Dreams of Forever

Somnia dragged her hooves along the ground toward the dining room. The massive yawn the filly gave disturbed the crow atop her horn, getting them to fly up before re-perching themself.

Please hold still, I’m trying to preen. Excalion cawed back at her, readjusting her position to not scratch too hard. For either of them.

“Maybe you should’ve chosen a better creature than a bird. Like a cat, or a dog.” Her low, course response was responded to by Excalion who started pecking at her mane.

Can a cat or dog fly? No, didn’t think so.

If we grafted wings to it like that one time, sure. Grar interjected.

“Are you two ever going to show me your super-duper secret lab?” Somnia asked, suppressing another yawn.

When you’re older, and capable of traveling across near-zero degree temperatures. Grar answered.

“Zero degrees isn’t that bad.”

Absolute zero, Som. Excalion clarified.

“Oh.” She giggled. “That’s a bit too cold for me.”

As it was for everypony else, exactly why we made that field around the facility. Not a single creature would evolve to handle such temperatures or lack of air that far into the arctic plains. It would be suicide to try adapting up there.

Her journey came to a halt in front of the dining room door, Somnia sighing and preparing herself for what was about to happen. She pushed it open to see her family smiling at the table, waiting for this exact moment.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOMNIA!” Nightwind finished the unanimous yell with the blow of the party horn.

“Yeah, thanks.” She dragged herself over to the table, slumping down next to Nightwind. “Still tired from last night.”

“If I had known you were going to be up, I would have come down and said happy birthday then.” Twilight giggled. “We’re having something special today, specifically for you.”

“Something special?” She raised an eyebrow. “Better not contain blueberries.”

“I think Spike and Shield got the message last time.” Duskwing chuckled while shaking his head. “You still haven’t told me the story about why you don’t like them.”

“It’s all she ate when lost in the forest.” Twilight rubbed his closest foreleg. “Breakfast, lunch, and dinner for almost four days straight.”

“I’d think I’d choose to go hungry if I had blueberries that often.” Nightwind fake gagged as Shield exited the kitchen and came over to place breakfast in front of each pony. Somnia could only stare at her dish, eyes shimmering. It was from Excalicorn, her favorite meal of all time, but...

“Had to substitute for the pink clams since I think they went extinct, but hope it will still taste good.” Shield patted her head. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you!” She turned back and hugged him before digging face-first into the dish. Between bites, she spotted her mom had a different version that didn’t include any meat, but her cousin and father both had the same thing she did. Spike came walking out of the kitchen with his own breakfast, a hash-brown and egg dish. She finished before the others, content to sit back with her eyes closed, savoring the tingling aftertaste.

Her soul-sight wandered while she waited, focusing back on her mother, or rather to her sibling. The pregnancy took hold. Without a doubt, her mom was going to have a foal. Somnia could even tell the kind and sex through the soul-sight, alicorn and female.

“So when’s the wedding?” Somnia opened her eyes and grinned at her parents.

“We haven’t talked about it yet.” Duskwing turned to Twilight. “Any ideas?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we can talk about it after giving Somnia her presents?” Twilight suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” He leaned back with a contented sigh, his plate only half empty. “This is a very filling meal. I’ll have to save some for later.”

Nightwind pushed his plate toward the center of the table, having finished only a quarter. “Don’t like it?” Somnia giggled.

“No, it’s really heavy.” He burped, getting some chuckles and giggles from around the table.

“It’s meant to feed alicorns.” She patted her belly. “Very nutritious, but also very filling. How did you get the recipe for it?”

“Princess Celestia sent a letter saying it would be a nice dish to try for your birthday.” Twilight replied. “Although, the changes made to mine may have taken out that level of nutrition.”

“Have you ever tried meat?” Somnia asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No, and I don’t think I would be able to.”

Returning her memories, Somnia searched for something specific. Out of the pony kinds, changelings, thestrals, and seaponies could eat meat. According to the wings and horn, she wasn’t a changeling or thestral, but...

“You can eat meat.” Somnia nodded. “You’ve been able to since becoming an alicorn.”

“How would you know?” Twilight tilted her head.

“You’re part seapony. It’s your earthly trait.” She saw looks of confusion from the others. “Alicorns have three pony types, each from a different trait group. Magic, flight, and earthly. Mom’s magic is unicorn, her flight is pegasus, and her earthly is seapony.”

“So what are you?” Nightwind asked.

“I’m what’s known as a true alicorn. I’m all eight.”

“Eight?” Duskwing followed-up. “I thought there was only four-ish, five if you include changelings.”

Somnia took a deep breath. “The magic group contains unicorns, changelings, and kirin. Flight group contains only pegasi and thestrals. And the earthly group contains earthlites, zebra, and hippocampuses.”

“Kirin?” Twilight turned to her husband, the stallion raising a curious brow. It wasn’t the first time Somnia had mentioned them, but she still didn’t know what they were. Seaponies sometimes were mentioned in obscure mythology texts or the oldest of stories, but kirin were absent altogether.

“Luna and Celestia I would guess are both unicorns and pegasi, and I would assume Celestia is part earthlite and Luna part hippocampus.”

“And what’s so special about each?” Twilight asked, popping in a quill and paper to take notes.

“Unicorns are the most magically powerful. Changelings can change into other forms and sustain themselves off of love. And kirin can catch on fire, becoming almost indestructible.” She paused for them to take it in.

“The kirin’s ability is to catch on fire?” Nightwind playfully bumped her with an elbow.

“It’s not so funny when they’re charging you down, burning everything in their path.” She prodded him back. “Pegasi can go super fast both on ground and in the air. Thestrals are almost completely silent when moving, and both can manipulate weather. Earthlites are super strong, seaponies are kinda like fish and can survive underwater, and zebras are most in-tune with the natural world.” She nodded. “Also, each group has their unique magics. Horns for the magic group, flight and wings for the flight group, and connection to nature for the earthly group. So the most pure of each would be unicorns and zebras, with pegasi and thestrals being equals.”

Twilight finished writing what she said, placing the paper and quill back down on the crystalline table. “I guess we were really far off from Excalicorn in that perspective. Most ponies assume that the three tribes are the only pure kinds of pony, if they even consider thestrals at all.”

“Pure?” Somnia pawed at the air, her smile growing. “I’m the only pure one. True alicorns are ascendant, and alicorns are much further ahead than all the others.”

“Oof, my tribal pride!” Duskwing keeled over onto the floor, sparking laughs from the others.

If it makes you feel better, Excalion landed on the table to pick away at the small bits of food left on Somnia’s plate, we tried creating a third for the flight group, but it didn’t work. I ended up using that gene template for the hippogriffs.

Duskwing pulled himself up from the floor, eyes on the crow along with Twilight and Nightwind. “W-What do you mean create a third kind?”

Shit! Grar swore. This is exactly what I didn’t want to tell them, you dumb bird!

“W-We were created?” Twilight turned to Somnia, who had shrunk back in her seat. “You knew, didn’t you?”

She lowered her eyes to the table, her voice low. “Sorry. It’s just that ponies needed to be a certain way.”

The truth is in the open now. Excalion cawed. May as well tell you the relevant parts of the story. Grogar and I are aliens, if you didn’t already figure that out. We came from distant worlds, passing through the veil to fulfill a singular task: Create the Grand Councilor of Harmony. To do so, we needed to make an ascendant species, the so-called Children of Harmony. After the world’s creation, we setup a facility to engineer the species present. We introduced bacteria, viruses, simple plants, more complicated ones as we made them, and after much time, creatures.

Grar continued. This led to your kind being made using an old gene template from the Fallen’s Golden World: Ponies, as they once were called. We focused our efforts on producing an ascendant variant, what we call ‘true alicorns’. Alicorns themselves are much closer to true alicorns than they are the eight weaker sub-types. None had ever been born before Somnia. She was the first, and will not be the last, if any of us three have anything to say about it.

Excalion cawed, hopping to the center of the table and motioning her wing toward the ceiling. One day, ponykind will join the Cyclical Union, for you are an ascendant species at your very core. Each of the six ascendant species possess a specific form of immortality, unique to the essence they embody. As ponies return from death, we girivi are uncoupled from physical matter, and filifair change their form to suit the new conditions. A marvel of biology and psionics unmatched by mortal creations.

My second hardest project. Grar added.

My proudest accomplishment.

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Somnia finished with a determined smile.

“Hmm, Nightwind? Do you want to go first?” Twilight smiled at her nephew on the large couch with Somnia.

He nodded back to her before turning and hoofing a small box to Somnia; the filly rattling it near her ear to build the suspense. The family had moved up to the living area, sitting in front of the crystal fireplace for the gift unwrapping. After everypony showered, at least.

She opened the box, looking up to smirk at her cousin. “Thought it looked neat?”

“Y-Yeah? Do you like it?” He asked with a nervous smile, trying to judge if he screwed up.

“It’s a high mana gemstone.” She put it on the side table before moving over to him to give him a hug and kiss. “Thanks. I love it!”

Next was Spike’s. While she unwrapped the box, Somnia tried thinking of what it could be, looking inside. “Cool! Where did you get these?” She pulled out a few comics.

“The House of Enchanted Comics in Canterlot!” He proudly grinned back to her while Twilight glared from the side. “What? They’re cool!”

“Well, I love it!” She gave him a tight hug. “We should read them together sometime.”

“Alright, here’s yours from me.” Duskwing pulled out a small jewelry box. “I know it ain’t much, but I always intended to give it to a daughter of mine.”

She opened the box and took out the lunar necklace, eyeing it carefully. Biting on it, she tried bending it with no success, finally rubbing her hoof along the surface. Old bits of knowledge came back, her eyes widening. “How much did this cost you?” She turned up to him in shock.

“It got passed down through the generations on my father’s side.” He rubbed the back of his head, smiling back up at her. “Like it?”

“This is worth over ten-thousand bits! It’s pure trisium!” She squealed in delight, running and pouncing into his forelegs. “I love, love, love it!”

“That’s trisium?!” Twilight floated it over from her daughter, taking another solid look of it. The quality of the lines on the moon now made a lot of sense. “We were going to give it away like it was nothing!”

Duskwing groaned, covering his face with his hooves. “If I had known that, I would have sold it.” He let out a sigh, pushing his daughter from him. “Ten-thousand bits could have gotten that damn hole in the house repaired!”

“Well, I’ll make sure to wear it proudly.” Somnia winked at him, giggling a bit as another idea came to mind. “Or maybe I’ll melt it down.”

“I kinda feel bad about my gift now.” Twilight picked up yet another small box, floating both it and the necklace over to Somnia. “The Tree of Harmony summoned me to it to get this for you. I don’t know how it dropped in front of the tree, but it was adamant it would be sufficient for your gift on its own.”

Taking the box, Somnia’s smile dropped as she opened it to a red glow. “I know it isn’t much, just an interesting magical rock, but you like unique rocks, right?” Twilight asked, nervously smiling as Somnia’s eyes twinkled, staring at the contents.

By the Ascended...

It’s been right under our noses this entire time.

With a touch of her hoof, it lifted into the air before the group. The four of Somnia’s family staring in mixed fascination and horror as it distorted into a gelatinous blob, then into a gas, before a bright light which flowed into the filly. Her eye color changed to red for only a few seconds before returning to its usual light blue, albeit with flecks of red and green disrupting the iris.

“Somnia. What was that?” Twilight whispered, her heart pounding away at what she had witnessed.

Moving her hoof along the fabric, Somnia giggled, breaking into a laugh as she fell from the couch. “That was one of my catalysts! T-They came from the Excalicorn Amulet!” She rolled around, the other four eyeing her, confused at why she found it so funny, until she settled into a giggle. “And to think, I thought my gift was something else!”

“Like what?” Twilight scrunched up her brows.

“In you!” She wiped her eyes, getting onto her hooves to go over to her mother. “Thank you for the gifts! I couldn’t ever repay them!”

“Giftssss?” Spike scratched his head as Twilight’s eyes widened, gasping out loud.

“Y-You mean...” Twilight started hyperventilating as she turned to the equivalently shocked Duskwing. Neither knew what to say. The idea was an ‘if,’ a hypothetical. But now they knew where their relationship would be going. “I-I can’t believe it!”

“N-Neither can I!” He joined the hug with his bride and daughter. “This is wonderful!”

“So how about that wedding?” Somnia smirked up at both, sticking out the tip of her forked tongue.

“Can somepony please explain what’s going on?” Spike flicked his eyes between them, lost about what they were going on about.

The group hug broke off as Twilight grinned at both him and Nightwind.

“I’m pregnant!”

Somnia stood just outside the castle, feeling the very air around her shifting with the light breeze. Focusing on slowing time, she reopened her eyes at her advanced speed. Stepping forward, the push-back of the very soil of the path gave her pause, the mere friction and displacement of the soil enough to make her think twice. It wasn’t like the superhero comics Spike read. She took a few more steps forward, each time making sure she was getting proper hoofing before the next. She took off toward Ponyville, each step propelling her faster and faster until she reached the edge of town, then past the town hall, then stopping in front of the Everfree Forest next to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Checking the real-time, she realized only two seconds had passed since the slowdown. She trotted back toward Ponyville, watching the slow motions of the other ponies around her with fascination. They would hardly see the light from her before she had moved on to another location. Trotting down the path to the schoolhouse, she marveled at the world in slow motion. Birds mid-flight, the leaves bristling in the wind, a fellow filly caught mid-trip, which Somnia corrected so they wouldn’t hurt themself too much.

Besides further extending her time dilation, it also negated the effects. The super-speed was a convenient bonus, too. Opening the door to the schoolhouse, she waltzed in and over to Ms.Cheerilee’s desk, where she grabbed a few pieces of paper and wrote a quick note on them. She trotted over to each of the CMC’s and Nightwind’s desks to place them before walking back from the room, closing the door behind her to confuse the writing Ms.Cheerilee.

The moment she sped time back to normal, a brief rush of air accompanied the atmosphere resettling into its appropriate spots. She straightened up at a yelp and crash inside the schoolhouse, Somnia opening the door and peeking in to see the teacher on the floor looking around, terrified.

“Sorry about that.” Her low voice got Cheerilee to turn in her direction. “Didn’t know it would cause a gust of wind.”

“That was you?!” She got up, going to the doorway. “But how?!”

“Watch.” Somnia trotted off in slow-time to as far down the path from the schoolhouse to still be visible before resuming the flow. Cheerilee blinked before looking up at the filly waving to her. A fraction of a second later, Somnia was in front of her again. “Neat, huh?”

“H-How are you doing that?” She asked, her voice absent of emotion from being too caught up in the fact she witnessed a filly teleport without magic.

“I just think of it, and it happens.” Somnia shrugged. “Anyway, gotta go keep testing! See ya!” She disappeared less than a blink later.

Tapping a rock with her hoof, Somnia hummed as she put her hoof on top of it. Before the catalyst, she wouldn’t have been able to break a rock like this with pressure alone, but...

A cloud of dust appeared the moment Somnia thought of putting pressure down on it, blinking a few times, her eyesight unaffected by the particles. “Huh.” She breathed in all the dust she could and held her breath for several minutes, letting it back out slowly.

Huh, indeed. Grar commented.

“I gotta check something else.” She walked over to a large boulder and punched it, the immediate face shattering to dust, splitting the rest of the boulder in half. “Okay, super-speed, super-strength, and I don’t need to breathe. Can you think of anything else to try doing?” She trotted back at normal speed toward the town.

Light yourself on fire? I don’t know. This is abnormal, even by my standards.

“On it!” She super-sped her way back to the castle, startling Dusty into dropping her spear.

“Where the hay did you come from?!”

“Those mountains.” Somnia pointed into the distance, trotting past her guard into the castle. She made her way upstairs, all the way to the top balcony, and throwing herself off. She impacted the ground right in front of Dusty, hoof-first, her legs buckling and bones shattering from the height.

“SOMNIA?! Are- Are you...” She backed off as the filly got back up onto her hooves.

“Okay, that’s good to know.” Somnia turned her head up to the balcony. “Practice my landings.”

“You jumped from the balcony?!” Her jaw dropped. “A-Are you testing some potion o-or...”

“Nah.” She trotted back inside. Somnia went straight for the basement, grabbing her energy pistol and setting it to high.

Are you sure that’s-- Grar went silent as she blew off her front hoof, blood splattering around her.

“No pain.” She watched as the hoof clotted seconds after, then folds of bone and skin began remaking it from nothing. Within a minute, it was back to normal. “So I’m not indestructible, but probably can take an energy bolt to the head and live.” She pointed the pistol at her head and fired.

The world went dark except for her soul-sight, revealing the enhanced details of the world in motion. The magical signatures were incredibly easy to notice now, as well as who made them. She watched as her neck regrew her head over several minutes, bone by bone, strand by strand. Once her brain reformed, she could start making out vague traces from her new reforming eyes. She moved over to the mirror to watch her mane regrew, taking a knife from next to her and cutting off a length of hair; it regrowing in seconds.

“So how do I...” When she thought of changing her mane style, her hair moved on its own to shorten or lengthen at her command. She grabbed her red ribbon and reformed her mane to be long enough to tie back on her head, smiling at her new mane style. Turning her attention to her body covered in blood, she thought about shedding it off like snow, and so it transformed into a powdery snow that fell from her. “That’s convenient.”

Nightwind and Dusty were right. You’re insane.

“Haven’t you ever tried to kill yourself?”

“What happened down here?!” Twilight trotted in, worried at the blood on the floor as she searched for where Somnia was, finding her unharmed daughter standing at the mirror and pointing warily with a hoof. “Did you change your mane style?”

Trotting over to the remains of her scalp, she picked it up and showed it to her mother with a grin. “Pretty cool, right?”

“I... don’t even want to know.” Twilight backed up, her stomach already turning.

“Watch this!” She used the pistol to blow off her hoof again, Twilight’s heart skipping a beat at the blood showering over the floor and leg, all the while her daughter smiling without a second thought.

“S-Somnia...” Twilight fell to her haunches hyperventilating, as she watched the hoof regrow before her very eyes.

“I guess I won’t need the Queens Guard to protect me now.” The filly giggled. “I’m practically invincible!”

Twilight got up from the ground onto her shaking legs and hugged her. “N-Never. Do something like that. EVER AGAIN!”

“What?” She pushed her back, bringing her old bloodied scalp between them. “It’s not like you can bite off my head anymore.”

“I-I’m going to go--“ Twilight turned and galloped from the chamber, Somnia watching from next to her the entire way as she rushed for the bathroom. Once inside, Somnia closed the door and re-positioned her mother’s mane to prevent puke from getting on it before resuming real-time.

A knock at the door alerted the two of them as her mother puked her breakfast. “Twilight? You alright? Shouldn’t be morning sickness, you haven’t been pregnant for THAT long.” Duskwing’s muffled voice came from the other side.

“I’m...” Twilight turned her head, seeing her daughter. “How did you get in here?”

“I followed you.” She disappeared with a small burst of wind, leaving the door open to a confused Duskwing.

“Seriously?” Spike shifted on his feet.

“Come on, I can take it.” Somnia stood stock still, waiting for Spike to start.

“Your funeral.”

He breathed in as much air as he could and blew fire over her. Somnia could feel her fur waving in it, but it otherwise only burned away a layer before reforming. Her eyes weren’t so lucky, boiling from the temperature. Spike finished and dropped his jaw as her front returned to how it was in only a few seconds. “H-How...?”

“The stone mom gave me. She didn’t like it when I blew off my hoof in front of her, but it was a functional demonstration.” The filly trotted past on her way to the next test.

Making her way to the Everfree Forest, she got the approval of Isirilas before making her way into its depths, going off the path and jumping into the swamp face-first. She didn’t even bother to close her eyes or hold her breath as she swam along, using her soul-sight and physical-sensation to locate her next target.

Timber wolves are gathering around the pond. I believe our friend is as curious about what you are about to do as I am.

There it was: a cragadile. Swimming up to it, she tapped its tail to alert it to her presence. It snapped back, its stony jaws piercing straight through her body. She used her back legs inside to kick the back of their throat ‘gently.’ It released her from its grip, giving her the opportunity to reposition herself to hold its jaws open.

She flipped up on top of it, its jaw coming down on her hoof and ripping it off. She used her other hoof to drag it to the shallow end and right onto land while it kept trying to snap at her, but she kept her grip on it as she walked on her reforming hoof.

Once a fair distance away, she let go, and it turned right back to snap into her leg, ripping it off at the shoulder. Blood sprayed from the wound onto the ground around them for only a few seconds before clotting.

Somnia giggled at the confused cragadile that stared at her stump, it dropping her leg and snorting. “You’ll have to do more than that.”

It went for her other leg, one which she used to close its jaws in slow-time and flipping herself onto it to apply enough artificial weight to prevent movement.

“Must’ve been a nice snack, don’t you think? Do you still believe you can beat me?” She held her regrowing leg right in front of the cragadile, its fear levels spiking into full-blown terror. With a simple hop from its back, it ran for the safety of the swamp while she sat and waited for her leg to regrow.

A timber wolf jumped from the bushes, intent on impaling her in its jaws until she used her good hoof to shatter it into wood splinters. Several more gathered around, bowing as she sensed a deep rumble beneath her that only got more violent. Birds flew away, what few ground critters she could see with her soul-sight fleeing for their lives.

Once they burst from the ground, they straightened themself to their maximum height, as tall as the trees before lowering into a mock bow before Somnia. They resembled a serpent with over a hundred little appendages on all four sides meant for quickly moving or tunneling. Exactly as she remembered him, albeit a little larger. Yellow and green of vines curled around their small legs to punctuate the brown and gray silicate shell, a powerful scent of pine and decaying plants washing over her. Even the five bladed pincers on his face were the same, dripping with rancid green acid capable of melting some of the most resilient alloys.

“I wasss worried about your capabilitiesss, your majesssty.” Their hollow voice brought a larger smile to her face. Isirilas really didn’t change all that much from her time. “It ssseems your power hasss grown sssince we lassst ssspoke.”

“Catalyst number two, acquired.” She stepped forward to the tunneling serpent, laying her hoof on what would be its cheek. “I hear you’ve been having problems?”

“Froggy Bottom Bog. There isss a hydra that tearsss up my treesss.”

“Take me to there, we can negotiate with it.” She got up onto Isirilas’ back, grabbing onto one of the lower tunneling limbs.

Without delay, they burrowed into the ground and toward their destination. Dirt and rocks scratched at her body, but the healing factor made any damage only last a second. Within only a few minutes, Isirilas burst from the ground next to the swamp.

Jumping off, Somnia moved across the land parts, looking around at the waters while Isirilas kept their distance.

“So… What should I expect from the hydra?” Somnia asked as she grabbed small rocks to toss off into the swamp.

It’s big, mean, and almost unkillable. Don’t bother trying to kill them, go for trauma. Puncture through the necks of all but one, fitting a piece of wood or something in the hole to prevent regrowth. Once it’s down to one, make your demands.

“Right.” She watched as its heads rose from the swamp. “And try not to get eaten.”

We can punch our way out if it comes down to that. Or if you want to wait--

“No, thank you. That could take days.” She tilted her head at it, staring down at her with snarls on their heads. “Hydra! I’m here to bargain!”

It dived for her with one of its heads, impacting into her forehooves, cracking the facial bones as she halted it from plowing her into the ground. “I tried asking nicely, so this is your--“

It flipped her high into the air above them, getting her to sigh to herself: “Hard way it is.”

As she fell, it aimed her into its mouth. Rather than try causing damage on the descent, she fell straight into its maw. Its back-teeth tried to chew against her but she kicked and punched them until it spat her out along with the shattered remains of that head’s bloody teeth. Slowing down time, she ran to the forest to grab a thick and long branch, throwing it into the air toward the hydra’s back. Satisfied with the angle, she went and grabbed two more to throw before running to the leg.

Her hoof pierced straight through to the bone of the Hydra’s thigh, Somnia using her hooves as climbing claws to make her way up to its back. Once atop, she sped up time enough for the branches to get close; the hydra teetering in surprise and shock when she brought it all back to a crawl.

Grabbing one branch, she moved to the neck and punched straight through the spine and out the other side, implanting the branch. She repeated the process with the other heads until there was only one. Hopping back to where she started from, she returned to normal time to smile at its three disabled heads droop, the last calling back to them in an enraged roar.

“I’m still here, Hydra! Want to talk now?” She tried again, attracting the last head which attempted to crush her. Its face met her forehooves like last time, the two glaring one another down. “You’ve tried that. It didn’t work, remember? It’s going to be days before your other heads can dislodge those branches, meaning you’re in charge. Look, if I can do that to three of your heads, I can do it to you, too. I’m going to make you a deal: Stay away from the Everfree Forest. Don’t even dream of stepping foot in there or destroying Isirilas’ trees again, or I will be back to finish the job. Permanently. Understood?”

It nodded hastily. “Good. Now go tell Isirilas that.” She pointed off to her friend. The hydra stomped over to the tunneling serpent and growled something before retreating into the swamp, Somnia trotting back to her friend. “They told you?”

“If you had sssaid you were going to sssingle-hoofedly get a hydra to defer to you, I’d have sssaid you’re delusssional.” They moved into a bow. “But thank you for doing that.”

“Least I could do after what you gave me for my birthday. If you ever need my help with anything, just send a wolf and I’ll help. You’re my friend. I’ll come running.” She got back on top of them. “Can you take me back home now?”

“Somnia?” Twilight reentered the downstairs lab, spotting the filly still cleaning up all the blood she got everywhere. “Where did you go off to?”

“Fought a hydra.” She stated simply. “It’s going to leave Isirilas alone now.”

“Spike said you had him breath fire on you.” She sat near to her daughter, but kept her distance from the blood. “Any other new powers I should know about?”

“Strength, speed, better time dilation, rapid healing, close range transmutation, personal biosculpting, and being unkillable.” She tapped her chin. “I say that’s a pretty nice upgrade.”

“I would say so too.” Twilight nodded. “Are you okay with having a younger sibling?”

“Yeah.” Somnia turned over to her mother. “Know the kind or sex yet?”

She shook her head. “We want it to be a surprise.”

“Well, I’m not disappointed about the kind.” Somnia smiled back, waiting until her mother caught on to what she was getting at.

“T-They’re an alicorn?!” Twilight covered her mouth. “T-That’ll be the first alicorn born in--“

“Over a thousand years, not since Luna.” She nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll leave the sex reveal up to you. It’ll be nice to be the older sibling for once.” She went back to scrubbing the floor, stopping only a few seconds later. “What am I doing?”

She got up and began hovering one of her hooves over the bloodied spots, converting the blood into water. With her daughter getting into another one of her productivity spells, Twilight got up and went over to the door to leave her alone. Not like Somnia wouldn’t have told her to stay if she wanted the company.

“We’ll be going to Canterlot after Cranky and Matilda’s wedding for the Grand Equestria Pony Summit.” Twilight called back before leaving. “Don’t forget to come up for fresh air!”

Somnia finished up with the transmutation before grabbing some towels to wipe it up. She stopped mid-wipe, sliding onto the towel. “I could have transmuted it into air.”

I was wondering when you would realize that.