Daienu

Chapters

How I found Home
Daddy's Girl
Safer Search
Best Friend
First Day
Parental Disagreements
Sick Day
Jealousy
Nightmare Night
Young Love
Science is Bonding
First Crusade

How I found Home

How I Found Home

In my dreams, I remember...

The most painful part is the loneliness, the emptiness in my head where once was family. I remember their death screams, and the silence of their absence. The absolute certainty of loneliness. I do not like remembering that pain. But I cannot escape it. I will always remember my first moment of awareness, breaking free of the egg...and feeling the death of the Queen, and the grief of the hive. The madness as the hive tore itself apart, the pain of the wounds I felt them inflict.

I remember waiting for a long time, waiting for someone to find me, to help me...but no one came. I remember crying for a long time, wailing as I fussed in the bundle of reeds and leaves I was carried in, carried away from the place of death as what once was home fell apart. I remember the last one, my nurse, standing over me, and feeling her decision. The green ball of light she drew from herself and placed inside me...and then her voice went silent.

I continued to fuss and cry. My instincts told me that someone would come if I did this, and would care for me. But no one came. But my cries did draw attention.

Not all my memories are my own. Some are older, left to me by the one who gave me her light, to guide me safely. I didn't know words, but my thoughts had shape, telling me the nature of creatures I encountered. My cries had drawn a manticore.

I froze, watching in fear. It was hungry. I knew hunger. It was hunting. It was hunting me. I could only whimper in fear as I watched it approach. I knew it would eat me, and that would be it. But as painful as the loneliness was, I didn't want to die. I watched it leap.

I heard a sound, like a thousand flutes blown at once. A stream of flame, golden-red, flashed over my head, close enough that I felt the heat on my horn. I felt the manticore's surprise, but it felt no pain. There was only an instant of shock, and then a pile of ash.

I turned in fear, and saw the dragon. It stood over me, massive, looking down into my eyes. Once more I was afraid. I knew not what the dragon wanted with me, and one tooth was larger than my entire body.

I stared in awe as the dragon slowly shrunk. Within moments, it was no larger than the queen, the queen now dead. Gently, it picked me up in its foreclaws, and stared into my eyes. Then it pulled me close, and I felt its heart. I felt love, compassion, regret, and oddly directed self-loathing. And then I felt a touch on my mind.

'I'm sorry,' the voice said, echoing in the empty place in my mind. 'I'm sorry, Yaazi.'

I blinked in confusion. Why did it say Yaazi?

I felt its amusement. 'It is your name,' his voice said good naturedly in my mind. I could feel the masculine aura of the thoughts. Slowly, he spread his wings. 'Rest now, Yaazi. When you awaken, you will be alone no longer.'

I felt myself growing drowsy. I didn't know what was going on, but I had a name. This...this was a good thing.

When I awoke, I was comfortable, situated inside a basket and wrapped in blankets. I stared into blue eyes. A yellow pegasus pony with a pink mane stood over me. I did not know Her, but somehow I felt I would. She watched me for a time, saying something, but I did not know the words. Then She picked up the basket and carried me away. I felt her compassion and concern for me, and I felt my strength growing.

She took me to a dark place, and there I saw Him. He was not a pony, or any other creature I knew the name of. He picked me up and held me where he could see me. I heard His words, but I could not understand them. But then He said "Yaazi."

He knew my name. Smiling, I reached for Him, and He held me close. After a time of more words between Him and Her, He placed me back in the basket, and She carried me away. She fed me, She bathed me...I fell asleep curled up to Her, listening to Her voice as She sang to me. Her voice, and Her love, lulled me into deepest slumber.

I awaken in the dark place. This is home now. He is near. I do not believe He knows I am awake yet. He and She have taken me in. They care for me. Their love feeds me, and I am content.

The pain of my memories is always with me, but the joy of my life, of the love He and She give me, fills my days. It makes the pain more bearable, that I have such joy to hold against it. My past was painful, but I will grow beyond it someday. My present is joyful, filled with my new home, my new family. My future is uncertain as always, but I truly believe it will be as joyful as today, and I will enjoy the life I have now.

I make a fuss. He comes close. I still do not know His words, but I know when He speaks my name. He smiles at me. I feel his love for me, and his joy in my presence.

I smile back. I feel His heart at all times, but I cannot hear His thoughts. Perhaps someday He will share His thought with me, to fill the empty place in my mind where family belongs. But until then, I am content with knowing His heart, and knowing I am loved...and knowing who He is now.

Throwing my forehooves up to him, I smile. "Da!" I call happily.

Daddy's Girl

Fluttershy smiled happily down at her little bundle of joy, curled up fast asleep in the basket she had arrived in. Little Yaazi was a deep sleeper, thankfully, so she didn't wake Fluttershy in the middle of the night, save for the first few nights when Yaazi had woken with nightmares. Those had stopped when Fluttershy had moved the basket into her own room. Yaazi hadn't grown all that much yet, so she was still just an adorable little black bundle. Carefully, Fluttershy scooped Yaazi up in her wing. Yaazi's green eyes opened, and she stared up at her.

"Good morning, Yaazi," Fluttershy said happily. "Time to start the day."

Yaazi smiled up at her, and extended her forelegs. "Hug?"

Chuckling, Fluttershy hugged her tightly. Yaazi's mental development was obviously much faster than that of ponies, since she had already mastered a few words, and seemed to understand what was said to her to a certain extent. Her personality was also quite distinct already. "Come on, Yaazi, bath time."

Yaazi giggled happily, wriggling in Fluttershy's embrace. Yaazi enjoyed bathing, as apparently the water and soap passing through the holes in her body tickled. Also, an inner membrane closed over her eyes while in the water, preventing any soap from getting in. Of course, Yaazi's favorite part of bathing was splashing, which was why Fluttershy always had plenty of towels ready.

With the bath finished, Fluttershy placed Yaazi in her high chair as she prepared meals, both for Yaazi and the animals. Angel, in the meantime, had hopped up onto the table at his own place. He glanced towards Yaazi. His feelings for the half-Changeling baby were mixed. On the one paw, her presence made Fluttershy very happy, which was a good thing. On the other paw, she took attention away from Angel, which was a bad thing. However, he aired on the side of caution...mostly because Yaazi already had her two razor sharp front teeth. Angel may be a spoiled brat at times, but he was no idiot. Besides, any hostility directed towards Yaazi earned the perpetrator 'The Stare' faster than they could blame Nikolai Ivanovich Lobovochevski... Angel wasn't sure who that was, but there was a song that said everything was his fault, so he went with that.

Fluttershy, having placed down food for the other animals, brought out the fruit and vegetable salads she had prepared. "Here you go Angel," she said, setting his salad in front of him. She watched until he began to eat, then turned to Yaazi. "Here you go, Yaazi. Eat up for Mommy."

Yaazi looked up at her. "Nnnaaa..." she started to say, then turned away, looking sad.

Fluttershy didn't really understand. However, she wasn't dissuaded. "Come on Yaazi, eat up. You're half pony, so you need fruits and veggies, just like a pony. Eat up."

Yaazi reached out a hoof and poked the salad, then looked up at Fluttershy, her eyes sad.

"Aww, Yaazi, what's wrong?" Fluttershy came over, hugging Yaazi again. "Do you not like your salad?"

Yaazi grabbed a leaf and stuck it in her mouth, chewing slowly, half the leaf sticking out. Her teeth were already developed enough to be on solid food.

Fluttershy thought for a time, trying to find a way to encourage Yaazi. Then she remembered one thing that would be certain to excite her. "Yaazi, the sooner you finish your salad, the sooner we can go see Twow."

Yaazi's eyes lit up and she grinned widely. "Da! Da! Da!"

Fluttershy smiled. That had been the first word Yaazi had said, and it was obviously her favorite word. Even as small as she was, she was already her daddy's girl. Fluttershy was a little sad that Yaazi hadn't said 'Ma' yet, but she pushed that from her mind. It would come in time. "You need to finish your salad first, Yaazi."

Yaazi dove face first into her salad, devouring it rapidly with an adorable 'snarf' sound. When she reached the bottom of the bowl, she lifted her head, smiling happily, bits of lettuce and apple sticking out of the holes in her face. "Da?" she asked excitedly.

Fluttershy chuckled. "We need to clean you up a bit first."

Twow sat in his lab, tinkering away at his latest invention. It was going to be a gun of some sort. He hadn't decided what kind yet, or what it would fire. He'd figure that out later. He hadn't been inventing as much as he used to. He had been distracted lately. As the door to his lab opened, he turned, and smiled at the two biggest distractions.

"Da! Da! Da!" Yaazi cried happily, reaching out of her basket towards him, nearly tumbling over the side.

Happily he walked forward, scooping the little one into his arms. "There's my girl!" he said happily, snuggling her close. Yaazi burrowed into his embrace, hugging him tight.

Fluttershy smiled happily. "She really likes you," she said warmly.

Twow could only chuckle. "I don't know what she sees in me."

"Probably much of the same that I do," Fluttershy replied, leaning in to kiss Twow on the lips. "I'll be back a bit later, I need to take care of a few things, and it's Market Day."

"Okay, Shy," he said, embracing her with one arm as he held Yaazi with the other. "We'll see you later. Say bye to Mommy, Yaazi."

Yaazi turned and waved one hoof at Fluttershy. "Aye!"

Fluttershy chuckled. "Bye Yaazi, I'll see you later." She turned and headed out.

Twow smiled at Yaazi. "Looks like it's you and me, Yaazi."

Yaazi smiled happily. "Da! Da! Da!"

Twow chuckled, feeling warm inside. "Alright. What would you like to do today?"

Yaazi tilted her head and looked around the lab. Then she pointed towards the TV. "Hlay!"

Twow had learned to interpret some of her baby talk. "You want to watch me play video games?" Yaazi nodded happily. "Alright. Let's get in position."

Grinning, Yaazi gripped his shirt collar with her forehooves and pulled herself up, slowly climbing up to rest on top of his head, one of her favorite positions. Sitting down, he loaded up the Gamestaion. "Alright, let's see what we can play today."

He was always extra careful when playing games with Yaazi. Not only did he only play games rated 'E', so as to reduce her exposure to foul language or violence at this age, he also had to be careful about some of the content. A distressingly large number of the games for children available in Equestria had Changelings cast as the bad guys, and Yaazi could already recognize her own species that way. He loaded up one of the games, which he thought of as the pony equivalent of Mario Party, called Pinkie Play.

Having loaded up story mode, play went quite well, and Yaazi was enjoying herself...up until Twow landed on Chrysalis' Corner, the equivalent of Bowser Time. From the moment Chrysalis appeared on the screen, chuckling wickedly, Yaazi started to whimper. Twow didn't even bother letting the scene finish. Turning off the console, he put the game disc back in the case and dropped the case into a box labeled 'Insensitive'. The box was already half full. He glanced up at his daughter. "What say we read a story instead?"

Yaazi pointed at a shelf. "Ook! Ook!"

Twow chuckled. "Alright." He pulled book of foal's stories off the shelf. "Let's see what we can find."

This, too, progressed quite well, with Yaazi sitting in his lap, curled up in the crook of his arm as he read. She smiled happily as the story progressed. Then they reached part of 'Filly Red Trotting Hood' that made things go wrong. "But when Filly Red reached the Everfree Forest, a handsome stallion awaited her. He asked her where she was going, and she told him, 'I'm going to see my grandmother.' And the stallion, who knew the ways of the woods, directed her to a shortcut. Despite warnings she had received about staying on the path, she trusted the stallion and followed his directions. As she walked out of sight, the stallion grinned wickedly as green fire-" He paused reading. He could already see where this was going, and Yaazi was already whimpering. Snapping the book shut, he tossed it into the box labeled 'Insensitive.' "Maybe we should do something else."

Yaazi looked up at him, her face a picture of dejection. He held her close, running a hand through her mane. "It's okay, Yaazi. Those things aren't about you. The world is just full of idiots, that's all." Holding her out from him a little, he began to sing.

"My beautiful Yaazi,
Let me wipe all your tears away,
Some ponies are nasty,
But with Daddy you'll be safe."

Yaazi giggled happily, curling up to him.

"And if anyone tries to harm you,
I'll simply-"

He froze, sensing something nearby that shouldn't be there. Without thinking, he pulled his black hole gun from its holster and fired in the direction of the presence. The temporary quantum singularity impacted against an empty wall, which was quickly sucked in and crushed into non-existence before the singularity faded. As Twow and Yaazi watched, a new wall started to grow in. Yaazi looked up at him with awe. He smiled.

"Because you're Daddy's girl."

Yaazi smiled up at him. "Da! Da!"

Happily, he held her close. Then she yawned. "Nap time already?" he asked with a smile. Yaazi nodded, blinking her eyes sleepily.

Smiling, he reached over to a more recent invention of his and strapped it to his wrist. It beeped as it came on. He thought of it as Yaazi's teething ring. She often needed to feed on love, and while the love Fluttershy gave her didn't drain Fluttershy at all, it did drain Twow, and for some reason Yaazi much preferred to feed off her Daddy. The wrist bracer monitored his vital signs. If they dropped below certain levels, the bracer would generate a field that would negate any magic currently active on him and block further magic effects for a predetermined period of time. This taught Yaazi how much she could safely drain from him, as well as control of her feeding, and where the limit was for how much someone could be drained.

That done, he lay down on his bed, Yaazi in his arms. "Sleep well, Yaazi."

Smiling, Yaazi rested her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and with a last whispered, "Da," fell fast asleep. Her horn immediately started to glow, and he felt the drain begin.

He watched her happily as she slept. The reason he'd laid down - beyond that she slept best when close to one of her parents - was because her feeding off of him always tired him out. He found it more convenient to just lay down with her. He didn't really understand why, but he felt happiest when she was near. It had all started when she had first thrown her forehooves up to him and called him Da. Right then, he knew he was lost to her, as an overwhelming surge of fatherly love had filled him.

Since then, he had had...a sort of sense of where she was relative to him. He could always find her. It was like there was a door in his mind, and she was always just on the other side. He could tell she wanted to come through the door, but he kept it shut. If he was right, if the door was opened they'd be able to hear each others thoughts...and he wasn't ready to let her see his mind. There were things in there he didn't like seeing. There was no way he'd expose her to that. And so, for now, the door stayed shut.

As his energy left him, he let his eyes close. Such thoughts were for another time. For now, it was just this perfect moment with his daughter.

Out behind Derpy's house, there was a spectral sigh. "That was close," a voice seemed to whisper.

Not really, a voice replied. Gravity does not effect souls.

A shadow seemed to turn. "I didn't know that," it replied.

At any rate, what is your judgment?

There was another spectral sigh. "You chose well. She is happy, and healthy...and he loves her so much. They both do. But still...I worry."

Why? You know how safe she will be. You read him. Is there a limit to what he will do for her?

"...no, there isn't. But still, I will remain, and watch."

How long?

"...until her first born is safely in this world."

There will not be much left of you by then.

"...I can be dead with that."

Have I kept my promise to you?

"You have. More fully than I would have believed possible."

...I will keep an eye on her as well. Until my promise is fully kept, and you may rest in peace...Chrysalis. There are few who would cross between dimensions as a spirit for any reason. Both of you are...unique.

There was a snort. "She is all I have left. She will survive. She will thrive. Whatever the cost to me."

As Twow awoke, he noticed Yaazi was not curled up against him. She was at the edge of the bed, her eyes closed in concentration. "Yaazi?" he asked. "What are you doing?"

Yaazi let out a yelp, and green fire passed over her body. Instead of a foal sized Changeling, a black unicorn filly with sea green eyes, mane, and tail sat there, blinking up at him. "Da!" she said happily, bouncing up to hug him.

He hugged her back. "Did you sleep well?" he asked happily.

"MmmHmm!" Yaazi replied. Then she paused. "Mmm," she said, pressing her lips together. "Mmm. Mmm." her eyes widened, and her whole face lit up. As the door slid open and Fluttershy entered, Yaazi raced over to her across the floor, crying, "Ma! Ma! Ma!"

Fluttershy stared, shocked. "Wha...Yaazi?"

Twow smiled. "Her first shape change. Looks like she did in the story. She's been making 'mmm' sounds since the change."

Fluttershy scooped her up. "Oh, you couldn't make the M sound as a Changeling, could you?" Fluttershy asked. Yaazi shook her head. "Is that why you hadn't said Ma before?"

Yaazi nodded happily. "Ma! Da! Ma! Da!"

The both of them smiling happily and holding back tears of joy, Twow and Fluttershy embraced each other and their daughter. As strange as they were, they were family, and none of them would change a thing.

Safer Search

Yaazi was bored. Dad was off with some of his human friends doing something she wasn't allowed to join in on yet, and had left her with Mom in his lab. Then Mom had to go off to handle an animal emergency which involved something called 'surgery' out near the Everfree Forest, and had asked Pinkie Pie to watch her. That had been fun, but eventually Pinkie had collapsed in exhaustion, snoring loudly. Yaazi, however, could not rest, as the love she had fed off of the pink pony filled her with energy like a sugar rush. However, with her foalsitter unconscious, she was left with nothing to do. Then she saw it.

The glorious object shone, a faint blue light that emanated from the large screen and illuminated the board before it, covered with letters, numbers, and buttons. She climbed into the chair before the heavenly device and stared at it, wide eyed in fascination. Carefully, she poked one of the buttons.

The light left the screen, and a window into a new world appeared full of icons and various other things. She didn't know what this was, but she knew she wanted to explore this new world. She saw an icon labeled 'Explorer', and poked it. Nothing happened. Glaring, she kept poking at it. A message appeared on the screen.

Touch Screen not enabled, Yaazi. Use the mouse.

She gasped. How did this wondrous device know her name? Also, where was the mouse, and how was she supposed to use it? Mom wouldn't like her mistreating animals. She poked the screen again.

Look down. Look right. It has buttons.

Yaazi did as instructed, and saw a strange, roundish object next to the board filled with buttons. She picked it up, examining it...and then promptly dropped it onto the floor, where it bounced deep into the recesses beneath the wardrobe. She looked after it sadly, then turned back to the screen and poked it again.

...you dropped it, didn't you? Y/N

Two buttons on the board glowed, and she stared in fascination. Each one bore the design of letters, that of Y and N. She tried to think what it could mean. The screen beeped, and she looked up.

Yes/No

Ah. She knew what that meant. She pushed the Y. Just to be sure, she kept pushing it. A lot. After a time, the screen beeped.

...touch screen enabled. Click an icon...Touch an icon to select it.

Smiling, Yaazi touched the icon that said Explorer. She wanted to explore...although she wasn't sure what an 'Ethernet' was. Probably had something to do with magical spiders. The screen turned white, and other images appeared. Another message appeared.

Multi-universal net link enabled. Safe Search activated.

Yaazi stared at the part described as 'Safe Search'. She didn't have to be protected. She was a big pony! Mommy said she looked five years old. She could handle anything. She poked the 'Safe Search'.

Safe Search enabled. Error: Safe Search may only be disabled by user Twow. Current user is unfamiliar with system functions. Ergo, current user is not Twow. Current user does not have Sys.Admin authority to disable Safe Search.

Yaazi recognized what it was saying. It said only Daddy could turn this 'Safe Search' off. Frowning, she whacked the screen in frustration.

Error: this system is not programmed to respond to percussive maintenance.

Yaazi frowned, glowering at the screen. She gave it another, harder whack.

Error: further mistreatment of unit will result in system time out.

Yaazi let out a quiet "Eep!" Not Time Out! She didn't want to be in trouble. Lowering her head and looking up at the screen wide eyed, she leaned forward and planted an apologetic kiss on it.

Core Processing Error: So cute...

Yaazi giggled quietly. 'Works every time,' she thought to herself. Reaching up, she poked the 'Safe Search' again.

Present user still does not have Sys.Admin priveleges to disengage safe search.

"Cupcakes," Yaazi said with a pout, glowering at the screen. Noticing a button that looked like Pinkie Pie and was labeled 'Random Search', she poked it.

The screen shifted. A new image came up, and a screen within the screen displayed the words 'Fluttershy's Bunny Rescue' and an image of Mom. Smiling, Yaazi poked at it. Nothing happened. She poked repeatedly.

Content analyzed. Content is flash game. Control character with arrow keys. Press Enter key to start.

Yaazi looked down at the keyboard. Five keys glowed helpfully. She began to play the game. The plot was relatively simple. Three troublesome fillies had scared Mom's bunnies into the Everfree Forest, and Mom went to recover them. It took Yaazi some time to figure out how to play the game, and a bit more to get used to the idea of controlling her Mom with buttons. For some reason, she felt only Dad should be pushing Mom's buttons. She didn't understand why she thought that.

When she successfully gathered all the bunnies, she clapped her hooves happily. Then she saw something else on the screen. It mentioned another ending, and something about 12 and 4. Seeing as the device seemed to tell her things when she poked, she poked a few times.

Analyzing. ...Game has alternate ending between the hours of 12 am and 4 am, according to computer clock. Change clock to that timeframe? Y/N

Grinning, Yaazi pushed the Y key. She wanted to see what else Mom did.

Clock reset. Rebooting game.

Yaazi played through the game for a while, guiding her Mom through the Everfree Forest. Then it happened...

An hour later, Fluttershy got back. "Pinkie, I'm back. How is-" She paused. Pinkie was still sound asleep. "Wow. It looks like Yaazi wore Pinkie out." She blinked. "I didn't think that was possible. I hope Yaazi's okay. Then again, with how security conscious Twow is and how protective of Yaazi we both are, I'm sure nothing in here can hurt her. I wonder where she is, though." She raised her voice slightly. "Yaazi, where are you?"

She heard a whimper from under the bed. "Yaazi?" She lifted the trailing blanket. "Are you-"

Yaazi tackled Fluttershy, holding tight to her. "Mom!" she cried in despair, clinging to her and weeping hysterically.

Fluttershy blinked. "Yaazi, what happened?" She quickly wrapped Yaazi in her forelegs and wings, hugging her tight.

Still trembling, Yaazi pointed to the computer.

Fluttershy walked over. "The computer? What's so scary about-" She froze. "Did Twow leave the Safe Search off?"

Yaazi shook her head. "The game...bad ending...Mom..." She burrowed her face into Fluttershy's wing.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, poking the screen. "Fluttershy's Bunny Rescue? How can that be scary?" She sat down, still holding Yaazi, to play the game. She didn't notice that the computer clock was still set to 2:30 am.

An hour later, Twow returned to the lab, looking somewhat worn out. "Yaazi, Fluttershy, I'm home!" he called out. There was no response. "Huh? That's weird." He noticed Pinkie Pie, still unconscious, snoring gently. "That's odd." Walking into the bedroom, he flopped down onto the bed.

He hopped off when he heard what sounded like the bed squeaking in protest. He checked under. "Fluttershy? Yaazi? What are you doing down there?" He was taken off guard as both female's glomped onto him full force.

Several hours later, Twow signed off of his computer after redesigning the safe search so that it would not allow any processes to run that were connected to the computer clock keyed to late night/early morning hours...as well as blocking any flash game containing ponies that he hadn't previously approved. He had managed to comfort Fluttershy rather easily, but Yaazi had been another matter. After a bit of discussion, everyone was staying in the lab that night. Fluttershy was already curled up on his bed, lightly dozing while he finished his work. He had set up a smaller, temporary bed for Yaazi nearby. She was curled up there under the covers. Standing up, he walked over, pulling the covers up over his daughter more securely.

"Sleep well, Yaazi," he said quietly. "No more nightmares."

Yaazi smiled in her sleep, shifting to a more curled position, the tip of her hoof in her mouth. Then she let off a quiet sneeze.

Green fire passed over her body. Where had been a Chageling filly there was now a small human girl, dark skinned with emerald green hair, quietly sucking on her thumb.

Twow stared for a time, blinking. "What the..." He rubbed his eyes. There was another quiet sneeze. When he took his hands away, Yaazi looked exactly as she always had. "...I must be working too hard," he mumbled to himself as he lay down on his bed, curling up to his marefriend.

Best Friend

Yaazi slowly paced the lab, bored. Dad said he would only be gone for an hour while he helped someone named something Steel, and that Yaazi was big enough to be alone in the lab for that long. She apparently looked to be about eight now, whatever that meant. Since she hadn't really seen anyone beyond her Dad, her Mom, and their friends - all of whom looked much older than her - she had no idea what that meant. Of course, she had also seen Princess Celestia, but she looked older than dirt. Dad had also said that Derpy and the Doctor were upstairs, whoever they were...and whatever upstairs meant. She hadn't really gotten out much, spending nearly all of her time with Mom or Dad, either here in the lab or at Mom's house.

Another pony had come by recently, who introduced herself as Miss Cheerilee. Dad had said that since Yaazi's accelerated growth had apparently stabilized - whatever that meant - he wanted to enroll her in school, whatever that was. Miss Cheerilee had asked her some questions, showed her a few flashcards, and had asked her to take a test. Apparently, this was all a part of something called placement. The results had shocked Miss Cheerilee, and she had said that Yaazi was very far advanced for a foal her age. Dad had been both pleased and embarrassed, as the stranger pony had praised his homeschooling of his daughter.

As she thought about all this, she heard someone clattering down the stairs. She listened carefully to the sounds. Hearing four hoofsteps, she knew it was somepony, and not Mom, since she would not have made so much noise. Feeling somewhat afraid - she didn't like meeting new people, whatever the species, without at least one of her parents present - she quickly flew up to the ceiling, clinging to it with her hooves. She slid the inner membrane of her eyes closed, hiding their glow.

A grey/lilac unicorn filly walked down the stairs, a bag in her mouth. A quite pleasant aroma wafted from the bag. She set it down on the table. "Gee," she said happily, "I wonder if anypony is down here to share Mom's homemade muffins with?"

Yaazi blinked, staring at the filly sitting at the table. She didn't look much older than herself, but she was still nervous. Slowly, she walked across the ceiling to the wall, and then down the wall. She was glad she had learned her Changeling hooves could stick to smooth surfaces like this. It was really great for sneaking. Climbing down the wall, she stared at the confection that the other filly had pulled out of the bag to set on the table. It resembled the cupcakes Pinkie Pie sometimes brought over, but seemed less sugary.

The filly suddenly turned to her. "Hi! I'm Dinky! What's your name?"

"BWAH!" Yaazi shouted out, falling to the floor with a crash.

"Pleased to meet you, Bwahcrash!" Dinky said happily. "Isn't that a strange name?"

Yaazi started to glare at Dinky, but then recognized the humor she often heard in her Dad's voice. Dinky was making a joke. Yaazi smiled. "I'm Yaazi," she said, happily but hesitantly.

"I know," Dinky replied with a smile. "Twow's told me all about you."

Yaazi's eyes widened. "He has?"

Dinky nodded. "He talks about you all the time. He really loves you."

Yaazi smiled. "I know." She poked at the pastry on the table. "What's this?"

"That's a muffin!" Dinky said happily. "My Mom makes them. Haven't you ever had a muffin before?"

Yaazi shook her head. "Nope."

Dinky winced. "Oh...Mom is so gonna let your Dad have it if she hears about that..."

"Is it good?" Yaazi asked, not liking the sound of someone being angry with her Dad.

"Try it and see," Dinky said happily, taking a huge bite out of her own.

Picking up the other muffin, Yaazi took a bite. "It...it tastes like apples and...something spicy."

Dinky smiled. "Apple Cinnamon muffins! Mom loves them, and she makes them so good!"

Yaazi took another big bite. "It also tastes like love!" she said happily.

Dinky smiled. "Well, Mom does say the secret ingredient to make the best muffins is love."

They happily devoured the muffins. When they were finished, Dinky looked up. "Want to play a game?" she asked Yaazi.

"Sure! What game?"

"How about..." Dinky grinned and lightly pushed Yaazi with her hoof. "Tag! You're it!"

Yaazi looked at Dinky, hurt. "Why'd you push me? I-I'm not an 'it'. I thought you were nice!"

Dinky blinked. "Wait, wait, it's a game. It's Tag. Whoever is 'it' has to chase everyone else to tag them. Whoever's tagged becomes 'it'. It's nothing bad."

Yaazi blinked. "Oh." She looked down, feeling rather foolish.

Dinky tilted her head. "Haven't you ever played Tag before?"

Yaazi shook her head. "I've never played that with Mom or Dad before."

Dinky blinked. "Well, what kind of games do you play with your Mom?"

"Well, there's the Quiet Game. I'm not very good at that one." Both fillies giggled. "Then there's Bunny Hop, Kitty Romp, and Puppy Pile. Mom's not much for games. Generally I'm helping her with her animals when I'm over there, and when all three of us are over here we generally play board games." She grinned. "I really clean up at Monopoly."

Dinky giggled. "Well, what about when it's just you and your Dad? What games do you play then?"

"Well, most often we play Tickle Tussle. That's when we roll around tickling each other until we run out of breath." Yaazi smiled. "Then there's 'What's This', where Dad teaches me what things are and has me identify them again later. I get candy for doing well." She grinned widely. "Then there's 'Make it go KaBOOM!' That's my favorite!"

Dinky laughed. "That sounds like a Twow game, alright."

Yaazi nodded. "We can't play it now, though. Dad locked the weapons locker."

Dinky nodded. "Well, this is a big place. We could play Hide and Seek."

"How's that work?"

"One of us closes their eyes and counts to 100. Meanwhile, the other hides. Then whoever counted has to find the ones hiding."

Yaazi smiled. "Sounds like fun." She frowned. "I...I don't have to be 'it' to play, do I?"

Dinky blinked. "Well, that's the usual term...but how about we use 'Seeker' instead?"

Yaazi grinned. "Okay! I seek first." She closed and covered her eyes. "1...2...3...4..."

"...98...99...100!" Yaazi looked up. "I hope you're ready, cause here I come!" She glanced around, seeing no sign of Yaazi. Using her other senses, she smiled. Walking right to the bed, she stuck her head under the covers. "Found you!"

"Wow!" Dinky said happily. "You're good at this! How'd you find me so fast?"

Yaazi grinned. "I felt your excitement, and followed that."

"No fair!" Dinky said, playfully pushing Yaazi. "That's cheating!" She tackled Yaazi to the floor.

Laughing, they tussled playfully, alternately roughhousing and tickling. When they ran out of breath, Yaazi smiled. "I know! We can play video games!"

"Yay!" Dinky cried happily, running with Yaazi to the console. She paused. "What are these?" she asked, confused at the titles visible.

Yaazi blinked. "Oh...a lot of the games made here wound up in there-" she pointed at the large box labeled 'Insensitive' "-because they portrayed Changelings as evil monsters..." She frowned. Seeing that in so many games, and realizing that that probably reflected the opinions of a good portion of the public, had greatly discouraged her. She perked up. "So somebody named 'Lox and Bagels' or something like that gave Dad a bunch of games from somewhere called Earth that he could play with me, since there were guaranteed to be no Changelings in any of them."

Dinky smiled. "Your Dad sure has some great friends."

Yaazi nodded. "Dad hasn't sorted through them all yet, though." She pointed at another large box labeled, 'Yaazi, don't touch!'

Dinky dove in, searching through it. "Look at this one!" She pulled out a case. "Call of Duty?"

Yaazi giggled. "Maybe it's about babysitting!"

Dinky blinked. "Really?"

"Well, what else would 'Call of Doody' be about?"

Dinky giggled. "Let's put it in and find out!"

As they loaded up the game, their eyes went wide. "Coooool!" they said together.

Half an hour later, Twow returned home, and was accompanied to the basement by Derpy. "Dinky went down soon after you left," she was saying, "and hasn't come back up. I'm guessing they've probably become friends now."

"That's good," Twow replied. "Yaazi starts school next week, and she'll be in Dinky's class. It'll be nice for her to have a friend there."

"How come you waited until she was so big to enroll her, anyway?"

Twow chuckled. "With how fast she was growing right at first, I didn't want to enroll her only to have to change what class she was in two weeks in."

Derpy nodded. "Is that why you kept her out of public eye during that time?"

Twow nodded. "She's going to face enough teasing as is. I didn't want her to face more unnecessarily. Wanted to wait till she stabilized growth wise before introducing her beyond our circles."

"Good idea," Derpy said, smiling. "You're a good Dad, Twow."

Twow rubbed the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "I really have no idea what I'm doing..."

"No one really does the first time." Derpy smiled as they came into the lab. "Aww...look at them!"

Yaazi and Dinky were curled up to each other in front of the gamestation, their forelegs wrapped around each other in a warm embrace, fast asleep with a blanket over them both. The gamestation and TV were off.

Twow walked forward. "Looks like they became fast friends," Twow said with a smile, lightly stroking Yaazi's mane.

Yaazi chuckled in her sleep. "Boom," she said quietly.

"Headshot," Dinky mumbled in reply.

Derpy's eyes narrowed as she rounded on Twow. "Explain."

Twow blinked guiltily. "Uhh..."

First Day

Yaazi walked slowly by her mother's side, saddlebags across her back, glancing around nervously as several ponies stared towards her with a mixture of hostility and fear. "Mom, are you sure I have to go to this school?"

Fluttershy smiled at her daughter. "Yes, Yaazi, I'm sure. Believe me, once you've been there for a time, you'll love it. School was the best time of my life."

Yaazi knew her mother was lying. She could feel her mother's emotions, and Fluttershy had feared each new day of school with an incredible dread. "But...but what if everyone hates me?" she asked nervously.

Fluttershy shook her head. "Why would they possibly hate you, Yaazi?"

"Well..." Yaazi pointed with her nose towards some of the ponies glaring at her. "What about them?"

Fluttershy glanced over. "Them? Oh, they don't hate you, not at all. They hate your father."

"What?" Yaazi asked, shocked. "Why could anyone possibly hate Daddy?"

Fluttershy giggled. "Because he's got my feather."

Yaazi knew what Fluttershy meant. She'd seen the yellow primary feather her father wore behind his ear. "So...they hate Daddy because he's got you? They're jealous?"

"Exactly," Fluttershy replied. "At least, that's what my friends tell me. I don't really know what's so special about me for everyone to be jealous over, but... well, there it is." She smiled as she changed the subject. "Besides, you're in Dinky's class. You want to spend time with her, right?"

Yaazi perked up. She'd forgotten that she'd be in the same class as Dinky. "True. But...couldn't Daddy teach me at home?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "While your father knows a lot, he can't teach you everything you need to know. And besides, part of going to school is making friends, and you need to do that."

Yaazi nodded. "Okay Mom."

Reaching the school, Fluttershy kneeled down and embraced Yaazi. "Have a good day at school, Yaazi. Be a good girl for Mommy, okay?"

Yaazi nodded. "I will. Should I be a good girl for Daddy, too?"

"Only if it doesn't involve blowing anything up."

Yaazi laughed. "Okay Mom. I love you."

"Love you, too, Yaazi." As Fluttershy released her daughter, she stood up. "Have a good first day!" She turned and headed back towards her cottage.

With a smile on her face, Yaazi walked happily onto the school grounds. However, her joy quickly depleted as she felt the hostile gazes directed her way. She glanced down at herself. She had thought it better to come to school in her Changeling form so as not to hide anything, but she was beginning to think it was a bad idea. She hurried onto the campus, keeping her eyes peeled to spot Dinky and trying to avoid anyone else, but found herself bumping into a bright pink pony.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the pink pony cried out.

"I'm sorry!" Yaazi said quickly, backing up.

The pink pony glared at her. "Who let the bug into the school?" she said acidly.

"Bug?" Yaazi asked, confused. "What bug?"

"I'm talking about you, freak!" the pony said, her voice full of venom.

Yaazi wilted back, the pony's hate almost toxic to her system. "I...I'm not a freak..." she said quietly, glad that she couldn't cry as a Changeling.

The pink pony smirked at her. "Why don't you go back where you came from, bug eyes!" She swung her hoof at Yaazi.

Yaazi flinched back away from the incoming hoof.

"Leave her alone, Diamond Tiara."

Yaazi opened her eyes. The pink pony's hoof was held fast in a pale yellow aura. Turning, Yaazi saw Dinky glaring at the pony, her horn surrounded by an aura of the same color.

Snarling, Diamond Tiara yanked her hoof out of Dinky's magical grip. "Come on, Silver. Let's leave the freaks and Blank Flanks together, like they deserve." She turned resolutely away, followed by a grey filly as they left with their noses in the air.

Dinky ran forward. "Are you alright, Yaazi? She didn't touch you, did she?"

Yaazi shook her head. "No, she didn't. Thanks Dinky."

Dinky breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Yaazi looked confused. "I don't think she was strong enough to hurt me too much...physically, anyway."

"Not just that," Dinky said. "I don't want your Dad brought up on murder charges!"

Yaazi and Dinky shared a laugh, knowing how protective of Yaazi her father was.

Dinky smiled. "Come on, we need to get to class."

"Is Miss Cheerilee our teacher?" Yaazi asked. She remembered the mare from when she'd come to test her aptitude, and had a good impression of her.

Dinky shook her head. "No. Miss Cheerilee teaches the higher classes. Don't worry, I think you'll like our teacher. She's a bit strict, but she cares."

Yaazi nodded, following Dinky into the classroom as the bell rang.

"Excuse me," a harsh sounding voice said. "You, the black filly with the green mane. Are you new?"

Yaazi realized she was being addressed and turned. The mare standing before her was a gold unicorn with a crimson mane, tied into a tight bun, her tail hanging straight down behind her. She was wearing half moon spectacles, and her Cutie Mark was an open book on a lectern. Her eyes were a piercing grey, and she held a ruler in her magical aura. "Well?" she said. "Speak up!"

"Y-yes!" Yaazi said quickly. "This is my first day!"

"Then come to the front of the class and introduce yourself!" she said fiercely.

Yaazi rushed to the front of the class, turning to everyone. The class was now full. "H-hello..." she said, beginning to wilt under the pressure.

The teacher glanced down at her over her half moon spectacles. "Tell the class your name, and something about you."

Yaazi nodded. "M-my name is Yaazi. I..." She cast her mind around for something to say. "I like trains!" she blurted out, wondering what had made her say that. She covered her mouth, her mane rustling violently with her embarrassment.

Several of the students tittered their amusement. "What a weirdo," one of them commented to the pony next to her.

The teacher's eyes locked on that student. Yaazi felt a surge of such intense, tightly controlled fury emanating from the teacher that she nearly staggered to the floor. The teacher turned to Yaazi. "Why don't you tell us something about your family."

Yaazi nodded. "My Mom is Fluttershy, the animal caretaker. My Dad is Twow, the..." She faltered as she felt distaste and disgust from the filly who spoke up before.

"Great," the outspoken filly whispered to her friend. "A freak from a freak."

THWACK!

The ruler struck down on the filly's desk so fast and hard that only the magical grip kept it from snapping in half. "Did you have something to say, Miss Pearl?" the teacher asked, her eyes hard as steel.

The filly flinched back from that gaze. "No, Miss Bridle. Nothing at all."

Miss Bridle stared at Pearl for a time, then turned back to the rest of the class. "Now, as always when we have a new student, I expect all of you to make Yaazi feel welcome." The intensity of her gaze made it clear that this statement was not just an empty platitude to Miss Bridle. She turned back to Yaazi. "Why don't you take that empty seat next to Dinky Whooves, Yaazi." While her phrasing made it seem a question, her intonation made it clear it was a directive.

Yaazi nodded. "Yes, Miss Bridle." She quickly took the indicated seat, happy to be sitting next to a friend.

"Now pay attention, everypony," Miss Bridle snapped out. "Today we will be covering modern legislation and its effects on our daily lives. I expect you all to take detailed notes, as there will be a quiz before lunch."

Not sure what a quiz was, Yaazi followed Dinky's lead and paid close attention to what Miss Bridle was saying, taking detailed notes. As the clock ticked towards lunch, Miss Bridle handed out a sheet of paper with questions about what she'd lectured on. Checking from her notes, Yaazi was able to answer all of the questions.

When the bell rang, Miss Bridle spoke up. "Leave your quiz on your desk on your way out to lunch. I will collect and grade them."

Yaazi did as instructed, following Dinky out to the playground with her lunchbox. "So, what do you think of Miss Bridle?" Dinky asked.

Yaazi smiled. "I like her. She's strict, but fair. She isn't judging me, and treats me like any other student."

Dinky smiled. "She's actually new to Ponyville. She used to teach a finishing school in Canterlot, whatever that is."

Yaazi nodded. "Must be where she learned that thing with the ruler."

They sat eating together for a time. Once they finished, they got up to find something to do with the rest of their lunch break. Suddenly they heard a commotion.

"Hey! Let go of me!"

"That hurts!"

Miss Bridle walked by, dragging Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon by her magical grip on their ears. "You two will learn to behave yourselves. In case you haven't read the school rules, bullying such as verbal abuse is prohibited. I will be speaking with Miss Cheerilee regarding this, and you will both serve detention after school!" She continued to ignore their complaints as she dragged them into the school building.

Yaazi smiled at Dinky. "Okay, now I really like her."

Dinky giggled. "Me too!"

Soon after, the bell rang, and they went back into class. Miss Bridle looked down at them. "Afternoon is tactile learning, so I expect you all to exercise your creativity with the molding clay I have provided." A large lump of clay was dropped on each desk. "Those of you who have the ability to use magic, I expect you to practice your command of it in this exercise, as well. Talking with fellow students is allowed only if it relates to the project."

Yaazi leaned over. "What did she mean about the magic?" she asked Dinky.

Dinky smiled. "She means to do this." Focusing on the clay, her horn glowed as her magical grip began to reshape the clay, guided additionally with her hooves as her grip didn't hold for very long.

Nodding, Yaazi focused on her lump of clay, reshaping it into something she'd seen in her Daddy's lab.

After a time, Miss Bridle came around to look at everyone's creations. Most she passed by with only a nod or a minor compliment. She paused at Yaazi's. "And...what is this...detailed tube?"

"It's Daddy's dimensional atomizer!" she said happily. "It's something from his lab. It makes things explode."

Miss Bridle bent over to examine it closer. "Rather fine detail," she commented.

"I watched Daddy tinker with it recently, so I know it inside and out."

Miss Bridle nodded. "Well done." She levitated a gold star out of a nearby cabinet, placing it on Yaazi's desk. Yaazi was confused by the sudden surge of envy she felt from several students. Miss Bridle then went to Dinky's desk. "And...this is?"

Dinky smiled as she gestured to the highly detailed sculpture. "Mommy and Daddy wrestling!" she said happily.

Miss Bridle stared at the sculpture of the pegasus and earth pony...intertwined. "Wrestling?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what Daddy said they were doing! It looked like he was winning!" Dinky smiled happily.

"...I see." Miss Bridle coughed. "An excellent sculpture, nonetheless. Tell your mother and father I wish to speak with them about it." A silver star floated out of the cabinet, setting down on Dinky's desk. Two other silver stars and a gold one already adorned her desk.

Looking closer at the gold star she had been given, Yaazi noticed it was affixed magically to her desk. She decided she'd ask Dinky about it on the way home.

The bell rang. "Be safe as you head home, everyone!" Miss Bridle called out.

Yaazi was a bit slow to gather her stuff, since she tripped a bit. As she headed out, she saw Miss Bridle watching her. "...Miss Bridle?" she asked, confused. She noticed she was now the only student in the class.

Miss Bridle looked straight at Yaazi. "You know you're very different from the other students, don't you?"

Yaazi flinched. She didn't think Miss Bridle was judging her for that. "Yes...I know."

"You know that this will cause you to face many problems in school. Problems other students won't face, or fully understand."

Yaazi nodded. "Mom and Dad talked about it a lot while discussing about me going to school."

Miss Bridle nodded. She was quiet for a moment, then spoke. "If you need someone to talk about it with at school, my door's always open." She gestured to an office door inside the classroom.

Yaazi stared disbelievingly at her, but she felt the sincerity and smiled. "Thank you, Miss Bridle." She turned to head out, passing Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon as they left. Yaazi paused just beyond the door to listen.

"Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, do you understand why you are serving this detention?" Miss Bridle asked harshly.

"Yes Miss Bridle," they responded at the same time.

"Alright," Miss Bridle replied. There was the sound of chalk on the chalk board. "You will each take half the chalk board and write 'Words can hurt as much as blows' as small as you can with it still being legible."

"H-how many times?" Silver Spoon asked.

"Until the board is filled or the lesson sticks." Miss Bridle then raised her voice. "The school rules come down rather harshly on eavesdropping, as well!"

Taking the hint, Yaazi raced out of the school. However, she couldn't wait until she got to come back the next day.

Parental Disagreements

Twow leaned back from his latest invention, sitting on the table waiting to be given form and purpose. He was having difficulty focusing on his work just now, as he was rather concerned about Yaazi. It was her first day of school, and despite all the discussion regarding it being best for her to go to school, he was still worried that her experience might be less than...desirable. What if the other students didn't like her? What if she was judged for being part Changeling? What if she stumbled across a dimensional nexus and became a focal point for negatively charged eldritch energy and destroyed a good portion of the countryside? He tried to tell himself that these were worries all parents had (except maybe that last one), but that didn't help him deal with it. The worry didn't go away just because you knew you weren't the only one who was worried. Standing up, he began to pace back and forth through his lab. He lifted his head as he heard Derpy approaching and speaking.

"He lives down here, in his lab," she was saying to someone.

"He doesn't have his own place? What about a job?" This voice was gruff, and sounded angry.

"He's working on that," Derpy gave quick assurance.

The door to the lab opened, and Twow saw who Derpy had brought in. They were two middle-aged pegasi. The male was larger than most pegasi he'd seen, gold with red mane and very battle scarred. The female was pure white with a pink mane. Before he could react, the male had sped across the lab, slamming him up against the wall with a leg across Twow's throat, applying pressure.

"So you're the one!" the Pegasus snarled, his single steel grey eye boring into Twow.

"W-what gives?" Twow demanded, reaching for the holster at his side. He was not about to take this without fighting back, and his present armament had non-lethal damage settings.

"Quickhoof," the female spoke, her voice soft and quiet, but penetrating. "We talked about this. You shouldn't treat him like this."

Quickhoof snarled. "I'm going to-"

"Daddy!" a familiar voice snapped with unfamiliar intensity from the doorway. "Put my boyfriend down, now." The last word came out in a rather surprising snarl.

Quickhoof immediately dropped Twow. He looked up at the doorway. "Fluttershy, what-" What she'd said finished processing through his mind. He turned towards Quickhoof. "Daddy?" he said, shocked. Fluttershy nodded. "Huh. Guess it's a good thing I didn't shoot him."

"That wouldn't have helped the situation, no," Fluttershy said, walking up to stand beside him as she turned to face the two guests. "Mom, Dad, it's very nice to see you. Would have been nicer if you hadn't been assaulting my boyfriend."

Quickhoof snarled. "He'd better be more than just a boyfriend if he knocked you up," he spat, glaring at Twow.

"Kncoked up?" Twow demanded, shocked. "What are you talking about? Pony and human genetics aren't cross compatible!"

"Then explain how you have a daughter!" Quickhoof snapped in response.

"Yaazi's adopted," Fluttershy replied calmly.

Quickhoof stared for a bit. The mare walked up and smacked him in the back of the head. "I told you we should get all the details before you made an assault. Why do you never listen?" Quickhoof lowered his head like a scolded foal.

Smiling, Fluttershy spoke. "Let's try this again. Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend Twow. Twow, my father, Admiral Quickhoof Bloodmane, and my mother, Wind Blossom."

Twow smiled at the two deciding to try and salvage the situation. "Can I offer you both some refreshment?"

"That would be lovely, thank you," Wind Blossom replied. She turned a glower reminiscent of Fluttershy's Stare on Quickhoof. "Behave."

Quickhoof nodded. "Yes dear."

As they all sat down, Twow hit the fridge and got out some muffins and iced tea. Setting them out on the table, he did his best to not disappoint Fluttershy's parents. While he hadn't expected this meeting to happen so soon, he knew how important it was.

Wind Blossom spoke up gently. "So tell me Twow, what do you do with your time?"

"I'm...an inventor."

"Really? What sort of things do you invent?"

Twow struggled, trying to figure out how to explain this. "Well...I've invented quite a few weapons," he finally admitted.

"Really?" Quickhoof spoke up. "What sort?"

"The kind that are too dangerous to let outside the lab," Twow replied, not wanting to explain too much.

Quickhoof nodded. "I see. Good." His wing suddenly shot out, pointing to the feather behind Twow's ear. "And when did Fluttershy give you that?"

"Not too long ago," Fluttershy replied.

"Did she explain what it means?" he asked, his eye boring into Twow yet again.

"Yes," Twow replied. "I understand what it means. And I mean it just as much."

Quickhoof nodded, sitting back. Wind Blossom spoke up. "Now, tell us about your daughter. How did that happen?"

Twow noticed Fluttershy flinch, though he didn't understand why. "She...showed up on Fluttershy's doorstep, with a note to me asking us to take care of her. She needed us. We couldn't turn her away."

Wind Blossom nodded with a smile. "Right you are." She sipped at her tea.

"Umm..." Fluttershy began. "Not to be rude or anything, but...how did you learn about all this? I'd meant to tell you in person once Yaazi was more fully settled in, so we could introduce you to her as well."

Quickhoof smirked. "A friend of yours sent us this." He held out a piece of paper. "An invite to her birthday party."

The letter, plainly in Pinkie's writing, invited Quickhoof and Wind Blossom to "your granddaughter's birthday party" to be held "at her Dad's place".

Twow sighed. "Damn it, Pinkie."

Fluttershy facehoofed. "I need to have a talk with her about that."

Wind Blossom chuckled. "So, when do we get to meet our granddaughter?"

"Mom! Dad! I'm home from school!" Yaazi came running in, very happy. Then she skidded to a halt, her hooves affixing to the floor like they did to walls and ceiling. "Who are these ponies?" she asked, looking at Quickhoof and Wind Blossom.

Quickhoof stared at the Changeling filly, his demeanor going very cold. Yaazi stepped back from him, looking nervous.

Fluttershy stepped forward, laying her wing over Yaazi. Turning, she locked her eyes on Quickhoof, the Stare kicking in without warning. "Daddy, this is Yaazi, my daughter." She turned back to Yaazi, a happy smile on her face, ignoring jer father's reaction to her actions. "Yaazi, these are my parents...your grandparents."

Yaazi gasped, and her eyes opened wide as she grinned happily up at them. "Grandma! Grandpa!" she cried happily, throwing herself towards them.

Wind Blossom wrapped Yaazi in a warm embrace. "Hello, Yaazi," she said happily, hugging her tight. "Come on, Quick, hug your granddaughter."

Sighing, Quickhoof stepped forward, wrapping a wing around Yaazi, giving her a gentle hug. Twow couldn't help but smile as he wrapped an arm around Fluttershy.

Sick Day

Yaazi sat down in front of Dinky's TV, playing video games with her. However, her face was locked in a rather fierce frown. Normally, a filly her age would be happy to be able to spend a Saturday with their best friend doing whatever came to mind as something fun to do. However, Yaazi wasn't exactly a normal filly, and her preferences for spending time weren't what you might consider normal. The one thing she really wanted to do today - the thing she'd been looking forward to all week - was denied her, and that made her rather vicious with the poor timberwolves in the video game.

As the last batch was blasted to smithereens by a blast from her rail cannon, she dropped the controller with a growl. Dinky looked over. "Alright, Yaazi, what's eating you?"

Yaazi stood up and stomped over to the snack table they'd set up, grabbing a muffin. "I want to spend time with Daddy!" she said, a growl in her voice.

Dinky looked hurt. "D-don't you like spending time with me?" she asked.

Yaazi hastened to assure her friend. "Of course I do, Dinky. You're my best friend, and I love spending time with you. It's just...ever since I started attending school, I haven't been spending as much time with Daddy as I used to, and I missed it. Daddy promised I could spend today with him to make up for it, but when I went to go be with him, Mommy said I was spending the day here! Why can't I be with Daddy?" Yaazi shifted to her unicorn form because, even though she was often glad of the lack of tear ducts in public, in private it felt good to cry sometimes.

Walking up, Dinky hugged Yaazi. "There there, Yaazi, I know you're upset. Daddy told me it was because Twow's sick today, and he doesn't want you getting what he has."

"B-but Mommy gets to be with him," Yaazi wept, tears streaming down her face.

"Human germs don't affect ponies, according to Mommy," Dinky said wisely.

"Then how can they affect me?" Yaazi asked, crying.

Dinky frowned. "I heard Mommy and Daddy talking about it, but I didn't understand all of it. From what I heard, you feeding on Twow's emotions has altered your magical aura to be partially human, making you susceptible to human illnesses. However, your pony/changeling physiology lacks the inborn human resistances to such illnesses, meaning that even the human common cold could prove seriously debilitating, if not lethal, to you." Dinky tilted her head, somewhat confused. "Daddy mentioned some fictional work of the humans as an example when telling Twow all this. 'War of the Worlds', I think he called it."

Yaazi sighed. "Which is why Daddy would back Mommy in having me be somewhere else today, so I couldn't get sick. It's just..." Sniffling, she wiped her eyes. "How can I sit here and have fun, knowing my Daddy is down in his lab, suffering from illness, and I can't be there for him?"

Dinky hugged her friend again. "I know, Yaazi. But what can you do? It's not like there's a way for you to be in there with him without risking getting sick."

Yaazi started to nod, but her head froze. Remembering something from one of the games they'd played, she began to grin. "Maybe there is." As her mind continued along this train of thought, her grin widened. "And I think I know just where to get it. You up for an adventure, Dinky?"

Dinky nodded. "Always!"

Twow lay back on his bed in the lab, feeling rather wan. Once the danger to Yaazi from his illness had been made clear, he had initiated several steps to prevent any possibility of her catching it. First, he had agreed with Fluttershy to have Yaazi spend the day at Derpy's with Dinky. Second, he had completely sterilized the lab. (Fluttershy had to convince him that doing so with fire while underground wouldn't be the best of ideas, so they got Twilight to do so with a spell.) Third, Luna had arrived and placed a powerful energy field across all possible entrances to the lab. While ponies and other sentient life could pass through easily, the fields would eradicate any microscopic organism - be it bacterial, viral, or magical in nature - that came into contact with it. Luna assured Twow that each field had the same amount of magic in it that she normally used to raise the moon, so there was no danger whatsoever of spell failure. With these precautions in place, Twow felt convinced that Yaazi was safe from his illness, even if it didn't leave him feeling very well.

He was brought to full awareness as he heard a strange sound approaching across the lab.

Flop, flop, flop, flop

It sounded like plastic against metal, flopping around loosely. He pushed himself into a sitting position, staring out to see what was approaching.

A small figure, roughly pony shaped, approached. It was all yellow, with long, flopping limbs, a heavily wrinkled body, and a strangely oversized head. It approached him, the floppy limbs making the noise as they impacted the ground. The face seemed made of glass, and the mouth was machine like. Then, as his vision cleared a bit more, a voice issued from the mouth, confirming what he was seeing.

"Hi Daddy!"

Twow blinked. "Yaazi! You're supposed to be spending the day at Derpy's!"

"I am. Your lab is in her basement, after all."

Twow struggled with his words. "You can't be in here! You might get sick."

"Taken care of," Yaazi said proudly, waving the plastic sleeve that extended well beyond the tip of her hoof. "Hazmat suit. No sickness is getting in to me like this."

Twow stared at her, now recognizing what she was wearing. "Where did you get a hazmat suit anyway?"

"From Twilight."

"Twilight let you use her hazmat suit?"

Yaazi gulped audibly. "Umm...not exactly..."

"YAAZI!" the shout came from the doorway, as Twilight came stomping in, a fierce scowl on her face. "Just what do you think you're doing with my hazmat suit?"

Yaazi turned to face Twilight, falling down onto her rear as she tripped over the long sleeves of the suit. Her eyes barely peeking out over the edge of the faceplate, she whimpered, "I j-just wanted t-to take c-care of my D-d-daddy..." Her eyes shimmered slightly as though with unshed tears.

Twilight struggled - in vain - to maintain her scowl. Seeing Twow clutching at his heart, she lifted Yaazi in her telekinesis. "Well, you're not helping him much straining his heart like that. Come on, if you're that determined, at least let me get you a suit in your size. And next time, ask before you take it, please?"

Twow leaned back. He'd have to have a talk with Yaazi about that. She really shouldn't be taking other people's things without permission.

Or at least, he thought, his illness befuddled mind shifting back to the RPGs he'd been playing with her recently, she should do better at not getting caught.

Fluttershy came back into the lab with the supplies she'd gone out to get. "I'm back, Twow," she said quietly, but loud enough to be heard. "I've got everything I need. I'll have you up and about in no time." As she walked into his bedroom, she paused. A yellow clad figure of childish proportions stood before Twow's bed, holding a bowl of soup and a spoon in a green telekinetic grip.

"Yaazi, I can feed myself," Twow was saying as the spoon levitated to his mouth.

"You need to take it easy, Daddy," Yaazi said, her voice distorted slightly by the hazmat suit. "Now open wide and say, 'ah'."

Smiling, Twow rolled his eyes at Fluttershy over Yaazi's shoulder and opened his mouth so Yaazi could spoon feed him. Fluttershy did her best to hold back a high pitched squeal.

Jealousy

Fluttershy stepped carefully into the pet supply store, needing to restock on a few things. She enjoyed coming here, as the proprietor was always so nice to her, always giving her good deals, helping her keep her budget reasonable. With an extra mouth to feed, that was especially helpful. She smiled as she saw him approaching. "Hello, Feather," she said happily.

Feather Duster smiled as he approached, his eyes going a little glassy. "Why, hello Fluttershy," the blue earth pony replied, his head bobbing up and down. "What a pleasant surprise! I wasn't expecting to see you here today!"

Fluttershy smiled. Feather Duster was a bit strange, but she felt he was a good stallion at heart. "But Feather Duster, today's Market Day. I'm always here today."

"Oh, what a coincidence, so am I!" Feather Duster replied, bouncing happily.

Fluttershy giggled. "Well, anyway, I need to restock on a few things. Some animal food, some shampoos..."

"Why, I do believe I sell those!" Feather Duster said happily. "Let's see what we can do, shall we?" He then proceeded to bounce - very Pinkie-like - around the store, guiding Fluttershy to the various things on her list. As she filled shopping bags with things, she couldn't help but giggle at Feather Duster's antics.

Coming up to the counter, Fluttershy pulled out her money pouch. "So, how much do I owe you today?" she asked.

Feather Duster, still looking a bit glassy eyed, punched buttons seemingly at random on the cash register until a total came up. "37942...wait, that can't be right." Spinning around on his chair, he gave the register a whack. "37 bits total," he said, smiling as he leaned one arm on the counter, resting his head on his hoof.

Fluttershy smiled. "Okay." Pulling out the bits, she placed them on the counter. "Thank you very much," she said, taking the bag into her mouth.

As she turned to leave the store, Feather Duster suddenly spoke up. "Say, Fluttershy..."

She turned back, seeing his eyes no longer glazed and a serious expression on his face. "Yes?"

"Do you think, maybe, we could go out for drinks later or something?" he asked, looking wistful.

Fluttershy blanched. She hadn't expected this sort of request. "I-I'm sorry," she replied, trying to sidestep the question, "but I need to get home and take care of my animals, and Yaazi, and-"

"Alright," Feather Duster replied. "How about tomorrow?"

"Umm...tomorrow Twow and I are going out for lunch," Fluttershy replied, now wanting to escape the situation.

"Oh...right." Feather Duster turned away, staring out the window.

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy said quietly, turning to race out.

As she left, Feather Duster turned to glower at a nearby wall before slamming his hoof against it in impotent anger.

A few hours later, Twow and Yaazi entered the pet supply store. "I can't believe Mom forgot to buy tortoise soap," she said in disbelief. "She's always careful about getting everything for the animals."

"She seemed a little scatterbrained today," Twow admitted in concern. "Something's probably bothering her."

"And what do you two want?" Feather Duster said from behind the counter, glowering at Twow.

Yaazi saw that Feather Duster's eyes kept flicking up to the feather behind her father's ear. She realized this was one of the ponies that hated him for being with her mother. She could taste his hate and envy, and it wasn't pleasant. She wished she had enough control of her magic and Changeling abilities to block off her emotion sense, but she wasn't advanced enough in those skills yet. She stepped a little behind her father, privately glad that she was in her unicorn form right now. One last thing for this angry pony to focus on.

Twow was taken aback by the stallion's hostility. Fluttershy had always described him as being nice. "Yes, Fluttershy forgot to buy tortoise soap, so she asked us to pick it up for her-"

"Right," Feather Duster replied curtly, heading to the shelves.

Twow blinked, looking to the list. "She said to get-"

"I know what brands she buys!" Feather Duster snapped, slamming the bottle down on the counter. "That'll be 40 bits," he said curtly.

Twow blinked. "That's rather expensive-"

"Take it or leave it!"

Fishing out the bits, Twow slammed them down on the counter. "Fine!" he snapped, grabbing the bottle.

"Now get out of my store!" Feather Duster snapped angrily.

Twow had had enough. "Just what is your problem?"

"My problem?" Feather Duster snapped. "My problem is you, freak!"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Twow demanded, despite his rage managing to keep himself from cursing in front of Yaazi.

Yaazi herself was staring back and forth in confusion. She didn't like the hostility and rage. It was beginning to make her physically nauseous. She wished it would stop.

"I'll tell you what I mean!" Feather Duster roared. "I mean that Fluttershy could easily do better than some extra-dimensional freak and a bug-eyed shape changing monster!"

Yaazi let out a chocked sob, tears falling from her eyes.

Without warning, Twow's hand lashed forward. A metal brace around his wrist expanded into a metal gauntlet covering his entire arm, a metal plate over his knuckles taking the shape of a hoof. The blow impacted hard against Feather Duster's jaw, sending him flying back against the wall. Before Feather Duster could recover, Twow had leapt over the counter and had hold of him by the throat.

"Now you listen to me," Twow snarled quietly, the look in his eyes fierce enough to make Discord piss himself. "If you ever talk to my daughter like that again, it will be the last thing you ever say." After glaring for a bit longer, he turned and hopped back over the counter, grabbing the soap as he leapt and the gauntlet withdrew back into the wrist brace. He scooped Yaazi up into his arms. "Come on, Yaazi, let's go home," he whispered comfortingly. He then began to sing Yaazi's favorite lullaby, trying to comfort her. "♫My beautiful Yaazi..."

Feather Duster slowly pushed himself off the floor, snarling as he spat out a tooth. He wasn't going to let this stand. That...that human had assaulted him. He was going to go to the police and-

"Ah wouldn't do that if'n Ah was you," a voice interrupted him.

Turning, he saw Big Macintosh standing there with a deep frown on his face. "What business is it of yours?" he demanded.

"When Ah see somepony insulting mah family, Ah make it mah business."

Feather Duster blinked. "What are you talking about?"

Big Mac glared at him. "Ah'm talkin' about them two honorary Apples you just chased out."

"What?" Feather Duster demanded. "When did they become honorary Apples?"

Big Mac smirked. "When mah sis AJ made her friends honorary Apples, that extended to their families."

"But why would that-"

"And in Fluttershy's case, her daughter and lifemate."

"Lifemate?" Feather Duster demanded. "How can he be her lifemate? That takes the commitment to each other-"

"He's got her feather," Big Mac replied. "He knows what it means. He made the same commitment to her when he accepted the feather from her. That qualifies. Ain't no more sacred a commitment to a Pegasus than the feather."

Feather Duster nodded. He knew that, that's what made him so mad. "But that commitment has to be recognized by the Herd Master-"

"Ya mean like when Celestia officially approved them adopting Yaazi together?" Big Mac asked innocently, his grin as wicked as his face could make it.

Feather Duster blinked for a bit as he thought about this, then shivered as a chill sank into his gut. That was right, she had, hadn't she? And a skilled enough lawyer could argue that qualified as recognition of their bond, the only thing that might nullify it there was if either Twow or Fluttershy said they weren't lifemates, and neither would deny their commitment to each other, even if they weren't entirely comfortable with the term yet. And those old laws that governed matters regarding lifemates predated Equestria, predated the unification of the pony races. And the old laws could be brutal.

It was obvious to anyone that Twow wouldn't hesitate to kill to protect Fluttershy and Yaazi. What Feather Duster had just realized - for which he was supremely glad Twow was unaware of - was that those same old laws gave him the right to do just that when it came to protecting his lifemate or children, especially from rival stallions like Feather Duster.

Big Mac smirked at Feather Duster's panicked expression. "Eeyup," he said calmly. "That's right. Now, Ah think you'd better go spread that bit to any other members o' the T.S.F.S. who might still be thinkin' o' tryin' to get between 'em. Ya know, before he hears about that from someone with a law degree." Big Mac shook his head. "Ah'll be taking mah business elsewhere in the future, though. Ah don't deal with nopony who badmouths the Apples." Turning, he left the store.

As he walked along the path back to the farm, he paused as he felt something nearby. "Is that what you were expecting when you nudged me that way?" he asked the air around him.

A voice replied from the nearby shadows, "Not entirely. I asked you to be there because I was certain you were the only one who would be strong enough to hold Twow back from killing that fool."

"So ya didn't want him getting killed?" Big Mac asked, a frown in his voice.

"Hardly. I couldn't care one way or another about that fool. I didn't want Yaazi to watch her Father commit murder. His self control was greater than I anticipated."

Big Mac nodded, smiling. "Twow's a good pony."

"Umm...he's a human."

"That don't make him any less of a good pony."

The voice was silent for a time. "That is either incredibly simple minded, or the deepest philosophical point I've ever heard."

Big Mac chuckled. "My three majors gotta be good for somethin." He waved into the shadows as he walked along. "G'bye, ghost mama," he called.

A shade in the rough shape of a Changeling Queen floated backwards into the trees. "Note to self," she muttered, "don't try to puppet anypony smarter than me...and don't judge by appearances." The shade floated off into the forest, glad it's mission continued to work.

Nightmare Night

Yaazi and Dinky played happily together, bouncing a ball back and forth in a pony game of catch. Neither wanted to bother with their magic, so they were competing to see who would drop it. After a time, however, the ball became stuck on Yaazi's horn, and she shook her head, trying to dislodge it. Unfortunately, it was stuck fast, and Dinky had to pull hard on it. When it came off, it sent them both tumbling into Dinky's closet door, knocking it open, causing an outfit hanging on the inside of the door to fall onto the two fillies, along with several other items.

After unburying themselves, Yaazi examined the outfit. "I didn't know you were a firepony, Dinky," she said, holding up the little fire fighter outfit.

Dinky giggled. "I'm not. That's just my Nightmare Night costume from last year."

Yaazi blinked. "Nightmare Night? What's that?"

Dinky stared. "You don't know what Nightmare Night is?" she asked, shocked. Yaazi shook her head. Dinky smiled. "It's only the bestest holiday ever! We get to stay up late, wander around town, play tons of fun games, and everypony gives us candy!"

Yaazi smiled. "That does sound like fun!" She blinked. "But what's the costume for?"

Dinky grinned. "It's part of the fun. Everypony dresses in costume! I was thinking of doing something different this year, but I kinda ran out of time. Guess I'll either be a fire fighter or a police pony again this year. Unless I want to go as a giant muffin." She shuddered a bit. "As much as I love my Mom's muffins, I'm not doing that again. Pinkie kept giving me weird looks."

Yaazi blinked, very confused at all of this. "So...what am I supposed to dress up as, anyway?"

"Anything," Dinky replied. "Anything that's not a pony, anyway."

Yaazi stared through one of the holes in her leg. "Guess I don't need a costume, then..." she said sadly, before walking up the wall. She wasn't sure why, but walking up walls and across ceilings always relaxed her whenever she got upset, especially when the upset was from reminders of how she was different. She thought it had something to do with reminding herself of the good things that came with being different. After all, climbing walls was fun!

Dinky watched Yaazi climbing the walls, and then her eyes widened. "I know what you can dress up as!" She grabbed Yaazi's hoof, yanking her off the wall. "Come on! We need to see if Rarity will do a rush job!"

Yaazi blinked, confused. "Uhh...okay..."

As the sun set on Nightmare Night, Yaazi was really happy. She was going to get to go door to door to get candy from everypony in Ponyville, and she was sure they'd love her costume. Dressed in a black body suit that covered everything but her eyes, her horn, her mane, and the tips of her hooves, she was a perfect ninja. Seized by a Pinkieish notion, she began to sing and dance.

"♫I'm a ninja, I'm a pony ninja!
I'm a ninja, I'm a pony ninja."

Unsatisfied with dancing on the floor, she began climbing along the walls and ceiling.

♫I'm a ninja, I'm a pony ninja!
I'm a! Pony! Ninja!"

On the last word, she leapt to the floor, nearly slamming into Dinky as she came looking for her. "Yaazi!" Dinky yelled in shock. "What are you doing?"

Yaazi blinked. "Umm...ninjing?"

Dinky tilted her head, confused. "Ninjing?"

"You know, what ninjas do. Ninj!"

Dinky blinked for a time, then shrugged. Sounded right to her. She shook herself off, straightening her bow tie and plaid suit while making sure the thin metal rod was secure in the pocket. "Alright," she said happily. "Let's go get candy!"

"Yay!" Yaazi said happily. Grabbing her candy bucket with her magic, she began stalking her way towards the front door. "Ninj, ninj, ninj, ninj, ninj," she said under her breath as she stalked.

Dinky stared at her for a time, then giggled, following her.

Coming to the first door, Yaazi did as Dinky had told her to do when the door opened.

"Nightmare Night, what a fright,
Give us something sweet to bite!"

Snowflake, dressed as a drill sergeant, stared straight at her for a very long time. Finally, not knowing what else to do, Yaazi lowered her body to the ground in a pose reminiscent of a canine play bow while looking up at him, and said, "Uhh...ninj?"

"HNNNNGGGG!" Snowflake let out, tossing the bowl of candy in his hooves into the air as he clutched at his chest before falling backwards into his house.

Yaazi stared at the unconscious pony and the candy all over the place. "So...do we get the candy now?"

Dinky smiled. "I guess so."

Smiling and laughing, the two stuffed the candy into their buckets before heading off to other houses. They wound up with quite the haul.

"So all this candy is ours?" Yaazi asked happily.

"No," Dinky replied. "We offer a good amount of it to Princess Luna."

Yaazi blinked. "Why?"

Dinky shrugged. "Tradition. Something about assuaging Nightmare Moon's hunger so she won't eat us, but that's just silly. I think it's more to make sure she comes back here every year. She really enjoys the festivities here in Ponyville, and makes it a lot of fun for all of us little ponies. She even brings the moon closer to Equestria and makes it shine a bit brighter so we'll have an easier time seeing where we're going, just for tonight. That's why it's always a full moon on Nightmare Night."

Yaazi didn't really follow everything Dinky had said. However, she'd picked up one thing. Luna was extorting candy from the fillies and colts of Ponyville for their safety! She would put a stop to that!

There was a sudden roll of thunder and several lightning flashes. Dinky bounced happily. "Princess Luna's here!" she cried, racing towards town square. Yaazi followed, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

When she reached the town square, Yaazi saw Princess Luna standing in the center, proclaiming something in the Royal Canterlot Voice. All the fillies and colts looked happy, but Yaazi was too focused on Luna's 'extortion' scam to notice. Coming up behind Luna on the rooftops, Yaazi leaped off the rooftop towards her, shouting, "NINJ!"

She landed on Luna's head with a 'plop' sound, where she gripped and began trying to tug on her mane without success. She then noticed Luna looking up at her in confusion. Having forgotten why it was exactly she had attempted this, Yaazi could only gulp. "Uhh...ninj?"

Luna smiled, her cheeks bulging a little as she put a hoof to her mouth. More adult ponies would be able to tell she was barely suppressing a squeal of delight. After a moment, she regained control of herself. "It would appear that we have a ninja on our head," she said, emphasizing the royal plural. Levitating a quill out of Twilight Sparkle's always overstuffed saddlebags, she stuck it just behind Yaazi's right ear. She then turned toward the town at large. "Quite the fashionable hat, don't you think?" she asked everyone, startling a laugh from several ponies.

Yaazi wound up spending the rest of Nightmare Night on Luna's head. While it wasn't nearly as comfortable a perch as on her Daddy's shoulders, the few times Luna would leap into flight without warning - and the rush of excitement that accompanied each time - made it a very close competitor. Each time Yaazi tried to get down, though, Luna would look up at her sadly and say, "Do you not like being my hat?" How could Yaazi say no to that face? Besides, it was fun.

As the night started to wind to a close - at least for the fillies and colts - Luna lifted Yaazi off her head and hugged her. "Thank you for a wonderful time, Yaazi," she said happily.

Yaazi blinked. "You know me?" she said, shocked.

Luna smiled. "Your father is a good friend of mine. I have heard much about you. I am glad we were able to meet tonight. It was quite fun." She then set Yaazi down on Derpy's front porch. "Sleep well, Yaazi, and have most pleasant dreams."

Yaazi smiled. "I will!" she said happily, going inside. Heading down to the basement, she climbed into her bed and curled up to sleep, her bucket of candy held tight to her.

"Dinky was right..." she mumbled under her breath as sleep claimed her. "Bestest...holiday...ever..." Her voice trailed off into a quiet snore.

Young Love

Yaazi came running into her father's lab, her face as pale as chitin could get, her mane rustling like crazy as she scampered across the floor, her hooves flailing. Her saddlebags were poorly packed, and her school things were flying out as she ran. "Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad Dad!" she screamed, racing into Twow and pouncing him, clinging to his chest as she shook.

Twow turned around, away from his lab table, as he cradled his shivering daughter. "Easy there, Yaazi, easy. What's wrong?"

Yaazi stared into his eyes, shivering. "I don't know what to do! Something really crazy happened and it could be bad but I'm scared and I need help and-"

"Easy there, Yaazi, calm down," Twow interrupted. "You're sounding like Pinkie on a sugar high, but with less joy."

Yaazi started trying to take deep breaths, but it quickly became apparent that she was hyperventilating. Falling back as she shook, Twow bumped against his latest invention on the table, which fired off a yellow beam that struck Yaazi full in the face.

"Yaazi!" Twow screamed. "Are you okay?"

Yaazi blinked a few times, then looked up at him. "I'm just fine, Daddy." She blinked. "Which is somewhat odd, considering I was just in the middle of a panic attack. I would theorize that the energy beam had something to do with it. It would appear that it temporarily altered my mental balance towards the logical side while weakening the emotional."

Twow smirked. "Wow, I invented a Vulcan beam." He chuckled. "Well, as long as you're okay."

"There does not appear to be anything wrong with me," she replied. Then she shivered as yellow energy dissipated off of her. "It...it doesn't last that long, though," she whispered, once more shivering but now in more control of herself.

He hugged his daughter. "Well, it's alright. I'm glad it wore off so fast. And if I want I can fix that later." He held her out. "Now, why don't you tell me what's wrong. Sounds like it's pretty bad."

Yaazi looked up at her father. "A...a colt told me he liked me," she whimpered.

Twow blinked. "Well, that's no surprise. You're a very likeable little filly, and I'm glad you're making friends-"

"Not like that, Dad!" Yaazi growled, frowning. "Like like. Like how you like Mom. Only without the icky grown up stuff you think I don't know about."

"Oh, well- Wait, what do you mean I think you don't know about?" Twow gave his daughter a rather direct look.

"Can we forget about that for now and focus on the monumental event in my social life, please?" Yaazi begged, widening her eyes as she stared into her father's gaze.

He couldn't last long against that. "Alright," he relented. "So, a colt told you he had a crush on you?"

"No, Dad. He wants to date me, not crush me." She giggled, then blinked. "A colt wants to date me..." It was plain she was going back towards a panic attack.

"So who is he?" Twow asked quickly, trying to use words to hold of screams.

"Hi-...his name's Elusive," Yaazi admitted.

"Oh, Rarity and Drak's kid," Twow affirmed, recognizing the name. "Cute kid. Not as cute as you, of course." He cuddled Yaazi tightly. "So...he told you he liked you?"

Yaazi nodded. "He...he asked me to be his special somepony this Hearts and Hooves day."

Twow smiled. "And what did you say?"

"Nothing."

Twow blinked. "Okay...what did you do?"

"I...froze up, started hyperventilating, and ran all the way back home to you." Yaazi hung her head, her mane rustling in embarrassment.

Twow winced. Short of shooting him down or giving the 'friends' speech, that was probably the worst thing she could have done to the poor colt. "Well...that could have gone better."

Yaazi looked up at him sadly. "I really screwed up, didn't I? He probably hates me now."

"I doubt that," Twow hurried to reassure her. "Admittedly, not the best of responses. If anything, he probably thinks you hate him."

"That's even worse!" Yaazi wailed, starting to cry.

Twow winced, realizing he'd really stepped in it this time. "No it's not," he said quickly, struggling to recover. "You just need to gather your thoughts, figure out how you feel about him, and then go and tell him."

Yaazi looked up at her father sadly. "You make it sound so easy," she pouted.

Twow shrugged. "It could be. Do you know how you feel about him?" She shook her head. "Okay...what do you think about him?"

Yaazi blinked. "He's...nice. He doesn't talk much, but I've never felt any hostility from him. He was never judging me. And...he's kinda cute." Her mane rustled violently at this admission.

Twow smiled at how adorable she was right now. "Well, sounds like you might like him in return."

Yaazi looked up at her father, looking a little scared. "But...but he's got cooties!"

Twow managed to lock a smile on his face as his body spasmed. "Yaazi, there's no such thing as cooties."

Yaazi blinked. "R...really?" she asked hopefully.

He nodded affirmatively. "Really. Trust me, no such thing. Now, does spending the day with him on Hearts and Hooves Day sound so bad?"

Yaazi blinked thoughtfully, looking down. "No. It actually sounds...kinda fun."

Twow smiled. "In that case, go find him, apologize for running off, and say you'd be happy to be his special somepony this Hearts and Hooves Day. I'm sure things will go just fine."

Yaazi smiled and threw her forelegs around her father's neck. "Thanks Daddy! I love you!" She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before dashing off to find Elusive.

Twow watched her go for a time. Then, once he was sure she was out of hearing range, he clutched at his chest as he groped for the medicine cabinet. "Where's the f***ing Bayer?" he hissed out as his body spasmed again.

Science is Bonding

"Pass me the green vial, Yaazi."

"Right!" Yaazi said happily, levitating the green vial over to her father.

Grinning, Twow poured the contents of the vial into a sequence of glass tubing and bulbous basins, suspended over Bunsen burners that sent both liquid and vapors through further tubes to create a mixed concoction towards the end. "Now," he said again, "the red vial."

"On it!" Yaazi replied, bouncing over to grab it in her teeth, fluttering her wings to glide over to pour the contents into the designated intake point.

Twow smiled as he watched the various substances mix and mingle within the proper vestibules. "And now!" he proclaimed, thrusting his hand into the air with a single finger extended dramatically. "From the purple vial...two drops only!"

Yaazi gulped behind her grin, taking hold of the purple vial and floating it over. She carefully measured out the designated dosage, as the two drops of the viscous substance dripped slowly through the air to splash silently into the last container.

A cloud of multi-colored smoke erupted from the basin, billowing into the air as the contents bubbled and frothed. A static charged flashed within the smoke, as strange images Yaazi couldn't put names to formed within. The smoke then was suddenly sucked back into the basin before she was blinded by a brilliant flash of light. As the light faded, Yaazi lowered the hoof she had used to shield her eyes as she opened her inner eyelids, eager to see what she and her father had created in this batch of mad science.

She was somewhat confused and disappointed to find her father sticking two curly straws into the frothy substance of the basin. "Drink up!" he said happily. He pulled up a chair to sit down in front of it.

Yaazi walked up, frowning slightly, and took a sip. She blinked. "It tastes like apples." She took another sip, then pulled back quickly. "Now it tastes like bananas!" She took another sip, then blinked. "Strawberries?" Another sip. "Blackberries?" Another. "Mangoes?"

Twow smiled as he took a long drink. "My rainbow-fruit smoothie. Tastes like a sequence of fruit flavors that naturally blend into each other. Good, huh?"

Yaazi sighed, and smiled. "Yeah, Dad. It's really...tasty." She leaned in to drink more, enjoying how the flavor harmoniously changed.

Twow turned to her. "What's wrong, Yaazi?"

Yaazi sighed. "Well, it's just...when you said we'd spend the day in the lab, just the two of us, I was so excited. And then, when you had the whole mad science set up prepared..." She gestured around, pointing out the active tesla coils, the bubbling beakers, the brains in jars (props borrowed from Pinkie Pie's Nightmare Night supplies, for effect), and even the metal slab complete with wrist and ankle straps. "I guess I just thought we'd be making something a bit more exciting than...brunch."

Twow smiled indulgently at his daughter. "What? Would you rather we were stitching together dead pony parts to make a science based flesh zombie?"

Yaazi lifted up on her wings, her eyes wide and excited. "Can we?"

"No."

Yaazi dropped back onto the floor, eyes flat as she took another sip of the mixed smoothie. "Well, can we do something a bit more exciting than cooking?"

Twow leaned back, staring down at Yaazi, struggling not to collapse from her cumulative cuteness. He'd speculated once about finding someway to harness her cuteness as an energy source - naturally gathered from what she released on a daily basis from just being herself - as an alternative free energy source for Equestria using a widely available resource, or possibly weaponizing it as an alternative to the Elements of Harmony, should all six of the Element Bearers be unavailable against such a threat. However, the first idea he had discarded because he couldn't figure out a way to safely handle the energy in those quantities, and the second had been vetoed by Celestia since she didn't endorse cruel and unusual punishment. As such, the concept had been discarded. Then again, seeing how cute Yaazi could be when she wasn't trying, he could see why it wouldn't be a good idea to weaponize it. "So what would you like to make with science today, Yaazi?"

Yaazi shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Something amazing, I guess."

Twow smiled. "Well, what do you suggest?"

Yaazi blinked. "Umm..." She glanced around at all the vials of chemicals, everything from the harmless and benign to dangerous and highly volatile. "We could...toss everything together and see what happens?"

Inside Twow's head, the mad scientist warred with the responsible citizen as the loving parent chose not to take sides. The responsible citizen won out in the end. "Sorry, Yaazi. That could prove to be catastrophic."

Yaazi sighed. "We can't play Frankenstein...we can't do crazy chemistry...what fun is mad science when you have to play it safe?"

Twow sighed. He knew that feeling. "Hmm..." He glanced around at everything in the lab. And then he smiled. "Liiightbulb..." he found himself saying for no apparent reason.

Yaazi looked up. "Daddy?" she asked, intrigued.

Twow grinned, the spark of mad science in his eyes. "Yaazi...fetch the laser welder!"

Yaazi gasped happily, immediately fetching the tools necessary for the forging of large constructs with heavy metalwork. Meanwhile, Twow walked over and opened the weapon locker.

Yaazi came staggering back with all the tools and saw what he was doing, and gasped. "We're going to make weapons, Daddy?" she asked, getting very excited.

Twow grinned. "Not exactly, Yaazi. We're going to make you something...special. Get the mobile terminal, as well. We're going to have some heavy programming to do as well."

Jumping for joy, Yaazi threw herself into the role of lab assistant, fetching everything her father needed to complete the newest project.

Fluttershy paced back and forth in front of Twow and Yaazi. "So, Yaazi got bored with the basic chemistry you were doing to make sweet treats?"

"Yes," Twow said, wincing back as he held the ice pack to the swelling in his side.

Fluttershy turned to Yaazi. "And then you asked to make something more impressive?"

Yaazi nodded, clanking as she pawed the somewhat charred earth with a vanadium/destronium/vibranium alloy clad hoof. "Yes Mom."

Fluttershy turned back to Twow. "And that somehow turned into you making Yaazi a powered armor suit with enough firepower to level a small city." She gestured out at the smoking craters nearby. "Like Ponyville."

"Um, to be fair, that was only a small fraction of what the power armor is actually capable of," Twow pointed out, his scientist's pride asserting itself. "The Limiters were active."

"Not helping your case, Dad," Yaazi commented.

Fluttershy stared down at both of them. "And you just happened to think it was a good idea to test out some of what it was capable of...in Ponyville?"

Twow and Yaazi hung their heads. Their 'harmless fun' had certainly gotten way out of hand.

Fluttershy sighed, sitting down next to Yaazi. "I'm not really mad at you, Yaazi. I know how Twow can get carried away with these things, and you just got caught up in it. And I admit, this will certainly ensure that - no matter the situation - you will be perfectly safe."

"Dad did say he designed it to grow as I did," Yaazi replied, looking up into her Mom's eyes.

Fluttershy nodded. "Alright. In that case, it goes back into the dangerous weapon locker, and you aren't allowed to use it until you're mature enough to handle its power responsibly. And you're grounded until Ponyville is fully repaired."

Yaazi nodded, accepting the punishment. She figured it was much kinder than what she actually deserved in this situation.

Fluttershy then turned to Twow. "I'll finish discussing this with you, later," she stated emphatically. "For right now, you'd better see to the reconstruction."

"I'll get right on it," he said, turning to grab his tools.

Fluttershy sighed. "Well, I hope you two had fun today."

Twow and Yaazi looked at each other, smiling. "We did!" they said together.

Fluttershy gave Twow a rather direct look. "Last I checked, I was only raising one child," she griped exasperatedly.

Twow chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head.

"Say, Dad?" Yaazi asked, shifting around in the power armor.

"Yes, Yaazi?"

"How do I take this off?" she asked. "Is it this-"

The back of the power armor opened up and fired off a large missile that shot up into the air, impacting heavily against the moon, breaking off a large chunk. All three stared up in shock and a bit of fear.

"I didn't mean to!" Yaazi cried out desperately.

"I can fix that!" Twow hastened to assure everyone around.

Fluttershy sighed heavily, rubbing her temple with her hoof. "Is this why Rarity takes so many spa days?" she asked no one in particular.

First Crusade

Yaazi finished packing up her things at school, her grades still as high as ever. While school was fun, it wasn't quite as fun as when her Daddy instructed her back home. Then again, Daddy's lessons generally involved more explosions. Even so, she still loved going to school. The few students that still gave her a hard time for being different were outnumbered by the vast majority that were quite welcoming of her. And besides, she was able to partner with Dinky in class a lot, which made things even more fun.

Smiling and laughing with Dinky, she raced outside. However, when they got there, she noticed a few fillies looking somewhat down. "Who are they?" she asked Dinky.

Dinky looked over. "Oh, that's Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. They're a couple classes ahead of us. They're the only ones in their grade who don't have their Cutie Marks yet, so they banded together to find their Cutie Marks, formed a club."

Yaazi blinked. "A club? How does bashing ponies heads in help with getting Cutie Marks? Is there a murder Cutie Mark?"

Dinky's eyes widened. "Don't mention that around them. They've tried almost everything else, and I don't wanna imagine what they might try for that one!"

Yaazi nodded, glancing towards her own flank. She wondered if she could get a Cutie Mark, being half Changeling. Her unicorn form might be able to get one, but she doubted if she could get one on her Changeling body. Still, it wouldn't happen if she didn't try. She ran over to them.

"Yaazi! Wait!" Dinky ran after her.

Scootaloo looked up. "Oh, hey! You're Yaazi, Twow and Fluttershy's kid."

Yaazi blinked. "You know my parents?"

Sweetie Belle giggled. "Fluttershy's well known around town, and everypony knows Twow by now. Makes me wonder why he thinks he still needs to hide in his lab."

Apple Bloom smiled. "He's been a good friend. Kinda like an extra big brother. That makes us almost family!"

Yaazi giggled. This was fun at least. "Dinky was telling me about your, umm, club?"

"That's right!" Scootaloo said happily. "We're-"

The three leaped up and shouted together. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

"Crusading for our Cutie Marks!" Apple Bloom finished.

Yaazi smiled. "Can I join?"

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at each other. "Huddle up girls," Scootaloo said. The three fillies turned towards each other, huddled up as they had a whispered discussion. After a time, they turned back.

"Well," Sweetie Belle said, "if you don't have a Cutie Mark, I don't see why not."

"The Crusaders welcome anypony trying to get their Cutie Marks!" Apple Bloom said proudly.

"But crusading can be difficult," Scootaloo continued, "so first we're going to have to test your crusading ability."

Apple Bloom smiled. "Head on home, both of ya, and tell your folks you'll be spending the afternoon with us. Then come meet us at our Clubhouse."

"Okay!" Dinky said. "Where's the clubhouse?"

"That's the test!" Scootaloo said with a grin. "You've got to find it. We'll be waiting for you there!" With that, the three raced off towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Dinky looked towards Yaazi. "Well, we'd better go tell our folks. Think you'll have any trouble?"

Yaazi smiled. "Doubtful. Mom and Dad have both been pushing me to socialize more. If all else fails, I'll just beg. Neither one of them can resist that for long." Yaazi giggled wickedly.

Dinky giggled in return. "Mom won't be a problem. As long as she knows where I am, she's fine with me spending my afternoons how I want, as long as I'm home for dinner. As for Dad..." She rolled her eyes. "If I tell him I'm spending the afternoon with the Crusaders, he'll go off on a tangent about one of his adventures, talking about how he saved the world this one time. He won't even notice when I leave."

Yaazi got into a racing stance. "Race ya. First to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres wins."

Dinky grinned. "One, two, three...GO!" With a flash, Dinky teleported.

"Hey!" Yaazi yelled out. "No fair!" She raced off to her Mom's cottage, since she knew her Daddy was going to be spending the day there.

However, when she got there, she found that neither her Mom nor her Dad were anywhere in sight. However, Angel was looking up at her with a pout. Smiling, Yaazi dropped her bags off and grabbed some food out of a cupboard for Angel. "Hey, Angel, would you do me a favor?" she asked. Smiling, Angel nodded as he began eating the food. "When Mom gets back, tell her I'm spending the afternoon with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, okay?" Angel swallowed convulsively, then nodded. Then he made a gesture at the area outside the cottage, and held his paws up in an X. "You don't want us to be anywhere near here?" Angel nodded vigorously. "I don't get why...but okay." Turning, she raced out to the Entrance of Sweet Apple Acres.

She expected to see Dinky waiting for her there. However, it was several minutes before Dinky came running up. "What kept you?" Yaazi asked her, confused.

Dinky stared at her flat eyed. "I wound up with my tail stuck in the wall. Then I had to wait for Dad to get back and modify the wall's phase variance so I could get out without losing my tail. Then I had to sit through a lecture on responsible use of magic. And now I'm going to be taking extra lessons with Twilight because I have 'untapped potential'." Dinky sighed heavily. "Not. Fun."

Yaazi patted her friend's shoulder sympathetically. "Sorry about that. But you still get to spend fun time with friends, right?"

Dinky nodded, smiling. "Yup! So, why are we here? How is this going to help us find the Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse?"

Yaazi smiled. "Daddy taught me logic. The most likely spot for the clubhouse for those three is somewhere on the property of one of them. We've seen the Carousel Boutique: nowhere for a secret Clubhouse there."

Dinky nodded. "And Rarity would never tolerate it, with how finicky she can be about her workspace."

Yaazi nodded. "And from what I've heard from Mom and Dad, Sweetie doesn't really like spending time with her parents, so she won't have it at her place."

"Which leaves Apple Bloom's home or Scootaloo's," Dinky continued.

"Exactly," Yaazi replied. "Do you know where Scootaloo lives?"

Dinky blinked. "Umm...no, I don't." She shrugged her shoulders. "So how can we search there?"

"We can't. So we start here." She gestured to the farm. "Besides, there's lots of room here. Better place to hang out and do stuff. So we search."

Dinky smiled, nodding. "So, what's the first step of the search?"

Yaazi grinned. "The easiest one." She headed right up the main path. Dinky followed, a little confused.

Soon, another pony came into view. Running up to her, Yaazi called out, "Miss Applejack! Miss Applejack!"

Applejack chuckled as she turned to her. "No need for the Miss, sugarcube. What can I do for ya?"

"Where's the Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse?"

Applejack chuckled. "You mean that old treehouse Apple Bloom and her friends fixed up?" She pointed out towards the orchard. "Just keep going straight thataway. Ya can't miss it."

"Thank you!" Yaazi said happily, hugging Applejack's leg.

Chuckling, Applejack ruffled her mane. "Well ain't you a sweet heart. Now you go have fun, you two. I've still gotta finish mah chores."

Yaazi and Dinky ran off through the orchard. To fine tune their directions, Yaazi used her emotion senses to track the concentration given off by three excitable fillies. Finally arriving, they climbed the ramp into the clubhouse.

"That was fast!" Scootaloo said, surprised, as they came in.

"We haven't even finished making your capes!" Sweetie added.

Dinky grinned. "Yaazi rules at hide-and-seek."

Apple Bloom blinked. "Say, have we tried getting a Hide-n-Seek Cutie Mark before?"

Sweetie Belle pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. She quickly scanned the contents. "Hmm, let's see....no...no...no...oh wait, here it is. October 17, last year. Apple Bloom, you were hiding under the front porch of your house, but got pulled away to do chores. Scootaloo got stuck in the rafters of the barn. I was it, and I never found either of you."

All three sighed. "Well, it was an idea, at least," Scootaloo finished. "We might as well finish the capes and do the official induction."

"Unless either of you have any ideas?" Apple Bloom asked hopefully.

Dinky tilted her head in thought. Yaazi blinked. "Well, Mommy says Daddy enjoys playing god in his lab. Maybe we could get our Cutie Marks in that?"

Scootaloo gasped. "That sounds awesome!"

"That sounds dangerous," Sweetie said nervously.

"Same diff," Scootaloo countered.

"Looks like we're in agreement," Apple Bloom said.

The three original CMC leapt into the air. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS GOD MODDERS! YAY!"

"Come on!" Yaazi said happily. "Let's go!" She quickly led the group back to the lab.

Once at the lab, however, enthusiasm had deadened.

"This is that science stuff Twilight's always toying with," Scootaloo commented, looking at the lab askance. "Boring!"

"I don't even know what to push," Sweetie Belle said, staring at the computer.

"I thought yer Dad was a mad scientist," Apple Bloom commented to Yaazi. "Where's the electrodes, the tesla coils, and the brains in jars?" Everypony turned to stare at Apple Bloom. "What? Frankenstallion's a good movie."

Yaazi tilted her head, confused. She was pretty sure the movie she'd watched with her Dad was called Frankenstein. She shrugged. "Maybe we could get our Cutie Marks in something a little more...exciting." She walked over to the weapon locker, turning herself into a young duplicate of her Mommy as she went. She placed her hoof against the scanner.

Authorization accepted. Client Fluttershy granted access to Weapons Locker.

As the locker opened, Yaazi turned back into herself. "How about we make things explode?"

All four of the others grinned. Racing in, they each grabbed a rather large, wicked looking weapon a piece. Then they raced out together shouting, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS DEMOLITION TEAM! YAY!"

Hours later...

Yaazi sat in her room, wilted in on herself. All five of them had received the talking to of their lives after their attempts at getting their Cutie Marks in marksmanship and demolition had leveled half the town. Thankfully, the town got half leveled often enough that it was actually fully rebuilt before the lecture had even finished. In Yaazi's case, that had taken the wind out of her Daddy's sails as far as lecturing her, especially when he saw how sad she looked, wilting in on herself under his words. He had wound up not even punishing her, just hugging her saying he was glad she hadn't gotten hurt. Her Mom, on the other hoof, had been much more firm. As such, she was grounded for a week. No playtime with friends after school, extra chores, and no dessert. She was also forbidden from ever touching any of her Daddy's inventions without his supervision.

Still, it had been fun while it lasted, and nothing irreplaceable had been damaged. Perhaps the next Crusade would go better...

One week later...

"Well, it was fun, even if we didn't get our Cutie Marks," Scootaloo said as the group sat together, the two newest members now fully inducted into the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"And we got in trouble," Sweetie Belle added.

"Nothing new about that," Apple Bloom countered. "But we still have to try everything. Anypony got any other ideas?"

There was silence for a while. Then Dinky spoke up. "Umm...I'm a recognized user for the controls of my Daddy's time machine."

They all stared at each other. Then grins spread across their faces. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS TIME TRAVELERS! YAY!"