents do the same for Sinker. Trixie went to check on Líng while Josie—who was still here—went to check Mèng. It didn't seem like Malcomb or Number were present. I turned and saw the Youngs checking their two youngest, and Paul went to help Jess up. Jess was still holding Shǔguāng as he slept, and she didn't seem to know what to do with him. She then opted just to put the colt in her father's hands rather than figure out what to do, and left Paul now looking at Shǔguāng in confusion. Silvia was standing unsteadily, looking dazed, and glowing brightly. A lone SPEC security guard who had been in the room was rubbing his arms as if they were sore. Starlight was glaring at everyone, as if challenging them to do something wrong.

"Hey, why's that pony glowing?!" the eldest son demanded to know as he pointed at Silvia. The teen girl ducked to hide behind her older brother.

I got to my hooves. "She's a crystal pony. They absorb magic, and when they do, they glow. Starlight just hit her with one whammy of a spell. Are you okay, Silvia?"

The crystal mare sat down. "I think… I think I need to just sit here for a few minutes and process this. I haven't felt anything that strong since the ETS counterspell."

"Well, that could have gone better," I said as I shook myself to loosen up my joints.

"That's a gross understatement," Jess muttered. I heard similar comments from all around.

The displeased mutters around me escalated to demands for apologies and statements saying I should have prepped everyone more. My ears sagged.

"Okay, I'm sorry. That's all on me," I said in frustration. "I should have come in here, by myself, and made sure everyone was ready to do this."

"I think you owe all the foals an apology when they wake up," Josie said crossly. "They had them terrified for your safety and when you came in with the people they were afraid had hurt you right on your tail."

"And you promised these people here that they wouldn't need to get close to ponies. Of course they panicked when a bunch of little ones seemed to charge you," Paul said as he gestured to the Youngs.

"You had us all terrified," Mom said accusingly as she started to cry. "All those police in here. We didn't know what was going on. Then you waltz right in here with those people without a warning."

Dad gave me a sympathetic look. "I know you didn't intend for it to go down like this, but everyone's stress levels were through the roof before this happened. We just want you to be a little more considerate of what everyone is feeling."

"Ma'am never thinks of how her actions affect others," Lántiān all but spat.

I had been prepared to be yelled at, but this felt worse than I had anticipated for some reason. I don't know why. There wasn't much actual yelling going on, just hurt and disappointed looks. My ears and tail hung limp as I looked around at everyone.

"Fine, I'm a screw-up," I whispered as a tear leaked from my eye. "I already knew that. Maybe it would be better if you all sort this out without me."

Before anyone could stop me, I lit my horn and teleported.

I appeared on the third floor, which was about the extent of my teleport range, although I didn’t feel as drained as I did the other times I used the spell. A guard on duty near the stairwell yelped in surprise and almost drew his gun on me, before seeing who it was and relaxing.

"Everyone is down in the family room, including the humans that were in the bunker. There's no need to stand guard all around the house anymore," I informed him. "You should take a break. You guys have earned it."

"We'll need to go call Miss Crunch to get new orders," the guard replied.

"Go do that then," I replied in a tired voice. "I just want to be left in private for a few minutes."

The guard headed back down the stairs. Probably to consult whoever his superior was here, and I was left in peace.

I had half-expected Starlight to go teleporting after me, but as seconds stretched on to a minute, it became clear she wasn't going to do that. She probably felt that I had dumped all the responsibility for keeping things in order down there on her, and couldn't afford to leave as well. I suppose I had done just that, unless someone else took the lead. I wasn't sure who else would, though.

I walked over to the wall and leaned my head against it. "Tonya, why did you think I could handle all this? I can't do it. I always mess up, and it is always other people that suffer for it."

Minutes passed with me just wallowing in self-pity. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, maybe more. No one came and bothered me. I knew what I was doing, and I knew it was pathetic, but it didn't stop me from doing it. There was no sound of gunfire, or yelling, or anything exploding, so I guess things were going fine without me. That just reinforced that I wasn't needed.

My ears perked as I heard something. I turned my head and looked down the hall at the tower room. Was that a dog barking? That was the same room that Líng had said that he heard dogs in before, but had turned up empty. All the humans were downstairs, so they couldn't be up here making the sound.

I frowned as I continued to listen and stare at the door. It was not my imagination, there was definitely something that sounded like dogs barking behind that door, but there was something off about the sound. I couldn't place what it was. The pitch, the resonance of the sound, something wasn't right about it—other than there shouldn't be a sound like that at all. I wished Tonya was here. She understood how to describe sounds and how all that stuff worked better than I did.

There was only one thing to do. I needed to go check the room. Clearly, I had missed something last time. I owed Líng an apology for doubting him. That colt knew something wasn't right, and I had dismissed it after one cursory search. I needed to take what he said more seriously in the future.

The barking continued as I slowly crept towards the door. I kept my pace slow, afraid on some level that if I moved too quickly I would scare away whatever it was, and also on some level afraid of what it might be. My thoughts drifted to the paintings of the dogs and I shivered, then shook my head. I didn't believe in ghosts— Actually, no, I did believe in ghosts. My wife was a ghost, but I didn't believe in dog ghosts that haunted the waking world. Something was making that noise, something real, and I was going to find out what.

Barking could still be heard as I reached the tower door. It was louder now, and there was no mistaking it was coming from that room, not somewhere outside. I took a deep breath, brought up my feeble shield, and put my hoof on the handle of the door.

"Charlotte! There you are!"

I turned and saw my mother coming down the hall, looking relieved.

She smiled softly as she approached me. "Starlight said you'd only teleported up to the third floor, but I wasn't sure if I believed her or not. You shouldn't have run off like that."

I turned and looked at the door again, flexing my ears. The sound was gone. I kept listening, but there was no trace of any sound beyond the door. It was just like when Líng had told me about it. The second someone else arrived, it went away. No… that wasn't right. That guard had been up here for who knew how long, but hadn't reported anything about dogs. I needed to find and question him, but I was sure something would have been mentioned if he heard anything. What was this puzzle?

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Mom shouted.

The room could wait. I needed to stop jumping into situations unprepared. I needed to get Starlight up here with me to help check it out. That could wait. If the sound was there over multiple days, it would still likely be there later.

I turned back around. "Sorry, trying to figure something out, but I think I can put off it off for now. What happened after I left?"

Mom frowned. "Almost immediately after you left, everyone started fussing at Starlight for putting the kids to sleep. The humans were worried she might have hurt them, and all us ponies kind of felt the same way. I know we should have trusted her, but like we told you, everyone is under a lot of stress."

"And did that stop when the kids woke up?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, not really. I think we were all just trying to vent, and Starlight was the only available target. What stopped it was this high pitch static that started." She started rubbing an ear. "It was loud, and it hurt everypony's ears, even the humans and Starlight. That crystal pony suddenly grabbed onto that partial girl and it stopped."

I raised an eyebrow. "Jess had a surge?"

Mom nodded. "I guess so, if that's her name. She thanked the crystal pony, then she started yelling at everyone. She called us all morons and said that we were stressing her out. Then she just started barking orders. Said the humans were going to sit over in this place and the ponies were all going to sit in that place, and we were all going to stop arguing because we all seemed to be on the same page about being unhappy about how things had been handled and magic had been used on the kids. She said that was a great starting point for showing people were just worried and scared and weren't out to get anyone. No one else had taken charge after you left, so we all listened to her."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Jess… Jess took charge? And everyone listened to her? She's eight year old!"

Mom gave me a befuddled look. "Eight? It may feel like we've always been ponies, but I know how to judge a human age still. That girl is a teen. I actually wondered if she was older than she looked, one of those people that always looks several years younger than they are. She's definitely not eight, though. I'm not that out of touch with with my humanity. Anyway, I think the basement dwellers feel safer listening to another human than a pony, because they didn't argue with her at all."

I'd be damned. The Lord provides. I knew Jess was capable of stepping up and taking charge, since she'd done it to help save my grandfoals during the Cataclysm, but I didn't expect her to be able to pull the same thing with adults. Bravo to her for that. Although, she would probably be insufferable for the next few days reminding Paul about how she had taken charge, at least if I judged her ego correctly. That girl always had a massive ego around her intelligence as an earth pony filly, and from what little I had seen, it had likely only grown as she transitioned into a human teen. Teens believed they knew everything normally, and her being a super-genius would only exacerbate that.

She gently touched a hoof to my face. "You can come back down, everypony—excuse me—everybody is ready to be nicer to you. We were all just stressed and upset. We're calmer now. Despite that mix-up at the end, you've done a great job dealing with the humans. We wouldn't be talking with them if not for you. You just needed a little help landing things at the end, but nopony should feel like they have to be responsible for everything."

I laid my head into her surprisingly strong hoof. "Just like when I was a kid. You don't let me get down on myself when I fail."

"Failures are just lessons," she said gently. "You say your talent is taking advantage of what you've been given and making more out of it than the sum of its parts, right?"

I nodded. "That's correct."

"Well, you have a house full of friends and family. I think you can make something special with that, if you try."

I embraced her and closed my eyes. "Thank you, Mom. I love you."

"Love you too, my baby girl."

There was still much to do; foals to care for, relationships to mend, mysteries with the house, but she was right. I wasn't in this alone. I had a great family, and nothing could overcome us. I guess I was ready to write my first friendship report.

Chapter 52: Who is a Pretty Pony?

I convinced my mother that I needed to shower before I returned downstairs and instructed her to tell everyone I would be back down shortly to order food for everyone. She agreed that I smelled like a toilet and that a shower would help relax me, though she told me not to take too long.

After going back to the second floor, I did a quick check of my room to make sure the saddlebag with Twilight Sparkle's notebooks was still under the bed. I didn't think it was likely anyone would take it, but I wanted to be sure. It ended up still being right where I left it, and with me satisfied it was safe, I went and took a quick shower.

Once completed, I walked back downstairs, noting as I went that most of the SPEC guards had cleared out. Number must have decided to pull them. There was one guard still near the entrance, and another stood by the family room door.

I walked into the family room, and this time I was not bowled over by foals. I looked around to see what was happening.

Sinker, Shǔguāng, and Líng were engaged in a game of action figures again and had my father standing close by watching them. My mom, Starlight, and Trixie were quietly talking together in a close huddle. The younger human children were watching the colts play and seemed torn between fear of ponies and a longing to participate. Paul and Josie were talking to one another, and Josie seemed to be trying to get Mèng to socialize with Paul, but the night pony colt seemed to have come down with a sudden case of shyness. John and his eldest son stood with their backs against the wall, observing the ponies. John's expression was neutral, while his son was more hostile. The most surprising group was Jess, Lauren, and the teenaged Young daughter. Jess seemed to be tolerating them touching her ears and tail, and Lauren seemed to be questioning Jess at length. Malcomb had returned and was sitting in a corner with the still glowing Silvia, whispering. There was also no sign of Lántiān and Qīng Yǔ.

Things seemed peaceful enough and going more or less as I hoped they would—better, with the Young women engaging Jess. I wouldn't have expected Lauren would be the first to try to make some tentative steps towards talking. That eldest son still seemed a potential trouble maker, but he wasn't causing trouble yet.

So what did I need to be doing? Food. I needed to order food. That meant asking what people wanted. The ponies would probably accept whatever was given them, but I needed to figure out what the humans wanted. With that in mind, I walked over to John and his son.

"Hello again, John," I said as I walked over to them. "Sorry, I cut out like that. I was having a moment."

John didn't reply. He just looked at me and nodded. His son sneered at me.

I focused on the son. "And I have yet to get your name. I'm Sunset Blessing, and you are?"

"Mike," he said through gritted teeth.

"Hello, Mike. Can you fill me in on your siblings' names? I don't want to have to keep calling them teenaged girl and younger children."

He seemed like he was going to refuse, but his father nudged him in the side. "Alice is my sixteen-year sister; the other two are Grace and Bobby."

"Grace, what a lovely name," I replied with a smile. "I am a former preacher, so I'm very fond of the concept of grace. I'm assuming you're familiar with most fast food from before you went down in the bunker. Just about everyone delivers. How about you pick what I should order for your family? Just name a place, and I'll tell you if it is available."

He blinked. "Um… Burger King?"

I frowned and shook my head. "Unfortunately, that company didn't stay in this part of the country after ETS. McDonald's is still in business, would you like that? Believe there is still Subway, Taco Bell, and most pizza places too. I ordered pizza from a place called Zombie Carl's the other night that said it had been around thirty years."

Mike gave me a shocked look. "Zombie Carl's survived the apocalypse?"

"No apocalypse happened, but I ordered from there the same day your father and I encountered each other in the kitchen," I replied. "Do you want food from there?"

"We have been in a shelter for eight years, and the first thing you want to get for food when you get out is food from that place?" John asked with a mix of disdain and disbelief.

Mike scowled at his father then looked back at me. "Zombie Carl's changed up their items all the time. You said you had internet access?"

"Yes…" I said slowly and held up my leg. "The tiny screen on my phone would be hard for you to read. Give me a moment to get my laptop or a regular cell phone." I turned and looked at Starlight. "Hey, Starlight. Do you still have that human cell phone?"

She looked at me and lit her horn. The cell phone appeared, floating in front of my face. I wondered where she kept that when it wasn't in use. I grabbed the phone with my magic. "Thank you."

I passed the phone to the human with my magic. "The Internet browser works more or less like it did back eight years ago. There's some minor differences, but nothing that should throw you off. Look up the menu. Get an order together for your family, and let me know when it is ready."

"They can just hold onto that cell phone to do what they want with. It is just a backup and doesn't have any sensitive data saved on it," Starlight called out. "I'll give them the charger later."

"Trixie insists they delete the search history!" Trixie yelled in horror.

"Trix, no one cares that you've been researching old human sleight of hand tricks," Starlight said in exasperation.

Trixie let off a loud gasp. "Don't tell them!"

The phone was still floating in front of Mike, and he hadn't taken it yet. I rolled my eyes. "It is safe to grab it. It's floating using the same technique that restrained everyone earlier, just a lot weaker."

Mike reached out and timidly grabbed the phone, and I released my hold on it. He started swiping things and getting a feel for the modern apps, and I figured he would be fine.

With Mike occupied, I focused on John. "So, do you have any questions?"

"This is still the United States of America?" John asked.

I nodded. "Yes, it is still the same old country. What's different is a quarter of the population is ponies—primarily in the midwest and south. There's fifty-two states now instead of fifty—we admitted Guam and Puerto Rico not long after ETS ended, and there's talk of adding even more states. Magic is a fact of life that everyone has just gotten used to. And finally, there's a whole new host of government agencies to regulate various types of magic."

John looked over at Jess. "That girl. You said she was human. She did something, something like you ponies do."

I sighed. "Rehumanized people keep some sliver of magic after retaining their humanity. This actually applies to anyone who caught ETS, whether they transformed or not. For most of them, it is such a minuscule amount that for most practical purposes, they can say they don't have magic since they can't do anything with it. Often it is such a small amount that only the deepest magical probing can detect it. However, there are others where that magic has begun to manifest into abilities, and it can be rather unpredictable how human magic works. There are trends in how it tends to operate that have started to emerge, but these powers haven't settled into a clearly defined set of rules that apply to every human in every situation. It is best to call them human magics in the plural since there are a lot of variations. Jess has just another random variation; hers seems to impact sound waves in some way. She is still learning to control it."

John stared at Jess, who was still talking to Lauren and Alice. The same information was probably being given over there.

"How about tech?" he asked. "You say Starlight is an alien. Do we have spaceships and warp drive and all that now, or are the aliens keeping it to themselves?"

"Starlight's world is technologically behind Earth, with a few rare exceptions, and those exceptions aren't space-age tech, unless you consider better blimps world-changing," I answered. "They have trains, blimps, steam-powered ships. Their cars are rare and more a curiosity than a practical mode of transportation. These aren't people who would be making spacecraft."

"Then how did she get here?" John asked in confusion. "Can they teleport across the universe?"

I smirked. "Her world isn't only a different planet; it is a whole different universe. It just happens that our universe and her universe brush up against each other sometimes, and things cross over. Scientists say that most of these crossings may actually have been our world dumping stuff into theirs over the last few million years and drastically speeding up the evolution of their planet from a lifeless chunk of rock to a planet with ecosystems very similar to ours, but that hasn't been proven yet. There's physics involved that I don't fully understand, and others are still trying to work out."

"It would explain the eyes," John said thoughtfully. "So, you're saying our world has been dumping plants and animals into hers since prehistoric times, and those transplanted species have developed and evolved in an alien environment in complete isolation from Earth, and that's why you all have mammalian eyes?"

"I'm not a biologist, but that's what I heard the popular theory was," I answered. "Although I have to note it is only a popular theory on Earth. Many Equestrians tend to dislike the theory. It implies they have an Earthly origin—or at least whatever prehistoric creature they are descended from had one, and that doesn't sit right with them. It's a pride thing."

"Equestrians? Seriously? That is what they call themselves?" John asked in disbelief.

"It's the best translation of their name that we have in English," I replied dryly. "The method used to translate ends up creating a lot of horse puns by accident that they never intended and tries to match names of places to names similar to places here, just with puns. Likewise, I'm told that many of our place names translate into their language as a bunch of puns related to apes that try to mirror their place names. It's one of the oddities of the translation spell; call it a glitch."

"Speaking of names, why do you have some hippy name for being a pony and those two, you called them crystal ponies, don't?" John asked.

I shrugged. "A lot of us took names patterned after Equestrian naming styles after we became ponies, as a sign we were starting new lives as ponies, but not everyone did this. It is more common to keep their human name among the crystal ponies, though many still change it. Josie, that's the mare with the leathery wings over there, has her human name still. Jess, that's the girl your wife and daughter are talking to, had kept her human name when she was still a pony. My spouse had kept their human name up until the day they died and was only given a different name after their death. Everyone has their preferences, and there were peer pressures in many cases. Ponies are instinctively herd creatures, and we're more prone to going along with what the group is doing—and yes, we do have some altered instincts from when we were humans."

Líng suddenly broke from his group to come bounding over to me. "Auntie Sunset, when can we go outside and play?"

I gave the little colt a tight smile. "I'm sorry, but it's getting dark. We can all go outside tomorrow."

"But Sister took Qīng Yǔ out to play!" Líng protested with a stomp.

So, that was where Lántiān had gotten off to. "I'm sorry, but you'll still need to wait for tomorrow. I promise you'll get plenty of outside time then."

His ears sagged. "But that's not fair that Qīng Yǔ got to go outside, and we didn't."

Mom came to my rescue by shepherding Líng back to the other foals. "Don't bother her right now. She's promised you can go outside tomorrow. Come with me, and I'll teach you all a new game."

"Okay," Líng said reluctantly as he walked away with his tail between his legs.

I looked over to the night pony mare. "Josie, I know you are in desperate need of a night off, and I thank you for staying last night when you were supposed to have the night off. Can you do one more thing for me, and then you can take the rest of tonight off? It shouldn't take much time."

She stood at attention. "Sure. What do you need?"

"Can you track down Lántiān and tell her I want her back in the family room?" I requested with a sigh. "I'm guessing she is outside on the grounds somewhere. I wouldn't think she would be far from the front door, considering she has her filly with her."

Josie nodded. "That's no problem. You want me back tomorrow night?"

I considered it. "It's your call on that. My daughter-in-law and grandfoals should be here tomorrow, and she can watch him if you need another night off. Although I'm sure she won't mind the help."

Josie's eyes went wide and nervous. "The Warden of Fear's wife?"

I should have known that might make her jumpy. "It's your choice."

She hesitated and flapped her wings lightly. "I think I'll take an extra night off and be back the night after."

"Rosetta's going to be here?" Paul asked. "Is Robby coming with her?"

I pursed my lips. "I don't know. I'll call and check that, then get back to you."

He nodded. "Okay, because if he is, Devon might want to come over here with Dusk. We were planning a trip down there next month to see him, but seeing him earlier than that would be great."

I gave Paul a sympathetic smile. "I'll call as soon as the food order is done. If they haven't left yet and I can try to insist your son be brought along. I know being separated from him has to be rough on all of you."

Josie moved towards the door, and Mèng went scampering after her. She turned and pushed him back with a wing. "No, I need to go. You stay here with Paul." She pointed a wing at my brother-in-law. "Paul."

Mèng shook his head. "No. Josie."

The mare narrowed her eyes at him. "Paul. Yes."

"No!" Mèng reasserted.

"Paul. Stay," Josie said firmly.

"No. Josie. Please," Mèng begged, near tears.

Josie shook her head. "No. Josie go. Mèng stay with Paul."

And the waterworks began, followed quickly by bawling. Paul moved to grab Mèng, but the little night pony colt must have noticed the movement and dodged him. Paul was now chasing the colt around, trying to catch him, and being evaded at every turn. Josie took this opportunity to duck out of the room.

I watched for a few seconds before sighing and tapping my hoof a few times against the floor to get the colt's attention. "Mèng, <come to> Auntie Sunset."

The night pony paused in his running tantrum and perked his ears. The pause was so sudden that Paul wasn't able to stop and went stumbling by him.

I tapped my hoof a few more times. "Come on, you little demon. <Come to> Auntie Sunset."

Mèng squeaked with joy and came galloping over to me. I braced myself for the collision so I wouldn't get knocked over again. The night pony gripped onto me and buried his face in my fur. I gently ran a hoof over his mane and let him sit where he was at.

"We'll try him with you again in a bit, Paul," I said as Mèng settled in. "I think he is getting a little overly attached to his normal foalsitter. He doesn't get to see many ponies of his tribe. It will be good for him tomorrow when he gets to meet my grandfoals."

Paul rubbed the back of his head. "He seems pretty attached to you too. All the foals do. How do you do it? Do you bribe them with candy constantly?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea. It's a mystery to me. I'm not the most pleasant pony to be around."

"Well, they must sense something about you that they like," Paul replied. "I can tell by how they all tackled you earlier that they adore you."

I shrugged. "Maybe I just smell good. Who knows. Go take a breather; I have him for a few minutes."

"Thanks, Sunset," Paul replied before walking off to go talk with the crystal ponies.

I looked up at John and pulled Mèng against me. I needed to make sure I didn't say mom or mama around him, to avoid another crying fit. "Don't mind this little guy. His m-o-m passed away recently, and he's been trying to fill that void with someone. All the foals in my care have. They're siblings. There's no telling who their fathers are since their mother was a prostitute, hence the variety of tribes between them. It was like she was trying for a full set."

"Is he an alien?" John asked as he stared at Mèng.

"No, at least not like you mean. He was born in Beijing, China. You might call him a political refugee," I explained. "He knows very little English. What you heard him saying to Josie was close to the extent of it."

"And how did his—" I shook my head rapidly as he was about to say the M-word. ”—parent die?" John asked, seeming to lighten up and show some sympathy.

I nuzzled Mèng gently before replying. "Long story short, she was a very important pony who had a great deal of influence and sensitive information they wanted. The Chinese government was threatening her foals to try to force her to assist them. So she tried to flee with them. While she managed to get them out, she had to sacrifice herself to do it. You're a parent; I think you understand doing anything to keep your kids safe."

He looked deep in thought as he nodded in confirmation.

"Can we pet him?"

I looked over and saw that Grace and Bobby had crept up close, and we're looking at Mèng. I looked at the youngest colt in my charge and tried to decide what to do.

"I'm sorry, kids, but he is really young, and you're much bigger than him," I said gently. "He might get scared and not understand that you aren't trying to hurt him. He also isn't a pet; he's a person like you."

The two children flinched back. "Oh," they said in chorus. How did kids manage to do that?

I looked over at the three older colts, which my mother seemed to be occupying with a game of Simon-says. "Those three over there are older, and they might let you join them in their games. It would be up to your father. He has to feel safe about it."

The two children looked up at their father with hopeful eyes. John looked over at the colts, then hardened his features. "Not... yet."

"Aww," the two said again in chorus. Really, that was creepy. Did some fairy come at night and teach kids how to do that? Grace was not entirely dissuaded, and she pointed at me. "Can we pet her?"

"She isn't an animal; she’s a person," John replied. Well, that seemed to be an upgrade over being called a mutant. He also wasn't shouting that I was dangerous. We were making real progress here.

Grace still wasn't giving up. "But she's a pretty unicorn, and I want to know what she feels like. Please!"

Starlight is the pretty unicorn; I’m not even my real color right now, I grimaced. "I'll let them touch my fur, mane, and tail, as long as they stay on the opposite side of me from Mèng. I don't want them startling him, and if I say don't touch somewhere, I mean it. No touching my face, horn, ears, butt, or anywhere underneath, and no pulling anything or trying to ride me—and I would like for them to introduce themselves to me first."

John looked extremely uncomfortable with this suggestion, and indecisive.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Paul. I need you over here."

Paul walked over. "Ready for me to take Mèng now?"

"No, I need you to… pet me," I replied.

He gave me a confused look. "Pet you? Why do I need to—"

"Come on, Dad. Pet the pretty pony!" Jess yelled out, looking ready to burst out laughing.

"If you laugh, I'll tie your tail in a knot, girl," I said menacingly to my niece. "I still know temporary transformation spells and am not restricted on using them. Do you want me to turn you temporarily into a pony they can ride?"

Jess lost all signs of mirth. "You're bluffing."

Lauren and Alice hesitantly stepped back from Jess, likely afraid they would get caught up in whatever magic I would work.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Try me." I was bluffing. I didn't have enough power to cast such a spell and couldn't instruct anyone on how to do so without Twilight Sparkle's approval, but Jess couldn't be sure of that.

Jess's human sense of self, the innate desire to preserve that, and her overwhelming teenage need to avoid anything resembling humiliation must have quickly won out because she immediately backed down and went back to her conversation. Lauren and Alice still seemed a little wary, but did resume talking to the girl—be it from an extra step or two back.

I looked over to John and whispered. "I can't actually do that, it's an empty threat, but she doesn't know that."

John looked over at Starlight and Trixie. "Can either of them cast that spell?"

I shrugged. "Starlight easily could if she knows the spell. I don't know if she does, but I know she wouldn't do so in any case." I looked at Paul again. "So, can you please pet me and show them it is safe?"

Paul crossed his arms. "I don't know… are you going to turn me into a pony for a few minutes?"

"Paul…" I growled.

"Because I wouldn't mind being a pony for five minutes. It's on my bucket list," Paul continued.

"I'll put your head in a bucket if you don't hurry up and pet me."

Paul grinned and started rubbing my ears like he would a dog. I would be indignant about it, but it felt pretty good.

John watched Paul with a frown. "Is that true? You want to be temporarily turned into a pony? Why would you want that?"

Paul shrugged and looked over at his daughter. "For most of the years after ETS, I had two kids, my sister, and my parents, that were full ponies. I always wanted to know how they experienced the world. You would think that ponies and rehumanized people would be able to describe the differences well, but their ability to remember what it was like to be the other species suppresses quickly as a result of permanent transformation."

"Can't your daughter tell you?" John asked. "She seems like she still has one foot in being a pony."

Paul shook his head. "Jess can barely remember much at all about being a pony, despite spending almost all her life as a one. She can describe events that happened while she was a pony in detail, but not what it was like to be her in a pony body, even though she rarely forgets anything. Ponies are much the same way about being humans. They don't know how to compare being a pony with a human because they're missing a point of reference, even if they remember everything else that happened to them when they were humans."

"I'm surprised her psychologists didn't try to preserve that," I commented. "It can be done if you catch it early enough."

"The first few tries upset her a great deal, so she fought them about it, and they stopped trying," Paul explained. "Maybe if it had been the other way around, they'd have kept at it, but as it stood, they were content to let those memories fade."

"That's your only reason?" John asked in continued disbelief.

"Well, gaining magic, even if it ended up being too little to actively use," Paul said in a sad voice. "I'd be able to talk to my sister again if I had that."

John narrowed his brow. "Why would that—"

"That requires a lot more explanation of hard-to-understand magical concepts than we have right now," I said quickly. I didn't want to have to go into talking about Dreamwardens right now. It was best to get him used to ponies first before hitting with the idea of dream gods. Further, I just didn't want to talk about Tonya right now and risk getting upset. "When my daughter-in-law arrives tomorrow, she can do a better job explaining those concepts than anyone currently here if you would like to know more."

John relented. "Alright. I'll do that."

I looked over at Mike. "Hey, do you have that order ready yet?"

He jumped. "Sorry. I got distracted looking at other things."

"You can browse the internet to your heart’s content after you're done. Just get that order together," I replied. I then looked up at Paul. "You can stop now."

John looked over to his kids with a frown and then sighed. "Okay. Say hi to her, and ask her permission to pet her."

The two children hurried over to me, but I held up a hoof to stop them. "Introductions first. I'm Sunset Blessing. Who are you?"

"I'm Bobby," Bobby said.

"I'm Grace," Grace said immediately after. "Can we pet you now, Miss pretty unicorn Sunset Blessing?"

I gestured off to the side between John and me. "Hello, Bobby and Grace. Nice to meet you. Come over slowly and stay on this side of me, so you don't scare Mèng. Please don't touch my face or horn, because I don't like that, and don't pull my tail or mane. You wouldn't want me pulling your hair, would you?"

"No," they said together, shaking their heads. They then came over to my side and timidly touched my fur.

"It's so soft!" Grace exclaimed and rubbed her hand against me. Bobby giggled and rubbed both his hands against me. They quickly went on to feeling my mane and tail.

Mèng was not oblivious to all this and crawled under my tail to peak at the humans.

"The little baby pony is looking at me," Grace said as she gave him more space.

"Let him look at you. I'm not sure how used to humans he is," I said as I turned and glanced back at the colt hiding under my tail. "Mèng, <foals. Safe>."

The tiny night pony did not emerge from under my tail and continued to stare at the human children. That was worrisome. He certainly wasn't dangerous, but he was a night pony, and when night pony foals got scared or felt like their loved ones were being threatened, they could try to bite or make threatening gestures; it was just their instincts. I didn't want him doing either of those things with the human children and undoing any progress we were making.

"You wanted to see me, ma'am?"

I turned and saw Lántiān standing a short distance away with Qīng Yǔ on her back. Qīng Yǔ was looking at the humans curiously, but Lántiān was giving them and me the evil eye.

"Can you take your baby brother to the other side of the room and try to get him feeling safe with Paul so he can take care of him tonight without any fuss?" I requested in a calm voice, ignoring her expression. "I don't want him accidentally getting scared or scaring anyone."

She gave me a disdainful look. "Which one is Paul, ma'am?"

Paul raised a hand. "That's me."

Lántiān looked absolutely disgusted by this, but didn't put up a fuss. "As you wish, ma'am." She then walked around me, keeping me between herself and the human children, and grabbed Mèng in her mouth by the scruff of his neck. She then casually walked away, flicking her tail at us as she left. Paul hurried after her. Qīng Yǔ, bless her heart, turned around on her mother's back and waved bye to us. I didn't know she knew what that gesture meant until now. I'd need to note she understood what some gestures meant, even if she didn't understand much language.

Potential crisis averted, the children went back to petting me, and I endured it. Whatever it took to make these humans feel safe around ponies. Thankfully, everyone was helping me out. My parents were keeping the colts occupied; Jess was being surprisingly social, even Lántiān wasn't giving me any grief—at least not much. We could do this.

Chapter 53: Introductions After Zombie Pizza

Zombie Carl's Pizza was certainly getting plenty of business from me. I wondered if they appreciated it or if it was a huge hassle for them to make such large orders. I know the delivery person had to be relishing the tips since I was tipping at thirty percent of the order bill. I wasn't paying, and the money was nothing to Wild Growth. She was the majority shareholder in one of the fastest-growing and most successful companies of the last decade, making her the current third youngest self-made billionaire. PonyCo still slapped her face on the packaging of every one of their products, and her becoming a national hero had only made her brand all the more popular.

Thinking of rich ponies—I wondered how much Number was worth. She had been wealthy before becoming a pony and had been Wild's mentor, advisor, aid, and closest friend when it came to business and finance. She was always guarded about discussing her wealth, but Number had to be swimming in it. Yet Number still acted as an employee to her best friend, even if she had no reason to work for anyone. Such was Number's loyalty and commitment to Wild. What inspired such devotion? Wild was a good pony, true, but she was not the only good pony. Number was out and about doing odd jobs for Wild right now, and I found myself missing her.

Perhaps all this could be put into one of those friendship reports that I needed to write.

At the moment, there wasn't much I needed to be doing. Everyone was eating pizza, but the Youngs had still largely segregated themselves off from the ponies.

They weren't even talking to Jess at the moment, since Jess was helping make sure the foals were eating the pizzas without meat—ironic, considering Sinker and Shǔguāng were only technically a year younger than her. Still, she was functionally much more mature than them despite her actual age. I noticed that she had grabbed a single slice of pepperoni pizza among her other selections, but had removed most of the pepperoni except one partial one. Perhaps she had a certain tolerance level for meat and was trying to build it up? I was unsure about how human or pony her digestive tract was. The girl was clear that she viewed herself as fully human, as was typical of most who underwent rehumanization—and just like newly transformed ponies tried to assert their ponydom. It was just part of the process of rewriting the sense of self to match new species. Despite that, she looked more like a partial than a full human. She could be trying to eat what meat she was able in order to reinforce her humanity.

Hmm… I wondered what Bursa's sense of self was? I would need to consult Wild about that. It probably wasn't necessary for what I needed to accomplish, but it was a missing puzzle piece that could help me view the complete picture. All information is valuable; you just have to know how to use it.

It was time to continue to engage. Starlight had gone off to fetch their things and set up their rooms. I had tried to encourage them to have someone go with her, but they were still more afraid and suspicious of her than any other pony in the house. I had yet to even mention Trixie was not from Earth either, lest they get jumpier. I did have an Equestrian in mind who might be someone they would trust more. Tempest was coming with Rosetta and the foals—including Robby, and Tempest had recently been transformed permanently into a human, the only person to date who had been born a pony to do so. An alien who chose to join the human race of her own free will might be just who I needed to break the barrier of them trusting Equestrians.

It wasn't lost on me that two short years ago, I would have been doing everything I could to sow distrust and hate towards Equestrians. That same me from two years ago was an arch-Shimmerist, but now I was public enemy number one to the Shimmerists and the unwilling symbol of a new movement that I wanted no role in. What would me from two years ago say if she saw me today? Nothing nice, that was for sure. The feeling was mutual. It was my lot in life to always hate my past, no matter what form my present took. Perhaps it was also my lot in life to always hate my future self as well. If I knew now who I would be ten years from now, would I be disgusted by what I saw? It was a depressing thought.

"You look lost in thought."

I turned and saw Trixie coming up to me. She had a little bit of sauerkraut on her mouth that she quickly licked up and had for the moment set aside her trademark hat and cap.

"I am. I feel rather unfocused, with my thoughts drifting everywhere," I confessed. "Might be why I am messing up so much lately."

She smiled at me. "I wanted to let you know, everypony messes up sometimes. I heard all the angry things everypony said earlier, and I watched you get upset and run away. They were just worried about you, and I was too. These ponies care a lot about you."

I noted she wasn't talking in the third person and took that as a sign she was trying to stress her sincerity. "I was thinking about all the mistakes I've made in my life and wondering if I'll ever be someone I can be proud of. I can't imagine myself at any past time liking who I am now, nor like any of the people I have been."

Trixie frowned. "Does it matter if you from the past would like you today? What matters is what you feel about yourself today, and if there is something you don't like, then change it."

"I'm not sure what I can like about myself or who I want to be," I confessed.

Trixie pointed at the foals. "They seem to like you."

"I don't know why," I muttered.

Trixie lowered her hoof and came and sat beside me. "I do. You radiate motherhood to them."

"I'm not their mother," I said quickly, maybe harsher than I intended.

"I didn't say you were. What I said was you radiate motherhood," Trixie replied.

I frowned in confusion. "I don't understand. You'll need to explain that better."

Trixie huffed. "I hate admitting this, but I'm not the smartest pony, but I'll try—don't go telling anypony I admitted that."

"My lips are sealed. Your secret is safe with me." I resisted rolling my eyes.

Trixie nodded. "Good. Now, I'm great at entertaining foals. They love my tricks and performances—because nopony can match a performance by the Great and Powerful Trixie. However, when they come to you, they see somepony who cares about them and will do anything to protect them. I might want to protect them and care about them too, but it just radiates off everything you do around them. You don't have to be the nicest pony or the most fun pony; you are the pony that they look at and feel will do whatever it takes to provide for them and soothe their hurts. They told me about how you had sat and talked with them and comforted them when they needed it."

"It's my responsibility to do that," I replied. "I'm doing what's required."

"It isn't just because you're required to. You really care, and they can tell. I can tell too," Trixie said in a confident voice. "These foals need someone they know they can trust, somepony that cares, somepony who will love them like they were their own."

I shook my head and looked away. "They'll learn not to put that faith in me. They're just going through a difficult time and trying to find someone to latch onto. I will mess up with them, sooner or later."

Trixie sat quietly for a moment before she spoke again with her ears hanging limp. "I've messed up a lot in my life. I have every reason to hate myself for all the mistakes and failures. I style myself as great and powerful, but I'm just a sad joke most of the time, and most ponies know it. I have a great friend who always picks me up and helps me get back on track when I mess up, and she's not perfect either. She reminds me that I have plenty to be proud of and don't have to be perfect. If somepony cares about you, then you aren't worthless."

She took a deep breath. "I think you're scared. You're afraid that you'll mess up, and they'll turn on you. I know how that feels, but they won't do that. They don't need perfection; they need someone to be there to love them."

"Lántiān doesn't," I muttered bitterly.

Trixie muttered something incoherent in Equestrian that sounded like a curse by the tone. "That one has issues; you can tell because she doesn't know how to appreciate a good show!"

"I can hear you, Equestrian clownmare!" Lántiān shouted out from across the room.

Great, now the Youngs knew Trixie was an Equestrian. Thank you for continuing to make things difficult for me, Lántiān.

Trixie lowered her voice and ignored Lántiān. "Anyway, not everypony is going to care about you like you do them, but you still care about her; otherwise, you wouldn't keep trying so hard with her. Keep caring about her, even if she never returns the feeling. Let the colts love you, and return that love. You need it, and they need it."

"I don't know. It feels too soon for that. I have only been with them a few days," I replied as I turned back to look at the colts.

"Love doesn’t work like that. It doesn't require a certain amount of time to pass or have a set of rules like your fancy-schmancy spells. It just happens when it happens," Trixie said in frustration. "Maybe you can give it time still, but don't dismiss it. You need to stop thinking about how worthless you are and admit you deserve love and friendship. I don't know how many friendship speeches from Twilight Sparkle I have had to listen to—they get really boring, so I tend to fall asleep...don't tell her that—but I can say that I've learned everypony deserves to have friends and be loved. That's what makes us better and gives value to our lives. I'm not as smart as you, or Starlight, or Sunburst, or Bob, or Twilight Sparkle, or a lot of other smart ponies, but I know what I know, and I know that."

I sat and considered what she said. "Maybe you have a point."

"Of course I do; Trixie can learn friendship lessons too," Trixie said haughty, returning to the third person, then paused and blinked. "Wait…this isn't the point about Trixie not being as smart as you, is it?"

I wanted to laugh, but merely shook my head. "No, it isn't."

Trixie stuck her nose up proudly. "Good, because that isn't what Trixie wants to be remembered from this talk."

"You might not think you're the smartest pony, but you can be smarter than me sometimes. Thank you, Trixie," I said gratefully. "You and I don't sit down and talk as much as we should, but you're still a good friend and an excellent advocate for other’s needs."

"The greatest and most considerate friend!" Trixie declared with a flourish before settling down and giving me a soft smile. "But I'm glad I could help. I wish I could be a great mage like you or Starlight, but I don't have the patience to put that kind of study in. I'm happy being just smart enough to figure out how to improve my act and to give my friends some help. I know I'm not perfect, but I don't need to be because I have friends to help me out. You don't need to be perfect either, because you have all of us."

I hugged my often underappreciated friend. "Thank you again for the great and powerful pep talk."

When we broke our hug, Trixie gave me a big grin. "Now, Trixie must return to her high-class food before someone steals it. Talk to you later, Sunset."

I didn't think anyone would be after that particular pizza, but I didn't correct her as she walked off. I had work to return to.

I turned and faced the Youngs, who were eying Trixie's retreating form suspiciously. I needed to thank Lántiān for making them suspicious of another alien, but that was a talk for later. Honestly, she might not have even realized that it could be an issue.

"Enjoying your pizza?" I asked the group of humans.

"I never had food like this!" Grace exclaimed happily.

"I'd forgotten what pizza tastes like," Alice said with a sound of contentment.

"It's nice to have something different for a change," Lauren replied.

"So weird, but good," Bobby replied.

The two men didn't verbally reply, only nodded. However, I could see Mike had devoured an entire pizza on his own and started on a second. That was promising.

I decided to address the new elephant in the room. "I'm sure you heard Lántiān call Trixie an Equestrian; that is true. There aren't any further Equestrians here. Everyone else is from Earth aside from Starlight and Trixie. Trixie is not any powerhouse like Starlight, and I know more magic than her. She's a stage performer, an entertainer. I think it might be time for introductions, so you can put names to the people you're sharing a house with and learn a little about each."

I turned and faced everyone on the other side of the room. "Everyone over there, I would appreciate it if you could all line up next to each other so I can introduce you, one at a time. If you want to say anything to the Youngs, you're welcome to, but keep it brief—under a minute because we have a lot of introductions to do, and please wait until your turn to be introduced. Also, don't talk during someone else's turn."

There was some grumbling, but not much, as well as some excitement, as everyone got in line. Lántiān seemed the most unhappy and kept her daughter under her legs. That was fine, as I didn't expect Qīng Yǔ to introduce herself. I wasn't even sure she was capable of saying her name. Mèng's brothers had to speak to him in Mandarin to tell him where to stand, and he took some time to get into position between Shǔguāng and Paul. Sinker took up a place between our dad and Lántiān, and had been another of my grumblers—although, unlike Lántiān, he had grumbled about being interrupted in his meal, rather than the idea of talking to the Youngs.

After about two minutes of struggling to get into a line—seriously, kindergarteners can do this. Why was this so much work?— The ponies and my other family were in place. The Youngs had gathered up to watch without being told. The children looked expectant and eager, the adults and Alice more reserved.

"Let's introduce the Youngs first," I said and began pointing at each in turn. "John is the father. Lauren is the mother. The other young man here is Mike, the oldest son. Alice is the teenaged girl there. The younger girl is Grace, and finally, that's Bobby. Does anyone among the Youngs have anything they want to say?"

"You're a bunch of pretty ponies!" Grace proclaimed. Bless the children; they were truly the salt of the Earth.

Unfortunately, none of the other Youngs had anything to say. The men were stone-faced, and the rest just seemed nervous.

"Alright… well, maybe you will feel like talking later," I said, trying not to sound discouraged.

I pointed instead to the first pony in line. "That right there is Malcomb Tibbs. He's the pony who you are probably most familiar with since you've gone out of your way to avoid him for years. Malcolm used to work at a rehumanization clinic before he started working as a caretaker for this place. That's a clinic where ponies and people in partially transformed states were transformed back into humans. So, I think it is fairly safe to say he has no problem with humans. Would you agree, Malcomb?"

He nodded. "Yes. I enjoy the company of humans. The only problems with anyone I have are a certain batch of crackpot ponies that tried to crack my pot and destroyed my eye. I'm a little annoyed you managed to hide under my nose for years, but that's more a personal pride thing."

"Thank you, Malcomb," I said, then pointed to Silvia. "This is Silvia… I can't remember your last name."

"Gartenberg," she replied. "It's German and Jewish."

"You're Jewish?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I still go to the synagogue when I can. My great-grandfather was liberated from one of the Nazi death camps."

"Huh," I replied. Well, that information may humanize her to the Youngs. "Well, Silvia is Jess's magical therapist. Jess has some problems controlling her magic, and Silvia helps her with that. As a crystal pony, she can absorb magic and convert it into inert and harmless magic. Crystal ponies glow when they do this. Anything else to contribute, Silvia?"

She nodded. "I also worked in a rehumanization clinic for some time. That is where I started to encounter a small number of humans who, after rehumanization, started to display sometimes hard to control magical abilities. I took an interest in humans like this and helping them with their struggles. That's how I earned my mark and decided my fate to remain a pony rather than rehumanize as well. I help ponies too, but human magic is my main passion."

"Thank you, Silvia," I replied, then pointed at my mom. "This is my mother, Dry Soil. She grows flowers to sell. Do you have anything to say, Mom?"

"I'm just here," Mom replied with a small smile.

I nodded. Then pointed to my dad. "This is my father, Hook Line. He's an electrician. Anything to say, Dad?"

He shook his head. "Same as your mother. Just here to support you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Dad. Standing next to him is my baby brother, Sinker."

"I'm not a baby. I'm seven!" Sinker protested.

"My mistake," I apologized, and frowned as I saw who was next in line. "This is Lántiān, the eldest of the foals I'm fostering, and her daughter, Qīng Yǔ. Do you have anything polite to say, Lántiān?"

She glared at the Youngs. "No, ma'am."

Qīng Yǔ waved at them and giggled. Bless that little filly. I was going to get her some candy for that.

"The next three, in order, are my other foster foals, Hé Líng, Shǔguāng, and Hǎo Mèng. Do any of you have anything to say?"

"Don't hurt our new Mama!" Shǔguāng declared loud and threatening. His baby brother caught his mood, spread his wings, and made a squeak which may have been intended to be menacing, but came off quite the opposite. Líng just looked nervous.

I glanced back at the Youngs. "Excuse Shǔguāng's statement and Mèng's attempts to be scary. They have been very worried about me. I'm going to have a long talk with them later." I turned towards the colts. "These people won't try to hurt anyone. It's okay. Everyone is safe."

They didn't seem entirely at ease, but didn't say anything more. I sighed and moved on. "You have met my brother-in-law, Paul Middleton, and his daughter, Jess. I know you have been speaking with Jess some. Did you have anything to say, Paul?"

He raised a hand in greeting. "Hi… this is really awkward. It feels like a workplace meet and greet. I'm waiting for Sunset to discuss our performance and goals for the upcoming week."

I laid an ear back. "Your complaint has been filed with management. Thank you very much."

"No problem, Sunset," Paul replied with a sheepish smile.

Starlight chose that moment to teleport in. She looked around in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Introductions," I informed her. "Get in line beside Trixie."

She laid her ears slightly back. "A please would be nice, after all the work I've been doing."

My ears sagged. "I'm sorry. I appreciate everything you've been doing and would never have gotten this far without you. Can you please stand beside Trixie so I can introduce you to the others?"

She nodded. "Sure. Everything has been set up for their rooms, by the way."

"Thank you, Starlight," I replied gratefully.

She took her place, and I pointed at Trixie. "This is—"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie declared with a flourish. "Entertainer and showmare extraordinaire! The greatest act in all of Equestria and Earth! You will marvel at my marvelous and daring acts of prestidigitation and gape in wonder as I perform magic the likes of which Celestia herself could never dream of!"

I pursed my lips. "Thank you for that...flamboyant introduction, Trixie. Trixie is a lot like an Equestrian version of David Copperfield, if you are familiar with who that is."

"A mere amateur compared to my stupendous acts of amazement!" Trixie declared.

"And she's so humble too," I added on. I heard snickers; at least one set of them came from behind me with the Youngs, so that was a positive.

Trixie raised her head proudly. "The most humblest!"

I wondered if she missed my sarcasm or if that was just part of the act. She might have missed it. I decided just to move on.

"There are a few who aren't here right now and more who are arriving tomorrow, but the last for today is Starlight Glimmer. She’s a close friend to Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria, and one of the ponies who came to our world to end the ETS pandemic and apprehend Sunset Shimmer—the pony responsible for ETS."

Starlight raised an eyebrow at me but didn’t say anything past that. It took me a moment to realize what she was giving me that look for; then I realized I had gone and named Sunset Shimmer. That name association might not immediately click with the Youngs, considering how much they were trying to take in at the moment, but it might, and that could lead to some uncomfortable questions they weren't ready for the answers. It was okay though, this way, I could say I wasn't trying to hide that information. They had access to the internet now, and it was only a matter of time until they found out anyway.

I smiled at the Youngs. "You see. Everyone here is just regular folks… except Starlight."

"And the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie shouted.

I rolled my eyes. "And Trixie."

"Hey! I'm one of the smartest people on the planet!" Jess protested.

I groaned. "Okay… and—"

"And you're a mad scientist, old sis!" Sinker declared.

Líng gasped. "You're a mad scientist, Auntie? Like in the cartoons?"

"I wouldn't call her a scientist. Maybe a mad mage," Jess added in not-so-helpfully.

"Not helping, Jess!" I growled as I ground my teeth together.

"Well, you aren't anymore… at least I don't think so," Jess corrected. I wasn't sure that helped.

I sighed and looked at the older Youngs suspicious stares. "I explained before I have a rather checkered past. Let me reassure you; it is the past, not the present. I am just a simple mare, trying to take care of a few foals and ensure everyone feels safe in this house. If you want to research me, there is plenty of information there about me. If you have specific questions about what you find, you can ask me. I am sure there are plenty of history sites, hate sites, maybe fan sites, dedicated to me."

"So many hate sites and worship sites," Jess said in exasperation. "They either think you're the devil or the messiah."

"Lovely," I muttered. I hadn't bothered to actually look. "Don't read too much into what those sites say. Just focus on facts, not the fiction."

“I’ll bookmark an accurate one,” Jess offered. “Do your own research doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to the internet. I've lived through one of Auntie's blunders, so I know what the facts are and what the fiction is."

"I'd rather not bring that up. I don't want to be reminded of it," Paul said in a strained voice. "I have never been so scared as when we found out that you… I don't want to think about it."

Jess laid her ears back. "If I was the one who was skewered as a filly on a stick and I can forgive, you can forgive too."

"Skewered?!" Silvia gasped in shock. I was a little surprised the therapist didn't know that detail.

"Filly on a stick?!" Sinker shouted.

Lántiān pulled her daughter closer to her. This was going downhill fast.

"Don't talk about it! It hurts just hearing it," Paul said in a pained voice. "I've forgiven, but I still don't want to hear about it. I don't know how you can be so calm saying things like that."

Jess shrugged. "Maybe it was the rehumanization. It's like it happened to someone else or in a dream. I won't mention anything else about it around you."

"Or anyone else unless they ask in private, and you give full context!" I ordered harshly. "It might be like something that happened in a dream to you, but it is traumatic for your father and me to even hear about it. I don't want to be reminded of it either. It is also disconcerting and lacking context for everyone else."

Her ears sagged. "Sorry, Auntie Sunset. I didn't consider all that. It really doesn't bother me, though."

"I'm glad, but let's drop that subject for now," I said with forced calm. "If anyone has any further questions about that incident, discuss them with Jess in private, out of earshot of the rest of us."

Thank God no one else was here who had been victim to any of my mistakes. I did not want a complete list of my sins put out for all to hear at the moment. Hearing that reminder was bringing all kinds of nasty and painful memories of my own to the surface.

"Stop giving my daughter fearful looks!" Mom yelled. "She isn't that pony anymore! She's a good mare who made some mistakes in the past that she regrets and has repented. She's doing everything she can to be nice and kind and accommodate everypony—excuse me—everyone. She isn't going to hurt anyone. She's a good pony!"

Mike held the cell phone out towards Jess. "Can you… um… go ahead and bookmark that site?"

I felt the strong urge to run away again, but resisted it. "I think I'm just going to sit in the corner and let everyone sort things out from here. I've done what I can for the moment. You've all been introduced, and if you need me, you can come talk to me."

Jess had gone over to Mike and was searching up the site or sites she had in mind, but she paused and looked at me with her ears hung low. "I didn't mean to make everyone afraid of you, Auntie Sunset. I know how bad you feel about what happened and how much it hurt you too."

"I know you didn't, and thank you for your kindness," I replied in a tired voice. "If I leave, it will only be for a few minutes, just to collect myself. That day… it hurts so much to remember." I felt myself almost choke up as a rush of emotion and memories hit me. "Just…just everyone help the Youngs out and leave me be for a while. I know you'll treat the Youngs with respect and compassion because you're all good people, and I'm so blessed to have you all here."

I turned away from everyone before they could see the tears start to fall and retreated into a corner to press my head into it as I let my legs buckle beneath me. No one disturbed me.

Chapter 54: An Old Mare Can Learn New Tricks

I stayed in my corner, undisturbed. Wallowing in my misery, or as Trixie would put it, being the great and powerful wallower. Was it self-pity? No, it was just pain and grief. I remembered that the day it happened I was in a state of shock and couldn't manage a tear. Yet every day since, the tears had come and kept on coming. It never got any easier. It never numbed. It was always like a new weight crashing down upon me.

At points, I glanced behind me and saw that a miracle had happened. Everyone was huddled in a circle in the middle of the room, and they were talking. This did not stir me from my spot. They seemed to be getting along well enough, and a crying old mare might break whatever ease they were gaining with one another.

I heard footsteps leaving the group at one point and turned to see Paul had distanced himself with a pained look on his face. I could only imagine that Jess was recounting her experiences, and he wanted to avoid listening. He was beckoned to return to the group a few minutes later, and he did so. I continued to sit alone in my corner undisturbed. This was not to say I was ignored. I heard the colts more than once inquire about what was wrong with Auntie Sunset, only to have an adult tell them I needed some time alone. They were quickly promised time with me later.

Parts of conversation reached my ears, even though they were keeping their voices down. People recounted events in their lives, their daily lives, what they thought of the weather, all the things people talked about casually among themselves in any other setting. There were also things said about me that I did my best not to listen to, as well as talk about the early days of ETS and how people's lives changed then and were different now. There was even some laughter, which helped warm me. Still, I stayed where I was.

I must have drifted off to sleep because I found myself in a row of tall alabaster pillars, with soft orange feathers touching my face.

"My sunshine, crying yourself to sleep again?" Tonya asked with a kind and concerned smile. She was in her pony form, touching a regular pegasus wing to me.

"I didn't mean to if I did," I replied, relishing her touch, even if it was an illusion. "I think I stopped crying before I drifted off… but I don't know."

"Are you actually in bed, or are you somewhere you'll regret falling asleep," Tonya asked with a slight frown.

"The second one, I'm pretty sure," I answered with honesty. I looked around. "Where's the flying fish?"

"Her form is actually that of an Equestrian siren, which may or may not be extinct," Tonya corrected. "She's around, as always, but keeping her distance out of care and respect."

"You don't know if they're extinct?" I asked in confusion. "I thought you knew everything."

Tonya laughed. "We know many things, but not everything. There are no more sirens in Equestria. The last of them were banished from that world long ago, and the banisher did not know where he sent them. Perhaps they persist elsewhere. It is an unimportant detail. What matters now is you."

"Another lecture?" I groaned.

She shook her head and then kissed me on mine. "No. I'm just going to sit here with you for a while and tell you I love you. I know that doesn't reduce the hurt you feel, but all I can do is give you my love."

"I wish I could stop hurting," I said as I leaned forward into her. She wrapped her wing around me as I did.

"You hurt because you love and care," she whispered. "Though it grieves me to see you in pain, I would not have you abandon those. You should not lessen such pain. You should grow to carry the burden better."

"I don't know how much growth there is in me at my age," I said regretfully.

She turned her head and looked at me. "I wanted to share with you something that Phobia suggested discussing with you, something that has become a trend among the Harmonists, but also among others. It has its fallacies and shortcomings, but it has some value in exploring who you are. Something we can sit and talk about, like a normal couple."

"Some psychological mumbo-jumbo?" I asked.

"Let me remind you that I was doing counseling before I passed and considering psychology as a permanent career, and your daughter studies that—not to mention Psy is a psychologist."

"Sorry," I replied, feeling a little ashamed. "Go ahead and tell me. I will keep an open mind."

She stepped back from me so we could properly see one another. "You might remember something called the five love languages."

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I remember that."

She smiled and nodded. "So the Harmonists devised a system of describing people in five friendship languages. Everyone has all five in them, to some degree, and the whole makes up the magic of friendship, but we value each in different orders. While one person's top language may be loyalty and their weakest kindness, another might have a completely different order. Finding out how you rank them can help you feel fulfilled in your relationships. It is an oversimplification they have done, but it has value in thinking about how you communicate your friendship."

"So… like Wild is a very strong generosity," I asked.

Tonya nodded. "Yes, based on your observation. Her top friendship language is generosity. That's how she most often displays her friendship. Generosity, loyalty, kindness, honesty, and laughter are the different ways people communicate friendship to others according to this system. I will give you one full example to help you. Phobia would be ranked high in honesty, but relatively weak in laughter with kindness and loyalty rounding out her top three. Can you see how this works?"

"I suppose so," I replied. "I guess Number would be a strong loyalty, followed by generosity. I'm not sure how the other three would fall for her, only that they're lower than those two. I suppose she is weakest in… honesty maybe or perhaps laughter? She has to have more kindness than those two. If I had to guess, honesty could be her weakest. She's done a lot of lying, cheating, and stealing in her life."

Tonya chuckled. "Not what she wants to be remembered, but perhaps. It is hardly an exact science, but you're getting the idea. I wanted to share this with you because I wanted you to think about how they fall for you, and maybe take a look at those who you struggle to get along with and try to understand what is important to them. It's a tool to help you understand yourself and understand others and what they communicate through their actions. Their primary ways of communicating friendship might not be yours, and that can sometimes lead to confusion."

I frowned. "I don't know. I'm not sure if any of those aspects can be applied to me."

Tonya smirked. "Now, Sunset. You know that's not true. Maybe you don't think it now, but if you take your time, maybe you will see. But you will have to do that later."

"Why later?" I asked in confusion

"Because you're about to wake up. Talk to you later, my love."

"Auntie Sunset!"

I awoke to being jostled by tiny hooves, more than one set of small hooves. I looked to either side of me and found Shǔguāng on one side of me and Líng on the other.

"What do you want? Is something wrong?" I asked with a yawn.

"It's bedtime, Auntie, and you shouldn't sleep on the floor!" Líng declared.

I looked behind me. Lántiān was observing from a short distance away with Qīng Yǔ passed out on her back. Paul was watching Mèng, but there was no sign of Jess. There wasn't any sign of anyone else for that matter.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, trying to reason it out.

"They went to bed. It's bedtime, Auntie!" Shǔguāng explained.

I turned and looked at Lántiān. "The Youngs, they all went to bed in rooms, without a fuss?"

She nodded to me. "They did, ma'am. I am trying to get my brothers to go to bed, but they have a request for you."

"Can we sleep in bed with you, Auntie?" Shǔguāng begged. "We asked Sister yesterday, and she said no because you were sick. We asked her again now, and she said we had to ask you. Can we please?"

"The house makes weird noises at night, and we don't want to be alone," Líng explained.

"And Sister won't let us sleep with her and Qīng Yǔ!" Shǔguāng added on.

"So can we sleep with you?" Líng begged again.

My ears flicked, and I looked back at Lántiān. "You were going to just leave me here all night on the floor?"

She shook her head. "Everyone agreed you would wake on your own and make your way to bed when you were ready, ma'am. They said they wanted you to rest because you were emotionally exhausted. Paul would be here to watch you and answer any questions you might have when you woke up. My brothers are not in agreement. I could get them to bed yesterday, but this time they refuse to go to bed until they talk to you. Can you please answer them, ma'am, so that I can tuck my daughter in?"

My first impulse was to tell them they were too old to need to have an adult protect them from nightmares as they slept, but as I looked at the two colts and their expectant faces, that thought shriveled. I thought about what Trixie had said and made a decision.

I gave them a kind smile. "Alright, you can sleep with me tonight, but we can't make a habit of this. This is our new home, and you need to get used to all the sounds it makes."

They both latched onto me with hugs. "We will, Auntie!" Líng declared happily.

"We just want to be sure you are okay," Shǔguāng added on.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you said it was because the house was scary."

His red shade darkened with a blush. "That too."

I turned my head and looked at Lántiān. "I've got them. You can take care of yourself and Qīng Yǔ. I know you must be tired; it has been a long day for you as well."

"That it has been, ma'am," she said with a nod and began walking off.

"Lántiān," I called out, causing her to pause. "Thank you."

She looked back at me with a baffled expression. "For what, ma'am?"

I sighed. "For being helpful, always doing what you are told, never giving me a reason not to trust you, and always being open and honest about your feelings—even when they are things I'd rather not hear. I know this is a challenging time for you, and I have not always done the best to make it less stressful for you. I'm not your mother, but I'm here for you if you need me. We may not always agree or always get along, but I'll always try to do the right thing for you and the others—even if I screw-up sometimes."

Her expression went even stonier than usual, and she then turned her face away so I couldn't see it. She stood still for a few seconds before giving a stiff nod. "Sleep well, ma'am." She then walked off.

I might never understand that filly.

Standing up made the two colts release me. I looked over at Paul. "My room is on the second floor on this side of the house, if you need me for anything. The door will remain open as I sleep. You are welcome to the food in the kitchen. I would say you can take him outside to play, but I doubt you'd be able to keep track of him in the dark as well as Josie."

Paul looked up at me. He had been distracting Mèng with something on his cell phone. "I agree. I would hate to try chasing him around in the dark. This isn't my first rodeo dealing with a night pony colt, though. Josie also gave me a rundown on the things that seem to interest him, the words she was working on, and the methods she was using to get him to pick up on words. I think I have enough to keep the two of us occupied through the night."

"Thank you again for doing this, Paul," I said. "And you haven't officially asked me yet, but yes, Devon and Dusk can come visit when Robby arrives in the morning. I couldn't refuse you a chance to see your eldest son."

Paul gave me a grateful look. "Thank you, Sunset. We're all looking forward to it. I wouldn't be surprised if Jess is up right now, talking to him on the phone. She's slipped into a bit of a nocturnal schedule because she spends so much time talking to him. We've been trying to break her of it so she doesn't have problems when she starts classes in the fall, and it makes Silvia's job harder if Jess has an episode late at night while staying up late and Silvia is asleep."

"She doesn't have them in her sleep?" I asked.

Paul shook his head. "My sister does something to keep that from happening while Jess is sleeping. Jess explained how it works, and so did Robby and Phobia, but I couldn't understand it. It's not like I can get a clearer explanation by going to Tonya directly."

Talk of Tonya was always painful. I saw the pain I felt reflected on Paul's face, but it was different for him. While me, Jess, and Robby could still talk to her, despite her having changed dramatically from the person we had known her to be when alive, Paul couldn't even do that.

"It's hard for me to talk about her," I said, trying not to start crying again. "But if you want to talk to me sometime about what's the same and what's different, I'll bring the box of tissues for us to share. I know your kids didn't know her well enough to be able to do that."

Paul closed his eyes, and his mouth tightened as he nodded. "Thank you. You're a good pony, Sunset."

"I'm just trying to learn I don't have to shoulder my grief alone," I said quietly. "You shouldn't have to either."

The colts had been quiet and respectful while I spoke with their sister and Paul, but they were still foals that were up too late, and I could tell by their postures it was time for us to go to bed.

"Come along. I hope neither of you snores."

Author's Notes:

So, what does everyone think Sunset's friendship language spread is?

Chapter 55: Love Happens

The colts were nestled to either side of me when I woke up at my standard time, just before dawn. There had been no more Dreamwarden visits through the night. I guess they just wanted me to get proper rest.

I instantly realized that I had a small problem. I needed to get up and do work, but moving would disturb the two sleeping forms beside me, and I had no intention of waking them too early. They were growing ponies, and growing ponies needed proper rest. I wasn't even sure how late it was when we went to bed, but since everyone else had gone to bed already, it must have been after they should have been asleep.

There was no help for it. I would have to get up and risk them waking up. On any other day, I might have been able to stay in bed and wait them out, but Rosetta and my grandfoals would be arriving today, likely not too long from now. Wild would be coming today, too, maybe Devon and Dusk. I needed to be up and ready for their arrival. I also had no idea if the Youngs were already stirring, and Paul had been up all night and would want a nap soon. There was also the matter that if I put anything off early, that would cut into my time to study Twilight's notes later, and I was on a tight timetable with that as it stood. There was a lot to do, which was good because work was good for the soul.

I carefully tried to shimmy my way out from between the colts, which was a challenge because they were both pressed up against me. I thought I was home free up until the moment Shǔguāng stirred and looked up at me.

"Auntie?" he asked sleepily as he blinked at me.

I touched a hoof to his side. "It's okay, go back to sleep. I need to get up and do some work. Some new friends for you to play with are arriving today, and you'll want all your energy for them."

He yawned and laid back down, barely awake as he was. "Okay, Mama."

My stomach twisted as I bit my lip and sat there staring at him. That was the first time he had directly addressed me as his mother. He insisted I was his new mother often enough, but he never had casually called me Mama before. He might not have even realized he had done it since he had only been half awake.

"Sleep tight, Shǔguāng," I whispered. I looked over at Líng, who had curled into a fetal position with me gone. I carefully moved the cover over both of them using my magic, ensuring both were secure and warm. "Sleep tight to both of you."

I crept out of my room and went first by Lántiān's room and stuck my head in. She seemed to be beginning to stir, but hadn't thoroughly roused herself yet. She seemed like she was at that point where she had woken up, but hadn't built up the motivation yet to get up. Her daughter was curled up next to her. I could see she had her phone on the charger as I required her to do every night. I trusted that she would get up soon enough. It was probably an old habit for her to get up early since she always had to care for her siblings in the past.

I heard snoring from the next room and decided to check it as well. Starlight and Trixie occupied this room, and Starlight seemed to have a pretty bad snore. I'm surprised the rest of us had not heard it earlier and awoken. I had no idea what Trixie was doing in her sleep, but she was on her back, waving her legs around. Neither seemed to be in distress, so I moved on.

I went room by room through the wing, checking in on others. Everyone in this wing seemed to still be in bed, and the only one that had shut their door was Jess. She probably felt the need to keep her dressing and undressing private, even though she was surrounded by ponies who wouldn't think much of it if they saw her naked. Then again… we were sharing the house with the Youngs, and they had two men who hadn't seen another female except for family in years, one of whom might look at Jess and see his first potential chance at a mate other than his sister.

I shuddered. Everything about that was disgusting—the possibility of incest, the idea that it was a guy and his vulnerable teenage sister, the idea he might look at Jess, who, no matter how mature she looked, was at least a decade or more away from being ready for that kind of attention. I hoped it was all false suspicion, and there was nothing to worry about.

I wondered if that idea kept Paul and Devon up at night; the one that even though their daughter was eight, no one looking at her would believe that, and on top of that, she had all those teenage hormones pouring through her, but far less experience with situations of that nature than even a sheltered teenager would have. Add on top of that; the girl probably thought she knew better than adults just because she had far more academic knowledge and mathematical reasoning than ninety-nine percent of the world, despite having only a fraction of the life experience. Good luck to them after she started attending classes, and all her peers were a bunch of freshly official adults freshly out of their parents' houses. I remembered Devon stressing out when Jess started high school, but at least she looked her age back then. She was a good-natured kid, but that girl was a parenting nightmare I did not envy. I would take dealing with Lántiān's drama any day before that.

She was my niece, and if any man here or anywhere else ever tried to pull something on her, I would start severing body parts before Paul even got a chance. After what happened to Phobia, I swore that would never happen again to anyone I loved. They could lock me up and throw away the key afterward; someone was still going to die if it happened.

A sudden revelation hit me. I loved my niece, as well as Paul, Devon, Robby, and Dusk. They weren't blood relatives, they were in-laws from Tonya, yet I held them as dear as any blood. That circle did not end with them. It stretched to my ex, who I still held some affection for, and I had confessed before that I still loved on some level, but that affection extended to his wife and their foals. This might seem a strange revelation to some, realizing I loved many people, but I had always been reserved about who I gave the designation of the term love. Finding I had these feelings about so many was earth-shattering. It was as if my understanding of the world had been turned on its head.

A new way of defining who I loved occurred to me, although not a wholesome one. Who would I be willing to kill and die for the safety of? There were plenty that I would be enraged to hear they were hurt and would fight for them to get justice, but only so many that I would be willing to do murder for without hesitation. Still, that circle was bigger than I expected, much bigger.

And it included Yinyu's foals.

There was work to be done, but I felt the need to talk to someone, but who? Everyone was asleep except Paul and…

Well, crap.

I went back down to the second floor and to Lántiān's room. The filly had just gotten out of bed and was in the process of putting her phone on, and her daughter was sleepily feeding on a teat. She looked up at me as I entered and frowned.

"Is there something you need, ma'am?"

I closed the door behind me and nodded. "I need someone to talk to, someone I can trust to give me honest advice without worrying about protecting my feelings. You don't have to say ma'am to me during this conversation."

"I still will, ma'am. It would be improper to address you by name."

I felt like growling. "When do you ever care about addressing me properly? You have been directly rude on more than one occasion."

She lowered her eyes to the floor. "I apologize for my disrespect, ma'am. However, you did not come here to discuss how I address you. What do you wish to discuss?"

I walked next to her and sat down. "Your brothers, maybe you to a lesser extent, but primarily them. I know you and they have very different feelings about me."

Her face hardened, but she nodded. "This is true, ma'am."

I took a deep breath. "Shǔguāng addressed me as Mama a few minutes ago. He was barely awake, so it might not have occurred to him what he did, and he might not remember it later."

She pursed her lips. "If you are asking me if he should be punished—"

"Why would I punish him?" I interrupted in shock.

She blinked. "You have expressed you wish for him to address you as Auntie or Auntie Sunset, ma'am. This is disobedience. Not disobedience I think deserves punishment. As you said, he likely will not remember it. Punishing him will only confuse him. Forgive me if I make presumptions about what advice you are seeking."

"You're the one who is directly disobeying me about the name—" I shook my head. It didn't matter. "I'm not considering whether he should be punished. I realized a few minutes ago how much I care about your brothers and you. Now I'm confused about what to do."

Lántiān seemed confused about what I was getting at. "I would hope that our guardian would care about our health and safety, ma'am."

"Not just like that," I said in frustration. "I care like a parent, an actual parent, like a mother caring for her foals."

She grit her teeth and swallowed. "Perhaps I'm not the best person to discuss this with, ma'am. I do not accept you as a mother, and I never will. I do not return your affection if you have it for me. I do not say this to be deliberately hurtful, but you required me to be honest."

It felt like a kick in the gut, even though I knew how she felt. "I know. Thank you for your honesty. What about your brothers? Should I try to be their mother and not just their guardian? It seems so soon."

She scowled. "Shǔguāng is a colt with firm dedication. Once he has decided upon something, it is almost impossible to sway him. He has made his decision. You accepting it and embracing him as your own would go over well, and you have no reason to fear he would change his mind unless you did some ruthless betrayal. I do not believe you would be cruel to him, ma'am. Adopting him would be beneficial to you both."

I nodded. "And the other two?"

"Líng is likely to follow Shǔguāng's lead in anything, but this is because he is often unsure of himself and looks for others for guidance, ma'am," she explained. "You could adopt him, but I advise to give it more time for him to come to such a choice on his own rather than follow Shǔguāng's lead. Tread more cautiously, and avoid trying to suggest he should do a particular course of action. He wishes to please others rather than consider his wants. Please, do not abuse that fact. Encourage him to explore what he wants and to learn to separate his will from others. This is also the danger of adopting Shǔguāng; it can make Líng feel obligated. This is why I am unhappy with Shǔguāng's declarations. Not for what he feels, but for how he influences his brother."

"You honestly aren't upset that Shǔguāng wants me to be his new mother?" I questioned in disbelief.

She licked her lips. "He is young and in need of a parent. I cannot fill this role, and our mother… As long as he acknowledges her as well, I have no objection. Anything else I feel is a personal prejudice, not what is best for him, ma'am."

"That is very mature of you, and I think that makes you a great mother," I said as I looked her in the eyes.

A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips for a moment, just a moment, then vanished. "I shall try to be, ma'am. As for my youngest brother. A parent adopting him would be good for him. He is young enough to form a full and honest attachment, but beware of him spending too much time with any one foalsitter. I do not like how he has attached himself to that night pony mare. This is not me condemning her, for she has done nothing wrong, but recognizing what can happen."

"I noted that as well earlier today," I replied. "I may be forced to switch Josie to every other day, so she isn't with him so many nights in a row. I'll be looking into another sitter to support her. Thank you for your advice, and I will not make any decisions until I'm sure of how Líng feels. I'm going to talk to your mother about this as well."

I got up to go, and as I was getting ready to walk out, Lántiān called out. "Ma'am, I need you to know I do not hate you. I'm just… I do not know how to express it. I see the love you give my brothers and know it is good for them, but so much is changing, and my feelings about my mother are complex and hard to describe or understand. I may not love you, ma'am, but I can respect you, in my own way, even when I disagree with you. I appreciate the trust, the trust by your definition, you have given me and shall not abuse or forget it."

I smiled at her. "The feeling is mutual. I'm still going to do everything I can to help you be a successful mare now that you're starting a new life in a new country. I'll always be here for you if you need me and may give you help when you don't want it. You'll just have to put up with me caring."

A real smile appeared. Not a smirk, not a condescending one, but a genuine smile of happiness. "I will endure it, ma'am."

Author's Notes:

I know I have been on a string of updates, there's at least one more coming in this string for this story.

Chapter 56: Barking

I left Lántiān's room and made a pit stop by my room to grab my phone and double-check the colts. After confirming they were still soundly sleeping, I decided the next thing to do would be to check on Paul, but as I was headed that way, I nearly ran into my mother, who was coming downstairs. She jumped higher than you would think a mare her age was capable of doing, then took some deep breaths after she saw it was only me.

"Sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to shorten your life," I said apologetically as she caught her breath.

"I'm already running on an extension, so no harm is done if you did," she breathed. "I don't know how you sleep at night here, not with all that barking."

I laid my ears flat as one of the mysteries had been putting off resurfaced. "Barking… what barking did you hear? Where did you hear it?"

She pointed vaguely upstairs. "I'm sure it was outside, but it sounded like it was coming from that room at the end of the hall up there when I went to use the bathroom. I pulled your father out of bed, but as soon as he got into the hall with me, it stopped."

"Did you happen to see the Youngs up and about?" I asked. They had to have set up some device to make noise; that was the only explanation.

She shook her head. "No, I think they kept to their rooms all night. I'm pretty good at feeling vibrations in the floor, it might be an earth pony thing, and I didn't feel anything that indicated anypony—forgive me, I'm trying to break the habit— anyone was walking around up there. Jess, Silvia, and Sinker all heard it at different parts of the night. Everyone was checking with everyone else to make sure we weren't crazy. We even checked that room, and Silvia felt it out for magic. There was nothing. We thought about coming down to ask you, but it stopped altogether by then. Don't think that was until nearly two, and I didn't want to wake you."

I frowned. "If you hear it again, come get me immediately, or better yet, get Starlight. I don't care if it is two in the afternoon or two at night. I've heard that barking, and so has one of my colts, and I'm sure it is coming from that room."

She shivered. "This place isn't haunted, is it?"

"There's no such thing as ghosts, Mom."

"Your wife is a ghost," she countered. "People used to say magic was fake too, but here we are. If magic can be real, so can ghosts and goblins and every other thing from every fairy tale you ever heard."

I gave her a flat look. "Mom, you're a magic pony with more strength than a plow horse. Any monster would be crazy to try to take you on."

"But in the stories, all the demons and things want to drink unicorn blood," Mom continued to protest.

"I'm the unicorn, not you."

"That doesn't make me feel better!" Mom cried.

I facehoofed. "Mom… I think you had a long night that has left you agitated. You might need to get a good breakfast and a nice cup of coffee to settle your nerves, and then you can think clearer. Then you'll laugh at how silly you're being. If it will make you feel any better, I will personally call Phobia and ask her if there are any such things as ghosts—not counting dead Dreamwardens, and she can personally reassure you with all her infinite Dreamwarden knowledge that there aren't."

She took a deep breath. "You're right; I'm just on edge after not sleeping well in an unfamiliar place."

I glanced at the stairs leading up to the third floor. "Go get some breakfast. I'll be down shortly. I'm going to see if Starlight can help me figure out what is going on with that room. We can't all be imagining dogs barking that aren't there. It may not be ghosts, but something is going on with that room. I have a lot to do today, but I intend to resolve that room. While I have nothing to indicate it's dangerous, it's scaring people."

My phone chose that moment to start ringing. I sighed and answered it. "Hello?"

"Sunset, it's Rosetta. We just got off the plane, and we're trying to find Number Crunch—hold on a moment." She started giving orders in the background to behave in Spanish. "Sorry, the foals have been stuck sitting still in their seats for hours and are now expending all that cooped-up energy— Robby, get over here! You're old enough that you should be helping, not having me worry about you wandering off! Why're you crying, Alfie? Tempest, can you see what his sisters have done to him this time and deal with that? I'm trying to make a call. Charlotte, I don't want to hear excuses; don't hit your brother—don't hit your sister either!"

"You sound like you have your hooves full," I said in a bemused tone. The demons were still demons, it seemed. "Um, you do have Number's phone number if you have any problem finding her, right?"

"Yeah, I have it. I thought it would be easier to find her, but there are a lot more cars out here waiting to pick people up than I expected, and they all have their headlights on and blinding me. The airport is a no-fly zone for ponies, so I can't fly up to look around, even if the foals were behaving enough to allow it. I'm about to have Tempest look around since she can do a better job at that than me when I'm ground-bound and being blinded by inconsiderate people in cars."

"We'll be waiting for you. I'll make sure everyone is up," I replied. At least she was so busy dealing with her foals she wasn't snapping at me. Rosetta was sometimes as bad as Lántiān. My daughter-in-law usually couldn't make it through a sentence with me without displaying her contempt.

"I have to go. I think Tempest just spotted our ride. We'll be there soon," Rosetta said quickly, then hung up without so much as a goodbye.

While I had been on the phone, the house had woken up, perhaps from all the noise I was making. Dad and Sinker had walked by me and had joined my Mom in going downstairs. Lántiān had crossed over into my room to rouse her brothers without being asked with Qīng Yǔ sleepily following her mother. Jess had come down, rubbing her eyes, but was now sitting at the stairwell looking at me with an excited expression. I heard movement from the Equestrians' room and off down the hall going into the other wing of the house—which I assumed was the Youngs getting up.

"Robby is on his way?" Jess asked eagerly, practically bouncing on her butt.

I nodded and then sniffed the air. "You might want to go take a shower while you can, and put some deodorant on."

Her ears flattened. "I don't stink!"

"Don't argue with a pony's nose, human. When’s the last time you showered? It's part of growing up as a human that you learn to at least put on deodorant before you go out and deal with people. It's basic hygiene. Even mares have to wear it sometimes—do you need to wear that deodorant too?"

She gave me a dirty look. "Why would I wear pony deodorant?"

I tried to tread carefully on the subject since I knew she was sensitive about it. "Well, your lower half of your body is a little… different than most humans."

"Auntie Sunset! You don't ask people about their periods!" Jess blurted out in outrage. "And I get normal human ones, not like ones for ponies. I wish I got ones like ponies instead because mine are fucking awful! Ponies are lucky when it comes to that. So no, I don't need that kind of deodorant. I can't believe you asked me that!"

I held up my hoof defensively. "Okay, okay, just checking. No need to get riled up. Watch the language. I have young foals here who shouldn't be hearing that—not that you should be using language like that either. Go get yourself cleaned up before your brother arrives, or you'll probably get a new nickname of stinky."

Jess got up with an aggravated grumble and deliberately stomped back upstairs, flicking her tail at me as she went. "Bad as my mom!"

"I'll take that as a compliment," I muttered to myself. I turned around to see Lántiān looking down at the ground and blushing for some reason. "Something wrong?"

Her blush deepened. "Ma'am, I seem to be lacking something you were just discussing and may need it."

I blinked. "I'll put that on the shopping list. I don't expect you'll be lifting your tail in anyone's face. Can you see that your brothers get breakfast? I need to talk to Starlight about something."

She nodded, looking relieved, and hurried downstairs, with her brothers and daughter in tow. Maybe she had been afraid I would berate her. Why would I? It was my fault for not thinking to get her any. Or did I? Did I buy it and forget to give it to her? I didn't know. Tonya used to keep track of all the mundane little domestic details and keep me focused.

I was off-track, again. I turned and headed back to the Equestrians' room. Trixie was still asleep… doing whatever that was she was doing with her legs. I seemed to recall Starlight complaining Trixie practiced her act in her sleep. Was that what that was? It just looked weird. Starlight was up and checking her messages on her phone, but diverted her attention to me when I walked in.

"Hey, I'm going to need to head out for a while today," Starlight said as she put her phone on. "I'm not on Earth just to socialize, and today is one of the days I'm going to be needed."

That was disappointing. "I understand. Do you have time to look at something before you go? I've looked at it, Silvia checked last night, and we aren't finding anything, but I know something must be up."

"Sure, as long as it doesn't take too long," Starlight said with a smile. "What's up. Sounds like a magic problem if it was you and Silvia looking."

I pointed a hoof at the ceiling. "There's a room upstairs where people keep hearing dogs barking. I know the sound is coming from that room, and it instantly stops as soon as a second person enters the hall, but isn't there most of the time anyway. Líng was the first one to hear it when he took off the other day. I heard it yesterday, and everyone upstairs was hearing it last night. I haven't found any spell causing it, nor did Silvia. I looked around to see if any electronic device was making it, but that room is empty. I even checked outside to be sure there were no loose dogs. There aren't any, and if there were, we wouldn't only be hearing it on the third floor. I asked the Youngs about it, and they deny knowing anything or ever hearing it."

Starlight blinked. "That's odd. It's just barking? Nothing else? You don't feel any magic or anything?"

"There's something off about the barking, but I can't tell what," I replied. "It's the third-story tower room. Do you think you could check it over before you go? Maybe you can detect some device I failed to notice or some spell that somehow eluded both the crystal pony and me. It has my mom freaking out about ghosts."

Starlight put a hoof up to her chin. "As far as I know, there's no such thing as ghosts, even in Equestria. Some non-corporeal creatures are made of magic in Equestria, but there shouldn't be anything like that on Earth. The closest thing would be a Dreamwarden that has died or the Narrative or maybe Triss, and I think it is safe to rule out any of them living in your house. Silvia would have detected any of them anyway since they are made of magic, at least by my understanding, just like non-corporeal beings on Equestria. I'll go take a look, but I would lean towards a more physical answer than a magical one."

"Thank you, Starlight. It will put my mind at ease about that," I replied. "I'm going to go check on the Youngs and then head downstairs. Tell me if you found anything."

"Will do," Starlight said and then quickly teleported out of the room.

I looked at Trixie and saw she was still asleep after all the talking and decided to leave her there. I left the room and headed down the hall to check on the Youngs in the opposite wing.

Their rooms all had their doors closed, and I wasn't sure who of the four rooms belonged to who. I just picked a door at random and knocked.

Grace opened the door, and her eyes lit up. "Pretty pony!" She turned and looked into her room. "Bobby, the pretty unicorn came to see us!"

I smiled. "Do you remember my name?"

She frowned and bit a finger while shaking her head.

"It's Sunset Blessing," I reminded her. "I know you had a lot of names to remember yesterday, so it's okay if you don't remember it yet."

Her eyes widened in recognition. "You're the pony that got sad and went in the corner and also let us pet you! Are you feeling better, Miss Pretty Unicorn?"

"I'm feeling much better, thank you for asking," I replied. "Grace, which one of these rooms is for your parents?"

"That would be over here," John's voice said from behind me. I turned and saw him frowning at me from his doorway, giving me a suspicious look again.

I stepped away from his daughter in a hurry, and she closed her door. "Sorry. I was looking for you and didn't know which room was which. I didn't mean to get your younger children's room."

"It's okay," he replied. "What do you need?"

I tried to put on my most accommodating smile. "My daughter-in-law and grandfoals should be arriving soon, as well as Paul's son and their household bodyguard. All of them are night ponies like Mèng, except the bodyguard. That means they are largely nocturnal and should be asleep through the afternoon."

"They explained the traits of each of your tribes to us while you were asleep yesterday," John said. "I understand what a night pony is and does, at least mostly. They mentioned something about prison guards in dreams or something, but wouldn't elaborate."

"Dreamwardens?" I asked.

He nodded. "That's it. They were open about everything else, but they hushed up like church mice when that got brought up, and they all glared at that girl for even mentioning it. What are you ponies hiding?"

"They were probably not wanting to say the wrong thing and frighten you," I explained in a calm tone. I didn't want to discuss this yet, but it was needed. "The Dreamwardens are people with magic who hold special powers to act as defenders of free will and protect minds from attacks. But more normally, they help dreamers have a good night's sleep. Some people, due to a misunderstanding, are terrified of them because of how powerful they are in what is called the dream realm. My daughter, my foster foals' deceased mother, and my deceased spouse are all Dreamwardens, so they may come up in conversations sometimes."

"That deceased mother, was her being a Dreamwarden what China wanted her for?" John asked.

I nodded. "Yes. As a Dreamwarden, she had access to a great deal of information. They were trying to pressure her to give it to them by threatening her foals. She chose to get her foals out of China and then die rather than let China do that. Details on Dreamwardens get complicated, and I couldn't explain it all in just a few minutes, and would probably make errors in what I say. My daughter-in-law will be here in minutes, and she can explain details better than I can if you wish to speak to her about it. I am inviting you and your family down to have breakfast with us."

He looked at the other rooms with their closed doors. "We'll come down in a little while. I'm not sure how well anyone slept. We're so used to the bunker and sleeping in the same room. This is an adjustment after so long."

I frowned and lowered my voice. "I need to ask you a few things; one of them might be offensive, but I need to know the truth. If it offends you, I understand, but I'm trying to protect your family by knowing."

His frown deepened, and his brow narrowed. "What is it?"

"Mike and Alice," I whispered as I sat down. I tapped my hooves together. "Are they… doing anything siblings shouldn't do? I understand you may all have thought you were the last humans on Earth."

John looked back and forth between two of the closed doors, and he didn't rage at me for suggesting it. He then squatted down so he could look at me face to face.

"No, they haven't, and if I have my way, they won't," he replied in a very neutral tone.

I narrowed my brow. "But there is something." It wasn't a question.

He closed his eyes and nodded. "It's like you said. We thought we were the last. They only had each other for possible future partners, and they knew it and have developed an expectation that they will be. Lauren and I believed it too, and we were divided on what to do. One thing we did decide on was that nothing was going to happen until Alice got older, if anything happened at all. We didn't let any inappropriate touching or anything else occur. You don't need to worry. No incest has occurred, but I understand your concern and am not angry about it. I'm hoping we get to introduce them to more humans and that any attraction they have built up just goes away. I don't know what to do if it doesn't."

I pursed my lips as I thought. "Today is Saturday, which means tomorrow is Sunday. It has been a long while since I have attended a proper Sunday morning service at a church. If I decide tomorrow is a good day to start again, would you like to bring your family? I can pick a small church, somewhere out of the way in a small town, that has both humans and ponies in its congregation. It's a chance to have them start meeting other humans without overwhelming them with too many at once. I know we're probably overwhelming you with ponies and information, but I hadn't planned all this."

He looked back into his room and then back at me. "Lauren and I will talk about it and get back to you. We're starting to trust you and your family, but you'll have to forgive us for still being cautious. This is a lot to take in, and we don't know yet how to verify anything."

"I understand," I replied. "You are doing better than I could have hoped. I know that it's a long road for you, but I want to help you with it. I know Wild Growth will too when she gets here later."

"That's why we are trusting you," John replied. "You have proven you could have just dragged us away and thrown us in cells for life or whatever ponies do. You have done everything you can to keep that from happening, and we can't think of what you would gain by not doing so. That leaves us with the alternative; you are telling the truth, and you really want to help. It's not comfortable saying that because it makes us question why we did what we did and whether we lost eight years of our lives and our children's lives for nothing."

"Sometimes we think we know what's right, and we turn out to be wrong in every conceivable way," I said as I looked down. "I know that better than anyone. It's a horrible feeling. At least you can say you didn't make mistakes that led to anyone's death. You messed up. You messed up big, but you still have everyone you love. If you have that, you can recover."

He looked me in the eyes. "They told us about you and your mistakes. It is hard to believe a pony like you would be so determined to help us."

I let off a dry laugh. "I figured they would. I can't confirm or deny anything because I did my best not to listen. I told you, I've messed up a lot, and I have a lot of regrets. My life is like some crazed writer's story, and they are bound and determined to torture me forever for my sins."

John took a deep breath. "A more exciting story than mine, if true. Eight years in a bunker? I feel shafted. Characters in any good story grow and change over time. Their experiences shape them, and you can't say they are the same as when they first appeared in the narrative. We've made it this far; hopefully, the finale will be a happy ending, with us as better people for all our struggles."

I sighed. "We can only hope. I think I have endured enough tragedies. I would like a happy ending. If not for me, then for my foals. They deserve one. They are too young to have endured the tragedies that they have."

He nodded. "Same. Give my kids a happily ever after, despite all my mistakes. That's all I ask."

"Sunset?" Starlight called out from down the hall. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

I looked up and nodded, then back at John as I stood. "I hope to see you downstairs soon. This was a good talk. Let me see what Starlight wants."

He got up as well. "I need to get Lauren up and see about the kids. We'll be down when we're ready. Thank you for always talking, Sunset Blessing." He then closed the door.

I walked over to Starlight. "Did you find anything?"

She frowned. "Yes and no. There's no spell that I can detect either, and I used every scanning spell I could to search for hidden devices or anything we can't see. There are none. However, the energy in that room is off."

I flicked an ear. "Off? What do you mean it is off?"

She seemed to be searching for a way to explain it. "Thaumic energy in your universe feels a certain way. It used to feel very sluggish, like it hadn't been stirred in a while, like stagnant water. It has started feeling looser in the past eight years, but still has a definite feel to it. That room, the energy is like a pond someone just threw a boulder into. The energy is agitated, moving far more than normal. There's no trace of a spell ever being cast, but it is acting like someone cast a lot of powerful magic in there without leaving a trace of what they did."

My ears flattened. "What do you think it means?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I think you should lock up that room. Something in this house isn't right, and it has nothing to do with the Youngs."

Author's Notes:

This will finish the current string of chapters for a few days to a week. I'll be turning my attention to some of my other stories for a few updates.

Chapter 57: Demons Do What Demons Do

"What's with the barking room?" Jess asked as she furiously dried her legs with a towel while watching us put a warning sign on the door. "I watched Starlight search the thing a few minutes ago, and now it's completely off-limits. Are you conducting some sort of experiment again, Auntie?"

I shook my head. "No experiment. I'm doing some work again, but it has nothing to do with this room, and none of it involves experiments. Just stay away from it until we have figured it out."

"You're doing mad mage stuff again?" Jess asked; she didn't even have a shocked tone about it. She could have been asking about the weather.

"I'm helping Twilight Sparkle figure something out, and the details of that are none of your business," I replied. I sniffed the air and smiled. "And by the way, you smell much better now."

"I didn't stink!" Jess shouted, throwing her towel down on the ground.

"You smelled like rancid beef jerky," I replied with a smirk.

Jess stomped in rage. "Starlight, tell her I didn't smell like that!"

Starlight shuffled her hooves. "Um… I don't actually know what rancid beef jerky smells like, but you did have a noticeable odor about you before. You smell quite nice now. Is that lavender?"

I sniffed again. "That is lavender, and it is much stronger than normal deodorant. Are you wearing perfume, young lady?"

Jess rubbed her shoulder. "It was a gift from my mom. She says I'm mature enough to wear it."

They could call me an old-fashioned xennial, but I disagreed. Jess was only eight and shouldn't be wearing that stuff yet. However, I wasn't Jess's mother. If Devon wanted to indulge the idea that Jess was that mature, I had no right to overrule her. Was I a hypocrite for saying she needed to wear deodorant but being unhappy that she put on perfume? I didn't think so; perfume and deodorant had two very different purposes, in my opinion. The next thing anyone knew, Devon would be teaching the girl how to apply makeup and all kinds of other things that may end up attracting the attention of the opposite sex.

My feminist notions, buried since my early days of college, decided to attempt a rebellion and say that the girl had a right to feel good about herself and shouldn't have to worry about what others think, but I quickly put those thoughts down. Jess had plenty of other things to feel good about without worrying about beautification.

It wasn't my concern though, so I would keep my trap shut.

"We should all head downstairs and try to grab breakfast if you can before they get here," I instructed. "The airport isn't that long a drive from here. I wouldn't be surprised if they were at our gates already."

"Not me," Starlight said. "I'm running behind as it is and need to get going. Keep Trixie out of trouble, and call me if anything else happens with that room. I will be back very late tonight, so don't wait up."

"Will do," I replied and wasn't able to add a goodbye before she teleported out. She must have been running exceptionally behind.

Jess and I were halfway down the staircase when there was a knock at the door. The girl practically trampled me to reach the door. I had to steady myself, so I didn't go tumbling down the stairs. By the time I was sure I was stable again, Jess was already pulling the door open.

The girl barely got the door open before she was knocked on her back and tackled by four night pony foals. Actually, it was her brother who brought her down and my grandfoals who quickly swarmed over her right after. That was fine by me. I'd been tackled by foals enough lately. Someone younger and less brittle taking the hit for once was something I wasn't going to lose any sleep over. Plus, she had almost stepped on me a moment before. She could deal with sixteen different hooves stepping all over her in retribution.

"Ow! Watch the boobs, guys!" Jess shouted.

"What's a boob?" Alfie asked as he began to examine the area around Jess's belly button, going so far as to lift her shirt with a wing to peek underneath.

Charlotte smacked her brother with a wing. "You're a boob, boob!"

Rosetta stuck her head in the door and glared at her foals. "Don't hit your brother!"

Robby, who was more than twice the others' size and taking up most of the space on Jess's chest, pointed at Jess's breasts. "These are boobs. My mom has them, and Tempest does too. I think Jessie's have gotten bigger since she came here. Actually, I think Jessie has gotten bigger overall."

"Well, she was always heavier than the rest of us," Tabby said knowingly while unknowingly planting a hoof right in Jess's pelvic area, making the girl yelp.

"You're supposed to say she's big-boned," Charlotte corrected her twin.

A tall black woman with a pink mohawk stepped in and crossed her arms. "Foals! All of you get off Jessica Middleton this instant, or I shall triple your exercises for today!"

"Get off me!" Jess shouted, loud enough to rouse the rest of the house. Everyone would probably be coming to see what was going on now.

The four of them immediately jumped off Jess, causing her to oomph! once more. I finished descending the stairs as Rosetta and Number walked in.

“Sunset,” Rosetta looked at me, blinked, then narrowed her eyes. "That color makes you even uglier than normal."

"Nice to see you too, Rosetta," I replied dryly. "Are those new tattoos on your wings?"

Rosetta spread her wings proudly and smiled. They were covered in every inch by what looked like a mix of Egyptian hieroglyphs, Sumerian cuneiform, Phoenician letters, with Phobia's cutie mark placed near the center of each wing near her thumb. "Yes, they are. I finally got everything I wanted finished. It was painful, but worth it."

"I'm going to get my wings done too when I grow up!" Charlotte happily declared.

Rosetta snapped her wings closed. "A little early to be deciding on that. If you don't stop hitting your siblings, you might not make it that far." She then pounced on her lookalike daughter and flipped Charlotte over on her back.

"Ack! Mama's going to eat me up!" Charlotte yelled with a giggle, flailing her limbs exaggeratedly. Rosetta then proceeded to blow into her daughter's tummy, eliciting even more giggles.

The tall woman with the mohawk turned her attention from the foals to me. "Your disguise is substandard, Sunset Blessing."

It took a second to register who that was. "Tempest… you're… taller than the last time I saw you. How is being human treating you?"

She gave a half-smile. "I'm relearning how to fight properly, but otherwise, all is well. It feels like a relief, and a burden has been lifted. I should thank you, our discussion before your arrest helped set me on this path."

"You're welcome, I guess," I replied.

Number turned around and started giving orders to someone to collect up the luggage and bring it in. Jess got back to her feet and then promptly went over to her brother, squatted down, and pulled him into a big hug. The two of them then started whispering, and I did my best not to listen.

Rosetta sighed as she stepped away from Charlotte. "Okay, you three, you can go hug your grandmare now. I know you missed her. No need to be gentle."

I didn't get time to react before I was bowled over by a trio of seven-year-old night ponies who were all shouting and giggling with excitement. I was becoming convinced this was how I was eventually going to die—smothered by foals.

"Granny, why are you yellow?" Alfie asked. Why did a foal always have to ask that question?

"We missed you! Why'd you go away?" Tabby asked as she hugged me.

"She probably wanted to get away from your icky bug friends," Charlotte told her sister.

"They aren't icky!" Tabby shouted, and like that, a brawl broke out between the twin sisters on top of my belly. Somehow Alfie got involved, and I then had three ferocious fighting foals furiously flailing fetlocks at each other on top of my fragile female parts. Did my three bastard grandfoals actually plan this each time they tackled someone? I loved them, but God damn, that hurt!

"Foals! You are injuring your grandmother!" Tempest yelled. "You are getting triple exercises. Stop now, or it will be quadrupled!"

Tempest wasn't fast enough because a new set of voices entered the fray.

"Hey! Don't hurt our new Mama!"

The next thing I knew, four more foals collided with the three who had been attempting to get off me. Each somehow managing to step on me as they went. Now an epic battle was taking place between the seven, with much screaming and smashing of hooves.

"Leave Miss Pretty Unicorn alone!"

Oh God, no! Please make it stop!

Yinyu's foals received reinforcements from the two younger Young children, and we now had a full-fledged war that involved every child in the house but Jess. Adults were shouting and unsuccessfully trying to break up the fight. I was still gasping for breath from being trampled. What else could possibly go wrong?

"The Great and Powerful Trixie knows how to break up this fight!"

God, why do you hate me?

Something hit the floor, and now smoke was filling the room. This added some coughing to the mix, but did nothing to stop the fighting. If anything, now that no one could see, it had become a free-for-all match of every kid against every kid. Alliances were broken, and blows were now thrown with no concern for who they connected with.

This needed to come to an end. I pulled myself to my hooves, still coughing, and lit my horn. I might not be powerful, but the smoke wasn't that heavy. I pushed all the smoke up so we could all see again, and focused my eyes on the mass of kids who had adults trying to pull them apart.

"Stop!" I shouted. I was ignored. "Stop! I said stop!"

No effect whatsoever. They were wholly committed.

Jess had gotten to her feet and was now scowling at her pint-sized peers. "You heard her, STOP!"

My ears rang at the unnaturally booming shout, and I winced as I covered them. As I opened my eyes, I saw everyone else had done the same. The fight had ended; hopefully, we weren't all deaf now.

"Can everyone still hear?" I asked. I got a collection of weak nods. "Good. You can see I'm not hurt. No one was trying to hurt me. Shǔguāng, I think you qualify as the instigator of this. All of you need to apologize to one another, but I think you should be the one to start."

Shǔguāng pointed at Tempest. "But she said they were hurting you!"

Charlotte flapped her wings. "We didn't do nothing wrong! We shouldn't have to apologize!"

"Yeah! They attacked us!" Tabby yelled.

"I'm not saying I'm sorry to them!" Líng declared. "They hurt you!"

"Enough!" I shouted, bringing them all to silence. I then took a deep breath. "Shǔguāng, I understand your passion to defend me, but you made a mistake in this case. These are my grandfoals. They were doing the same thing the rest of you do when you get excited to see me. They don't want to hurt me. They love me like… like you do. Do the right thing and say you are sorry. Good colts admit when they were wrong."

He didn't seem happy, but he turned towards the trio of demons. "I'm sorry for attacking you."

I nodded. "Now you, Líng."

"Does Mèng have to apologize too?" Líng questioned.

I frowned and shook my head. "He wouldn't even know how to do it, but you aren't three years old, so you don't have that excuse."

"But they did hurt you, even if they didn't mean to," Líng pointed out, looking for an excuse for why he was in the right.

"And the three of you ran right over me trying to get them. At least one of you stomped on my face in the process. That hurt too," I reminded him.

Líng hung his head. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to hurt you."

"And they didn't mean to hurt me either. I forgive you. You all messed up, and it is over with. Say you're sorry to them for the misunderstanding and for trying to hurt them," I said firmly. "You don't want to hurt anyone when they didn't mean to do anything wrong, right?"

He huffed and turned around to face the demons. "I'm sorry. I messed up."

"Now the three of you can apologize," Rosetta told her foals.

"What did we do?!" Charlotte protested.

"We didn't do anything!" Tabby protested in agreement.

Rosetta started tapping out their sins with a hoof. "One, accidentally hurting your grandmare. Two, allowing yourself to be drawn into a fight with helpless other foals who haven't been trained to fight. Three, directly disobeying Tempest and me when you were told to stop."

Tempest raised a hand and started holding up fingers as she added to the count. "Four, completely forgetting everything I taught you. You three fought in a disgraceful manner. No coordination, horrible technique, utterly no defense used. Do you think I teach you all that as a game?"

Rosetta turned and looked at Tempest in confusion. "You were judging their technique through all of that?"

"Weren't you?" Tempest asked in response.

The night pony mare's mouth hung open for a moment, then she shook her head and looked back at her foals. "I'm waiting to hear some apologies."

The three demons turned to Tempest. "We're sorry, Tempest."

"Not to her!" Rosetta yelled, then facehoofed. "I'm perfectly fine with your mischief the majority of the time. I practically encourage it. When I say you crossed a line, then you know you messed up."

"We didn't think we would hurt Granny," Tabby protested. "You said not to be gentle. We thought that meant she would be fine."

Rosetta's ears sagged, and she fluttered her lips. "Fine." She turned and faced me. "Me telling them not to be gentle was out of line, and I have no excuse for having said that. I was wrong, and I ask your forgiveness."

"Do you forgive me for what happened to your mother?" I asked.

She scowled. "No, and I never will."

"Fine then," I said with a grumble. "Without forgiving me, do you accept my apology and believe me when I say I'm sorry for it?"

Her scowl deepened. "Yes. I can do that much."

I nodded. "Then I accept your apology too."

"Wait…" Charlotte said in confusion. "How do you both apologize to one another, but don't forgive? I thought you were supposed to forgive if you accept an apology."

"No, an apology isn't a get-out-of-jail-free card," I explained. "An apology is a sign of repentance. It means you recognize you did something wrong and that you regret your actions. It doesn't obligate anyone to forgive you, even if they accept the apology. Accepting the apology just means they believe you recognize what you've done, and they believe you regret it. It doesn't mean they forgive. Forgiveness can take time, and in some cases, when someone has done something really horrible, it might never happen.

"Sunset, Rosetta, do you two think you should be trying to teach this kind of stuff right now?" Paul asked from behind me. "These are seven-year-olds. It might be a little over their heads, or worse, get taken out of context."

"Everything is a teaching moment," Rosetta said calmly.

"Agreed, it is an important life lesson," I said, smiling at my daughter-in-law. "Want some coffee after these foals finally say their apologies? I can introduce you to everyone after, and then you can tell me at length how much of a scum bucket I am, like old times."

Rosetta calmly nodded. "That does sound lovely." She turned to her foals and scowled. "If my little heathens can hurry up and apologize."

The three hung their heads. "We're sorry."

I love my family.

Chapter 58: Full House

I was sitting in the living room once more, sipping my tea. All the adults were seated together on couches and the floor having breakfast, and having light conversation. All the kids, every one of them but Qīng Yǔ and her mother, were out doing laps, even Jess and the Young children. I was a bit confused about what had earned Jess sharing in the punishment, but Tempest only said that Jess had failed to keep herself adequately conditioned and was too valuable an asset to leave herself vulnerable. Jess had complained, but one glare from Tempest had her running. I was apparently not counted as a valuable asset, I guessed, because she didn't yell at me about my conditioning. I didn't want to run laps anyway, but it stung that I didn't qualify as important to Tempest.

Screw her and her funky mohawk anyway.

"So," Rosetta said as she set down her coffee mug. "Have you banned them from anything absurd yet?"

I narrowed my brow. "No, I haven't banned anything. I require them to speak English, but they can use Mandarin to communicate with the younger ones. I've considered banning Tom and Jerry cartoons, but haven't made up my mind on that."

Everyone stared at me like I was insane.

"Tom and Jerry? The cat and mouse? Why would you ban that?" John asked incredulously.

"It's senselessly violent, and Jerry is a psychotic jerk," I said with a snort.

My mom shook her head. "She always rooted for Tom to win, and it just never happened. I think she's holding a grudge."

"I'm not holding a grudge. Jerry is evil," I replied with calm commitment.

"She's holding a grudge," Dad said with a nod.

"Yep," Mom said with a nod of her own. "Always was a cat person. Couldn't stand that the cat didn't win. Always so opinionated, even when she was a kid."

Rosetta got an evil smile. "You wouldn't happen to have baby pictures and embarrassing stories about when miss preacher pony was a kid, would you?"

My ears flattened.

Mom gave my devilish daughter-in-law a happy smile. "Well, the photos are all in storage, but we have lots of stories. You know, Sunset was a bedwetter, one of the worst I've ever heard of."

Rosetta propped her hooves under her chin. "Do tell."

"Please don't," I whined.

Mom brushed my pleas off. "Oh, you grew out of it. Sunset wet the bed every night without fail up until she was twelve and often wet her pants at school. We tried everything. Making sure she went before bed, denying her anything to drink two hours before bed, taking her to a psychologist. Nothing ever helped. She got so hyper-focused on things she wouldn't get up and go to the bathroom."

I wanted to run and hide again.

Rosetta gave my mom a genuinely curious look. "So what brought it to an end?"

Mom shrugged. "As I said. She just grew out of it. She started doing it less frequently around thirteen or so, and by fourteen, she'd stopped. I always thought it was just some force of will on her part. She was so embarrassed she got better at recognizing when she needed to go and doing it."

Rosetta frowned. "I was hoping for a better answer than that."

"Something else more embarrassing?" I muttered.

Rosetta shook her head. "No… well, yes, but not really. Alfie wets the bed sometimes, and I wouldn't mind some tips for helping stop it. My three are a hoof full and a half to deal with, and each of them has their unique issues and challenges, and they are only getting more unique from one another as they get older. Two years ago, I would have said one set of problems for Alfie and another for the twins, but Charlotte and Tabby have been developing much more distinct personalities from each other lately, and with those come distinct problems. Alfie has his issues too. I'm not above accepting parenting tips."

"I recall my grandcolt being shy yet protective and the twins being primarily just competitive with one another," I said with a small frown. "I know I have missed a lot in the past year. A year doesn't seem like much, but it can mean a lot of changes for foals their age."

Rosetta sighed. "Those things you remember are still true. However, Charlotte now gets in trouble a lot for fighting with other foals, sometimes adults too, and I constantly have to stop her from hitting her siblings. She's got a lot of anger for a foal her age. I think it is because of how much attention she gets as Phobia's daughter and how often she has to hear things about Phobia. It can be stressful, even to a foal as young as her, and she lashes out at everyone."

"I understand trying to deal with a kid who is lashing out," Paul said wearily. "Jess is always trying to push her limits and can get angry when she's pushed back. I don't even know what age group I'm supposed to treat her as. In some ways, she's as mature as any adult; in other ways, she's a teen, and in others, she is still a young child. I never know which she is going to be at any given moment. I know it's not her fault, and she is dealing with unique circumstances, but that doesn't make it any less stressful for Devon and me."

"The girl does seem to fluctuate between being the most level-headed in the room and a complete temperamental brat," I observed dryly.

Rosetta smirked. "Are you describing Jess, or are you describing yourself?"

"Hey! Lay off my daughter! She doesn't deserve that abuse!" Mom fussed.

I waved it off. "It's okay, Mom. Rosetta gets a pass on any rudeness towards me, as does her sister, Wild Growth. I hurt their family by turning their mother into a magic-sucking monster. I understand how they feel. They know I regret it, but neither will ever forgive me. I should be grateful they can stand to be in the same room as me or allow me to see my grandfoals. If our positions were reversed, there might have been a murder already."

"If you hadn't shown any regret, there would have been," Rosetta spat. "Let's not dwell on that. It makes me want to make your face even uglier."

John looked uncomfortable. "This Wild Growth person… the one you keep saying will help us… she feels the same way about you?"

I nodded. "She probably hates me even more, but she's better at hiding it. Don't worry; she won't deny you help just because she despises me. Wild Growth is too much of a saint for that."

"My sister is hardly a saint," Rosetta said with a roll of her eyes. "But she'll treat you right."

I chuckled. "You should read about the lives of saints sometime. A number of them are very colorful. Anyway, you told us about Charlotte and a little about Alfonso; how is Tabitha doing?"

"Tabby has the least concerning issues," Rosetta answered. "She's at that stage she has discovered she's a filly and has gotten it in her head she wants to be pretty, like Phobia. So she has Phobia teach her about makeup, mane and tail styling, and all that stuff I generally suck at. However, Tabby has also gotten into a habit of adopting every creepy crawly thing as her pet. She has brought roaches into the house, which I've luckily gotten out before they could cause an infestation. She also catches spiders, centipedes, and scorpions for her collection of pets. How she catches the scorpions without being stung is a mystery to me. They sit on her wings and legs like they are perfectly content there, but if anyone else tries to touch them, they start trying to strike."

My ears flattened to their sides. "Spiders?"

Rosetta smirked at me again. "Don't worry, Miss Muffet. I know you're afraid of itty-bitty spiders, and I won't let her bring any spiders in here. Fun as it would be to see you squirm, you incinerating Tabby's little friends would traumatize her. I don't want you burning down the house either. It would ruin my vacation."

"Hello? Is there a megalomaniacal preacher at home? I'm going door to door selling death rays to raise money for college and heard there might be an interested buyer here."

I looked over at the door and saw Sapphire trotting in.

"Did you let yourself in?" I demanded to know.

"Of course not, Wild Growth said I could head on in,” Sapphire flapped her wings and flew the distance between us. “So what’s up with the penal colony for kids? Running around in circles with a woman who looks like a Mad Max reject watching over them doesn't sound like my idea of fun and games."

"Wild is here, now?" I asked.

Sapphire pointed a wing back towards the door. "Yeah, she's outside, trying to get a word in with the kids as they run. Mohawk out there won't let the kids stop, so it makes the conversation difficult."

I creased my brow. "And what are you doing here?"

"Wild told me she was in the area to check in on something going on here and decided it would be a nice time to drop in on my friends," Sapphire explained with a toothy grin. "And really, what did those kids do? Jessie looks like her lungs are about to give out, and she’s going to cuss Mohawk out. I know that look well; it's the look you give me every time you see me."

"How do you know that’s Jessie?” I asked.

Sapphire blinked. "I don’t normally go about saving fillies from mile-high trees. So when I do, I tend to take an interest longer than five minutes. I would like to see her stop being force-fed human growth hormones, though. You have to be; she looks like an amazon.”

A thundering of hooves and feet cut off any response, as all the kids came running into the living room… well, some running, some gasping for breath.

"The winner, and still champion, me!" Charlotte shouted as she bounced about excitedly.

"It wasn't a race!" Tabby yelled.

Charlotte turned and faced her sister, sticking out her tongue. "You're just sore that I finished my laps first!"

"Yeah, well, you’re just trying to make up for the fact that you'll always be the second born!" Tabby fired back.

It looked like a fresh fight was about to break out between the sisters, but Tempest quickly walked in and lifted both by the scruffs of their necks and brought them up in front of her face to glare at them.

"Were you two considering getting into another fight?" Tempest asked with a raised eyebrow. "I hope not, not after I already told you I wanted no more fighting between you two for the remainder of this trip. I can think of things other than laps to keep you occupied."

"No, we were just playing," Charlotte said quickly.

"Yeah, just joking around," Tabby said and gave a big grin.

As Tempest was putting them back down, Jess stumbled in and went straight to the first unoccupied couch she could find and belly-flopped on it. "I'm just going to lay here and… just lay here and… I don't know what. I'm done."

"Don't be too done," Silvia called out. "We need to do your daily control exercises in a few minutes."

"Sure… just let me get feeling in my legs again first," Jess replied and rolled over, so she was no longer facing anyone. “I’m human; I don’t have earth pony stamina.”

Speaking of earth pony stamina. Líng and Sinker entered side by side, looking like they were ready to run another hundred laps. Shǔguāng and Mèng followed behind, looking completely pooped. Sinker ran over to our parents and began excitedly telling them how well he did. Robby and the Young children were next in. The humans looked tired, but happy, and they picked up their step when they saw their parents and started telling them how much fun they had. I guess with how little they got out, running in circles was a big deal for them. Robby looked perfectly fine and went to check on his sister, and was quickly joined by their father.

Bringing up the rear was Wild Growth. She wasn't wearing her typical business clothes and looked as tired as the kids. She did a quick glance around, then started walking over to the other adults and me.

"Forgive me, I haven't been sleeping well this week," Wild said with a yawn as she reached us.

"You need to take better care of yourself. You always try to do too much," Rosetta said in a firm, but slightly worried tone. "How's the pain doing?"

Wild shrugged. "Right now, it is fine; the last few times I've woken up or needed to go to bed, it has been pretty bad. Not much to do about it other than take some painkillers and try to push through it."

Rosetta's ears fell. "The doctors haven't come up with anything better?"

"They tried having a team of crystal ponies try to drain some magic off me, to relieve some pressure, but all it managed to do was leave the crystal ponies bright and glowing with migraines," Wild replied.

"How many crystal ponies were in the team?" Silvia asked in a small voice.

"Twenty-five," Wild casually answered with a shrug, like a team of twenty-five crystal ponies draining her was nothing. A team that size trying to drain any other pony would probably kill them within seconds. I'd be dead within a millisecond.

Both Silvia and Malcomb shuddered, and for some reason, Trixie did too. I knew some Equestrians got a little nervous about the idea of crystal ponies draining magic; perhaps that was the reason.

Wild finally turned her attention to the humans. "John and Lauren Young?"

"That's us, and my son Mike and daughter Alice," John replied.

Wild nodded. "I'm Wild Growth, but you can call me Wild—or if pony names feel weird for you, Cathy or Catherine, although I rarely ever use that."

"Pony names are fine," Lauren replied.

"We’ll call you the Queen of England if you want, as long as you help us get our lives back," John said. "Sunset here has been talking you up quite a bit."

"Just Wild will do," Wild replied. She then looked at me. "I don't want to be short, but I'm on a tight schedule. How is the task you were assigned progressing?"

"I was going to do some more study today and hope to start writing out ideas tomorrow," I answered.

Wild nodded. "Go study then. Number and the Youngs can brief you about the results of this meeting later. Bursa needs help as soon as possible, Sunset, and she can't wait."

"What have you got this witch doing now, Wild?" Rosetta said with a growl.

Wild looked at her older sister. "Work for Princess Twilight at my request. Like it or not, Sunset is an expert in fields many mages don't know much about, and her unorthodox methods lead her to solutions no one else would have even considered—which is something we desperately need right now since all the other mages are stumped over this problem, even Princess Twilight. Considering she has a lot to make up for, and that I'm giving her room and board, she can stand to make herself useful."

"I would want to help even if you weren’t making it an obligation," I added in.

"Just work fast. Bursa is getting worse by the day," Wild said with a grunt.

I looked over to Lántiān, who had been conspicuously silent through all the exchanges, and I had caught giving Rosetta of all ponies glares.

"Now seems like a good time to get your flying in," I said. "Perhaps you can have Sapphire continue to help you. I know you are now suddenly interested in art, but there's no reason you can't be good at art and flying. My parents can watch Qīng Yǔ."

“Actually, can I see some of this art? Ya know I’m something of an artist myself,” Sapphire interrupted.

Lántiān scowled. "I would rather not. I have just begun, and my work is merely foal scribbles of lesser quality than even my brothers' drawings. I know I have no natural talent for art, but I will master it in time. Ma'am has bought me books to help guide me."

I was going to make a point of asking Yinyu what was going on with that next time I slept. People didn't suddenly take up new directions in life that they neither loved nor had talents for unless they had reason to. I hadn't heard anything said about Yinyu being an artist, so I didn't have a clue where all this was coming from. The filly seemed like she would be much happier as a weather pony, which was good work. Being an artist was risky, especially if she had no natural talent at it or love for it. They were called starving artists for a reason.

“Well, if you want to be a Debbie Downer about that, why don’t we get a little exercise by giving some of these little ponies rides around the building they were so happy to gallop around? Give all these old people some time to talk," Sapphire suggested.

"I think my parents are eager to meet my grandfoals," I said. "But perhaps you could take her brothers for a flight."

Lántiān looked at her brothers and flicked an ear. "I could carry Mèng, but the other two are too heavy for me."

Sapphire waved a wing. "Not too heavy for me, but I'll still deal with them one at a time. Safer that way. It's hard for two foals to hang on at once, but easy for one. We can keep it low, too, just in case anypony slips."

"You're going to fly?! Can we watch?" Bobby exclaimed.

Grace turned to her parents, who were whispering quietly with Wild. "Can we watch the pretty pegasuses fly?"

John looked up and blinked. "Um… sure. I still don't know how a pony is supposed to get into the air with wings like that and how heavy they are, but you can go see. Mike, Alice, can you go watch your siblings so we can talk to this pony in peace?"

The two older siblings nodded, and the younger ones did a big cheer.

I nodded. "That seems settled. I will be in my room, studying."

I made it about four steps before my grandfoals headed me off.

"You aren't spending time with us?" Alfie asked with big puppy dog eyes.

I sighed. "Granny needs to work, and I know your aunt is busy, but my parents, your great-grandparents, would love to meet you and spend time with you. They came out here just to meet you. Just be gentle with them. I'm old, but they're really old and fragile. They can't take getting tackled like you did me."

My parents walked over with Sinker in tow. My mom smiled down at my grandfoals. "We heard a lot about you and would love to hear about all your adventures from you."

"We can tell you about the time we dropped a locker on grandma," Charlotte said proudly.

"Our other grandma," Tabby clarified.

"She was trying to eat us," Alfie added in. "We didn't want to get eaten."

"It was kinda scary," Tabby continued.

"But exciting!" Charlotte said with a hop.

"And then we got stuck in a big tree," Alfie explained.

Tabby spread her wings wide. "It was so big! The biggest big tree ever! It was bigger than our school!"

"Bigger than a mountain!" Charlotte said.

"And Jessie fell off, we thought she died, and when we saw her again, she was a human-pony," Alfie said in a low voice.

"I wonder if we would be human-ponies too if we fell off the tree," Tabby wondered aloud.

Mom gave a few rapid blinks and then gave a soft smile. "That does sound very exciting and scary. How about you come tell us all about it from the beginning. Don't leave anything out."

Rosetta settled back on the couch. "And I'm going to relax right here. Tempest, you can relax too. No one is going to hurt the foals here, and hopefully, they’ll be tired out enough from all this to get to sleep without too much fuss."

Tempest shook her head. "I'm going to observe and assess Miss Middleton's magic exercises."

Rosetta gave the human a flat look. "Really? You know barely anything about her magic."

"That's why I'm observing and assessing."

Rosetta groaned. "Do what you want. But you really should lighten up. You're stiff as a board and half as charming. I think you have become even stiffer after the species change."

Dad gave me a smile after putting Qīng Yǔ on his back. "Go do your work, hun. We got this."

I looked around. Sapphire and Lántiān were rounding up the other foals. Sinker was with my parents and my grandfoals. Trixie was looking up something on an electronic tablet. Number was standing by Wild, taking notes as Wild spoke with the Youngs. Silvia and Malcomb had joined Robby and Paul in trying to rouse Jess. The Young children were all waiting impatiently on the two pegasi. Rosetta was lounging on the couch. Tempest was standing with her arms crossed, mainly watching Jess, but also looking over everyone else.

Everything seemed in order. I nodded to myself and went to go work.

Chapter 59: Brooding Teenagers and Magic Princesses

I'd been reading back over Twilight's notes for over an hour, and a clear idea had come to me. It seemed so simple and straightforward that I had to assume something was wrong with it. Anything that seemed like an obvious answer had to be something the princess and her other mages had already considered and found a problem with, yet I saw nothing in the notes indicating they had.

I didn't have all the information I needed to make a complete spell, but I could make a basic framework and have the princess plug the missing elements in. That could be the reason she hadn't considered this option; she could be lacking those vital final elements. However, her notes elsewhere made me think she might have ways of finding that missing information. I knew it would be entirely dependent on her to finish the spell since those particular things were outside my ability to gather information about.

I also had a second option that I was considering, an evolved form of my temporary transformation spell that was more stable than my previous incarnation of the spell. Twilight had considered and developed this, but it wasn't really an answer to the problem, more of something that could buy time to come up with a real solution. Unfortunately, my idea of expanding it even further seemed like it would take too much time to finish, and by the time it was in place to buy time, Bursa could be out of time. It might have been helpful to her if we found her at an earlier point, but as it stood, there was no way of completing it before her organs failed. Still, I would stow that idea away. I had a personal interest in how Twilight improved my work, and I was pleased to see it had not been abandoned. It was impossible to ignore something I had dedicated years of my life to making and now suddenly seeing new possibilities in it.

I shook my head and scolded myself. Focus, Sunset. You aren't here to further develop your temporary transformation spell. You're here to help a victim.

I hadn't planned on starting to develop spells until tomorrow, but that first option needed to be reviewed. I could draft up the basic idea and have Starlight get in touch with Twilight Sparkle to let her know I had an idea. Hopefully, Twilight would come straight away, and she could tell me if I was onto something or if I was pursuing a dead end. She also would be able to verify if she could fill in the blanks in my spell work. Even if this worked, I wasn't entirely sure what type of creature Bursa would be, only that it should have a stable resonance.

I started drawing the spell's runes, leaving open the spaces that would need to be filled in. It was an interesting exercise, drawing a puzzle with missing pieces. It was an exciting one since it had me utilizing my talent in a completely different way than I usually did. I was not just taking what I had to make something more, but designing something that someone else could make into something more if they could find the right parts. I prayed Twilight had those parts.

"I can hear you breathing, Auntie Sunset," Jess’s voice came from right next to my ear.

I jumped and almost had a heart attack. After landing, I took a few deep breaths and turned to glare at Jess.

Except she wasn't there. No one was. The door was still closed with my bags in place against it where I left them.

"Are you outside the door playing a trick on me?" I demanded.

"I'm on the big staircase," Jess's voice said, once again sounding like it was right in the room with me. It wasn't even loud. It sounded like she was talking at a normal volume. "I'm practicing my powers. I can't keep this up much longer. I'm sweating from keeping control this long and getting a headache."

I was impressed but also peeved. "Well, you got your laugh by scaring me. Don't do that again."

"Sorry," Jess said contritely. "I wanted to tell you I heard the dogs again. I was trying to get closer to the room so I could try to hear into it, but the room has some weird interference about it."

I grumbled and didn't care if she heard. "I already knew that the thaumic energy was off in that room. Just keep away from it."

"Thaumic energy?" she asked in interest. "You know, my big paper that got me famous involving the interaction of thaumic energy with classical and quantum physics. Since it is thaumic energy impacting sound, I would love to study how it lines up with Middleton's Law."

"Middleton's Law?"

"Well… it’s not confirmed as a law of physics just yet. They are still doing experiments to show it applies in every situation, but I'm confident they'll come out showing that I'm right."

I shook my head and had no idea if she would know I did. "This is an unexplained phenomenon outside a lab; you can't set up controls. We don't know if it is dangerous. You are to keep away from that room and let the adults deal with it."

"Fine," she said with a huff. "I was just trying to be helpful. I'll leave you alone!"

And the room went silent.

I sighed. The girl's input might be useful if we kept studying it and couldn't come up with a reason why it was happening. Still, I didn't want to involve any member of my family, especially a minor, in dealing with something I had no way of knowing how dangerous it was. I was going to have to move everyone off that hall tonight. I didn't want any incidents.

That was a worry for later on. Right now, I needed to worry about Bursa, and that meant contacting Twilight Sparkle.

I dialed up Starlight and listened as the phone started ringing. It kept ringing for about thirty seconds, and I was about to hang up when it was finally answered.

"Sunset? What is it? Is something wrong? I'm in a meeting," Starlight said in a hurried whisper.

"I need to speak with Twilight Sparkle, directly, face-to-face, as soon as possible. My calls are monitored, and that means people I'm not approved to tell information according to my compulsion could be listening. I think I have part of the solution to the problem she and Wild gave me, but she needs to fill in the rest."

Starlight paused, and I heard movement, maybe her going somewhere more private. After a few seconds, she stopped moving.

"How confident are you about this? I know you are good, but that was pretty fast," Starlight said, continuing to whisper.

"I don't know. It seems obvious to me, but I don't think about spells the same ways you Equestrians do. I wasn't brought up learning magic from foalhood. That means I have a more open mind to what magic can do and how things can work since I'm not following as strict a set of rules, while at the same time some things you might feel are straightforward are incredibly complex ideas to me."

Starlight went silent for a few seconds, and all sound was muffled. I wondered if she hung up on me.

Sound returned. "Okay, I'll call her and let her know. I know she will hurry to you as fast as possible. You might want to wait outside for her someplace in the open. I'm not sure how long she will take, only that she will be there soon."

I smiled. "Thanks, Starlight."

"Now, let me go, so I can call her and get back to what I'm supposed to be doing. I'll talk to you in the morning since I expect you'll be in bed before I get back," Starlight replied. "I hope you and Twilight work this problem out. Good luck."

After the call ended, I quickly gathered up Twilight's notebooks and my notes into the saddlebag and put it on. If this turned out to be the answer we needed, I wouldn't require these anymore, and they were too dangerous to be left with me indefinitely. They may have security measures on them, but others could find a way around those, given enough time.

I left the room and headed downstairs, but found an obstruction on the stairs, Jess was fast asleep on them, and Robby, Paul, Silvia, Trixie, Rosetta, and my grandfoals were all down at the base of the stairs talking.

I carefully walked around Jess with my eyes fixed on the others. "What is going on? Why is Jess sleeping on the stairs?"

Silvia turned and gave me a worried look. "She exhausted herself. She got bound and determined to force her hearing powers into that room upstairs, and the effort was too much. She passed out."

I blinked and looked at my niece. "Fool girl. I told her not to mess with that room, and she did it immediately. She isn't hurt, is she?"

Silvia shook her head. "Not hurt, just worn out. We were debating how to move her and where."

I considered for a second. "Just put her on a couch in the living room for now. I want to move everyone out of that particular hallway until we figure out what's going on with that room. We may have to double or triple up in some rooms in the meantime."

Trixie lit her horn. "Trixie is not used to doing heavy lifting, but I can carry her to the other room."

"Just don't drop her," Paul cautioned worriedly. "I'd carry her, but she's gotten a little too big and heavy for me; she weighs in at just under two hundred pounds now. I miss her being a little filly.

Trixie hadn't gotten around to lifting Jess yet, but her horn's light went out. " She weighs how much? Trixie can't do that much lifting."

I rolled my eyes and lit my own horn. Jess was enveloped in my magic, and I carefully deposited her down on the base of the stairs.

"I thought your magic was weaker than most unicorns," Rosetta said in confusion.

"Everypony keeps saying her magic is getting stronger," Trixie said, giving me a considering look.

"I didn't think to even read it," Silvia said in embarrassment.

I shrugged. "It's no big deal. I have always been much better at levitation than other things. I couldn't go carrying her around like that for long, but I can at least get her off the stairs. Number or Wild can help you move her to the living room, or maybe Mike and Paul can do it together." I looked around. "Where's Tempest."

"Already asleep on one of the couches," Rosetta replied. "She tends to sleep five hours or so every afternoon. Since Crystal usually is around to watch us at that time."

Made sense. "I know all the night ponies are going to need to go to bed soon. Just double up in the rooms on the second floor on this wing. We don't need them in the day, aside from Mèng. He can share a bed with the demons."

"We have to share a bed with Alfie?" Charlotte whined.

"He wets the bed!" Tabby complained.

Alfie flapped his wings slightly in embarrassment. "I don't do that!"

Rosetta nuzzled her son. "Your brother will make sure he goes potty before going to bed. You'll be fine."

Robby looked at the door. "I'm going to stay up until my mom and little brother arrives. I haven't seen them in months."

I forgot Devon and Dusk were coming. Where was I going to put all these people? That was a worry for later. Right now, I needed to worry about meeting Twilight.

"Where are you going?" Rosetta asked. "You have saddlebags packed and on. That's not typical for going around the house."

I frowned. "Cool your suspicions. Princess Twilight is coming, and I'm going to deliver these to her. They're her property anyway, on loan to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to wait outside for her arrival. I shall see you this evening. Have a good afternoon and sleep tight."

I then calmly marched out the front door.

There was no immediate sign of Twilight. Wild's limo was still parked here, so she must still be here. I heard laughter and giggles in the distance. Looking around, I spotted Alice sitting in the shade of a tree with Mèng curled up next to her, sleeping with a wing draped over his head.

I walked over to her. "Where is everyone else?"

Alice pointed out towards the gardens, which were a maze of bushes and low walls. "Mike is watching all the kids play, except for this little guy. The foals got freaked out by flying quickly, and the two pegasuses—"

"Pegasi," I corrected.

"—pegasi left them here and went out flying higher," Alice finished, then pointed up.

I took a few steps back to get a better view of the sky. There were two ponies up there, but I couldn't make any details out from this distance. They were high, really high. Pegasi had the best long-distance vision among ponies, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were still monitoring the foals from that height.

"I'd forgotten how bright daylight was," Alice said as she gently ran a hand over Mèng's sleeping form. "We came out here from time to time to get crabapples, but that was always at night. This is the first time I have been out in the day since I was a kid. Bobby and Grace don't remember daylight at all; they've spent their entire lives with artificial light and moonlight."

I perked an ear and continued to hear laughter. "They seem like they are adjusting to it well."

Alice nodded. "I hope Mike brings them back soon. They aren't used to all this activity or heat. It can make them sick."

"You're surprisingly mature for your age," I observed.

She shrugged. "You don't get much of a childhood living in a bunker," she muttered, and I detected a strong hint of bitterness. "Eight years… all for nothing. My parents are so stupid, and Mike and I were stupid ever to believe them."

Great, another damaged teenager. I had enough at the house to start a support group. Was Robby damaged? Probably. He just wasn't as overt about it. “I’m not going to disagree that what they did was rather foolish, but given how bad things were, especially in this area eight years ago, I don’t blame them for trying to protect their family.”

"But they didn't protect us. They ruined our lives," Alice practically hissed.

I frowned. "My daughter-in-law, Rosetta, once taught me an old Assyrian proverb. Don't curse the day until you have seen the night."

Alice gave me a confused look. "What does that mean?"

I sat down. "It means that the day isn't over until the night is through, and that goes for life as well. You are young, girl. You're still in the morning of your life, and you have a lot more life to live. Don't say your life is ruined because you don't know how your life will turn out yet. When you're old, like me, with less life ahead of you than behind, is when you can start making judgments about whether your life was good or bad."

“Sounds like you read way too much into that, but whatever," Alice said and went back to petting Mèng like a sleeping cat.

I wasn't ready to give up. "How about we use my parents as an example. They thought they had lost track of all their kids, and I had cut them off; my mother had lung cancer. They aren't young; they're pushing eighty years old. Yet look at them now. They had another kid in their seventies, they've reconnected with my sisters and me, and are meeting all the family they never got to see. Ten years ago, they might have said their lives were a ruined mess, but now they are happy and fulfilled."

Alice didn't look impressed. "Well, they got to turn into magic ponies. My siblings and I didn't get that chance."

That fell too close to Shimmerist thought for my liking. This girl might not know what a Shimmerist was, but I knew she was very susceptible to what they'd be preaching. I wanted to head that off now.

I sighed. "Very few people had any choice in it, and it was a frightening time for many. Two years ago, I would have agreed with you that becoming ponies would make it all better, but I can tell you now that isn't so. I made the biggest mistakes in my life after becoming a pony and wouldn't have been able to make those particular mistakes if I had stayed human. Jess used to be an earth pony, and I honestly can't think of anything useful she would have gained by staying an earth pony. In fact, given she wants to be a scientist, she probably will have an easier time doing that as a human. I used to think becoming ponies made us better people, but the truth is we're all still just people, and people screw up. You can be upset you've lost eight years of your life, but don't ever be upset you're human."

"What would I lose being a pegasus, like them up there?" Alice asked, gesturing upwards.

I smirked. "You think being a pegasus is easy? They have to spend a certain amount of time in the air every day to maintain their health, hours in the air. Do you think that doesn't impact their lives? It makes many of them get pigeonholed into jobs requiring flying, regardless of what else they might want to do. On top of that, there are lots of places they aren't even allowed to fly, which feels like discrimination to them."

I pointed to Mèng. "And night ponies have it worse. They are stuck, due to their strict nocturnal natures, unable to do things during the middle of the day. They aren't as good at flying as pegasi, and they face constant discrimination because of several factors. As for earth ponies and crystal ponies, can you imagine having to do everything with your mouth?"

Alice narrowed her brow. "And unicorns?"

I pointed up at my horn. "You want to talk about design flaws? Our horns are one of the most sensitive and delicate parts of our body, yet they're in an extremely exposed position. We also tend to magically exhaust the fastest since we use magic less efficiently compared to the passive abilities of the other tribes. Magical exhaustion isn't fun. We're practically helpless in every situation when exhausted. I've done it to myself more than once. We ponies are far too dependant on our magic; humans, even humans with magic, are far more adaptable to most situations."

The girl didn't look convinced. "How do I adapt any better than a pony?"

I pointed at Mèng. "I'm guessing he made for the shade on his own. He's a night pony, and he doesn't do well with bright daylight. You might not be used to sunlight, but you'll adapt to it more than he will. The light is blinding for him, and that's biological, not something he can just get used to. Also, you spent the last eight years underground. If you were a pegasus, that would have made you very weak and sick and may have died. You seem healthy. These are just some examples, but I could give many more."

She finally seemed to accept she wasn't strictly inferior to ponies, at least if I was reading her body language right. She still seemed unhappy. "We still lost half my life."

"Half your life so far, but you have far more life ahead of you," I corrected. "Be positive. You have a whole new world to learn about and explore. It's an adventure."

Alice still wasn't perking up. I watched as she continued to pet Mèng.

"You know," I said slowly. "Mèng seems to trust you. One of the limitations I have is I can't be up to take care of him at night. Would you possibly be interested in helping take care of him on some nights? Your parents would need to approve, but it could be a great help. I can pay you."

She seemed taken aback. "I don't know. I wouldn't know what to do."

I spotted a car driving up. That must be Devon. Where the heck was Twilight?

I focused back on Alice. "Rosetta and Josie can show you the ropes and let Mèng get even more used to you. My goal is to have someone who can rotate nights with Josie, so he doesn't get too used to just one sitter."

"I don't know," she said. "I need to talk to my parents."

I nodded. "Do so, and get back to me." I turned to face Devon as she was getting out of the car and gave her a wave. "Hi, Devon! Your family was just inside the door, last I checked. They might have gone off to the room to the immediate right when you enter. You can let yourself in. Jess just magically exhausted herself, so she's out like a light. She's not hurt."

"She what?!" Devon yelled before quickly hurrying to open the back seat to collect up her youngest.

There was a sudden flash, and Twilight Sparkle appeared at the front door.

I called out to her and waved before she could start knocking. "Over here, Princess."

She turned and gave a double-take at the sight of me. "Sunset Blessing? Why are you yellow?"

That did it. I was going to go back to my natural color. I was so sick of that question.

"A temporary fur dye," I explained. "Do you want to go somewhere private? This place is crawling with people at the moment. Maybe take a walk out in the trees? I think I have part of the solution for the Bursa problem, and I pray you have the rest."

She looked around, then nodded. "Let's do that."

Chapter 60: Conversations with The Princess of Friendship

I thought I got focused when studying magic, but Twilight was something else.

"Tree," I said. Twilight stepped to the side as she walked, narrowly dodging the tree and still not looking up from reading my notes. She had a half-frown on her face, and I was sure she must have read over them a dozen times without saying anything yet.

"Tree," I said again; again, she stepped around the obstacle. "You know, we could stand still and let you read."

"I like walking," Twilight said absently, still not taking her eyes away from the notes.

"Whatever you want," I replied as I looked ahead. "Tree."

The little copse of trees and bushes was missing all signs of wildlife: no squirrels, no rabbits, no birds. It made it eerily silent, except for the sounds of the children and foals playing in the distance. It didn't help that I now knew why they were missing all the wildlife. It occurred to me they still had live animals in the bunker, unless Starlight had done something to free them—then we might have wild animals in our walls. That was something that needed to be resolved, and soon as the last thing we needed was one of the foals wandering into one of them.

I noticed that a few crabapples had fallen on the ground. With us being in the house for a few days now, the Youngs hadn't been out gathering them. I wondered if I could convince my mom and the Youngs to teach the foals how to make crabapple preserves. It was one of those warm memories from childhood. Never much mind the reason we had been making them was we were so poor for a few years before I was ten that we were left to harvest crabapples and wild lettuce to help fill out our food. Those are things that I hadn't understood at the time, and thankfully, something our family had gotten out from by the time I was in my teens.

I wasn't paying full attention, lost in my thoughts, and Twilight walked right into a tree.

"Sorry," I told her quickly as she gave me a disgruntled look, "I was lost in memories." I looked at my notes that she was holding in her magic. "You've read that over plenty of times. That tells me that I must be onto something; otherwise, you would have rejected it by now, but there must be an issue too."

She sighed and rolled up the notes, depositing them in the secure saddlebag she had taken back from me. "It could work. I'm even willing to say it has a high likelihood of working."

"But?" I prompted, waiting to hear what the issue was.

She shook her head. "This could very well make Bursa into a real monster."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Have you seen her? I don't think turning her into a monster is an issue."

"She may have a monstrous form right now, but this could give her a monstrous need," Twilight clarified with her frown deepening. "Not too unlike the one you accidentally made once; only this one would have an insatiable hunger for love instead of magic."

"So you give her lots of hugs and kisses and tell her how special she is," I replied. "I still don't see the issue."

Twilight scowled at me, then closed her eyes and sighed. "I forget you don't know much about changelings. What your spell would do would most likely create what is referred to as an unreformed changeling. This type of changeling would suck love and energy from any being it could find, as a source of food."

I chewed on my lip. "Are you using the term unreformed in the way of having repented of crimes, or are you using it in the way of reshaped into something else?"

She tapped a hoof to her chin. "A mix of both. You could consider changelings as going through a stage of a life cycle that is not set by biological mechanisms but by moments of personal emotional growth to cause physical changes. That is something worth studying. I know there are reformed nymphs. I need to sit down with King Thorax and get a more thorough study done."

"I won't ask the full details," I said. "You are keeping information about changelings under wraps for some reason. However, this could save her, and even if she ends up as one of these unreformed ones, that still means she'd live. You can't reform a monster if they're dead."

She nodded. "That's a very valid point. I'm just worried about how dangerous she could be before that reformation comes… if it comes. There’s also the risk of changelings being able to feed on humans, magic or not. It’s not something we’ve tested on human emotion."

I laid my ears back. "I was tasked with finding a way of saving her. This is the best I could come up with in the time frame we have. Do you or don't you have access to the information needed to complete the spell? If you don't, then there is no point of even discussing this."

She stared up at the branches of the trees for a few seconds. "I have it. I can complete the spell. I can try to arrange safety precautions to deal with what she may become after. You're right; I can’t reform her if she is dead. Better to take the risk and have faith we can do that. I believe in the power of friendship, and I would be betraying that if I didn't think there was a chance she could reform."

"Could there be a chance you could just make her one of these reformed ones if they are less dangerous?" I asked.

She turned her gaze down to the ground. "Not likely, at least, not the way she is. She is filled with anger and rage. There isn't much love in her. I can understand why, given what was done to her, but that would impact what kind of changeling we end up with. She wouldn't be able to reform until she was able to share love. It is what divides the reformed from the unreformed. They are the same species biologically, with mainly cosmetic differences in appearance and different behavior patterns. It is like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly, but it requires the caterpillar to decide to become a butterfly rather than as a natural result of their life cycle. A changeling could stay a caterpillar forever if they don't develop emotionally enough."

"A very hungry hungry caterpillar," I said dryly.

"Yes," she replied, completely missing my reference. I suppose it would be unlikely she would get it, given she was Equestrian. "I also doubt your government would allow her to stay on Earth. Changelings are one of the species they gave a very strict no to coming to this planet. The idea of a creature that can become an exact duplicate of anyone at will terrifies their security personnel. They don't even want us talking about them."

"You've taken others to Equestria before," I reminded her. "Speaking of which, how are Jean and Roger doing?"

Twilight instantly broke out a large grin. "They are doing fine. They are taking well to their species change. You'd never know they weren't born griffins… aside from the fact they are nicer than the majority of griffins I have met. They live on the outskirts of Ponyville, and little Guillermo is the cutest little ball of feathers and talons you ever saw. Jean seems to have completely recovered from the trauma she had as a result of your experiment."

I hung my head and held back tears. "I'm glad. I didn't mean for all that to happen, but it haunts me. Rosetta and Wild will never forgive me, and they have made that very clear, and I accept it. I don't know if I can forgive myself for it. I almost got every foal in my family killed."

She reached a wing out to me. "You had the—"

I slapped the wing aside and gritted my teeth at her. "Don't say that! I'm tired of people trying to justify my actions by saying I had good intentions! I was so caught up in finally achieving my Shimmerist dreams that I threw all caution to the wind and hurt people in the process. If I hadn't done that, the riots might not have been as bad. If the riots weren't as bad, then we might have had more security in the Bastion. If we had more security in the Bastion—"

I broke down sobbing. I sat down and let the tears flow. I was pathetic.

Twilight carefully approached me and wrapped a wing around me. She didn't say anything; she just let me cry.

"They say everything happens for a reason," I mumbled. "That everything is part of God's grand design. How do I reconcile what happened with that? If that was God's way of taking me down for my sins, then why did so many other people end up being the ones hurt, and I walked away without a scratch? Tonya didn't deserve that. None of those people that lost their homes deserved that. None of those who were still in the Bastion deserved it, and neither did their families that will never see them again. How do I reconcile it, Twilight?"

"I don't know," she gently whispered. "I'm not a follower of your faith, so I can't claim to know how it is all supposed to work. What I can say is I understand forgiveness is a big part of your faith, and I forgive you."

"Why?"

She gripped me tighter. "Because I see how much pain you are in. I see your regret. I see how much you wish you could make it right, and because holding onto my anger won't ever undo what happened or make anything better."

"But why have you trusted me?" I asked, sniffling like a foal. "These notebooks… me having access to what was in them was a violation of international treaties. I can't believe the government knew what you let me have. They'd be up in arms about it. I'm not just a former Shimmerist. I was one of the most influential Shimmerists there may ever be. Why did you trust me?"

She sat silent for a moment. "Part of it is what I already told you. First and foremost, I believe you want to do the right thing. Another part is you showed me trust first. When everything was happening in Riverview, you gave me access to everything, no matter how classified. I know you were doing that because you were desperate. However, even after I failed you… and I did fail you, and Tonya, and all those other people, and that haunts me as well; you continued to show that same trust in me by giving me all your information about the temporary transformation spell. You never said a word of recrimination to me about having failed Riverview. You just accepted I did my best and didn't blame me. That's a powerful thing to do, a humbling thing to have done for me in the wake of one of my most devastating failures, and you have my trust in return."

I looked up at her face. I saw a tear fall from her eye.

"You didn't fail," I said firmly, wiping my own eyes. "You held back that blast long enough for Wild to do what she did. If you hadn't been there, all of Riverview would have perished. Wild gets all the acclaim as a hero, but she could never have done it without you. It was both of you who saved the city, not just her. Tens of thousands are alive because of you."

"I know," she whispered. "What I failed to do was find a solution before that, one that could have saved everyone in the Bastion. I have studied and rerun simulations on what I could have done since then. I have yet to come up with anything I can be sure would have worked. You made that place to be impenetrable, and you accomplished it. Unfortunately, the danger had already been on the inside. I know you take no pride in it, but you managed to outsmart both yourself and me."

"I definitely take no pride in it," I said bitterly. "I was smart enough to make a foolproof defense and foolish enough to be undone by it. Yet another reason why I'm to blame."

She went silent again for a few seconds. "I do ask Starlight about you, and talk to some others about you as well. I know you're resistant to seeking psychological help, but I'm told and can see you're prone to dramatic mood swings. If you trust and respect me, will you believe me when I say you need to get help with this, for your sake? Even if there weren't mood swings, you need help with the grieving process. It's okay to say you can't handle coping with it all on your own. I know your wife wants you to be happy."

I shook my head. "Everyone talks about how much good I could do, but—

She put a hoof up to my mouth. "Stop right there. I know about Yinyu's foals. I was told today about the humans. You just advocated to me for Bursa's sake. I can also see by your notes that you still can develop complex magical spells. Seeking help isn't for the sake of what you can do for the world if you get better, because you already are a good pony who is making a positive difference. What it's for is to help you be happy again. You deserve happiness."

"I don't know," I mumbled as she removed her hoof.

"The worst that could happen if you seek help is that you are no better off than before," she said in a gentle voice. "You have a history of running risk assessments. Do you see any risk?"

I shook my head, outdone by her logic. "No… I suppose you're right. I'll look into seeing a counselor."

Twilight smiled. She had such an innocent and warm smile that felt sincere to see. "I'm glad you'll try." She then held up the notes.."This spell for Bursa wasn't the only thing in your notes. I see you took my improvements on your signature spell and made notes about how to improve it further."

I knew another reason why I needed to drop this yellow fur. It let people see my blushes. "It— I couldn't help myself. I've poured so much into that thing, trying to make it right. I saw what you did, and it gave me more ideas, and I wanted to record them so someone could continue with it. I'm not planning on doing anything."

She nodded. "I never was opposed to the spell existing, and I believe in the value of Wild Growth's goals. Helping the sick, injured, and more is a wonderful goal." She pointed to me, indicating my heart. "If you can ever get to a better place emotionally, I wouldn't mind seeing how much you can improve it still. You need to take care of yourself first, though, and get settled with those foals."

"I'm not sure if the day will ever come...but thank you for your support," I said, giving a weak smile. I noted she said Wild's goals. It went without saying mine were not good ones back then.

She looked back at the house. "Let's head back. I want to at least say hello to everyone before I go. I was told Jessie was here, and I want to say hi to Trixie too. I hope you write that first friendship report for Luna soon. She is really looking forward to those reports and is practically bouncing off the walls of Canterlot Castle in giddy anticipation."

"I'll write it tonight and give it to Starlight to deliver in the morning," I assured her. "Thank you again for listening to me and giving support."

She gave that enduring smile again. "Thank you for showing you are worth the faith we put in you."

Chapter 61: Two Jobs Declined

Twilight saying hello to Jess was a lost cause. Magical exhaustion was no joke, and Jess wasn't going to be roused for hours yet.

Devon had apparently given Silvia a good dressing down for allowing Jess to do that to herself because now Silvia was miffed. But I couldn't tell if she was upset at Devon, Jess, or herself. It could be all three. Regardless, Silvia had removed herself from most of the others and was now hanging out with Malcomb as he did some yard work. It figured she would retreat to the company of one of her tribe when upset. Crystal ponies, like night ponies, tended to try to congregate with other members of their tribe whenever possible. No one wanted to feel alone in a crowd.

Twilight took her time with her visit. She spoke briefly with Trixie, although the conversation didn't last long. The two were friends, but they weren't close ones, and I got the distinct impression the two of them both knew they could only deal with so much of each other in a single meeting before the other came to annoy them. Their friendship may have been the result of their shared friendship with Starlight, and without her presence at the moment, they had little to bond over.

The alicorn told Wild to hang around for a little bit so that they could discuss Bursa. Wild may have been a busy mare, but she wasn't going to turn down a meeting with a Princess of Equestria wanting to discuss one of her most urgent concerns. Wild did excuse herself to go outside to the far side of the yard, with Number in tow, where they made phone calls to adjust schedules, and Wild smoked that filthy pipe of hers while Number had her cigarette. Disgusting habits, but at least they were considerate enough to keep them well away from everyone else. This was bonding time for the two unlikely best friends, and I couldn't begrudge it to them.

Twilight walked around, greeting people, asking them how they were doing, making general small talk, and I followed her around because what else was I supposed to do?

Eventually, she was able to disengage herself from the others and join me on the third floor to investigate the mysterious barking room.

"You said Jess exhausted herself trying to hear into this room with her powers?" Twilight asked as she looked the room over, horn lit.

I nodded from where I was standing in the doorway. "Yeah, and Starlight checked the room over thoroughly, as well as Silvia."

Twilight frowned and kept doing her magical scan of the room. "And the barking only happens when only one person or no one is standing in the hall?"

"That's correct."

She walked in a circle around the room, feeling it out. She then looked at me with a puzzled expression. "Do you mind stepping out of the doorway? I think I noticed something Starlight missed."

"Okay," I stepped aside, just outside the door.

Twilight walked out of the room, horn still lit and her eyes on the floor. She kept walking down the hall until she had reached the staircase. She took one step forward at that point, stopped, took a step back, then advanced another step. She then took a half step back and stared straight down.

"The energy isn't moving as fast as in the room, but it is still moving at a higher rate along the floor up to this point," she explained. "Can I check each of the rooms?"

"Knock yourself out," I replied, then winced with a nervous chuckle. "Bad phrasing, considering what happened to Jess."

She headed back down the hall, still looking at the floor. "It's a shame she exhausted herself. I would have liked to know if the floor was giving any similar interaction with her powers," the alicorn said absently. She opened the first bedroom door and stepped just inside, only to immediately step out again. She closed the door and went to the next room, repeating the same actions, and continued till she did every room in the hall.

"It doesn't extend into any room," Twilight announced.

"So… is it like a mechanism for recognizing someone is in the hall?" I asked as I looked around. "And if that is so, this is seeming deliberate, but to what purpose, and who would have done it, and when? This place should have been abandoned since ETS years ago."

"I don't know. I'm still not detecting any spells," Twilight said as she looked around. "The energy moving faster shouldn't be able to operate in any controlled way, not without a spell, but there's no trace of one."

"I think the thaumic energy moving faster would be the trace in itself," I replied. "Could it be a result of someone erasing the evidence?"

Twilight chewed on her lip. "That's a possibility. I've never seen it done like that, but I've learned not to underestimate anything the ponies on this planet can come up with—or humans since human magic is so unpredictable." She looked back at the still silent barking room. "But erasing what, and to what purpose? I can't say that is what it is because nothing seems to line up."

"Can we at least assume active agency?" I asked. "Someone is doing something, even if we can't see the purpose."

Twilight nodded. "Yes. This doesn't feel like a random anomaly or accident of nature. It does feel deliberate, but I'm as confused as you about what the meaning is. Let's conduct the next logical experiment."

"We try to trigger the barking?" I asked.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed. "We know the range of this, so the first thing is for both of us to stand just outside the range. Maybe give it a little more distance than that, to be safe."

And so we stood at the beginning of the hall. This triggered nothing. We then tried standing in the staircase, going to the rooms, having just one of us stand within the impacted area, rotated this, and even tried talking to the room. Absolutely nothing we tried got the room to start barking. You would think a room could be more cooperative.

"Could it be triggered by a time of day?" Twilight asked.

"I don't think so," I answered. "It has come up at completely different times. I would need to get more data to determine if there is any pattern that isn't immediately obvious."

Sapphire came flying up the staircase and landed behind us. "Sorry to interrupt, Twilight, but the ponies downstairs wanted you to know the kids heard barking outside. I looked around, but I didn't see any dogs. Seemed relevant to your investigation."

My ears flattened. "Great, it isn't just in one place. While we were hunting for the cause here, it was active outside."

"Or it was deliberately moved," Twilight said gravely. "Let's go check it out."

Sapphire flicked an ear. "And Wild wants to know what's taking so long. She's harping about her schedule, and I’m reasonably sure she was cursing about it in Spanish."

It was Twilight's turn to flatten her ears. "I suppose I did get a little carried away trying to figure out what this magic is. I’ll go speak with her before figuring out how it moved."

"I'll check out the barking," I said quickly. "I was watching what you were doing and can replicate how you were testing. It didn't seem to require much power."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at me. "I forgot how quickly you pick up spells. The school in Canterlot would certainly love to have you as a professor if you're ever in need of a career. You wouldn't have to worry as much about your notoriety getting in the way there since most ponies don't keep up with the details of Earth's current events, and I could pull some strings to make it happen. You and the foals would be welcome in Equestria."

I frowned, noticing Sapphire’s sideways glance at the purple alicorn. "Thank you for the offer. While there is a certain appeal in getting away from everything, I'm not leaving my wife or taking the foals from their mother."

Her ears completely pinned back. "I'm so sorry. I didn't even think about—"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "It isn't anything anyone would normally think about. Again, thank you for your kind offer, but I must decline."

Twilight nodded, then turned to Sapphire. "We'll be out in a moment. I need to talk to Sunset about one last thing before I leave her, in private."

Sapphire stepped back. "Sure thing. Just don't get distracted again."

The pegasus left, and I watched as Twilight cocked an ear to make sure she was out of hearing range. I expected the smug featherbrain to try and eavesdrop, but Twilight didn’t share my suspicions as she turned to me and gave me a serious look.

"I was told by Starlight and some agents of the government that your magic is getting stronger."

"It's not," I said firmly. "I don't know why everyone thinks that."

She gave me a long look. "It is unlikely that multiple independent sources would all be reporting the same thing if nothing was happening. I may have an answer for why it is happening, and that's why I need to speak with you now."

"What is your theory?" I asked, still not willing to accept that it was happening.

Twilight sat down and sighed. "My aunt did a great deal of study about how to make Celestia more powerful. Her entire focus was on trying to strengthen Equestria's defense against any enemy. That is what led her to her plans here, but before those plans, she investigated the strength of faith."

"I'm becoming stronger because I'm pious?" I asked in astonished disbelief. "That's a load of horseshit."

"No, no, no, not your faith, the faith that others have for you," Twilight clarified. "These Blessingists are a rapidly growing group, and while not all of them have the same devoted fervor about you as the rest, there are quite a few that believe you to be capable of extraordinary things—enough that their faith in your power is actually increasing it."

I stared at her. "Are you telling me this because you are afraid I will figure it out on my own and take advantage of it?"

Twilight looked like she wanted to answer but kept thinking of the wrong word before finally blurting out, "Partially," the alicorn admitted. "You’ve changed course more than once in your life. That's why I needed to discuss the peril that you could cause if you, for some reason, consider taking advantage of this new following. My aunt considered cultivating such faith among the ponies here and had speculated that it could lead to her ascension to alicornhood. I don't know if that would have worked or not. It is not my understanding of how ascension works, but it can't be immediately dismissed as a fantasy. It bothers me because the implications, if true, mean that anyone, regardless of their real qualifications, can ascend with enough faith, at least past the first threshold. I can't believe it would get anyone further than that, but that is far enough to cause political and social unrest."

I stepped back, shaking my head. "I could never… Me? An alicorn? That’s insanity!"

"No offense meant to you, but I don't have any desire to see that happening either," Twilight said in a low voice. "I believed there was some possibility you might foster the Blessingists to grow your power, not knowing what it could lead to. Again, I'm not entirely sure it can happen, but I'm confident you will take my warnings seriously. You've always tried to maintain stability and order, and I trust you not to do something to disrupt that."

I flicked my tail. "Well, it still sounds like bologna to me, but I have no intention of involving myself with the Blessingists. I'm not anyone's messiah. If I ignore them long enough, they'll figure out I'm not all that and find someone else to look up to."

Twilight smiled. "Good. Just don't let anyone talk you into it. That's the last thing I needed to warn you about. Triss is still trying to get an ascended being. You aren't the only possibility on her list, but it's been confirmed by multiple sources that you're definitely on her list of people she's going to try and be in contact with."

“How long is this list?” I asked without thinking, just to satisfy my curiosity, of course.

"I can’t say," Twilight confessed. "Wild Growth is on the list, but she is thankfully adamantly opposed to becoming an alicorn, even after rightfully earning it. Other than that, I don't want to go into names I know or suspect too much. I decided only to worry about it when and if I see a possible path to it, whether a likely one or not. If this were Equestria, I wouldn't be trying to intervene, but Earth is not ready for an alicorn."

"It seems like that ancient alien is trying to destabilize our planet," I said gravely.

Twilight sighed again. "Attempt not to see her as an enemy. You have to understand things from her perspective. She has watched an unfathomable number of civilizations be destroyed by the Devourers. She will certainly try to help us, but she doesn’t like our chances and believes having more ascended beings will better them, even if it’s really so she won't be alone if we fail. Whatever chaos she might cause as a result she sees as a worthwhile sacrifice to have saved someone… anyone from the Devourers. I don't know how she has stayed this sane."

"I know I'm not qualified to be an alicorn, so don't worry about me. I'll rebuff any attempt she makes with me," I assured the alicorn.

Twilight frowned again. "I would not completely disregard Triss. She could have valuable lessons to teach. She is also the one who most strongly advocated for your release from prison. The Dreamwardens have agreed to let her teach, provided she doesn't bring up ascension, so she may attempt to contact you via dream. I would let her speak, but be cautious."

I recalled her attempting to speak with me during the Dreamwardens' intervention. They refused her advances, but only for the time being. Tonya had initially been open to the idea of Triss speaking to me before my daughter and Psychic Calm had said I wasn't in a good mental state for it, and Yinyu had begrudgingly been open about it up until that point.

"I'll keep that in mind if and when it comes up," I said as I moved to go. "Let's get going before Wild starts screaming at me or that barking moves again."

"I don't think she'd scream at us," Twilight replied as she joined me.

"No, she wouldn't scream at you. She likes and respects you. She'd scream at me," I said with a grunt. "Let's get out there quick so I can save my eardrums."

Chapter 62: The Red Dread

I was out again in the gardens. It was a pleasant day outside and didn't seem too hot or cold—not that a pony’s sense of temperature was always that reliable for gauging temperature. No one seemed to be sweating, so I was going to assume I was right. Summer months could be deadly to ponies who became overheated before they realized it. There was a reason one of the few common electric appliances Equestria had before contact with Earth were fans. Priorities.

I looked at the foals and children, who were all huddled together as a group by one of the dried fountains. "Where was this barking coming from?"

"From that old building over there," Sinker said as he pointed to a ruined side building. It looked like part of the roof and wall had caved in when a tree had fallen on it, and wood rot from rain had set in.

"That's the old chapel," Mike explained. "No one has used that since before we had the house. The tree fell on it not long after we went down below, but the roof had already been leaking and starting to fall in before that."

"Why is so much of this place in disrepair or falling apart?" I asked.

Mike spread his hands. "We got it this way. Mom and Dad originally had these big dreams about fixing up the place and reselling it at a higher price. They got the inside of the house done but never got around to the outside before they got involved with all these people that said we needed to prepare because the US was going to be going into a civil war or attacked by the rest of the world or whatever. They went kinda nuts and started building a bomb shelter—before the whole ETS thing ever hit."

That was my reminder that even though the Youngs were being somewhat reasonable right now, they were still potentially loose cannons.

I directed my attention back to the kids. "I would hope you understood this already, but I am going to stress it now. Stay away from these old buildings. They wouldn't be safe under normal circumstances. Further, I want everyone to know they need to find me whenever they hear barking around the house or on the grounds. I don't care what I am doing, or even if I said I need privacy, you find me. Do you understand?"

The kids responded with a collection of nods, yeses, and yes Aunties. They still needed to be watched because since when have kids ever stayed away from the things they are told to stay away from?

I walked over to the building in question and put the spell Twilight had been using into effect. The air instantly seemed to take on a blue hue, at least to my eyes alone, and it took me a moment to adjust to this strange new phenomenon. I hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't quite this. After staring for a few seconds, I realized it was like I was surrounded by the aura of magic, and it was moving slowly. I looked upwards towards my horn and saw it had a more pinkish hue around it, and the aura about it seemed to be moving more quickly than the blue aura further away. Streams of pink aura packed with runes drifted down from it, probably into the sides of my eyes. I was astonished at how much more the runes stood out this way. What a fascinating spell!

I looked off in the distance behind me. The foals were an interesting sight. Although blue still permeated everything, I could see hints that aura was a vaguely lighter blue around Shǔguāng's horn, even though it wasn't in use. Sinker and Líng had hints of that pale blue about their hooves. Off in the distance, Lántiān and Sapphire were flying together still, at a low enough altitude that I could make them out, and they left yellow trails that were quickly enveloped by the blue in their wake. Although I was too far to make out the details clearly, I was sure I saw hints of runes in their trails that I would never have seen normally.

It was like a whole world that I had never seen before had been opened up to me. It had always been there, but now I saw the thaumic energy all around me. It was mesmerizing and more than a little disorienting. I could imagine getting a headache from this, not from the power or concentration involved with the spell, but from trying to separate the physical world from the thaumic one in my head. There was work to be done, and I needed to focus.

I carefully stepped into the chapel and looked around. What I was looking for was very easy to find. In-between the altar and the first two wooden benches was a gigantic mass of dark red. It didn't have any clear shape, just a large amorphous blob, around five feet in height, and I would guess somewhere between three and four feet in circumference at its greatest extents. There was no sign of runes anywhere.

Using a thin trail of magic meant for forming a small globe-like shield, I tried to create such a shield within the red mass. It resisted me; it was like I was working through extreme static and background interference. I tried pushing a little harder to make the spell work, and it quickly became a strain, forcing me to release that spell and almost releasing the other spell that was letting me see the anomaly. Now I understood how Jess had exhausted herself, stubborn girl. Twilight and Starlight hadn't felt the same strain, but Twilight was an alicorn, and Starlight was as strong as unicorns could get. Jess and I were magical insects compared to those two, so it might not have been as evident to them.

After making sure I could remember all the details of what I was seeing, I released the spell that let me see the thaumic energy. The blob immediately vanished, and nothing was in that spot now. Behind the area, a plain stone altar with an inscription of a cross sat, there were four wooden benches that had seen better days, and the wall off to my right had caved in under a tree that had also taken out part of the roof. Sunlight drifted in through the hole the tree created, but also through several other small holes in the ceiling and a large window with no glass behind the altar. Leaves carpeted the floor and benches. The room also smelled strongly of crabapples.

The question still loomed; what the hell was causing this?

I used my magic to pick up a stray piece of tile from the roof that had been lying on the floor and chucked it at the spot where the area where the blob was at. It passed through with no effect and shattered against the altar. I reactivated the spell to see the thaumic energy, but noticed no difference. With the spell still active, I grabbed a large chunk of bark near the fallen tree and chucked that instead. It passed through without disturbing anything in the mass. I rereleased the spell.

What was the next step? That seemed easy enough—compare and contrast the two phenomena. I needed to go back into the house and recheck the third floor. I hadn't been observing it the way Twilight had at the time, and now that I could, I needed to see what it looked like. This wasn't right, and it was making me feel sick to my stomach. Every time something didn't feel right, something terrible ended up happening. I hoped whatever intuition I had gained in these past few years was wrong. I wasn't losing anyone else because I was careless.

I left the chapel and headed back to the house. As I was walking, the kids spotted me.

"Did you find the doggies, Miss Pretty Unicorn?" Grace called to me.

"Just call me, Auntie Sunset," I yelled back in reflex. "No, but what I said still stands. If you hear them, find me immediately—run if you have to. Now, continue playing."

Sapphire and Lántiān landed near the entrance as I approached it. Sapphire smirked at me. "What’s with the rush? You find your ghost dog?"

I paused and glared at the snide pegasus. "Is Twilight still here?" No need to ask about Wild. I could see that her limo was gone.

"She left right before Wild," Sapphire replied. She cocked her head at me and softened her expression. "You alright? You seem a little tense, and it isn't just you not liking my pretty face. What's going on?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, and that worries me. I'm getting a bad feeling that’s making me think that it’s far more urgent to solve this barking mystery. Keep your eyes on the kids, don't lose sight of them. I don't know what we are dealing with or where it will be next."

Lántiān immediately fell in behind me. "I'm going to go check on my daughter and youngest brother, ma'am. There are plenty of eyes on the others, but if you're concerned about safety, I want to double-check them."

Sapphire looked skeptical. "Not that I don’t believe you, but wouldn't Twilight have stayed if there was something dangerous going on?"

"I don't have any evidence that this is dangerous; it's just a feeling," I replied. "Twilight is working on extreme deadlines as well. She shouldn't have dallied around here as long as she did, but I guess you can't stop the Princess of Friendship from taking a few minutes to be friendly or the element of magic a few minutes to check what just seems on the surface a harmless curiosity."

"But now you’re not thinking it’s so harmless; is that more than just paranoia?" Sapphire asked, looking me in the eyes.

"Yes, I don't think it is harmless. No, I can't confirm it isn't just paranoia," I admitted.

Sapphire nodded and spread her wings. "Good enough for me. I can help keep an eye on the kids for a little while."

"Thank you," I said with honest gratitude.

"You seem pretty confident, so I’ll trust your instincts on this," Sapphire replied. "I can say a lot of bad things about you, but if you say something is wrong with conviction, it’s worth listening to you." She flapped her wings and took to the air, doing a circular flight around the gardens.

I went inside, and Lántiān broke away from me to go into the family room to check on her daughter. I meanwhile headed straight up the stairs at a partial gallop.

Upon reaching the third floor, I started the spell again. That same blue hue filled the air, but along the hallway leading to the door, the red hung like a low fog blanketing it. I hastily checked each room to see if the red had spread into any of them, but each room had only blue. I finally turned my attention to the tower room and opened it.

There was no glob of red here. The entire room was red, without a hint of blue to be seen. I performed the same mundane tests I had done out in the chapel and got the exact same results. Now what?

I decided to walk around the other end of the third floor with the spell still going. I checked each room, no matter how cluttered. Not a single one of them showed any hints of red, not even the opposite tower. I moved onto the second floor and began checking it top to bottom.

Lántiān nearly ran into me exiting her brothers' room. I could see Rosetta and all the night pony foals, even Robby; all cuddled up together in one big pile on the bed. There were hints of teal around all of them, as there was also around Lántiān's wings, but no hint of red anywhere.

"Have you found anything, ma'am?" the filly asked.

I shook my head. "Only what was there earlier, with no change. Do me a favor and gather everyone back into the family room, including everyone outside, but you can let the night ponies sleep for now. We need to have a family meeting about this. I'm going to check the unused wing of the first floor and the basement, then join you."

"Yes, ma'am," she replied. She then quickly flew downstairs. I would be a very crappy alicorn, but I envied the mobility pegasi had.

My searches of the other wing of the house and the basement turned up nothing but dust and an appreciation for how much old junk this house had stored away. With nowhere else to search, I went into the family room.

Everyone was waiting for me, and once again, I was rushed by foals; thankfully, they didn't tackle me this time.

"Old Sis! Were you doing mad scientist stuff!" Sinker asked excitedly.

"Mad mage," Líng corrected.

I rolled my eyes. "I was trying to determine the source of the barking."

"What's this about barking?" Devon asked as she grabbed Dusk while the toddler was trying to make a break away from her with unsteady steps.

"Is it dangerous?" Mom asked.

"I don't know," I answered. "To catch everyone up to speed. People have been hearing barking coming from the third-story tower room. There is no animal or electronic device in that room. Today, the kids heard this barking again in the ruined chapel. Again, no animals or electronic devices. This is where I need to ask the Youngs and Malcomb if they have ever heard anything like this anywhere on the property."

Malcomb shook his head. "Never. I told you, this place isn't haunted."

Lauren answered for the Youngs. "We've never heard any barking. As far as we know, there hasn't been a dog on the property for a hundred years or so."

I frowned. "That's what I feared. That means that it started only after the foals and I arrived."

"So… somepony is messing with you?" Dad asked.

"That's my best guess. I am open to other ideas if anyone has any," I answered as I looked at the group.

"Maybe it is a time portal, and Auntie Sunset is trying to travel back in time to save the world!" Shǔguāng announced with great enthusiasm.

"What?! No! Why is that even the first idea you came up with?! I couldn't pull a spell like that off!" I said in shock. "Plus, why would I go here if I did something like that?"

"Grandmare told us you time traveled," Shǔguāng explained.

My mom needed to keep her mouth shut about such things. "It wasn't a real time travel spell. It was broken. Don't believe every story you hear. I didn't actually go into the past. I met it halfway, somewhere else."

Jess sat up on the couch, finally waking up, rubbing her head. "You'd probably kill yourself trying to time travel, even if you were strong enough and knew a spell."

"Starlight and Twilight didn't die when they did it," Trixie helpfully pointed out.

Jess pinned her ears back and glared at the entertainer. "I'm guessing they did that in Equestria. Equestria has weird physics. If they tried that on Earth, it would kill them."

"Uh, why?" Trixie asked. "I don't see the difference."

The girl looked at Trixie like she was a moron. "Because everything in our universe is constantly falling. We aren't just moving through time. We are moving through space. If they went anywhere with a time travel spell, they would most probably find themselves deep in space with no protective gear. At best, they'd be dead in seconds."

"So she could account for that," Trixie said confidently.

The girl groaned in frustration. "That requires not only a spell for moving through time but one to move through space further than even an alicorn could teleport. Teleports are near-instant; that's the only reason they work. Even if she could pull off that astronomical magic feat, she would still need to properly calculate her landing point exactly on a wobbling spinning globe that is falling at sixty-seven thousand miles per hour and spinning at a thousand miles an hour."

"Could you calculate it?" Trixie asked snidely as she sat and crossed her forelegs in front of herself like a human would cross their arms. She clearly wasn't giving this idea up.

Jess blinked. "Um...I guess it's possible. It isn't really different than trying to project how to reach any other body in space, but to have someone do that all in their head in the time it would take to do a spell… that's not happening. Auntie Sunset is smart, but she's no super genius."

Trixie sniffed. "Well, if you can calculate all the fancy math…" She paused and made a show of gagging. "... then it can be done."

I shook my head. "Why are we even discussing this? It isn't a time portal! I don't know what it is, but it isn't that. Any other ideas?"

"Could it be a portal like the one that goes to Equestria?" Mom asked. "Don't those things just pop up on their own?"

"Not often and not consistently in the same places," I replied. "This is happening consistently in the same area. Plus, it is disappearing before anyone can reach it and seems to have an intelligence behind it. Those other portals are random occurrences. It isn't sucking anything in either."

"Maybe it would be one way going here," Mom suggested.

Jess shook her head. "No, that wouldn't work on a random portal, not without someone deliberately forcing it to do that. The naturally occurring ones follow basic physics. The thaumic energy moves from an area of high thaumic density to one of low thaumic density, and in this case, that means it flows from our universe to Equestria—unless, of course, someone finds it and forces it to work differently, or if it just happened to open up in a place in Equestria that was currently doing some potent magic that was condensing a lot of thaumic energy into one place."

I pointed at Jess. "I had no idea it worked that way, but trust the physicist."

"Physicist in training," Paul corrected.

Jess stuck her tongue out at her dad. "I'll be the greatest physicist in the world the same day I get my degree."

I rolled my eyes. That girl had the intelligence, talent, and drive to become the greatest physicist of the age, but Lord, if she didn't learn to rein in being so full of herself, she would not be well-liked among the physics community and would find it difficult to get anyone to work with her.

"Are you sure you have ruled out ghosts?" Mom added as a second question.

I gave her a flat look. "The first thing I do when I sleep tonight is get the Dreamwardens to confirm there are no such things as ghosts, but I'm fairly certain that idea is out."

"So… what do we do now, ma'am?" Lántiān asked.

I sighed, and my ears fell. "I'm unsure. I will continue to study this. In the meantime, I don't want anyone wandering around alone. I want to be informed immediately of any barking, and under no circumstances is anyone to check that barking out on their own."

Sapphire raised a wing. "Sorry, but isn’t this the haunted house cliche? Why not just leave?"

"It started very soon after we arrived and has been shown it can move locations," I replied. "I must assume it is here specifically for either me or the foals, and if we move, it will only follow."

John raised his hand. "But what about the danger to the rest of us? If it is after you or the foals, is it right to endanger everyone else by staying together? Specifically, is my family in danger by being near you?"

"That is a very valid concern," I said gravely as I looked him in the eyes. "I will need to consult Wild about what to do in regards to it, though."

"I'm not running away from any danger posed to my daughter and family," Dad said proudly. "If you are in trouble, family sticks together."

Devon gave Paul a worried look then turned towards me. "I want to support you, but we already almost lost Jess and Robby once. I don't think I can deal with them being in danger again."

I walked over to her and touched a hoof to her leg. "I get it, and I understand. Imagining what possible danger my foals could be in fills me with dread, and if I knew who to rage at, I would be out there ready to hurt whoever threatens those important to me. You don't need to justify trying to keep your kids safe." I looked at John and Lauren. "None of you do. If there is danger coming, then it isn't right to force you to put your families into it."

"Your foals?" Shǔguāng said in a tentative but hopeful tone. "Are you saying you are our new mama?"

I turned towards the unicorn colt. "I’m responsible for you. What you want might not be what your siblings want, and what I want doesn't come before what's best for you. For now, I am your foster mother, which is not quite the same. However, my world revolves around making sure you have safe, happy, good lives, and I intend to make sure of it."

Shǔguāng sat down and didn't seem to know how to take this answer. Unsure whether it was something to be happy or upset about, he seemed troubled. I wished I could give him a better answer, but I had to do the right thing, and I had to be honest with him. Anything else would be cruel. I wish I knew how to cheer him up.

Tempest sat up from her couch and gave us all a few sleepy blinks of her eyes before yawning. "You are all loud. I will look over everyone tonight. No one will come to any harm while I am here. I have bodyguarded Princess Luna, Phobia Remedy, and Phobia's offspring, all who have much greater threats to them than any foe of Sunset Blessing. I can deal with this lot of people. Now, take your conversation elsewhere so I can sleep."

"Glad to hear it," I told the former unicorn turned human even if I couldn’t trust her to deal with a magical attack. "I'm going to step out front to call Wild and find out our options. Everyone else may disperse as you wish, but don't leave anyone by themselves."

"Walking off by yourself?" Sapphire asked sarcastically.

I hung my head, knowing what the obvious question I needed to ask was going to be. "Do you want to follow me and keep an eye on me?"

She just smiled as she stood up. "I’ll come keep you company."

Shǔguāng seemed to come to a decision about how he felt about my answer and the red colt rushed towards me and hugged me. "I love you, Auntie Sunset, and I want you to be my new mama!"

Crap! Why did he need to pull this now? How was I supposed to respond to this? I looked over to Lántiān for help, but she seemed as taken aback and unsure what to do as I did. There was no help there. I could feel all eyes on me, waiting to see how I would respond. I couldn't refuse to say I love you back; it would devastate him, and I couldn't bear to do that to him. At the same time, any positive response to this would only put unfair pressure on his currently watching brother, who was already getting that undue pressure just watching Shǔguāng hug me and make that declaration. This wasn't fucking fair!

"I've changed my mind, Sapphire. Shǔguāng will accompany me," I said, still trying to decide what the hell I was supposed to say to him. "He and I need to have a heart-to-heart talk."

My response, for some reason, caused Sapphire to smile even wider, but whatever, I didn’t care what the blue pegasus found so amusing about the situation.

Hopefully, I wouldn't screw this up.

Chapter 63: Heart-to-Heart Talk About Matters of the Heart

I stood on the front porch, and Shǔguāng sat on the edge of it with his eyes fixed on the ground. I was no mind reader, but I knew what was going through his young head. He was wondering why I hadn't told him I love him back. He was wondering if he had done something wrong. Being just a kid, he was probably wondering if he was in trouble. I wasn't helping the situation with my continued silence, but I was still at a loss at what to say. I needed more time. I needed work to distract myself.

"Sit tight for just a few minutes. I need to make a phone call. We will talk after I'm done."

"Okay, Auntie Sunset," he said in a choked whisper that ripped at my heart.

Within a few seconds of the phone ringing, it was picked up. "Sunset? Is that you?" Wild asked over the line.

"It's me," I muttered.

"You don't sound like a mare who may have just saved someone's life," Wild said gravely. "Is there something wrong with your spell we need to know about?"

I blinked. "What? No, no, no. The spell is fine. Bursa should be fine. I'm dealing with… other things. Taking care of foals… it has its challenges."

"I wouldn't know," Wild said in a tone undercut with hurt and anger. She then cleared her throat and could hear her going through calming exercises before continuing. "Why are you calling me? I have already provided you with all the money you need. You don't need to ask permission to spend. Whatever those foals need, you are free to get, or if you just want to spoil them, that's fine too. Is something wrong with the Youngs? I thought they and I had come to a happy agreement."

"I haven't actually gotten to speak with them about your agreement, so I have no idea," I confessed as I grasped for what to say. "Wild, I might be in trouble. The foals might be in trouble. I don't know. I just… weird things're going on, and someone is definitely up to something. It started right after we moved here, and I don't think moving again will stop it."

I heard Wild shuffle in her seat. "You don't sound yourself. I haven't heard you sound like this since that day. Usually, you rage— actually, no, that isn't true. I haven't heard you do one of your rages in some time. Twilight told me about some barking but didn't seem to think it dangerous. Someone terrorizing you with the sound of barking dogs is certainly a threat, and I'm having someone look into who it might be, but it is ultimately just an annoyance, not dangerous. What's going on? What has you acting like this?"

"Something isn't right, Wild. The last time something wasn't right, it ended with Poly Glot getting free, and you know what happened. I have so many enemies, and I still don't know for sure who pulled strings to put him with me," I replied near tears. I was a bit ashamed I was getting this worked up when nothing had happened, but I couldn't help it.

Shǔguāng came over to me and silently hugged me. I put a hoof around him. I had left unsaid that the target might not be me; it could be the foals. This had all started after I got them. No one had tried to pull anything when I was alone at the condo. I couldn't let anything happen to them.

"Sunset," Wild said sympathetically. "I understand you being worried. I can provide some extra security. I can have some cameras installed around the house and property as well with security monitoring the feeds at all times."

I took a deep calming breath. "The Youngs are potentially going to get caught up in this if anything happens. I can't have innocents get caught up in something that doesn't involve them."

Wild hummed. "My deal with them is that I will return the deed to the house to them once they have proven they can re-enter society and hold an income that can afford to pay the property taxes. It also held that you and your wards were always to be welcome and housed there. I was going to arrange for education for the kids and re-education for the adults to get back into the workforce—possibly giving them work at PonyCo. It also promises that they will not be evicted from the house in the meantime or if they fail to ever meet my requirements. I can temporarily house you or them elsewhere, but it is up to all of you to resolve who needs to be the ones to leave for the time being. Make a decision with them and communicate it to Number, and she will take care of everything. I'll have security there by this evening."

"Thank you, Wild," I breathed.

"Thank you, for Bursa. You've saved a life," Wild replied. "I need to go make arrangements for her to be transported to Equestria. You might not know this, but getting what appears to be a hideous diseased monster through interworld customs isn't the easiest task, even with my connections and reputation and Twilight's. Take care of yourself and those foals."

The call ended. I would need to talk to the Youngs to see what to do next, but first, I had a more pressing conversation.

"Shǔguāng, we need to talk," I said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "This is going to be a very serious conversation, and I need you to be a big colt."

He started to cry, still hugging me. "You don't want to be our mama. You don't love us."

I pulled him tighter to me and took a deep breath. I was going to do this, and I wasn't going to tell him a single lie. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I love you, your brothers, Qīng Yǔ, and even your pain in the ass sister—I don't want to ever hear you use that term for her; just forget I called her that. Anyway, I want nothing better than to adopt you as my own."

Shǔguāng gasped and hugged me even tighter. "Mama!"

I hated to wreck his moment, but I had told myself I was going to be honest. "There are a few buts attached to that."

He released me and looked at me in confusion. "What does that mean?"

I ran a hoof gently over his mane. "You and I are very similar, and it isn't just our colors."

"But, you're yellow," Shǔguāng pointed out.

"I'm not normally yellow, and you know that," I said quickly. "That's not the thing I am focusing on here anyway."

"Oh," he replied and sat and waited.

I pointed a hoof at myself and another at him. "You and I are similar in the fact we latch onto things wholly and completely. We grab on to ideas that make our world make sense to us and commit to them with our very being."

He flicked an ear and laid his back. "Is that bad?"

That was an excellent question. "It can sometimes be, but it can also be a source of strength," I answered. "It is best to just recognize it as part of who we are, and be aware that is how our minds work."

He crouched down. "I don't understand. What does that mean, and what does it have to do with you being our new mama?"

I laid down so he wouldn't have to look up at me. "It means that you and I are more committed to making big choices like adopting one another faster than most people would be. We have chosen a course and committed to it. It might seem very fast to others, but they don't think the way we do. It also isn't the way that your little brother thinks. Líng can't commit to such a decision as fast as we can. He needs time, and we shouldn't be rushing or pressuring him."

"But—" Shǔguāng began.

I booped his nose. "That's one but so far. I know you want me to adopt you formally, but I'm not doing that until when and if Líng wants that as well. You and he are a package deal, and you come together."

"I can get Líng to want you as a mama!" Shǔguāng said excitedly.

I shook my head. "No, absolutely not."

Shǔguāng's ears fell again. "Why?"

"You can't pressure him," I stressed. "This has to be something he decides to do entirely on his own, not because you or I want him to. We are family, and family doesn't do things like that to one another. That also means you can't talk about me being your new mother around him. That's pressuring him. Do you think he would be happy if he felt forced into making such a big decision? How would you feel if I pressured you into accepting someone you weren't sure you wanted to be your mother?"

Shǔguāng seemed to consider this. I could tell he didn't like having to wait for his brother. "What about Sister?"

That might be harder for him to understand. "I don't think that I will ever adopt her. If I do my job right, she'll be out on her own in just a few years, making her own life."

He crawled backward away from me, looking hurt and betrayed. "You don't love Sister?"

I took a deep breath. "I care very much about her, love her even, and wish I could adopt her too, but she has made sure I know she does not want me as a mother. I will respect her wishes. I'm still going to do everything I can to care for her."

That relaxed the colt a little, and he crept back towards me. "Maybe Sister will change her mind."

"Maybe, but I'm not going to hold my breath," I replied, unable to keep the disappointment entirely out of my voice. It was strange, being disappointed that teenaged brat was rejecting me, but it was what it was. "However, she did give her blessing for me to adopt you and your brothers—provided Líng eventually decides he wants to be adopted. She and I are on the same page with this."

That seemed to satisfy him. "How long do we have to wait?"

I shrugged. "Until Líng expresses on his own that he wants me to adopt him."

Shǔguāng stood up and flattened his ears all the way back. "But that could take forever!"

"Yes, it could take a long time," I confirmed with a nod. "In the meantime, you can't pressure him. It would be best if you didn't address me as Mama either. Please address me as Auntie. It is less confusing for your brother, and keeping that title for your birth mother is something we should do out of respect anyway. If you like, us using Auntie can be our little secret that it really means adopted mother. Our secret word that just you and I know the real meaning of."

"But I still have to wait forever! Líng is so slow!" Shǔguāng protested with a stomp.

"You may eventually come to appreciate he takes more time to figure things out. Being slower to come to a decision has its advantages," I said with a kind smile. "Don't worry. I'm going to be spending much more time with you and your brothers now that the immediate issues are taken care of. Security will be keeping an eye on whatever is causing the barking, so I don't have to focus on it as much. Maybe spending more time with him will make him come to a decision faster."

"He's still gonna go slow," Shǔguāng muttered as he kicked at the ground.

I sat back up and pulled the colt into a hug. "We have time, and it just seems like he goes slow because we go fast. I'm not going anywhere, and neither are all of you. Now, let's go inside, and maybe we can play some games together—after I talk to the Youngs."

He accepted my hug. "That sounds good. I love you, Auntie."

I blinked. I still wasn't fully prepared for that declaration, but we were alone at the moment.

I kissed him on the forehead. "I love you too, Shǔguāng."

Author's Notes:

Short chapter, but didn't need to be longer.

Chapter 64: Hawks and Hens Remix

We walked back inside, and as we were entering the family room, I bent down to speak to Shǔguāng.

"I need to talk to the Youngs. While I am doing that, how about you and the others decide what you want to do for a game together that I can join in. Feel free to include my parents, Sinker, and whoever else wants to join in. You can ask around to see who wants to be included."

"Okay, Auntie," Shǔguāng replied as he went scurrying off towards his brother.

John, Lauren, and Mike were huddled together in a group off to the side and looked at me expectantly as I approached them.

"I have spoken with Wild Growth. She says she is going to be sending extra security later tonight and that she is going to be installing cameras around the property with full-time monitoring," I announced. "As for getting anyone who wants to be housed elsewhere temporarily, she says that we are to work out who wants to head out and tell Number, and she will make arrangements. It would only be a temporary move until the matter with the barking is resolved. So… what do you want to do?"

John looked at his wife and son before looking back at me. "We're still unsure exactly what the threat is. Can you explain it better?"

I half-frowned. "I wish I could, but I'm unsure as well. At the moment, this barking seems to be just barking. It can be viewed as a threat, much like someone making a threatening gesture, making threatening phone calls, or even cyberbullying. However, they're doing it through a very elaborate magical means that has stumped three of the best magical experts you're likely to ever meet—me, Starlight, and Twilight. That's worrisome because we're unsure what the person responsible is capable of doing."

"And why would anyone be threatening us?" John asked.

I shrugged. "There's a long list of people that don't like me. In fact, a group of ponies tried to lynch me just a few days ago. The next option after that's that it has something to do with the foals. Their mother is a Dreamwarden, and there's almost as long a long list of people that don't like Dreamwardens. Finally, it could have nothing to do with us specifically, but instead, be some Scooby-Doo plot to get us to abandon the property so that Wild will sell it."

"In short, they are after you or your kids, who Wild Growth promised could always live here, or they are trying to scare us all away," John summarized.

"That's the best assessment I can give," I confirmed.

John gave a meaningful look at his wife and son, and they nodded to him. He then looked back at me again. "We're staying, and I think you should too. I don't want to have any lowlifes thinking they can make us go running. However, we would like our guns back so we can defend ourselves if we need to."

Giving the crazies their guns back was not an appealing idea at all, but if I flat out refused, I would lose trust.

"We will have armed security here already," I reminded them. "And if these mages decide to do more than harass us, I'm not sure what a bunch of people not trained to fight mages will help accomplish."

"It will make us feel safer," Lauren said through gritted teeth. "You aren't the only one here with kids."

It was time to compromise. I couldn't have the Youngs turning on me. "How about I meet you halfway on that," I replied in a neutral tone. "I let you have your guns back, but you keep them locked up in a gun case unless there is an immediate threat. You could keep the case in your bunker, with only you having the key. If stuff starts to go down, everyone can retreat down there, barricade yourselves in, and be ready to defend."

"You said yourselves rather than us with you included," Mike cut in.

I nodded. "I will not be joining you. If they are coming for me or the foals, then I am going to be out here. I'm no fighter, but I make excellent bait."

And if someone came with the intent to hurt my family, I had full intention of committing murder, and I didn't want the foals to see that. It was best they be safe and hidden while I went down in flames if need be, making those who threatened them pay in blood. Phobia got raped. Tonya lost her life. Lántiān saw her mother due right before her eyes. With God as my witness, there would be no more. I might generally be a coward, but I was also the mother of this family. There was nothing more dangerous than a mother frightened for her loved ones.

Hopefully, this was just petty threats and nothing more, but I didn't believe it, not after Poly Glot.

"We can agree to that," Lauren said, surprisingly firm. I wasn't the only frightened mother here. "We'll keep the kids safe. No one will touch them."

I looked over at my parents, who currently had Shǔguāng trying to rope them into playing with us. Out of the corner of my vision, I could see Lántiān playing stuffed animals with Qīng Yǔ. Devon and Paul talked to Jess as the girl lifted her giggling baby brother into the air, making rocket noises. I wondered what dreams Rosetta and the foals were dreaming upstairs.

I turned towards the Youngs. "I hope it doesn't come to it, but don't tell anyone I'm staying up here if trouble goes down. Lie to them. Tell them I'm on the way," I whispered. "They'll try to stop me, and that endangers them. I'm trusting you."

"Asking us to lie for you isn't going to inspire trust in us," Mike muttered.

"Keep your voice down. Ponies have excellent hearing. I wouldn't ask you to if it wasn't important," I whispered. "You have to understand why I'm asking you to do this. I have to keep them safe."

Mike crossed his arms in defiance. "We can keep them safe, and you can do whatever you want, but we aren't going to lie about what you're doing."

"He's right," John said. "Us protecting everyone is the right thing to do, but if we lie about anything, it could come back and haunt us. We aren't going to do anything that makes Wild Growth think we aren't trustworthy."

"We won't volunteer what you intend to do, but if anyone asks directly, we'll tell them," Lauren clarified. "We don't want anyone getting mad at us. We're kinda dependant on Wild Growth liking us."

I resisted the urge to stomp. "Fine. If security does their job, we don't need to worry about it anyway." I turned and walked away.

Shǔguāng took that as a sign it was okay to talk to me and hurried to head me off. "Auntie! Sister, Sinker, Líng, Grace, Bobby, Jess, and Qīng Yǔ all said they would play with us!"

Shifting into having fun with the foals was a lot to do right after discussing possible life-threatening situations, but I did promise and the game would relieve tension in the house. It wasn't like I had anything productive I could be doing about the barking until security arrived anyway.

I raised an eyebrow. "Qīng Yǔ said she would play? I didn't think she could say much more than mama."

"Well, Sister said Qīng Yǔ would play with us," Shǔguāng clarified. "We're going to play Hawk and Hens with three teams. Sister already decided on the teams."

"Okay… I might need the rules explained to me," I said with a smile. "Let's go gather the others and play your game."

It took a minute or two for the colt to get all the participants into the center of the room. The non-participating adults formed a rough circle around us as they prepared to watch.

"I shall explain the rules," Lántiān announced. "The hawks and hens will be me, Jessica, and Ma'am."

Jess scratched an ear. "Um, which am I, a hawk or hen?"

"Both," Lántiān snapped. "Don't interrupt, human."

Jess gave a disgruntled snort. "Fine, pony."

Lántiān ignored Jess and held out a wing to gesture to all the other kids. "They shall all be the chicks. Each team will start with hawk-hen having two chicks each. The goal is for the hawk-hen to capture the other hawk-hens' chicks and add them for their own. Each time a chick is captured, there will be a pause in the game so they can get situated in line with the other chicks. The line should always be from tallest to shortest, and the hawk-hens can only go after the last in each line."

"What happens if we lose all our chicks?" I asked.

"You continue to try to capture chicks. The game only ends when one hawk-hen has all the chicks," Lántiān answered.

Jess crossed her arms and muttered. "Great, I'm the only one who gets snapped at."

"Hush, human," Lántiān scolded. "Now, each chick will bite onto the tail of the one in front of it and not let go unless caught."

"Grace and I don't have tails," Bobby said as he pointed to his sister.

Lántiān blinked and stared at them as if this was news to her. "Well… hold on to the other's pants."

I realized a big problem with this right away. "And what are foals supposed to do if they are in line behind them? I hope you aren't suggesting they bite onto a pants leg and try to hold on. That seems like a good way for a foal to get kicked in the face."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has a solution!" Trixie announced as she pulled off her hat. She lit her horn, and two long chains of colorful cloths started to stream out of the hat. They went out and wrapped around the waist of each human child and tied into a loose knot, with a trail of them hanging off behind. "Tadda! Tails!"

"That will work," Lántiān said with a nod. "Each hawk-hen will try to grab a foal with hooves, wings, or hands, preferably by the tail, but anywhere will do. There is to be no flying or magic used."

I looked at Jess and Lántiān. I was at a distinct disadvantage here. Jess and Lántiān had much more reach than I did since they had extra limbs to block or grab with—not to mention they were far younger and faster than me. I could tell who wasn't winning this game already.

We were divided into starting teams by Lántiān. I got Sinker and Líng. Jess had Bobby and Grace—because, of course, Lántiān would put all the humans together. Lántiān had Shǔguāng and Qīng Yǔ. Everyone got into their lines, with a brief delay for Sinker and Líng to figure out who was taller—it ended up being Sinker by a half-inch, and the game began.

I knew I would need to put the others in defense if I wasn't going to lose chicks right away. Jess was smart, and she had to realize mine were the easiest prey. Lántiān probably thought Jess's were the easiest prey, considering her low opinion of humans. If I went on offense against Jess, that could lead to her being double-teamed and keep her on the defense. I wasn't sure I could get around her, but if Lántiān was also after her, I could try to keep an eye out for an opening there while she was distracted.

To say my plan didn't work out would be an understatement.

I tried to charge by Jess to get at Grace and almost slammed into one of Jess's legs as she blocked me with it. The girl took a wide squatting stance with both her arms spread out. I barely had time to change course before I needed to turn and block Lántiān from picking off Líng behind my back. Unfortunately, turning to stop the filly just exposed the two colts to Jess, and she snatched at Líng's tail and got it. I'd lost my first chick. Damn human arms and their long reach!

We waited as Líng got in line behind Grace and got a mouth full of Grace's impromptu tail. Then the game began again. I went full defensive, trying to keep my distance from the other two teams. My new goal was to try to circle the outskirts and pick Líng back off Jess. The longer line was more challenging for her to guard, and Líng's reactions were hampered by the fact he couldn't see well past the humans towering in front of him.

Jess must have realized her handicap and my plan because she decided to remove me as a factor by charging me. I tried backing up in vain, but she had a much bigger stride, and she didn't need to get around me. She went straight forward towards me, bent down over my head, and grabbed Sinker that way. I'd lost both my chicks to her in quick succession. That time, Lántiān had stayed back the entire time and hadn't even made a move towards either of us. I understood her reasoning. She'd let Jess take Líng and Sinker, trust that I would fail to get any foal back, and then pick them off one by one from Jess.

The part about me failing certainly proved true. I ran myself ragged, trying to pick any foal off either of them, but both quickly blocked me each time. The only thing I accomplished was creating enough of a distraction that Jess and Lántiān spent several rounds trading off Qīng Yǔ. Lántiān was able to acquire both Qīng Yǔ and Líng at one point, but the tiny pegasus filly continued to be a hot potato between the two even after Líng was firmly behind his sister. The two easily held three, but their fourth kept going back and forth between the two with little headway.

After many rounds passed, I eventually picked Qīng Yǔ off of her mother as her mother tried to dodge a grab from Jess. The next round had Lántiān pick Sinker off of Jess. Lántiān now had all three colts. Jess was back where she started with just Bobby and Grace. I had the smallest foal of all, but at least I had one now.

I expected that Lántiān would try to take this opportunity to regain her daughter, but she surprised both Jess and me by circling back on Jess after a fake charge at me and adding Grace to her line of chicks, leaving Jess and me with just one each. Having a human on her tail must have thrown Lántiān off her game because Jess was able to acquire Líng in the next round and Sinker in the round after that. The next round, I lost Qīng Yǔ to Lántiān, and I promptly fell on the floor panting.

"I'm out!" I called out. "This is too much running around for a mare in her fifties! You two can battle it out."

Sapphire gave me a smug grin as I retreated to the adults. "Lasted longer than I expected, preacher. Without you as a distraction, those two could be at a standoff for a while."

"I hope so," I said as I looked over my shoulder. "Both of them need more time not trying to be adults. Jess isn't much older than the rest of those kids—I'm pretty sure Bobby and Grace are older than her, despite how it looks, and Lántiān has been forced into an adult role since she was Jess's age."

She frowned for some reason as she looked out at the still playing kids. I frowned as well. "Something bothering you?" I asked.

The pegasus moved to shake her head no but paused and looked at me as if she could find some answer just staring at me. She then sighed. "Since you're asking, yes, there’s something I want to hear from you. Best to get some privacy if I'm going to ask you."

What did she want? I racked my brain for what it might be but came up empty. "We can go just outside the door."

We exited the room, and she partially closed the door behind us for some additional privacy.

She shook her head as she looked at me. "You do it well, being this nice, caring old pony—"

"I'm not that old," I protested.

"You seem like a nice kindhearted pony, but there’s a history there," she said. "You aren't the only person that I deal with that can smile with sincerity, and I have a question or two I want to hear you answer."

Digging up my past again? "I will try to answer them."

"The groups you used to have working for you, how much did you direct their operations? Ones like UMAD, for instance.”

It took me a few seconds to connect the dots back to an incident years ago that was very costly. "That's the group that blackmailed your friends, right? The group that made you so angry you pulled the biggest stupid cockamamie stunt I ever heard a pegasus doing."

"That group, among others that you had on your payroll."

"I believe I told you before I was not involved, and I'm not lying about that," I answered. I chewed on my lip. "As for why I hired those types… I was building a political and economic empire from the ground up in a very short time. I tended to put a lot of people with… questionable ethics into positions to further my power. I knew they were capable of doing illicit activities to further my goals; that's why they were there. I was pissed that they tried to blackmail your friends, but not because they did something illegal. I was mad because there wasn't a return worth the risk if something went wrong. I can be ashamed to admit that now, but back then, I wouldn't have been."

“I don’t really care how ashamed you are of your past. The Princesses have put a lot of trust in you changing for the better. I can feel that you’ve changed for the better," Sapphire said in a tired voice. "But there are a lot of others that are concerning, like did the government know the crap you and your people pulled?"

Ah, I saw what this was about. My answer would bring her no comfort. "Yes. There were members of the House, Senate, Cabinet, CIA, FBI, and more who were all very much aware. It wasn't everyone, but it was enough people with influence that I rarely had to worry about government interference. Normally they turned a blind eye to my shadier actions, and sometimes they covered them up. I can't tell you who they are; that was part of my release conditions, that I never implicate anyone involved. They rarely gave me orders, primarily just let me do my thing, but I did occasionally get orders to quietly take care of something for them. I was a means to an end that they were willing to take."

Sapphire's eyebrows narrowed. "Like murder?"

I shook my head. "I'm happy to say I never had anyone killed. I primarily just funneled information to the government, but sometimes I turned to bribery, extortion, blackmail, and even having some ponies roughed up. You have to understand, peace between ponies and humans has often been very tenuous. Some ponies could have inadvertently broken that peace either deliberately or through their foolish actions. With that on the line, it was worth getting my hooves dirty. I'm sorry about my methods—in some cases, in some, they deserved it, but I'm not sorry I helped keep the peace. Even as a Shimmerist, I understood we couldn't afford an interspecies war."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Sapphire said in a low voice. "It would have been nice to believe they released you as a favor to Luna, but I guess the real reason was they wanted to cover their asses."

"Making it seem to Equestria to be a goodwill gesture probably made it easier," I mused. "But they couldn't afford what revelations may have come out of a trial. It would have been a massive scandal that would have lost the government's credibility with just about everyone. I should be thankful to Luna. I wouldn't have been surprised if a lot of powerful people wanted to arrange for me to have an accident, and her efforts gave them a less messy alternative."

"An accident like magic that would target you while you or somepony you care about was alone.”

I shrugged. "Possible. I have a lot of enemies. I used to plan for the government stabbing me in the back, but those plans are all infeasible now. Anyway, I don't think it is the case. Something happening to me right after I took Yinyu's foals would heighten tensions even further with China since China would inevitably be blamed. While there are certainly hawks who might want that, since the US always needs an enemy to point at, and China makes a great target to point at, I don't think any of them would be that stupid."

"You’ve never worked customer service, have you?" Sapphire snorted as she fluffed her wings slightly. "I have been here much longer today than I intended, and this place is a little crowded. Watch over your family, preacher."

I watched her leave. While I doubted the government would make a move on me, it did remind me of why I now had the foals. I wondered if someone else got the same idea China had to use a Dreamwarden's foals as leverage to get information from a Dreamwarden. If that was true, this house had not only Yinyu's foals but Phobia’s as well. I shouldn't have been discounted as a possible leverage tool against Phobia and Tonya. Half the Dreamwardens had people they dearly loved here, and having us all in one place was dangerous.

Maybe I should have fought a little harder to keep a powerful ally around….

Chapter 65: Lántiān's Slip

Most of the rest of the afternoon passed with little to say about it. Lántiān eventually won the earlier game because Jess was still recovering from magical exhaustion. Despite retaining an impressive amount of earth pony strength, Jess didn't have much more stamina than me, not to mention anywhere near the energy of other kids. It was a shock the couch potato nerd was able to stay in the game as long as she did before tiring out. However, it had not been an easy win for Lántiān, and I hoped that the challenge had helped give her a smidgen more respect for humans.

Jess retreated to playing with her baby brother, who seemed to adore his odd-looking big sister as much as she did him, while whispering with Alice—who in turn seemed quite comfortable spending time with a girl who looked close to her age. Considering Alice had spent the last eight years in a bunker, her social development was probably not much better than Jess's, possibly worse.

Lántiān, unable to completely stop playing mother to her brothers, even when told not to, left her daughter with my parents as she went to prepare snacks for the foals. My parents, in turn, seemed to have happily adopted Qīng Yǔ as their new great-granddaughter and were determined to spoil her with attention that the filly joyously basked in.

John, Lauren, and Mike still were only rarely engaging with ponies, but were at least now talking quietly with Devon and Paul. Their younger children were a different story. Trixie needed little prompting to perform parlor tricks for eager-to-be-amazed Bobby and Grace, who both seemed to be having the time of their lives since coming out of the basement, and none of the nervousness about ponies, or unfamiliar people in general, I would have expected.

Malcomb and Silvia took off for a while since Silvia wouldn't be needed while Jess's magic on the fritz—I was starting to wonder if the two were becoming a thing. More power to them if they were. Them being gone for the moment meant there were fewer people to monitor.

Others were missing. The night ponies and Tempest were all still asleep and would probably remain so for at least another two to three hours. Number had texted me that she would be returning later with the security, all while lamenting how much back and forth running Wild was having her do and expressing her wishes that things settle down soon.

That left me with three colts to occupy.

I walked over to the colts, who had gone back to playing with action figures, and gave them a big grin.

"How about we go take a walk outside?" I asked. "I'd like to talk to all three of you for a little while so I can learn more about each of you."

"What if there is barking again?" Sinker asked.

"Then we will avoid wherever the barking is coming from," I answered.

"We're just going to walk and talk?" Líng asked.

I nodded. "That's correct."

Líng frowned. "That sounds kind of boring… but going outside is good."

We came across Lántiān as we were exiting the room, and she raised an eyebrow at us. "Where are you going, ma'am?"

"Just a peaceful walk around the grounds," I replied. I then narrowed my eyes at her. "And what were you doing in the kitchen by yourself?"

She stepped back defensively. "I am preparing snacks to tide the foals over until dinner, ma'am. I believe I made this clear. I was just stepping back in to check on my daughter."

"How about you bring my mother to help you. I don't want anyone being alone," I said firmly.

"I was just a short distance away, ma'am."

I shook my head. "You were out of sight by yourself. Bring my mother with you, my dad can watch the kid."

She gave me a stubborn glare but nodded. "As you wish, ma'am. Be aware; there should be a light rain shortly. I don't think this should interrupt your walk, but you should check Líng for mud before he comes in. If there is water and dirt, he will find a way to get muddy."

"Mud is fun!" Líng said as he pranced in place.

Shǔguāng glared at his brother. "Mud is messy!"

Líng shook his head. "It is dirt and water! Dirt and water are both cool!"

It occurred to me that this might be an extension of his earth pony thinking. Earth ponies certainly had more fondness of the soil than the other tribes; it was pre-programmed into them by instinct. However, the passion for water was distinctly Líng. Put his earth pony instincts and his distinct personality together, and you got a pony who found joy in mud—something that his siblings weren't as naturally inclined to share.

I paused and wondered how much of a good thing or bad thing tribal instinct was. Everything living had instincts, yet I had a habit of assuming everyone was happier doing tasks determined by them or that those instincts somehow influenced every thought someone had. It was a valid thought process, at least with ponies, but it made me wonder how forced into being something ponies were based solely on how they were born. Lántiān was trying to go against this by picking up art. It wasn't that pegasi couldn't be artists, but she was going against not only her tribe but her cutie mark as well.

That was probably one of humanity's strengths, not being conditioned by tribes and marks to be a particular thing. Perhaps I should be more supportive of Lántiān's efforts. I was helping her with the art supplies and books, but I wasn't giving her encouragement. I still wanted her to work on her flying since it was a good fallback option, and people should always have a plan B, but I needed to cheer on her efforts with art more.

Lántiān gave me a questioning look."Is everything alright, ma'am? You are just staring at me without saying anything."

I shook my head. "Just distracted by a stray thought. That's been happening a lot lately, perhaps I'm going senile. Thank you for the weather advisory. Is everything going well with your art? Is there anything else you need for that? Supplies, a professional tutor, anything?"

That seemed to piss her off for some reason. "Are you not satisfied with my progress, ma'am? I only started days ago. It would be unjust to expect me to be drawing well already." She was practically growling at me.

I stepped back defensively. "I am only trying to take an interest in your hobby."

"It is not a hobby, ma'am. I shall become an artist," she all but spat. "I will not be outdone by—" She suddenly clamped her mouth shut.

"You weren't supposed to say that last part, were you?" I asked. I didn't have much time to consider how to continue. This was a moment she was off guard, and I needed to handle it delicately but expediently. I looked at the colts. "Can you all give us a little privacy? Lántiān doesn't want you hearing this. We will go outside once I am done speaking with her. Just step back into the family room, and I will get you in a minute."

Sinker retreated into the family room right away. The other two gave their sister a concerned glance before following after him. That was good. I didn't want to deal with protests.

I turned my full attention to Lántiān. "I'm going to take some guesses. You don't have to tell me if I'm right. Your mother told you who her replacement was going to be. I'm not sure what circumstances allowed her to do this without violating her rules, but there are always loopholes. Who her replacement was going to be is kinda a moot point, considering your mother can't retire to Equestria now. I'm guessing he or she is an artist, and you have decided to be jealous that she thought this person was good enough for her, even if you were never in the running to be her successor or even interested in the job."

She looked left and right as if looking for somewhere to run. "Ma'am, I cannot discuss—"

"Oh, I understand," I interrupted. "This is information you learned in the dream realm, which means it is typically off-limits for discussion—private information learned in the dream realm is always protected. I know the rules. I will advocate for you if your mother or any of the other Dreamwardens takes issue with you having a slip. You didn't say much anyway."

She just stared at me, and her expression was one of a frightened child. That meant I was right on every point I had earlier made. It was time to turn this into something useful.

"I won't pry into this person's identity. I know that is off-limits. Nor am I going to stop you from doing art," I said firmly. "I understand the need to prove to be just as good at something as someone else. I used to feel that way about the Equestrian mages. Through hard work and dedication I'm now just as skilled, more skilled than the vast majority of them. You could do the same with art. However, I have a new condition for you working on art."

She stopped looking frightened and now took up her defiant stance again. "And what is that, ma'am?"

"If you don't actually like it by the end of the year, you're done with it and move into something else, something more fulfilling," I said, trying to keep my expression neutral. I pointed at my flank. "I'm not a natural mage; my mark has nothing directly to do with being good at magic, but I do love working with magic. Even if I hadn't had misguided reasons for learning, I still found something I loved doing. So it wasn't a total waste. If you can find that same love in art, then it is worthwhile. It means you let it become something for you, not merely a petty attempt to show someone up. If after a year of practice you find art brings you no joy, you need to stop. Forcing yourself to do something you don't like for the rest of your life doesn't do anything but make you miserable. If you leave me in a few years on a track for a miserable life, then I have failed in my duties."

She raised an eyebrow at me. "And if I enjoy it, ma'am?"

"Then you have my full support to continue. I will cheer you on the whole way, and I'll even ask Wild Growth to pull some strings to get you into whatever art school you want," I replied with a smile. I then let my smile drop. "Only, don't try to fool me into thinking you like it if you don't; I will be able to discern the truth." I offered my hoof to her. "Do we have a deal?"

She hesitated only a second before putting her hoof up to mine. "Agreed, ma'am."

I nodded. "Good, now go ask my mom if she can help you in the kitchen, so I don't have to worry about you being alone. I don't want anyone alone at any point until we figure this barking out." I dropped my voice to a whisper. "This started after I got you and your brothers, and that means it could be targeted at all of you. It would be best if you kept alert and safe. Just because you are out of China doesn't mean you are safe from people trying to pull the same shit. You're no less leverage to use against your mother than you were before."

Her ears pinned back. "Is this ever going to end, ma'am? We were supposed to be safer coming to America."

I shook my head. "I don't think it ever will, but danger comes in different degrees. You're safer here. In China, you had the government itself trying to use you. Here, it is going to be just stray wackos with far fewer resources and reach."

She scowled. "And what is stopping your government from doing the same, or the Equestrians if we had run to Equestria? I see no reason to trust either."

"Well, the alicorns in Equestria have been willing to do the right thing so far rather than what is best for their self-interest, but you aren't going to Equestria, so there is no need to speculate about that anyway," I explained.

She didn't look convinced, but also looked like she was waiting for the other half of my answer.

I took a deep breath. "As for here. There might be some in the government who'd consider it, but they won't try it. Our government is less monolithic, so they'd never muster enough support to get it approved. Further, the government here has a good working relationship with the Dreamwardens, and the Dreamwardens provide many invaluable services at very low cost. Making the Dreamwardens mad at them and withdrawing those services, as a result, is asking to get shot in the foot."

That left the filly looking baffled. "What exactly do the Dreamwardens do for services? They didn't do anything in China that I know of."

I blinked. "Perhaps the Chinese government didn't advertise it or deliberately blocked them. They give first responder alerts about those who are experiencing critical medical emergencies who have lost consciousness—at least, they do if the person has signed an agreement beforehand allowing them to. Ghadab helps the police with missing persons and kidnapping cases. My wife arranges meetings in the dream realm and acts as a witness in deals finalized there. You must know what your mother does for night pony mares and some isolated others, and I can only imagine her role will continue to grow."

Lántiān pursed her lips. "I don't know. What does my mother do?"

I was dumbfounded. "You've never heard of Yinyu's blessing?"

"You are the only blessing I know connected to my mother, ma'am."

Well, I wasn't going to explain that one to her. "I'll let you ask your mother about that, or you can ask my daughter-in-law or Josie. It's an uncomfortable subject."

"Does she have dream sex with them?" Lántiān asked, not even seeming perturbed by the notion.

I shook my head. "No! Or at least, that isn't what her blessing is. I have no idea how much dream sex and other pornographic things she does, and I don't want to know. Just ask her next time you're asleep."

Lántiān cocked the edge of her mouth up in amusement. "Do you have dream sex with your wife, ma'am?"

"None of your business!" I shouted. "We're done with this conversation. I need to get back to the colts."

That blue-furred filly smirked behind her black mane all the way back into the family room. I wanted to smack it right off her, the brat—trying to fluster me!

The colts had wandered back to their action figures, and I had to regather them. I was just going to take a relaxing walk outside with the colts, and calm down.

Chapter 66: Dragons, Snakes, and Monkeys

It was summer, and that meant that every single tree on the property was bright and green. My ignorance over how fast young colts would overheat led me to keep them mainly in the shade.

Our walk stopped when Líng ran off to the side and examined some flowers. "Look at the pu gong ying!"

Sinker looked at the yellow flowers. "Those are just dandelions."

I stepped over and examined them. They were indeed dandelions. "The same flower can have different names depending on where you are from. We sometimes called them puffballs when I was little."

"Mom cooks them up with vinegar for dinner sometimes," Sinker said.

That didn't surprise me. "She did that when my sisters and I were little too. She would have us all out gathering dandelions, wild lettuce, and crabapples for hours. Back then, we sometimes couldn't afford much food, and she taught us how to make crabapple preserves, dandelion salad, and we would have sliced up hot dogs or spam in either macaroni and cheese or with boiled wild lettuce."

"We still have that, except she does bunches of different flowers, but I don't think she uses hot dogs. What kinda flower is that? And isn't spam like emails? How do you eat emails?" Sinker asked.

"Spam originally referred to a type of cheap canned meat. Hot dogs are meat too. You haven't heard of hot dogs?" I asked in amazement.

Sinker went wide-eyed. "Ponies used to eat dogs?!"

"There were no ponies when Auntie was little, Stupid," Shǔguāng huffed. "Everyone was human."

I facehooved. "Shǔguāng… you are just banned from using the word stupid, period, and every one of its synonyms."

"What's a synonym?" Líng asked.

"Words that mean the same thing," I answered the youngest colt. I then turned back towards Shǔguāng. "You need to be nicer to everyone. Would you like people calling you mean names all the time?"

Shǔguāng looked down. "I wouldn't care," he mumbled.

"Well, I do," I said in a stern tone. I looked at Sinker. "And for the record, hot dogs aren't made out of dogs. I'm not exactly sure what they are made out of and don't want to know, but it isn't dogs."

"But it is made out of animals," Sinker whined, ears and tail sagging low.

I took a deep breath. "Yes, hot dogs and spam are made out of animals. There's nothing wrong with eating animals. Animals do it all the time. It's just nature. Humans eat animals and plants. Even us ponies sometimes eat animals. We can eat insects and spiders, and some ponies have fancy recipes for preparing them into meals."

"Eww! They eat bugs!" Líng said as he made an exaggerated gagging motion.

I wasn't fond of the practice either… especially the spiders, but my daughter and her family ate them, and I would not be judgmental of them. "There's nothing wrong with eating bugs. I'm sure those who know how to cook them do an excellent job. My daughter is a wonderful cook who knows how to cook bugs. Maybe she can cook some for you to try sometime. We will have to visit her, eventually."

"But Rosetta Stone is here. Why do we have to visit her?" Shǔguāng asked in confusion.

"Rosetta is married to my daughter, so she’s my daughter-in-law, not my daughter. Those are two different things. She is also a notorious disaster as a cook.”

That seemed only to confuse the colt more. "But two mares can't get married."

It was a difficult thing to stop my ears from pinning back. I had to force myself not to seem angry.

"Two mares can love each other or two stallions. There's nothing wrong with it," I said without looking directly at the colt.

"I know that," Shǔguāng replied. "Mama had lots of special mare friends. They just can't get married."

I had misread what was going on. They were from China, which was ambivalent about same-sex relationships. They didn't go out and actively punish people for having them. They couldn't care less about the nature of your sexual relationships. However, they didn't grant any legal protections or allow for marriage or adoptions for same-sex couples either. As long as you had your pony babies, they didn't care what relationships you had on the side. From Shǔguāng's understanding, that meant exactly what he said, no more or less. I shouldn't feel so defensive.

"It is different here, in America," I said calmly. "Two mares can get married here. Remember, I told you I had a wife."

"Oh, okay," Shǔguāng replied, instantly accepting what I said without question. I glanced at his brother, but Líng seemed no more bothered by this change of understanding.

"Anyway," I continued. "You should have heard of my daughter, Phobia Remedy, the Dreamwarden of Fear."

Líng flicked an ear. "Mama called Phobia Remedy her sister. So, are you Mama's mama?"

"What?!" That question took me completely off-guard. "No, I'm not. Sister with them is kinda like a title. They aren't really sisters, at least, not blood ones. I don't understand it. My wife is their sister too. They share memories, purpose… I guess a body… if you consider the dream realm their body."

Talking about it made me uncomfortable. How much of Tonya was Yinyu, or my daughter, or that damned bitch Sha'am? She was intertwined with the other current Dreamwardens, and who knew how many that had come before. They weren't entirely separate beings. They were one being with a dissociative identity disorder. Six distinct personalities in one body, just some of those personalities had an extra body to spend time in when awake.

"Families are weird," Líng observed, then went back to looking at dandelions.

"Do you know who our Ba is?" Shǔguāng suddenly asked.

That was yet another question that froze me up. How do I explain delicately that they all had different fathers, and even their mother was unsure who each of those fathers were? I suppose all I could do was be honest.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know," I said apologetically. "Each of you probably has different dads, even if you all share the same mother. Your mom… she liked a lot of different ponies."

Líng nodded. "Yeah, Mama always had lots and lots of special friend ponies. We had to stay out of her room when she had special friends visiting. She had a sign. Do you have special friends, Auntie? Sister had a couple of different special friends for a little while; then she stopped having them visit."

"My wife was my special friend and my ex-husband before her," I replied. "You don't need to worry about them visiting and you not being allowed in my room." Time to leave the not age-appropriate conversation. "Anyway, I'd like to teach you all the recipes my mom taught me, minus the meat. Maybe in a few days, we can all come out and gather up dandelions and crabapples. There might be some wild lettuce around here too. Everyone should learn how to make mac n' cheese. It's almost an essential life skill."

Sinker decided he wanted to hit me with another tricky question. "You, Mom, and Dad keep saying we have more sisters. Is that true?"

The edges of my mouth curved downward. "Yes, it's true. I don't know much about them either. I haven't seen either in over thirty years. The last time I saw both in one place was my high school graduation. I used to be the youngest until you came along, and you'd better stay the youngest. If Mom has another foal after you, I'm going to have a cow."

"What are you going to do with a cow?" Líng asked.

"Are you going to eat the cow?" Sinker asked nervously.

"Auntie doesn't eat cows anymore. She will milk it," Shǔguāng said confidently.

"Can the cow be our pet?" Líng asked in a hopeful tone.

I stared upwards at the tree branches, reminding myself these were kids. "There will be no cow. It's just an expression. You watch Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles; I'm pretty sure they use that expression at some point. It means I'm going to be very mad and upset."

I would definitely be mad and upset. I loved my parents, but they were in their eighties. It was a sad thing to think about, but there was a strong possibility that they would not see Sinker reach adulthood as it was. They might be in the best physical shape you could hope to be in for that age, but that was still a hefty age. Did they have a plan for what happened to him if time caught up with them? Who was going to take care of him? Who was going to help him cope when they passed? I had an understanding that they were living on borrowed time; Sinker didn't. My mother might still be ovulating and feeling frisky, thanks to ETS resetting her biological clock, but if she got pregnant again, I was going to have some choice words with her.

"How about we discuss you guys," I said in a cheerful tone that I wasn't feeling. "I know so little. When are your birthdays?"

"Mine is August twenty-first, which is next month!" Sinker announced proudly. "I'll be turning seven!"

I looked at him in shock. "Really? August twenty-first? That's my birthday too."

"How old will you be? A million plus one?" Sinker asked.

"I'll be fifty plus one," I muttered. "I'm your big sister, and you should be nicer about my age."

"Mama said I was born in the year of the snake," Líng announced. "I was born on the third day of the ninth month of the third year."

"And I was born on the twelfth day of the second month of the second year. I'm a dragon! Dragons are better than snakes!" Shǔguāng said haughtily.

I blinked. "Um… you wouldn't happen to know what those dates translate out to in my calendar, do you?"

"You have a different calendar?" Shǔguāng asked in confusion.

I fluttered my lips. "Yes, I do, and I'm guessing that's a no on you being able to translate that over. It sounds like China reset its calendar after ETS. Maybe your sister can help me figure out your birth dates. I do know what my Chinese zodiac symbol is. I'm a monkey."

"Sister is a monkey too," Shǔguāng said. "And Mama is a rabbit."

Certainly had sex like one. I thought to myself.

"What am I?" Sinker asked, seeming unhappy to be left out of the whole Chinese zodiac discussion.

"Well, assuming you are born in the same year as Shǔguāng, you would be a dragon too," I said.

"Being a dragon is cool!" Shǔguāng exclaimed happily.

Sinker gasped. "Like Spike the Brave and Glorious?"

"Like who?" I asked.

"You know, Spike, Princess Twilight's helper," Sinker informed me. "He saved the Crystal Empire twice! I met him once. He told all the foals in Pony Hope about it."

"Mama said snakes are intelligent and wise," Líng said, not to be outdone.

"She said dragons are strong, confident, and charming," Shǔguāng listed off, making this a competition.

"And what is a monkey?" I asked, mildly curious, but also eager to stop them from arguing about whether snakes or dragons were better.

Shǔguāng looked down. "She said monkeys learn really fast, faster than any other animal, and are crafty, but they are also very grumpy." He gave me a sheepish smile. "But you aren't always grumpy. That's more like Sister."

I could get much more than merely grumpy. I found the description to be very spot on. I didn't believe in astrology, but sometimes the vague descriptions could line up nicely.

My phone started ringing.

Shǔguāng's ears sagged. "Auntie has to do other stuff again."

That made me hesitate. I didn't want them to feel like I was always putting them off. I was out here specifically because I wanted to spend more time with them, get to know them better, let them see how much I cared about them.

The phone kept ringing.

Líng gave me a concerned look. "Is something wrong?" He came over and hugged me. "You look sad."

Having him hug me felt good. I didn't want to have to answer the phone, but if someone was calling me, it was almost certainly important. I didn't get random calls from telemarketers, and I certainly didn't have any job that would be calling. It could have something to do with ensuring their safety.

I gently brushed his mane. "Just let me see who it is, and if it’s not important, it can wait." I raised my leg and answered the phone. "Sunset Blessing here."

"Hi, Auntie Sunset!" an enthusiastic filly's voice came over the line.

My eyes narrowed. "Jordan? Why are you calling me? How did you even get my number?"

"I wanted to call Alfie, Charlotte, and Tabby, because I'm bored, and I know they were visiting you. Mom has to do student-teacher conferences, Dad is working late, and Jackie is off having a sleepover with her friends, and I'm stuck here at Phobia's house with nobody to play with. I'm super bored! The boredest bored that ever boreded!" Jordan mournfully and dramatically explained.

Deep breaths. "Jordan, honey, we are in a different time zone. That means that it is earlier here than over there. The demons aren't awake yet. How did you get this number??"

"Phobia had it written down in a notebook, and I found it because I was bored. Really bored," Jordan said in a despondent voice.

I resisted the urge to facehoof. "How about this… I can give you Jess's dad's phone number. She is here, with him, and I'm sure she would love to hear from her best friend."

"Jessie's there?!" Jordan shrilly screamed over the line, making me and all the foals pin our ears back in pain. If Phobia was asleep before, she was sure to be awake now. Crystal was probably going to be charging in there any minute to see who was dying.

"She goes by Jess now, and she's here. I take it you want to talk to her," I said as I flexed my ears to try to clear the ringing.

"Yes, please, Auntie," Jordan replied in a much calmer voice like she hadn't just been trying to break my eardrums.

I took the time to tell her the phone number and promptly hung the phone up. That filly could be sweet, but rather excitable at times. She had been very quiet and introverted just a few years ago, but had come out of her shell as of the last year and a half. Considering the events she had been through that would have left an adult with PTSD, and that those events were unequivocally my fault, I should be happy that she still seemed well-adjusted and didn't hold any resentment or hate towards me.

"Who was that?" Shǔguāng asked. My ears perked. Did I detect a strong hint of jealousy in his tone?

I gave a reassuring smile. "That was Jordan. She is my ex-husband's daughter… she's family. Jordan is the same age as you and Sinker. A nice little lavender unicorn filly with a yellow mane."

"She called you Auntie," Shǔguāng continued. Ah, that was what this was about. That was supposed to be our special word.

I tried to give him an even more reassuring smile than the one I just gave him. "If you noticed, Jess calls me that as well. Auntie means different things to different people in the family."

Shǔguāng's ear flicked. "What does it mean to her?"

I walked over to him and pulled him close to me. "Remember how I just told you that you and your brothers have different dads, but you all share the same mom?" Shǔguāng nodded. "Jordan and my daughter Phobia share a dad, but don't have the same mom. Phobia is Jordan's sister. I am Phobia's mother, but not Jordan's, which makes me not fit neatly into normal titles, yet I am still her family, so she calls me Auntie. Do you understand?"

"Maybe," Shǔguāng muttered.

"What about Jess? She isn't even a pony, and she calls you Auntie too!" Líng pointed out.

I pulled him over to me as well. "Jess and her brother Robby's father have a sister named Tonya, and Tonya is my wife. Since I'm married to their aunt, that makes me their auntie."

"And Mama calls Tonya and Phobia sisters, right?" Líng asked as he tried to sort out how everything fit together in his head. "So… what are they to us?"

"That's for you to decide," I said in a low voice. "I could tell you how to classify them, but it is up to you to determine if you want to embrace them as family. It isn't fair to tell you that you need to embrace them as family members if you haven't even met them all yet. I'll try to find time for you to meet everyone, but it seems like you have a lot of my family to get used to who are already here. Let's start with you getting used to them one at a time, like with Sinker here, who is my little brother."

"I'm not little!" Sinker objected.

I chuckled. "I'm sure you'll be taller and stronger than me someday, and you're always going to be my little brother." I gazed down at Líng. "And even though Sinker is my brother, he and I are still getting used to one another too. We only recently found out about one another, and it is a significant age difference between us. You're three years older than your little brother, Méng, and that might seem like a lot. Imagine how it feels to be forty-four years difference in age from your sibling. Your mother isn't even forty-four. I'm closer in age to my parents than Sinker. This is a big adjustment for him and me."

"It's not that big," Sinker said nonchalantly. "Old Sis just needs to teach me how to be a mad scientist!"

"I'm not a scientist; I'm a mage," I reiterated. "I'm sorry, but not sure I'm qualified to make a mage out of an earth pony. That doesn't mean it's not possible, just that I'm not the teacher you need for that." I saw the disappointment on his face. and tried to think of how to cheer him up. "However… if you are interested in mad science stuff, Jess is the person you want to talk to. As for being an earth pony mage… I do happen to know someone who was an earth pony mage, the most powerful earth pony mage there has ever been."

Sinker looked up at me excitedly. "You do? Can you get them to teach me?"

I ruffled his mane. "You're still a little young for that. You can't even fully harness your magic yet, but if you are still interested in a few years when your magic starts maturing, I can try talking to her about you. I can't make any promises because she is a very busy mare, but she may be willing to give some pointers. How about that?"

"Can I be an earth pony mage too?" Líng asked.

I looked at him and nodded. "If your heart's in it when you get older, yes. I was thinking in the meantime I could try signing you up for some swimming classes since you like the water so much. You don't need mature magic to learn to be a great swimmer. Would you like that?"

He grappled me with a big hug without saying anything.

"I take it, that's a yes?" I asked, mildly amused.

"Yes! Thank you, Auntie," Líng exclaimed.

"What about me?" Shǔguāng asked.

I smiled at him. "You can be included in the swim lessons too, and if there is something you have an interest in doing, we can try to set up something for that too and have your brothers included along with you."

He shook his head. "I mean, can you teach me to be a mage? I'm not an earth pony. I'm a unicorn, like you."

I considered him. "I can teach you, but you'll have to wait for your magic to mature as well. Once you get to where you can levitate things without straining yourself, then we can begin lessons. That might be a few years yet, so be patient—and don't hurt yourself by trying to force it. It will come, naturally, in time."

"I can wait," Shǔguāng said stoically as if he was trying to prove to me how reasonable and mature he was.

At that moment, I heard the rain start to hit the canopy of leaves above us. It wasn't falling hard, but it was sudden how quickly it started. The trees blocked out most, but not all the rain.

This did not deter Líng in the least. The little brown earth pony practically leapt out from under the trees into the open and managed to find an exposed patch of dirt in the otherwise grassy yard. Within seconds it was mud. I had no idea how it had turned to mud so quickly and thoroughly—perhaps what little magic Líng had interacted with it somehow. Regardless, the mud had been made, and it was all over him.

I rolled my eyes and gazed at the happy colt frolicking in his preferred weather and muck. I then smirked, lit my horn, gathered up two mud balls with my magic, and then carefully levitated them behind Líng, outside his vision.

Sinker and Shǔguāng watched expectantly, waiting for me to inevitably pelt Líng with the mud like I would a snowball.

They were astonished when I made the two balls go hurtling towards them. After shaking off the mud, they gave me shocked expressions.

Me, I just calmly walked out into the rain, gathered up another mud ball, and then pelted Líng as well. Líng didn't act shocked at all; he knew a challenge when he got it. He started gathering up his own chunk of mud in his hooves and chucked it at me, striking me in the leg.

I gathered up another mud ball and looked at the two still dumbfounded colts standing under the trees, and I gave them a mischievous smile. "You know, you make easy targets if you just stand there with your mouths open. Are you just going to let me get away with muddying you up with no reprisal? If that's the case, I guess it is only between Líng and me who is going to rule the mud pit!"

That they understood, and charged forward into the mud.

Yeah, we were going to get messy, and we'd all need baths, but it would be worth it.

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.

Chapter 68: Choice of Element

Security had arrived, and most of them were busy setting up equipment down in the basement while a few went around the house to see what would need to be done to get the surveillance system running—where to mount cameras, how to run wires, all that fun stuff that they knew how to do, and I didn't. It was a chore to keep my dad from following along with them to give helpful advice on how to do their jobs as if anyone doing wiring aside from him was suspect and incapable of doing the job right. Mom eventually got him to leave them alone, but it was work, even for her.

Dinner was fried noodles with a selection of mixed vegetables because that was all the three very different mares—or two mares preparing and one watching from a safe distance— could collectively agree on. I was sure that Lántiān had been the primary contributor and likely argued her opinions loudly over her elders. I was confident because she could still be heard doing it when I had gone downstairs. There was a mild tension between the three at dinner. To put it more accurately, Lántiān spent time shooting glares at each of them; my mother made a show of ignoring the filly, and Rosetta maturely glared right back at the pony that was half her age like she was ready to brawl.

So, a casual family dinner, all and all.

I spent a little time developing an itinerary for tomorrow. Church was already on my list of things I wanted to do since I hadn't attended a service in some time, and even longer since I sat in attendance rather than preached a sermon. It was long overdue.

As per my agreement with Lántiān, the foals wouldn't be attending that, only me and the Youngs—minus the two Young children who we didn't trust to be able to sit through a service. This left the question of what everyone else would be doing at that time, with me just planning on just attending the service and spending at most thirty minutes before and after the service, that equaled up to a little less than two hours. Trixie informed me that Starlight would be present for the day, which made me feel better about having the majority of the group out of my sight for that period.

I finally decided that I would give an olive branch to Rosetta and let her be in charge of taking everyone to the place I knew she would want to go to most, the museums. The two main museums were luckily literally right next to each other. There were going to be a lot of kids to deal with, double-digit numbers of kids in single-digit ages, but there should be enough adults to help keep them in line if the two-and-a-half teens going with them behaved as well—Lántiān and Robby counted as full teens, Jess only half counted.

After we met back up, we would have a short lunch, and the night ponies would go off to a hotel for a few hours to sleep. While they were doing that, I planned on taking us all to the Denver observatory. Jess could be bull-headed, but she had done me a great deal of service with smoothing things over with the Youngs, and going to the observatory was partially a gift to her as well as giving the foals more exposure to unfamiliar but educational things.

We would leave from there and go to one of the nearby malls. Malls had made a surging comeback in recent years, especially in the west, since ponies seemed to prefer them to shopping online, and it allowed for all the highly specialized pony start-up businesses to have somewhere to set-up shop and get noticed, not to mention a slew of new human-owned ones. There was also a strong nostalgia push in their reopening. I intended to get plenty of shopping done so Wabash Manor could start to feel more like home for everyone.

The shopping should continue long enough for the night ponies to wake up. We would all meet back up, have a nice dinner, and end the excursion with a trip to Coors Field to watch a baseball game. It would be an expensive day, but I wasn't the one paying for it. I didn't think Wild would have an issue with it, considering most of the family was hers as well, but if she screamed about the overall bill for the day—which I would be surprised if it hit five figures— I would accept it with grace.

I had debated trying to fit in a trip to the waterpark, but there would be time for that another day. The foals would love it, Líng in particular, but there was only so much that could be fit into one day. Perhaps we could go the day after tomorrow, depending on if they were still wiring the house. It was a big house. I doubted they'd get it all done in one day, and I had a house full of people to entertain and keep from going stir-crazy.

Maybe a quick email to Wild to tell her why I was spending like a madmare would be in order. Wild was generous, but there was a difference between being generous and getting fleeced. I didn't want her to feel I was taking unfair advantage of her.

After spending a great deal of time on the computer, booking tickets, writing a schedule, and hoping to God that the credit line didn't suddenly start saying it was declining, I was finished. A perfect plan for a perfect day away from home. It was a satisfying thing to see.

"What are you grinning about?" Trixie asked curiously. "Is a magic trick video? Can I see?"

"I am grinning because everything in my schedule is set up and perfectly in place," I answered as I closed my laptop.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeawk! Okay, Twilight Sparkle. Maybe I can find you a library to organize."

"You wouldn't want her to do that. Sunset's organization systems are… unique," Number said as she finished her food and set it aside. "Only Tonya could ever make heads or tails of what Sunset did, and even she couldn't always manage it."

"She forced me to get secretaries when I was head of SPEC," I admitted. "There is a method to my madness. I can't help you if you can't make sense of my organized chaos."

"Just don't teach the foals your filing system," Number said with a chuckle before taking a sip of her drink.

Rosetta shoved her empty plate aside and looked at me. "We might as we'll get this over with. Are you ready for our talk? The one that is going to piss you off?"

"Watch the language. There are foals present," I scolded. I then sighed. "We might as well get it over with. I don't want it to ruin the day tomorrow. Make me mad now so that I can sleep it off."

"They aren't paying the adults a lick of attention," Rosetta remarked. Her ears then flattened. "Still… I want to go somewhere private."

I lit my horn and started gathering up empty plates into a stack. "We can go to the kitchen and discuss whatever it is while doing the dishes. I assume your dishwashing isn't as bad as your cooking."

"Considerably better," Rosetta replied in a flat tone.

She followed me into the kitchen and sat patiently as I filled up the sink with soapy water.

"Get on with it," I said. "Whatever it is won't get any easier, making me wait."

Rosetta squared up her shoulders and gave a small flap of her wings. She still didn't immediately speak, instead taking a few deep breaths. It was enough to make me start to worry.

"I'm sure you are aware, but Phobia has never really been the same since… since her run-in with my ex," Rosetta said in slow, measured tones. "She still gets startled easily—as in goes into a panic startled. She is especially nervous around males. The only one that can touch her without permission is Alfie, and I can't help worrying if she'll get jumpy about even him when he gets older and larger."

I shut the water off and sat down. My mood was definitely wrecked, but not because of any anger at Rosetta. The person I was angry at was long dead. "What she went through is a very traumatic event for anyone. She might be a big impressive Dreamwarden, but even a Dreamwarden can be traumatized by what happened to her. I had hoped she was getting better. It's been eight years."

Rosetta shook her head. "She is better at hiding it. It is just as bad as before. You would think that a pony of her specific talent wouldn't be crippled by fear, but it seems the only one she can't help is herself. It isn't there when she's sleeping, but she isn't the same pony when sleeping. I think you can understand what I'm talking about. I've spoken with Arbiter, and I can say with confidence that is not the Tonya I knew."

I wanted to object that, of course, it was my wife, but that was one lie I couldn't manage. Tonya might be in there, but there was so much more than Tonya in there.

"I'm assuming she has been seeing therapists?" I asked.

Rosetta nodded. "Yes. Psychic Calm has spent a great deal of time with her, as well as a few human therapists who specialize in victims of rape and sexual abuse. She has her moments. There are times she surprises me, and I walk into our bedroom, and she is immediately on me, ready to have sex. Those are wonderful moments, but they're few and far between. It can be months of abstinence between us at a time. I never try to initiate intercourse with her myself. She has to be in the mood, and only she knows when that is."

I wasn't sure I liked where this was going. "And that isn't working for you, is it? Are you planning on leaving my daughter?" I didn't put any judgment in my voice. Regardless of what quarrels Rosetta and I had, I never doubted for a moment she loved Phobia. I also understood what it was like to feel unfulfilled in a marriage, even to someone you love.

She shook her head. "No, but our relationship is going to… evolve… I guess is the best way of saying it. We decided that it would be best if we opened the marriage up to being polyamorous—not polygamous; just in case you jump to that conclusion."

My brow furrowed. "She's giving you permission to sleep around."

Rosette flattened her ears and glared at me. "Technically, yes. It also is not only me who has permission to engage in different relationships, even though we're going to remain a married couple who love one another."

"You just said she isn't normally interested in sex, so it seems one-sided to me," I huffed.

"Romance doesn't require sex," Rosetta said sagely. "I'm well aware of that fact. Phobia and I still romance one another, and Phobia can do the most romantic things sometimes that put me all aflutter." She chewed on her lip. "I'm also poignantly aware there is someone that has feelings for Phobia, and given that Phobia shows trust in her only matched by her trust in me...I see where she could possibly have a secondary romantic relationship, even if there is never any sex."

"That lard-ball, Crystal?" I asked.

Rosetta shook her head. "No… close, though. Want to try a second guess?"

My eyebrows shot up. "That Equestrian-turned-human that is in the other room??"

That earned a nod. "Tempest cares very deeply for Phobia and all the foals. I'd be jealous, but I see the love there, even when she is being a hardass. She hasn't attempted to pursue any romantic intent with Phobia, nor do I know if she ever will, but you can tell there's something there when you spend enough time with both of them. I'm not even mad. It is just something that has developed over time, and I get no sense Tempest wants to replace me."

"Night ponies are usually hyper-aggressive when it comes to defending their territory with mates," I said, trying to process how I felt about this.

"Only when we feel that someone might try to steal them away from us," Rosetta replied. "I trust in Phobia's love for me, just like she trusts in mine for her. If it comes to it, I'll share… just I keep sole possession of the title of Phobia's wife." She took a deep breath. "As for me, I haven't seen anyone as of yet. We have been talking about this since before the Cataclysm. Then that happened, and everything got kinda shoved to the side. I decided I'm going to have my tubes tied. I don't want to have to explain to the foals how they ended up with a new brother or sister… or brothers or sisters the way twins run on my side of the family."

I stared at the floor. "Why are you telling me about this?"

"Because I'm sure there will inevitably be rumors and tabloid gossip at some point. I would rather you knew the truth, straight from us. Phobia told me I needed to tell you. She would say something herself, but Phobia has a hard time talking about these kinds of things. Talking to her very traditional-minded mother about it can't make it any easier. I've been dreading this talk."

Crying sounds started, and I looked up at my daughter-in-law as she wiped tears from her eyes. This didn't seem to help as she just broke down into more sobbing.

"I- I love h-her so much," Rosetta blubbered. "She...she and our foals are my world. It hur...it hurts so much to consider that she isn't… isn't good enough… on her own. It feels like… it feels like I'm betraying her… even after we talked about this and decided on it as a couple. She says she wants me to be h-h-happy, and she knows how much I'm feeling neglected when it comes to sex. I just… I feel so guilty for feeling this way. She didn't fail me. I failed her by not being satisfied."

I was still at a loss at what I was supposed to be feeling. The compassion, empathy, and kindness in me understood what Rosetta was feeling, and it was hard listening to her cry and suffer like this. At the same time, she was saying my daughter wasn't good enough for her, and as a mother, that elicited rage. I was stuck, frozen between being a devoted mother loyal to her daughter and a mare that understood all too well how it felt to be in a marriage that wasn't meeting her needs.

Rosetta sniffled loudly. "I tried going to Yinyu. I tried asking her to just get rid of my sexual desire altogether. That damn bitch told me no! I thought she was supposed to help ponies like me, but she claimed that wasn't helping. What the fuck does she know?!"

She then laid down on the floor, covered her head with a wing, and just let it all out. I watched as this normally snide, nasty mare was reduced to sobbing like a foal. It was after a few seconds of watching that one side of me finally won out over the other.

I walked over to her and laid down beside her, then carefully wrapped a leg over her.

"You have not betrayed my daughter," I whispered. "You have given your life to her. You even tried to change your very being for her. It is okay to say you have needs and they aren't being met, even if it isn't anyone's fault that they aren't. Even after making this realization, you didn't just leave Phobia. The two of you sat down and talked about it and made a decision together. I know my daughter, and I know she loves you as much as you do her, and I know it must break her heart to see you unhappy, as much as it breaks our hearts to see her cringing back in fear. You've been very strong for her, but you have to care for yourself too, even if what you need might feel selfish. You've never forced her to conform to your needs, and always respected her. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

She didn't respond. However, she did turn and lift her wing just enough so she could lay her head against me as she continued to cry. I stayed where I was and just let her have her time. This was still difficult; one side of my psyche had won out, but the other wasn't gone, but I had to make a choice, and I chose to be kind. It was the right thing to do, even if it was hard.

Chapter 69: Letters and Dreamscapes

The evening progressed calmly, with no other drama. The night ponies were going to be awake all night, obviously, but Alice would be spending part of the night sleepless as well after obtaining her parents' permission to help watch Méng. To my surprise, Devon, Paul, Dusk, and Jess all stayed overnight instead of leaving and coming back despite the possible danger. I didn't ask why; I just accepted it. ,

I tucked the colts in and checked on everyone else before heading to my room. Starlight wasn't back, so that left Trixie and me getting escorted to our rooms by Robby and Tempest so we weren't walking the halls by ourselves—although we would end up breaking the rule for being in our rooms.

There was one last task for me to complete before bed. I pulled out a pen, paper, and envelope and sat down to write a letter.

Dear Princess Luna,

Today has been an eventful day at the end of an eventful week. There are so many things I could discuss in regards to this week, the experiences I have had, and the lessons learned. It is hard to pick just one thing to write to you about. Many of these things I expect will be things I have to learn over and over again because old habits die hard, and behavior patterns are rarely changed in a single day.

I finally decided on what to write to you about for my first lesson. Today, I had to make a hard choice. I had to choose to set aside my anger at what part of me perceived as a betrayal of my daughter by my daughter-in-law. I won't go into details about it because that involves their private business, but it was a hard thing for me to do. I am sorry I couldn't share better information, but even if I could trust you to keep them secret, the government reviews all my correspondence (hello to whoever is reviewing this. I hope your day is pleasant).

The heart of the problem is I am fighting against my understanding of how relationships work and not fully accepting that there are other ways they can work. I understand it on a mental level, but on an emotional level, it is a struggle for me. Even knowing the right thing to do, I still felt angry for an utterly unfair reason. I hid my anger, but I'm ashamed that I couldn't make it go away. However, I feel like the choice I made, the option to be understanding and try to show compassion, was the better one to make.

My wife asked me yesterday about my friendship language. You might not be aware of what I am discussing. It is this Harmonist thing where they break the ways we express friendship into five elements. We all have every one of these elements in us, making up the magic of friendship, but we favor different ones. The question posed to me was what was mine and how mine lined up. I was unsure at the time, but after today I think I can name my top two for sure, and my bottom one seems clear as well.

My top two are kindness and loyalty. These were the things at war with one another when I was dealing with my daughter-in-law. Today, kindness won out, and I think it might be what I want to win out most often. I would rather be kind than loyal; I believe my understanding of loyalty is too dogmatic and too easily perverted.

My bottom element I think I can say with certainty, is honesty. Where generosity and laughter fall, I do not know, but I'm not an honest mare. I deliberately withhold the truth to protect others' feelings. That same episode with Rosetta meant I had to lie to her to tell her I was okay with everything. It was the kind thing to do, but it was not the honest one. Am I leading myself into disaster? Should I speak with her and tell her the truth? She is hurting, and I know my daughter is hurting. I don't want to hurt them any more than they are.

I have read the Friendship Journal and am not sure how this will stand against its entries. I don't know if you are supposed to write me back, or discuss this in a dream with me, or you just file it away and wait for the next. I will be sending another letter next week, although I am not sure how long each will take to reach you, given the government must review them.

Until next time.
With God's Faith,
Your Student,
Sunset Blessing

I sealed the letter in an envelope and was uncertain exactly how to address it. I wrote out my return address, but for a mailing address, I simply put Princess Luna of Equestria and left the rest blank for the moment. Starlight could help me address it and get it sent.

Setting the letter aside, I climbed into bed. I still had other matters to attend to tonight. It was time to talk to Tonya.

It didn't take long to fall asleep, and I found myself in Tonya's, or should I say Arbiter's, temple throne room. She was in her angelic form, sitting on her throne, holding her accursed staff of bonking in her hand. She didn't look angry, but she wasn't in pony form, so I was unsure how to approach this conversation.

"You have my permission to act on my thoughts," I said as I approached her.

She smiled at last. "You are wondering why I am in this form? Don't worry, I'm not angry, but you're coming to me looking for a Dreamwarden, and that is what you are getting. You have questions."

Straight to business then. "Okay… I promised to ask this right away. Is there any such thing as a ghost, not counting Dreamwardens?"

She sat still. "I cannot answer that definitively in good faith. The best answer I can give is I have seen no evidence of ghosts on Earth, and the only place there is evidence is across the universe from us."

I pursed my lips. "That was not the answer I was expecting."

"But that is the answer I am giving," Arbiter replied. She frowned. "Now you have a new question."

"Yes, I do," I confirmed. "What does evidence of a ghost look like?"

Her frown didn't go away, but our surroundings shifted.

We were no longer in her ordinary Dreamwarden room. Above me was a starlit sky so dense with stars it was hard to tell where one began or ended, and they glowed with an intensity that not even the North Star possessed. The ground we stood on was chalky white, but perfectly flat and free of dust. All around us were tall, unadorned buildings made of the same whatever the ground was. There were no windows, and they were all of rectangular design of various shapes, some seeming just only a story tall, others towering what must have been hundreds of stories tall, with no seeming pattern in their placement. There was a street, of sorts, that we were standing in, but it didn't follow anything resembling a straight line, nor was there anything on the road aside from the buildings that surrounded it. Some of the taller buildings had openings with unrailed bridges with no seeming support between them. The entrances to buildings, whether they be up above or down below, were egg-shaped and lacking anything that indicated a door once adorned them. There were no lights of any kind within the buildings, no decorations, not so much as a stray weed to show signs of life. Everything seemed to be one piece, a massive city carved from a single stone.

This place made a graveyard seem full of life.

"Not your most charming fantasy location," I muttered with a shiver.

She shook her head. "This place is no fantasy. This is Jeg'galla'gamp'i, the First and Last Place. This is a memory, but aside from how the stars look in the sky, I am sure that it looks no different today than it did so long ago. Jeg'galla'gamp'i never changes. It was like this when the universe was born, it will be the same when the universe ends, and it will remain the same at the birth of a new universe. You can bury it, cast it into a star, do whatever you can to make it inaccessible, but you cannot destroy or even chip away the smallest fraction of it."

I looked around. "Is this Heaven?" I asked fearfully.

"If it is, I'd rather go to Hell," Tonya muttered. I was astonished to see she looked almost frightened by our surroundings, even though this was a dream. "This is where you find evidence of ghosts. You could say this place itself is a ghost, all that survived the end of a universe. It has survived everything, and although you don't see any residents, this place is not empty. There's a presence about this place, an intelligence alien to my understanding or anyone else's. It can give gifts, physical ones, and take them away. It watches you, and if you aren't careful, it never lets you leave. It is always here, it never sleeps, and can never be found. Triss spent ages here trying to make sense of it, but she came out no wiser than she began."

Nothing had changed, but now the shadows felt more menacing, the streets more cramped, and openings to the buildings seemed gateways to oblivion. I shivered.

"I don't think I like this place," I whispered as I inched closer to her for protection.

She laid a trembling hand on me. "I don't either; in fact, I loathe this place on a level you cannot possibly understand. Be glad you have no reason or capability of ever setting hoof here."

She gestured with her staff, and we returned to her regular temple. She briefly squeezed her hand on my back and then returned to her throne, looking strangely tired for a being that lived in a dream.

"Who built that place?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said, staring down at the ground.

"Is it evil?"

"I don't know," she repeated in a dejected tone. "I'm not all-knowing, Sunset, despite what anyone might believe. I already told you it stumped Triss and stumps us as well. It predates literally everything."

I looked at her, seeing her look weak for the first time since she had become a Dreamwarden. "Why are you afraid of it?"

She looked me in the eyes. "Once upon a time, it gave a gift, and that gift eventually ruined a friendship and led to jealousy, resentment, and misery. That misery led to the making of the Devourers, and that led to more death than you can contemplate. If there were one thing I wish the Devourers could destroy, it would be that place, but there is no justice. It is incapable of being destroyed, even by them… believe me, they tried. They destroyed the planet it sat upon and the star it circled, did everything you could imagine and more to destroy it; their efforts were for not, and eventually, they just gave up—perhaps because they detected no life. Jeg'galla'gamp'i endures without so much as a scratch. So much for there is a silver lining to everything."

This wasn't Tonya speaking and explaining things; this was Arbiter and everything that entailed. Not for the first time, I wondered how my wife had become so alien to me.

She still had permission to act on my thoughts and knew what I was thinking. In a flash, it was no longer the angelic form of Arbiter sitting on a throne before me but the regular pegasus form of Tonya seated on the floor within hoof's reach.

Tonya reached out and touched me with a wing. "I'm sorry, but there is no going back to who I was when I was alive. I know you have been increasingly fretting about how much of me I am and how much I am of others. There is no easy answer for that. I'm an amalgamation. What made me Tonya makes up a significant part of that and defines me from my brothers and sisters. My hopes, desires, worries, drives, and loves are all primarily mine. However, I do have many traits that I inherited, and it can sometimes be a struggle to remind myself that previous Dreamwarden memories are not my own. What we just saw… Tonya would never have seen or had strong feelings about it, but Joss, a distant predecessor of mine, had very intense feelings about it, and they are part of me too."

"And Sha'am?" I asked. I detested Sha'am. I didn't know anyone who didn't.

Tonya touched a hoof to herself near her heart. "She's in here too. I have never made a big announcement about it, but I carry on her duties. I give final dreams to the dying—something she cared deeply about and I inherited. I cannot defend most of Sha'am's actions as being right or just or even an acceptable means to an end, but I can say she was a very troubled soul, and she honestly believed she was protecting people through her actions, even if she failed to see the error in her thinking to the bitter end. There was good in her, and I hope that I can embody those parts of her rather than the darker aspects. I don't hate her; I mourn her and the fact her worldview became so perverted by the injustices she endured in life that she could never overcome her darkness. There is no joy in the death of an evil person, only sorrow because they never found redemption."

"You are too good," I said. It wasn't an insult. I was always in awe of how compassionate my wife could be.

She kissed me, then pulled back and smiled. "I fell in love with a pony that some might call evil; even she might call herself that in retrospect. I saw the good in her, and I am so proud to see that good continue to grow and blossom. I love you, Sunset. You've made mistakes, but you can yet be one of the world's brightest lights."

She gave me a final kiss before I could say anything, and I found myself swept up in a regular dream about fighting alongside turtles using mudballs against dogs.

Chapter 70: Church Service

"Be sure you are going to be on your best behavior for Miss Rosetta at the museum," I instructed the colts as I was getting ready to leave the bus.

"We'll be good, Auntie," Shǔguāng and Líng said in chorus.

Méng didn't reply; he was too busy fidgeting with the strap-on sunglasses Rosetta had graciously provided for him while he was out in the sun today. All the other night ponies had sunglasses on as well, although his were the only pair that strapped on.

I looked to Lántiān. "That goes for you too—no giving Rosetta grief. Keep your attitude in check, and help keep the foals under control and with the group. I don't want anyone getting separated."

Lántiān glared. "I don't appreciate you insinuating I will behave like a young foal, ma'am."

"Then make sure you don't behave like one, and there will be no problem," I said in a firm tone.

Jess was practically hopping on her ass in her seat. I was surprised she didn't end up pinching her tail the way she was moving. I didn't think the girl was excited about the museums, but she was as excited as… well, an excited eight-year-old girl, about the observatory trip after. It seemed I picked that one out correctly. Her younger brother, Dusk, caught Jess's excitement, even if he had no clue what he was excited about, and was bouncing in Devon's lap like an over-hyper toad. Robby was watching his two younger siblings while visibly straining not to laugh.

Sinker was much better behaved. It never occurred to me that my little brother had never been outside of Pony Hope before he came to visit me. This meant that everything in Denver was new and exciting to him, and the young colt was glued to the window as my parents explained the things that could be seen.

The Young's children were uncharacteristically nervous looking. It didn't take much to figure out why. This was going to be the first time they and the rest of their family would be in different places in those children's memories. They weren't the only ones who looked nervous; the adults and teens of that family had exited the bus ahead of me and were looking around at their surroundings like they were ready to be attacked and were closely huddled together. Their backs were only turned to each other and the bus.

It was time to get off the bus and stop delaying things. I gave one final wave to everyone on the bus, adjusting my saddlebags on my back as I did so. "See you again shortly!" I then exited.

I stepped off the bus and joined the Youngs in the church parking lot. It wasn't my regular denomination of church, it was Lutheran while I had attended Southern Baptist churches as a human, but I was familiar enough with the differences that nothing should catch me off guard and have me make an ass of myself. I could see from the ponies and humans going into the building that we were underdressed for the occasion, but not every human going in was well dressed, and only about three-quarters of the ponies heading in bothered with clothes at all. I had scouted the church online to find one not too big, not too small, with a mixed congregation of ponies and humans. This church had probably a dozen or so families that attended regularly and was a little off the beaten path. That meant we would stick out most for being unfamiliar guests, not for our clothes—or lack of them in my case.

I could tell that some of the ponies instantly recognized my cutie mark. They kept passing glances back at me as they went into the church before putting their heads close together to whisper. The humans hadn't seemed to catch on yet, but knowing how gossip could spread through a church, I expected that all of them would be aware before I entered the building. I hoped that would not become an issue, but we would see.

"Are you ready to go in?" I asked the Youngs. "I expect most of the congregation will keep their distance from us, early on, because of me. That gives you time to decide when you are comfortable going up and starting a conversation with people."

Lauren looked around. "Ready as we'll ever be," she said. "Aside from the ponies and a few other things like car designs, and fashion, everything looks almost the same as when we went into hiding."

I looked around to see what they were seeing. "Yeah, a lot of things are pretty much the same. Eight years isn't going to turn the world into some science fiction fantasy. As for the cars, electric is becoming increasingly the norm since we ponies don't like car exhaust, and I know the designs for pony cars can look a little odd—even to me. They are still figuring out what works best with those. I don't pay fashion trends much attention since I rarely wear clothes, so I can't comment on that."

"Dying your hair colors like pink, purple, blue, and so on seems much more common among middle-aged and older adults," John said as he looked around.

I looked around at the humans to see what they were talking about and smiled. "I'm sure it is, but some of those may not be dye jobs. Those that rehumanized often had traits left over. Rarely as extreme as in Jess's case, but you see a lot of humans that have hair color tints that they wouldn't have had before, an occasional patch of stray fur, and an unusual eye color are all prevalent remnants of them having been partial or full ponies at some point. Given that it is common enough, those who never got ETS or didn't retain any such traits might be more willing to imitate having them."

Mike looked at a human couple with a blue tint to their hair. "So… how do you tell? How do you tell if it is a dye or if they are rehumanized?"

I shrugged. "I don't know, and I know that for some, that is the idea. If unusual colors and such are common, then no one has to feel like a freak. It gives a sense of solidarity in communities. ETS was the biggest event to happen to this planet in human history. Living through that can bring people together."

"I guess so," John replied as he looked around. He continued to look around as if searching for something. "It looks like most of the congregation is inside already. I guess we should head in as well."

"No need to be nervous; it is just a church," I said with a smile as the bus drove off.

He shook his head. "I'm not nervous about it being a church. I'm nervous because it is this church."

That made me flatten my ears. "What is wrong with this particular church? I know I didn't consult you about which one we had been attending. I just picked a close-by one with a moderate-sized congregation that I didn't think would be overwhelming. Do you have a bad history with this congregation from way back when? If there is going to be a problem, tell me. I can call the bus back before it gets too far away."

John continued to look around nervously. "No… no bad history. It is probably nothing. I haven't seen— let's just go inside."

He wasn't telling me something, and now I was nervous that I was going to walk into some sort of drama. I had already readied myself for any kind of problem that might arise from people recognizing me, but I had failed to account for the fact that the Youngs had a history in the area before ETS.

We entered through the main doors, and ushers passed us the printed bulletins for today's service. The Youngs didn't get any odd looks, just smiles from the ushers. Those same smiles got much tighter when they were turned to me, but nothing was said other than welcome to our church as I took the printed bulletin in my magic.

The inside of the chapel was simple enough. The roof was low on the sides and got higher as you went towards the center of the building and was done in a dark varnished wood. There were sets of pews to the left and right of the center walkway. To our immediate right when we entered was the church organ and a projection screen to display hymns, and the organist was currently playing some music. The altar area had a small rail blocking its location off, with a separate podium set to the left and right just inside the railing, but no center podium—not a setup that I was familiar with, but I never attended Lutheran churches, so it could be standard for a Lutheran service.

There were plenty of open spaces for us to sit and whole sections that were empty. Most of the congregation was in small groups in the middle left, front right, and back left of the church, and every single set of eyes was on me as we walked in. Never underestimate the speed of church gossip.

All eyes were on me except for one set.

"Johnny?!" a beige earth pony mare with a chocolaty brown mane sitting towards the front shouted as she stared at John. She wasn't there for long. The name was barely out of her mouth before she left her seat and came galloping towards us.

The music came to an abrupt halt as the earth pony slowed and cautiously approached us. She seemed near tears. "Johnny? Is that really you?"

John did a complete double-take. "—Claire?"

The mare broke down crying at this point. "It is you!" Her tears didn't last long before she laid her ears back. "Where the f—" She sat down with her eyes wide and covered her mouth with both her forehooves as she remembered she was in a church. She uncovered her mouth and continued without much of a break. "Where have you been?! I searched everywhere for you after ETS! I worried you had joined some commune in the wilderness and got eaten by a mountain lion or something! Everypony has been worried sick! I have prayed every day—"

She paused and looked at Mike and Alice. "Is that Michael and Alice? You've gotten so big! And here's Lauren, and… where are the younger ones?"

"Aunt Claire?" Mike asked in shock. "You're a pony?"

The mare stood up. "No, it's just a really good costume. Yes, I'm a pony!" She pointed a hoof at the pastry cutie mark on her flank. "And it is Eclair Cream now; I'll have you know. I haven't gone by Claire in ages."

I held a hoof up to my mouth and cleared my throat. "Not to break up this unexpected family reunion, but we might want to take our seats. I think we're holding up the service."

Eclair looked around at the congregation sheepishly. "Sorry! Sorry!"

There was a chorus of people telling her it was alright, hallelujahs, and people saying God answers prayers.

We followed Eclair Cream back to the pews in the front, and she quickly introduced us to an orange earth pony stallion and a pair of young colts that looked much like the adults in coloring that she identified as her husband and sons. The Youngs seemed just as taken aback by this as when meeting Eclair, and the three other earth ponies looked just as bewildered as us. I was shepherded in next to her family with the Youngs to my left, and Eclair sat at the end of the pew so she could be seated next to her brother.

I took this time to take off my saddlebags and noticed the stallion—who I hadn't caught the name of in the hurried exchange— staring at me with fearful eyes, and his ears laid back. "Hi, I don't bite," I assured him. I wasn't sure that reassured him at all.

The music resumed, and everyone stood up with their hymnal facing the back. I had to hurry to find mine under my seat and was still flipping through pages before I realized the words were posted on the screen in the back anyway. The pastor and two others entered in procession through the center, and the congregation kept facing them as they walked towards the front—which means I did end up needing the hymnal—or Lutheran Service Book, as it was labeled. I wasn't the only one who ended up looking like an idiot while rapidly trying to find the hymn; John and Lauren were just as caught off guard, and Mike and Alice were red-faced with embarrassment as they pretended to sing along but were just moving their lips without saying anything.

After that was done, the pastor, a human man who looked to be in his sixties, took up a spot behind the left pulpit. He smiled out to the congregation. "Greetings! Welcome everyone to our Sunday service. I hope that you are all in good health, and if there is anything troubling you that God may help you find peace today."

He looked over at the Youngs and me with a grin and a joyful glint in his eye before refocusing on the congregation. "I'm sure by now everyone has noticed that we have some guests with us today. I'm also well aware that we have a particularly famous pony among us. Miss Blessing was considerate enough to contact me by email yesterday, asking if she could attend a service without it causing any fuss. I replied that all of God's children are welcome in his house, and she may share communion with us. She also mentioned she would be bringing guests, but I don't think she knew at the time that she was going to be doing God's work in answering a long-standing prayer of one of our dearest members. Sunset Blessing, you have helped deliver a true blessing from God today. God is good!"

"Amen," I said earnestly and smiled. I was sure John would take time to get used to his rediscovered sister, but this was a prodigiously good turn of events. Things had been going well with the Youngs and finding their pony family only improved things further.

The service progressed as most services do. There were some Lutheran traditions that I was not used to, but all in all, they weren't anything objectionable. John, Lauren, and I all took communion with the church, but Mike and Alice abstained at their parents' insistence. It seemed they weren't fully versed in religion, and it was proper they did not take communion if they were not believers.

When the service ended, I checked my phone and saw a text from the bus driver saying he was waiting to take us to the museums when we were ready. According to my schedule, we still had about twenty minutes before we needed to leave the church, and I intended to let the Youngs get their socializing in. Originally I had planned on Mike and Alice to spend time talking to some of the teens and younger twenties members of the church, of which there were several, but Eclair Cream and her family were an excellent alternative.

However, I could see a mounting problem occurring. With the service over, the whole congregation had begun descending on the Youngs. Eclair seemed oblivious to hearing her lost family's growing discomfort, but I could see them inching away from people and slowly huddling together. Worse, Alice was starting to breathe more heavily, and I recognized that as the onset of an anxiety attack. Ponies were notorious for being dense about humans becoming uncomfortable about personal space being infringed upon, and the humans here seemed to have picked up that bad habit as well.

The congregation hadn't been attempting to engage me, and while many glanced at me here and there with uncertain expressions, many others seemed to have forgotten I was even there with how caught up they were with the reunion. That meant no one took notice when I lit my horn ablaze with magical light.

"Excuse me!" I shouted, using a sound amplification spell. The volume wasn't on the level that Jess was capable of, but it got the job done in directing everyone's attention to me.

I released the spell and continued in a normal volume. "Sorry, I know you likely all have some history and want to express your happiness to see family reuniting after so long. But the Youngs have lived a very secluded lifestyle the last few years, and this may be too many people for them to deal with at once. Can we all agree to give them some space to come to terms with all the big and small things we all have become used to since ETS? I’m sure they would appreciate some space and time to meet all of you again at their own pace."

The majority of the congregation looked abashed as they backed up and said hurried apologies. A few of the ponies who didn't look as ashamed instead backed up, looking in awe at me, as if Sunset Blessing addressing them was beyond belief. At least there didn't seem to be any Shimmerists here ready to snarl and bite my head off—not that I expected any to show up to a church with a mixed congregation led by a human pastor.

"Thank you, Sunset," John said as he let out a long breath. Lauren and Mike focused on checking on Alice, who was still shaking and breathing hard.

Eclair turned her attention to her brother. "So where were you?" she demanded to know. "What does she mean by a secluded lifestyle?"

"They've been living in a bunker underneath Wabash Manor," I answered, not sparing the Youngs the embarrassment, but at least sparing them having to be the ones to say it. "I moved into the mansion recently, and I discovered them after Alice tried to raid the kitchen. They had no contact with the outside world and thought aliens had conquered it."

Eclair's mouth dropped. "You're shitting me." This time not remembering she was standing in the middle of a church. "You've been at your house the whole time?! Do you know how many times me, Mom, and Dad went by that place in the first year and a half looking for you? We kept checking right up to the day the state seized it. We kept hoping you'd come back, but you were there the whole time!"

John's eyes narrowed. "You let them seize the house?"

Eclair raised her forehooves defensively. "Hey! We didn't have that kind of money. Mom and Dad had their retirement, but their retirement couldn't pay the taxes on that place, and they ended up giving all their money away to charity; and what did you expect me to do? ETS hit while I was a senior in high school. I didn't even graduate because of it. I only got my GED last year. I definitely didn't have that kind of money. Orange and I just officially opened our bakery this year, and we still don't make that kind of money."

"They gave all their money to charity?" John asked in disbelief. "How are they surviving?"

Eclair shrugged. "They transformed too. Mom decided she wanted to farm, and Dad said he wanted to do weather work while he was still spry enough to do it. They moved out to one of the small pony towns that sprang up, and they are happy. I didn't want to leave Denver, so I stayed and started making my own life."

John looked at his sister"s husband, Orange Cream, and the two colts, who were both younger than Líng but older than Méng. "I can see that—my baby sister, married with kids. I missed a lot. I was wondering if I was going to run into Mom and Dad here, not you. You never were the church-going type."

Eclair blushed. "Things change. When Mom and Dad left, I started coming here for the sake of something familiar. This is where I met Orange, and the people in this church are who we can thank most for helping to get our bakery off the ground with their regular patronage of our cart."

"—We started out cooking stuff at home and selling it from a cart," Orange Cream explained. "At least one person from the church came by every day, and they recommended us to their friends. It was a long road to getting our own store."

"But worth it," Eclair grinning before she gave her husband a quick smooch. She then walked over and gave each of her foals a quick kiss on the head. "Now we have Whipped and Banana here to take care of, so we had to hire employees so we can take time off. Sunday is always a family day for us."

Eclair Cream, Orange Cream, Whip Cream, and Banana Cream… good grief. Sometimes pony naming conventions got downright embarrassing. I'd put down money they put the term Cream in their bakery name. At least the family kept it consistent and formed a solid family identity. Most pony families had nothing to tell by name that they were all connected unless they kept their human names. It had not been that uncommon for teens as young as sixteen to strike out on their own after ETS rather than stay with their parents. The breakdown of families had been something I had worried about for some time. However, the worst long-term consequences I had envisioned regarding that hadn’t come to pass—at least, not as of yet.

"So, are you living back at your old place again?" Eclair asked her brother. "I would love to show the kids their uncle's big place and introduce them to their other cousins."

That snapped me back to being fully alert. "I don't think that's a good idea yet. We are dealing with a barking problem that needs to get resolved."

Orange waved a hoof in dismissal. "Oh, we are used to dogs barking. There is this nasty pony that lives down the street from us who hates humans and keeps a ton of guard dogs that never seem to shut up."

"Yeah," Eclair confirmed. "It has been nice this past week or so. He must have gone on vacation or something and taken all his dogs with him because it has been quiet, but we are used to barking."

It had to be a coincidence, but the timing and the fact it was a Shimmerist raised the fur on my back. "Do you mind telling me more about this pony?"

Chapter 71: Meet-Up at the Museum

It was a chore, but I finally convinced the Creams that they couldn't visit the house just yet. However, I did agree to have them tag along with us as far as the mall. Their bakery turned out to be at the mall, and being very proud of it; Eclair was eager to show it off to her brother. They typically made a short trip by it on Sunday anyway to see how things were doing while they walked around shopping.

But first, we needed to go to the museums and the observatory.

After checking in at the museum lobby—which had a reconstruction of a giant Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton as you walked in, I found Rosetta waiting just outside the gift shop for me.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked her as I looked around. My question was immediately answered when I took a look in the gift shop and saw the foals looking at stuffed dinosaurs. "Never mind, I see them. Have things gone smoothly?"

She nodded and looked past me at the Creams and Youngs, who were gaping at the skeleton. "You somehow picked up even more people? Who are those ponies?"

I smiled as I glanced back at the families. "John's baby sister and her family. We ran into them by chance at the church. They aren't coming to the house. We have enough people there as it is."

"That's for sure," Rosetta mumbled. "It's been smooth enough here. Kids will be kids, and it was an effort to keep them from wandering off at times, but Robby and Lántiān were very helpful in aiding the adults to keep them in line. Jess… well, she wandered off a bit, but she was always easy to find. She kinda stands out in a room, and I didn't make a big deal out of it as long as I could spot her head in the crowd. Only had to throw a fit at her once when she left to go the restroom and didn't tell anyone. Oh! Starlight and Trixie headed out to do some things together. Trixie was getting discontent that she wasn't getting enough time with just her and Starlight."

I rolled my eyes at the last part but didn't complain. Starlight might have her eyes set on a certain stallion, but I sometimes wondered if Trixie had her eyes on Starlight. I nodded at the rest. "Well, I guess I can go pay for something for everyone at the gift shop, and we can run you to the hotel to check you in."

Rosetta's ears flicked. "Actually… Could you delay the hotel check-in? We can stay up a little later today and maybe check-in after the observatory, or you could cancel the reservation, and we can sleep on the bus. There's something here that is happening in a few minutes that I'm dying to see."

I laid my ears back. "That's going to throw off my schedule, and I don't want to tell Phobia I had you sleeping on a bus."

She batted her eyes at me. "Please, Mom," she asked in an overly sweet voice.

I blinked. "You've never called me Mom, even when you were trying to get something out of me. I'm thrilled to hear it, even if I know you are just manipulating me. Alright, consider me manipulated. What was worth you making that sacrifice?"

She let out a long breath. "It was a huge sacrifice, but I think it is worth it. Doctor Sarah Tanner is going to be doing a presentation in a few minutes, and I really want to go see it."

My lips turned upward. "So… Sarah's going to be here. I've never met her face-to-face, but we had a long-standing business relationship. I wouldn't mind seeing how she is doing. Let me pay for whatever they are after in the gift shop, and I believe I saw a restaurant outside they can all go to while you and I go and see the presentation. Number can hoof the bill for feeding them."

Now her ears laid back. "You and me… by ourselves?"

"I figured we could do some more bonding," I replied. "I think we made some real progress yesterday, and you did just call me Mom. A little more time spent together, doing something we are both interested in, will do us good. It isn't like there are that many things we share as interests, so this is a rare occurrence."

She seemed like she might reconsider her request, but then hung her head in defeat. "Fine, but let's not push it too much with the bonding. Things might be a tiny bit better after yesterday, but overdoing it might undo it."

"No overdoing this," I assured her. "It is a presentation, so we are just sitting and listening anyway. If there's time, maybe we can talk to her after."

Rosetta smiled. "That sounds good. I've talked to her before, but it has been a long time."

I walked into the gift shop and made an announcement. "Okay, everyone who is with me. Make a selection of one thing. After this, you are eating and off to the observatory. Be quick, we're on a schedule, and I already have to make adjustments."

There was a mad dash and movement. It didn't take long for most of them to make selections. Most of the adults, including the teens, picked out books. The exception of this was Tempest, who got a rain staff—a hollowed-out wooden staff with sand inside that when you turned it made a sound that reminded people of rain. Robby, Lántiān, and Devon all got books on Native American art. Jess grabbed a book on—who'd have guessed, astronomy. Paul got a book on Anasazi history. My mother a geology book of all things, which talked about unique stones you could find in the area. My dad grabbed a joke book about dinosaurs that had me rolling my eyes—it was juvenile, but so was his humor. Number abstained, saying she could buy something on her own if she wanted.

Qīng Yǔ ended up with a stuffed stegosaurus that she almost refused to let go of to let the cashier ring up. Méng grabbed a stuffed pterodactyl. Líng grabbed a set of dinosaur action figures. Shǔguāng surprised me by grabbing a put-together model set of a Pueblo cliff dwelling. Sinker grabbed a dozen or so brightly colored and polished stones that could be bought by the dozen and came with a small pouch. Grace got a stuffed brontosaurus, and her brother got a train set. My grandfoals all got stuffed dinosaurs as well, but those I couldn't put names to.

I was glad Wild was paying the bill because by the time the cashier rang it all up my eyes about popped.

"Okay, everyone, load your stuff on the bus," I instructed. "Number, can I have a few words."

"Words are freely given but may cost you everything," Number replied sagely, but walked over to me.

I got in close to her to whisper. "I have some information that I'd like you to pass onto the security teams and authorities. There's an earth pony Shimmerist who went missing around a week ago who is known for keeping a pack of very loud dogs. People call him Howler, but I got the impression this is just what people nicknamed him, not his actual name. Since the timing lines up with the foals arriving with me, this is a Shimmerist, and it involves dogs; I thought it was worth looking into."

Number frowned. "Not much to go on, and it could just be a coincidence. Plus, earth ponies don't cast complex spells like that. I'm guessing you're interested in finding out if any other prominent Shimmerists have gone missing in the same time frame and where they ended up? If it's them, then I would assume it's a group effort."

"If it ends up being a coincidence, then no harm was done investigating it, and if it turns out to be something, then we can help put an end to this," I replied.

Number nodded. "Very well, I'll make some calls and have some people look into it. I might have to hire a private eye. Our security is just that, security, not an investigation team, and I'm not sure the police or FBI will take any action without any actual evidence beyond him having dogs and having gone somewhere for the last week. It isn't a crime to be a Shimmerist, own dogs, or take a vacation."

"Thanks, Number," I then gave her a sheepish grin. "One more favor, would you mind hoofing the bill for them eating in a few minutes? Rosetta and I are going to go watch something, so I won't be there to pay."

Number shrugged. "Sure, it isn't like I don't have the money. Technically, I'm the account manager, and an authorized user on the same credit account Wild gave you, so I could pay from that, but I'll take the hit myself this time. How long is whatever you are doing going to be?"

"Around an hour, I'm guessing. We're going to cancel the afternoon hotel stay for the night ponies and let them sleep on the bus so that it won't throw us off that much. I had planned travel time to the hotel and getting them checked in, so we are basically cannibalizing that time now."

Number chuckled. "I'm sure the ponies won't mind, they can just snuggle together on the bus floor, but it sucks to be Tempest. Sleeping on that bus isn't going to be comfortable for a human."

I snorted. "She can fuss at Rosetta about her backache. It was Rosetta's idea." I wasn't sure how I felt about Tempest in general. She and I had never been what I would call friends—adversaries would be the better word for our early days, but things had lightened up some after the Cataclysm. However, what Rosetta had said about her raised a whole new set of conflicting feelings, the majority of them unpleasant. Why did my daughter have to be so liberal with how she dealt with relationships? I liked these things to be more clearly defined. Maybe I was old-fashioned, but it seemed easier to me to say you were married to one person, and if you were involved with someone else, then that was infidelity. I might be a bit of a hypocrite on that, considering my relationship with Tonya began when still in a failed marriage, but that was different...wasn't it?

My daughter's love life, beyond the concerns about her ongoing psychological and emotional issues, was no concern of mine. I needed to stop trying to define it in my head, but it was hard. Even if I was not her mother, everyone had a right to be concerned about the psychological and emotional state of a Dreamwarden, especially since it had already had butterfly effects on the course of past events. How different would so many things have gone if she had never been raped? I wondered how many people understood that her rape had altered the course of history.

Thinking about this was making my blood boil. I needed to refocus. Today was supposed to be a nice, calming, family day away from the mansion.

"You're staring into space, Sunset. Is everything okay?" Number asked in concern.

I shook my head. "Everything is fine. I find myself pondering life more than I used to. I don't know if it is a sign of wisdom, losing my mind, or just getting old."

"All three, perhaps?" Number suggested with a laugh. "We've passed the half-century mark. Thanks to ETS, we may not feel it, but there's no denying we're getting older. It seems just yesterday I was a little girl wishing she could be like Jem and the Holograms. Glamour and glitter, fashion and fame! Oh, Jem! Jem is excitement! Oh, Jem!"

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Keep that up, and I'll start humming the Ducktales theme."

"You monster!" Number said in mock horror, then immediately started humming the theme in question. "Ack! You've already done it to me. Let me get all these people together to go eat before you have me singing through the entire Saturday morning line-up. It's been decades, but it's all still stuck in my head. People who wrote those themes must have made a killing in the marketing business."

Number began gathering up the group, not even batting an eye at the fact I had added four more ponies to the mix. I was lucky she was around and took on each new task with little fuss and outstanding efficiency. Wild was fortunate to have her as a best friend and helper. I could think of no one else more capable of getting things done.

I rejoined Rosetta, and we hurried to the auditorium where Sarah Tanner was presenting. We arrived with little time to waste. Almost as soon as we took our seats, the lights dimmed, and Sarah came on stage with a head mic on and a big smile on her face. Her smile slipped for just an instant when she spotted me in the audience, which was perhaps a little over thirty people, so it wasn't hard to spot me. It instantly went back on her face, though, and she began her presentation.

Her presentation was on the existence of early Homo Habilis somehow migrating into Equestria from Earth via one of the many random portals that popped up in the past. These early hominoids quickly evolved in their new environment over the course of just around a hundred thousand years into what she named homo equis and built a civilization on Equestria. Apparently, many of her diagrams of the species and notes about their culture she had gotten straight from the Dreamwardens, who claimed that Luna's predecessor in Equestria had come from this distant relative of modern humans. It was fascinating to hear there may have been humans on Equestria in the past, even if humanity had sadly gone extinct in that world.

Unfortunately, she was still in need of funding and Equestrian government approval to go on an expedition to find physical evidence of this lost culture, and at the moment only had the Dreamwardens' accounts to go by—and even they couldn't confirm it was a definite hominid, only that it bore all the traits of a hominid and would fit in with the hominid family tree well. These presentations had the museum and local universities' support, but more funding and public interest were needed. So trying to raise public interest was what Sarah was doing. I silently wished her the best of luck.

The presentation wasn't overly long, about thirty minutes, but it was long enough that I was worried we would not be able to speak to her. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for her, this group didn't include any large pocket dinners, just run-of-the-mill tourists. That meant after a quick few greetings with other guests; she was able to turn her attention to us. She had the sense not to draw attention to me and silently motioned us to join her in a side office.

She used her magic to shut the door behind us as we finished entering, and took a seat at a desk, and let her neck and head fall on it as she looked at us. "I don't suppose you are here to donate me a couple million dollars, are you? Working with you came with drawbacks, but I never had to beg for money."

"Sorry, I'm living off the charity of others these days. I could talk to Wild Growth about you." Her head lifted slightly at that. "But I doubt it would be the big windfall you need. Wild is always interested in helping, but she wants to use that help to get people jobs, food, shelter, a better quality of life. Other than increasing our knowledge of the past, I'm not sure what you would be selling her."

Rosetta gave a sad nod of agreement. "I hate to agree with Sunset, but I know my sister. If you told her that it would make a thousand new jobs, she would be writing you a huge check, but if you can't, she'll end up spending her money where she feels it will make more of an impact. That said, you should be able to get something from her, just not the full funding you need."

Sarah sighed dejectedly. "Anything would help. The word of an Equestrian princess and the Dreamwardens doesn't count as physical proof, and most large donors want to see that first, no matter how high profile the word of mouth." She suddenly sat up straight. "You wouldn't happen to be here to investigate all the disappearances, would you?"

Rosetta and I shared a confused look, before Rosetta turned back to ask the obvious question. "What disappearances?"

Sarah got down from her seat and came over to us. "Blessingists. There have been a string of disappearances lately. The police say they are looking into it, but I'm not sure how much effort they are putting into it. I'm not a Sunset Blessing is the messiah crackpot that some are, but I am a Blessingist, and these are my friends we are talking about here. Six of them have disappeared over the last month, and they aren't the types to just vanish without a word."

Missing Shimmerist, missing Blessingist, unexplained magic invading my home, everytime a piece fell into place something else came up. I wanted nothing to do with the group that bore my name, but if they were tied to everything else it seemed I wasn't going to get my wish.

Chapter 72: Crying in a Restroom

We arrived at the observatory with little time to waste. I had paid through the nose for a private group presentation—or at least I used Wild's money to do so, and Number had been able to get the Creams included in as well. I quickly got everyone checked in and began ushering them into the planetarium for the presentation.

"Aren't you coming in with us, Auntie?" Líng asked as he noticed I was not making a move to come in with them.

"Auntie has to take care of some things. I'll be in the building," I said calmly.

"Aww, but you keep having to do stuff," Shǔguāng complained.

My ears sagged. "I'm sorry, but I'm doing it because it is important, not because I want to. If I get done quickly, I'll join you inside. Just behave yourselves and enjoy the show."

"We'd enjoy it more if you were there with us," Shǔguāng muttered, but did as he was told and went inside.

My mom looked back at me with a sad look. "Family trips are more fun if you spend them with family."

I laid an ear back in annoyance. "I know, Mom. Like I told him, I'm doing what I have to. I'll be in there as soon as I'm done."

"Okay, Baby. Just… try not to take too long," she said with a small smile. Then she went in to find her seat.

With everyone in the planetarium, I made my way to the restroom closest to it. If the only people in the planetarium were my family and staff, it wouldn't get many visitors. This was confirmed when I entered and found no one inside. I chose a stall and lifted my phone to start searching through numbers.

One of the benefits of me being someone the government had a vested interest in keeping safe and monitoring at all times was that I could call the FBI and get ahold of someone who was going to take me seriously right away. I wasn't even sure it rang before it was answered.

"What can we do for you today, Miss Blessing?" No greeting. No asking who it was. I bet they even knew I was in the restroom of the observatory and which restroom in particular. My spending was tracked, so they knew I was coming here. The observatory got federal funds, so for all knew they could tap the cameras here.

"Blessingists in the area have been going missing recently. I just learned about this today. Why did no one alert me?" I demanded.

"We did not feel it was necessary to alert you Miss Blessing. It is our understanding that you hold no connection to the group, aside from them basing their beliefs off your ideas. Has your stance recently changed?"

"No… but I find it interesting that whoever you assigned to take my calls knows all about this completely unrelated to me case," I replied. "I'm trying to protect my family here. I'm told you already know about the barking, and I am hoping it was already passed onto you about that Shimmerist with the dogs who went missing. I'm still working in the dark here. You don't have to tell me everything, just enough so I know what to be on the lookout for."

"There have been numerous acts of aggression against Blessingist groups by Shimmerist groups throughout the country, Miss Blessing. Many of the Blessingists are former Shimmerists, and we consider this the equivalent of a gang war. The only thing that has us directly involved with your local ones are the fact there are so many missing persons in such a short time and the fact you are currently in Denver. At this time, we have found no evidence to directly link them to your situation or the Shimmerist Ronald Shea, AKA Dog Bite, AKA Howler. We are looking into the whereabouts of Dog Bite for questioning. Do you have any other questions, Miss Blessing?"

My ears sagged. "I suppose not."

"Then have a good day, Miss Blessing, and call us if you have any other information." The call ended without any further chance for me to speak.

After the call ended, I sat down in the restroom stall because it was the only way to avoid pacing in the confined space. I bit down on my lip hard because it was the only way I wasn't going to scream.

This wasn't fair. I didn't want to be anyone important. I tried to fade into obscurity and be the mother I always wished I could have been. Yet, the world wouldn't let me go. I was still hurting people, no matter how much I tried not to. People I had never met were suffering because of me, just to send a message. There were people out there that hated me so much; they would hurt anyone who so much as spoke favorably of me. How long before they came to hurt my family? They could have come to hurt me long before. They had waited, knowing that would have been too easy, knowing there were much crueler ways of hurting me. Why kill me when they could break me?

Fucking Shimmerists! They could all burn in Hell! The police should be out there, rounding every one of those mongrels up and locking them away. Can't just go arresting every Shimmerist they see my ass! I had been content just to avoid them and let them scream their obscenities at me, but it was no longer about just me. It was about my foals, my family— it was about the well-being of idiot fools who thought I had some magic answers to their problems and had put themselves on the Shimmerists' shit list with that idiocy.

I heard the restroom door open and did my best not to make a sound, just so whoever it was would have no reason to check on me. Hoofsteps approached my stall and came to a halt right outside it. I instinctively sniffed to try to recognize who, but all I smelled was the remains of shit and piss all around me.

"Sunset… Charlotte, are you okay?"

I nodded like an idiot, even though she couldn't see me. "I'm fine, Mom. You don't need to worry about me."

"Baby, you may be an excellent liar, but you've never been able to successfully lie to me," Mom replied with a sigh of her own. "You've been shaken up since right before we got on the bus to come here, and I can tell by your voice you're only worse now. I know you haven't done it much these past thirty years, but you can talk to your mother."

Damn her for reading me. "I just got off the phone with the FB,I… those crazies that think I'm all that...the Blessingists, you know them?"

"I'm not sure that was a complete thought you just said, but yes, I know who the Blessingists are," Mom said from the other side of the door. "What's going on with them, and why is the FBI involved?"

I sniffled. "There's been a string of disappearances with them in the last two weeks. Always soon after altercations with Shimmerists. I don't even know these people, Mom! They shouldn't have anything to do with me, but people are disappearing that may never come back to their families, all because they believe I'm some sort of savior. The FBI doesn't know who is doing it, only that it is Shimmerists, and Colorado is a hotbed for Shimmerist activity, so who knows which ones. They say they are currently working with law enforcement to try to find out who."

"And I hope they find whatever ponies are responsible soon," Mom said firmly. "Is that what has you in a tizzy?"

"It's not just that; it's things like the barking and getting attacked in the street in Pony Hope," I cried. "It's me wondering if they took all these ponies without a trace, are they capable of taking the foals too? This is about hurting me, Mom, and they have to know… if they study me at all, they have to know. Are they going to go after the foals, my daughter, or you next? I'm a liability to my family by just existing."

Mom sat quietly as I cried, making no effort to open the bathroom stall. Maybe she was wondering if I was right. Perhaps she was wondering if everyone should distance themselves from me. I knew I was asking myself if I should send them all away.

"You know… this isn't the only time you've been found crying in a restroom," Mom said in a quiet voice. "I remember an incident… something that happened when you were in sixth grade. I think it was one of those times you redefined yourself, maybe the first in the line. You remember, don't you?"

A painful memory resurfaced, long forgotten until that second. "The dance team."

"The dance team," she confirmed. "You had your heart set on being on that team, and those little girls were so cruel to you."

"They made fun of my acne and called me fat… I wasn't even fat, only not super thin like them," I recalled. "I could dance just as well as any of them."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure you were better than at least some of them. I'm also sure you put your heart into it more than any of them, and you were more than deserving of a chance to show your stuff," Mom replied. "I remember the school calling, and not being able to believe what you did. I couldn't deny it after I arrived and I saw those girls with my own eyes. Your father and I had to beg and plead with the principal only to suspend you instead of expelling you. Some of their parents wanted to press charges, and I had to talk them down too. You'd always been so well behaved up to that point."

"First sign I was a regular psychopath," I muttered bitterly.

"No!" Mom all but shouted. "Those girls cornered you in a restroom, trapped you in a stall, and taunted you mercilessly. We are all animals; when you get down to it, and you were a terrified girl backed into a corner you couldn't get out of. So what did you do?"

"I taught those girls never to back me into a corner again," I said with a half-laugh. I don't know why I felt any humor in it. It wasn't funny at all. Some of them ended up having to go to the hospital afterward.

"Damn right you did," Mom said, sounding proud. "And those little snots deserved it too."

"Other kids called me a psycho for all of middle school and part of high school," I reminded her.

"But they never dared back you into a corner again, now did they?" Mom asked smugly.

"That is an irresponsible thing to show pride in me over," I chided her. "You should have gotten on my case about how violence is wrong, and I should have talked it out, or ignored them, or… I don't know. You're a pony now, so violence should upset you even more than it did back then."

"That's true, in many cases, but it can fall apart when you aren't dealing with reasonable people, or you can't afford them doing anything else to you. I might get sick watching something like that, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate that sometimes it's needed," she replied in a grave tone. "You were not as much an athlete as some of those girls back then. On any other day, if you had gotten into a fight with them, at least half of them would have beaten your ass on their own, but they pushed my little girl to her limit, and my little girl, when pushed to her limit, is a force to be reckoned with."

"It doesn't matter," I mumbled. "This time, I don't have a bunch of girls to charge into, punching and kicking. I don't even know the names or faces of who is out there. I'm just an old weak unicorn who is dependent on others to protect her and her loved ones."

Mom sighed. "These ponies… whoever they are, who are threatening you both directly and indirectly, don't understand who they're dealing with, and it's time you remembered that too. No one scares my baby girl into a corner and gets away with it. They want to bully you and other ponies? Then I feel no sympathy for what is going to happen to them when you have had enough."

I opened the stall door to see her wrinkled face looking kindly on me. I still had tears in my eyes, but I smirked at her all the same. "You are way too bloodthirsty to be an earth pony, you know that?"

"I'm not bloodthirsty at all," she said without breaking composure. "I just know what happens when somepony gets my baby filly crying in a restroom."

Chapter 73: The New Unity Mall. Part 1-Beds are Art, Beds are Life

The New Unity Mall was quite literally a new mall, built only three years ago. While it had a lot in common with the malls of the eighties, it was also much more modern. It was an indoor mall, but in the center of each hall wings was a strip of green with trees growing. Skylights ran over every hall, letting in lots of sunlight. Occasional metal statues were placed about, always featuring both humans and ponies together—hence the unity. Only the food court and a few larger department stores were two-story, while most of the stores were ground level. The food court, which is where we entered, had a large green park in the center, instead of the standard seating area of food courts of old, complete with picnic tables and benches and a tiny pond and water fountain full of goldfish. It was the center area of the mall, and the four wings branched out from it in the cardinal directions.

We didn't dally in the food court for long, only long enough for the Creams to show off their bakery—which was unsurprisingly called Creamy Creations. We ultimately divided into groups. With me were my parents, brother, Number, and Yinyu's foals. The other group consisted of the Youngs, Creams, and Middletons. Méng, Robby, Tempest, Rosetta, my grandfoals, along with Alice—who had stayed up late last night with Méng, were all sleeping soundly on the bus… or at least, the night ponies were sleeping soundly, and the two humans were doing their best to get some sleep in.

There was a kiosk for renting shopping carts—as in carts that you drew behind you. I wasn't sure I was strong enough to haul one. I certainly didn't want to have my parents, who were already carrying saddlebags, dragging one, but the vendor showed me they were partially motorized, so they didn't cause any strain. They also had plenty of maneuverability, so I wouldn't be knocking things down as I walked through a store. I rented one, hung my saddlebag on its side between me and the cart, and was officially our cart pony.

My group headed towards the east wing first. As we entered the shops, a stark difference between the shops of old malls and the new ones quickly became apparent. Malls used to be dominated by clothing stores, oh there were other stores, but there were typically two clothing stores for every other type of store. This was no longer the case. While there were still clothing stores, the store in most abundance were stores where ponies sold their crafts. There were art stores, furniture stores, small electronic stores, toy stores—which were subdivided into further specializations such as dolls, stuffed animals, toy cars, and more. The clothing stores I saw had actual tailors in them, who hoofmade—or in some cases, handmade— each of the garments within and were willing to make alterations as needed. There was even plenty of produce and flower stores. Every pony had a specialty, something they loved to do, and these stores were a reflection of them living out their dreams.

There were, of course, still some major chain stores. I spotted the Lego Store, the Disney Store, and Old Navy, and the large anchor stores at the end of each wing were major chains, but these were the minority. There was so much to discover and look at among all these stores that I hardly knew where to begin.

I looked at the foals, who were all looking around at various stores—primarily the toy stores—with great interest. Toys were an idea, but there were other priorities. First up, bedding, and I saw a store specializing in bedding for foals, Sleepy Z's and Bobby Pin's Beds and Blankets. They even did delivery.

"If all of you wish to check out any close by shops, you can. I'm going to be taking the foals into this one first," I told my parents and Number. "But let's try to stay in shops in sight of each other."

"Can't we go to a toy store first?" Líng asked as he looked at a nearby one.

"We will get to that, but first, I want to see about getting you a bed that is designed for foals instead of humans," I explained.

"Okay, as long as we get to see the toys next," Líng replied.

"We'll be over at that gardening tool store, right over there," Mom replied as she pointed to a store directly across from the bedding store. "I need to see about replacing a few spades. Hopefully, they don't cost too much."

"I have you covered for this trip, ma'am," Number said respectfully. She then smiled at me. "I already gave Devon and Paul access to a temporary line of credit so they can make purchases for the other group. It's all on Wild and me today. Malls aren't the cheapest place to shop, but I doubt anyone is going to be making much of a dent in my bank account. I could probably buy this whole place in full if I wanted to."

"No need to brag about your wealth, Number," I lightly scolded.

"No reason not to," Number countered with a snicker. "Have fun looking at bed stuff."

The store was more extensive than most of the close by shops, but it also had more oversized merchandise. The first few beds I saw included signs saying Store Model Only. Bed Frames and Mattresses Delivered to Your Home. Schedule Your Delivery Today! Which was just as well, since I certainly was not going to be hauling around a bed frame or mattress around in the cart I had. It didn't mention quilts and sheets, but there was a moderately sized section for those. That section looked like you picked the design, and someone sewed together your quilts, sheets, and pillowcases. The only things that looked massed produced by another company were the mattresses and pillows.

I looked around the showroom, trying to decide where to start. A few pony families were looking at some of the smaller single beds, and one human family that was off in what was clearly the human section, but overall, it wasn't crowded.

"Hello! Welcome to our store. Are you looking to purchase a bed today?"

I jumped and turned to see a young unicorn mare who was barely more than a filly, about Lántiān's age, maybe a year or two older. She was wearing a skirt that covered up her mark and a lanyard that marked her as an employee and with her name in it, Plush Quilt.

After I caught my breath, I smiled. "Yes. I may be looking to purchase a few beds. I have three colts and a filly, all different tribes, aged between one and seven."

"My daughter doesn't need a bed; she can stay with me, ma'am," Lántiān said quickly, adjusting her daughter who was riding on her back.

I frowned at her. "At some point, she'll need to sleep in her own bed and have her own space. You need your own space too. Do you want your room to be littered from one end to the other with her toys and not much to indicate it is your room? We have space, space for you, and space for her."

"Not yet, ma'am," Lántiān said in a firm tone.

I breathed out in resignation. "Very well." I turned my attention back to the sales pony while gesturing to Líng and Shǔguāng. "Beds for three colts. These two, and they have a younger brother who is a night pony, age three. They've all been sharing one queen-sized human bed and are still going to be sharing a room, but I'd like to get them each their own bed."

Plush Quilt looked at the colts and then back to me; I saw her eyes linger just an extra part of a second over my cutie mark and was sure that her smile got wider as it passed. This pony saw someone famous, and I could tell she wasn't interested in what I had done. No, what she saw was a potentially huge sale. It was refreshing, being recognized and having the person who recognized me only be thinking about dollar signs instead of stuff about the Cataclysm or Blessingist or Shimmerist crap.

"I have the perfect beds in mind for three colts sharing a room!" Plush said with a salesperson's smile. "Follow me. It's in the back."

Follow her, we did. The beds we were passing were getting passing by progressively more elaborate in design and gradually more expensive. Yes, this filly definitely saw dollar signs. Luckily for her, Wild told me I could spoil the foals.

"Here it is!" Plush announced as we reached the very final bed in line.

It was a dual set of bunks. Each of the top bunks had a wooden railing around them, and each of the bottom bunks had a privacy curtain. The two sets of bunks were joined at the center with a large ramp—also railed— that went up to the top, and I could see some small shelves inside the center area for each of the lower bunks. Also on top was a pair of slides, going to either side from each of the top two beds. It took up more space than the queen-sized bed did, but the room it was in was more than large enough to accommodate it.

Plush grinned as she talked up the bed. "This is our super-deluxe bunk model. One of the lower beds can be switched out with additional shelving or drawers since you say you only need three beds, and it can be switched out again for the fourth bed if you change your mind later about needing it. Each bed gives plenty of space for a foal and is of comfortable size for even a grown pony, so it should be perfect all the way up until they need separate rooms. The slides are a very sturdy plastic, reinforced with a solid oak undercarriage, as is the ramp. The majority of the bed is also solid oak and very heavy, so there is no fear of anything breaking or tipping over."

It was very impressive, and when I glanced at the place where the price would generally be, it simply said to ask an associate. It was the only bed I had seen while walking to it that had that message. I looked at the wood beams on it. They were not thin little things; they were high-quality wood. This was definitely the most expensive thing in the store, and the sale of one would probably pay several months of the store's rent on its own. Plush Quilt was aiming as high as she could. I wondered if this was a commission job.

"We usually don't let foals climb all over our models, but I think we could make an exception in this case," Plush continued with a smile at Líng and Shǔguāng.

The two of them didn't bother to ask permission from me. They were halfway up the ramp to the top bunks before I had a chance even to consider saying no.

"The bed comes with high-quality pegasus feather mattresses that will need no replacing for years, and a removable plush top layer to each mattress that is super absorbent and washable if there are any accidents that seep through the sheets. No moisture short of being left outside in a storm will reach the main mattress," Plush continued. I listened to the things that kept adding dollar signs and decided I was wrong. Selling one of these probably would cover the store's rent for the year.

I watched as the colts slid down the slides and hurried back around to slide again. "How many of these have your store sold? It seems a little pricey for the average pony family."

Plush's expression fell. "None… my mom, she told my dad the same thing. She said no ponies could afford this thing. It was a waste of time and materials. My dad…" Plush chuckled. "You'd have to know my dad. He loves making this stuff. It's like art to him. This thing has been here to attract attention, but when we had it up front, it had too many foals climbing on it, so we moved it back here. It's still here to show off what my dad can make. He says, you never know, the right family for it that can afford it might come along."

"Nice sales pitch," I complimented. "Is it true?"

Plush laughed. "Yes, it is true. It's a sales pitch too. You're right. We don't get many ponies in here that can afford it. I'm sorry for trying to push it on you. I just saw you and thought holy snuffmuffins; there might actually be a chance. You can't fault me for trying. I can show you some smaller beds that don't cost a fortune, if you prefer."

"I'll take it, with four beds, just in case Lántiān changes her mind," I said. I heard the young mare gasp in shock, but I was busy watching Qīng Yǔ finally break free of her mother to go join her uncles in playing on the bed. Lántiān shook her head in disapproval but didn't do anything more to stop her daughter.

"Miss Blessing… you haven't heard the price yet," Plush finally managed to get out.

I nodded. "I'm not an expert, but I have a surprising amount of experience buying materials of all types, so I have some idea what it costs in material alone for this. Add in the time and effort to make it by hoof, the costs of transport, a percentage of what this place rents at, the markup for there to be a profit, the sentimental value, and I have a rough range of what I expect to be charged, and that it will be the most expensive bed, by far, that I have ever bought. I'll know if you are excessively marking it up or trying to give me a discount. Please don't give me a discount, and don't rip me off. Just sell it to me at a fair price for the work your father put into it."

The young mare took a long deep breath before answering. "Let me go get my mom. I don't actually know the price either. She's going to flip her mane. Thank you. This is very generous of you."

"There's nothing generous about it," I corrected. "I'm just getting my foals a bed that they will be comfortable with that will make them happy. You could say I'm greedy because I'm filling my desire to see their smiles and laughter. Go get your mother, dear."

Plush hurried off to the fabric area for making sheets to talk to a unicorn mare there. I guessed it might take a moment to convince her mother that this was really happening. In the meantime, I turned my attention back to Lántiān.

"You sure that you don't want her to sleep in one of these bunks? Qīng Yǔ seems to be enjoying it. We can put her on one of the lower ones, opposite Méng; get her some pretty sheets and pillows, fill that bed up with her ever-expanding collection of stuffed animals."

Lántiān's face contorted as she struggled to object, all while watching her daughter laugh and play.

"I'll consider it after she is completely done nursing, ma'am."

I shrugged. "Fair enough."

Chapter 74: New Unity Mall. Part 2—A Villian Reveals Herself

The mother, who was named Bobby Pin, about fainted when she learned who she was selling to and that the sale was actually happening. Once she was over her shock, she was all business. We picked out sheet and quilt designs for each of the foals' beds, including Qīng Yǔ, and scheduled a date a little over four weeks away where the bed with the finished bedding would be delivered and put together. It was a little further out than I would like, but the father apparently made all the beds himself, and he had orders for other beds ahead of us and would need to order some materials as well since this was only the store model, and disassembling it and putting it back together could potentially damage it. A fresh one that matched would be put together at the mansion.

Once we were done and exited the store, we found my parents and Number waiting for us just outside it.

Number raised an eyebrow at me. "I get text notifications whenever any spending is done on that credit account. The other group is doing some minor stuff, but what did you buy in there, a car?"

"A costly set of bunk beds and custom-made bed sets," I replied. "I expect it will be my largest single purchase today."

Number blinked. "What are they made out of, gold?"

I shook my head. "No, but they are well made and not mass-produced. The foals seemed to love them, and I'm sure Méng will too."

She snorted. "Well, Wild said if you wanted to spoil them to go to town. I guess you took her at her word. Anyway, we can take the foals into the toy shops for you, but there's a shop nearby that you simply must-see."

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of shop?"

Number pointed to the shop in question. "It's a pony salon that specializes in fur and mane dyes. I think you will be very interested in some of their marketing."

I looked at my fur. "Well… I am getting tired of this yellow, especially since it hasn't worked to hide my identity. Getting back to my normal colors would be nice."

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," Dad snickered. Mom and Sinker had to suppress laughter as well.

"Okay…?" I said, bemused.

Number lit her horn and disattached the cart from me. "Let me take that. I'm stronger than you anyway. Go on, treat yourself. I can pay for any toys for the foals, off my account, my present to them."

She took the cart from me and proceeded to lead my family over to the nearest toy store—one that specialized in stuffed animals, so I knew Qīng Yǔ at least was not going to leave without something. That filly loved her stuffed animals.

I hesitantly walked over to the salon and took a peek in, wondering what the others weren't telling me. There were a pair of earth pony mares working, one teal, one pink, both with neon green manes, and a single customer, another earth pony, who was currently laying on a small table on her back with a towel wrapped around her mane and another towel wrapped over her face.

One of the stylists, the pink one, came to greet me as I stepped inside. "Welcome to Celebrity Styles! We are running specials on mane cuts and curls today. How can we—" Her eyes drifted to my mark, and she audibly yipped and went running to the other stylist and started fiercely whispering.

I rolled my eyes. Not the most professional behavior. I didn't see any hostility from the pair, though, just fear, upon realizing who I was. I could probably put them at ease once they pulled themselves together enough to speak to me.

While waiting for that to happen, I looked around the shop and the listing of what they provided and what they did. Everything seemed very standard stuff for a salon, so I was unsure what my family and Number had been going on about—at least until I started reading through the fur dye selection.

"Sunset Blessing Red?!" I exclaimed. There was also Wild Growth Green, Sunrise Storm Yellow, Bob Blue, colors that matched with each of the Equestrian element bearers, and more famous ponies with corresponding colors.

"Please, don't sue us!" the pink stylist cried. The customer on the table sat up at this and pulled her towel off her face. The stylist instantly moved to calm the customer. "Not you! You're fine. Just lay down and relax. Nothing to see here."

The mare on the table looked at me, and her eyes went wide. "Is that Sunset Blessing? Why is she yellow??"

"I don't know!" the teal stylist cried. "Maybe it’s some weird protest of us using her color without permission? Oh my God! She's going to demand royalties!"

"We're going to go out of business!!" the two mares cried in chorus and then hugged each other as they bawled their eyes out. Seriously? Did they need to be that dramatic?

I gave them a flat look. "Are you done yet?"

"No!!" they shouted together and then continued crying.

Lord help me; ponies could overreact so much. In the past, I had people call me the most human pony and intended it derogatory since they meant the pony with the most human flaws. At times when dealing with ponies like this, I considered it a compliment. If they were human, they would have a little more self-respect not to behave like small foals.

"When you are done, I would like to have my fur dyed to my normal red and the highlights in my mane restored. I assume you know the proper colors," I replied as I sat down and waited. "And no, I'm not going to sue you or demand royalties."

The mares stopped crying and looked at each other while still holding on to one another.

"She isn't suing," the pink one said.

"She isn't asking for royalties," the teal one replied.

"We're still in business!" they exclaimed together, and they went back to hugging. Good grief.

They finally separated, and Teal—I wasn't interested in looking at her name tag to learn her name—came over towards me. "Yes! We can give you the full Sunset Blessing experience! In no time at all, you'll look exactly like hhhheerr...yourself!"

"On the house!" Pink added in.

"If we get to take a picture with you to hang on our wall," Teal amended.

The other customer, who had been settling back down, sat bolt upright. "Hey! Why does she get her stuff done for free, and I don't?!"

I decided to save them from an unhappy customer. "How about this; if you are giving me mine for free, I can pay for hers instead."

That instantly calmed the mare. "Works for me." She then went back to her former position.

"Wonderful!" Pink exclaimed. "Now, if you would just come over to this tub over here, we can start working on your fur. Please, set your saddlebags and phone in the bin to the side of it. We don't want to ruin them by getting dye all over them."

I did as instructed and got in the tub. The two of them came over and got to work.

"Hmm, this yellow dye job you've got, it is clearly the work of an amateur," Pink commented. "It looks fine now, but in two weeks, you would be a very spotted pony."

"Did you do this yourself?!" Teal asked in horror as if I had shot someone in front of them. "You should never let anypony but a professional touch your fur!"

"Sorry, not touching it is hard; I'm kinda attached to it," I muttered in annoyance.

"Don't worry. We will fix you right up!" Pink said excitedly. "We're the best stylists in the mall. Tell all your famous friends… and tell them not to sue us either."

"Or make us pay royalties," Teal added in.

"Or give us a bad review," Pink continued.

I rolled my eyes. "Just do your thing, and I'll decide how to review you."

That shut them up, at least for a minute. They were well underway into rubbing stuff into my fur with gloved hooves before they started mindlessly chattering again. They only paused to go finish up the other customer. The other customer was getting just a mane dye, and I saw the finished product, which was a navy blue with a white stripe running through it that looked pretty good on her and seemed to make her happy.

Mine took a little while, and I worried about how long it was taking. By the time I was out, and they did my mane and were satisfied that everything was appropriately dried, over an hour had passed.

I took the photo with them that they so desired, gathered up my belongings, sent a quick text to Number to say I was finished and to text me back her location, and then prepared to check out.

Pink was happily ringing me up for the other mare's mane job when she looked past me and cringed back in fear. "What are you doing here? You need to beat it, or we'll call the police—human ones."

"Please, don't hurt us! Just go away!" Teal cried. The two of them then ran together in a corner and embraced while breaking down in tears again.

If that wasn't worrisome, I didn't know what was. I turned to face whoever had them terrified and found myself facing a human woman. She was extremely pale, with short black hair that seemed like it had glitter in it. Her ears were in a human spot, but were oddly shaped. She was wearing a plain white short sleeve shirt and blue jeans, along with a pair of leather gardening gloves. I could see strips of glittery silver fur on her arms. I guessed she was somewhere in her late thirties or early forties. She was ignoring the two crying stylists and looking at me with contempt.

"You're supposed to be in jail!" Pink yelled out.

The woman didn't take her eyes off me, but answered the stylist. "I served my time. Reduced to eighteen months instead of ten years. Good behavior," she finished with a smirk.

"Well, you aren't wanted here! You need to leave...pretty please," Teal started with a yell and finished with a whimper.

I firmed up my stance. "I don't know who you are, but it seems you've been banned from this establishment. I think you should leave."

A ghost of a smile played on her lips as she advanced a step. "The name's Crissy, Crissy Fain, rhymes with pain. I heard you were in town and wanted to see you for myself."

"You keep those gloves on!" Pink yelled. "I mean it! Take them off, and I'm calling the police!"

"Don't let her touch you! It hurts, it hurts real bad!" Teal warned while crying.

Crissy smiled a wicked smile, but didn't say anything. I lit my horn defensively and took a cautious step back. "So, now you've seen me. Get going. I'm a skilled mage, and I can make sure you can't get your hands on me."

"Is that so?" Crissy asked with a smirk. "I'd like to see you try. I don't have all the powers a proper crystal pony should, but I've got my own variations. One of them is magic doesn't do crap to me, which means you can't do crap to me. More dangerous magic users than you, both ponies and humans, have tried. If I want to grab you, I will."

I took an involuntary step back in fear and her smirk twisted to an ear-to-ear evil grin, and she laughed. "Don't worry, Apostate. I just wanted to see your face. You have family here in the mall too, don't you? I think I counted twenty-eight people between who is in the mall and who is on that bus. I heard you've got some other friends staying with you too. What a large and happy family you have. You are truly blessed. I hope they're enjoying their day out on the town."

My horn flared as I snarled. "Don't you dare lay a finger on a single one of them. You're a Shimmerist, aren't you? Only Shimmerists call me that. Get out of here and tell all your buddies to leave me, my family, and my friends alone! And you can leave those stupid Blessingists alone too. I have nothing to do with them."

The woman chuckled. "It's cute how you act like you can do anything to me, but I'll leave. I just wanted to see you, Apostate. We'll see justice done for all your crimes, but not today. Enjoy the rest of your day."

She turned and left, leaving me still in a defensive stance with my horn lit and the two stylists still crying like babies.

I turned to them. "Who was she? What has she done in the past? Where do I find her?"

The two kept crying, but began answering my questions.

"She's a Shimmerist!" Teal cried. No duh.

"The worst of the worst kind!" Pink continued. "She hurts ponies. She touches you, and it hurts. Your magic doesn't work right for a few minutes after either. It won't focus and do what you want. It gets all frizzy."

Teal separated herself and sat down with a sniffle. "There was a lot of gossip about her after the last time she got arrested. They say she was only a partial after ETS ended. They put her in a camp and emotionally abused her until she rehumanized, but it didn't work all the way."

Pink looked down at the floor. "She developed powers, and the bad people from the government took her and tried to make her work for them. She wouldn't do it. They tried to use that one mind magic guy on her—you know the one, the guy who was in that big government conspiracy not long after ETS. His powers didn't work on her, so they just locked her up and tried emotionally abusing her more to try to force her to work for them."

"When all the bad guys in the government finally got revealed and taken down, she was set free, but she was really messed up in the head, and she hated other humans for everything they had done to her. She joined up with the Shimmerists and kind of laid low for a while," Teal explained.

"But the past year or two, she has gotten really nasty and violent. She's been arrested a few times and banned from this mall, but somepony keeps bailing her out," Pink concluded.

"She's bad, evil," Teal whined. "She really hates humans and the government, but she also kinda hates everypony who isn't a Shimmerist."

I frowned as I considered this. I had lots of financial resources when I was a Shimmerist, but I was more the exception than the rule. Who could afford to keep bailing her out? "You said you were calling the police and would make sure they were humans. Does she avoid humans?"

"Her powers don't work on them. You have to have magic," Teal replied. "The more magic you have, the more it hurts when she touches you. Most humans, even if they have a little magic, don't feel much when she touches them, but it is painful to ponies."

"She hates humans, but can't hurt them. She wants to be a pony but is kryptonite to us. Ironic," I mused. "Where do I find her?"

"We don't know," Pink replied. "You don't want to find her. She'll hurt you. Just get the police."

I certainly was going to contact the authorities about this incident. She very overtly threatened my family and me. I needed to make a few calls.

"Thank you for returning me to my normal colors and for the information about Miss Rhymes with Pain. I'm not going to sue you or demand royalties, but I recommend changing up your naming strategy before you get yourself in trouble. You can post up my photo if you want, although I'm not sure that will make you many friends with the Shimmerists."

"Shimmerists don't come to this mall," Teal replied. "Just the occasional human Shimmerist."

"They don't like the whole Unity thing," Pink explained.

"Seeing your photo up on our wall will get us lots of business from the Blessingists, though," Teal said, cheering up at the prospect.

"And most everyone else," Pink added on. "An actual celebrity came to us for a coloring!"

I rolled my eyes again. "Whatever, just rethink the color naming strategy before some celebrity who doesn't take as kindly to it takes notice."

"Will do!" the two said in chorus. Ponies doing that would never cease to creep me out.

I left the shop and salon prepping to make calls. I'd call Number, then Rosetta, then Paul to let them know a regular psychopath was stalking us. I'd call the feds after. She had me terrified, that was for sure. She had gone around counting every member of my family here before she had stepped into the salon. She may have been in touching distance of each of Yinyu's foals and just outside the bus where my grandfoals were. Could Tempest put up a fight against her? I didn't know; I had no clue how much magic Tempest retained after becoming human, and no idea if Tempest was armed with any actual weapon, so she didn't have to engage in hand-to-hand combat. I knew Number and I would be helpless. Jess, sadly, had the next most experience putting up a fight against psychopaths out of those present, and she had too much magic to avoid being incapacitated by pain. As it stood, the Youngs were our best defense against her. I wasn't even sure how helpful Starlight would be here. If Fain's powers got more painful the more powerful the magic-user was, then Starlight was the most vulnerable member of our group.

More worrisome was that dangerous as Fain was; she couldn't be behind the barking. The question was whether she was a rogue threat acting on her own or if she was part of a concerted effort aimed at me. She clearly had someone with deep pockets on her side, and deep pockets meant the ability to muster multiple threats. And I had so many enemies.

When I got home tonight, it was time to start doing some research and finding out who exactly could be likely members of the league of evil assembled against me.

Chapter 75: New Unity Mall. Part 3—Food Court Discussion

"This Fain woman is bad news, Sunset Blessing," Tempest said gravely from across the picnic table from me. She was reading her cell phone that was gripped in one hand and used her other hand to lift a hotdog to take a bite.

I looked at the hot dog in distaste. "How can you eat that? You spent most of your life as a pony."

She gave me a flat look. "It is a vegan hotdog; there's no actual meat in it. I can also eat it because it tastes good and is convenient to eat with a single hand while I look up information on this threat to your grandfoals. If she intends to hurt them, I intend to leave her in a body cast. I don't play mind games. I just take care of business."

"Okay… " I said slowly. "Where are you looking up information?"

"None of your business," Tempest grumbled. "Being the personal bodyguard to a Dreamwarden comes with its perks...and no, no information learned in the dream realm is being used."

I set my jaw. "Alright, so who keeps springing her out of jail? She doesn't strike me as the model prisoner type."

"Can't say," Tempest mumbled in frustration. "There's a law firm that represents her. This particular law firm typically is the type to cover up business executives' and politicians' bad behavior—pay off mistresses, bribe abuse victims, drug trafficking, potentially dirty money. They don't seem the type to work for charity; someone is paying them, but not clear who."

Number picked at her salad as she listened. "You aren't likely to get very far there. I dealt with these kinds of people back in the day. Loyalty and keeping their mouths shut is paramount. Whatever threat you make against them is nothing compared to what will happen if they reveal details. Snitches get stitches isn't correct. It's more like snitches, and their entire families, end up in body bags."

"So dead end there," I grumbled. I glanced over at the nearby picnic tables to make sure everyone was still doing alright. We were all at the food court, but my table just had me, Tempest, and Number. Tempest hadn't been pleased by being roused from her sleep, but it didn't take long for her to get over that after she heard why.

"Can you fight her if it came down to it?" Number asked the former pony.

Tempest frowned. "If she got her hands on me, it would be unpleasant, but I could endure it. The more concerning matter, in that case, is I'm not fully adjusted to fighting as a human. I have signed up for martial arts classes and handgun training once this vacation is over, but for the time being, I'm probably a liability in a fight." That last part came out on a bitter note.

"No one blames you for not being instantly as great a fighter as a human as when you were a pony. I'm sure you'll figure it out, eventually," I said consolingly. "In the meantime, we need to figure out what we can about what we're up against. I know you have experience figuring stuff like that out, and changing species isn't going to take that away."

Tempest gave a stiff nod. "Fain has a listed address in Colorado Springs, but it is unclear how much time she actually spends there. She seems to move around a lot and prefers stealthy attacks where her opponents don't see her coming until she gets her hands on them. A unicorn might not be able to assault her with magic directly, but she is still as vulnerable as anyone else to having something large and heavy chucked at her. She has been linked to several radical Shimmerist groups, but never confirmed to be a member of any of them."

"She was silent when she came up behind me earlier. I didn't realize she was there until the employees started freaking out," I recalled.

"And she scouted us all out without being obvious about it," Number added in with a grunt.

"Top Shimmerist leader in the area who might have the resources is a pony named Water Wings," Tempest continued as she read.

"I don't believe he would be behind it," I interrupted. "Water Wings is an idealist and has always been strongly against violence."

Tempest nodded. "Reports confirm that. While he makes it no secret he is no fan of yours, calling you a backstabber on multiple occasions, even before you turned on Shimmerism, he has also been one of the few Shimmerist leaders pleading for non-violence with the Blessingists. Fain does have a past association with his group, but it looks like it has been years since she was actively involved with him."

"He probably didn't want to be involved with a psychopath," I replied. "He's generally a good pony for a Shimmerist. I'm somewhat sad I betrayed his trust years ago, if only because he does try his best to be welcoming to everyone."

"What did you do to him to piss him off?" Number asked.

I shrugged. "His mages were the ones that had the knowledge about ETS taken from Equestria. He invited me to speak to his mages to see if we could work together. I got the information and immediately signaled the feds to raid the place and watched as they arrested each and every mage at the facility. They had plotted with the Equestrian nobles in that foolhardy attempt to set up an Equestrian protectorate, and I couldn't let any uncontrolled elements have access to that information. I did what I had to do. Water Wings is lucky I didn't have the feds come for him too."

Tempest looked up from her phone at me. "Why didn't you?"

I took a bite of my salad and finished chewing and swallowing before I answered. "Colorado had a string of idiot Shimmerist leaders who were practically leading us towards civil war with humans. Water Wings was a break from that chain. If he could galvanize other local Shimmerist leaders into following him out of their shared hatred for me, that works for me, as long as it advanced my agenda, and my agenda there was keeping the peace and bringing humans into Shimmerist ranks. Water Wings fit my needs perfectly. I wasn't going to sacrifice him to jail without need."

Tempest hmmed and went back to looking at her phone. "While Water Wings is the most influential Shimmerist in the region, even having strong control over many Shimmerists in nearby states, he is far from having complete control. The west is a hotbed for radical Shimmerists, and countless smaller groups, often a dozen ponies or less in each, exist. Some of these are in direct opposition to him and broke away from his leadership. They don't have any more love for you and are much more open to violence."

"Wild wild west," I said and took a sip of my sweet tea. It wasn't bad tea, but I thought I might prefer Lántiān's. "You might try getting in contact with Water Wings, just to see if he knows anything."

"He kind of hates your guts. Why would he help?" Number asked.

I leaned in over the table. "Because they're threatening innocent foals to hurt me. Water Wings might be willing to let them string me up, but he won't let foals and other innocents get hurt for the sake of that. It will taste bad to him, helping me, but he'll do the right thing."

Number considered. "Best that we leave contacting him to someone other than you. No need to have to see the pony he hates if we're trying to get his help. It could make things complicated. I've got channels. I'll reach out and let you know how it goes."

I nodded. "Fain is just one person we are dealing with. Someone else is pulling strings, and if we can't find out through her, we need to investigate other options. How about this Howler guy? FBI said his name is Dog Bite or Donald Shea was his human name."

Tempest was silent for a few seconds, probably as she was switching up her search. "No violent criminal record as far as I can tell. Some noise ordinance violations on account of his dogs. He is associated with some radical Shimmerist groups… and oddly, a radical Harmonist group."

I arched an eyebrow. "Does this radical Harmonist group have money?"

Tempest did some searching and nodded. "Periodically. They get different donors at different times. At one point, you were the one funding them. Currently, their leader is wanted by the FBI in connection to some sort of experimentation they were doing in Nevada back when you employed them. The records are unclear on exactly what they did. That information is beyond my security clearance to access, which is normally a bad sign."

I scrunched up my muzzle in disgust. "Doctor Rossman and his team, those fucking bastards."

"I've heard that name recently, but can't place it," Number said as she chewed on her lip.

"He's the pony that made Bursa," I replied with a growl.

Number whistled. "Oh, shit."

Tempest gave me a confused look. "I'm out of the loop. Who or what is Bursa?"

"A victim of his experiments," I answered. "I discovered late after hiring Rossman and his team that he wanted to use transformation magic to try to make an alicorn. I fired him as soon as I found out, but he had already been conducting experiments with transformation magic without my knowledge. Wild only recently uncovered this."

"Believe me, you don't want to see what shape he left Bursa in," Number breathed. "It's monstrous." She looked at me. "Interesting that one of our possible assailants has ties to him, and these attacks started so soon after Bursa was discovered."

"Very interesting. It also ties why Shimmerists and Harmonists might find common ground if he is connected at all," I replied darkly.

"If he can get to where he can make an alicorn with transformation magic, he can also probably replicate ETS," Tempest said as she set her phone down.

I nodded. "Bingo. And guess who the best resource there is on transformation magic?"

Number gave a sad shake of her head. "Sounds like a possible motive on his side if he is involved, and Shimmerists are more than willing to be his hired muscle when it comes to dealing with you. They get to see you suffer, and they possibly get a shiny new ETS spell out of it. Win-win for them."

I laid my ears flat. "This is all wild speculation at this point; we can't confirm any of this or even say how likely, but it is something worth looking into. It still leaves unanswered who the hell is funding this? Rossman doesn't have his own resources; he gets grants and funding from others like he did from me. If he is involved, he wouldn't be the one pulling the strings. At the moment, he and his team have gone into hiding since they are wanted ponies. So any funding would be completely off the record. None of these people are rolling in wealth. We're at another dead end."

Tempest cupped her hands together and stared at them. "There is an obvious possible source of near-limitless income that we are ignoring, one that would be interested in a new ETS spell, possibly making an alicorn, and to top it off, obtaining Yinyu's foals."

Number chewed worriedly on her lip some more. "If it is them, then we are in some really deep shit. So let's hope that is not the case. The FBI even making an investigation into them is something that has to be treated very carefully. If it is them, I don't know what we can do. We can't fight Érzi if he is bound and determined to play this game."

I shook my head. "Let's not allow our imaginations to run wild. The only one we can confirm as being involved is Fain. So we focus primarily on her. She didn't object to having anything to do with attacks on Blessingists when I told her to leave them alone. Maybe we can search up information about the missing Blessingists and see if any of them have previous run-ins with her. Speaking of missing people, Howler or Dog Bite or whatever you want to call him went missing recently as well; perhaps we should be looking for other Shimmerists that suddenly went off the grid in the last week."

"A good idea," Tempest said as she picked her phone back up.

Number looked at Tempest. "Do you ever smile or joke?"

Tempest gave Number a dirty look. "I hardly think the current situation calls for either of those things."

"I don't see you do those things even when the situation does call for it," Number replied.

Tempest sighed. "When I was younger, I was filled with a lot of rage and could be quite cruel. Then Princess Luna took me in and helped me bring myself calm and focus. As her guard, I was required to keep a neutral expression and to avoid the sarcasm and biting remarks that had characterized me before. I kept this habit after shifting over to guarding Phobia; it is simply professional behavior. But don't worry, little pony, just because I'm not saying my sarcasm and nasty put-downs about you two don't mean I'm not thinking them. My inner monologue helps me stomach dealing with ponies like yourself and Sunset Blessing. If I regularly let it out for you, there's a chance that it could start slipping out for Phobia's foals too, and accidentally hurting them with thoughtless words I said only in the moment is something that would hurt me just as much. I have a target to let out on, and her name is Crystal, because Crystal understands the distinction between when I mean something and when I'm just being mean."

Considering what I knew from Rosetta, I could understand Tempest here. Rosetta said Tempest legitimately loved my grandfoals, and I could appreciate the former pony's desire not to hurt them emotionally.

"I'm going to join the foals and spend time with them like I promised," I announced. "We've done all we can do with this brief discussion, and we can do more research after we return to the mansion tonight. I only wanted to make sure all three were on the same page. I still need to discuss this all with Starlight."

"And I need to speak to Wild," Number said. "I'll make a call during the baseball game. I doubt I will be paying it much attention."

"We'll see how the foals feel about it," I said with a shrug. "This is their new home, and that's their hometown team. Should always be willing to support and cheer the people that represent your home."

"Could have picked a different sport," Number mumbled. "Oh well, if they have fun, that's great for them. Go hang out with them, and you can hear all about the vintage playset I bought them—an original Turtles sewer playset from the original toy line. The thing cost a pretty penny. Your parents helped them pick out some decorations as well."

I frowned as I got up. "I'll need to spend some time with Méng when I can; he is in danger of being drowned out by his brothers and even his niece."

Tempest reached out a hand and stopped me. "Before you join them, I would like to discuss a more personal matter with you." She looked at Number. "Alone."

I wondered what this was about. Several different options floated through my brain, some I was more comfortable than others having a candid discussion about. Primarily, the odd whatever relationship thing she had or didn't have going with my daughter.

I stood up. "We can take a walk to the restroom. No need to tell Number to scram."

Tempest frowned, but stood up and nodded. She collected our empty salad bowls and all the trays.

We walked by the place to drop the trays off, and while she was dumping the trash in the garbage, she whispered to me. "I spotted Fain scouting us from the second story of the food court. You don't need to look; she is long since gone and was not there long. I did not want to draw attention to the fact I noticed her."

I still looked up to see if I could spot her. Which made me instantly feel like a fool because that was precisely why Tempest hadn't said anything earlier. "Is that what you wanted to discuss?"

Tempest shook her head. "No, that was just a detail I felt was worth mentioning. What I wanted to discuss was your daughter, Phobia."

The uncomfortable conversation was incoming. I did not want to have this conversation with her. I had no idea how I was supposed to feel about the entire thing. I only knew I didn't like it, whether that was fair or not.

"You seem upset," Tempest said as she looked at me.

"Thank you, Doctor Phil," I snapped. I didn't mean to snap, but it just came out.

Tempest glared back. "I don't know the reference, but I understand the tone. Did I completely miss some sort of drama between you and her? I know my emotional responses have changed since I have become human, and you Earthling ponies were always kind of messed up in the head anyway, but you suddenly getting hostile is still throwing me off."

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Sorry, I'm just having a hard time processing things regarding you, my daughter, and Rosetta."

"Excuse me?" Tempest asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"The fact you and my daughter might be a thing," I answered as I sat down with my ears hung low.

Tempest stared at me as if she was not comprehending what I was saying. Oh crap.

"That wasn't what you wanted to talk about… was it?" I asked sheepishly.

Tempest licked her lips. "No… it wasn't that. Where would you get the idea that Phobia and I… we aren't a thing."

"Rosetta said there is something there, between you two," I explained. "Maybe she misread things, and I got myself worked up about it. Do you have feelings for my daughter? Does she have them for you?"

Tempest gave me a deer in the headlights look. It was the first time I had ever seen such an expression on her face as a pony or human. "I… I don't know… I have not considered...this is something I do not wish to discuss at this time either. You bringing up the subject just introduced an entire swarm of confused thoughts in my head, and I need time to sort them out."

I took a deep breath. "Fine. Let's forget this whole conversation happened. What did you want to ask me about?"

Tempest took a few seconds to gather herself. "What I meant to ask you was if you had any advice for getting Phobia to leave the house. She has always been somewhat isolated since I took on a job as bodyguard for her, far more isolated than when I encountered her before that. I understand the rape has a lot to do with that, but she seems to be getting even more isolated since the Cataclysm. From a protection standpoint, this is great, but from the standpoint of someone concerned about her mental and emotional health, that is deeply problematic. I'm asking as someone who… someone who cares about your daughter, and not as her bodyguard. As her mother, do you have any idea how to help fix this?"

I sighed. "No, unfortunately not. She isn't a foal or child that can be forced to go outside, which is what I sometimes had to do with her back then. She'd do it if ordered to. She would put on that damned jacket of hers, even if it were the middle of summer, like she was trying to put on some armor against the world. She found Tonya, and that friendship was enough to keep her going outside. I never understood why they became fast friends back then, but I guess it became clear when ETS came. They shared an experience and stress that the rest of us couldn't understand."

Tempest considered this. "So… maybe she could be asked to join a support group instead of getting treated in her dreams or having doctors come to her? Others who are dealing with the same things she is?"

I looked up in shock. "She hasn't been doing that already?"

Tempest shook her head. "She has always been insistent that the doctors come to her; such groups were out of the question. I could try to insist. If you and Rosetta joined me in doing so, it might budge her. It could lead to an argument, but it could work."

"I thought you elite Dreamwarden bodyguards did everything your Dreamwarden tells you without question," I remarked.

She snorted. "I will do what I'm told, but if I disagree, I will still make that clear. I would be doing her a disservice if I never spoke my mind to her. I have disagreed with her many times and told her every time it has happened. She listens to my argument, and sometimes she changes course because of it, and other times she doesn't. Whoever told you that we do things without question was misinformed. Questioning isn't just our right; it is our responsibility if we have issues with what we are being told to do. To put it bluntly in terms I learned on Earth; if my Dreamwarden is being a dumbass I'm going to call her a dumbass and tell her why."

That brought up something else that was coming. "I'm getting assigned bodyguards from your elite. Are they going to listen to me, or am I going to have to go running to a Dreamwarden every time there is a disagreement?"

Tempest shrugged. "That depends on who is assigned and how exactly the Dreamwardens express their instructions regarding guarding you. If you have concerns about that, bring it up with Yinyu, Arbiter, and Phobia. I believe those three are the ones making decisions about who your guards will be, since they have vested interests. The other three aren't involved in that process."

"Well, if you want me to help pressure her, just let me know," I said with a grunt. "I want my daughter to be happy."

"As do I," Tempest replied without looking at me. "As do I."

Chapter 76: Baseball Diamonds and Wedding Rings

"What are those ponies doing, Auntie?" Shǔguāng asked as he pointed up at the sky from where we sat in the stands.

I looked up at the team of pegasi flying above the stadium. "I don't know. Something to do with the weather, but I'm not sure what they are doing. The sky is clear, so it isn't like they are preventing rain."

"They are adjusting the humidity and air pressure," Lántiān said as she glanced up. She closed her eyes and fluffed her wings, feeling out the air. She then opened her eyes and pointed out to the field where an umpire was walking about. "You see that human? He is taking measurements and communicating by radio with the team up above, directing them towards their goal. I don't know the reason, but that is what they are doing."

Jess leaned forward in her seat and started talking excitedly. "Oh, oh, I know! It has to do with the way the baseball moves. Those factors can impact everything from how pitches are thrown to how far the ball travels after being hit by a bat. There's some exciting physics that—"

"Okay, there's your answer, Shǔguāng," I interrupted hastily. "Physics stuff with the ball. No need for all the details."

Jess leaned back, crossed her arms, and flattened her ears while pouting. Her mom rubbed her back and whispered to her. I caught little bits where Devon explained to her that most of us wouldn't be able to follow anything she said, and she would only confuse everyone. Robby leaned in close to his sister and offered to listen to her explanation which seemed to brighten her mood a tiny amount.

"Hey, Sunset, what do you call a sleeping dinosaur?" Dad asked.

So it begins. I knew it was coming. There was no stopping it. I was prepared to face my maker.

"I don't know, Dad. What do you call a sleeping dinosaur?" I asked with a smile.

"A dino-snore!" he replied with a cackle. Dear, God… they were as bad as ever!

My eye twitched slightly. "Good one, Dad."

Everyone under the age of twelve, human and pony alike, laughed uproariously, even Jess. I feared for the well-being of their generation.

Dad was happy with his reception and continued. "What do you call a dinosaur who gets a busy signal on a phone call?"

"What?" Líng asked eagerly.

"A dino-tone!" Dad shouted with a laugh. Was that even a joke? Who wrote these things?! The youths again gave him a round of laughter and commented among each other about how clever he was. I wanted to put cotton in my ears.

"I do not understand American humor," Lántiān commented flatly to no one in particular.

"Do you have any jokes from China?" Dad asked her.

Lántiān smiled. "Yes, I can tell a joke or two. Here is one; the teacher was teaching a lesson and told all the students to mark the next topic with a star because it was very important. A student looked up at her and asked if he could mark it with a checkmark because an orangutan was too hard to draw."

Okay… that seriously lost something in translation.

Lántiān must have realized her joke fell flat with all the confused looks she was getting. "Um… I shall try again. Here is a better one that uses American pop culture. What color is Spider-man?"

"Red and blue?" Dad replied in confusion.

"No! He is white!" Lántiān replied with a chuckle.

"I think that joke might be racist," Paul said with a worried look around.

Lántiān looked baffled that her jokes weren't working, even with her brothers. She looked at me with a frown. "Do I have permission to ask my brothers the same jokes in Mandarin, ma'am?"

I nodded. "Go ahead."

She looked at her brothers and repeated the first joke. Shǔguāng and Líng listened closely, then burst out laughing, hard.

"Now I get it!" Shǔguāng laughed.

"Me too!" Líng said with a high grin. I wondered if the translation spell was busted for me, because I still didn't get it.

She repeated the Spider-man joke next, and this time I understood that joke. It wasn't a great joke, but it wasn't something racist like everyone originally thought. It was just another homophone joke; shì bái se in the question and shi bai se in the answer. It was also something that only worked in Mandarin.

I suppose it was best to defend her. "She's not being racist. She just didn't think through the fact that word puns from Mandarin don't translate out to English. Do you have any jokes that don't require any knowledge of Mandarin, Lántiān?"

She thought about it for a few seconds then fluffed her wings again. "A husband and wife left their house to go to the store. The wife suddenly turned to go back home. I have left the gas on! We should go back, or a fire might start! The wife exclaimed. The husband shook his head. There won't be any fire. I just remembered I left the tub running and plugged!"

At least it translated well, but I wasn't sure how strong a joke it was. Maybe it needed a better delivery? I was unsure. Oh well, at least it was clean.

She got a few polite chuckles from the adults, who at least got the joke, even if it fell flat. She looked around, laid her ears flat, and looked at me. "How about you, ma'am? Do you have a good joke?"

"I can out comedy any of you, wannabes," I said smugly.

"Prove it," Dad said with a challenging grin.

I cleared my throat. "What did Jess say after she walked into a bar?"

"My parents are going to kill me," Paul quipped.

"Oops, I made a wrong turn?" Jess suggested.

I shook my head. "She said ouch."

My dad started roaring with laughter. My mom shook her head. "You are as bad as your father!"

"What?!" I said in disbelief. "That was gold!"

"It was!" Dad laughed. He was at the point of tears.

Jess looked back and forth between us. "I don't get it." Seriously? A super-genius couldn't understand my masterful joke? I wasn't going to explain it to her. Any joke you had to explain was a failure.

Number came pushing in and gently moved Líng aside from beside me while apologizing. She took his seat.

I looked at her and then Líng. "That was rude."

"Sorry," she repeated to me. "Wanted to go over some things quickly before I head out. Wild just dropped a big bomb of new things to do on me. She decided she's getting married, and guess who has to start making the arrangements while serving as best mare too?"

I blinked. "Tell her congratulations for me. Who's the lucky stallion."

"Megan Rutledge's little brother, Alex. She's marrying into the Rutledge family," Number replied as if out of breath. "It's not really a shocker. She's been seeing him since not long after the Cataclysm, and he moved into her place about three months ago, so I'd been expecting this for a while. I even pressured her on just asking him, but he was the one that finally popped the question. Don't expect an invitation; you aren't on that good of terms with her still. She says she wants to keep the guest list small, just immediate family and a few friends."

Rosetta came pushing forward from the seats behind us and shoved poor Líng even further to the side. "My sister is getting married, and she told you before me?! And you're also telling Sunset before me too!"

Number gave the night pony mare a dirty look. "I was going to get to you next. Wild told me first because your phone is either off or dead." Rosetta lifted her leg to look at her phone while Number continued. "And, yes, you are invited. She wants you to be a bridesmaid—you, Megan, and Tattered Wing. Your brothers—minus your new youngest one who will, unfortunately, be unable to attend anyway, are going to be groomsmen, along with some of Alex's friends."

"She didn't want me to be maid of honor?" Rosetta pouted.

"Do you want to be the one directing this circus?" Number snapped. "Charge up your phone and call her later. She's expecting your call, so she'll be up late, but give me some space right now."

Rosetta climbed back to her regular seat, and Líng, who had been crushed up against his sister, moved back towards us with a look of relief.

"Ladies and gentlemen, stallions and mares, please welcome your division-leading Colorado Rockies!"

Number had to go silent while the crowd cheered as the home team entered the field. The announcer started saying more things, and we waited it out until he called for the crowd to stand for the national anthem.

I stood and got the foals' attention. "You need to stand. It is the respectful thing to do."

The colts all started standing up, but Lántiān kept sitting.

"Stand up, filly," I hissed at her.

She shook her head. "I'm still a Chinese citizen, ma'am. The government might not be a legitimate one that I will listen to or respect, and I may be a refugee far from home because of them, but I will wait for someone to heal my homeland. I do not show allegiance to any other nation."

Lord help me! It wasn't even the Pledge of Allegiance. Why did she have to pull this crap? I took some deep breaths. I wasn't going to get worked up about her being stubborn. If she wanted to be disrespectful, it wasn't impacting anything.

When the anthem finished, we all sat down while the announcer started talking about each team as they prepared to start the first inning. It was indeed all humans on each team, although there were some pony umpires and some pony coaches. My guess was they were former players who weren't able to keep playing anymore after ETS, but weren't willing to leave the game they loved behind.

Number leaned in next to me. "Anyway, the wiring and cameras for the house should be done by the time you get back home. They still have some work to do to get the cameras outside all up and running, but they should have that within a week. We are also bringing in a massive team of groundskeepers tomorrow to get the front in order, as well as crews to get those side buildings repaired and the fountains running. It will not be a one-day thing; it could take up to two to three weeks to fix everything outside, but the cameras should hopefully be operating outside long before since they're the first priority. It will be up to you to keep things orderly outside after they're done, but they'll do the hard part of getting it all in order."

"As long as the house is secure, that's what matters," I replied. "Any reports of barking?"

Number shook her head. "Nothing."

I scowled. "That's probably not a good sign."

Number nodded in agreement. "Could mean they know you aren't at home. Could also indicate that whatever causes the barking is something they don't feel comfortable doing in a crowded area; hence you got your little greeting at the mall instead."

"Oh well, once we have all the cameras up and these personal bodyguards arrive, they should have a hard time pulling anything," I said as I squinted to look out at the field.

"It also means you should be that much more on guard until then," Number said firmly. "They're watching, and if they are going to do something more drastic, they know their window for pulling it off is getting smaller."

"I will," I replied, then lifted my head higher. "Heads up! Foul ball headed this way!"

It was heading directly at us. It came within a few feet of us in the air before I grabbed it with my magic and brought it down, passing it to the colts. "Here you go. A little souvenir for being here. Maybe we can get it signed afterward."

"We don't have to give it back?" Shǔguāng asked as he took the ball in his hooves and looked at it.

"Nope. Any ball that goes out into the stands belongs to whoever caught it," I replied.

"It's a weird ball. It's small and hard," Shǔguāng said as he continued feeling the ball with his hooves.

"Let me see!" Líng cried out.

Shǔguāng passed him the ball, and Líng started examining it the same way. He studied it a few seconds before Méng started getting fussy that he wasn't getting a turn. Líng shoved the ball into Méng's mouth—which didn't really fit, but he was able to somehow get a grip on it with his teeth. He blinked a few times and then laid down with the thing and started chewing on it.

"Or we can skip the signing," I said as I warily watched Méng turn the ball into a chew toy. I hadn't known foals would do something like that. Then again, he was a toddler, and toddlers were known for putting random things in their mouths. It occurred to me then that those balls were covered in rawhide, and I felt a little ill at the thought of it. He wouldn't swallow any of it, but it was still kind of disgusting.

"I need to get going. Work never stops," Number said as she gave me a light hug. "Take care of yourself, Sunset. I'm not sure when is the next time I'll be by. Remember, you can always call me if you need help."

Number left, and we sat watching the game. I took some time explaining the basic rules to the colts. I might not know all the more advanced rules, but I knew basic baseball rules. Unfortunately for us, through the first six innings, the two teams were engaged in a pitchers' duel. That meant there had been a few stray hits, but no runs as of yet. That also meant that it was very dull to watch since not much was happening, and the signs of boredom were setting in all around me.

The first batter of the bottom of the seventh ending brought an end to the current dry stretch of no hits going the last two innings with a double. At that point, something interesting happened on the field.

"Manager Jason Giambi has decided that he is going to try to push some extra offense on the basepaths and has signaled for Diamond Dealer to take Ortiz's place on at second!"

"A pony is coming out to play!" Líng said as he pointed down to the field. He was right. The manager had pulled the guy who just hit the double and replaced him on base with a pony, a pony in complete player's uniform with a baseball diamond with a literal diamond in the middle on his jersey instead of a number. I guess ponies could play baseball. They couldn't bat, pitch, or field, but they worked as substitute baserunners.

Dealer currently leads the league in stolen bases after the seventh inning with twenty-one so far this season. We can see Torrasco on the mound giving him nervous looks, and we know Torrasco is probably going to be sending a few warning throws to second to try to keep Dealer close to the base. This is a tight game, and Dealer is fast enough to make it home on just a midfield single. Torrasco cannot afford that with Bateman matching him throw for throw."

"What's going on, Auntie?" Shǔguāng asked.

I pointed down to the earth pony on the field. "Remember how I told you that they score points when the runner gets back home? They switched out who is running with that pony because he's faster. They're hoping that he is fast enough to either run home on a light hit or if he is fast enough to run from base to base before they can catch him when the pitcher throws to the batter. That's called stealing a base."

"He's a thief?!" Líng exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes. "Stealing a base is just a baseball term. He isn't a thief. It's just part of the game."

"And Torrasco winds-up for the pitch and—the pitch is wild! Dealer is on the run! Arizona catcher Eckstrem has gone to get the ball, but Dealer has already rounded third base! Torrasco is trying to head him off at home! It's going to be close! Eckstrem throws to Torrasco, and—— Marley calls Diamond safe! Ladies and gentlemen, mares and stallions, Diamond Dealer just added two more diamond heists to his league-leading total and has put the Rockies on the board!"

Music started to blare as the crowd cheered, and the jumbotron over the back of the stadium showed an animated version of Diamond Dealer wearing a thief's mask, running on two legs while carrying a bunch of bases cupped under a foreleg like a human would under an arm. It was then displayed in large bold letters DIAMOND HEIST!

"And that is probably it for Arizona ace Ruben Torrasco for tonight. An excellent pitching performance throughout the evening, allowing just five hits and one walk with an impressive eleven strikeouts through six innings. On another night, that might have secured him a victory, but that wild pitch did him in. A wild pitch with Dealer on base is always going to cost you. We will have a short break while Arizona manager Dave Martinez makes his pitching change.

The Rockies mascot, a giant purple triceratops named Dinger, came out to our seating section and started giving members of the audience fist bumps and hoof bumps.

John turned and looked back at me from his seat. "This place brings back memories. My dad used to bring me out to games here when I was a kid. Still feels the same, even with the pony weather team and pony pinch-runner. Today has been a good day."

"Glad you enjoyed it," I said, feeling pleased with myself.

By this time the lingering form of Dinger had finally reached us. The foals and kids seemed at a loss at what they were supposed to do when the mascot held out a paw for them to bump; the children actually shied away in fear. One foal had a very different reaction, because one foal looked at Dinger and saw a giant stuffed animal.

Qīng Yǔ jumped and latched herself to Dinger's outstretched arm; all four legs and her wings were around it in a death grip. Lántiān and I instantly went to work trying to separate the filly from the surprised dinosaur mascot. Dinger, for his part—or possibly her part, it was impossible to tell who was under the costume, didn't do anything to try to shake the little blue pegasus loose, maybe because they were afraid they'd hurt her and get the team sued.

We weren't having much luck. Qīng Yǔ was practically glued to the dinosaur. Lántiān was trying to gently release her daughter's grip using her hooves and wings while I worked at her with my magic. Everyone else was laughing.

Whoever was in charge of the camera for the jumbotron took notice of us because the entire ordeal ended up being put up on the big screen for every fan in the stadium, and likely the ones watching at home, to see. Laughter increased to deafening levels as they watched the filly who refused to let go of the mascot.

"Hey, Jim, does that unicorn trying to pry that filly loose from Dinger look like Sunset Blessing to you?"

"I believe it is, Bill. That's certainly something you don't see every day, and one for the highlight reels!"

Great, now everyone in the world knew I was here at the game. I could see the news stories in the morning. Sunset Blessing assaults sports mascot!

An employee came hurrying in with a plush Dinger toy and put it in the filly's field of view. Qīng Yǔ saw the toy and lurched from the arm onto the toy, getting caught in my magic. The entire crowd cheered and laughed at this as well.

"Well, Jim, That's one way to get a stuffed animal. But really, don't try this at home, kids!"

I thanked the employee and promised to pay for the toy on our way out though they said it wasn’t needed; a gift for a new fan. Qīng Yǔ settled down between her mother's legs snuggling her new prize tightly gripped in her forelegs.

I sighed and looked around at the others, thinking about how our presence had just been broadcast. "I hate to cut our day short, but I think we may have drawn a little bit too much attention. I think we should beat the crowds and grab some ice cream on the way home."

Chapter 77: Returning Home

We dropped the Creams off at their home and headed back to ours. We were about halfway back when my phone started ringing.

"Hello, Sunset Blessing here," I answered.

"Hi, it's Josie. Can you please tell these security dorks that I foalsit for you? I came over, and they grabbed me and put me under guard! You're on speaker, so they can hear you."

I sighed in exasperation. "Whoever is listening. This is Sunset Blessing; I'm on my way home and should arrive within a few minutes. Miss Woods does foalsit for me, so please let the mare go."

"Thank you!" Josie shouted. I heard her blow a long wet raspberry at the security officers, which could be taken as the equivalent of a pony giving the middle finger. Not the most mature thing to do, but I could understand her anger and frustration.

"I'll see that you are compensated for the trouble, Miss Woods," I said. "I shall see you shortly." I then ended the call.

"Josie Woods?! The night pony?" I heard Rosetta yell from the back of the bus.

I was sitting near the front and turned to face her. "Yes, you are not mistaken about which Josie Woods is being discussed. Is her presence a problem?"

"Do you have any idea what that mare is guilty of?" Rosetta asked in disbelief.

"She is only guilty of being manipulated and used," I answered. "God forgives, and if he can forgive, so can the rest of us. Considering she is still capable of making coherent sentences, I think the Dreamwardens have already made their call, don't you? And don't her crimes fall under their jurisdiction? It was they who recommended her to me."

"Uh...what did this pony do?" Mike asked.

I frowned. "A very insidious form of mind control, on a global scale. It is not her fault, as I said. She was groomed to be used since she was a child. It was only well after the fact that Miss Woods discovered the truth about what had been done to her as she grew up. She is a victim."

"And every pony on Earth was her victim," Rosetta said darkly.

I scowled and stood to face her. "And how many continue to suffer or have suffered due to my foolishness? I can't even claim to be a victim who was tricked into doing what I did. Miss Woods was a teenager who was imbued with great power for a single purpose and tormented for many years to make her Sunset Shimmer's tool. She was a foolish youth who didn't realize her actions were being dictated to her by another. She has to live every day of her life now, knowing what was done to her and why. She was violated, not sexually, but in deep and personal ways none of us can understand. She is afraid of even being around her own tribe, and she belongs to a tribe that is already the most isolated and lonely. The mare has suffered enough without you being a judgmental prick."

"Wow..." Robby breathed and inched in his seat to get further away from his guardian, no doubt expecting an explosion. My grandfoals cowered away as well, knowing a fight was about to start. They gave me dirty looks, but didn't say anything.

My daughter-in-law gave me a scathing look. I was fully prepared for her to give me the tongue-lashing of a lifetime as soon as she gathered herself.

"Excuse me, if I may comment," Lántiān said in a quiet voice, only heard because everyone else was holding their breaths, waiting for what came next. "If we are going to speak of ponies that did unspeakably horrible things and were forgiven. I think it is worth bringing up Phobia Remedy. My mother never went into detail—she couldn't, but I'm told night ponies witnessed true horror when she punished others. Horrors like that of Sha'am Maut, and even the Warden of Death was scared of the Warden of Fear. Phobia Remedy supposedly repented of her actions, but if they were so terrifying that even Death herself walked low near her, I think the Warden of Fear's spouse could stand to give forgiveness to a pony who never meant to hurt anyone."

I was torn. Lántiān was technically taking my side and defending Josie. Those were things to be proud and happy about. However, she was accusing my daughter of wrongdoing, and that was not okay.

"Thank you for your support, but I think you are misinformed about my daughter," I said, trying not to be angry. "My daughter would never—"

"No, she's right," Rosetta said in a sad tone. "You wouldn't know, most ponies wouldn't know, but the first trial, the one that happened before Tonya's… Phobia taught the night ponies to fear her during that trial. She cried so much after she woke up because she was so horrified by her actions, but that doesn't mean they didn't happen. I also know that Phobia threatened Sha'am if Sha'am didn't behave, and Sha'am took it very seriously. Sha'am was indeed afraid of her."

"What could scare a Dreamwarden in the dream realm?" Jess asked in fearful curiosity.

"There are things worse than death and pain," Rosetta said with a sad shake of her head. "Sometimes, you would rather face death than confront your darkest fears. Phobia can bring those fears to the surface and make them a thousand times worse if she chooses. It's her power. You do not want to witness it, even when you are watching someone else face it."

"And do you think that Josie Woods or Ma'am have not cried over what they have done?" Lántiān asked. "Do you think my mother did not cry over many things? I do not know my mother's past, but I caught her on more than one occasion staring at her violin and weeping. I asked her why she cried, and she would not tell me. She only told me there are things that we do that we can never take back. They can happen in a single instant, but we must live with them for the rest of our lives."

The filly took a deep breath before continuing. "I do not know what my mother did that made her cry so. It makes me angry that she hid so many of her thoughts from me and cloaked her past in mystery. I can tell that sometime in the past, she did something that hurt her and others. I know she must wish with all her heart that whoever she hurt back then would grant her forgiveness, even if she cannot forgive herself. Perhaps I am a hypocrite as well, for I hold a grudge. I understand how you feel; it is hard to forgive when someone has made you so angry."

She broke down crying at that point. "I want to forgive her, but I can't! She's dead, and she gave her life for me, and still, I hold resentment! I truly am a faithless daughter, undeserving of her love!"

I couldn't let this go. I raced over to the filly… no, the young mare, and pulled her into a hug. "Your mother has every reason to be proud of you, and I'm sorry she never showed you that. I'm proud of you."

Her daughter and brothers joined me in hugging her.

"We love you, Sister," Líng cried.

"Mama!" Méng wailed as he hugged. I had no idea how he knew anything his sister had just been talking about, but he somehow knew on some level that it was about their mother. Qīng Yǔ echoed her uncle's wail, if only because she was distressed to see her mother crying.

We stayed like that for minutes, and the rest of the passengers did nothing to interrupt us. We only broke from it when the bus finally came to its destination in front of the manor, and only then did anyone else dare to speak.

"I forgive Mom for doing bad things. I know she's very very sorry!" Charlotte announced. Her siblings murmured agreement, and Rosetta hugged them all.

I stepped to the front of the bus and addressed everyone. "It has been a long day, and I know we are about to have to figure out what's new with these security protocols. I wanted you all to know I have enjoyed your company and am happy to call you family and friends. Now, let's get off this bus, get our purchases inside, and rescue poor Josie from the security."

We all got off, and I went to the mansion's front door to meet the new security. They opened the door and looked at me.

"Sunset Blessing? We were told you dyed your fur yellow; why are you red?"

Oh, come on!

We didn't run into Josie right away. The security needed to take a picture of each person who belonged in the house. I feared we were about to get ID badges, but they explained the new system had smart recognition software, and as long as it had a picture on file, it wouldn't be flagging us as potential intruders. They said I could add others to the list of okay guests, which would be needed since I needed to add Number, Josie, Starlight, Trixie, and possibly the Creams. Wild was the boss for all these guys, so she was already okay. I'd consider adding Sapphire to the list, if she didn't annoy me too much. If Twilight ever came by again, it was unlikely they would try to do anything to her, and the same went with Phobia. Some ponies you just let go where they wanted to go, and you stayed out of their way.

The photo-taking took several minutes and left everyone standing in the entry area waiting for the others to finish. While the Youngs were trying to get their youngest two to stand and pose for the camera, Rosetta approached me.

"I wanted to say that I was not embarrassed to be associated with you today," Rosetta said in a calm voice.

"I'll take that as a compliment, I guess," I replied in a wary tone.

She sighed. "Sorry, it's hard letting go of resentment sometimes. You behaved like a pony I should be proud to know, and I am happy to see this side of you, instead of the manipulative bitch who makes backroom deals and has a hazy relationship with right and wrong."

"You need to work on your complementing skills; you know that?" I replied but didn't get angry. "I suppose it's fair, though. I'm trying to be a better pony, a better person."

"Well, you're doing a good job at being a better mother," Rosetta said with a weak smile. "I know those foals come with a lot of baggage, Lántiān showed that very clearly, but you are doing a good job. I just wanted you to know I see that, and I hope you keep doing what you're doing. If you do, I think they'll turn out alright."

"I appreciate that," I said as I looked over to where Lántiān and Qīng Yǔ were. Lántiān had gathered all of her daughter's new stuffed animals into two bags and was trying to get her daughter to settle on just one to bring to bed with her. This seemed to be a challenging task, as Qīng Yǔ seemed determined to grab all her new plushie friends. "Lántiān can still get difficult often enough, and her moments of maturity are only matched by her moments of acting like a spoiled foal. She's definitely the most troubled of them."

Rosetta nodded. "Teenagers are like that. I know I was no angel as a teen. Robby has his issues, and I hear from their parents that Jess is a new adventure every day. Neither of them can raise a candle to the stuff that filly must be carrying around. You are doing as good a job with her as anyone can hope. Don’t you remember what you were like as a teen?"

I shrugged. "I went through many phases. Up until my senior year in high school, I had the whole goth thing going on."

Rosetta broke out laughing. "You? You were a goth?"

"Yep," I confirmed. "Black everything, spike collars, black makeup, the world is misery, and we need to pull down the system. I even smoked regularly, stole alcohol from my parents' stash, and experimented with drugs."

She gave me a shocked but doubting look. "You? The person who became the super strict Sunday school teacher?"

"I told you, I've gone through a lot of phases. That transitioned into the super-liberal women's liberation front girl I was as I entered college before I got caught up in the church," I said dismissively. "I hope this is my last phase, and it can be one I'm proud of."

"I'm still in shock you were ever a goth," Rosetta said with a half-laugh. "I just can't picture it." She paused as Josie came out of the other room, glaring at all the security guards like she was itching for a fight. Then Josie spotted Rosetta and took two steps back like she wanted to run back into the other room.

"It's okay, Miss Woods," I called out to her. "Rosetta isn't going to accost you. These guards do need to take your picture, so security knows you are welcome here."

Josie flicked her tail with her ears still laid back, but nodded. She then started walking over to where the camera was set up for pictures. Rosetta watched her the whole way.

"Your mark is unsurprising, although I doubt you get much use of your talent," Rosetta said to the slightly younger mare.

Josie froze. "It depends on how you interpret it. I have many powers and defending myself isn't a crime. I've got a dozen different ways of taking you down before you know what hits you if you try to come at me."

Rosetta flinched back while flattening her ears. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as hostile. I don't want to hurt you or make you feel unwelcome."

Josie looked doubtful. "Just keep your distance. I don't trust other night pony mares, at least not adults. I've had too many bad experiences. The whole lot of you are a messed up aggressive batch of creeps. I trust the foals and only the foals."

"So much for trying to be friendly," Rosetta muttered as Josie sat to have her picture taken.

I touched a leg to Rosetta. "Just give her space. I don't know the whole story, but I got the impression she's been through hell. In no small part because of the Dreamwardens cracking down on her and her followers to the point everyone avoided her. She's scared shitless of Dreamwardens. So don't bring them up."

"For someone you want me to have sympathy for, she's acting pretty damn guilty," Rosetta growled. "But I'll give her space. If she's going to be here tonight, then it may be a long night." Her frown shifted from angry to worried. "Wait, is she bluffing? Is she as dangerous as she claims to be?"

"I don't know," I answered. "I know she can do stuff I have never seen a night pony do, and I have no idea the full extent of her powers, but I can confirm she is registered as the most potent inherent magic among night ponies. You've seen what suped-up versions of earth pony powers look like from your sister. Josie isn't quite on that level, but she is still heads and tails above any night pony you have ever met. I would expect multiple mind magic abilities, tons of dream magic, and probably a lot of other things we have never seen a night pony do."

"I know how powerful mind magic alone can be. If you are looking for a guard, you could do far worse than her," Rosetta said. "I'm still curious what all she can do. If only because I am curious about what the limits of night pony powers are."

"She isn't likely to be forthcoming," I warned. "I think a fair number of her abilities can get her in trouble with the Dreamwardens. She used some ability I'm completely unfamiliar with to find the Youngs, one Starlight was unfamiliar with too, and the Dreamwardens slapped a fine and temporary ban on her using said ability for her effort."

She didn't reply as the security finished up with Josie and turned their attention to me. "Miss Blessing? We would like to go over the security systems with you now."

I nodded and looked around at everyone else. "I think they have what they need from you. Feel free to put away your stuff and settle in for the night. Josie, you have Méng. I don't know if Alice will be staying up as well, but if she does, she may want to help you for a while." I pointed to Alice. "That's Alice. She may become Méng's other foalsitter. I need to discuss with her and her parents how I'm going to be paying her for the job if she does become a regular foalsitter for him."

With that taken care of, I followed a security guard down into the basement.

Down below, they had pushed shelves to the side of the room and set up a large wraparound office desk with four large monitors on it. Three of the monitors were displaying camera feeds for the house. On each of them was a grid of different feeds. The fourth monitor sat simply saying no input. A night pony mare was at the station watching all the feeds and munching on donuts.

The head guard, a human with a name tag that said Stan, gestured to the screens. "This is the main monitoring room. From here, our guards can watch every room and corridor in the house and will be able to see the outside as well; once those cameras get working. It has a backup generator if the power goes down, keeping it running up to twelve hours. Each of the cameras has night vision and infrared vision option along with an internal battery that will last for up to twelve hours."

I nodded and looked at the screens. It seemed there was one monitor for each wing of the house, with the third monitor viewing things like the kitchen, entryway, dining room, and stairwells. I saw a feed of the basement and looked around to find the camera, finally spotting it due to a tiny red light. It wasn't a big thing, barely noticeable if you weren't looking for it. It looked like it was about the size of an old eight-track music cassette.

I turned my attention back to the monitors and saw people bringing things to their rooms and saw the Youngs in the kitchen getting some final snacks before bed. Josie, Alice, and Méng were in the large family room, and Méng was happily showing off his new toys to his foalsitters. My eyes drifted to a different screen, and I spotted Lauren sitting on a toilet from an odd angle that didn’t really see much.

"Not much for privacy," I remarked.

"That's why I'm watching instead of these humans," the night pony mare explained. "If the humans strip their clothes off, it is better if a pony is watching rather than a human. It won't always be me since we were in shifts and have days off, breaks, and lunches, but there will always be a pony watching the feed. There is no connection to the internet for this system so that no one can hack into it and spy on the house."

"Most of the security will stay down here, outside, or in the entry area. You won't see us all over the house," Stan explained. "We'll probably get down here set up with some regular TVs and couches and stuff for guards to relax on—turn it into a bit of a rec room. They will make frequent walks of the grounds and head back here. The idea is for us to stay largely out of sight unless we see something on the feeds. If a camera gets obstructed or goes down in a room, expect a guard to be knocking on that door within a minute or so."

"If I see anything really bad on the monitors or anything that definitely shouldn't be there, I'll be calling the police immediately to let them know we have a situation," the mare added in. "The same goes for if we lose contact with a guard who was sent to check out a camera."

"It seems in order," I said as I continued to look at the feeds. "Will you be doing increased patrols outside until the outside cameras are up? Also, have you already gotten the pictures for the two crystal ponies that are on the grounds?"

Stan blinked. "Two crystal ponies? What two crystal ponies?"

My brow narrowed. "Malcomb and Silvia, you haven't seen them? We left them here today."

Stan shook his head. "No crystal ponies. If they went out for the day, we'll note that two crystal ponies should be returning to the house."

I frowned in concern. "I'll call them. Have whoever is here in the morning alert me if they didn't return."

"Yes, Miss Blessing."

I walked up the stairs and immediately started searching for Malcomb's number.

Chapter 78: Call to War

So much for going to bed after a long day out. I wanted to murder the police and the FBI.

I glared and gritted my teeth at the FBI agent standing in front of me. "Tell me that again?"

"We are going to keep contact with Ghadab to see if your friends are being held in the same place as the missing Blessingists. We are still trying to determine that location, and perhaps Malcomb Tibbs and—"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME BEFORE THAT ALL THE BLESSINGISTS WERE BEING HELD IN ONE PLACE! YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE TREATING IT LIKE A GANG WAR!"

The agent gave me a long-suffering look like I was inconveniencing him. "The case was not clearly tied to you, and we had no reason to disclose information about an ongoing delicate—"

"FUCK YOU!" I roared. I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. How dare they not let me know. These were my family and friends I was trying to protect, and they were withholding critical information like the fact they already knew all the Blessingists had been kidnapped by the same people and were being held in presumably the same place.

He still didn't seem fazed. Couldn't they at least have an agent in charge who seemed to give a damn?! "We understand your anger and fear for your friends. We assure you that we are working hard with the Warden of Anger to get every detail we can about where the victims are being held and who is doing this so we can find all the victims and rescue them. We can assure you that everyone is still alive and receiving food."

I paced and fumed as the agents were leaving, having already questioned all the security people present and getting the names of those who had been here earlier in the day but had already gone. They'd also already asked everyone else about details. They now had agents outside, watching the house, and would keep them there, but that didn't make me feel any safer for myself or anyone else in the house. Malcomb's little house out back was a crime scene and being combed for clues.

We were all in the family room; everyone was tired, some of us were crying. My yelling likely hadn't helped with that. Jess was bawling her eyes out against her mother's shoulder about Silvia having been kidnapped. Silvia had not been just a therapist to the girl; she was a friend. I sadly couldn't help considering that Jess's magic was bound to start recovering from its exhaustion soon, and she now was highly emotional and more prone to surges as a result—surges she didn't have Silvia here to help her control. I couldn't send her and her family home; we were safer together. I just hoped the girl could keep it together as her magic recovered, but that might be asking too much from an eight-year-old.

Everyone was clearly on edge. Tempest was pacing just as much as me, and I could see her seething. Lántiān was trying to calm her brothers and daughter, with only partial success. My parents and Sinker were huddled close together, as were the Youngs, and my grandfoals with Rosetta. Paul was trying to quiet Dusk as Devon and Robby worked on trying to calm Jess. Starlight and Trixie had said they were on their way when I called to confirm they weren't kidnapped too, and the two of them seemed to have been shaken by the news.

One thing was for sure. I wasn't going to withhold information about what was going on from everyone.

I paced a little more before coming to a stop, taking a few deep breaths, and turning to face everyone.

"Attention, please!" I shouted. After they all turned to look at me, I tried to relax a little but wasn't very successful. "The FBI confirms that Malcomb and Silvia are alive. They were able to make contact with the help of Ghadab. They are being held in a pitch-black cell somewhere. The door is metal, and the walls seem to be stone, at least as far as they can tell from feeling around. Wherever they are, their magic is not working right. We do not know if this is because of something a pony is actively doing or something inherent to the cell they are being held in. Other than being scared and in the dark, they are unharmed."

I took another deep breath. "They don't know how they ended up there. They were at Malcomb's house out back, and the next they knew, someone struck them and knocked them out. They woke up where they are now. Security here saw nothing and saw no one come or go from the property. They are not the only ones being held wherever they are. There are at least a dozen Blessingists that can be found by dream, all being held in separate cells. There is also a twelve-year-old earth pony colt that doesn't seem to be affiliated with us or the Blessingists in any way, but has been flagged previously by the government as a magic outlier—that means either exceedingly strong or exceedingly unusual magic. However, they didn't clarify any details about him. All have similar tales of how they ended up there. They get food and water, but they don't know who is holding them, which their captors seem to deliver when they sleep. Some have reported hearing barking."

That last part was the part that really got my blood boiling. I had repeatedly told people about the barking, and no one thought to tie it to that detail of the missing ponies?

"I should have been here!" Jess sobbed. "I could have helped protect Silvia."

Devon hugged her daughter. "Baby, there's nothing you could have done."

Jess shook her head. "I've fought and defended myself before; I'm super-strong, I'm smart, I could have helped her."

Tempest rounded on the girl and shoved her against the back of the couch. "You stupid girl! I think you have some holes in your memory. What you did before was run for your life against a mindless enemy, only out-thinking them because they were incapable of thinking. Even then, you had to have a fucking invincible god-pony come and save all your flanks, and even with that, you still almost died, or have you forgotten why you are human?! These people are not some mindless beast; they plan, prepare, and are careful. I'm sure if you challenged them to a math and physics trivia challenge, you'd win at that, but you know nothing that can help you protect anyone here. You're strong, sure, but you don't have a clue how to fight. You also have no endurance and no stamina to speak of. You would be a pathetic joke. If you think you could do anything but have your parents crying and worrying about you being in the same situation as your friend, you don't have a brain in your head. Idiot! Super-genius, my ass!"

So much for calm and professionalism.

Jess whimpered and started crying again. Devon leveled a harsh glare on Tempest. "Get your hands off my daughter, and don't speak to her like that! She's just a kid!"

Tempest released Jess and sneered. "A kid who needs a heavy dose of reality. I'm making sure she gets that before you end up burying a daughter. I would think seeing her on life-support twice in her life would have been enough for you. Are you really eager to see round three?"

Robby got up and spread his wings threateningly. "Lay off my little sister!"

Jess was crying heavily now, and Dusk joined her in crying. Paul and Robby looked ready to attack Tempest. They were definitely furious enough to do so.

"Tempest…" Rosetta said, voicing it in half-exasperation, half-hiss. "I know you're frightened for the foals and frustrated at feeling as helpless as the rest of us, and this is you struggling to cope with that, but please, remember these are frightened kids, not adults. Try to be more gentle. Verbal abuse helps no one."

I needed to establish a little control and divert the conversation. "Until things are resolved, I think it is best that no one return to your respective homes. The more isolated you are from others, the more vulnerable you are. We are more secure grouped together." I frowned and looked down. "I am sorry for all of this. All signs point to this being someone's vendetta against me. None of you should have been caught up in this."

"It isn't the first time we have been in danger because our guardian was hated," Lántiān remarked. "No offense intended to you, ma'am, but I question my mother's judgment again."

"It's okay. You have the right to do so," I said in a low voice. It hurt, but I had to agree that Yinyu sending her foals to me seemed a dubious choice, now more than ever. I knew she thought I could make some connection, but was it worth the risk? Just because I could love and understand them didn't mean I was capable of defending them.

"Oh, no! We are not going to pull this again!" Rosetta shouted at me.

I flattened my ears and looked at her. "Pull what? I'm confused as to what you are talking about."

Rosetta shook herself free of my grandfoals and advanced on me. "Woe is me, Sunset, that's what! You've been in Colorado for the last year, trying to hide from everything, pulling this pity-party crap. Something finally happens that forces you to start interacting with others again, and to the shock of everyone, you might actually be a decent person, a good friend, a great mother—shocking, I know, but here we are. I have to say bravo to Yinyu and Arbiter for figuring out what it takes to fix you. It's their crowning achievement, in my opinion. We're not going to take steps back with you retreating into your hole away from others. You are not about to start feeling sorry for yourself again.

"You don't understand," I muttered.

"I understand perfectly well," Rosetta snapped. "I've been in the feeling sorry for myself hole. I know what it feels like. It took someone to help pull me out of it, and I fell in love with the mare who helped me. No one here resents you because we might be in danger because some bozos hate you. We're angry at them not only because they want to hurt us, but because they want to hurt you, and everyone here cares just as much about what happens to you as what happens to us. An attack on you is always going to be an attack on the rest of us, whether we are in direct danger or not."

I looked around and saw ponies and humans nodding in agreement. There was solidarity here.

As I was looking around, Starlight and Trixie entered the room.

"We came back as fast as we could," Starlight said as if out of breath. "I'm so sorry to hear about Malcolm and Silvia. Is everyone else alright? What's the plan?"

Plan? A plan indicated going on the offensive, and we were nothing but on the defensive. What could I do to turn that around?

I made a few decisions. "I don't know what you did with the Youngs guns, but they need them back. They need to be able to defend themselves. Before you do that, I need you to use a sleep spell on me—just strong enough to put me to sleep until morning."

"You are going to sleep? Now? With everything going on?" Trixie asked in disbelief.

I nodded. "Malcomb, Silvia, and all the other victims might be trapped, but they still dream. I know Ghadab has had them talking to law enforcement already, trying to get details. I think it is time I started talking to all the people suffering because of me and trying to figure this stuff out myself. I've been told a few times that I am Sunset Blessing, which is supposed to mean something. I take what I am given and make something greater than the parts. It's time I start looking at all the parts and seeing what I can do with them."

Starlight bit her lip briefly. "If that's what you want, I can do it. Did you want me to do it now, or did you need to wait?"

"Just do it now. The sooner I figure this all out, the better."

She lit her horn, and the next thing I knew, everything was fading from view.

"Asleep due to magic again? What will I do with you, my sunshine?"

I was in the temple again, and Tonya may have been speaking gently, but she was in her Dreamwarden form, sitting on her throne.

I walked towards her. "I need to speak to Ghadab. Can you get him?"

Her lips pressed tightly together. "There is no need to ask me to get him. Ghadab is just like Yinyu and me; he is always here, and he is everywhere. You need only call upon him."

"I'm here, false prophet," another voice sounded. I turned to face it and saw the living flame that was Ghadab.

"I never claimed to be a prophet," I said defensively as I faced the flame.

It advanced and circled me. "Yet you spent years saying you were speaking the mind of God. What is a prophet, but that? What is a false prophet, but one who makes such claims and is speaking falsehoods? Don't feel special; the churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques all overflow with such filth. It's sickening enough to turn anyone away from the faith. Where have the humble servants of God gone?"

Tonya reached out and rapped Ghadab on his head with her staff. "Douse the flames, brother, and try to be nice." She then looked at me. "Go ahead and ask this Ssatan what you need to."

Ghadab did douse his flames, rubbing his head absently with a wing, and now appeared as I assumed he did in life. He glared hastily at Tonya. "She could have just as easily asked you for aid, synchopant. We share all the same powers."

"True," Tonya said with a nod. "But who am I to correct her, especially when what she is going to ask falls under your purview? I'm glad she is taking action, and don't wish to throw her off with correcting little details like that. You act like it is such a burden to deal with her. Be nice."

He growled and turned to me. "You are coming to me to speak to the victims who would otherwise have no voice, correct? I shall see if any of them wish to speak to you."

"Give him a few seconds," Tonya advised. "Even with twisting time, it takes time to get clear answers, and he has several ponies to speak to."

I sat down, prepared to have to wait, but no sooner had my butt hit the floor I was no longer in the temple. Now I was in a perfect recreation of the chapel of the Bastion… almost a perfect recreation; there was no Shimmerist iconography anywhere to be seen. I was not on the stage, but at the front of all the seating, and I was surrounded by ponies.

"It's her!"

"She's going to come to save us!"

"I knew she wouldn't leave us to our fates!"

Excited murmurings continued as they advanced on me and pressed against me. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't get answers like this, and I definitely didn't want to be treated like some savior. Being back here, back in the Bastion where I had spent so much time was also throwing me off, I struggled to even open my mouth. Why had Ghadab chosen this setting?

As quickly as their advancing on me began, they were suddenly away from me, each seated in a seat of the chapel, looking around themselves in confusion.

"I think that Sunset will have an easier time if you all just stay in your seats," Tonya announced. "Please stay. I don't want to do something more drastic."

"I wasn't even doing anything!" a teenaged earth pony colt to my right complained.

"We weren't either!" Malcomb shouted as Silvia nodded agreement from beside him.

"The police already asked us tons of questions. What's she going to ask that we weren't asked already?" the teenager continued to protest. Well, at least one unfamiliar pony here didn't think of me as a magic messiah.

Arbiter scowled at them all. "Hush. Let Sunset ask her questions. She wants to help you, but we need order for that."

I looked out at the hopeful and frightened faces in front of me. These ponies needed a hero. I wasn't prepared to be anyone's hero, but they were where they were because of me, and even if this wasn't personal or dealing with me, I couldn't in good conscience do nothing.

I stood and faced them. "I know you are all frightened and have been through a lot. I know the police have asked you many questions, trying to find you. I might end up repeating a lot of those questions; please be patient with me. This was done to you to hurt me, and I will not allow you to suffer because of me. I promise you, I'm going to find you, and I'm going to see whoever did this is punished."

Chapter 79: Questions in Dreams

It took a while to question all the ponies. I wasn't sure how much information I gained from my efforts. The story was always the same. They were at home, and they woke up in a cell. Some of them claim to have been struck; some had already been asleep. Those that had been struck reported they had heard barking before everything went black. Most were taken by themselves, and two groups had been taken as a pair.

The teenaged colt, an earth pony with dark khaki fur and a short mane, named Wallace— he wouldn't give any other name, so I was unsure if that was his first name, middle name, or his last name— was fairly closed-mouthed. He wasn't a Blessingist, Harmonist, Shimmerist, or Lunite, and he wasn't discussing what powers he had that had put him on the government's radar. He said he had been sleeping and woke up in the cell and had refused to say where he had been sleeping before his abduction. He had a generally bad attitude, and I wondered why he had even agreed to meet me in a dream if he was going to be so difficult.

Malcomb and Silvia had been taken not long after we left the house, at least from what they described. We had spent the whole day out with them terrified in a dark cell. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that.

Eventually, there was nothing left I could think to ask, and the prisoners dispersed. However, they weren't returning to normal dreams. They were getting to talk to friends and family that were worrying about them. This was part of Ghadab's service. It wasn't a huge comfort for anyone, but it was something. At least their families got to know they were still alive, and while they knew that, there was still hope.

I was returned to my wife's temple, looking at her sit on her throne. I was again put off by how different she was. My Tonya would never put herself on a throne. There was also the term Ghadab called her, sycophant. That term implied that her aid to others and insistence on being a servant were not wholly genuine and were a means to an end. My wife had an agenda, and I had no idea what it was.

She gave me a sad look. "I trouble you, don't I?"

I shook my head. "No, you're fine."

The butt of her staff hit the ground, and she frowned. "You can't lie to me, Sunset. I don't even need to read your mind to know you're fibbing. Speak up, ask the question that is on your mind."

I licked my lips. "What is your agenda, Arbiter?"

Her head tilted slightly. "You didn't call me Tonya that time."

"Tonya didn't have agendas," I replied in a low voice.

"Fair enough," she said coolly as she leaned back into her throne. "My motives aren't insidious. I simply want to make the world a better place, maybe not perfect, but better. I have a long-term plan for this, one that will take longer than you will likely live. It will involve many baby steps to get there, nudging things to go the ways I want them to go. Most live short lives, too short to keep at their work and see it through, but I have at least a little more time than most. It might not matter; if we don't defeat the Devourers, there is no future for me to help make better. I work towards it anyway. You have to always believe there's a tomorrow, even if someday tomorrow never comes. It helps keep me sane and caring."

I looked down at the floor. "You sound like me before everything went to shit. Long-term plans to make the world a better place."

"I suppose," she agreed. "I should note, you were very effective at what you did for as far as it went. I have the wisdom of countless dead civilizations, so I might be a slightly better guiding hand. I have no aspirations towards governing. I want to make better leaders, help leaders make better choices, and try to tear down the walls that divide people. I don't want to see the world tear itself apart. I want the old cycles of hatred to come to an end. I don't think that is much different than the desires of any other decent person out there. I have a position where I might make more of a difference. What is power if you don't use it to try to make things better? I could cry about the life that I lost, but that doesn't help anyone. I'm a Dreamwarden, and I intend to make use of that to give others a better life."

"And all the others are on board with your grand plans?" I asked.

She gave a frustrated snort. "The others think like night ponies, concerned only with protecting and enforcing the rules. They do little things based on their interests and backgrounds, little services, but they think too small. The only one that has any interest in helping guide the world is Phobia, and she is only concerned with guiding it to combat the Devourers. Don't get me wrong, that's the most pressing issue, but I like to think beyond that. I can only get so much support from their generation and shall hope the next generation of Dreamwardens see things more my way."

"And what is your way?" I asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

She gestured around us. "The dream. Imagine it, Sunset. Everyone a dreamwalker. Everyone in the world able to talk to one another with no language barriers. Everyone able to see each other's hopes and dreams and know them as people and not just faces and names. The internet was supposed to do this, but it failed because it made everyone anonymous. There shall be no people hiding behind fake personas here."

"A little idealistic, I think," I said as I considered. "Your system might work for a while, thanks to the Dreamwardens monitoring it, but at some point, all the current Dreamwardens, even you, will be replaced by new, living Dreamwardens. Living Dreamwardens don't have the power of the undead ones. There is no way they would keep up with moderating it all."

"Then we just have to make sure there is always one of us that is dead," Arbiter replied. "Someone will need to take one for the team in each generation, to do what needs to be done. It's far better that one person gets sacrificed to the eternal dream every few centuries than let chaos ensue."

"Is your wife boring you with talks of her big ambitions?" Yinyu cut in as she swam through the pillars. "She'd work us all to death… again if she had her way." Yinyu swam between Tonya and myself. "Anyway, she's wasting time, and you're being an idiot. It would be best if you were asking us a different question. One you should have asked us last night."

I blinked in confusion. "What should I have asked last night?"

Yinyu groaned. "Are you going to make me spell it out for you? Fine, I'll go as far as I can go. I'll give you a hint, and you figure out the right questions to ask. Please remember the rules and not ask us questions you know we aren't allowed to answer."

Our surroundings shifted, and we were now out in the ruined chapel building on the manor grounds. The red mass of agitated thaumic energy I saw yesterday was swirling right where it had been before.

Okay, they had information about this. Of course they did; they were Dreamwardens. What were the right questions?

"I'm assuming that's how the perpetrators are getting to and from places. What is it?" I asked.

"Can't tell you. Try a different question," Yinyu replied.

I hate Dreamwarden rules, but there had to be some loophole. Otherwise, Yinyu wouldn't be doing this. Asking who was making it was definitely out according to their rules.

"Without telling me what, do you know what causes that phenomenon?" I asked as I tried again.

Yinyu smiled. "A little better. Yes, yes, we do. You'll still need to ask more careful questions."

Okay, where were the loopholes in getting information? "The dead have no secrets. Have any dead mages cast anything that produced a similar result?"

"Yes," Yinyu replied. "I can't tell you what it is still, in this case. Think carefully on your questions."

Why did they have to be so complicated? No wonder no one used the Dreamwardens as a resource.

I sat silently, staring at the patch of red, and trying to think of how to get around the rule and find the loophole. It felt like minutes were passing, but time was a funny thing in the dream realm. Yinyu and my wife sat in silence, waiting on me. This thing was unfamiliar to Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, two of the best mages there were. I knew I had never seen anything like it. Yet, it had a history.

"How long ago did the last mage who died and had at some point cast something that left this effect last live?" I asked.

Yinyu smiled. "One-thousand and thirty years ago."

There were no mages on Earth at that time, and there may not have been any in our universe. That meant it was Equestria, and there were only two beings that had been alive that long over there. Beings that may be familiar with old magics that Twilight Sparkle was not, and one of whom the Dreamwardens shared memories with. But if neither of the Dreamwardens before me could answer, that must mean the one who cast it is still alive, so it would violate their rules to tell me directly because it was something they learned within the dream realm. So I couldn't just contact my daughter; I had to go to the source, Luna.

I knew what I needed. I needed to word my request carefully still.

I faced the two Dreamwardens. "Can you get a message to Luna? I need to see her, in the waking world, urgently. Make sure she knows I need her face-to-face when I'm awake. A dream won't work."

Yinyu giggled. "What do you know. You are smart. We will get an agent to send a message as soon as possible."

Hopefully, my teacher would arrive quickly and give me a much needed lesson.

Author's Notes:

Lots of little details in a short chapter that are worth paying attention to.

Chapter 80: Reinforcements

Morning came, and after checking with the security, I was both happy and frustrated that there had been no incidents last night, nor had anyone heard any barking during the evening. I was happy because everyone was still safe and present, but unhappy because, nothing was caught on camera to help lead to answers.

We all gathered together in the family room for breakfast, which my mother, Lauren, and Devon worked together to prepare. Most of us sat in silence, and what little conversation happened was brief and without mirth. It was a waiting game, and we had no idea how long or for what we were going to be waiting.

"I think it is best if we increase the minimum number of people that can go off in a group to three or more if possible," I said as I decided. "There were some of the victims who were taken in groups of two, like Silvia and Malcomb, but none of three or more. We might need to make adjustments to our sleeping arrangements to accommodate this, even with the cameras watching."

Everyone nodded without objection.

"I talked to Silvia last night in the dream realm. She's scared but not hurt," Jess said as she poked at her eggs with a fork.

"I did as well. I spoke with all the victims. The same general story all around," I replied. "Unfortunately, I didn't gain much information I didn't already have by doing that. I'm hoping to get a new lead soon. I requested Luna come here."

Starlight blinked. "What is Luna going to do? She's powerful, but she can't magically produce answers."

I smiled at her. "My time sleeping wasn't completely fruitless. The method that is getting the intruders in and out, the one causing the barking and that screwed-up thaumic energy, is something you and Twilight may never have seen, but I got a strong lead that Luna probably would recognize what it is and has seen it before. You can thank Yinyu for giving me that lead. Their rules wouldn't let them tell me directly, but she was bound and determined to find a loophole."

"She's desperate to protect her foals. Any mother would break any rule to keep her kids safe," Mom said somberly.

"Mama loves us," Líng said with a sad sniffle.

"Miss Blessing?" I looked to the door and saw one of the security officers. "You have visitors at the front door. You'll want to come. They're from the federal government; maybe here to ask some more questions."

I frowned. I had about enough of the FBI and police after last night. It seemed like they barely cared about what was happening and weren't putting in any real effort. It wasn't even mismanagement or incompetence I was seeing; it was apathy. I barely even saw any sign of sympathy out of any of the people they sent. Was it too much to ask to have them at least show a little compassion? I wasn't sure I could stomach any more of that today.

I got up to meet them. Hopefully, this was good news or at least any news.

As I walked out of the family room, I blinked as I saw who was waiting for me. It was Anthony Heller, along with some unicorn stallions. I instantly felt a little better. Heller could be relatively closed emotionally, but by all reports, he always did his job, and he did his job right. If he was now involved in this case, I knew he would take it seriously and do everything he could to help.

"Miss Blessing," Heller greeted as I came out. "I am assisting in this case as of this morning, and I want to give you a formal apology for the way it has been handled so far. There is going to be an inquiry into the neglect of several agents. The way they conducted this investigation was unacceptable and disgraceful. I can only promise that it will not be the way it will be conducted going forward."

"I appreciate that," I said with a nod. "It is a relief to hear you say that. To say I was unhappy with the way things have been going would be an understatement."

"Completely understandable. I would be quite angry if our situations were reversed. I am not happy as it stands," Heller replied. "That being said, I apologize if a lot of what I ask today is going to make you repeat things you have already told people within my department, but I am unsure how thorough they were in recording your answers, asking questions, or noting and looking into your concerns. The neglect was severe, and until the investigation into it is done, I can make no conjecture about why it happened; I can only do everything I can to start fresh and do it right."

"Well, I am glad you stepped in and put an end to it," I said with honest gratitude.

He smiled. "I wish I could take credit, but someone in your household alerted an agent in the main office that things were not right, and they blew the whistle on it. I can't say who, but you are known to be a very intelligent pony and might be able to put it together."

I blinked. Someone in the house had contacted the FBI directly and lodged a complaint, and found someone willing to be a whistleblower? Who had time to do that? We had all gone to bed not long after the questioning.

Then it came to me. My sister worked for the FBI and had previously been in contact with my parents in the dream realm. They must have gotten in touch with her.

I needed to thank my parents for thinking of doing that. I should have thought about doing it. I needed to take some time and reconnect with Andrea when this was all over.

Heller pulled out a recording device. "If we may, I'd like to get statements and question all of your family for details. I apologize again if I make you repeat yourselves, but I want to be thorough. There is one other item of business. I was told you reported seeing an unusual thaumic phenomenon, is that correct?"

I nodded. "That is correct."

"Would you be willing to show it to us after the questioning is over and teaching these agents the spell to uncover it?" Heller asked. "Yours is not the only crime scene we need to reevaluate, and them being able to check for that would be invaluable to our investigation. You may be the ultimate target, but there are many victims."

"I'll be more than happy to show them how," I answered. "The spell is a little intricate, but it doesn't require much power. It might take them a few tries, but they should be able to learn it and teach other unicorns in your department it as well."

I led them back into the family room and explained to everyone what was going on. There were some disgruntled sighs and mumbling about having to go through everything again this morning, but not much. We all wanted our friends and the others to be found, and we all wanted to stop having to live in fear. It just meant a lot of questions.

After about thirty minutes or more of questioning, Heller frowned at me.

"Miss Blessing, are you familiar with anything that could dampen a pony's magic in a confined space?" he asked. "Every single one of those being held has reported this. We have even confirmed that it even dampens earth pony strength, based on the fact Wallace is unable to escape. I assure you, demolishing walls and doors is something he is excellent at normally."

I shook my head. "No, I don't. I experimented with things like that in Riverview, but it was primarily targeted at preventing teleportation. It didn't even prevent the teleports; it simply deflected them from their intended target, much deeper into the planet's crust. This would have been as effective as preventing them altogether since it made trying to teleport into the facility under the Bastion a death sentence."

"Was this through use of a special material or alloy?" Heller asked. "I don't want to have to get into protected government secrets too much, but I'm trying to understand how they are doing this."

"It's alright; I can say," I answered. "It was through crystals that had been modified to hold a thaumic charge. Bob, Robert McDermott created the basic process of making such objects which me and my mages… obtained knowledge... of how he managed to do it. I had far more financial resources than Bob and used them to create the prototypes of our magical artifacts like the Equestrians have. The first large production of these were crystals that created a field around them to disrupt teleports, and I had them embedded throughout the Bastion walls. It cost a fortune to do, but it was the only way to keep teleporting unicorns out. The Pentagon has the full schematics of how they were made, and I understand that they had planned on installing them into key military installations."

"Could this be expanded to including all magic, in theory?" Heller asked.

I frowned. "In theory, yes. I wouldn't know how to do it. There needs to be a spell template that… " I paused as I realized the Shimmerists had one. "Fain."

"Christina Fain?" Heller asked. "I have read the reports on her abilities, but I don't recall her being able to do anything unless she was in direct contact, and I'm sure those ponies would know if Christina Fain put her hands on them."

I shook my head. "No, but she is a template. Passive things like that are still technically spells, even if they aren't actively aware they are casting. Spells can be learned and duplicated, modified. You just need to have mages good enough to figure it out."

Heller considered this. "How good? How many mages can you think of that could do this?"

“Off the top of my head, at least a dozen, myself included,” I replied. “It wouldn’t be a comprehensive list, just the ones I am familiar with throughout my career. I can think of two right away who have a criminal record, a grudge against me, something to be gained by capturing me, and who are willing to go any lengths for the sake of their research: Doctor Rossman and Doctor Lair, two members of a team that was contracted out west. Someone out there stumbled onto their unethical research and tipped me off about them before I fired them, and almost all of them fell off the map, but those two were the ones calling the shots. Rossman isn’t a unicorn, but he’s done enough research to know what he’s doing and enough to be very dangerous if he’s working with the right mages.”

Heller nodded. "We currently have large numbers of agents searching for Doctor Rossman and Doctor Lair already. They have recently shot up to near the top of the most wanted list. I will make sure that it is known that that case and this one could be connected."

I slumped in my seat. "They still need money to do all of this, huge amounts of it. It would take a lot of money to create crystals that could do what we are speculating, keep bailing Fain out of jail, and have a facility big enough and specially built to hold all those ponies. I know Fain has a particular law firm that gets paid to work her cases. Is there any way you could raid it and find out who pays the bills?"

He sighed. "I'll work on it, but raiding a law office has legal challenges and requires more concrete evidence of wrongdoing. I'm not saying that we won't be able to do it, but it will take time to build the case for the warrant. In the meantime, we only have one possible lead on who might be paying the bills, and that is an entirely different set of legal challenges."

"Érzi," I muttered, almost growling.

"It would be impossible, even in the best-case scenario, to tie things specifically to Qiánchéng De Érzi," Heller cautioned. "If it were so and we were lucky, we might be able to tie things to Chinese nationalists or agencies operating out of China. Qiánchéng De Érzi would never be directly involved and would be able to claim ignorant deniability."

"That doesn't mean that he isn't the one who directed them to do it and make it happen," I growled. "He is the only one with the motive and financial resources to pull this. Hell, it could even be personal for him after the foals got away to the US. I'm told he does not take losing well. He's a tyrant who doesn't care about human or pony life and doesn't have anything resembling morals."

"That's some of the reasons why he is on the radar," Heller agreed. "If we can find any concrete link to China, we'll be getting the CIA involved as well, and that will expand our resources; we just have to find one. We can't count on it being China or ruling out other possibilities, or take action just because we suspect something. We have to follow what the evidence directs, not speculation and suspicion."

I set my jaw. I knew he was right. I'd even argued the same things, but this was not coming right into my home.

"What's the story on the colt?" I asked. "He doesn't line up with the rest of the victims."

Heller pulled out a tablet and flipped through some screens. "Wallace, full name unknown, wanted for three counts of shoplifting, four accounts of evading arrest, and seven accounts of Destruction of Police Property. The three accounts of shoplifting would have been his full list of crimes, but the colt does not take well to police trying to arrest him. Possesses exceptionally high strength, even for an earth pony, and unusual geomancy abilities in regards to stone and rock. No known address, relatives, affiliations; believed to be homeless. I honestly do not know why he was targeted. He could have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time."

I snorted. "Not an easy colt to catch either, from the sounds of it, but I suppose he would be more vulnerable than the average pony to Fain's grip."

"Since those close to you may be targets, I would advise that Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, and Wild Growth be fully informed of the danger Fain poses to powerful ponies," Heller explained. "Those three would be the most vulnerable among ponies most closely associated with you. I know neither is used to being intimidated by a single human, but Fain is far from normal. I'll be having someone contact Wild Growth; you can inform Starlight Glimmer."

I raised a brow. "Trixie?"

Heller nodded. "She isn't a notable mage, or nearly as powerful as Starlight Glimmer, but her PREQUES rating is in the five range."

Huh, I guess she at least had the powerful part of her name down. It seemed Trixie's issue was applying herself when it came to magic. I had heard her complain about being bored by magic lessons before. Trixie just couldn't force herself to sit down and learn.

"Someone should notify Sapphire Sky too, I suppose," I added in. "She isn't a close friend, but she has had a habit of dropping in on me lately. I wouldn't want her to get hurt because of me, and that peacock wouldn't understand the threat one unarmed human could pose to her."

"I'll see if someone can get in touch with her as well—"

"Miss Blessing… you have another guest…" one of the security guards interrupted nervously from the family room door. "It's Luna. What do I do?"

He didn't get much further before the alicorn in question practically bowled him over, coming into the room. She spread her wings wide and was happily grinning for God knew what reason.

"Huzzah!" Luna shouted as she raised a leg triumphantly. "My student has said she is in urgent need of my counsel and wisdom, and I have come post-haste!"

Alright, having Luna as a teacher was going to be an interesting experience.

Chapter 81: Luna Cometh

"That pony talks funny," Sinker giggled. Several of the other foals and the Young children joined him in giggling.

My parents looked horrified at Sinker's comment, and my mom grabbed him into a tight hug. "Sinker! Don't be rude to Princess Luna!"

"She has the prettiest mane ever!" Tabby complimented as she sat and admired Luna.

Trixie made a show of being unimpressed, which may or may not have been genuine. It wasn't like she had never met Luna before. Starlight gave Luna a happy wave in familiar greeting. Jess generally looked unimpressed and continued eating her eggs. The Youngs seemed somewhat confused about what the commotion was about. Lántiān scowled—probably because another Equestrian arrived, but her brothers were part of the group admiring Luna. Rosetta seemed annoyed for some reason. Tempest looked like she was trying to sink into her seat and not be noticed, and Devon and Paul were trying to appear perfectly alright with another godlike pony casually letting herself in.

I saw no sign of Josie. Crap! She was a high-powered pony I completely forgot about. Did someone nab her without us even noticing?!

"Where's Josie?" I asked as I looked frantically around. "She was just here, and I know she didn't go out the door."

"I'm here, don't worry about me!" I heard Josie answer. I looked around, even checking behind the furniture, but couldn't see her anywhere.

Luna looked at a dark corner of the ceiling and lit her horn. Josie instantly appeared, huddled in the corner upside down with her wings wrapped tightly around herself. She peeked out of her wings and immediately snapped them shut, perhaps unaware that her cover had already been blown.

"I had no idea a night pony could hang on a smooth ceiling like that; she doesn't even look like she is gripping it," Robby said in amazement. "How's she doing that? She's like the best climber ever!"

"I wanna learn how to do that!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"An excellent display of your prowess at climbing and shadow melding, Josie Woods!" Luna said joyfully. "Your show of skill reminds me of the great night pony bandit of old, Shadow Dawn. I am greatly impressed."

Josie peeked out from her wings and looked around, only now starting to realize whatever method she had used to hide was no longer in effect. She unfurled her wings in full and stood up, still on the ceiling upside down.

"Heh heh," she laughed weakly. "Showing off, yep, that's what I was doing, nothing else."

Josie walked a short distance across the ceiling, as easily as I walked across the floor, then flipped off gracefully and planted her hooves on the floor. Earning cheers from all the foals and more dumbfounded looks from the adults—save Luna, who clopped her hooves together in appreciation.

Alfie took this time to walk over to Luna and stared up at her with a very serious expression on his face.

Luna took notice of him. "And how can I help you, young one?"

Alfie turned his head slightly as he examined the alicorn. "You're Princess Luna?"

Luna nodded. "That would be me, dear one. Do you have a question?"

"You were called Nightmare Moon before?" Alfie asked, unabashed.

Luna blushed, and Rosetta developed an evil-looking grin. Luna gave a small flap of her wings before answering. "Not what I prefer to be remembered for, but yes."

"I'm going to be Nightmare Moon," Alfie announced with a straight face. "I'll be the best Nightmare Moon ever!"

He then casually walked away as Luna gaped at him. Rosetta burst out laughing.

Luna laid her ears back and looked at the laughing night pony mare. "Your foal possesses a strange sense of humor."

Rosetta wiped tears from her eyes. "He's not joking. He has been insistent about that for the last year-and-a-half. He found out Phobia had been considering the name for herself early on, and he got deeply offended when Rarity was upset by this. If his mom was considering the name, then it is a perfectly good name in his opinion, and he intends to bring honor to it. We told him no until he gets his cutie mark, but I think he is dead set on it, no matter what he ends up with for a mark."

Luna gave Alfie a considering look and flicked an ear. "Well then… I hope he becomes famous and well known for something good, so he is the first pony others think of when they say Nightmare Moon. Has he displayed any talents?"

Alfie turned and faced her. "I can do this!" He sat and put his forehooves on either side of his face and pushed his lips together from the sides. He then began to make babbling noises.

Luna stared for a few seconds with a flat expression. "You are... very good at that… well… I hope you learn how to do… more things."

The other foals joined Alfie in displaying their various talents, which essentially amounted to making funny faces and making disgusting sounds. This continued until Tabby and Charlotte went over to a wall and became determined to figure out how Josie had scaled it and walked on the ceiling. Their progress did not go well, but their failures attracted the other foals to watch.

At this point, the foals had largely lost interest in Luna. They'd seen Twilight Sparkle, so alicorns weren't that exciting to them, and there was now alternative entertainment to be had as they all tried and failed to climb the nearest wall. Luna wasn't too put out that her audience had gone, but I could see a tinge of disappointment in her bearing. She brightened up as she turned her attention to Jess.

"Jessica Middleton!" Luna said with a smile. "Twilight has spoken fondly of you. She has spoken highly of your intelligence and heroics. She mentioned in passing that her rehumanization spell had the unintended side effect of aging you. She had not mentioned you were aged to this degree. With your height, I would assume you the most elderly human in the house."

Now it was Robby's turn to break out in laughter as he laughed at his little sister. Jess went wide-eyed and was dumbstruck as she visibly tried to process the fact that Luna equated her height to looking old. She was the tallest, so in Luna's eyes, Jess must look older than her parents or the elder Youngs. There was saying someone looked adult and mature, and then there was saying they looked elderly, and Jess was not prepared for the latter option.

"You know, while Twilight never fully mastered them, I do have some experience with age spells," Luna continued. "I might be able to resolve this age problem and revert you to what your proper developmental growth should be."

Devon and Paul blinked and looked at each other as if seriously considering this offer. That consideration was brought to an abrupt end by their not-teenaged daughter.

"NO!" Jess shouted in horror.

Devon laid a hand on one of Jess's. "But, sweetie, wouldn't you be happier looking like kids your own age?"

Jess shook her head rapidly. "No, no, no! Puberty, Mom! I've already started it, and I intend to get through it. It's the most miserable thing ever, and I do not want to do it twice. If she de-aged me, that would mean I would have to start from scratch again in a few years. Once is enough, Mom! Once is enough!"

Luna smiled. "Fear not, my own puberty may have been long ago, but I recall it not being the most pleasant of times. I remember my wings felt too big for my body, and I was dealing with a new appendage which rarely did what I wanted it to do. It seemed that my only sources of joy and cheer in those years were raising the moon and watching Tia plant her face into every tree in the region as she tried to master her new wings. I shall not force you to undergo the ordeal twice."

"Thank you," Jess said with relief.

"There goes that chance," Paul said mournfully.

Luna's attention shifted to Tempest, who looked like she was ready to bolt at any moment. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist?"

Tempest sat to attention. "My name has been officially changed to Tempest Shadow Smith, highness!"

"Smith?" I asked in confusion.

"Fizzlepop Berrytwist?!" Rosetta asked, roaring with laughter. "You never told us… oh man, that's great!"

"They asked for a first name, a second name, and a third name when I entered my application for citizenship," Tempest explained in consternation. "I gave them Tempest and Shadow, and they just shrugged and wrote Smith in for the third."

I found the Smith name amusing, but I also found it interesting that the citizenship application requested names in that manner. It was probably some relic from before ETS that had never been updated since name change applications within the US didn't require a first, middle, and last name. It could also be that Tempest didn't fully understand the application, filled in the first and middle name sections instead of first and last, and inadvertently left them to fill in the last. It was mainly of concern to me because it might, at some point in the future, be something that would impact the foals. I would have thought that immigration policy would have been updated regularly since both Canada and Mexico were facing political turmoil and secession crisis problems that the US had just avoided dealing with in the West. So many humans and ponies alike were trying to cross the borders on both ends as uncertainty mounted about the continued existence of their respective countries. I didn't think what was happening in Canada would devolve into armed conflict, but what was happening in Mexico already had escalated to violence. Pony separatist movements in Mexico, unhappy with the government's inability to deal with the cartels, were taking matters more and more into their own hooves, and seeking independence from what they viewed as an inept government as a result. Regardless of the level of violence, both nations were hot messes at the moment.

“I see,” Luna didn't look amused. "I am somewhat hurt that during your final visit to Equestria, you did not take the time to seek me out and left before I even rose from bed. I had accepted your resignation that you sent and wished you well. I even pleaded your case to my sister before you ever saw her. You could have remained long enough to speak with me. Had I done something to offend you?"

Tempest sat up and looked at Luna in shock. "No, your highness, I-"

Luna held up a hoof. "You are not my subject or even a subject of Equestria, so there. There is no need to address me that way. You may address me simply as Luna."

Tempest took a deep breath. "Alright, Luna, I wasn't sure if you were just polite with me in your letters or if you were disappointed in my decision. I didn't feel comfortable facing you… I worried you might feel I was turning my back on you and everything you had done for me."

Luna shook her head and advanced towards Tempest. "Had you known me so little before you went to Earth? My primary goal when taking you in was to see you reach a happy and fulfilling life. I understood what it is like to feel like an outcast, and I did not want you to feel that way. Yes, you were a very effective member of my guard, but that was always secondary to trying to build you up and feel pride in yourself."

Tempest looked down. "And I feared you might see me changing species as me giving up on the work you put in."

"No," Luna said firmly. "I sent you to Earth to explore new opportunities and have new experiences. You have since taken control of your destiny, and I could not be more pleased—provided it has made you happy. Are you not happy, Tempest Shadow Smith?"

The former pony looked at my grandfoals first before answering, and she burst into tears. "I am very happy, Luna. I am exactly where I want to be. Thank you… for understanding."

Heller cleared his throat. "Excuse me. I hate to break this up, but we are in the middle of a very serious investigation."

I stepped forward in front of Luna. "Which is why I asked you to come to see me. There's something I need you to look at and explain to these agents and me. My family and friends, even people who just think highly of me, are all under threat, and we need help figuring this out. You know things that even Starlight and Twilight don't, and I hope you know about the phenomenon we are finding."

Luna frowned and glanced at Starlight. "I may know things that they do not, but they do have a more expansive magical education than I. Are you sure they wouldn't be better suited for this?"

Starlight shook her head. "Twilight and I are stumped, but Sunset got a lead that this is something only you or Celestia could be familiar with."

Luna smirked. "I understand the situation is most grave, but I can't help feeling a certain satisfaction in the fact my magical knowledge may be more useful than Twilight's. It does not happen often. Let us see what you are concerned about."

I had several options on where to show her. The area upstairs was so saturated it was hard to make out what you were looking at, so I decided to bypass it as the first stop. That left the ruined chapel and Malcomb's house. Malcomb's house was still an active crime scene, and I didn't want to disturb anything until Heller and his agents said it was okay, so that made the choice of where to start easy.

I led Luna, Heller, and the two FBI unicorns out of the main house towards the chapel. Wild's repair crews were all getting checked in by security, who were being careful to make sure each worker was someone who was supposed to be here. With all the workers coming in, it wouldn't be hard for someone or multiple someones who didn't belong to slip in by impersonating parts of the crew. Having so many people here made me slightly nervous for precisely that reason. It was hard to know who to trust.

We stepped into the chapel and lit my horn, using the spell that let me see the thaumic energy. It was right where it had been before, a little less intense of a red, perhaps because it was slowly fading.

Luna took one look at what I was doing then cast a spell of her own, which made the thaumic energy visible to all of us. She then walked around the giant red blotch, examining it.

"That's something you don't see every day," Heller observed and pulled out his tablet to take a picture, followed by him making notes.

"The tower room on the third floor is just completely red like this, and it extends out along the floor of the hallway there," I explained. "I would guess there is a blot like this one in Malcomb's house, but I haven't checked yet. As near as I can tell, the barking sounds are coming from these."

Luna circled it a few times more before replying. "That would make sense if there were dogs on the other side. This Is an antiquated form of teleportation that forms a link between two places. It is a very taxing spell that needs to be cast by an individual and is also very hard to hold open for long periods of time, even for a stronger unicorn."

"Can you figure out where the other end is located?" I asked as she continued to circle it.

She shook her head. "Only a general direction. Do you see how the edge flows?" She pointed to a small section of the blotch. "They indicate the direction to the location it is linked." She pointed away from it, towards the west. "But I have no way of knowing the distance based on that alone. If there are more of these spread out across a wider area, that may help guide you to the source, but that is if the source is consistently in the same place. We have no way of knowing that it is always the same source location, and if the source is moving, that won't help at all."

"We have reason to believe it might be one location," Heller said as he walked up to the area of the blotch that Luna had indicated which showed the direction, and took a few different pictures from different angles.

"Why is this spell not used anymore?" I asked Luna as the agents examined the blotch.

"Technically, it is still used, but it is not a spell cast by unicorns anymore," Luna replied. "It is a very draining spell to cast and was replaced by the teleport spell we are more familiar with soon after Clover the Clever developed the more modern teleportation spell. This version still had its values over the more modern spell, and powerful mages preserved it in several talismans. These talismans were difficult to make, but allow the use of the spell without requiring the wearer to cast it, and work off their own internal magic supply, which replenishes on its own. These talismans are currently in possession of my sister's chancellors, who use them to travel across Equestria quickly and efficiently."

"Do all these chancellors still have possession of them or are any of them unaccounted for?" Heller asked.

"I would presume so since the loss of them would hamper their ability to do their jobs," Luna answered. "I’ll have my sister look into it, but I doubt any are missing. I would not be shocked if a pony on Earth discovered this technique on their own. It is a more antiquated technique and the one that comes more naturally when trying to figure it out from scratch. They may have figured it out on their own in the early days after ETS before the modern teleportation spell was widely disseminated on this planet. With the strain it puts on the caster, it is unlikely that it could have been taught to many and would never have gained widespread use as a result."

"Can the portal be forced open so we can go to the other side?" I asked, hoping we could just barge in and rescue everyone.

Luna shook her head. "No, my student, that is not how these links work. They exist only as long as the spell is in operation. What we are observing is the impression of the link that was here, not the actual link. This will fade over the course of the next week or two, and there shall be no trace of anything ever happening here."

That was disappointing. "You said that it still has some advantages over a regular teleportation spell. What are those?"

"These require less knowledge about where the caster is trying to get to. They have a far greater range and can bypass many magical defenses," Luna explained, making vague gestures in the air. "They also can be held open for a period of time and allow travel to and fro from either side of the link, although that amount of time is limited before the strain on the caster will eventually force them to drop the spell. Unfortunately, the strain of holding one of these open for a few minutes may cause the caster to need hours to recover if they are strongly gifted. If they are not strongly gifted, it can be days of recovery time."

"How strong on a PREQUES scale are we talking for needing hours of recovery time instead of days, or to cast this at all?" Heller inquired.

Luna shook her head. "That is not something I can give an answer to at this time. This spell hasn't been commonly used in over a thousand years. It predates any such measurement scale. In those days, we had no method of measuring a pony's magical power; we only had the general knowledge that one is more powerful than another." She looked at me. "Meaning no insult to my student, but I assume casting such a spell at all would be well beyond her strength. A pony such as Starlight Glimmer could probably hold one open for a great deal of time, perhaps as long as half an hour or more, and only need hours to recover, but there is a massive difference in power between those two examples. I couldn't say for certain where any unicorn from back then fell on your rating system."

"I'm going to guess we are dealing with someone in the five range," Heller said with a grunt. "I would appreciate it if you can teach my colleagues here how to pull this trick of making these impressions visible. We have a lot of houses to check, including other areas of this property, and we need to check them all quickly before these things all fade away. I hope we can use what you showed us to triangulate the source or at least narrow down the area we need to be searching. This should be a great help. Thank you for your assistance with this, Princess Luna."

"I am pleased I was able to help," Luna said with a slight bow of her head. She then directed her attention back to me. "Now, have you sent me my first letter?"

"It is in the mail as of yesterday," I confirmed. I watched her actually prance in place. "I have no idea how long it will take to get to you." That took a little of her frolick out of her.

"Perhaps you could tell me…" Luna began, then shook her head. "No, I shall be patient. It shall ruin the experience if I ask you to spoil it."

I blinked. "It isn't that big a deal. I don't mind."

"Excellent! We shall sit and discuss your first letter and laugh together about your misadventures!" I was instantly wrapped up in her magic and carried along as she happily trotted back towards the house.

God help me.

Chapter 82: Teacher and Student

Heller and his unicorns had to chase Luna and me down since Luna, in her enthusiasm, had skipped over explaining how to do the spell. So I was given a brief reprieve so they could get their magic lesson.

Once it was done, Luna was a little calmer and thankfully willing to let me walk on my own. We made our way over to the front of the house and sat down next to the Middletons' car to chat.

"Kindness is the path you wish to follow?" Luna asked after I told her the abridged version of my letter. "And you say you lack the natural inclination towards that, and it worries you?"

I nodded as I watched some workers looking over the dried-up fountain closest to the house. "I have done some cruel things in the past, and I can sometimes have a severe temper with rage issues. I don't always think the nicest things about other people."

Luna nodded. "I can understand why you might think you are unsuited for this element. However, I want to point out that all of Twilight's friends struggle with their elements at times. If you wish to compare yourself with Fluttershy, you would be mistaken to think she never thinks an unkind thought. She thinks unkind things about others with shocking frequency, even about her friends. She rarely voices such things, and the slips where she says them are infrequent and quiet that most ponies don't notice, but if everypony could read her mind, I think her reputation would be ruined."

"So how does she manage to be the Element of Kindness?" I asked.

"Fluttershy is kind. Her kindness comes from patience and putting aside her first inclinations in favor of being concerned about others," Luna replied. "Fluttershy understands her anger, resentments, and general snideness are often unfair, and even when they may be fair, they can be unproductive and hurtful. As a filly, she was teased and picked on frequently, and with some weaker souls, this may have hardened her heart. However, some foals took the time to be kind to her when she felt at her worst, and this is how she first came to understand friendship. She learned she didn't want to be another cruel pony like the ones that tormented her; she wanted to be kind."

"She still seems well suited for it," I said in a sad tone. "I don't feel suited to be kind at all."

Luna nodded. "Applejack, if you were to go with what she is naturally inclined towards, might be mistaken for the Element of Loyalty. She had events in her past that pushed her to embracing honesty, but I would still say she is more naturally loyal than honest. Aside from Pinkie Pie, none of the bearers are naturally suited to their element, but each strives to be something, and that is what they come to represent. If you strive to be kind, you may find that is how others will come to define you. What makes being kind important to you?"

I got up and started pacing. "It's a few things. One is that I just want to make up for my mistakes. I've made a lot of them, and my prejudices are at the heart of them, at least I think so."

"Your prejudices always did hold you back from all you could be," Luna agreed as she watched me. She then stood and walked over to me. "I noted this very early on. I saw an extremely capable mare, but one that was always looking for someone to hate, even if that hatred was a sign of the hate you had for yourself. You are making great strides in overcoming your self-hate and your hate for others, but there is still work to be done."

"There's so much harm I have caused that I want to undo," I said as I just picked a direction and started walking. Now headed down the dirt road that led down to the gate. "I've started. I think I helped Bursa. I didn't know about her at first, but I managed to help. I want to help Wild next, but there are so many things I don't know how to undo."

Luna walked with me and gave me a sad look. "Thinking you can fix everything can only lead you to sorrow. There are things you can't fix. You can only strive not to repeat the same mistakes and show remorse for what you have done. Wild Growth, what do you mean to do by fixing her?"

"She's in constant pain," I mumbled as I let my hooves drag slightly, stirring up some dust. "I want to find a way to make the pain go away, maybe even find a way to undo her burnout. I know they say that can't be done, but I'm ultimately responsible. She even miscarried her foal because she had to do so much to keep my mess under control. I've taken everything from her."

"Miss Growth seems to have a great deal of wealth for a pony who has lost everything," Luna said sagely. "But I understand your meaning. Unfortunately, I must advise against meddling with Wild Growth's condition, that can only lead to more sorrow. Miss Growth can make her condition that causes her pain go away at any point she wishes. I am not sure she realizes this herself or if she has mentally blocked it out. She must know it on some level."

"Wait." I stopped in my tracks and looked at Luna in shock. "You mean to tell me you all know how to fix her, and you aren't doing it?"

Luna looked around us. There weren't any workers close by. "I mean that Wild Growth has the power to bring an end to her pain and is the only one who has that power. I also mean that to do that, she would have to do something… highly inadvisable, something I don't believe she would willingly choose to do. Whether it is because she believes herself unworthy, because she fears what it may bring, or because she feels the need for some penance of her own. It is most likely a combination of all these things. I tell you this in confidence, keep such secrets safe."

"I'm not exactly sure what secret we are discussing," I replied.

Luna sighed. "Wild Growth reached a certain plateau. Once such a thing is done, it is not able to be undone. However, instead of climbing this plateau and standing upon it, she climbed it and has chosen to hang on the edge of the top, not able to go back down and not willing to go forward. She did burn herself out of what was there before, but something new was conceived in her the day of the Cataclysm, and it cannot be put back. It is held in a constant state of wanting to be born but never finishing. It may remain this way for the rest of her days unless she chooses to let it finish."

It finally dawned on me what she was speaking about. "Oh… shit. She did it."

"Her title of the almost alicorn is shockingly accurate," Luna confirmed. "Leave it be, my student. If and when she feels like it, she can drop the almost. That may never come. It is ultimately her choice and her choice alone, regardless of the repercussions the rest of the world may face."

I shook my head. "Starlight said she and Twilight had never seen anything like it. Why did she lie to me?"

"She didn't lie," Luna corrected. "She has indeed never seen anything like it. How many ponies do you think reach such a point and then just sit forever on the edge? She also has tried to develop ways to dull Wild Growth's pain, but she and Twilight understand the source of that pain. I would doubt they would ever claim not to, even if they could be misleading about the matter."

I looked forward as we kept walking. "You shouldn't be telling me this. It is up there with the information Twilight shared with me. It is information ponies are willing to die to obtain."

"And would you have me keep you in the dark and have you unknowingly unleash something on this world that it is not prepared for?" Luna asked. "You seem committed to aiding Wild Growth with her problem, and you are no common mage. It is best you knew what you were meddling with before you try. I would be as much at fault as you if you accidentally forced her ascension, and I did nothing to warn you. I trust you will try to help her with the pain because kindness is what you wish to be your guide. Now that you know the truth, you can be more careful in how you proceed."

I nodded as we continued walking. That was all true enough.

"You mentioned you have other reasons for wanting kindness to be your guide," Luna prompted, moving us away from the dangerous subject.

I let myself smile. "I don't think it takes much guessing to determine what those ones are. It's the foals. They need kindness after everything they have gone through. I am doing everything I can to try to make things better." I let my smile slip. "I know I can't fix everything. No matter what I do, Yinyu is still dead. The more I deal with my wife, the more I am coming to appreciate exactly what that means. Yinyu might still be there, but I feel that as time passes, that thing in the dream will be less and less the mother they knew. It's her… but it's not her at the same time."

Luna gave a glum nod. "That's as accurate a way of saying it as I have heard. Ponies talk about how much is added by becoming a Dreamwarden, but we often fail to appreciate how much living in the world is part of who we are, and when you remove us from the world, how much of ourselves is lost. I have already noted the changes in Yinyu over this little time that has passed since her death. I never knew your wife very well before her death, but I have noticed the increasing changes in Arbiter as well over the past year. I see an increasing amount of Kir'ta in your wife, at least, Kir'ta before the apathy did her in. Kir'ta was my predecessor, and in ages long past, she was the firm guide of many civilizations."

"I take it that it never worked out," I muttered.

"Oh, it did… for a time. Kir'ta never could hold back disease, or natural disasters, or any other number of things that can destroy a species, but she helped make them successful for as long as it lasted. Each failure beyond her control wore more and more on her, and she eventually stopped caring. It had been ages since she last bothered with the world when I demanded she surrender the mantle of Dreamwarden to me. I only discovered her existence from inscriptions on ancient ruins. The younger Kir'ta's words seem to echo in Arbiter. Kir'ta had a title in many of those civilizations, the Servant Queen."

"Sounds like Tonya now, alright," I said with a shake of my head.

Luna looked down at me as we walked. "My understanding of Tonya was that she was always an influencer. An influencer with the best intentions, but one that could not help but whisper advice into ponies' ears. She is said to have influenced you on numerous occasions. Is it any shock that she would have such traits reinforced by the memories of Kir'ta, who also lived to influence and guide with the best intentions? To use one of the expressions I learned from Earth, they are birds of a feather. Arbiter is bound by more rules than Kir'ta, but that does not dampen her goals."

I had a passing thought as I remembered Sarah's presentation. "Was Kir'ta human?"

Luna shrugged. "She certainly didn't look like any human on this planet, but she did bear a strong resemblance to pictures of early human ancestors that I have been shown. She had more pronounced claws than any picture I have seen, and her stature was more like modern humans than the prehistoric ones, but you could say she was very ape-like in appearance. I care not to say if her people were some lost branch of humans. If such a migration happened, it was long before her time, and her species had become as different from that ancestor as we are from the unintelligent proto-ponies she hunted for food. She wouldn't have known, so I don't know either."

We had to both step out of the way as Heller's car came speeding down the path. They came to a screeching halt beside us and rolled down the window.

Heller quickly stuck his head out. "We will be in touch, but right now, we have to hurry to a different location. Expect some unicorn agents to be coming back to continue examining the areas for clues. Some more ponies were just reported missing, taken early this morning. The office just got confirmation from Ghadab."

My ears sagged. "I hope you find some clues to lead to where they are being held."

Heller looked at Luna. "We recommend you return to Equestria as soon as possible, Princess Luna, for your protection. One possible suspect is known to have magic that becomes increasingly dangerous the higher the PREQUES rating of the victim she assaults with just a touch. This makes you the most vulnerable person to her abilities on the planet. If they discover you have links to Sunset Blessing, you may be targeted."

Luna's mouth made a flat line. "I will take your advice under consideration. I, too, wish you good fortune in your hunt."

The car window rolled up, and they sped off.

"This situation seems most perilous and while I wish to remain and help resolve this crisis, I must accept that my presence will be a hindrance. My sister has often taken a hooves off approach to helping with Twilight Sparkle and her friends even in the most dire of circumstances. I wished to not be so aloof so I am loath to leave, however I trust in your ability and those around you to handle this crisis," Luna said in a grave tone. "When you next feel safe to do so, write to me as I look forward to receiving your correspondence. I know you shall do everything you can to keep those around you safe. Keep yourself safe as well. I hope these cowardly rogues are brought swiftly to justice."

I nodded. There could be no disagreement on that. Luna was in danger just from a touch by Fain and there was no way her involvement wouldn’t attract even more attention and danger. "Thank you for coming and the help you provided. I know I can't expect you to always drop everything and come running to speak to me. Thank you as well for listening to my concerns about Tonya and being kind."

Luna's expression softened. "And do not fear. Arbiter and Yinyu are still themselves at their core, and I know that they will not cease to love and care about those closest to them. I know the changes can be off-putting, but I detect no malice in Arbiter at this time. I do not believe she would ever knowingly do anyone harm or force her will upon others. She has had her fill of bad experiences with that, and those experiences shaped her even more than the memories of Dreamwardens long gone."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said with slight relief. "As long as she is still my wife, I can deal with it."

Luna frowned and looked down as if considering her next words carefully. "I know this is a delicate subject, but I should advise you that it is not wrong for you to seek other companionship. I have heard the wedding vows that are said in this nation, and they say to death do us part. She will continue to love you, and you her, but she cannot fill a spousal or carnal role in your life any longer." She held up a wing to cut off my objection. "I don't advise running to find some other to fill that role, but only that you be open to the idea. Being married to one who is incapable of growing with you in a relationship is not a kind thing to do to yourself. Arbiter wants you happy, and she would not have you deny yourself something just because she is unable to provide it."

I struggled not to look angry. "I'll keep that under advisement."

Luna gave a worried frown and then sighed. "I see I have upset you, and I am sorry for that. I am your teacher, and I hope you consider me a friend as well, but I am not your liege. I can only offer guidance which you may take or reject. I understand your situation is a unique one that is difficult for any, even me, to appreciate the emotional challenges involved. I shall avoid discussing that matter unless you tell me that you wish my advice on it. My apologies."

I was still angry, but she did give an apology, and she meant well. I didn't want to snap at her. I still took a few calming before replying.

"It's okay, and I appreciate your concern," I replied. "I don't want to disappoint you or seem ungrateful for the advice, but I just don't see things between Tonya and me that way. I'll try to work through my feelings about Tonya on my own."

Luna nodded. "As you wish. I must now depart. Keep safe, Sunset Blessing. Remember, being kind can be work, but you have it in you to be up to the task."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Luna lit her horn and vanished in a brief flash of light. I sighed as I turned and began walking back towards the house.

Chapter 83: The Intruder

I returned to the house and let myself in. I instantly caught my mom, Devon, and Lauren exiting the kitchen. Devon had a large stack of bowls and a few spoons; Lauren had a massive bowl with a serving spoon jutting out of it that my nose confirmed to be filled with chocolate pudding. My mom was carrying nothing.

Mom looked at me with a frown. "Sweetie, you should not be out by yourself. You were even the one that set that rule. Can't you follow the rules that you set? I swore I heard a bark a few minutes ago. You need to be careful."

"There were three FBI agents and an alicorn with me when I went out. I think that is more than enough to cover me," I replied. "But, I seem to have lost them all. You said you heard barking?"

"I think so," Mom replied. "It was just one quick bark, so I'm not certain. I might have imagined it."

I looked over at the door leading down to the basement. "Maybe I should go check with security to see if anything came up on the camera feeds."

"So you can wander around by yourself even more?" Mom said with a stomp. "Let the guards do their jobs. They'll tell us if something's up. Have you forgotten who you said these bad guys are targeting? You shouldn't be by yourself. Come join us; we have pudding."

"Pudding I would like to set down," Lauren added on.

"Setting these bowls down would be nice," Devon groaned. "They aren't heavy, but they are awkward to balance. Come back to our giant holding cell with us."

I flattened my ears. "Holding cell?"

"We do spend an inordinate amount of time in the same room, sweetie. We're in this great big house, with all these gardens, but we never get to see any of it," Mom said in a placating tone. "We understand it helps keep us safe, and being out yesterday was great, but we're all getting tired of being trapped in the same old room. Frankly, I'm surprised we aren't all at each other's throats since we're all under heavy stress, and we can't get away from one another."

I frowned and considered. "Maybe a few of us can go out on our own. Devon or Paul can take a few by car, and another group can go for a walk around the neighborhood. The backyard is most clear and open, so the remainder of us could go outside there and get some fresh air."

"Maybe we could do a backyard barbeque?" Lauren suggested. "If the group with the car can go find us a grill and food that everyone can eat. I'm used to being cramped up in a tight space, but even we went out and gathered crabapples regularly."

I nodded. "We'll go have pudding and then discuss what options we have. If going further away from each other, I want bigger groups of five or more. The more of us who are grouped together and in sight of one another, the safer we are."

"So, let's go in the other room so I can put these bowls down," Devon said as she started walking to the family room. The rest of us quickly followed.

After we returned to the family room, Lauren and my mom started gathering up children and foals, and Devon started distributing the bowls. The children would get the spoons, and the foals would be licking the pudding up like they might ice cream from a cone. There wasn't enough to go around for the adults, but there was enough to give to most of the teens with Lántiān abstaining since she would be spending her time making sure Qīng Yǔ and Méng didn't make too much of a mess on themselves.

Qīng Yǔ and Méng, along with Jess, Robby, and Alice, seemed ready to dig in, but the reaction of the others was far more skeptical.

"It looks like poo," Líng observed loudly as he crouched and looked over the side of the bowl as if spying on its contents. "The wet slimy poo that sprays when it comes out and gets stuck all over your butt."

Jess practically threw her spoon back into her bowl and set the bowl aside. "Thanks for that visual. I've now lost my appetite."

Robby pulled her bowl towards himself. "So, I can have this then?"

"All yours, big bro," Jess said dismissively.

Lántiān glared at Líng. "Do not say such rude things. The two humans and Ma'am's mother worked very hard to give this to you."

"Standing up for humans?" I asked her with a smile. "I'm glad to see you doing that."

She fluffed her feathers slightly and looked at Jess for some reason. "I'm… beginning to look at things differently. Everyone in this house is in this together. These humans are my comrades."

Jess raised an eyebrow at the blue pegasus. "Why are you looking at me?"

"You… puzzle me with your magic," Lántiān answered in a quiet voice. "I'm starting to wonder if those who follow Ma'am's new teachings may be right."

Great, Lántiān was starting to shift from Shimmerist to Blessingist. I doubted she would turn into one of those ones that worshiped me, but I still wasn't sure how I felt about it. That was compounded by the fact that I was afraid I might agree with the Blessingists as well. I mean… they were following my guidance, weren't they? I really needed to sit down and read up on what Blessingists believed. They probably had factions within the overall umbrella term which varied on different points, and I was clueless on what those could be… other than there were factions that viewed me in an almost religious light and those like Sarah Tanner who understood I was just another pony.

Jess wasn't impressed with the answer and laid her ears flat. "Well, stop staring. It makes me uncomfor—"

PPPSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAATTPPP

We all flinched and covered our ears as a high pitch noise rattled us. Lántiān accidentally knocked a bowl of pudding off the table onto her already crying daughter's head. Some of the foals tried burying their heads in cushions and hiding under couches. Many adults tried to shout over it, but nothing could be made out. Then, as suddenly as it started, it ended.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Jess cried out, near tears.

"Mama!" Qīng Yǔ shouted in distress as pudding dripped off her.

Tempest gave Jess an annoyed glare. "It seems that young Miss Middleton's magic is working again."

"Sorry!" Jess shouted again as she pulled her legs up to herself, balled up, and began crying loudly.

Unfortunately, that was not the end of it.

……..

All sound suddenly completely cut out. I could see lips moving, but heard nothing. Others were realizing the same thing, looking around in confusion, humans touching hands to their throats to see if they could feel themselves talking. What was going on? Did she manage to make us all—

ROUND ONE! FIGHT!

………

SONIC BOOM! SONIC BOOM!

……….

We were hit with wave after wave of music, strange things being said, and utter muteness, one after another in quick succession.

Devon and Paul moved in and hugged their daughter tightly, gently rocking her. Mike ran over to one of the arcade machines for some reason and started frantically looking behind it.

The constant back and forth between ear-shattering noise and deafening silence was not only painful, but it was also making me feel extremely ill. It felt like forever before it stopped, and even when it did, I was unsure at first if it had indeed stopped or if we were just getting an extended period of muteness. The sounds of Jess weeping and Méng, Dusk, and Qīng Yǔ crying were what convinced me that sound had returned to normal.

"She's stopped. She should be okay," Devon said in exhaustion as she continued to hold her daughter.

Paul wasn't letting go of Jess either, but looked defiantly at everyone else. "Don't blame her for this. She's been under just as much stress as the rest of us."

John looked at the Middleton's in disbelief. "You have to put up with that all the time?!"

"She hasn't had an episode like this in a while," Devon defended, still hugging her weeping daughter tightly. "She's been doing a good job of keeping it under control. It's just the stress and her magic coming back after being exhausted."

Jess seemed like she was struggling to catch her breath, and had to snort to clear her nose of snot. "I've got it under control now. I'm sorry, really sorry. It won't happen again."

John looked uncertain. "Any way we can get another one of those crystal ponies in here to help keep that girl under control? Having magic doesn't seem like it is working out too great for her."

Devon practically snarled. "Oh yeah, what was I thinking? Why don't we just go down to the crystal pony store and buy a crystal pony willing to just live with us and constantly monitor my daughter for magic fluctuations? It doesn't work like that! Wild Growth pays Silvia a pretty hefty paycheck to do what she does, and even then, she only does it because studying human magic is her passion, and Jess is a major case study for her."

John waved a hand defensively. "Okay, okay. I didn't know. Jeez. I've been in a bunker for eight years; I don't know how all this stuff works."

I stood back up and looked around. It seemed like everyone was recovering from the surge well enough. Most of the kids had quieted down; the lone exception was Qīng Yǔ, who was still drenched in chocolate pudding and likely adding that to her complaints.

"Lántiān, how about you and I take your daughter upstairs for a bath," I said and saw her getting ready to object. "I know you can do it by yourself, but I don't want the two of you off by yourselves. I'm just there to keep you company."

She looked at her upset and filthy foal and grunted. "That seems like a good idea, ma'am." She then bent down, grabbed her daughter by the scruff of her neck, and transferred her to her back.

"We won't take too long," I assured everyone else. "We can talk about how we can blow off some steam when Lántiān and I get back."

I led the way upstairs to the unconnected bathroom that Lántiān and I shared. Qīng Yǔ quieted down as we walked, perhaps happy to have gotten out of that room at last. I could see where nerves were fraying. We needed to find ways of going out and about some more. Keeping confined to one room so much was too much for already stressed people.

Lántiān sat her daughter down on the floor of the bathroom as I started running the water. One of us would have to get in with the tiny filly, which was probably going to be Lántiān.

"I need to go flying after this, ma'am," Lántiān announced.

I shook my head. "Not an option right now. That requires you to go off on your own."

She spread her wings slightly. "I will be in the air, ma'am. What danger do you think I will be in while up in the sky?"

"I don't know," I confessed. "I just know that I don't want anyone going off by themselves. For all I know, they can do something to knock you out of the sky and grab you."

Her tail flicked. "Then the two night pony mares can join me."

I gave a short laugh. "Those two barely tolerate one another. Plus, it is nearly noon. They don't want to be flying out in the noonday sun. It is hell on their eyes, and they'll be tired as it is. It's not like they could keep up with a pegasus anyway. They'd be making you take frequent stops. Add on to that the night pony foals will have to wait up for them to get back, and it is a definite no."

She growled and looked at the tub. "The water level is getting too high."

I turned and flipped the water off. "I know that—" I paused as my ears twitched at a sound. "Do you hear barking?"

She stopped and listened, and as she turned around, her ears flattened. "Where is Qīng Yǔ?!"

We both charged out of the bathroom into the hall, and instantly found the filly. We found the filly along with someone who did not belong in the house.

Standing at the stairwell, getting ready to go up, was none other than Dinger the Dinosaur. The mascot's costume had one arm torn off, revealing a woman's arm with small strips of glittery silver fur. Tucked under the costumed arm was the limp form of Qīng Yǔ. Oh no...

"Fain!" I howled in rage and fear.

Lántiān didn't even hesitate; she took to the air and charged Fain while giving off a feral scream of rage. Fain twisted and slammed her exposed fist right into Lántiān's face, and the pegasus dropped out of the air like a rock, screaming in agony. Fain immediately took off up the stairs. I didn't hesitate anymore. I ran straight after her, unsure how I would take the magic immune human down, but I sure as hell wasn't going to let her get away.

We entered the third-story hall, and Fain was breaking for the open tower door. I was in a bind; I wanted to lob fireballs at her. She might be immune to magic, but that costume wasn't, but if I did that, I risked hurting Qīng Yǔ. Instead, I started grabbing anything off the wall I could and hurling it at Fain's head. Many things collided, but nothing stopped her progress.

Fain made it to the door and jumped in. I could see that it opened up somewhere else, but I couldn't make out much detail. If she went through, I was going to go through. I was not letting her get away with Qīng Yǔ.

I charged in and had a brief moment of disorientation as I landed somewhere far from the house. I turned to try to see which way Fain had run and immediately saw her fist headed right towards my eyes.

There was incredible pain, and agony like I never felt before, then darkness.

Chapter 84: Imprisioned

Tonya's temple, I was ending up here a lot as of late.

There were some distinct differences this time around. Namely, both Tonya and Yinyu were both in their pony forms. Yinyu was cradling Qīng Yǔ in her wings, whispering things to the young filly. Tonya was sitting a short distance away, giving me a sad look. Immediately in front of me was a third Dreamwarden in their pony form, Ghadab.

He snorted at me. "I am not sure how long you will be unconscious. I need you to permit me to tell the police and FBI everything you remember about the place you went to right before you lost consciousness."

That seemed foggy, but him asking me for that permission could only mean one thing. I had been kidnapped. "How did I lose consciousness? I can't remember. I'm not sure if I can recall anything. I was chasing Fain—" I looked over at Qīng Yǔ and Yinyu. "Is she okay?"

Yinyu gave me a flat look. "My granddaughter is not able to permit her details."

Stupid rules. It hit me that Yinyu was bending a rule. If Qīng Yǔ was in the dream realm at this second, that at least confirmed she was alive if unconscious. That was a slight relief.

"Hurry up! I need that permission, or I can't help you," Ghadab pressed.

"Give our brother the permission, Sunset," Tonya firmly ordered. "He wants to help, but he can't break a rule to do it. Don't worry about trying to remember things right now. He can dig through your memories better than you can. The longer you delay, the more chance you have to wake up. Delaying also risks losing details in what was already a fractured memory."

"You… have permission," I told the Warden of Anger. He nodded and then walked away.

I barely thought to ask what he found before Tonya came up to me and slapped me across the face with a wing. "What were you thinking?!"

"She was thinking she was going to save my granddaughter," Yinyu growled. "Lay off her! I am trying to forgive your wife for taking her eyes off of her and allowing this to happen at all, and the one thing I have no complaint with is her charging after the foalnapper."

Tonya started to pace. "Let's keep our arguing out of sight, shall we?"

"Agreed," Yinyu said with a nod and refocused her attention on her granddaughter.

Phobia suddenly appeared and raced over to me, embracing me before I even had a chance to react to her presence. Was she crying? It was rare to see my daughter so emotional.

"Arbiter and I are going to do everything we can to get you out," Phobia said as she let me go and gathered herself. "We are gathering allies to help in the hunt for you."

Tonya glared at Phobia as she spoke to me. "Yes, I was already working before this to try to gather help to try to find the Blessingists, but it took you getting captured for Phobia to decide to assist."

"You just suggested we agree to keep our arguments out of sight, little sister," Yinyu reminded quietly. "Let's not fight about this in front of your wife."

Tonya stormed away. I was more than a little hurt by her behavior. If there was one thing that I had been sure of with her, it was that she still loved me.

"Forgive Arbiter," Phobia said gently. "We are all under a great deal of stress and responding to that in different ways. She's not wrong in her accusations. Maybe I should have been more involved with finding the Blessingists. Maybe if I were, this wouldn't have happened to you. She is angry because her worst fears have come to fruition, and she doesn't feel like the rest of us… aside from Ghadab, have done enough to help so far. She's terrified for you and angry at the rest of us. Now is not the time to discuss internal Dreamwarden politics. What matters is that Arbiter is going to get her way now, at least in this."

"You need to make sure you are observing everything you can when awake," Yinyu said. "It is improbable they will leave you sitting in a dark cell all the time, given who you are. We are still bound by the rules, no matter how they may inconvenience us, and can only transmit the data someone on the inside allows us to do. We are counting on you to be alert and do everything you can to find clues to where you are. And yes, we are scouring for every loophole we can so we can help more, but it is not an easy thing. Ghadab's entire ability to alert and aid authorities was already based on a loophole, and this is looking for loopholes within loopholes now."

Tonya suddenly reappeared in front of me and grabbed me into a hug. "Don't go doing anything else stupid and heroic. That can only inevitably end up with you hurt or dead; it already got you needlessly captured trying to do something you weren't capable of. Look at Jess, look at Wild, look at me. Stupid heroics often don't end well for the hero. You are very observant and can pick up on things others might not. Just get us that information; that's how you can be a hero."

I didn't get a chance to respond because everything was suddenly fading to black.

"She's waking up. Stand back, Fain. I have this covered."

My head ached; everything ached. I opened my eyes and immediately squinted at the light being shined right into my eyes. I was in a darkened room, and they had the equivalent of a spotlight shining on my face.

"I apologize for the light. Keeping you in the dark is an inconvenience for all of us, but we need to keep you from seeing too much. I know how Ghadab works, and we've been doing our best to minimize his interference. Believe me, it’s tricky, but Dreamwardens can be gotten around if you are careful with how you do things and as long as you work within their rules. As such, no mind magic will be used, and it goes without saying that your dreams are off-limits to us. Pity that, but I don't know how to cut you off from the dream realm if the Dreamwardens intend to talk to you there. We could try to force you to stay awake, but that only works for so long before you become useless to us, and it is just unpleasant."

"Rossman?" I asked weakly as I squinted to see who was speaking. I just saw a few vague shadows.

"Ah! You do remember me! I'm very pleased that I made enough of an impression, as bad of one as it no doubt was," Rossman replied happily. "I'm not the one in charge, unfortunately, but our goals here are very dependent on my team's work."

I continued to squint as I tried to make out the other shadows. "Who's in charge then? Where's Qīng Yǔ? You better not have hurt her."

"Fain, please give the Apostate a love tap," a new male voice instructed.

I didn't get to try to identify who the new speaker was before Fain quite literally tapped me in the back from somewhere behind me. It may have been just a tap, but it still caused searing pain.

"The point of that wasn't to torture you, Apostate," the speaker said with grim humor. "We need to make sure you don't try any magic tricks. You may be weak, but I won't make the mistake of underestimating your skill or resourcefulness. You being in pain is just a pleasant bonus."

"Hmm, fascinating. She is stronger than what reports say she should be," Rossman said in a tone like he was examining an interesting experiment. "Not strong, by any means, mind you. I would say the low end of average strength. Still, though, it is astounding. Heightened emotional state has been known to increase magical power for short bursts; perhaps that is the cause."

"All the more reason to keep her from using any magic," the unknown speaker growled.

An annoyed sigh from Rossman followed. "You do know, as a crystal pony, I could have done it just as well. Fain wasn't necessary," Rossman complained.

"Yeah, but Fain's method is so much more satisfying to watch, at least with the Apostate," the other speaker chuckled.

"Can you please refrain from doing that?" Rossman asked firmly. "It's hard enough for me and my team to stomach, but we don't know what repeated exposure to your pet's torture will do to her, and more importantly, what it’ll mean for our goals."

"Did you just call me a pet??" I heard Fain fume. "I ain't no one's pet. Watch yourself, Harmonist, or I might pet you!"

"Fain, heel!" the still unknown speaker ordered.

That seemed like the most ill-advised thing he could have said after the last few sentences. I got a brief respite from the light in my eyes as a human form passed quickly in front of it, and I heard her strike the unknown speaker. He briefly hissed, and I heard him collapse to the floor.

"Control your temper, lady!" another male voice spoke up. "We can't be fighting among ourselves. It's what the Apostate and her fucking abomination Dreamwarden want."

"Well, it seems with him out for the count, I'm nominally in charge for the time being," Rossman said in a pleasant tone. "Miss Fain, I apologize greatly for how I referred to you. It was uncalled for. However, would you mind standing back beside the door so you can ease everypony's nerves? It would be greatly appreciated."

Fain mumbled something incoherent, but I heard her walk away. I counted her steps—twelve. That didn't give me the full room dimensions, but it at least told me how far I was from the door. It may or may not be critical information, but I was going to try to get every scrap of information I could.

"Now, I believe someone had a hood for Miss Blessing?" Rossman continued. "Her magic won't be working right for a while. How about we cover her head so we can turn on the lights? All this darkness is depressing."

Human hands roughly gripped me from behind as someone started fitting a hood on over my head. I had to assume that it wasn't Fain doing it since the hands seemed too big, and I wasn't in agonizing pain. This was a man, and even though he wasn't being gentle, I was at least glad it wasn't Fain. It was more information too. Fain wasn't the only human working with this group.

The hood completely covered my eyes, but left my muzzle thankfully exposed. It was tight and didn't let any light through. Which at the moment was a relief from that blasted spotlight. The man pulled on it a bit to make sure it was firmly in place, then gave me an unneeded smack on the back of my head before he walked off. I heard him mutter something about traitor filth as he went—another Shimmerist then.

"There we go, so much better being able to see all your faces, well, except for you, Miss Blessing," Rossman chimed. "Is the hood too tight? Is your breathing constricted? Please know that I’m not here to hurt you."

I thought about lying, but it would be too easy to be caught in one here. Telling the truth was always the best policy whenever possible; it made the lies more believable when you needed to turn to them. "It's fine."

"I'm glad to hear it. There is going to be enough unpleasantness without adding extra," Rossman said with a hint of joviality. "Now, on to business. Being the intelligent pony you are, I am assuming you must know what we are interested in."

"Transformation magic. Since when is it anything else with you," I growled.

"I explore many fields," Rossman said defensively. "However, you are correct. We can forego a lot of trouble if you cooperate with telling us all you know. If we get that, we can let the poor dear filly go free to her mother. Oh! She is unharmed, by the way, just sedated. You did ask about her condition earlier. I'm sorry about the delay in answering."

"No such luck, Rossman," I snapped. "My compulsion is still in place. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to, and believe me, I don't want to."

"Oh dear," Rossman said in a sad tone. "I had really hoped you wouldn’t say that. What that means is that we will have to convince the Dreamwardens to remove your compulsion, and that method is not at all pleasant for anypony. It makes me sick even having to think about it; it is downright barbarous, everything we want to move away from about the old ways, but it is very difficult to pressure a Dreamwarden to do anything, even if it is something like this that doesn't break their sacred rules. Drastic measures must be employed, I’m afraid."

"If you touch one hair on her fur—!" I shouted.

"She is merely a last resort, I assure you," Rossman interrupted quickly. "We have all these Blessingists to go through first. I don't care for it, but my Shimmerist allies seem insistent on conducting a bit of a medieval inquisition against them. They were only waiting for your capture. I wouldn't be able to stop them, no matter how I pleaded."

My heart sank at all the people that were in line to get hurt because of me. "If you think that will do anything to sway the Dreamwardens—"

"We have good reason to believe it might," Rossman interrupted again. "These are all former Shimmerists that your wife, no doubt at your behest, expounded the joys of Blessingism to in their dreams. Really, Dreamwardens are supposed to remain neutral in such affairs, but your wife, and to a lesser extent, Yinyu Wu Yan, seem to have abandoned all semblance of neutrality."

Wait, what was he talking about?

"Between your wife throwing her unquestioning support behind the Blessingists and Yinyu Wu Yan being very vocal in her condemnation of Shimmerism, my associates are very riled up," Rossman continued. "We believe Arbiter may have a soft spot for these ponies, not to mention you, and ensuring their well-being could help force her hand at removing the compulsions. We only need one Dreamwarden to cave in. If she proves heartless, then we may be forced to try to pressure Yinyu Wu Yan."

Tonya, what have you been doing without telling me?

That was a question for later. Right now, I needed to get more information.

"Where are you and these Shimmerists getting your money, Rossman?" I asked. "Secret prisons with magic dampening cells don't come cheap."

Rossman tsked me. "Miss Blessing, you even knowing about those cells highlights why I can't give you that information. All that information would only be funneled to the Dreamwardens and our misguided government if I told you. It would be a major breach of trust on my part to even so much as give you a clue who our benefactor is. You won't be getting that information from me."

"Breach of trust?!" I growled. "That's rich, coming from a pony who was conducting secret experiments behind my back with my money. You put on this nice guy facade, but I saw what you did to Bursa. You're a monster."

"I... I don't know what you are talking about," Rossman said quickly, far too quickly.

I couldn't see anything, but I still narrowed my eyes. "You didn't hear? We found your victim. She is still alive, if just barely. You can't justify what you did to her with your high-minded Harmonist bullshit. I'm guessing that's why you locked her away in a cave. You didn't want anyone to know how much of a monster you really are."

I could hear Rossman breathing heavily. I had struck a nerve. He was terrified of anyone knowing about Bursa.

"We’re done talking for today," Rossman finally said. "Please get Miss Blessing into a cell. We shall continue tomorrow."

I didn't get to say anything else because the next thing that happened was Fain laid her hand on me and held it there. By the time the pain stopped, I was being thrown on the ground, and my hood yanked off. I barely could make out the light of the doorway before the door slammed shut.

Chapter 85: Freedom to Dream

The worst thing about being in a dark cell was the boredom. I had been in the cell for what felt like hours, and I already walked the entire length of all the walls, felt out every stretch of the floor for grates, felt out each wall for any vents or anything else. I tried knocking on the walls and putting my head up to them to listen for anyone who would tap back. I tried to shout as loudly as I could everywhere, from the door to each corner, hoping someone would answer. I tried to do anything at all with my magic, but I had gotten a whole lot of nothing.

The walls were made of granite, but I only knew that because the earth pony prisoners had informed me in my dreams last night when I was questioning them. I had no way of identifying what rock the walls were made out of on my own. I couldn't even see the walls, only feel them, and one rock felt like another rock to me. The door was solid steel, another fact I had gotten from the earth ponies the night before. Nothing I knew about this cell was anything I hadn't already heard from the already existing prisoners.

It would have been nice if our jailers had at least installed a single light bulb in each cell, not that there would be much to look at. Maybe install a tiny window, even if it was a small window at the top of the door—something to let in at least some light. The darkness was maddening; I could not hear anything but my movements and voice, and it was maddening; this entire experience was maddening. I wasn't in a cell. It felt like I was in an oubliette, minus the entrance being a trap door above me. It was a dungeon of perpetual darkness.

The temperature seemed alright enough, but ponies' poor sense of temperature meant we struggled to tell the difference between something in the high-fifties and the mid-eighties on the Fahrenheit scale, so who the hell knew if the cells were cold or hot? Maybe I could dupe one of our human captors into telling me if it was at least what they considered cool or warm. They might not think it important enough to keep from me. Most humans didn't realize how poor a pony's sense of temperature was. That required me to get them to talk to me, which was a tall order.

I hoped they were not subjecting Qīng Yǔ to this. The tiny filly was already without her mother; throwing her in the dark just felt needlessly cruel. These people might feel no remorse for what they did to adults, but they had to have some common decency when dealing with foals, right? Qīng Yǔ was far too young to even understand anything that was happening around her and incapable of even trying to understand the whys of it. She was just a scared little filly that wanted her mama.

So, I sat, I laid down, I rolled over on my back. I tried just counting out loud as some method of tracking time, but I needed to stop and rest my mouth somewhere around the four thousand mark the first time doing it. I wasn't sure how long it was before I tried counting the seconds again, but I got up to just under six thousand the second time trying it. I tried instead counting in my head as I tapped my hoof on the ground to count seconds, but this got tiring surprisingly fast, and I only got to about four hundred, which wasn't even the ten-minute mark.

At long last, I grew tired enough to sleep and was grateful for the release.

I did not end up in Tonya's temple this time. My surroundings were scattered groves of trees, bushes, ponds, tiny streams, and regular picturesque countryside. Nor was I alone; all the prisoners were here with me, including Qīng Yǔ—who was busy closely following a frog with a tiny foal's fascination. Tonya, Yinyu, and Ghadab were here as well. The former two were in their Dreamwarden forms, while the latter was in his regular pony form.

"My sisters have some announcements, but first, I require you all to give me consent to transmit your details about what you have seen, felt, and heard today," Ghadab said in a voice that carried over the entire area without seeming to be shouting or high volume.

Everyone started stating their consent, myself included. The lone exception to this was Qīng Yǔ, who was distracted by his voice briefly, but quickly resumed her examination of her hopping companion.

Ghadab nodded. "Thank you for your continued cooperation. I turn this dream over to my sisters." The Warden of Anger then promptly vanished. It only occurred to me that while he was rather abrupt each time since my capture, he didn't show his distinctive brand of rudeness towards me or any of the prisoners.

Arbiter stepped forward and looked around at us. "I have several announcements. The first is that Sunset Blessing is joining you now not to ask questions like she did last night, but as a fellow prisoner."

There were gasps of dismay from many of the others, and many of them looked at me and started saying their sympathies all at once. Others seemed in complete disbelief, as if I was incapable of being captured.

"You shall have time to speak with her shortly, as she has seen slightly more than the rest of you. I have further announcements," Arbiter said, again with the voice that traveled rather than boomed. Everyone turned their attention back to her.

She looked around. "We have decided to extend dreamwalking powers to all of you for the duration. When this is all over, you can choose to keep the abilities, or you may choose to have the abilities go away. This allows us to let you stay in this shared dream for the entire night and have each other's company, and not be tired the next day. For those who wish to venture out into the dream realm proper, we will give lessons, but the realm rules can be strict, and we expect you to fully understand those before we take you out beyond this dream. The same offer will be extended to any of your loved ones who are eager for your safe return. Anyone who does not want this gift has only to tell us they refuse it. Nothing shall be forced upon you. Offering this is outside our normal policy of waiting for people to ask us for the ability. We had been hoping and waiting, but none of you seemed to consider it, and this ordeal is dragging on. We felt something must be proactively done to help you keep your sanity as the situation may soon worsen."

"My granddaughter will be left out of the dreamwalking. She is too young to give consent," Yinyu said as she flew over Qīng Yǔ.

The filly looked up at Yinyu and giggled. "Grandma!" I was at first shocked it wasn't Mandarin, but then remembered that there were no language barriers in the dream. The dream was a natural translator.

"Can we dreamwalk to the ponies holding us and tell them to let us go?" an earth pony mare asked.

Arbiter shook her head. "That will be off-limits. The rules of the dream realm are clear. You can't use dreamwalking to harass others, even people you think deserve it. I can say, because they gave permission for me to do so, that your captors refuse to speak to you here. We attempted to negotiate for you to speak to them, but that came up empty. It might seem unfair, but dreams must remain a safe zone for everyone. The same goes for them; they cannot torment you here. I wish they would try because then we could directly take action, rather than trying to assist you in all these roundabout ways, but they aren't stupid enough to try that."

"Everyone has limitations; ours are how tightly bound to our rules we are. We can't deliberately break them unless there is an irreconcilable conflict of rules, and we regularly search for loopholes to give us some freedom," Yinyu said in a sad tone. She looked over at Arbiter. "Some of us more than others. Know that we are doing all we can, and if we can find any loophole, we will take advantage of it."

"If there is anyone who refuses our offer to grant you dreamwalking, speak up now," Arbiter said as she surveyed the group. She was met with silence, and she smiled. "It is done then. We shall begin more formal lessons for those who wish it tomorrow, always praying that we don't need to go to tomorrow. For now, enjoy each other's company until you wake. Remember, Sunset Blessing has news for you, and please be courteous to her as she gives it to you. Today has been a challenging day for her."

With that said, the Dreamwardens vanished. Qīng Yǔ disappeared as well, and I could only assume that meant Yinyu had tucked her granddaughter into a regular dream.

All eyes turned to me, and the group began to assemble around me, patiently waiting for me to speak.

Okay, where to start.

"Today, one of our captors made a raid into my home, foalnapping Yinyu's infant granddaughter," I began. Some gasped at this, but most just nodded in understanding. "I gave chase and can identify the foalnapper, Christina Fain, a human woman with magical powers that disrupt magic and cause pain at her touch. Is anyone here familiar with the woman? I was told many of you, like myself, are former Shimmerists, and Fain is a very ardent Shimmerist."

A pegasus stallion raised a wing. "I know her. We sheltered her a few years ago. We felt sorry for her since the government did all those horrible things to her and forced her to rehumanize rather than complete her transformation. She was a very troubled woman. We had to eventually put her out because she got too hostile and combative with everypony. We didn't blame her for being the way she was, but we didn't feel safe with her in our home anymore. I would never imagine she would do this to us. She was angry, but she always seemed grateful for our kindness and understood that we weren't putting her out because we hated her or anything. I thought we parted on mostly good terms."

"She may have become more radicalized as time has gone by," I replied. "She may not have been capable of such actions back then."

Silvia raised her hoof. "I never met her, but I remember reading her case files while studying human magic. I thought to myself back then that it must be so horrible not to be able to touch somepony without causing them pain. Things like that can warp a person, make them angry at the world, and that isn't even getting into the things that had been done to her while she was in captivity."

Wallace, the lone teenaged colt and our odd pony that didn't fit the profile of the other victims, sat and sneered. "I don't want to hear the sob story of some freaky human that is holding us in a cage. She's holding us against our wills; there's no sympathy for that. If I could touch her safely, I would kick her skull in."

"I understand that feeling," I said with a grunt. "Anyway, I chased her, and she went through an odd means of teleporting using a portal."

"Mid Rift!" a unicorn mare gasped. We all turned to stare at her. She looked around at us before gathering herself to explain. "Mid Rift is a unicorn that was in my Shimmerist commune before I left it. He didn't do teleports the normal way; he did them like that. He figured them out early on after ETS when he was trying to figure out how to teleport, and he never bothered to learn the regular way. He tried teaching some of the rest of us, but it was so exhausting to even try! Nopony could get it, and since we all had access to learning the normal way, nopony really gave learning it much effort. It even exhausted him. He always had to take a nap after he did it."

I looked up at the clear blue sky. I was feeling a hint of exhilaration. I was finding information. I wasn't just sitting useless in a cell, hoping someone would do all the work of finding and rescuing us. "Ghadab? Are you still listening?"

"I am always listening," his voice answered back. "Do all present give permission for any information uncovered in your talks to be transmitted to the authorities?"

There was a loud clamoring of yes's to this, including me. I was pretty confident no one objected.

"It shall be done. Carry on, and I shall continue to listen," Ghadab's voice replied.

I looked back to the mare. "Okay, what's your name again?"

"It's Low Grass, Miss Blessing," the mare replied, bowing her head slightly.

I nodded back to her. "Well, Low Grass, how long ago was it that you left that commune?"

"About three weeks ago," she answered quickly. "My husband and I had been questioning some things for a while, ever since your speech on television last year, but we had stayed with our commune. They were our friends that we had been with for years, our community and the place we felt we belonged, it was home, and it was hard to let go of that, even if we were starting to think Shimmerism might be wrong."

Many of the ponies in the group nodded along, and I could tell by their faces that many of them likely shared similar stories.

"You never spoke up and questioned it over the last year?" I asked.

Low Grass looked down at the grass next to her hooves. "We tried to feel out if it would be okay. Little comments here and there, but it became clear early on that such talk wouldn't go over well. We didn't want our friends mad at us. So we just kept our mouths shut and went through the motions when actual Shimmerist stuff came up. I mean, most of our life there didn't revolve around being Shimmerists; we felt like it was okay."

"So, what changed?" I asked. I had a bad feeling that I knew already what it was.

"Arbiter came to us in our dreams," Low Grass replied. "I was having nightmares about the others finding out I wasn't as on board as I used to be and turning on me. Arbiter came and talked to me about my nightmares. She did the same with my husband, High Grass. We decided we didn't want our foals brought up being fed Shimmerist ideas, and one night, after everypony had gone to bed, we just up and left without even saying goodbye. We left a note saying how we felt, but I'm not sure how well it went over."

Low Grass frowned and sighed. "Considering where I'm in a dark cell, I'm guessing it didn't go over well at all. I'm living my nightmares now."

I had to tell these ponies that the nightmare was about to get worse. I didn't want to frighten them more than they already were, and I didn't want to let them know they were in this situation just so our captors could force information out of me, but I owed it to them not to keep that information from them.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any comfort for you," I said in a sad tone. "I can tell you that you aren't here just because you turned your backs on Shimmerism. You're here because our captors want information out of me, and your continued health is part of the ransom to get it."

"They want the secrets of ETS," another stallion said knowingly. The others looked at him, then at me, and nodded.

"How did you know?" I asked. It was probably a stupid question. I was linked to two things outside my history with the Shimmerists, the Cataclysm and transformation magic.

"You're the one and only Sunset Blessing! That's why!" a young pegasus mare exclaimed as she stepped forward. "Do you remember me? I was there in Pony Hope when those Shimmerists tried to hurt you. I asked you if it was true you could bring magic to the humans. Don't you remember me? I asked if we could call you Sunny just like we call Sunrise Storm."

I blinked. "I do remember you now. I told you I was done with doing such magic, that it had only brought me misery. I also told you no on the nickname, and I still stand by that."

She nodded along happily. "Yes! But we still know what you can do! We still believe in what you stood for when you released your final manifesto and when you spoke to the world from in front of the White House! We believe magic is the right of all sentient beings. We believe that humans and ponies are equal in the eyes of God and neither more deserving than the other of happiness, and neither truly superior in any way. We believe that our species should be ours to decide. If I want to be human again, I should not be condemned, nor my brother for wanting to have magic without having to be a pony. We believe magic is something we should treat with care since it can do great good, but it can also be used for great evil. We should always move forward with our understanding of it, but never recklessly without understanding what we are doing. We are the Blessingists, and whether some of us ascribe divinity to you or just think of you a wise but regular mare, we all think you are right."

A unicorn stallion stepped forward and raised his head proudly. "Our beliefs are not complicated; they are straightforward and few in number. We don't think that they should be anything anypony should disagree with. It seems like just good common sense to us."

The young mare who had just recited the beliefs hung her head low. "But that common sense isn't there with the Shimmerists, ponies and humans that many of us used to call friends; they won't let go. They hate us; they hate everything we stand for. They want to silence us, silence you."

I looked at each of them in turn. I saw the commitment in their eyes and the fear. What was I supposed to say to all that? They were looking for a leader. If they were looking for the great leader of the Blessingists, then they were fools. I was not qualified to lead such a thing. I was no great sage; I was a foolish mare who had to have her face rubbed in the mud to realize I was up to my shoulders in filth.

I took a deep breath. "I cannot lead the overall movement; that is up to each and every one of you to do with your lives. You don't need me to guide you. You know what you stand for." I licked my lips. "However, even though I am just as much a prisoner as you, I'm going to do everything I can to help get us out of this. I'm warning you now, they intend to torture us physically, and they will, but they cannot force us into defeat. I once told my Shimmerist congregations that you could not silence the truth, all while I yelled loudly into the wind trying to do so, but truth won out in the end. It will again here."

There was a round of cheers from almost everyone present, even Malcomb and Silvia. The only one who abstained was Wallace, who rolled his eyes.

Low Grass stopped cheering and cringed down low. "What was that about torture?"

That sapped the spirit out of the crowd.

I gave them all a serious look; then, I looked up at the sky again. "Can one of the Dreamwardens give me an assist? I need to show these ponies my memories from my capture and torture session. They need to know the truth, and maybe some of them can help identify speakers that I didn't know."

"Of course, Sunset. Let me know when you are ready," Tonya's voice echoed back.

I looked at the ponies. "We are all in this together, along with the police and the FBI. I need your help to identify who was in that room. Every scrap of information gets us one step closer to being free. Are you ready to help some more with our liberation?"

This time I was greeted with a complete unanimous set of yes's with no one abstaining.

I looked up at the sky. "We're ready to begin."

Chapter 86: Filling Missing Pieces of Different Puzzles

All our talk ended up being very productive. We managed to identify the unknown speaker who delighted in my torture before Fain clobbered him, the man that had put the hood on me, and the pony that had told Fain to calm down. The one who had told Fain to calm down was none other than Dog Bite, aka Howler, which conclusively tied him as being involved. The human man was Henry something or other, whose entire family ended up as ponies of the Shimmerist variety, but had missed ETS by being in prison at the time and the prison actually taking steps to keep the prisoners from getting exposed to the virus raging outside—a little surprising, but it was what it was.

The one who had been initially calling the shots during my torture was the big white stallion with the purple mane who had decided to try to lynch me in the streets of Pony Hope, destroyed my old phone, and given me an unpleasant burn. His name was Royal Bearing, and he had a personal vendetta against me outside of everything else. His wife had been one of Water Wing's mages that I had the FBI arrest, and he wanted my head on a stick ever since then. There would be no reasoning with Royal; he was looking for excuses to hurt me. It was very likely that if it came down to a choice between getting the ETS spell and breaking every bone in my body, he would choose the latter. He had several cronies that were probably involved if he was, other ponies who had relatives arrested in that raid. This was all according to Honey Dew, my admirer from Pony Hope, who asked three more times if she could call me Sunny, despite my repeated objections.

The police and FBI were getting all these names, and they would be looking to make arrests. They still had to figure out where the hell we were even being held. All our captors we knew about were from different parts of Colorado, aside from Rossman and his team, who had a history in Nevada, Arizona, and California, but not Colorado—until now. Everything pointed to us still at least being in Colorado.

The question of who was funding this whole operation was still a big one. Rossman, Royal Bearing, Dog Bite, Fain, and all of Human Henry's family combined couldn't pool enough pennies together to pay for one of these cells. There was still a substantial financial backer, and I had no idea who.

I tried to think of any others on this side of the country who could be involved. Candace? That freaky pony was a pure mad scientist and would be interested in transformation magic, but I didn't think she would be willing to resort to these tactics to get it. The ponies down in Oasis? That was almost a joke. While they could possibly be inventive enough to create these magic-proofing rooms and might be able to fund some minor things on their own by this point, I didn't see them as getting involved in any criminal activity or teaming up with crazed psychopaths for the sake of science. Their leaders might have heart attacks at the very idea.

No, I was coming up empty on who else could be involved, except for one possible suspect, Qiánchéng De Érzi, leader of Communist-Shimmerist China, and as close to untouchable as a pony could get. Heller was right; if he was funding it, there would be no way to prove it. Even if we got out of this and arrested everyone in the states that had been involved, he would still end up looking squeaky clean. The bastard, God needed to strike him down with a meteor or something. If anyone deserved it, Érzi did.

It reached a point where we had nothing left we could pull out for clues from our talks. At this point, the Dreamwardens started letting family members into the dream to see us, plenty of ponies happy to see that their loved ones had lived another day, and in for some terrible news about what was coming.

I was not left out of this reunion. Lántiān, Shǔguāng, Líng, Sinker, both of my parents, Number, Jess, Starlight, Trixie, an older crystal pony mare I didn't know, and an older earth pony mare I didn't know, all showed up to greet me.

"I thought you were taking me to my daughter!" Lántiān shouted in rage at the sky.

Hi to you too, Lántiān. I couldn't blame her for being eager to see Qīng Yǔ, but she could have at least shown a little concern about me.

Yinyu appeared in front of Lántiān, gently cradling Qīng Yǔ in her fins. The filly looked disoriented for a second until she saw Lántiān. She then beat her wings, escaping her grandmother's grasp, and flew straight to her mother.

"Mama!" Qīng Yǔ yelled with joy as she collided with Lántiān and grabbed on tight.

"My baby is flying!" Lántiān said as she hugged her daughter and wiped a tear from her eye.

"No, she is not," Yinyu corrected. "This is a dream. She can fly here because she got an impulse to do so, and the dream obeyed. She won't be flying in the waking world for years yet."

Lántiān glared at her mother. "Do you have to ruin every happy moment!"

Yinyu flinched back. "Lántiān… I'm trying my best. Please, let's not fight, not right now. I am just as upset as you are about what happened."

"You sure don't seem like it," Lántiān sneered. "Can't you show your true feelings to me for once? Is this not a big enough deal for that?"

"Lántiān… please, she's your mother, and she is worried sick," I said gently. "I know the two of you have… issues, but now is not the time."

Lántiān gave her mother one last glare then refocused on her daughter. "Alright, I thank you for helping me see my daughter. I am grateful for it."

She didn't sound grateful, but that might be as good as it was going to get. At least the two weren't going to fight the whole time they were here. Those two needed some serious family therapy.

My mother tackled me before I could get any further in thought. "My baby filly!" she cried. "Are you alright? Have they hurt you?"

I was pinned to the ground but not having any trouble breathing. It was a dream; she couldn't squeeze me to death here. "Let's not revisit that at the moment. I have spent what feels like hours here, watching and rewatching myself get tortured, in hopes of finding clues to where we are and who is doing this. It wasn't a fun time."

"There wasn't much to see, but the sounds were nerve-racking to listen to, and my nerves were already frayed beyond the edge," Silvia said from somewhere nearby. She and Malcomb must have come over and joined the group.

"Torture!?" Mom screamed as she gripped me tighter and started crying louder.

"They didn't hurt my baby, did they?" Lántiān whimpered.

Mom let me up at last, and I shook my head as I got back to my hooves. "Not as far as I know. They said they weren't planning on touching her until they got through everyone else. They said they have her sedated, but she isn't with me. I don't know where they are keeping her. I'm hoping she is not in a pitch-black cell like mine."

Yinyu pouted. "I wish I could tell you, but she doesn't understand how to give me that consent or what I would be asking to reveal. The rules—"

"Leave it be, Mother. We understand your stupid Dreamwarden rules," Lántiān said in a tired voice. Yinyu seemed to deflate further.

Everyone seemed eager to ask questions and see me, but my dad headed them off. "Sunset, I'd like to reintroduce you to your sisters. Andrea was the one who tipped off the FBI that the local people weren't doing their jobs right. I know now might not seem like the best time to reconnect, but… we don't know if there will be another chance."

That was a heavy feeling to leave sitting in the air.

The crystal pony I assumed was Andrea stepped forward. She was light pink with an exceedingly light baby blue mane, cut short, that had several large strips of grey; her mark was a magnifying glass and a pair of handcuffs over a rolled-up sheet of paper.

Her smile was tight as she looked at me. "Getting stuck as a paper pusher and occasional extra body when they are trying to take down a magical creep actually paid off for once. I couldn't believe it when Mom and Dad told me what was happening with your investigation… Well, actually, I can, but that is a whole lot of ongoing stupid crap you don't want to hear about right now. It's just good to see you again. Maybe we can try doing a more proper reconnect after everything is said and done. If you want to do that, that is."

I smiled back at her. "I'd like that. You know, they sent Heller in after what you did."

Andrea brightened up at that. "They did? That's great! That man is something of a legend around the office. If he is working on your case, it is in the best of hands. I feel better just hearing that."

I nodded and turned my attention to the brown earth pony with the greying blue mane, Kristin—now Amicus Curiae. I wasn't sure what the term she chose for a name meant, only that it was some sort of legal term.

Amicus took a hesitant step forward, then sprung forward the rest of the way, wrapping her forelegs around my neck and crying on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry we haven't stayed in touch all these years," Amicus cried. "I know we were all always doing our own thing, and you were hard to deal with when you were a teen, but that's no excuse. I just want my little sister to come out of this safe. I won't ignore you anymore. I'll bring my foals and grandfoals to meet you and yours. Just… make it through this, okay?"

Ponies get too emotional. She was going to make me cry. I patted her on the back. "I'll get through this. I'm Sunset Blessing; I'm practically a legend. Legends always face impossible odds and come out on top. I'll get through this, and we will be one really big happy family. We'll need to rent a stadium to hold us all."

I wished I had as much confidence in that as I was boasting, but things looked dire for me. I didn't think Royal Bearing was going to let me get out of this alive, not even if they managed to pull any transformation magic secrets out of me.

We managed to separate ourselves from one another, with Amicus sniffling and wiping her nose with her leg. No sooner than she had gotten a step or two away was when Líng and Shǔguāng took their chance to grapple me, one on each foreleg.

"Auntie Sunset!" Líng cried.

"Mama!" Shǔguāng cried, then instantly released me, eyes wide in horror, as he covered his mouth. He uncovered his mouth and fearfully looked at his actual mother. "I don't know why I called Mama that, Mama!" He yelped and started weeping. "I don't mean to keep saying that. I mean to say Mama… why do I keep saying that?!"

Yinyu came swimming over to him and transformed back into her standard pony form before gently touching a wing to his crying face and nuzzling him.

"The dream realm always translates things perfectly," she said as she soothed him. "If a word means something to you, then it is what you will say. I understand. I am not hurt or upset. Dry your eyes. Both your Mamas are here, and we love you."

Líng looked at all of us in confusion. "You can have more than one Mama?!"

Yinyu gave him a soft smile. "Yes, yes, you can."

His eyes got bigger. "Can you have five, or ten, or a hundred!? I want all the Mamas!"

Yinyu blinked. "You know, foals speak faster than they think. It is a challenging experience for a mind reader. How about you focus on smaller numbers for now. Being a Mama is a big commitment, and not just anyone can do it."

I was half-expecting Lántiān to make some discouraging comments about her mother's commitment, but the comments never came. She seemed very focused on her little brother, even as she held her daughter tightly.

Líng looked at me with a serious expression. "Can you be my Mama too? Two sounds like a good number of Mamas, at least to start."

I choked out a laugh and hugged him tightly. I didn't say anything, but I think he understood my answer anyway.

Chapter 87: Messes Made

All dreams must end, even magical ones hosted by Dreamwardens.

When I awoke, I was once again in the dark. I sniffed the air and smelled that something had changed. I stood up and followed my nose, and eventually, my hooves brushed against some hay. Feeling around some more also netted a bowl with what felt and smelled like water. Hay and water, the breakfast of champions; at least they weren't going to starve me.

It occurred to me that the cell lacked anything resembling a toilet. I didn't think they were going to give me bathroom breaks during the torture sessions either. I would have to pick out a corner and deal with the fact my cell was going to smell like piss and shit. Maybe I could find an area where the floor was slightly depressed so the stuff could pool there rather than seep all over the cell floor and force me to lay in it. I hadn't asked how the others had dealt with the issue. It seemed a massive oversight on my part. Then again, maybe I didn't want to hear the truth.

I ate a little bit and drank some water. Without finishing the food, I walked around the cell some more, hoping that the floor was slightly indented somewhere. Unfortunately, it was not. That left me with a pressing problem when it came to sanitation. I sat and considered it, with my bladder now aching in response to me remembering it existed.

It wasn't going to be pleasant, but I had an idea of how to deal with it. It was time to make the shoddy construction methods I had used in Riverview useful. My talent was making the most of what I had and creating something more significant than the sum of the parts, and right now, I had hay, shit, water, and piss. I would have a smaller breakfast today, but at least I would have a makeshift latrine. This was going to be sickening to do, but it would keep the cell slightly more sanitary than it might otherwise be. If it worked, I could share the details of how to do it with the others if they hadn't worked out something already on their own.

I pulled the remaining hay over to a corner and pissed and crapped on it, then got to the filthy business of shaping and molding the mixture by hoof. I worked for what I was sure was more than an hour, wiped my hooves on the close-by wall, and stepped away to try to catch my breath. My eyes were watering, and I felt like vomiting. If I knew if vomit would be helpful in my work, I probably would have forced myself to add that to the mixture, but I had no idea. I was no chemist or construction worker. I only knew about this method by experience with the ponies who had shown it to me and instructed me in how houses could be built with this stuff as material. Technically I was supposed to have sticks to use as a framework, but this would have to do. After catching my breath, I went back to work, and after another unbearable amount of time, I was fairly sure I had a small makeshift wall around the corner to keep the piss from spreading out from the corner. I hoped the cell was warm enough that it would dry up between uses rather than just sitting. The crap and piss in the hay seemed like it was drying well enough, so there was that much.

I wiped my hooves against the wall again, returned to the water bowl, took what was probably going to be my last drink for the day, and then washed my hooves in the remaining water. I carefully nudged the bowl across the floor after that and dumped the remainder of its contents in the makeshift latrine.

Well, that was probably all the productivity I would get on the day, at least until they came and grabbed me for another session. Then I could focus on trying to learn more details in between bouts of agony. It reduced the chances I would get sick from the conditions here, at least. I would be struggling as it was to keep alert without worrying about becoming gravely ill. Doing everything I could to maintain my health helped aid me in getting out of this alive.

I waited in the dark. Again I went through my counting exercises. I paced the floor for what little activity I could manage. I tried to use magic, failed, tried again, and failed yet again. I tried a dozen different spells of increasingly simpler complexity; nothing would work. I felt the magic inside me, but it was like someone had stopped up my horn.

Hours went by as I counted the seconds. I checked the status of my latrine and was pleased that the liquid within seemed to have dried. Although, that did indicate that the cell might be on the warmer side. It was best not to overextend myself with pacing. I had already drunk and fouled all the water I was likely going to get for the day. I didn't want to dehydrate.

The door opened, and the light from the other side blinded me briefly. Before I could try to get a look at what lay beyond, I was in agony again. I kicked and thrashed as Fain picked me up and practically slammed me onto something metal. She thankfully let go at that point, but I already had someone forcing that hood over my head.

"Have a nice night, Apostate?" Fain taunted. "We know your Dreamwarden bitch and her buddies like to take care of all the prisoners. Pray for sleep; it’ll be the only thing you’ll get to enjoy."

I heard loud barking behind me and tried to turn in the direction it was coming from, but Fain slapped my head.

"Don't you worry about my pups," the voice I now knew was Dog Bite said. "You just stay on your cart, and they won't try to use you for a chew toy. If you are thinking of escaping out of your cell later, they'll be on you in a second. Don't think about trying because I don't want you to give my poor dogs indigestion."

I heard Fain walk away, and the barking intensified as I heard another metal door open. There was a quick scuffle, and the sounds of someone crying out in pain, followed by the sounds of a body colliding with another metal cart.

"Nice try," Fain complimented whoever she just slammed. "I didn't expect you to respond so quickly to the door opening. Didn't take any time at all for you to recover from the first light you've seen in days. The Apostate didn't do half as well, and she's only been here for one. Hell, I've had to try to pull that myself, back in the day, and I know I didn't do that well either. You're quite the spirited fighter."

"Why are you doing this?" Salt Shaker, one of the earth pony prisoners, asked with a pained groan.

"Me personally? I want to be what I should have ended up as, what I deserve, and these shitbag Harmonists finding out what the old preacher knows is the only way that will ever happen," Fain replied. "I also like seeing you undeserving disappointments get what's coming to you for turning your backs on the truth."

"You're just as bad as the people who tortured you eight years ago, worse even," I growled.

I was struck, there was agony, and consciousness must have escaped me again. The next thing I knew I was in a lighted metal room without a hood on my head. I looked around myself. I was on a metal cart, like one of those carts the AV club back in high school might have used for transporting televisions from classroom to classroom, and I was tied down to it. Salt Shaker was also here, on an identical looking cart, also tied down, but he was still out for the count. Fain was standing in a corner with her arms crossed, watching us. Doctors Rossman and Lair were here, standing far away from Fain, and looking like they would rather be anywhere else. The final person in the room was Royal Bearing.

"Waking up?" Royal asked me as I looked around the room. "We got word this morning that there are suddenly warrants to search my property and the homes of several others here. I guess we went through that whole spotlight crap yesterday for nothing. I said I wasn't going to underestimate you and your Dreamwarden pals, but it seems I did. I thought I had covered everything by making sure Honey Dew never heard me and no one ever saw my face, but you must have figured something out. Memory of my voice? Is that how you pulled it? Only the ones that talked have warrants."

"If you're too stupid to have figured it out, I'm not telling you," I growled.

He shook his head. "You are in no position to be defiant. Just to let you know, yes, your magic does work in this room, but Fain has been doing her thing to you the whole way in here, and will continue to do so. So, don't expect to pull any magic mischief to get out of here. If you try to do something despite my warnings, I will immediately kill whoever we brought to be your playmate for the moment."

"What happened to not killing anyone!" Rossman angrily protested. Lair, a unicorn mare who was his primary assistant, whimpered at the suggestion.

Royal looked over at him with a wicked grin. "If the Apostate doesn't act up, we won't. Calm yourself, doctor. You were the one that said that lives sometimes needed to be sacrificed to advance magical knowledge, after all. So be happy and hope that she’ll cooperate."

"Why do we have to be here for this?" Lair whined.

Royal chuckled. "Who else is going to make sense of what the Apostate spills if we get something from her. It isn't out of the question we can break through her compulsions with enough… incentive. You two add an extra layer of protection against any mischief. The Apostate is tricky and sly, and I feel better having a crystal pony in here in addition to Fain. Rossman is the only one of the traitor tribe we've got."

"I’m going to be a crystal pony," Fain muttered. She seemed to take the term traitor tribe personally. Maybe she felt some weird kinship with the tribe she was on track to become back during ETS. This entire conversation was filled with information. He could be lying about there being only Rossman for crystal ponies here, just to give me misinformation, but his distaste for the tribe felt real.

"Taking notes, Apostate?" Royal asked me with a raised eyebrow. "Nothing useful, I expect. Let me explain to you how this is going to work. We are going to wheel you in here, and then wheel one of your Blessingist followers in. Fain is going to play with them, play with you, play with them again, and keep that up until we can't keep them awake anymore. Then we are going to replace them with another and start the whole process over again. I know a spell that can wake just about anypony, and I'll be using that exclusively on you, to make sure you get to enjoy all our time together. Once we have gone through all your friends today, we'll toss you all back in your cells and see how the Dreamwardens feel about those compulsions. If they don't remove them, we will start fresh again tomorrow."

He walked up close to me and held my eyes. "And I have no problem offing any one of them at any time if you or they try to escape. We'd be down a playmate, but I've got to send a message, now don't I?"

He lowered his voice to a whisper, too low for the others in the room to hear. "In fact, if you still have your compulsions on you tomorrow when you rejoin us, I think one of them might just pass in their sleep from all the strain they are under the next night, and another the next night, and so on. I can tell these things, you know? In fact, if we lose a playmate, I might need to find a replacement. Now, where would I… oh I know. We have a nice little filly who no doubt is eager to play."

I screamed with rage and lit my horn. I might not be able to control my magic right, but I could blow Royal and me to kingdom come with a sloppy spell.

My magic started draining immediately, and I knew the telltale feeling of a crystal pony at work. The next instant I was in agony as Fain grabbed onto me.

It lasted several seconds before it came to an end. It was several more before I could see straight.

What I saw when I could was Royal walk over to Salt Shaker. Royal lit his horn and the earth pony struggled to do anything in panic, but was still reeling from Fain’s touch. With a single burst of magic, Royal blasted Salt Shaker's head off.

Rossman and Lair were crying, and I even heard Fain gasp. I was in shock, staring at the remains of the pony who had been counting on me to help get him free.

"Go get another one, Fain. This one is broken," Royal sneered. "I don't think the Apostate is going to try anything like that again."

I couldn't even cry. The shock was too much. I couldn't help repeating one thing in my head. I did this.

Royal walked over to me, sneering. "Maybe now you understand, I don't bluff. Each of those Blessingists is going to get wheeled in here, on that blood-stained cart, knowing they could be next. I'm going to make sure they know why this happened, and who is to blame. I'll leave them waiting until your Dreamwarden friends go to find you tonight to find out who this pony was, so they can spend the rest of the evening stewing on it. You aren't to say another word today or try anything else, or you will end up down another pony. It won't stop our playtime, but I'm going to enjoy the look in your eyes. I wonder how many of them will look at you in admiration now. Are you feeling clever now, Apostate?"

I lowered my head and cried.

Royal used his magic to lift my head to force me to look at him. "You know… we're down one now. I guess the filly will be joining us tomorrow. You had better behave yourself, and Yinyu better consider what her granddaughter's life is worth."

"We agreed we were just going to use that as an empty threat!" Rossman screamed. "She's a foal!"

Royal turned to glare at Rossman. "I don't make empty threats. This is to pressure Dreamwardens to do what we want. You can't bluff a Dreamwarden. If you're going to make a threat to them, you had better sure as hell mean it."

Fain had been sloppily making sure the body was secure on the cart, but paused where she was at briefly, and looked at Royal, then wordlessly resumed what she was doing.

"You got a problem, Fain?" Royal demanded.

She hesitated for just a half-second. "Nope...just annoyed at the mess you left," she replied. She then started pushing the corpse-laden cart away. "Don't make any more messes. I ain't your cleaning lady."

"Just go get the next one," Royal growled. He then looked back at me. "Settle in. The day is just starting."

Chapter 88: The Second Night

I didn't remember being returned to my cell. I must have briefly nodded off for a few minutes after everything had ended, or my brain had just temporarily shut off for a few minutes.

What I did remember was the entire time spent with Royal Bearing, every agonizing second. I remembered the screams of pain, both mine and the other ponies. I remembered the looks of horror and disbelief in their eyes. I remembered their wails begging for mercy and pleas asking how they could be cruel. It was so bad that Rossman ended up getting sick in a corner, and Fain had even started trying to reduce the amount of time she touched us, but Royal prompted her on.

I sat in my cell, unmoving. I wanted the release of dreaming, but I did everything I could to force myself to stay awake. Falling asleep meant dreaming, and dreaming meant I had to face all those faces that were going to want to know why they had endured what they did today and why Salt Shaker wasn't there anymore.

There was a change. Now, I heard, be it infrequently, voices out in the hall outside. I couldn't make them out, nor could I tell who was talking, nor how many people were talking. I did try putting my ears up to the door to listen, but that didn't help. The others in their cells must have heard it too. From what I had heard when Fain had taken Salt Shaker from his, they didn't seem far from one another. That may have been why he had been ready to charge when his door opened. He had heard Fain, Dog Bite, and the dogs. I didn't hear any dogs at the moment.

I went back to a corner and laid down. They were probably discussing how to proceed with tomorrow. If anyone had any decency, they were discussing everyone's health and saying they couldn't do that again. Morality seemed to be absent here. In the pit of my stomach, I dreaded that they were discussing killing someone in their sleep. Royal had made that threat, and he made it horrifically clear he didn't make empty threats. It wouldn't be me; he needed me alive, but that didn't make thinking about it any less gut-wrenching. If anything, I wish it would be me. He had no reason to keep anyone if I was dead, and maybe the others would stage a mutiny if he started talking about murdering the rest with no ETS spell to gain. They might put up with murder with ETS on the line, but there was no way they'd stand for it otherwise.

That was an idea. I could get off the cart tomorrow and let the dogs get me. It would be so simple, and then this entire ordeal would be over for everyone.

I sighed. No, Fain wouldn't let that happen, and I had a feeling Dog Bite's threats might be the lone empty ones I had heard today. It was sad that I couldn't even manage to kill myself in a building full of psychopaths.

I laid there, counting, forcing myself to stay awake. Every time my head started to dip, I would shake it. I forced myself to keep counting. Five thousand nine… seven thousand forty-five… twelve thousand eighty-

"My Sunshine, you should know not to deny yourself rest."

I turned and saw Tonya, in her pony form, giving me a worried look. I was in the park, and all the others were watching us from a short distance away.

Tonya started to tear up. "You had us so worried when everyone else had fallen asleep, but you hadn't. We thought… Please, don't force yourself to stay awake. I have no idea if you are alive or dead. Don't do that to me!"

I looked away from her. "Salt Shaker isn't here either."

"We know… believe me… we all know," Tonya said in a whisper. "It must have happened… in an instant. I wasn't even aware of his passing. I… I didn't get to give him his last rites. I'm supposed to give the dying one last good dream. When all these others came…and you didn't… You shouldn't die like that. I-I need to be able to give your final dream."

"You should be giving us all our final dream then because every night could be our last," I said in a bitter tone.

"I… I'll see to it before each of you wake."

That was enough to get me crying again as I looked up at her and the ponies standing beyond. "I shouldn't be here. Why are you torturing these ponies by forcing them to see me? Haven't they been hurt enough today?"

"It was torture for us all not to have seen you," Tonya replied. "Do you know how much your friends and family cried when I had to keep telling them I had no response I could give when they wanted to see you? They don't know if you are alive or dead either. I understand if seeing them is hard for you right now, but may I have permission to tell them you are alive and ease their spirits at least a little?"

"We don't blame you," Honey Dew shouted. "That's what they want us to do! Royal Bearing wants us to shift all the blame to you. He did that to break us! He's the one that did it, nopony else! Don't blame yourself for what that monster did! It isn't fair to you, and it isn't fair to Salt Shaker! He thinks we are dumb, but we aren't!"

"He was the only one smiling that entire time!" Low Grass shouted in outrage and horror. "The psycho human that was torturing us didn't even look like she wanted to be there. She didn't even put her hand on me the entire way back, and she knew I was awake. She kept her hand right above my back and said just to keep quiet because she was sick of hearing screaming."

Fair Wind, the pegasus stallion who had sheltered Fain years ago, raised a wing. "She only touched me while inside the room with you. She told me before we went in to scream more than I needed to each time she touched me, and then she wouldn't have to touch me as much. She said that was the best she could do to repay my kindness, and she was sorry. She remembered me."

"It seems everyone has their limits. Maybe she'll get sick of it and refuse to continue," Tonya said with a small smile.

"I hope not," I replied, getting a round of startled gasps from the others.

"Why would you say that?!" Honey Dew asked in horror.

I knew what they were trying to do, what they were hoping for, but I still had more news for them that they deserved to know.

"Royal Bearing… made other threats," I said slowly. "He practically said he would be killing one pony a day. Every day this goes on, someone else isn't going to be here at the end of the night. He doesn't bluff. He said that's why he killed Salt Shaker in front of me like that, to prove he doesn't bluff. I was… I was going to fight him, and he took his retribution out on Salt Shaker. He should have killed me instead. If he loses his primary method of hurting us… I don't want to think about what he'll resort to."

"What if we give them what they want?" Wallace spoke up. It was a little surprising. He usually kept distant from the others and didn't engage in conversation. He hadn't shared much, even when we talked about our captures and what information we could glean from them.

I looked at him with narrowed eyes. "You weren't brought in to be tortured today. I saw everyone else, but not you. You made it clear you aren't a Blessingist, and you have no ties to me like Silvia and Malcomb do. Why are you here?"

"Maybe he's a mole, sent to spy and try to convince us to give in!" someone shouted. Others shouted agreement, and the cried quickly became hostile to the colt.

"I ain't in league with those ponies! I'm here against my will, in prison, just like all of you!" Wallace shouted in anger with a tiny undercurrent of pleading. He looked at Tonya. "Tell them I'm telling the truth! You'd know if I was lying!"

Tonya nodded and looked at the others. "Wallace is not lying or attempting to deceive." She turned her eyes back to Wallace. "Do you wish me to tell them about your initial experience here?"

He looked at the crowd with his ears sagged and then turned his face away. "Okay. Go ahead. Just don't draw it out, okay?"

"There is not much to draw out," Tonya answered. She looked at the rest of us. "Wallace slept for three days after he was first captured. When he was captured, he felt unbearable pain, on a level that the rest of you have yet to feel. I feared for the first day that he would die. I even gave him his last rites."

"That lady you talk about…" Wallace said in a pained voice. "I don't think it is safe for her to touch me. I think she touched me, and it almost killed me the first time. If they do to me what they did to you… I think it will kill me. I don't know why I'm here. I got nothing to do with this. I just want to get away."

I sat and considered him. There was only one thing he could be here for, and he wasn't going to like it. "I think you should be the last pony that wants them to get what they want then."

He glared at me. "Why not? I have nothing to do with this. I'm sorry it is happening to all of you, I am, but I shouldn't be here."

I gave him a pitying look. "While the Shimmerists want an ETS spell, Rossman and his team aren't interested in that. They want to make an alicorn. Having a powerful and resilient pony as a test subject makes sense, and you are one of the few if the politely powerful that doesn't have lots of influential friends and family that would stop at nothing to get them back, just a homeless colt that might not be missed. If they get that information from me, they will start using you as a guinea pig. Believe me; you don't want to know what happened to the last person they did that to. We found her, and we might have just barely stopped her from disintegrating into a pile of goo."

Wallace shuddered and laid down. "I just want to get out of here."

"I would not lift your compulsions anyway," Tonya said gravely. "No matter what they did. It would be painful, but I refuse to give in to their demands."

Wallace glared at her. "You don't think our lives are with it? So much for Dreamwardens caring!"

Tonya shifted form to her full Arbiter form and towered over Wallace. "I triggered the Cataclysm of Riverview, knowing that tens of thousands of people could die, including my wife! It was a painful decision to make, but the alternative was far worse. I stand faced with the lives of a little over a dozen ponies and weigh them against the stability of the world and dangers that you would scream in terror just knowing about. Do you think I will give in for a dozen now when I faced a full city before? You might think me cruel for saying this, but I would rather you all die than let that spell get out to the wrong people. The future can survive you dying here; the future can't survive what's coming if they get what they want. It's a painful choice, but it has to be made."

"Then… they are doing this all for nothing?" Honey Dew whimpered. "Can't you tell them that? That no matter what they do, they can't get what they want?"

I didn't say it, but I knew why. Because she couldn't directly lie, only mislead. A Dreamwarden could lead you by the nose without ever saying a false word. I listened to her wording; it was a good habit to get into when dealing with Dreamwardens. Tonya had said she would never give in. She didn't say a blanket statement about all Dreamwardens. The best liars always told the truth.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Where is Yinyu?"

She met my eyes. "Yinyu is everywhere here and always watching."

"You know what I mean. Why is she not appearing before us?" I demanded to know.

Arbiter frowned. "She chooses not to make an appearance today. This entire thing has been very trying for her."

I kept my eyes on her and lit my horn, drawing runes out rapidly in front of me.

Her eyes went wide. "Sunset… please."

I stopped drawing and stomped my hoof. "She already caved, didn't she! I was just diagraming out the spell for ETS in front of all these ponies, and nothing stopped me!"

She licked her lips nervously. "I can reestablish the compulsion with your permission."

I didn't get to respond, or even think about my response, because the dream suddenly faded away.

"Wake up, Miss Blessing. We don't have much time. I need to make a deal with you."

Chapter 89: You Wanna Know How I Got These Scars?

Rossman was standing in front of me, with Fain standing anxiously at the open door. Rossman kept flicking his ears and looking behind himself, almost like he was expecting to be attacked.

"We don't have much time," Rossman said quickly. "Several of us are going to be exiting this facility and making a run for it. We considered taking you with us, but we ultimately decided that you would be difficult to contain without these facilities, and if you got away from us, there is too much chance we could be tracked down. So we are offering you a deal instead."

I was still exhausted from little sleep and the day before, but that got my adrenaline running. "What kind of deal?"

"This is a waste of time, Harmonist. Time we don't have!" Fain scolded.

Rossman got close to me and talked quickly. "We run, leaving you with the door open and tell you where to find the filly. In exchange, you tell me if anyone else has a copy of your complete research. I can't believe it all went up in flames when the Bastion blew its top. You had to have hard copies somewhere else. Where are they? Tell us, and we give you the chance to save that foal. With us gone, Royal Bearing won't be able to get a working ETS spell, and he might try to sell that filly to interested parties."

"Just my door?" I asked in bewilderment. "How many ponies are going to be left here that I have to get through to find Qīng Yǔ?"

"Six, and one human," Rossman replied. "Almost half of us are leaving. In about an hour, Henry is going to be getting up to feed each of you, and he'll notice Fain never returned your key yesterday. He'll find your cell empty and us missing. He'll certainly raise an alarm to wake the others at that time. They might assume we took you, so they might be inclined to believe you are not still here. It is up to you to figure things out on your own if we make this deal."

"You won't unlock the other cells?!" I harshly whispered. "You’re just going to leave them to this? I can't do this on my own. If you could at least unlock Wallace's, he could be a huge help."

"Fain only stole your key yesterday," Rossman whispered harshly. "We risked detection if we tried to grab the rest. You have to figure out how to deal with things yourself, but at least you will be free and not in your cell. All the dogs will be gone too. You only have to worry about Royal and his closest allies. Just tell me who has a hard copy, or we leave your door locked."

Royal would be in a rage. I had to get not just Qīng Yǔ, but everyone out. Otherwise, others would end up dead. Me accomplishing that was a longshot from hell, but it was impossible if I was locked up.

"Twilight Sparkle has a journal that covers everything regarding transformation magic. She is going to be performing an experimental piece of transformation magic very soon in Equestria. As for my research, in particular, the Pentagon has copies, but I don't know where they are kept," I answered quickly. "That's all I have. Is that good enough for your deal?"

"We fucking stopped by here for that!" Fain growled.

Rossman stepped back and nodded. "It confirms there are hard copies somewhere on Earth; that's more than we had before. Someone, somewhere, knows where they are. Knowing they are out there and where to start looking is more than we had. We will honor our deal. Good luck, Miss Blessing. I hope you make it out alive, and if you do, maybe we can discuss your research more in the future."

"Fuck it all," Fain hissed as she put a hand to her face. She removed it and looked at me. "This place has three levels; this is the middle level. Your filly is down on the third. It’s one big storage room, and she is in a locked closet at the back of it. It isn't a magic-proof cell like this. Living quarters and the regular exit are up on the first floor, but I'm assuming you'll just teleport out. If you get out, you'll be about ten minutes from an old dirt road that eventually leads out to highway forty. It's a whole lot of nothing for a long time, but maybe you can hitchhike. Not my problem; I just know I ain't a murderer, and I don't torture infants! Royal can go fuck himself; I'm out!"

Fain and Rossman exited, practically running, and left the door hanging wide open. Okay, this was happening.

I got up and stumbled out the door into the light and tried to get my bearings. I had thought it was a long hall, but it was actually one big circular room with steel doors all around me. There was a very obvious staircase, what looked like an area where the dogs had been, and a big square painted in white on the middle of the floor. I had to assume that these were all the cells, and one of the doors was the room they had tortured us in, but I had no clue which. There was no sign of Rossman and Fain. They really did high tail it out as fast as they could. I wish they had told me where the keys were before they left.

I tested my magic, just doing a small light spell, and was relieved when it worked. However they were dampening magic; it was just in the cells. I had that much going for me.

They said that Henry would be going by and feeding everyone soon. I needed to be off this floor before he did that. I ran to the stairs and saw that it was one set that went either up or down. Living quarters and a whole lot of trouble was upstairs while my goal was down, so I headed down.

The bottom floor wasn't completely dark, but it was dim, and there were large wooden crates everywhere that created a labyrinth on the open floor. There were crates of food, jugs of water, and bales of hay—everything they needed to stay here indefinitely.

I couldn't see anything past all the supplies they had stored; it was like a maze that I would need to get through. I hoped that the closet didn't have a steel door as well. I had no idea where the keys were still, so my best option was to try to blow the lock, and I wasn't strong enough to do that with a steel door. It was a problem to worry about if it came, first thing was finding the thing.

After a few steps into the crates, I heard footsteps coming down the staircase. I quickly hid behind the closest box and perked my ears—definitely footsteps, not hooves. This would be Henry coming to get the food to feed everyone.

I didn't dare try to peek out from my cover to try to see him. The last thing I needed was him raising the alarm that I was down here. I briefly considered incapacitating him somehow. If he was about to take food to the cells, he would be raising an alarm anyway. Trying to get him was a non-starter, though. If anything went wrong, they would get the notice that I was down here. If he found the cell empty and their turncoat compatriots gone, they would probably focus on trying to figure out where Rossman and the others had run off to with me. They might even take time checking each of the cells to see if anyone else was missing. I cursed myself for not thinking to at least close the door to my cell behind me; that might have bought a few minutes more. I should have thought of these things. I was failing as a rescuer. Oh well, no use worrying about it. Well… plenty of worrying about it, but nothing I could do about it now.

Hmm, if they were going to check the cells, that would include checking on Qīng Yǔ. I would need to move fast as soon as he went back upstairs.

It felt like an eternity holding my breath, daring not to move even the tiniest bit, while Henry gathered the food. I was rewarded after a few moments with his footsteps going up the stairs. I needed to move, and I needed to move now.

I ran, dodging around crates as I pushed towards the far side of the room. In places, there were so many piled close together they effectively made a wall that forced me to detour, slowing me down further. I didn't have time for this!

My ears perked, and I skidded to a halt, finding the closest crate I could find to hide behind.

Royal was raging. "Go ahead and check the rest! I need to check the foal! We are screwed if we manage to lose them both! I don't care if every one of those forsaken lost ones got away. They aren't as important as the Apostate and the foal! When I find Rossman and the rest, I'll kill them! Get me a headcount on who's deserted!"

Royal must have known the quickest path to the back, and it luckily didn't involve coming near me. Still, I cowered down and listened. Could I ambush him? He was magically stronger than me, most ponies were stronger than me, but he seemed a cut above that if his blast that had taken Salt Shaker's head off was any indication. There was no way I could overpower him by magical means. It would be like asking an infant to wrestle a bodybuilder to the ground.

I heard a door open. "The foal's still here. At least we have that," I heard Royal say with relief. I listened to a kicking sound and the sound of Qīng Yǔ crying out in pain just before the door slammed, and my rage flared almost high enough to drown out my fear. "Don't even think of running, stupid filly!" he spat.

"You could have just pushed her back with magic. You didn't need to kick her!" an unfamiliar mare angrily shouted at Royal. "That's probably why we have all these defections. This isn't how ponies are supposed to behave. We're supposed to be better than this."

"Don't question me! Go find Fain, if she hasn't defected too. I need to make a phone call to see how we get out of this mess!" Royal snarled. "You can bet that traitor Rossman is going to anonymously tip off the authorities with our exact location. We need to figure out where we're going quickly. Find Mid Rift! Make sure he didn't turn traitor too. If he did, getting out of here quick is going to be hard."

"Don't count on it," the other replied. "Dog Bite got all his dogs out without making a sound while going by us, the only way he did that is if Mid Rift portaled him out. I'm betting Mid Rift is gone too."

"Shit!" Royal shouted. "Just go get the head count and let me make this call."

Whoever had been talking to Royal did not take the path back that they had in, and instead came much closer. I heard her stopping and starting her trot over and over again. She either didn’t know the path as well or was scared that someone might have been hiding down here. It was hard to track where she was going to end up with the way the room echoed and her non-straight path. I just cowered as close to a crate as I could and hoped for the best, resisting the urge to close my eyes.

Then she walked right in front of me.

She was one of the mares from Pony Hope that had tried to lynch me, I recognized the face instantly. She paused and looked right at me. I panicked and started to light my horn to fight but she held up a hoof as if saying to hold, and then looked back behind her.

"What's taking so long for you to go upstairs?" Royal screamed. "Are you so stupid you forgot where the stairs are?"

She scowled at the insult and glanced at me again. "I thought I heard something, but it turned out to be a rat. I'll go check on everypony upstairs." She then walked away.

Thank you, God! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I heard her going up the stairs and started to creep closer to Royal. I had to take him out without him noticing, but I needed to see him to get a clear shot. I needed to see him before he could see me, because if he did, I was done for.

"Royal Bearing, why are you calling us? We told you never to call unless it was an emergency." a robot sounding voice annoyingly barked.

The phone call might distract him. That was good. I continued to creep, holding my breath.

"The Apostate got away. I've got a mutiny on my hooves. Rossman and his team are gone, they took Sunset Blessing, but they didn't think to take the filly. Police are probably going to be told where we are soon, and I might be without Mid Rift. I need somewhere to go."

"You managed to lose her despite all the resources we provided you? How could you be this incompetent! When Poly Glot failed, he at least didn't cost us this much money! You should have just killed her right away instead of trying to pry that spell out of her! She's dangerous. She must be eliminated! That's what you were hired to do! Not chasing after ETS!"

Wait, what? I paused where I was and continued listening. I silently begged him to say a name. Please, say who you are talking to. I need to know! The voice was going through some sort of electronic synthesizer. Hearing it alone gave me no clues who it was.

"I've still got the filly!" Royal protested. "I can get her to you!"

"Idiot, we do not need her to be brought to us. Threats against her work from anywhere. Get to Omaha and give us a call when you get there. If you make it, then we shall discuss things then. Until then, you are on your own."

"Wait! Don't hang up!" Royal pleaded. I then heard him buck something large. "Damn it! What am I going to do?" He repeated several times. I heard him start crying. "Got to find that cat carrier, get that filly in it, and get out of here. Just teleport out and start running. Can't trust anyone here. Just get the filly and go. I'm sorry, Prim. I didn't get to avenge you. I was stupid and I let that bitch get away."

He broke down into incoherent sobs, but I heard the door for the closet opening again. He was as frustrated as he was going to get. It was now or never.

I got up and ran, criss-crossing through the rows of crates. I cleared them, and saw him by the closet door, cat carrier shakily held in his magic, and Qīng Yǔ struggling against his sloppy grip as he tried to force her inside it. I charged up a blast as I ran and let it rip.

It missed him, striking the door and blowing it into wood chips. I missed. The most important shot I could take, and I missed!

He instantly brought up a shield up and turned to face me. His eyes fell on me and practically exploded with hate. "You! I'll kill you!"

I barely jumped out of the way of a blast, throwing up a shield as I did. It missed me, but hit the wooden crates behind me, and the resulting explosion knocked me through the air. He charged up another shot, and I didn't know how, but I blink teleported just out of the way, but was knocked down to the ground as the magic connected with more crates to explode in a shower of splinters. Another blast came right after that, and this time the end of my tail got caught in it and caught on fire. I rolled, swishing my tail about, and started chucking burning wood at him. He put a shield up to block them and then grabbed a mid-sized crate in his magic and threw it at me. It connected, and I found myself dazed on the ground, surrounded by burning wood.

He advanced slowly towards me, his mouth twisted into the most hateful sneer I had ever seen on a pony, distorting his features into something that barely resembled a pony face. I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't fight him. How was I supposed to win this? It was impossible!

"You took my wife from me! You made me look like a fool! You think you can come in here and throw down with me?!" he savagely snarled. "I'm not a screw-up! You're the screw-up! Everything you do leads to misery, one mistake after another! Now you think you can play the hero? All you do is make mistakes, and this is going to be your biggest and final one!"

A sudden realization came to me, and a glimmer of hope. I made mistakes… I made a lot of mistakes—more mistakes than most could ever make. That meant I had what I needed in order to win.

I glared up at him, defiant. I felt like pissing myself, but I had to do this. I needed to piss him off even more than he was now, hard as that might be to accomplish. I needed him to do something big and poorly thought out.

"You're right. I've a lot of mistakes, a lot of mistakes that will haunt me for the rest of my life, but I got nothing on you," I said snidely, lighting my horn, but holding back. I had to wait for the right moment.

He lowered his horn and pointed it at me. "Shut up!"

"I mean, look around you," I continued, as if each word wasn't likely my last. "Everyone abandons you because you disgust them so much. Not even that psychotic human could stand you. The only thing you will ever be successful at is showing how wrong Shimmerism is."

"SHUT UP!" he said, shaking his head.

"And your wife… the one you want so much to avenge? What do you think she will do when she hears you murdered in cold blood? When she hears you were going to torture a foal. Is she going to say you're her hero, or is she going to recoil in terror and say she wants a divorce from that monster?"

I was Sunset Blessing. I took whatever I had and made something more from it. I couldn't overpower him through raw force of magic, but I could use his. I had my magic, his magic, and a lifetime of knowledge learned from mistakes.

He reared up on his hind legs preparing to throw everything he had into one last blast to erase me from existence. My horn dimly lit up as I kept talking. "But one thing about mistakes—" He brought his hooves down and I merged my magic with his, joining with his simplistic spell and adding new spell runes to his sloppy use of force, sabotaging his spell from within. "—you learn… how badly things… can go wrong," I finished in a whimper, imagining my wife's last moments alone.

His horn exploded.

A fiery inferno erupted from where his horn had been, Royal disappeared from my view as he was engulfed in fire. I turned to shield my eyes and was knocked back, feeling agonizing pain as the part of the fire struck my shoulder and neck and I felt the fur burn straight down to the flesh.

The last thing I thought before I blacked out was a prayer that Qīng Yǔ had been sheltered from the blast.

Chapter 90: Who You Want To Be

The green park of the shared dream was just as pleasant as ever, but the other prisoners were not with me, only Tonya and Yinyu, both in their pony forms. I didn't even get to ask what was going on before Yinyu tackled me and squeezed.

"You saved her! I don't know what I would have... Thank you!" Yinyu cried.

That instantly pulled me back to my last conscious thoughts. "Qīng Yǔ is okay? Thank God."

"She is safe, as are all the others," Tonya confirmed with a nod, then smiled. "You did good, my love. The authorities were already in the area searching, but the crystal ponies felt a huge sudden surge of magic and were able to home in on where it came from. We have been letting you rest in a dreamless sleep for hours now, letting your body recover. You still need rest, so we shall not keep you long."

Yinyu let me go, and I frowned. "What about Royal Bearing and the others?"

"Those that fled early are still on the run," Tonya replied. "Those that remained surrendered without a fight. Royal Bearing… I gave him his last rites. He did not survive long after his confrontation with you."

"Someone finished him off?" I asked in confusion.

Tonya shook her head. "His horn exploded, and he had an inferno erupt from where it had been. It roasted him alive. He didn't die immediately, but he was unconscious, and his injuries overtook him minutes later. I gave him a final dream."

"I hope it was a nightmare," I muttered.

"Everyone gets their final pleasant dream, even Royal Bearing. I do not discriminate, no matter how much I want to," Tonya replied in a sad tone. "I did not invite his loved ones to say goodbye. I did not want that confrontation to be the last moment he and his wife had—more for her than him. I want her to have a pleasant last memory, not having to confront him for his misdeeds. The final dream is a mercy, not to be used to enact some form of justice. Let whatever afterlife there is be responsible for that; it is not my place to punish the dying."

I frowned. "You could have made an exception."

"Sunset…" Tonya lamented.

"Okay, fine," I fussed. "I guess I would hate to see what my final dream was if I got the one I deserved." I looked down at the ground. "It is never going to end, is it? There's always going to be someone after me. Whoever was paying the bills, they wanted me dead, and they were the ones that sent Poly Glot too. They didn't even care about getting knowledge from me—just wanted me dead. They don't even care how many people die in the process. How do I deal with that?!"

"I can't answer that," Tonya replied remorsefully.

"Of course you can't," I snapped, then realized who I was barking at and shook my head. "Sorry, it's just… stressful. Qīng Yǔ didn't get hurt at all?"

"Some mild bruises," Yinyu replied with relief. "Nothing that she won't quickly heal. She is shaken up, but she should recover from that as well. They found her nuzzled up against you, crying. My poor granddaughter was scared for you. I'm sure she'll be thrilled when she sees you wake."

"Who gave you permission to tell me all these things?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Rosetta Stone," she answered with a smile. "She got the full report and made sure to tell me to tell you if you were still asleep. She thought you would want to know. She said no one else would think about permitting us to tell you, and it would cut down on your questions when you should be resting in bed. You need time to recover."

I scrunched up my muzzle. "How bad is it?"

Yinyu's smile dropped. "That I was not permitted to tell you. Only that you should take it easy. I'm confident you'll be hearing that from the doctors soon enough."

"I'm not burnt out, am I?" I asked fearfully.

She shook her head. "No, that I can say. You're magically exhausted, again, so no magic for a while, but not burnt out. For any physical injuries, you must consult a doctor. We are not good sources for identifying the full extent of anyone's injuries. We rely on what your nervous system tells your brain, and that is surprisingly unreliable information. We can recognize when something is not right or if death is imminent, but details on what exactly is wrong are too difficult for us to determine, most of the time. Trust the doctors over us on that information."

"We think you'll be waking soon," Tonya said with a smile, then roughly pushed Yinyu aside to embrace me, taking her time to cry on my shoulder. "You could have died. I always knew I would lose you long before I was gone, even before getting stuck with a two-hundred-year clock ticking away on me, but… I'm not ready for you to go, not yet. You owe me twenty to fifty years, Sunset. Please… please take care of yourself."

I wasn't able to respond before the dream faded.

Switching between the dream realm and the waking world always came with some level of disorientation, even when you knew the shift was coming. This time, it came with a jolt of pain.

"OWW!" I moaned as I jerked my head, causing even more pain.

"ANTY!"

"Hold still. Don't jump on Ma'am! How long do these doctors take to respond to a page? Qīng Yǔ, no! Stay with me! Tā mā de!"

"ANTY! ANTY!"

I tried turning my head, still disoriented, and hissed as I got another shot of pain.

"Anty?"

"Ma'am, hold still! You should not try to turn your head. The doctor should be coming."

I did as instructed. "Lántiān? Is it my imagination, or did your daughter learn a new word?"

"That is what you wish to ask first?" she replied in astonishment.

"The last thing I remember thinking before I passed out was worrying over her, so she's been on my mind," I replied. I was trying very hard to resist the urge to turn. My neck and shoulder felt stiff and sore.

"Yes, I taught her a new word. She cried when being taken away from you. So I taught her how to address you," Lántiān replied in a much calmer voice. "She is mostly unhurt. She has a large bruise on her underside that she should not be jumping around so much with. I think something struck her hard. Still, she is better than you… or the stallion they found near you."

I had a good guess how that happened and resisted gritting my teeth in anger. "What was that you said a moment ago in Mandarin? It did not translate."

"Don't concern yourself, Ma'am. It is… something said in frustration," Lántiān replied flusteredly.

"A cuss word?" I asked. "You should avoid using those around your daughter. Foals pick up those words faster than anything else. I think they stand out more because they hear the emotion behind it."

"Now is not the time to discuss foal rearing, Ma'am," Lántiān snapped. "You are hurt. Where are the doctors!"

"I don't know," I answered.

"I wasn't talking to you!" she snapped again.

"Your bedside manner really fucking sucks," I said tiredly.

"Ma'am, you are a hypocrite!" Lántiān screamed in frustration. "Qīng Yǔ, Auntie is a shǎ bī!"

"Are you teaching her to call me a curse word?" I asked in astonishment.

"Maybe. You are not my mother, and she isn't the boss of me anyway," Lántiān huffed.

I started to turn my head and winced as I was reminded that was a terrible idea. "Where did you pick up that turn of phrase?"

She sighed. "We sat watching old American sitcoms as we awaited the phone to ring with word of you and my daughter. Your parents said it would distract us and ease tension. We… it has been hard. I kept thinking terrible things."

I closed my eyes. "I can only imagine."

We sat in silence for a few seconds before she continued. "They said they found you next to a dead stallion. Did you kill him, Ma'am?"

"He was going to torture Qīng Yǔ," I answered.

Another few seconds of heavy silence passed. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"Anty!" Qīng Yǔ cried pitifully.

Lántiān sighed. "After the doctors see her, little one. I will let you get close to her then."

My mouth felt dry. I hoped they brought some water. "I'm guessing they said everyone couldn't be in here at once, but how did you end up being the one in here with me?"

She took a few seconds to answer. "Qīng Yǔ did not want to be separated from you. She was actually licking your wounds at points—they are bandaged now, but I saw them; they look unpleasant. I may have also raised my voice at the others, telling them how it was going to be. They are in the waiting room."

I heard a door open. "Miss Blessing, you are awake!"

I lifted a hoof in false enthusiasm; luckily, that didn't hurt. "I'm awake."

"And alert I see," the doctor or nurse, a human woman from the sounds of her steps, replied. "I'm going to check your bandages, take some vitals, and ask you a few questions."

"Hooray," I muttered.

"That's the spirit!" they replied, either not catching my sarcasm or choosing to disregard it altogether. "Now, on a scale of one to ten. How much pain are you in?"

"When I stay still, maybe a three, when I try to move my head or shoulder, it jumps to an eight."

"An eight? That's actually promising; I was expecting you to say nine or ten."

I felt like growling. "Have you heard what I have gone through the last two days? I only said eight because I know what nine and ten feel like!"

The woman coughed. "You'll have to forgive me. There is an ongoing investigation, and I have only briefed about your injuries, not the causes. I know you are suffering severe physical and magical exhaustion along with fatigue, muscle strain, and worst of all, showing second and third-degree burns all along the right side of your body and fourth-degree burns in sections along your right side of your neck and right shoulder."

"That sounds bad," I said with a wince.

"I am not going to lie, it is bad, but you are doing surprisingly well, all things considered," the doctor replied. I saw her briefly as she came over and tapped on the side of my neck. "Do you feel that?"

"No, I hear it. Are those my bandages?" I asked.

"Yes, but the reason you don't feel it is the nerves underneath have been burned away. The pain you are feeling is from lesser burns further out. It is unlikely that you will regain sensation in parts of your neck and shoulder, but I am confident we can get to where you can walk and even partially turn your head to look to the side."

I closed my eyes again, trying to process that. "Are there magical treatments that can help?"

"That is with the known magical treatments, Miss Blessing. You do not understand the extent of the nerve damage; ten years ago, this would have permanently crippled you, and the best we would be able to do is prosthetics to help. We can use magic to regrow enough of the nerves and muscles to make you able to function again, but it is never going to be back to what it was before. The burn got down into your very marrow in places; everything above that is cauterized."

"So, I'm going to look like Two-Face from a Batman comic?" I cried.

"Your face got away with only mild first-degree burns, and much of your body is just first and second-degree burns. It was the neck and shoulder that took the brunt of it," the doctor replied, then sighed. "I have worked the burn ward for over fifteen years, and I have never seen a case quite like this—one where the intense burns were so localized despite such a large area getting burned. What caused this?"

"Magical mishap with someone else's horn," I replied as I got ahold of myself. "So I'm not going to walk around as some piebald freak?"

"Everything but the shoulder and neck should heal under the treatments," the doctor assured me. "We might be able to do some grafts for the shoulder and neck, depending on how the regrowth goes."

I winced. Well, it could be worse. "How long am I going to be in rehabilitation from this? I have foals to take care of."

"Ma'am, there is plenty of family to assist while you recover," Lántiān said placatingly.

"I can't set a timetable to that yet," the doctor cautioned. "If everything goes well, we can get you home in a week with regular follow-ups and assistance visits for a few months after. If things go poorly… it could be a month or more until your release. I don't want to hazard a guess until the regrowth treatment has been done and set for a day or two."

She took my vitals, changed out the bandages—which made Lántiān hiss so loudly I didn't want to know what it looked like underneath. In the meantime, I did my best to silently think. After everything I had just gone through, I was not going to let this beat me. Whoever hired Royal and Poly Glot wanted me gone from the world, and I wasn't going to give them that. Even more than that, I wanted to be active enough to be regularly involved with the foals and not hearing about things from a bed.

The doctor finished, and I allowed Qīng Yǔ to nuzzle my face and her mother had to pull her away when the filly started trying to lick my wounds. Then the parade of visitors began, in sets of two, beginning with my parents.

"My poor baby filly!" Mom cried as she entered the room.

"Don't go trying to hug her, dear. You could hurt her more," Dad cautioned.

"I can't even touch my daughter!"

"Give it time, dear."

"I hear you, Mom, that's good enough," I said with a smile, even if I didn't dare turn my head.

"Amicus and her husband, along with Andrea, are coming," Dad informed me. "Wild Growth has offered to let them stay, pay moving expenses, and offered Andrea the job as head of security for the house. Amicus said she could help you with any legal matters, all her foals are grown, and it would be just her and her husband moving. She said she could open a new office locally. They want to be here and help. Wild Growth offered for Sinker and us to come live with you too if you'll have us. We aren't so old we can't help out with keeping up with your place."

"It's completely selfish. Your mother is just dying to get her hooves on your gardens," Dad chuckled.

I heard my mother swat him. "And don't say you aren't eager to have an excuse to do some handypony work!"

"We also heard there might be an extra bed available in the colts' room. Sinker can take that," Dad added on.

"A little filly should not be sharing a room with three older uncles anyway. What were you thinking!?" Mom scolded.

"I guess I wasn't," I confessed. "It's a good thing I'll have you all around to keep me from doing anything stupid. Are you sure Andrea is ready to leave her job at the FBI? That was always kind of her dream."

"She is sick of being underappreciated and denied promotions," Dad answered, then lowered his voice. "Plus, she's a whistleblower now. They aren't supposed to go after ponies that whistleblow, but… the reality never really works out. The writing is on the wall now, and she knows it. She doesn't regret it."

"If she hadn't done that, there wouldn't have already been a search party in the area you were in, and the crystal ponies would never have detected that surge. They would have all kept doing what they were doing instead of trying to solve the case," Mom said with barely contained rage.

"Thank you for reaching out to her when you did," I said with total sincerity. "I don't know what would have happened if I just took out Royal and was left with all the others to deal with. I doubt they would be as bad, but I don't see them as just letting me go."

That put my mother back into a crying fit, and my dad had to lead her out of the room carefully. I wasn't alone for long.

"Auntie!" a trio of voices rang out.

"Hold! Do not jostle her! You may speak with her, but you must understand she is hurt and needs rest," Lántiān barked.

"Did my ears deceive me, or was that three Aunties I heard?" I asked the room.

"Auntie!" Mèng said joyfully.

Lántiān actually chuckled. "Josie and your daughter-in-law have been helping him learn and form American words. Rosetta Stone is quite a skilled teacher."

"It's kinda her thing. Nice to hear they are getting along," I replied. "You three can call me Mama, or Mom, if you like."

"We want to keep calling you Auntie. It's special, our special word for you being our mama too like you told me. I told Líng all about it, and he agrees!" Shǔguāng explained.

"Yeah! A special word that is all ours!" Líng said excitedly as I heard him bounce. "That way, we don't get confused about which mama we are talking about. You're smart, Auntie!"

I could be upset they weren't going to call me Mom or Mama, but they were right; calling me Auntie was something more personal between us, something that was all our own, and it felt right.

"When are you going to be up and better, Auntie?" Shǔguāng asked worriedly. "We want you to be better."

"We miss you. We were afraid you were going to go away and not come back… like Mama," Líng whimpered.

"Ma'am cannot answer—"

"I'll be up and as good as new before you know it," I assured them quickly, cutting their sister off.

"Can we hug you now?" Líng asked in a hopeful tone. "We missed you. We love you."

"That isn't a good idea—" Lántiān began again.

"It's fine," I answered, cutting her off again. "Just be very gentle, okay?"

I heard Lántiān grumble. "You are the cause of your misery, Ma'am! Hold still, each of you, and I will lift you up to join her on the bed. Only one of you at a time!"

They each got their turn, and for their part, they did their best to be gentle—aside from Mèng, who just didn't understand the instruction, but understood my pained groan and was more gentle after. That didn't mean the other two didn't hurt. Their hugs hurt a lot, but sometimes the pain was worth it. I needed those hugs, and they needed to give them.

Someone cleared their throat near the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't have a lot of time. Do you mind if I get a few words alone with your guardian?" I recognized Twilight Sparkle's voice.

"She's not our guardian; she's our Auntie-Mama!" Líng protested.

"I think she can be all those things," Twilight replied. I could hear the smile in her voice. "Just a few minutes, and then you can have her back. I promise."

"Okay, as long as you promise," Líng said grudgingly, utterly unconcerned about the fact he was talking to an alicorn princess.

I heard all of Yinyu's brood exit the room, and Twilight's hoofsteps approach me. "Sunset, I am very sorry I did not take more time to investigate your problem. I might not have been versed in that spell, and I might have been on a tight schedule—something that happens far too much lately—but I should have made sure you were safe. I am deeply sorry for taking off when you needed my help."

I tried to turn to look at her and failed. Why did they put me on my back? I wasn't a human. This was such an undignified and unnatural position for a pony. They even had braces to keep me in place.

"Fain would have been a major threat to you, and you weren't versed in that spell. You also needed to get things going with Bursa. How is she, by the way?"

"Oh, the spell was a success," Twilight said, and I could hear the forced enthusiasm behind it. "However… she's ended up as a queen, and an unreformed one at that. I know that you don't understand the full ramifications of that, but it's not ideal. She'll live, and I have already contacted Thorax to try to see about reforming her. She isn't in pain, and we are making sure she gets plenty of love. She hasn't tried to eat anypony yet, so we have that good news too."

"Not eating ponies is good," I agreed.

"I may have poorly worded it. It's not eating eating, like that," Twilight corrected. "Changelings have… unique feeding habits."

I took as deep a breath as I could without hurting myself. "I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Twilight asked in a slightly skeptical voice. "Just to let you know. I have already sent a dispatch to get our best healing mages here to try to help with your injuries."

I smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate that, but what I need is assistance with one last major magic project. I need the government's permission, and I might need material from Equestria. You can help me with both those things."

"What kind of magic project?" Twilight asked, still sounding skeptical.

I closed my eyes again as I spoke. "I want to go out and do my part again, maybe keeping it local, so I am never far from my family. I also want to be in good health to see my foals grow up and be there for all their big moments."

"Alright, but what exactly does that have to do with a magic project and needing materials from Equestria?"

I opened my eyes again and stared up at the light. "It's time to retire from public life as Sunset Blessing and let the world think I am stuck sick in bed. I need your help to make a talisman with a very specific spell."

Author's Notes:

coming to the end, one more chapter.

Afterward: What I Became

One year later

I watched the television as I sat at the hotel bar, waiting for my interview. I wished I could have changed the channel from the local news. I suppose I could have asked, but I liked keeping a low profile.

And with this election, the Blessingist movement shows that it will be a force going forward in politics. Though they currently lack a strong leadership figure to rally around. All signs indicate Sunset Blessing will remain bedridden following her kidnapping a year ago, largely hidden behind the tall gates and her security at Wabash Manor for the rest of her life. Join us tomorrow as we get the rare opportunity to enter her residence and do a personal interview with the reclusive pony.

Nervously touching a hand to my shirt to make sure my talisman was still hidden beneath it, I turned away from the television. I was not looking forward to that interview. My sisters were going to do their best to make me look absolutely pathetic. I had decided I would give an interview like this every few years, just to keep the world convinced that I was just a broken shell of a pony.

I took a quick sip of my drink, plain sweet tea, and found myself wishing it was Lántiān's brew. She still had a few years left before she started college, but I reminded myself for the hundredth time that I needed her to teach me how she made it before she ended up far away from me.

"Charlotte Newman?"

A pleasant-looking, middle-aged woman came up next to me with a smile and her hand outstretched. I smiled in return and reached out my hand to hers.

"That would be me. You are Connie Morgan?"

"Yes, that is me," she answered as she took a seat next to me. "I'm glad to see you here on time. I would normally have dismissed interviewing you, based on the fact you have virtually no work experience, but Twilight Sparkle gave you a glowing recommendation, and that counts for something."

I nodded. "I tend to keep to myself. Just running errands for Miss Blessing. She isn't that demanding, but she can have some wild requests sometimes."

Connie nodded. "That also fascinated me. You seemed to have earned the respect of one of the most reclusive ponies there is. How did you manage to do that?"

I took another sip of my tea before answering that. "Miss Blessing appreciates my magical talents. It isn't every day you find a human that can see thaumic energy and runes. Obviously, I can't perform any magic myself, but I can tell what anyone around me is doing or if something isn't right. With how concerned Miss Blessing is about her security, you understand where that can be invaluable. No one expects a human to pick up on that stuff."

Connie shivered. "I've been on the wrong end of harmful magic before. It wasn't a fun experience. I can appreciate that skill. That isn't related to the position you are interviewing for, though."

I smiled. "I am rather good with organization and keeping an ear to the ground for potential problems. Miss Blessing says I am wasting my talents staying in Wabash Manor, and I need to get out and do bigger things. I think I can do a lot to help you keep abreast of what is going on in Colorado while you are off in Washington and help keep you aware of some current events elsewhere that might slip through the cracks. I'm also excellent at sorting out facts from fiction. A leader should always be doing everything they can to have a good information network."

"That is true," Connie replied. She then signaled the bartender. "Excuse me? If you can, can you have a cook bring me a house salad, actually, two of them, and I'll have the same tea my friend is having?"

"Coming right up," the bartender replied and walked off briefly to inform the cook of the order.

Connie brought her head close to me and whispered. "Twilight told me the truth about who you are. I can keep a secret and see where your insights can be invaluable. I may even hire you, but I need you to promise me, no deception between us. If I get the impression you are trying to use me for some Machiavellian scheme, you're out. Do you agree?"

I was a little shocked she knew, but not completely. I had half-expected Twilight to tell her. "My identity remains private to everyone else. Sunset Blessing is sick in bed. Agree to that, and I agree with your terms."

She held a hand out to me, and I extended my own; we shook hands again and waited for our salads to arrive.

Ten Years After the Abduction

Skytree, once Riverview. I had been back here several times since the Cataclysm. My foster daughter, goddaughter, daughter, grandfoals, and now great grandfoals all lived here, so it made sense to stop by from time to time, even if Charlotte Newman was technically the one making the trip. This was the first time I had been here as myself, and it was also the first time I had dared let myself walk out to the center of where the Bastion once stood. I had always avoided it, but today was a day to look to the future, and to do that, I first needed to let go of the past.

The main grounds of the monument were largely clear of people, kept back by security as they watched from behind the roped-off lines. Most of them were probably filming me. I wish they weren't there. I wished I could keep this a private moment, but there was no way I could get privacy in such a public place. Just being out of Wabash and here was newsworthy. I just tried to pretend they were not there.

I looked upward at the green branches of the four trees that towered over the city, the last remnants of the great mass that Wild had grown here years ago. It was raining, but no raindrops could penetrate the canopy, thick as it was. They were even bigger than the original tree, which still stood in a separate park not far away. All of them were still healthy, still filled with the magic of Wild Growth which sustained them when all rules of botany and physics said they should wither and die. These were not simply titan-sized apple trees, but instead magical artifacts of great power with one sole purpose—to live. Were they bound to her in some way or completely independent of her? I did not know. All evidence pointed to the latter, which is what the world believed, but we may never understand that deeper magic that those like Wild had, even me, who was one of the few who even knew it was there.

The trees made this place peaceful and serene, a far cry from the devastation that had rocked this place years before, but they were not why I was here. I was here for what was in the center, a stone monument, surrounded by a reflection pond, engraved with the names of all who had perished that day. This place was not just a monument and tourist site; this place was the grave of those whose names were inscribed on that stone. They may not have had bodies left to bury, but their ashes were part of the soil from which these trees grew. One name, in particular, drew me here today, Tonya Blessing.

In my magic, I carried a bouquet of flowers. I walked slowly towards the center. My pace was not set merely by my inability to move quickly, although my right leg certainly didn't allow for a quick pace, even ten years after it was injured. No, it was like walking into the bedroom of someone sleeping and not wanting to wake them. Here lay Tonya, sleeping forever.

I reached the reflection pond and gazed across to the stone, reading each name carefully and reciting each back to myself in a silent dirge. I knew many of these people. Seen them many times in the Bastion before it had fallen, smiled at them, asked them how their families were doing. They were not just names. Each had been a life I had been acquainted with, a soul that, for however briefly, joined me on my journey through life. I had shed many tears for them over the years as well, but had often lumped them together. They deserved to be remembered individually by me, at least this once. I owed them much more than that.

After getting through the other names, I focused on hers. I levitated the flowers across the pond, carefully placing them at the base of the stone.

"I know I can speak to Arbiter every night, but it is time to accept that she is not the mare I loved," I whispered, crying. "I do care for Arbiter, and I know she cares about me, but it is not the same kind of love I shared with you. Perhaps we can think of Arbiter as your child. You always wanted one. It makes sense since she was made from you, and much of you is in her, but that does not make her you. You perished that day, and she rose from the ashes. It is time to let go of your ghost. Would you be proud of me? Even Arbiter might not know, but I hope you would."

I sat and sang Amazing Grace, giving my final lament and at last burying the dead.

It took a few minutes to gather myself, but gather myself I did, and I walked, undisturbed by the watching crowds, who seemed to understand the solemness of the occasion, and gave it that respect as I went back to the waiting car.

The rain had stopped, and Jess stood quietly by the car. It was a classic red nineteen-fifties Corvette with the retractable roof currently down. Everyone had their side hobbies, and I was told she personally rebuilt the car herself over the last two years as one of hers—God damn overachiever, building her first car. She walked to the front passenger side door to open it for me. I took my time and paused for one last look at the monument.

"Do you need a moment, Auntie?" Jess asked, keeping her voice low, not pressuring me.

I shook my head. "My heart has been here long enough. It is time to go. Don't drive too fast. My old bones can't take the speeds you youngsters go at."

Her ears flexed but didn't lay back. "I will go nice and slow. Don't worry."

We got into the car and strapped ourselves in. Number was sitting in the backseat with her electronic pad.

"We took a little longer than planned, but not much," Number informed us. "We should be no more than five minutes behind schedule, which is fashionably late." The unicorn then proceeded to pull out her cigarettes.

Jess immediately flattened her ears and turned to glare at Number. "You will not light that up in my car! If you even think about it, I'll make you walk to the party."

Number, who already had put the cigarette in her lips, pulled it out and leveled her old mare gaze on Jess. "Miss Middleton, I am old enough that I should be given leeway to smoke in a car with the roof down, and I have a report of you once smoking a joint and engaging in underage consumption of alcohol at a college party, so you can't point moral fingers, young woman."

I shook my head in anticipation of what was coming. "You brought this on yourself, Number."

Jess's tail was quaking, even though her expression hadn't changed. "Okay, Miss Crunch. First, it is not Miss Middleton, it is Doctor Middleton, and you will respect that title. Second, unless you have unaltered photographic proof, you can't prove anything—and you having reports about any of that is just creepy and borders on stalking, and if it is still happening, then it needs to stop before I call the police and hire a lawyer. Third, even if you had that, it is not applicable to this discussion, nor is your relative age to mine. Fourth, and most importantly, this is my car, and if I tell you no, then I mean no. Do you want to test me, or do you want to see how far your poor elderly legs can walk? What's it going to be?"

I love my family. I chortled. "I think Jess just told you to fuck off and put the cigarette away."

Number grumbled and stuffed her cancer stick away, giving Jess a pouting look. "No respect for your elders. You aren't as much fun as Wild was when she was your age."

"Oh, hush. She's right on all counts," I told my old friend.

"I don't see her fussing at you for not calling her Doctor," Number griped.

"Well, I have family privilege," I said proudly. "I'm also not so senile I will deliberately piss off the nice person who volunteered their personal time to drive me around today when they could be doing anything else."

The drive back to the hotel wasn't very long and involved me and Number throwing insults back and forth that neither of us meant. Jess kept quiet and tuned us out for the duration. When we reached the hotel, Jess was kind enough to open the door for me, and after we were all out, both she and Number stood at the hotel entrance as I slowly walked to the door.

"Man, she plays up the brittle pony bit," Number sighed. "I've got two-hundred dollars that says her pace immediately picks up the second she is through the door."

"I'm not taking that bet," Jess replied, but didn't complain as she waited patiently for me to get to the entrance.

When I finally did get through the doors, my pace did pick up. It wasn't fast, but it wasn't sloth mode either. I did like to play up how poor and weak I was when out in the open. It made everyone not in the know to underestimate me. The hotel staff was on a strict non-disclosure agreement, and my family and friends were literally all the guests staying at the hotel, so I felt safe within its walls.

We entered the massive conference room, which had been converted to a ballroom for the reunion, and for the first time, I got to look out at all the people I called close friends and family gathered together in one place, close to two hundred in all. It was a massive undertaking to get them all together, and this might be the only time it happened, but looking out at the sea of faces made me smile.

The hotel staff met us inside and gave us all gaudy shirts with "Blessing Family Reunion 2041" in bright purple and yellow letters on a red background. Jess and Number immediately put theirs on without a fuss, but I just kept mine folded and laid it across my back. I played up my frailty, but trying to struggle into a shirt would be legitimately too much pain with my shoulder.

I thanked them and just quietly walked around, not engaging people much, but enjoying watching them live and talk to one another.

I spotted Shǔguāng quickly, being closely shadowed by Jordan. Shǔguāng was being stoic, as was his habit, but anyone with eyes could see that Jordan was clearly infatuated with him. In fact, I noticed Amanda a short distance away, watching her daughter and my son like a hawk, apparently not trusting a pair of seventeen-year-olds in a large hotel where it was easy to lose track of individuals.

Continuing to walk around, I spotted Wild Growth and her husband introducing their twin sons to Sapphire Sky, her husband Crescent Shadow, and Josie Woods. The three-year-old unicorn colts didn't seem that impressed with meeting such powerful ponies, but then again, their mother was a living legend, and they were three and didn't know any better. Still, I expected it stung Sapphire's ego—though, maybe not, but I hope she at least acted put out. It would give me something to pick at later, and then we could get into a contest of snide remarks. I'd been preparing some good ones and was looking forward to hearing what she had thought up. She had some wit to her.

I caught Mèng sitting at a table, playing on his tablet, and approached him. "Mèng, you can play your games any other time. You need to get up and socialize."

He looked up at me and pouted. "But, Auntie, everyone here is either older than me or younger. There aren't any people here my age."

I considered his options, and he wasn't wrong; there was a significant lack of kids in the twelve to fourteen range. "You could try hanging out with Drizzle; she's eleven."

He laid his ears back. "She's annoying and always laughs about me being her uncle."

"Drizzle isn't that annoying. She's just a happy filly," I assured him.

"Yes, she is annoying," Mèng asserted.

I sighed. "What about Aurora? She's fifteen, and she is kinda cute."

It was hard to pick up on a blush on his shade of fur, but I could still tell. "Auntie!"

I didn't think he would get too much trouble from night ponies for going outside his tribe in the dating pool, and if he did, I could ask Phobia to step in. She had for Robby when Devon and Paul asked. I was not going to have my son subjected to that. I didn't think he would actually develop a relationship with Aurora, considering she was two years older, but you never knew.

"It's okay to go talk to a pretty filly," I assured him. "The worst that could happen is she blows you off. You could at least make a friend."

"I have friends," Mèng asserted.

I frowned. "You could use a few more who aren't just online. Get up, go socialize."

He gave me an overblown sigh and left his seat. "Yes, Auntie."

I watched him go and was pleased to see he was going to talk to Aurora as I asked, which also meant spending time with Drizzle in this case, since the younger filly had chosen to try to hang out with Aurora as well. That was a good turn of events. Aurora, in the times I had met her, struck me as a promising young filly whose outgoing nature would be pleasant to have rubbed off on Mèng.

I looked around. Where was my third son? I didn't see Líng anywhere. I walked around a while and eventually came to the big glass doors that looked out on the hotel pool—of course, sixteen years old and still as predictable as when he was six. It was primarily humans out in the pool itself, Andrea's kids and grandkids from the looks of it, but I spotted a few of the Youngs as well. Líng stood out easily in the crowd and only made himself more evident by cannonballing off the diving board despite signs posted expressly forbidding that. If he wanted to get in trouble with the lifeguard, that was his business. He needed to learn his Auntie would not bail him out of trouble for every minor infraction he did. He was generally a good colt, but he was also a stupid sixteen-year-old.

Satisfied at finding him, I went back to people watching. I found Arachne and Charlotte well away from their parents, speaking with Number and Amicus's eldest son—an up incoming politician.

I already knew that it was Arachne who had chosen to start the conversation and had just dragged her twin along unwillingly as a prop. Arachne worried me a little, and I knew Phobia had her concerns as well. That filly—young mare at this point— was ambitious and uneasily reminded me of myself from the early days after ETS. She was seventeen and already on the prowl to build her political and business clout. Night pony aggression could manifest in different ways; I could already tell hers would lead to ruthlessness in business and politics. She had a famous mother, famous grandmother—me, and renowned aunt, and an inborn desire to show she could be as notable and influential as any of us or even more so. She was intelligent and sly enough, and had good instincts for this, so she bore watching.

Charlotte was looking longingly at the pool, and I knew she would rather be out there. She was her twin's opposite and despised having the legacy of her family always brought up. It was a lot of pressure, trying to live up to those lofty accomplishments, and it was easy to understand her discomfort. All my grandfoals had many legacies hanging over them that they were constantly reminded of, and each of them responded to that in their own ways.

"Grangrangran!"

I looked down and smiled at the tiny night pony staring up at me, then picked him up with my magic and deposited him on my back. "Wax, what are you doing off by yourself? Where is your father?"

"Grangrangran!" Waxing Moon answered and hugged my neck. I guess I shouldn't have expected much of an answer from a toddler. It was a fantastic feeling, being embraced by a great grandfoal.

I rolled my eyes. "Let's go find your dad. I can't believe you got far from him, you slippery rascal."

I didn't get more than three steps before finding my grandson, Nightmare Moon, looking frazzled, but relieved to see us. "You found him! I turned around for one second, and he was gone."

I levitated Wax over onto his father's back. "You shouldn't ever lose track of an infant!" I scolded. "What were you doing?"

"Trying to make sure Maria and Tynisha didn't kill one another," Moon said sheepishly.

My mouth started to open as I gave him a baffled look. "Who is Tynisha?"

"Oh, she is— possiblythemotherofyournextgreatgrandfoal," he said in one breath and took off like a bat out of hell.

"Ba-bye, Grangrangran!" Wax shouted happily as they sped out of sight.

I hopped in place. "Moon?! What are you—you can't say something like that and run away! Moon!"

He didn't come back, and I wasn't chasing him down. Okay, so I worried about all my grandfoals. If that colt had some tryst with yet another young mare and gotten her pregnant, that was all on him. Why would the dolt even invite both of—

Deep breaths, not my problem. It was his life. If anyone other than his two marefriends yelled at him, it would be his parents, sisters, or Tempest, but not me. My job was to be the great grandmother to whatever foals came of it, and if he ended up with more, I would just have more to spoil. Still— Nope! Not going to get involved. Phobia and Rosetta could throttle him, not me.

I moved on, smiling and greeting old friends and rolling my eyes at the antics of family. I eventually found one of the ponies I was searching for most, sitting by herself at a table.

"Care if I sit and rest my legs here for a few minutes?" I asked her as I climbed into a chair.

She rolled her eyes. "Do as you wish, Ma'am. You always do. Truth be told, I had been waiting for you."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Is that so?"

She nodded. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Are you ever going to stop calling me ma'am?" I asked in fake exasperation.

"I expect I will when I die, although I can't confirm that," she said with a straight face.

I blinked. "Was that a joke?"

"Maybe."

I shook my head. "Always so difficult." I looked her over. Her mane was not in its usual straight bangs; she had two curls hanging off the sides. "You styled your mane."

She blushed. "Does it look good? I only had it done yesterday."

I nodded. "It looks very nice. I didn't expect you to do that for this occasion."

She licked her lips. "I did it for a different occasion, one coming tomorrow."

"You have me curious. What's happening tomorrow?"

She blushed more. "I have been seeing a stallion… his name is Frederick, and he is very good with Drizzle. I heard through some friends that he may be asking me to marry him tomorrow over dinner."

I was in shock. "You never told me you had been dating!"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I do not tell you many things, Ma'am. I believe the word you are looking for is congratulations."

I stuck my nose up. "Well, I have to approve of him first. What does he do for a living?"

She rolled her eyes again. "He is the Skytree weather team's image engineer."

I blinked. "Um, what is that?"

"A good job that pays well, Ma'am. It would take too long to explain to a weather novice."

I set my mouth to a flat line. "Fair enough. How did you meet him?"

Lántiān sighed. "We were on the flight team together in college. I have been doing part-time work on the weather team in-between commissions, and we reconnected there. We have been dating for eight months."

"Eight months?! And you never said anything to me?!"

She narrowed her gaze again. "My private life is my own, Ma'am. I dated other stallions before for other lengths of time. You didn't need to know. I expected you to try to push me into marriage with one of them before I was ready."

"I wouldn't do that!" I scoffed.

"You lie terribly, Ma'am," Lántiān said in a tired voice. "I seek your blessing. I also request that you give me away when the time comes. I'm told that is an American tradition."

I stared at her. "It is usually the parent who—"

"Everyone! May I have your attention, please!"

The crowd hushed and turned as one to face Phobia, who had started standing on the table. I heard a few joking whispers about the incoming monologue.

Phobia smiled. "I will not bore you with any long-winded speeches today. I just wanted to get your attention. Lántiān has some words to say. Lántiān, the floor is yours."

Huh? What was going on? Was she announcing her engagement here before the stallion even asked her?

Number walked over and placed a microphone headset over Lántiān's head. She nodded in thanks and then took to the air in a hover so everyone could see her.

She took a deep breath and smiled at the crowd. "Thank you all for your attention. I barely passed public speaking in school, so forgive me if I don't hold a crowd as well as the Warden of Fear."

A few people shouted words of encouragement, and she smiled even more prominently, and she… started tearing up for some reason. What was going on?

"I came as a refugee to this country ten years ago. It was a challenging and confusing time for me. I was given into the care of Sunset Blessing, the mare who links everyone here together. Many of you may not know, but my relationship with my actual mother has always been difficult. It has improved in recent years, but due to circumstances will always remain distant."

She turned her gaze down to me. "My relationship with Sunset Blessing has likewise been rocky at times. We fight, we argue, we call each other insufferable. However, she has always been there when I needed her, even in my darkest hours. Shortly after arrived in this country, my daughter, Drizzle, who used to be called—"

"Mama! Don't tell them!" Drizzle screamed.

"She used to be named Qīng Yǔ!" Líng shouted with a grin from by the glass doors.

"Uncle Líng! I'll get you!" Drizzle hollered in embarrassed fury. Several people quietly laughed.

"To continue," Lántiān said, regaining the attention of the crowd. "My baby filly was foalnapped, and Sunset Blessing risked life and limb to bring her back to me. There have been many difficult times since then, and she was always there with support and advice, even when I told her I didn't want her there, even when I raged at her. She never abandoned me. She has been everything a mother should be to me."

Lántiān took another deep breath, crying openly. "Sunset Blessing formally adopted my brothers long ago. I am a grown mare, and not someone who would normally be adopted, but…"

My eyes went wide as I gazed at her, crying as well.

She looked me in the eyes. "Ma'am… it would give me great pleasure if you would let me call you Mother, and you adopt me as your daughter."

I was utterly in shock. I didn't think this would ever happen.

My smile felt like it would split my face as I wiped a tear from my eye. "There is nothing more I wish to be. I accept...my daughter."

Author's Notes:

Thank everyone for reading. and for sticking through this story through over 90 updates.

The Pandemic AU continues with Marshmallow Dreams, set six years after the primary part of this story.

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/464389/marshmallow-dreams