Silver nudged open the door with a hoof. "Thomason?"

"You can call me Peter," assured the voice from within. Inside was a man dressed in a hazmat suit, as people who worked in that place who didn't want a tail tended to. "Come on in." He sounded friendly. As friendly as a man in a hazmat suit could.

Silver Spoon let out a slow sigh as she walked inside, her tail swatting the door on the way, causing it to close behind her. "So you're my jailkeeper?"

"Far from it." Peter gestured to the closed door. "You're not being forced here. I'm just here to help. But I can't do that if you really don't want it."

"Yeah yeah, the first change comes from admitting there's a problem," she quoted in sarcastic tones. "Like, I get it." She hopped up in the seat across from the man, adjusting her glasses. "So, hey, my name's Silver Spoon."

"Peter Thomason," he introduced, even if that was known information. "Nice to meet you." He offered a gloved hand, wrapped in the plastic of his suit. They shook, hoof held in that hand. "You're not the first pony I've talked to."

"I would hope not." She inclined her head at him. "Reminder, I, like, work here. Hey, I've taken a few ponies to your office before."

"Forgive me for asking, but I thought people who were exposed second hand didn't go... all the way." He rolled a hand as he noted that. "You couldn't go much more pony than you are."

"100%," she chimed, tail wagging, as if she were nakedly proud of it. "Long story. Look, we're obviously here to talk about my... Shoot, what was that word again... slutting around?"

"Promiscuity," offered Peter. "That is one thing we could talk about. Do you see it as a problem that needs talking about?"

"I'm onto you." Silver wagged a hoof at Peter. "You're digging into my head."

"I'm just here to ask questions and maybe lend a hand." A brief pause lingered before, "You seem to be short of any."

"That joke was bad and you should feel bad." Silver Spoon rolled her eyes, though a little smirk was on her face. "Anyway... I just want to find somepony."

"A specific person, or any person?"

She pushed up her glasses, fidgeting with them nervously. "I think the right one... The one that... sees more than a momentary fun thing, fun as it is."

"Have you considered that approaching them with the fun part presented first may be coloring things?"

"Yeah..." She sighed and crossed her arms. "But if I don't, people see a little kid, which I am, like, not. I've worked here for over five years! I don't want to be ignored because I'm small."

"But you're not just small," noted Peter gently. "Despite being an adult, mentally, your body is still growing and maturing. It will get much larger."

Silver's voice fell to a whisper, "wish it wouldn't..."

"Why is that?" He made little notes on his pad. "Do you like being small?"

"I..." She put a hoof behind her head. "I want..."

Sunburst took a soft breath as he reached for the door. "You let her think about it. It's time to act like a stallion! Just... say what you feel. Just put it on the table and let her respond. You can do this." His hoof trembled, just shy of knocking.

He brought his hoof in, knocking twice with a clop.

"One moment," came the melodic reply. The door swung open to reveal a smiling Autumn Blaze. "Oh, Sunburst! You finished your change." She came right out, starting to circle him. "But your glasses still fit? That's great!" She suddenly reached, catching his glasses right in the gap in her cloven hoof and bringing it to her own face. "Wow, everything looks so strange."

"Hello," he stammered, flummoxed at her aggressive greeting. "Have a moment to chat?"

"For you, always." She threw a leg over Sunburst's withers, hugging them in as she started back into her room. "So how are things? Sorry for ghosting you. I was a mess. Feeling better now though!"

With a glowing horn, Sunburst gently reclaimed his glasses without objection, blinking as his world came back into focus. "Funniest thing, really. I still have the same prescription. They say the odds of that are... basically zero. Maybe that's why I got my name right away?" he ventured. "I mean, shoot, people normally have one eye go off, but mine never changed. I guess I already had the right eyes?"

Autumn released him just to circle in front of him. Her horn glowed as the door closed behind him, her eyes on his face. "But they both got bigger," she noted as she raised a cloven hoof to tap. "You can see mine are slightly off, one just a little bigger than the other. Face it, you're a freak." She laughed, clearly not bothered at all by it. "Like I'm one to talk!" It was true though, her eyes didn't match, in color and slightly in size. But that was standard for Ponid. "I like you just the way you are."

"About that..." He worried his hooves together, sitting up on his haunches. "Autumn, I like you too."

"Aw!" she gushed, going red in her cheeks. "Be honest, did you like me the entire time, even when I was all, you know, part guy human flailing around?" She wobbled an arm for emphasis.

"Even then," he confessed, though he looked confused. "You're alright with it."

"Give me a moment." She stepped away to the far corner of the room, facing away. With a sudden roar that shook the walls, heat and blue-white fire exploded from her in a great display of energy. She turned around and trotted back as if nothing had happened. "That's better. Now, as you were saying."

"What... was that?" He eyed the spot that looked like it had weathered several such blasts with bits of soot and ash dusting the ground and walls. "Are you alright?"

"Never better," she assured before moving in to touch noses. "So you like me?"

"Y-yes?" His right ear skewed a bit. "Does that bother you?"

"Nah." She reached in and grabbed him in a full hug about the neck with both arms, snuggling in close. "I'm just sorry I was so out of it I couldn't just, you know, accept that. Seems silly, looking back at it now. You're a great friend, waiting like that."

"What are friends for?" He reached up to adjust his glasses as she snuggled him fiercely. That was all going not as he had imagined it, though not badly either. He was being held by the warm and soft mare he had wanted to talk to. "H-how are spells going?"

"I hear you're the one making them up." She shoved him back suddenly. "No fair! I'd love to be able to make up spells like that. I could think of a thousand spells that'd be great." She danced from hoof to hoof. "Like how about one to make a unicorn look like a kirin or the other way? We're kinda similar, right?" She tilted her head. "That'd be fun, and we could match!"

"You'd have to cast it," he noted with a hint of sullen bitterness. "I can't cast spells."

"What? No fair!" She clopped down a hoof, a little ring of short-lived fire flaring from the impact. "You were trying so hard! Why not?" She leaned right in, almost mashing her face against the length of Sunburst's horn. "I don't see anything wrong. You sure you're doing it right?"

He shoved her away, his magic sliding her evenly away. "I am quite sure I'm doing it right."

"It's like singing," she went on, seeming to ignore his insistence. "Have you tried just--"

He put a hoof on her lips. "Do not start singing."

She pouted, backing away from the hoof. "Hey, look... Singing? I like that. If we're going to be friends, songs will be involved. Kinda my thing? You get a singing kirin, or no kirin. Not much room for outside that."

"I didn't... mean it like that." He looked over Autumn, transformed as she was. "You've... changed, a lot, and I feel like I didn't much at all."

Autumn blinked rapidly, moving to close back in. "Well that's what I was saying. You became a pony that you already were, mostly. Your name just slipped in and, pow, you were there! I had... to walk further." She put a hoof behind her back. "Permission to sing?"

"Granted," he allowed with a quirk of a smile.

Her face exploded into a bright smile. "I was a confused man," she got out, launching into a musical number that had her prancing and bouncing off the walls, bed, and anything else that could support her weight, which included Sunburst. "Didn't know if I could be a mare!" she sang out much later, sliding on her knees just in front of Sunburst. "Technically, that's a lin." she winked even as she pressed on in the song.

"I'm still Derek," she noted suddenly. "But he became a she. Her name is Autumn Blaze." She thrust a hoof at Sunburst. "Nice to meet you, again."

Sunburst met the hoof and the tickle threatened his throat, beckoning him to play his part in the musical number, but he backed away shyly.

"Go on," bade Autumn with that happy smile. "Let it out. Let the magic wash over you and wipe away your fears. Let me hear you!" She was clopping her cloven hooves, cheering her friend to sing. "C'mon!"

"I don't want to!" he got out, and the sensation faded, the spell broken. "I'm not good at singing." He hung his head a little. "Sorry..."

"You should be, for yourself." She tapped his shoulder. "Only one way to get better, and that's to do it. So you might stink, so what? We all stink before we get kinda alright at something and there ain't a soul out there that's good at something that didn't get to 'kinda alright' first." She inclined her head. "Besides, if it's related, getting better at singing might help your magic."

"Now you're teasing me." he licked over his lips, nose twitching. "Autumn?"

"Yeah?"

"I hate... to ask this, so feel free to just tell me to shut up, but..." He sat up, watching her. "Are you... done with being in heat?"

She inclined her head at him, one brow raising. "As a kirin, I don't think I'm ever not in heat." She laughed even as she combusted, blue-white flames licking over her form as she began to circle him, flaming tail flicking. "That's me, a smoking hot mare. Like it?"

"Well, yes... you are that." He followed her movement with his eyes but kept his head forward, meaning there was time she was out of sight. "I'm just... feeling a bit off in a... specific way." He reached up to adjust his glasses. "And this is odd to... talk about, but..."

"But you're turned on, without the obvious special effects." She brought her flaming tail close to him, the blaze tickling at his fur as it faded, slowly revealing her normal form, ears twitching to shake off the last bit of flame on them. "Look, Sunburst. It's me. Hey, I got a present for you." Her horn glowed as a drawer slid open and a box popped out, floating over quickly. "Starlight said I should have it."

There, floating in the air, a box of condoms. "Just the thing!"

"W-what?!" He scrambled back a step, only to stop and come in closer. They were the same size as the ones Starlight had selected for him, which meant... "She.... told you what size I am?!" he squealed out, voice giving in his shocked dismay.

"You know what that means, right?"

"She has no respect for privacy?" he ventured.

She waggled her brows. "Well, maybe that, but, more importantly, she wants us to have a good time. A good safe time. Look, let's be real. Neither of us are ready to be parents." She put a hoof to her chest. "I'm just getting a grip on myself, and you won't sing. What kind of parents are those? Lousy ones! But we can improve, bit by bit... Maybe, one day, in the future, we won't need 'em..."

"I thought... You were still unsure about that?" He inclined his head at her.

But she was coming in close, touching nose to nose. "Look, I'm this." She waved her ornate tail about. "I trust you. I want to know how this all... works, so, if you can promise me you'll take it slow and be a gentle stallion, maybe we can both... try it?"

"You're a stallion," he silently reminded himself. "She's a mare, lin, kirin, and she wants you. Do the manly thing!"

"This is too fast," is what came out of his mouth. "Let's be friends first." He raised a hoof at her. "Hi, I'm Sunburst."

Autumn inclined her head a little, ears falling with her head. "Oh, I mean, hi... I'm Autumn Blaze..." She touched a cloven hoof to his solid one. "Wanna watch some streaming stuff?"

"I'd love to."

And then nothing lewd happened at all. I can assure you, I was monitoring them on Starlight's request. All they did was watch some shows and get cuddly. He seemed to think she was the best pillow around, resting on her and cuddling. Fortunately, she seemed to like being used as a pillow, so that worked out. They hung out for the rest of the day, talking about a lot of nothing... but isn't that what relationships are? They were taking it slow, but they were going for it.

I was alright with that. Good for them. I cut the feed, giving them some privacy. They didn't need me watching over their shoulders.

"How's it going?" Shining's hands came down on my shoulders, rubbing them firmly. Sure, I bristled a bit at the sudden personal space violation, but, for him, I forgave it. "You done watching them?"

"They're doing fine." I swiveled to face him and soon he was in my lap. "You know, we're going to see a bit less of each other on the weekend."

"Is it already that time?" Oh yes, Starlight had waited so (im)patiently. "I won't pretend I'm not a little jealous."

"Well, thank you." He looked confused at my words. "I'd rather you were honest about it." I tapped him on his wide nose. "You got your turn, mine now."

"Oh fine." He crossed his arms with a huff. "Still... have you even... done it like that before? So far I know, you've been 100% female your whole life."

"It's not that complicated," I demurred. "Tab A, Slot B, repeat until both parties are satisfied."

"Way to make that sound boring as hell." He prodded me right dead center of the chest. "You know there's more to it."

"I do, and I'll make her happy enough, promise. I mean, seriously." I raised a bone white brow. "I can re-write reality, and you're worried I won't be able to manage this? Really?"

"I'm worrying for you." He had an arm around me, hand dropped across my chest as he nestled in nice and close. "You're both family, the way I see it. We're a little bike with three wheels, a tricycle, yeah that was the word, forgot a moment. Girl, you know what I meant."

"I did," I chuckled out, guiding him to his feet as I got up myself and began to float. "We need to do something. Something fun, as a family. Speaking of future problems, we can't all be married, literally not legal."

"Dibs."

"I refuse to be married on account of dibs. What are we, 10?" I huffed at Shining softly. "We have to come to a more reasonable solution than that."

"While we're on the topic of the After Times." He rolled a hand and leaned back against a wall. "When do we get out of here? You're the boss, didn't they tell you anything?"

"No." They really hadn't. "I just want to know how they've kept the lid on this tight. Really, people vanishing into a trial? That's kind of Big News, you think? So, where's the news?"

An idea struck me. I knew Starlight's full name, she'd whispered it to me. I flew to my computer and began to type without sitting, stretched out to it as my fingers danced in an excited click-clack. "Everything is just a Google away." I mean, sure, I wasn't actually asking Google. More of the entropy of the universe for a hint. Same thing, right?

--died today of Covid complications. She will be missed. She is survived by--

An obituary. The most recent article that mentioned Starlight, an obituary? She was... dead? That couldn't be right! Afterall, I checked my bank account. I did business. I did a lot of things that would be awkward for a dead person to do!

But did Starlight? She lived within the facility pretty entirely. She had no outside life.

"You alright?" Shining set a hand on my floating side. "You look like you just saw something awful."

"Starlight is dead as far as the world knows," I announced with a small voice. "I think the only reason I'm not is because I'm too loud. I keep paying all my bills. I keep moving my money. I keep..." I sank down onto my comfy chair, though it didn't feel that comfortable. "They're writing off as many patients as possible as dead, to avoid questions." And what could I do about it?

"Shit." He set a hand on his own hip, a scowl on his face. "Am I dead? Wait, that don't even matter. Are they ever planning on letting us out?" He swiveled my chair so we were facing. "Are we working for the bad guys?!"

"Calm down." I set a hand on his chest. "Deep breaths... You're partnered with a Power Noodle. I can figure this out."

"That's still a stupid name."

I rolled my eyes at that. "Then come up with a better one. Until then, I am a Noodle, deal with it." I began to float out of my chair. "I'm going to do some digging, alright?" He nodded, and I vanished.

"One advantage of being a horny pony." She casually wrapped it down with her magic. "You can do things carefully, while watching, without fingers getting in the way."

"I... thought we were slowing down," noted Sunburst in uncertain tones, but there he was, armored, ready to do his part as the stallion of the relationship.

"You can say you don't want to." She met his eyes. Silence grew between them. "Look, real talk. Silence is not consent, stallion. Speaking of that! You are so cute!" She suddenly clapped his head between her hooves. "Who gave you permission to become such a cute pony!"

He smiled awkwardly in the grip, held in the grasp of the mare he had thought so much about. "Can guys even be cute?" he demurred, his ego a little bruised at such a soft adjective being applied.

"You are adorable and I love it," sang out Autumn, starting to nuzzle under his chin as her magic gave him a squeeze where he began to squirm and fidget. "Now give me a clear answer. We do what you want, nothing more. You want me to put it back in the pants I'm not wearing, done. Just like that, done."

She was pushing, but was shy of running over his input and agency. He appreciated that, smiling awkwardly. "Autumn, I don't want... to... do things... with any mare... just for fun. If we... did that... it's because we're serious about... maybe something permanent..."

She lowered her face to his, noses touching, her eyes on his. "Little stud--" She suddenly snorted. "I mean, you literally are one of those. Congratulations! Living the guy dream!" She rubbed her nose against his, a big grin on her face. "Maybe you're being smart, too damn smart... I... the new me wants to run straight forward and... we can work it out afterwards, I guess..." She fell onto him, the two both sprawling over onto Sunburst's back with her biting and nipping his throat. "You're yanking the reign, but this equine's so hot to trot..."

"But you're not an animal," he gently counseled, not that it stopped him from rubbing a little back against her, to feel that thrilling tickle of her belly fur against his sensitive parts with the delightful pleasure that came with it. "We're both adults, humans with hooves, cloven or not. We have to have boring thoughts."

"Ugh, so boring," agreed Autumn with a little smile. "What's next, gonna go over my taxes?"

"If you let me." He gently tickled her sides with his hooves, the two laughing at the idea.

She snuggled against him, her belly to his. "That doesn't seem that awful... We could get a little house, a rockin' video game system."

He ran his hooves up and down her sides more gently. "A huge television, but a nice back yard too... I think we'll both want one of those."

"Yeah... nice and big, with a stone path, where I can flare up when I need to." She giggled softly, gazing into his eyes. "Two stories, with a bedroom or two for visiting friends, or maybe little ones, if we do that."

"If we do that." His tension returned, thinking about it, trapped between them. "I'll be happy if we do, or we don't. Autumn."

"Sunburst?" she tilted her head.

"I think I might love you."

She burst into a grin. "You don't sound sure."

"Because I'm not." He trailed his hooves to her hips, holding her. "Autumn... let's be friends. Let's learn each other. Let's fall in love, the slow way, maybe forever."

"Forever," she sighed, gazing into his eyes. "That sounds kinda nice..." She wriggled a little on top of him, rubbing her hips back against his hooves. "Slow... forever. I think that could be... really nice." She hiked a brow. "You are leaving me with a wicked lady boner, just to make that clear."

"I'll make it up to you," he promised, hugging her from below, quickly returned, the two flopping and rolling to the side, neither on the other anymore. "As many times as I have to."

"Naughty boy." She licked his chin and nuzzled the damp spot. "Naughty naughty stallion, cute, mine, wonderful." She nestled close. "Fine, we'll do it your way, and you get to make up for it, later... So... color of the fence?"

"Red."

"Blue!" She stuck out her tongue. "Red, really, c'mon..."

"What about a powder yellow?"

She inclined her head, considering it. "That could be nice..."

They spent the rest of the day fantasizing about the house they'd get someday, in the future. To put the perfect ribbon on a nice day, they played a fighting game. Turned out Autumn was pretty good at them. She didn't stand a chance against Sunburst's first person shooting skills.

Both went to their own beds, happy, that night. It was the start of a relationship both felt confident in.

Even if the odds of their fantasy home were even smaller than they had thought at the time, when it already seemed like a whimsical future that was far enough away as to not exist.

Author's Note

This is a chapter mostly about Sunburst and Autumn, being SO CUTE, the two of them. I want to hug both of them and deliver all the headpats they want.

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