Philip Ree

I looked from Riley over to Moon Dancer. Attractive, smart, young (by pony standards), and completely off the table, Philip. I took a steadying breath and waited with my little filly at my side—between myself and Moon—while she did complex calculus.

"Riley Ree?" The voice made us all jerk our heads up. "The doctors can see you now." She was a white-coated mare with a stunning red mane and tail. She beckoned us with one wing toward a hallway. "Just down here, third door on the right."

Me, being the only genius present, was apparently the one to lead—at least I could count to three. Dr. Horse was inside, as were two other ponies. "Hi," I said.

"Philip Ree, thank you for agreeing to this." Dr. Horse wasn't the one speaking, it was one of the others—a mare. "I'm Dr. Bright Meadow, this is Dr. Dembones, and you already know Dr. Horse."

"Thanks, but you'll have to excuse one thing—it was Riley who agreed. She's old enough to make her own decisions." I stepped to the side to let Riley walk in with Moon just behind her.

"You must be Clair Ree, Riley's mother?" Dr. Bright Meadow asked, looking at Moon Dancer.

"No." Riley's voice was vehement. "Moon Dancer is my teacher. Mom is too busy working to be able to come, and since I couldn't study today, I asked Moon to come instead."

Moon just bobbed her head. We'd agreed to leave her medical qualifications unstated. She wasn't a medical doctor, but she'd studied enough to get halfway there.

"I should introduce everypony properly." Dr. Horse gestured to himself. "My specialty, as you know, is obstetrics; Dr. Bright Meadow is the foremost specialist in metamorphic field theory, and has literally written the book on it; and Dr. Dembones is a specialist in medical ethics. Given your daughter's age, Dr. Bright Meadow asked for him to ensure that nopony got too excited and pushed Riley beyond what she is able to."

"It's more nuanced than that, but I will endeavor to prevent any accidental harm befalling young Miss Ree—even if I have to get physical with my younger colleagues." Dr. Dembones seemed like a nice old stallion, a grandfather as it were. Though, he did give both the others stern looks. "Also, Dr. Moon Dancer, it's good to see one of my former students."

"You recognized me?" Moon Dancer's surprise was evident. She looked at the old stallion with something approaching fondness.

"After all the work I went through to drum into your head that ponies are more than just a test subject, a walking biological factory, or a unique magic signature? Yes I do. You're teaching Miss Ree?"

Moon nodded and looked a little uncertain. "Hers is a complicated case, and when Mr. Ree asked me, I couldn't say no. All the local schools were going to put her into preschool so she could learn her letters and numbers."

"I take it she's a little above that?"

"A little. She's studying at an equivalent to a thirty-five-year-old, and she's speeding up. By the time she's eighteen, she will have at least one degree if I'm not mistaken." Moon Dancer sounded excited, like she was showing off to her old teacher.

Dr. Dembones leaned down and looked at Riley with a lot more interest now. "What do you think about that, miss?"

"I like learning new stuff. It's something I'm good at, but I want to learn how to use my magic better. That's why we're here, right?" Riley looked up at Dr. Dembones. "Dr. Horse thought it was strange how I can push my magic into others, but it's not strange—I do it all the time."

"They want to learn how you're doing what you're doing. That will probably mean a lot of things happen. For one, if you can do this, there hasn't been another pony capable of it for a very long time. For another, if they can work out how and why you can, it will mean they get famous, you get famous, and hopefully somepony can work out a way to teach you how to do it better," Dr. Dembones said. "Are you alright with all that?"

Riley spent a few moments with her hoof on her chin. I realized, now, how odd this must be for them to be dealing with a foal so young, but I liked how quickly the old stallion just ran with it. He treated Riley as an adult, and I knew she responded well to that. "Okay!"

Straightening, Dr. Dembones turned to his two stunned colleagues. "I believe the young lady understands exactly what the outcomes of this are. You may proceed, doctors."

Dr. Bright Meadow looked relieved. It hit me then that she probably would have backed down if Dembones had told her to back off. Ethics seemed to be a highly respected field of medicine in Equestria. "Wonderful. Now, we have a thaumgauge capable of reading down to nanothaums, and first I'd like you to push your magic through the field as hard as you can."

"Uh, I can't." Riley's reply surprised the doctor. "I need to push into somepony."

"Of course, I'll just have your father—"

"No." Riley cut the doctor off. "You don't understand at all. Here's a little bit." She walked up to Dr. Bright Meadow and, before the doctor could react, reached her hoof out.

"Oh! Oh, I see!" Dr. Bright Meadow lifted her hoof to her snout and giggled. "Perhaps we should find some volunteers?"

"I gather there is a reaction of earth pony magic in your system?" Dr. Dembones asked.

"Any more, and I would have taken off running. It's quite something."

"I'll do it. I've had her give me her kicks before," I said. "Where do you need me to stand?"

Dr. Bright Meadow directed me to a large device on one side of the room. I stood before it, apparently withing the detection range, while Riley walked over. She held out her hoof to me.

"Dad, I'm going to give you a lot, okay?" she asked.

That actually made me a little worried. I tried to think of a way to compare it. "How much is a lot compared to what you gave me when we got back from Earth?"

She tapped her chin again, a motion I'd started to realize was very much her. "About ten times that, I think. Do you have cupcakes handy? I'm going to need a snack after this."

Dr. Dembones cleared his throat in what both Dr. Bright Meadow and Dr. Horse reacted to as if it were a hand-grenade with the pin taken out. "Hold on then. Dr. Horse, please ensure we have ample sugary snacks."

Five minutes later and, with a large tray of bakery treats that Dr. Horse had acquired, Riley and Dr. Dembones were both satisfied that all bases were covered. I waited for her to touch me. She lifted her hoof up and held it out, so I reciprocated.

There wasn't an obvious spark of energy jumping between us, but I felt what she did in every fiber of my body. I wanted to run, gallop all over Equestria non-stop. I wanted to find Clair and show her how much she meant to me. I wanted to— "Wow." My hooves were itchy to do all the things.

Analyzing a spew of paper that left her machine, Dr. Bright Meadow raised both eyebrows. "Wow indeed. These numbers are significant, but I don't think the machine captured the full range of the energy output. We're going to have to adjust this."

"W-What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means we move on to tests that don't involve the machine, though they're probably going to want you back to do that test again—assuming you're okay with it, Riley?" Dr. Dembones asked.

Riley just giggled at that. "Of course it is. I just need—"

But I could see what none of the doctors could, and what my daughter was lying about. "No more tests for now." Using my horn, I picked Riley up with my magic and set her on my back. "Despite how advanced my daughter is, she sometimes forgets her body is still physically very young. She needs a lot of sugar in her right now."

Dr. Dembones looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Daddy's special talent is knowing what ponies need." Riley stretched herself out on my back and wiggled a little to get comfortable. "And yeah, I'm a bit hungry."

"A bit?" I asked.

She just let out a sigh. "Okay, a lot."

I floated the first of many cupcakes to her and held it long enough for Riley to get a grip on it and start to eat. It was strange. Having spent so many years teaching both my kids to eat healthy and moderately, stuffing hyper-sugared cupcakes into my daughter's mouth seemed a travesty. "Let me know when—"

"Another, please."

Yup. Here I am earning a fatherhood of the year award in Equestria while every nutritionist on Earth slaps their forehead in consternation. Deal with it, this is how pony anatomy works. "Here you go, sweetie."

"Thanks, Dammf—" Her words devolved quickly with another cake in her mouth.

Moon Dancer, I realized, seemed deep in thought, but she noticed my look. "I think I'll need to discuss this with Princess Celestia." She gave a little nod. "I have a theory I'd rather not talk about, but the princess will best be able to confirm or deny it." It didn't surprise me at all when she vanished with a pop.

"She hadn't learned that trick back when she was my student," Dr. Dembones said.

Riley squirmed a little on my back. "Dad, can I have another?"

I looked back over my shoulder to her. She felt like she had far more energy than before, but she could use more. "What's the magic word?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "Dad, can I please have another?" When I floated one up to her, she let out a string of little giggles. "Thanks, Dad!"

"You're welcome, sweetie."

The rest of their tests involved various amounts of Riley doing things a young earth pony probably couldn't, and me doing things an adult unicorn couldn't (after she'd jolted me with her power again). By the time we were finished there and walking home—Riley still munching on a cupcake that they'd been generous with—we were both feeling well-worn from it all.

"Do I really have to go back to do that test again? They didn't seem to help me learn anything at all. I knew I could do all that stuff already." The words came out between bites of cupcake. Was I still irked that cupcakes and frosting was the ultimate energy food for ponies? A little.

"We'll go back to give them that test, but I won't be compromising your classes any further than that. I know how much you enjoy school." My words earned me a tight hug and, I suspected, a liberal dusting of crumbs in my mane.

I walked up to the front door of our house and opened it, only to see Moon Dancer and Flurry Heart inside. Ah, yes, the perfect day to have a messy mane—with royalty visiting. "Good mor—afternoon, Your Highness, Moon Dancer." Smooth, Philip, really smooth.

"Here they are now." Saf was sitting on the couch, apparently having been talking with Flurry and Moon. "Hey, Dad, Riley. We got visitors."

"Yeah, Saf, I noticed." Sometimes he was sharp as a tack, other times my son could be—well—a typical young adult with his own distractions and problems. One day I'll have all the answers to parenting—until then I'll get by on bluffing and dad jokes.

Flurry put on her best smile, which was pretty impressive, and gestured to Riley. "Please, don't stand on ceremony, I'm only here to pass on a message from Princess Celestia. She inv—What?"

"'Don't stand on ceremony' and 'message from Princess Celestia' makes that an oxymoron," Riley said in her best obnoxious-12-year-old voice.

I turned my head. "Riley, you know what she meant."

"Sorry," Riley said.

"We've been examining advanced language techniques as well as constructing and countering arguments," Moon Dancer said with a sigh. "She's getting good at it."

"I noticed. Sorry, Riley, I'll try to be more concise. Princess Celestia has asked if you wouldn't mind spending the afternoon with her." Flurry looked a little embarrassed by the rebuke from Riley for what was just normal apologetic banter. I'd have to have a talk with her later about when it's appropriate to use these new skills Moon had taught her.

"Does she actually know anything that can help me? The doctors were supposed to, but all they did was tests." I realized what the problem was with my little filly—she was hungry and annoyed at being poked at all morning with nothing to show for it.

"She does." The words from Moon Dancer surprised me, and relieved Flurry Heart. "When I was thinking about you affecting ponies with earth pony magic, it reminded me of somepony. I wasn't absolutely sure, but there's only a handful of ponies alive today who remember another mare capable of things similar to what you're doing, Riley." Moon looked smug. "Princess Celestia is one of them."

"I don't know why she sent me. You explained that well enough." Flurry rolled her eyes at me. "It's almost like she treats me as her own, personal messanger—like I'm just a soldier or something." Alright, I had to pay that. Given she was wearing her light armor, it was a pretty solid joke.

"Excuse us a second," I said, and walked through to the next room and quickly cast a Shhh spell (something I'd looked up my first night back from Earth—for other reasons than discussing things with my daughter). Floating said daughter onto the bed of our bedroom, I took a slow breath to put my words in order. "Riley, I know you're upset about the doctors, but you shouldn't treat conversations like they're a—a debate. You don't win, you only make ponies uncomfortable."

"I was—But she—It was a—" She sighed. "Sorry."

I mussed up her mane with my hoof. "It's alright, Riley. Everyone feels a bit snappy when they go through a whole morning of non-stop hard work. It took me a bit to figure that out, too. You need to speak up and tell me when you are feeling wrung out."

"But I thought you could tell?"

"No, sweetie, all I can see is that you need something to eat." I kissed her nose. "Now, do you want to try this? From what I heard from Moon, she was taught by Celestia, and I think if anypony would know about this thing you can do, it'd be her."

"Yeah… Yeah! Can I have some time to talk with my tree? That usually helps get me perked back up."

I reached a hoof up and rubbed my chin, an activity that was common for an older guy, but not so much a young stallion barely into adulthood. Ignoring the odd mental clash of having been so recently back in human culture, I nodded. "Sure can. Let's head out there while your brother is stuck talking to Moon and Flurry."

She reared up and held out her forelegs, a reminder to me of how much she'd gone through in all this. When I put one foreleg around her, she latched onto my neck like a limpet. "You're the best, Dad."

The grip around my neck was, luckily for my continued survival, incomplete. Despite me being younger physically than my human self, Riley couldn't get her forelegs around my neck. "You know it. Come on."

I dismantled the spell with a little swish of magic and opened the door again. The room beyond, which had been lively with discussion, was suddenly quiet. "Riley needs a little chill time before she'll be up to anything else. A bit of time with her tree will fix that up. We should be fine to go in…" I looked to Saffron—he had the most experience with Riley's communing moments.

Saf raised an eyebrow, then realized I was asking him something. "Half hour if she's quick. An hour if its normal. Five hours if she gets distracted and argues with the trees down the road."

Still carrying Riley, I waved and said, "Thanks, Saf," then walked through to the back yard. The moment we were walking on grass and soil, I felt something strange. "Riley?"

"That feels funny. I can feel the ground through you. Hold up, Dad." The moment I stopped she let go and dropped to the ground. The tingling feeling was gone, but I could see a huge difference in Riley already. She walked with confidence over to the tree and then around it. "Dad, it wants to say hi to you. Come over and touch the bark while I do."

Without any reason to refuse, I walked closer and reached out to the tree just as I saw her do the same. My hoof touched the tree first, and I felt nothing, but then Riley's touched it and I felt the world melt away.

Warm sunlight welled up inside me and I felt happy-excited sensations coming from—from the tree! Riley's emotions were there too, and though her happiness was also apparent, so was the amount of power burning inside her.

My daughter stood as an inferno—a pillar of energy in this strange, wooden world. I didn't feel constrained exactly, but the tree was a conduit through which I needed to look to see Riley.

"It's okay, Dad, I only need a little bit with them." I was barely aware that we were back to normal and that Riley was drawing her hoof back after having touched me. "Maybe I should try to prepare you a little more next time?"

"That'd be a good idea. I—" I shook my head to try to clear the feeling of a breeze through branches and sunlight on leaves. "That was really intense."

"I feel a lot better now. Can we go and find out what Princess Celestia thinks she can do?"

"Meditate." Princess Celestia floated out the same book (not exactly, just another one) that I'd been given to learn magic. "The secret to understanding your magic and establishing a perfect balance with it, is meditation."

Riley took the book when it floated close and I could see the tiniest skeptic in Equestria furrow her brow.

"Before she explodes," I said, "how does a book written for unicorns help?"

"Open the book up, Riley Ree. Go to the third page in and read it for me." Now, from what Moon Dancer had told me of foal development, reading wasn't usually high on the list of things a 12-year-old would be doing, but Celestia surely knew Riley was special.

"Magic Exercises for Beginners, by Clover," Riley read aloud. "Then it lists—"

"The title and author again?" Celestia asked.

"Magic Exercises for Beginners, by Clover. I don't get it?"

"There's two important things to realize about both the title and the author, I'll give you a few more minutes to figure that out." Turning to look at me, Celestia winked. At least, I think she winked. With her mane always flopping over one eye or the other, it was impossible to tell if she was winking or blinking.

"Magic Exercises… for Beginners… Clover…"

As Riley read and reread the words, spacing them out in various ways, I suddenly realized what Celestia had meant—at least regarding the title and why it was relevant to Riley. My smile must have split my face, because Celestia smiled a little wider too.

"I just don't get what this has to do with me? Is there a way for earth ponies to get a horn? Is it some kind of riddle? Why does it—"

"Riley." I couldn't help myself. I was her father, and I didn't like seeing her flop about mentally. "What doesn't it say?"

She looked up at me, then down at the book, then up at me again and I watched her eyes widen. "Unicorn. It doesn't say the book is for unicorns. Is it"—she turned to look at Celestia—"written by an earth pony?"

"Moon Dancer's description of what you were doing didn't make sense at first, but then I remembered this book and Clover. You can ignore the section about horn magic at the end, Star Swirl added that when he got frustrated there were no guides specifically for unicorns."

Her words surprised me. "How long has your world had books?"

"Since Star Swirl invented a spell that prevents them from decaying. This was originally written on a sheaf of papers that Clover used repair spells on every few years. When Star created the spell, this was the first book ever protected in that way, and thus the oldest book in my possession." Celestia let out a gentle sigh. "That was my first textbook."

It hit me like a ton of bricks. This book was older than human civilization. It was older than every book on Earth by orders of magnitude. It was, even, the oldest book in Equestria. "Riley, you understand what that means?"

"I need to be careful with it." She turned another page carefully. "Hey, somepony wrote all over the edges!"

Seeing an ancient and immortal ruler blush was probably unique, but I can say now that I have seen such. Celestia gestured to the writing with her hoof. "This is my own hoof-writing. These parts here are Star's. I look forward to seeing what you add."

"But—" Riley looked between Celestia and me.

"It's her book. If she says it's alright to write in the margins, then it's alright." I lifted a hoof to ruffle Riley's mane a little. "I wish I understood all this more, but I might have to borrow that book after you to read through it. The one Moon gave me was a little newer."

"I think—I think I'll save my notes for the end of each section, then I'll write what I think about it there." As she spoke, Riley flicked through to the end of the first chapter. The deeper she got, the less and less room there was in the margins.

Celestia chuckled at the sight. "That was how Star and I did it. Space becomes a premium for those pages. The amount of earth ponies that can do what you and Clover can could be counted on one hoof." She held up said hoof and wiggled the two hard nails of it. "When you understand all the techniques in there, I'd like to meet up with you again and we can discuss a more expansive teaching of your gift."

It felt like a dismissal, but had that promise at the end. How much of her statement was just encouraging a filly and how much was real I don't know. I liked to think Riley was just as smart as Saf kept saying, but he was far from being an unbiased source. "Thank you, Princess Celestia."

Riley, rather than replying, was already reading her new book. For a moment I was going to say something, but Celestia shook her head.

"My best students have always had this problem. Your best bet is bribing her to put the book down. For Twilight that was fast food."

"Dad doesn't let us eat fast food. He makes us eat apples and fruit if we need a snack," Riley said, her eyes not leaving the book.

Using my magic, I picked her up and set her down on my back. The odds of getting her to put the book down were minimal, so I might as well let her keep reading it where I could carry her. "Come on, Riley. We have to let Princess Celestia get back to her work."

"Bye."

At Riley's single-word-farewell, I shot Celestia an apologetic smile, only to see her grinning. Apparently she really was familiar with awkward fillies.

Leaving the castle, I made my way back into the city and to the market. By now I knew everypony who came to the market to sell, and a lot of the ponies that came to buy. Walking around, I made sure to say hello to everypony I passed—it might make things take longer, but I'll be damned if it wasn't fun to share so many smiles.

"Yellow onions so cheap? I'll take a bag, please."

"Carrots? Absolutely!"

I kept buying, letting Riley read away on my back while I organized the next few days' meals. The basics for a good meal were common, thankfully, though finding some fish to add into Saf's meals was sometimes hard. Not today, though.

"Gabriel! It's great to see you!" I rushed up to the griffon's cart and started looking over the ice-covered supplies.

"An actual customer, or are you another squeamish unicorn who doesn't—Oh! Mr. Philip! Forgive me, but unicorns are a little hard to tell apart. How's your son doing? Still enjoying his flake fillets?" I couldn't take offense at him having trouble recognizing unicorns, he was after all another species entirely, but he was also the best source of water-based protein.

"You know how they are, the easiest way to tell if they're doing okay is by how long they spend in the air." As soon as I said it, Gabriel lifted his foreleg with his talon clenched. I gave a firm bop with my hoof. "He loved the shark, by the way. How about your chicks?"

"Gerard is doing well, he's zooming about still. Gerty will get the hang of her wings any day now, then I don't know if any tail in Griffonstone will be safe. I can recommend the squid—caught a few in perfect condition." He gestured to a brace of squid hanging from their tails. "I also got some crayfish. Not cheap, but fresh as you can get."

"You have them here?" I asked, already mentally working out what else I'd need to go with the squid. The great thing about my talent was it made this easier. I could look at the calamari and immediately picture an arugula salad to go with it. Right, now I needed to grab some arugula.

"There isn't exactly a ban on showing live seafood, but the Guard would probably get enough complaints that they'd ask me nicely to move. They're back here and still feisty." Gabriel made room for me to get to the side of his display and I could see the crayfish.

"Kinda small ones. I'll need four of those. Make it five squid too."

"They are a little undersized. I'll do them a little cheaper for you—since you're such a good customer. Anything else? More flake?" Gabriel was already wrapping the squid in paper.

"Dad, what are we getting?" Riley had, apparently, surfaced from her book. Probably a chapter break.

"Getting some fish for Saf and some treats for the rest of us. Don't think I don't remember what you ordered back on Earth." I glanced back at Riley before turning back to Gabriel. "Yeah, ten fillets of flake should do. I need enough for his sandwiches for a few weeks—unless you'll be visiting more regularly?"

"With regular customers I can." Gabriel began bagging up the shark fillets too. "How do you want those crays? You can have the bucket if you bring it back with you next time."

"When's next time?"

He passed me the bucket. "Let's say I try for two weeks instead of three?"

I was about to nod when I noticed something. Narrowing my eyes, I knew what it was a moment later. "Okay, but promise me you'll eat this." I floated an orange out of my pannier and over to Gabriel.

"Huh? What about it?" Nonetheless, he bit into the orange with his beak and I saw a surprised look pass over his face. "W-What is that?"

"You had a vitamin C deficiency. Eat an orange ever few days. Maybe get some for your chicks, too?" Lifting the bucket with my magic, I made sure to fashion a lid with my telekinesis to keep our dinner inside. "Thanks again."

Gabriel was too busy trying to stuff the second half of the orange into his mouth to get anything intelligible out.

"Dad, are we having lobster for dinner?" Riley asked me from my back—just as I was walking past a group of mares who had suddenly gone quiet.

Six heads spun around to look at me and Riley, and I could hear them murmuring to each other. Yup, now I was the worst dad in Equestria. A bad reputation in the market could ruin my chances of getting good produce when I came down here.

"Good afternoon, ladies. I trust you're having a wonderful day?" When in doubt, put on a smile and bluff.

Two of them lifted their snouts and started to turn, most of the others followed suit to some extent, except one. She was an earth pony mare who looked about the same age as I was. She had a basket of fruit on her back and panniers full of groceries. "I am, thank you. Did I hear correctly that you'll be eating those poor things?"

"Absolutely. My son's a pegasus, and he needs plenty of the kinds of protein that a diet of fish or seafood actively provides. Then there's the omega-3 fatty acid, which is beneficial to everypony to aid in—" I paused when her eyes had glazed over. Had she expected an easy argument? "There's a lot of good stuff in them, even if ponies don't include them as a normal part of their diet."

She stood there staring even after I'd stopped talking.

"You broke her, Dad." Riley jumped off my back (leaving her book there) and walked up to the mare. "Hello? Are you okay?"

"Whe—Where am I? Where did my friends go?" She looked around for a moment and then spun and started to gallop off in an unladylike way.

Staring at the retreating mare, Riley turned back to look at me. "Can I have an apple?"

"Sure, Riley." I looked around for an apple merchant, but needn't have bothered because Riley was trotting for the Apple merchant. Following her, I found the mountain of a stallion who was standing behind a cart loaded with what I knew were the best apples in two worlds. "Hi there, Big Mac. Can I get a bag of your best apples?"

He was quick to move, despite having the biggest hooves I'd ever seen, and had me a bag of gorgeous apples. "Eeyup." He then tossed an apple to Riley, who caught it easily enough. "Ten bits, thank ya."

I happily paid the price. "Thanks."

"Yer welcome." He was always so light with his words—count, not volume.

Holding the bag of apples and the bucket of lobsters, I let Riley trot along beside me on the way home—both of us eating an apple each.

"I got it, Dad." Riley rushed to the front door and opened it to let me inside.

"Thanks." I made my way for the kitchen, unsurprised that Saf wasn't home yet. "So, how'd the book go?"

When I got no response, I knew what had happened. I put the perishables away in the magic don't-go-bad-box (I should remember to tell Clair to see about getting the tech for these back on Earth) and made my way into the living room. I expected to see Riley with her nose in the book, instead she was sitting peacefully on the floor.

She wasn't reading and she wasn't eating her apple, but I recognized what she was doing. It was similar to the meditation I tried from the book Moon had given me. All Riley was doing was breathing steadily, but I bet she was channeling her magic.

Well, best to let her practice. I went back into the kitchen and started getting things ready for the lobster dinners.

Butter-poached was the only way to go when you had something this rich and sumptuous. A nice salad to go with it and—right, the calamari and arugula! This would be a great meal, even if a little heavy on seafood. It was nice to show Saf how much we all love and value him by making something special for him.

It didn't take me all afternoon to cook dinner—far from it—but I had some good soup-making vegetables and figured I'd make a nice stock up to use over the week. I'd just gotten it simmering away on the stove when I heard some loud sniffing.

"That smells really good. What is it?" Riley asked.

"This is just vegetable stock—at least it will be in an hour or two. The rest is going to be butter-poached lobster with a calamari and arugula salad." I picked her up in my magic—or tried to. She felt heavier than anything I'd tried to lift before. "What the—?"

Riley giggled like a fiend. "New trick I learned. Centering myself and planting my hooves. Nopony stands still like an earth pony who doesn't want to move!"

It was utterly shocking just how strong she was with her magic. I tried to lift her again, throwing everything I had into the lift without trying to hurt myself, but she wouldn't even so much as twitch. "So you don't want to come up here and smell this?"

My magic lifted her quickly when her expression changed from smug to panic. I kissed her on the nose—which earned me a giggle—and brought her over to the stock pot.

"This smells really good! Are there any leftover carrots?"

"You can have two, just don't spoil your dinner." I mean, with a house full of ponies, how could I not have a large quantity of carrots put aside for snacks? Apples too. I opened the fridge and fetched four, splitting them with Riley.

"Thanks, Dad!"

I watched as she ate the carrot. There was a slight sense of balance returning. She'd been hungry, and needed more than just energy. My special talent was really something. "No problems, sweetie. Just remember, meditation like this will actually use energy, so don't feel bad about taking a break for a snack. It's just like doing a lot of exercise—you are burning energy, so you need energy."

"I know, Dad, but I just kinda forget that when focused. Lucky I have the best dad in Equestria to keep an eye on me." She giggled when I squeezed her into a hug, and she then scrambled onto my back. "None of the book talks about transferring energy to others, though."

"I don't think this one book is going to solve all your troubles. Work your way through it, then present yourself to Princess Celestia again." I didn't mind her sitting there. After all, it wasn't like she was in the way like if she were around my hooves.

I returned to cooking, getting the seafood trimmed and ready. After some time Riley jumped back down from my back, and it occurred to me that she could do that from what was about three times her height without any problem at all.

Foals, I thought, the exclamation making me smile like a fool (or a happy pony) as I kept making dinner.

Author's Note

Riley's Tree: What's it like receiving magic directly from an earth pony vs. the ambient magic in Equestria?

Leaves rustle in a soft breeze and there's a soft chittering from the upper branches.

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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