Withania sat behind her stall of herbs and saplings at the Ponyville Gardener’s Faire, watching the last few ponies milling around. It was the end of the day, and the Faire was winding down now. She had done reasonably well in selling directly from her stall, but even better in making new contacts who would want a larger supply in the future - the real reason why she was there.
It was time to pack up now, so she started putting lids on the boxes her saplings and samples were in, before stacking them on a small cart behind the stand. As she worked, a hippogryph she’d seen attending another stall made her way over.
“Hello!” she said, with a bright wave from a clawed foreleg. She had a sky-blue coat with a pale pink mane tied low over one shoulder. Her tail sprouted in three clumps of the same colour, looking like fins, feathers, or horsehair all at the same time. “I’ve been meaning to come over and visit all day, but it’s been so busy! My name’s Esther Wake.”
Withania absently dusted her hoof against her chest and offered to shake. “Ah, hello! Withania Nightshade. You had the stand with the painted eggs on them, right? They looked lovely, a really original idea to bring to the faire as well...”
Esther responded with her claw in a fist, following the pony-style of greeting she’d learnt since moving to town.
“Thank you! Yes, that’s me. Kind of my specialty, they make fantastic gifts and decorations.”
“I bet you get asked all the time, but I have to know… I’m guessing they’re chicken eggs, but what’s the big egg at the back of the display? The one the size of a melon?” asked Withania, closing up more crates.
“Ha, I sure do get asked all the time - but then that’s exactly why I bring it out as well… I like to keep it a mystery actually, as it keeps people curious!” said Esther with a wink.
“Bah, trade secrets!” joked Withania, “I’ll admit that I’ve got a few of those myself though, so that’s fair!”
“Well that’s actually why I came over,” explained Esther, “I’m a big fan of your work and would love to know more about it - can I offer you some tea back at my house? Once we’re packed up here, that is.”
“That sounds wonderful, I’ll be done in a few minutes. My house is all the way over to the south, but I can take this home later. There’s nothing in here that won’t keep.”
Esther clicked her beak in joy and said, “Perfect, just come over when you’re ready and we’ll head off!”
The two mares chatted about the faire and customers as they walked through town to Esther’s house, comparing good and bad deals, desirable customers and complaining about time-wasters and tourists, immediately getting along with plenty in common. Esther had a passion for the horticulture scene of Ponyville, having spent the majority of her life underwater with the rest of the sea ponies, so participating in the Gardener’s Faire, even as a ‘craft stand’, had been a wonderful opportunity for her.
“This is me,” she said, opening the gate of a townhouse. The front window was mostly blocked with a net curtain, but in front of it on a stand was another giant egg similar to the one from her stand. It was pastel coloured and painted with what looked like a cutie mark with perfect precision. Withania couldn’t help but stare as she unhitched her cart and followed Esther through the front door.
The house was lightly painted, making for bright and airy rooms with low and soft furnishings covered with cotton throws. Many more eggs adorned the shelves, ranging in all manner of sizes. One entire wall was occupied by shelving that was divided up into square compartments, each occupied by another of the large eggs, and each one exquisitely painted.
They talked more over tea about gardening, a topic that Withania could certainly never tire of, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her again.
“I love the displays,” she said, nodding at the eggs, “Do you make these for others, or just yourself?”
“A little of both…” replied Esther cryptically, with a sly smile at the edge of her beak. “Would you like to take a closer look?”
They walked over to the display and Esther picked up a light yellow egg with a wheatsheaf insignia on it to hand to Withania, who took it carefully between her hooves, lacking the dexterity of the hippogryph.
“Oh - it’s heavier than I expected,” she said in surprise, “is… is it full?”
“Actually no, it has a cup of sand in it. It makes them more stable on a stand and, well, nicer to handle, don’t you think?”
“And these are all yours I take it?” said Withania approvingly, carefully handing the egg back to Esther.
“Most of them. This pink one I’ll be gifting to a friend next week, but I like to have them out on display while I look after them. Here, feel this one.” She handed a light pink egg with a pinwheel made of feathers painted on it to Withania. This one felt different, the weight was similar, but distributed and more fluid, almost as if-
“Wait, is this one full?” asked Withania, suddenly holding the egg against her chest with a great deal more caution. Esther still wore that strange smile, as if she was waiting for Withania to ask the right question, but wanted the satisfaction of her guest figuring it out on her own. “Do… do hippogryphs lay eggs? When you said these were yours...”
“Yes… yes we do,” Esther giggled, enjoying the penny-drop. Withania blushed spectacularly, absently hugging the egg to her chest while looking down at it. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to hatch.”
Withania looked a little relieved to hear this, until Esther added, “I have to incubate it for that…” and then the blushing intensified. Giggling again, Esther leaned in close and placed a wing over WIthania’s shoulder. “I’m glad you like them - I have to admit, it’s the real reason I invited you over. I was wondering if you’d like one of your own?”
Withania might have burst into flames if she’d blushed any harder at this point, sensing the very sexual undertone of Esther’s offer.
“Call it razer perception,” said Withania softly and sardonically, “but I can’t help but suspect that there’s more to this than you pulling one of these out from under your pillow tomorrow morning and delivering it via courier…”
“Of course,” replied Esther, almost whispering into Withania’s ear, “But if the rumours about you are true, and I can see at this distance that they absolutely are, then I think you’d absolutely love to find out more. Shall I show you?”
“Well… I’m not accustomed to being led up the garden path like this, but you’ve absolutely got me figured out here, so I couldn’t possibly walk away…”
There was only one thing that these rumours about her could mean, she thought, and that meant that Esther was looking to take advantage of her plant-like nature or one of them was getting eaten, and either way sex was going to be involved. But these were all things that she liked, so there seemed no reason to refuse either.
“I knew it,” hissed Esther gleefully. She gently took the egg back from Withania and placed it up on its pedestal, keeping her wing in contact with her guest. “Let’s just take this back to the couch…”
Guiding Withania with one claw to a hoof, she backed up to the sofa and pulled Withania onto her lap. Withania took her cue and leaned in to kiss the hippogryph. She wasn’t entirely sure how to interact with Esther’s beak, which posed a problem. She placed a few light kisses on the larger top half, moving around to the side where it joined onto her cheeks. This was clearly effective as Esther immediately sighed a coo of pleasure, an almost bird-like whistle.
She must’ve understood Withania’s dilemma as well, as she responded by tracing the top of her beak down to Withania’s neck and gave the slightest of nibbles. Withania was a little confused as to what was happening here, but allowed Esther to push her back against the cushions. Their legs interlocked, and tails were lifted aside to allow their velveteen labias to touch. Esther continued to nibble away gently, finding tiny knots and stray hairs in Withania’s coat.
She’s… preening me? thought Withania, picking up a rhythm with her hips, squeezing her pussy against Esther’s, feeling the juices start to lubricate their touch. She slowly slid down the cushion onto her back, with Esther on top, almost holding her down. She did her best to give her partner a few light kisses on the head to convey her appreciation of this treatment, but was quite transfixed by the sensation. Esther was finding each and every imperfection in Withania’s fur and straightening it, relieving tiny stresses and tugs in her muscles, and all the while stimulating her down below with only the gyrations of her hips.
“Esther, that feels delightful… I didn’t know you could preen fur…” said Withania, her breath quickening.
“Mmm,” purred Esther, lifting her head again to see how Withania was doing. Withania immediately started kissing on and around her beak again to give a little affection back. “Well, it may surprise you to know that we’re not great kissers, so we figured out other ways. I think you’ll also find that I’m quite good at reaching other parts of you, if you’re all warmed up now?”
“Please, don’t wait on me…”
Esther lifted herself up, exposing Withania’s body starfished out underneath, and as agile as a bird she turned on the spot, diving her head between Withania’s hind legs whilst laying her not-insubstantial butt on Withania’s head. Her beak deftly glided along the edge of Withania’s labia, before sliding inside right down the top parting where her guest’s clit was waiting.
Withania moaned as Esther zeroed in on the most sensual parts of her body, and without even looking she nuzzled her own mouth between Esther’s hindquarters to find the softest point to kiss and taste. Esther’s shimmering tail hid Withania’s head from view, and she felt as though she was under a protective cover with the hippogryph doting over her.
“I’m so happy we’re sharing this, Withania,” cooed Esther, flexing her hips to better accommodate the mare under her, “I have to admit that I’ve had eyes for you for a while now. From the moment I saw you I thought, this is a mare I want to fuss over. A mare I want to pleasure and bring to her seventh heaven, to make her mine and then decorate her with all my love and care, then display the glorious result on my shelf as the centrepiece…”
If Withania caught the meaning of Esther’s words, she didn’t react to it. She was too engrossed in eating out her host’s pussy. The deeper she pushed and licked, the softer and wider the opening became. Esther sighed and relaxed her muscles, letting Withania’s ears and the crown of her head pass between her hips, sinking into her innermost passage.
“Good girl, mommy’s going to take extra special care of you tonight…”
These words were muffled to Withania, whose sex addled brain only heard a soft and gentle voice vibrate through the spongy walls caressing her head. She felt a tug from deeper inside, combined with a pressure from above as Esther shifted her body to press down and push Withania’s entire body deep into her pussy. Her wings were extended, gently flexing and relaxing with each motion while the occasional bird-trill escaped her.
She sat back, running her foreleg over the growing mound Withania was creating in her abdomen, her hind legs wide open and Withania’s sizable hips stretching her own to their limits. But she was practised, and their slow and sensual conduct made the process easier. Placing one gentle claw against Withania’s exposed flower, she inserted two fingers, gasping herself as she felt Withania twitch deep inside. Gently fingering her guest, she was rewarded with the same level of pleasure as Withania shuddered under another unique technique she had not felt before. She waited until the tension in Withania’s body reached its peak, and then pulled out again. Withania shivered, at the very precipice of her climax, but in need of one last nudge. Esther placed her claws on the nightshade cutie marks before her, and pressed Withania’s hips together, smushing her leaking flower closed and turning the movement into a push to shove the earth-pony hips into her slick passage.
Withania felt like her entire orgasm - moments from breaking free - was smothered back into her, as she herself was smothered into Esther’s womb. For a moment she felt desperate to climax, but Esther knew her craft well, and the powerful compression her body exerted on Withania kept her riding the very crest as her hind legs and hooves slipped into the light blue enclosure, labia closing behind them with a bead of fluid seeping out.
Esther moaned in satisfaction and hugged the huge mound bulging out in her lap, watching its shape move indistinctly as Withania settled inside her. She leaned onto her side and closed her hips, interlocking her hind legs so her enormous midriff was kept in check. She flicked her tail straight again, and pulled the hair band out from her mane. At this size, she could barely move, let alone walk anywhere.
“Phew, being made of plant sure doesn’t make you any lighter huh?” she said, resting her head on the cushions and licking her claw clean. “Very sweet though. Now, you’re a bit too big as things currently stand, so we’re going to rest a tide while my womb works you down a little. Get comfortable, sweetie.”
This was not Withania’s first time in a mare’s womb, but she’d never experienced it this way before, this gentle approach to claiming her in such a way as to keep her safe and sound. In the pitch black she kept her eyes closed as the soft walls enclosing her kneaded and massaged her body. At first rapid, Esther’s strong heartbeat was settling down to a reassuring rhythm, enticing Withania’s heart to follow suit, to align with her new home. She was already slick with Esther’s juices but now felt another fluid secreting over her - or perhaps from her - and fill the gaps between her limbs. It tickled her senses and stimulated her nethers that still yearned for release, yet also eased her cramped muscles. Either her confines were softening, or were somehow getting bigger. Or she was becoming smaller. Without being able to see, she couldn’t know for certain, but the pleasure of the sensation prevented her from caring.
For her part, Esther dozed on the couch. Not asleep, but slowly stroking her belly and hips, feeling the weight redistribute across her body. It took a lot of energy to make an egg, and conveniently she could draw that from her guest, and make them small enough as part of the process. A few hours later and she got up, her middle now greatly reduced, but looking distinctly chubbier everywhere else. She stretched her legs out to admire the curves.
“I can certainly see why you earth ponies like to carry a little more weight, it’s almost a shame I’ll burn most of this off overnight!”
Esther checked outside to make sure Withania’s cart was parked up in her yard - it certainly wasn’t going home tonight - and then ventured into her kitchen for a snack. She hummed as she made up a quick sandwich, gently swaying her body to sooth her guest.
Withania was now comfortably curled up and mostly submerged in a slimy fluid. She could move, but as soon as she relaxed, the slime around her seemed to push her back into the middle again. She floated in the centre of Esther’s womb, suspended and mostly immune to feeling the thumps of the hippogryph walking around. The sound and rhythm of her body was soft and soothing, resonating to her core. Her mane and tail flowed directly up and down from her, following a current in the liquid as it had filled up, and now set in place, anchoring her as such that she could reach out with a hoof, but not turn or reorient herself.
“Mmm, just settle in place, miss,” said Esther with her mouthful, “I can feel you trying to explore in there, but you’re gonna make a real lumpy shell if you don’t sit still!”
Taking the last of her sandwich with her she plodded upstairs, translucent tail swishing behind her, and entered her bedroom. Her bed was more of a nest, a big round mattress with a depression in the middle and cushions - many of which were egg-shaped - arranged in a circle. Esther hopped into the middle and turned around a few times before laying down with her full belly in the very centre.
“I wonder what colour you’ll come out as,” she said, running a claw affectionately over her middle. She was still soft there, but the perfectly round shape told her that a shell would be starting to form - although this would take the rest of the night. “Will you be green like your coat, or tan like your hooves?”
Withania could faintly hear the words, although it was mostly a background hum. Her sleepy brain knew it was Esther talking to her, but couldn’t really process what she was saying. It was comforting though, hearing Esther let her know that it was all going as planned.
“Maybe you’ll come out in a blaze of autumn red, like your mane,” continued Esther, yawning. “We’ll see in only a few hours. Sleep tight until then, sweetie. Mommy will let you out when it’s time.”
As Esther herself nodded off for the night, the drowsy spell on Withania quickly overwhelmed her and lulled her into slumber with her host. Her body steadily brewed away, adding layers on layers, minerals and pigments, all of which took on the properties of her guest.
When daylight finally returned to illuminate Esther’s bedroom, she woke with the dawn. Her body felt full and under pressure, ready to release its guest in their new form. She yawned and sat up with her legs spread open, cradling the heavy mass around her middle. Her claw stroked the curve that Withania was making in her body, drifting around under the bulge to where her pussy was dilating.
“Ooooh, feels like you’re ready, Withania, now just excuse a little indulgence of mine - there’s a special feeling of being as full and tight as this, and when I do my best to hold you back…” As she said this, she was stroking herself, easing up her opening, and then with the flat of her fingers she pushed against the bulge trying to work its way down, pressing Withania back into herself. “Aaaaah, it feels amazing.”
Esther worked herself into a rhythm, her body naturally pushing the huge egg down to be laid, while she firmly pushed back again, manipulating the pressure on her clit so it alternated between the front and back. Her velvet lips remained parted of their own accord, revealing her glistening vagina ready to deliver.
Her breath and heart beat increased, rousing Withania from her sleep. She instinctively stretched out her legs, and pressing against the goopy liquid surrounding her she felt a hard surface encapsulating her body on all sides. Her brain was foggy, drifting along the edge of consciousness, but thoughts formed from her senses.
Am I inside… an egg? Am I… an egg? I’m Esther’s egg…
Despite the barrier separating them, she could sense Esther’s mood, the lewd thoughts seeped in and rekindled the pent up tension locked away inside her when Esther had tucked her away without release. The idea of being turned into something of Esther’s creation so literally was intoxicating. What did she even look like in her present form? She could move, but her limbs felt soft and pliable when pressed against the inside of her shell. Perhaps she was nothing more than an amorphous blob, a yolk suspended in egg white. And now Esther was masturbating to the sensation of laying her. She felt deliciously objectified in the best possible way.
Esther felt her climax waiting in the wings and pushed in earnest, letting her creation ease between her hips and crown from her passage - a splash of fern green emerging from the blue. She took a deep breath and flexed her muscles to let the wider end of the egg pass, resisting her mounting orgasm for as long as she could, before finally letting Withania’s egg and all of her tension flow out in a rush of satisfaction.
Breathing heavily, wallowing in the sudden release of being light and empty again, Esther reached down and picked up her prize.
“What a beautiful shade,” she said, admiring her creation. Without another word she settled down on the cushions and began to lick the egg clean. Inside Withania felt the lurch of her exit, the smothering ambience of Esther’s body opening into a dull, but more audible outside world. She felt herself being turned and rotated, and the directional sound of Esther’s tongue pointed tongue working expertly to clear the shell of any clinging fluids. It was slow and deliberate care, without being able to see or know what was happening, Withania felt like a prized possession, something dear and protected, safe and embraced against a much larger body than her own.
“Mmm, no bumps, no cracks, you’re perfect, Withania,” cooed Esther, clutching the egg against her chest. She could lay here for hours longer, roosting on egg-Withania and enjoying the proximity - but she had more work yet to do. She clambered out of bed, tucking the egg expertly under one wing and walking into her study across the hall. A desk setup in the centre of the room, with brushes, paints, stencils and rulers arranged around a pedestal in the middle, onto which Esther placed the egg.
“Withania Somnifera,” she said, wetting a thin detailing brush and dabbing it into a slightly darker shade of green than the eggshell. “A nightshade with many properties, especially for bringing a pleasurable night’s sleep…”
Her deft claw traced out the outline of Withania’s cutie mark with confident strokes, switching between brushes to fill in the shapes, indistinct coos escaping from her beak now and then.
“I love this part,” she said to Withania, “I love the thrill of marking beyond doubt who occupies this little capsule my body has created. Their own mark, assigned by my claw. Within my care alone as your new guardian, protected from the world if only for a short time.”
She began to hum as she worked, the comforting sound of her voice serenading Withania inside the egg, who remained suspended in stasis. She skimmed the surface of sleep, the chill of being outside Esther’s body dulling her senses, but the sound of attention and doting keeping her from true sleep.
Once Esther had finished painting Withania’s cutie mark onto the surface of the egg, she cleaned up her brushes as the paint dried before picking up Withania and tucking her underwing once more. The hippogryph descended the stairs to the living room, where the wall of her egg collection awaited.
“I’ve had this spot right in the middle all ready to go,” she said, placing Withania’s egg on an empty pedestal in the very centre of the display, angling it for the best view of the painted cutie mark. She stepped back and sat down to admire her work. “You’re part of my collection now, Withania. The Ponyville botanist, half earth pony, half plant, now a beautiful egg on display, mine to keep.”
She took a camera out from a nearby draw and carefully photographed the collection, each space filled with mementoes, at least two of them occupied.
“I’d love to keep things just like this,” she said wistfully. “To keep you all to myself, safe and sound, lavish you with so much attention - you’d love it. I’d just keep the heat lamp off, and you’ll stay this way for as long as I like. But there’s also a pleasure in the next stage, and at least this time, I want to share that with you more.”
Esther walked up to the display and lifted the egg up again. Even if she couldn’t keep Withania for herself, there was one last smug thrill she would take for herself. She drew the net curtain in the front window and removed the display egg from the window sill. In the morning sun, this was a perfect place to incubate one of her eggs while she made breakfast - and she knew plenty of folk who would pass by her house this morning and see who her most recent guest was.
The warmth of the sun slowly but steadily penetrated the egg, reviving Withania where she had grown lethargic from being outside of Esther. It was still pitch black, of course, but her brain began to sharpen again and consider her surroundings. She figured that it wasn’t Esther herself warming her up, as the warmth was very one-sided. Which was a shame, as her memory glowed with the sensation of being held and handled by the doting hippogryph just after she had been laid. As odd as it would have seemed to her yesterday, staying where she was as an egg in Esther’s collection seemed oddly enticing. The thought of Esther picking her up and fawning over her prized creations, cleaning the egg - even showing it to visitors.
Withania thought about the pink egg she had held herself, realising that it too, had a pony encased within. How long had that pony been there? A demonstration of what was to come for Esther’s next friend. Withania only wished she would be able to reassure that friend that letting Esther turn them into an egg was the right choice.
Withania’s mind continued to wander through enticing ideas, working herself up again, quite unaware that she was out for all the world to see. Those who didn’t know would just see an unusually large egg, stained green and painted with a nightshade emblem. For those who did know, Withania was left out in the warm morning sun as Esther’s latest trophy.
Esther spent the day reorganising her chicken eggs into storage after yesterday’s faire. She sneaked glances at the window sill every time she walked past it with boxes or trays, smiling to herself and thinking about all the lewd things she could do if she wanted to. Pleasuring herself on the egg, perhaps pushing it back inside of herself for another night would be a start. She could also dip the entire egg in white vinegar and dissolve the shell, making it soft and translucent so she could see Withania inside and vice versa.
Maybe, just maybe she might then swallow the whole thing whole. Esther shivered at the thought, she hadn’t tried anything like that before, but she knew ponies who had - and one of them was incubating on her windowsill.
No, for now she would leave Withania be and hatch her normally. She wanted Withania to have her full loving care for the first time around, and hopefully that would convince the pony to come by again for another stay.
By the afternoon, Withania was starting to feel cramped. Her body seemed to have regained its form after turning soft - maybe into yolk - and it felt like she had absorbed all the liquid around her, since she seemed fairly loose inside her shell. Her forelegs traced the outside of her prison, wondering how strong it was. Did Esther expect her to break out of her own accord? She didn’t have much room to swing a hoof around, making it hard to put her strength into a punch. Experimenting, she threw her weight and felt the egg wobble slightly. Well, that was something.
Esther heard the tell-tale noise of an egg ready to hatch from across the house. Her ears were attuned to it, else she would never dare to leave an incubating egg unattended. She walked to the windowsill and picked up Withania, cooing through her beak again to calm down the occupant.
“Shush now, Withania, sounds like you’re ready to rejoin the world, but mommy needs to do a little prep first,” she said, cradling the egg in her arms and nuzzling it with her cheek.
She returned to her study and set the egg on an apparatus in the corner. Padded clamps held the egg firmly on all sides, while Esther adjusted a mounted metal spike so it touched the side of the egg at its widest point. As she turned a handle on the machine, the egg rotated, causing the spike to score a deep groove around the outside.
This process wasn’t quite as pleasant as a ‘natural’ hatch, but when done right Esther could hatch an egg without breaking it, and then glue the two halves back together. This was how she achieved her seemingly perfect display eggs - and she definitely wanted to keep this one. Scoring complete, Esther removed Withania from the device and returned to her bedroom.
Withania felt strange things happening, but couldn’t fathom any of it. The most important thing was that she had been picked up and was being carried, which immediately made her immeasurably happy. There was a dull scraping noise that filled her with confusion for a moment, but then more carrying and everything settled down. The familiar sound of Esther’s heartbeat faintly sounded through the shell, and Withania had no doubts that she was being embraced again to her loving guardian.
“Alright Withania, you know what to do. Give those legs a buck now and you’ll be right out. I’ll be here to help,” murmured Esther, her voice resonating from her chest.
Withania felt a pressing need to see her again, and kicked her hind legs. The shell jarred around her, but held firm. She kicked again, stronger, but still nothing. There was movement, and she was turned sideways to lay on her back.
Esther carefully held the egg with one claw over the knuckles of her other claw, waiting for another kick from Withania. This was a tricky move, she could use the machine in her study to just open the egg, but that ruined the moment for her. She wanted her friends the pleasure of hatching with her in her nest. The egg jiggled again as Withania gave another attempt to break it, and with an expert rap on the back of her claw, Esther broke it in half along the score-line.
Withania was blinded by the light, but felt a rush of fresh air, followed by the shade of Esther leaning over her to block the sun through the window. She lay in one half of the egg, stunned and squinting. Esther carefully slipped the two halves of the egg out, and deposited Withania onto the soft bedding, placing the egg carefully to one side so she could wrap up her hatchling in her arms.
When her eyes focused Withania looked up and saw Esther's loving gaze. She seemed huge, as did the bedding, and the room. Withania looked down at herself, she was fully formed as a normal pony would be, just small.
“Welcome back, little one,” said Esther, laying on top of Withania and smushing her neck feathers against her friend. “I hope you enjoyed yourself?”
“E-Esther? Yes… you’re so big…”
“You’re still small. You did need to fit inside an egg, after all. I make pretty big eggs, but even I’ve got limits! Don’t worry, give it another day and you’ll be the same size as me again. You grow back like a sponge in the sea, just steadily getting larger until you’re back to normal.”
“Ah… ok… this, this is nice in the meantime,” said Withania, rubbing her face against Esther's neck. It felt like the natural thing to do, just to try and be as close as possible to Esther, absorb her warmth, hug her body, like a… mother? It was confusing, but her instincts rewarded her with calm pleasure for obeying, so she did.
“Of course, dear, let’s just nap together for now. Just enjoy the moment, I know I do…”
Her body was adult in shape, but being as small as a newborn was an incredibly calming perspective. Withania gazed around at the scale of the room, and how powerful Esther looked above, a loving smile at the corner of her beak and her mane tied to one side like a waterfall behind her head. The struggle of hatching and the overwhelming size of the world brought about a wave of fatigue that washed over Withania, and without a second thought her eyes slowly closed and she dozed in the afternoon sun, Esther curled her tail around to cover her side, leaving Withania a little splash of green in a sea of blue and pink, without a care in the world.
Esther stayed in her nest for an hour or so, meditating on the sound of Withania’s breathing, feeling her body slowly increasing in size again - too slow to see, but enough to require her to shift her own body every now and then to make room. Once she was satisfied, she carefully got up, leaving Withania to sleep, and carried the empty eggshell to the study.
Withania woke softly, soft enough to remind her of regrowing as a plant, where time had little meaning. Her eyes opened to see the sky turning red with the late afternoon, or perhaps early evening. The bed, or nest, seemed a lot smaller now, although when she stood up she could tell she was still considerably smaller than her accustomed size.
“Hello sleepyhead,” called Esther’s voice from down the hall. Withania’s ears turned to the direction of the call, the sound now embedded deep into her mind. She followed it to the next room over, where Esther sat at a table Withania could just see over.
“Here,” said Esther, handing a large, green egg the size of a melon down to her. “This is yours. I’ve re-sealed it and added a little weight. I have to admit I wanted to keep this one, but I think you should have it as a memento.”
Withania looked at the egg, marvelling at how small she must have been to fit inside it. This was me, she thought, This is my egg.
“Thank you Esther - for everything, this has been wonderful.”
“You’re very welcome. You have to come back though - I want to make another Withania egg for myself!”
Withania giggled and said; “Well, you’ve got me convinced, and I can hardly refuse now!”
“Good,” said Esther, clapping her claws and clicking her beak in sympathy, “Maybe if you fancy it, we can try some… experimental things. You can do a lot of weird stuff with eggs, you know… and with your plant-side, I think we’re obligated to discover something new!”
Withania smiled and yawned, she could certainly think of a lot of egg-related shenanigans as well, now they’d cleared the purer, more wholesome introduction.
“Ok, mom. Wait - what did I just say?”
Author's Note
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed Esther's official debut!
There's lots more of her activities I want to share, but a simply intro is the best. I may add additional chapters to this later on, rather than post them as new stories, but anyway, insert egg-pun here.
