To: Princess Celestia, HRM Equestria

From: Principal Celestia, Alpha Canterlot High Pack

Subject: Sunset Shimmer

Your student Sunset had the fortune of arriving in our world in my pack’s territory. We will be taking her in as a member of the pack until such time as she can be returned to you. As we will need to be able to exchange information that may exceed the capacity of this journal and it can’t be replaced in the next 2.5 years, I will be limiting how long messages will be. As much as I’m sure you will want to air out your grievances with our student, I ask that you wait until the portal opens again and you can do so face to face.

In the meantime, we will be requesting information on Sunset’s history, specifically medical, family history, and educational background. All signs point to her physical age being approx. 12 years old, has been changed into a human and is inexperienced in dealing with matters of her second gender, which I understand from interviewing her you do not have in your world. Sunset is definitely a different type of Alpha than any we’ve dealt with, so any information that will help us solve that puzzle would be appreciated.

Given the physical immaturity, gaps in knowledge, and need to integrate, we will be registering her as a high school student. As pack Alpha, it is my duty to ensure any in my pack are properly cared for, so you may rest assured I will be able to return your student safe and well.

Sincerely,

Principal Celestia

Celestia sipped at her tea as she finished penning the message to her counterpart. She also kept her ear open to the sounds of Sunset eating her food as she double-checked for any spelling or grammar mistakes, she had gotten far too used to the conveniences of spell-checking on her computer and it had been college the last time she had to proof her own work.

She heard the sounds of meal consumption slow down and raised her gaze to check on her latest student. Her brow creased in concern, “Sunset, you’ve barely eaten half your food. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Oh…uhm,” the girl hedged, “I…yes, kinda. I’ve eaten more today than I ever did at the palace in one sitting, so I think…I mean, I kinda feel like I’ve filled my stomach, but I’m…” confusion crossed her features coupled with the scent of burnt iron filings. Celestia was guessing that was Sunset’s ‘frustration’ scent. “I’m still so hungry…” the girl almost whined as she cast a distressed glance at the other half of the plate piled high with food.

Celestia closed the journal and put her tea down, tilting her head slightly in confusion. The cafeteria food, while never stellar, was usually decently good and solidly nutritious. Even if Celestia hadn’t insisted on her school providing a balanced diet to the members of her pack, Granny Smith, solid-as-granite battleax of an Alpha that she was, would have issued a challenge to anyone who called her “vittles” less than tasty and nutritious. She examined what Sunset had eaten and what she had left on the plate and realized with a start that the girl had left anything with obvious meat content alone while consuming all the vegetable matter eagerly. Considering the dietary requirements of a growing Alpha, Luna had loaded up half the tray with burgers, chicken fingers, a couple of hot dogs, and what Celestia was guessing was a beef burrito. Why would she…? Celestia knew there was a small percentage of betas that enjoyed eating vegetation-only diets, but even omegas were practically meat consumption factories that demanded animal proteins and fats, for the amino acids needed for their diet if nothing else.

Celestia nearly smacked her own forehead when she remembered, Right, she was a pony up until two weeks ago, she probably hasn’t ever eaten meat in her life. Sighing, she smiled sympathetically at Sunset, “I’m guessing you haven’t eaten any of the meat you’ve been offered in the cafeteria since you arrived?” The girl turned sickly colors and shook her head vigorously. “Well, I’m afraid you are going to have to.” At Sunset’s gagging response, Celestia chuckled, “You’re an Alpha now, which means your body is going to demand nutrients that plant-only diets simply cannot provide.”

Sunset grimaced and poked at one of the hamburgers with a fingertip. “...are you sure? There isn’t, like, a high protein soy plant or some kind of legume I could use? They produce the right proteins for muscle development…”

Celestia shook her head in amusement, “Nope, you’re going to need to eat meat. ‘White for lean, red for mass, marrow for blood, and bone for kicking…’ uhm…” she blushed as she almost slipped and used language she didn’t permit on campus in her own office with a student. Rhyming couplets were wonderful teaching tools, but that particular one was usually repeated by young pack leaders in charge of college dorms and one she’d had to use frequently to keep the members in her dorm from overloading on red meat, which tended to make Alphas sluggish and omegas irritable. “Yes, you’ll need meat. No plants will do.”

Sunset groaned in discomfort and tentatively picked up one of the burgers. She slowly brought it to her nose and gave it a sniff. For all she grimaced, her stomach growled loudly enough to echo in the small office. Celestia suppressed a chuckle so as not to distract her young charge as the girl gingerly took a small bite. Sunset chewed thoughtfully for a moment and swallowed, her eyes bulging as her mouth popped open in surprise, a trickle of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth. She absently wiped it with the back of her hand then took a much larger bite, “Thish is…” she mumbled around the mouthful of food, “...delishish!”

Celestia finally allowed herself a giggle and said, “Take it slowly, you’ve already eaten quite a bit, you don’t want to have it come back up on you because you packed too much in.”

Sunset nodded as she chewed and slowed her pace a bit and sighed contentedly, “I didn’t realize this was what I’d been craving…but I’m probably going to have a complete breakdown later,” she blushingly acknowledged, “Cows back home are actually sentient.”

Celestia nodded as the sense of vertigo returned, not nearly as strong as before but still a powerful reminder that she was dealing with an alien in every sense of the word.

Before she could ruminate on that, her office door popped open and Nurse Redheart entered carrying a medical case worthy of an EMT that was half the mass of the woman who had it slung over her shoulder with a strap. “Sorry I couldn’t get here sooner, boss-lady, Snails forgot his heat blockers, and Snips, bless his little beta heart, wouldn’t leave him alone in my care until Snails’ parents dropped off his pills. Finally got the two off to class a couple minutes ago.” Redheart set the case down with a rattling thump on one of the empty chairs in Celestia’s office, “So, is this my patient? I thought she’d been here for a week, how did we not know she was a runaway?”

Celestia smiled at the school’s medical professional, “It’s the ‘special circumstances’ we all suspected, but…the story is quite a bit different than any of us could have guessed.”

Just then, the journal vibrated and began glowing, causing Redheart to jump in surprise. “What the…?”

The principal just nodded with her head, “It’s part of the special circumstances. Why don’t you get started with Sunset and I’ll explain more when I’ve taken care of this.”

Celestia flipped open to her entry to the princess as Redheart pulled out her clipboard with Sunset’s woefully incomplete medical profile and started asking the intake questions that had been left unanswered by the girl’s attempt to forge her paperwork. She nodded in appreciation at the reply as it appeared on the page.

“To: Alpha Celestia - Agreed on the decision to minimize message length, recommend less than 2 in. used per message and 1 message/day unless otherwise necessary. Sunset’s age here is 38, but if the mirror’s magic regressed her age along with changing species to match yours, all factors together confirm that placement in school for her apparent phys. age is best option. Req. more details on 2nd gender. Sunset was raised in an orphanage until being brought to the palace for tutelage under me, so no fam. hist. avail. at this time. Med. hist. avail., advise on what’s needed and will advise. Educ.: Post-doc in magical theory, grad. CSGU magna cum laude declined valedictorian honors. -Yours in friendship, HRM Celestia

Celestia swallowed thickly; Sunset’s presence was rocking her back on her heels more than anything since her first rut hit her back in middle school. A 38-year-old trapped in a 12-year-old body about to face puberty all over again…this is going to be rough. And she has a doctorate? No wonder she’s such a good student, she thought as she took a sip of her tea, If she hadn’t already taken her placement tests showing massive gaps in her knowledge of our world, I’d worry she was going to test out of Canterlot High entirely.

Her pondering was interrupted by a startled, “Oh! No, deary, I meant after we get back to the infirmary!” from Redheart. She looked up to see Sunset in the middle of taking off her pants, probably for a genital exam Redheart had mentioned while Celestia was distracted.

Must be some sort of cultural thing? I wonder what pony views on nudity are… “Sunset, please wait until you’re in private to remove your clothing. Nudity, especially of the reproductive organs and secondary sexual characteristics are frowned upon here.”

As Celestia guessed, Sunset seemed confused more than anything else but complied by pulling her pants back up and zipping and buttoning the fly.

With that resolved, Redheart cast Celestia a confused look before continuing the exam. Pulling a tongue depressor from her kit with already gloved hands, she prompted Sunset to open her mouth. After a few moments of examination, she nodded, “Yup, at least your age is accurate on your paperwork; wear patterns, tooth length, and count place you at 12 to 13, canines not yet presenting indicating you’re not quite into your full puberty yet…but wow, you keep your chompers clean! Good girl!”

Sunset was confused by this but didn’t respond beyond some expressive blinking. Of course, any other reaction was hard to do with a stick of wood pinning your tongue. The nurse continued while moving the depressor around and pulling out a penlight from her pocket and shining it in Sunset’s mouth, “Tonsils look good, been taking care of yourself from the looks of things, no signs of dehydration if the gums are anything to go by.” Redheart removed both light and depressor, tossing the wooden instrument and clicking off the penlight in a smooth, unconscious motion. “Let’s get that jacket off and get a look at you.”

Sunset complied and Redheart examined her arms, “No signs of recent fighting, of course, with how much the Alphas in the student body are complaining about your dominance aura you probably won’t have had a chance to get into one yet, but this also means you don’t have a history of them. You’re either a really strong Alpha or just good at avoiding the fighting instinct.” She twirled her fingers to indicate Sunset should turn around. When the girl had done so the nurse said, “I’m going to pull the back of your shirt up, you’ll need to hold the front down to avoid exposing those ‘secondary sex characteristics’ Celestia mentioned.” said Redheart with a mild chuckle.

“Teats are sexualized here?!” replied Sunset, a bit shocked. Redheart’s confusion ratcheted up enough to trigger even her comparatively weak vestigial beta scent glands to produce a slightly astringent vinegar bouquet.

Celestia couldn’t hold back the snicker this time. “Okay, have a seat, please. Redheart, I think it’s time I informed you of what we’ve learned today.”

After a fifteen-minute conversation that upended the worldview of yet another member of her pack, Redheart resumed her task, this time asking a host of additional probing questions to prepare a report for Celestia later. Celestia watched, sipping her tea and mentally composing a reply to the princess about the nature of second genders. It was a challenge because she was struggling to imagine a functional intelligent species without something that was such a basic fact of life.

Several minutes later, Redheart put away her blood pressure cuff and stethoscope, “And you’re all set, deary. Fit as a fiddle, if a touch anemic from the look of your eyes. I recommend doubling your red meat intake for a couple days, but other than that, you’re good to go.” So declaring, she pulled out a sharpie and began marking the samples she was able to get, including the swab of Sunset’s scent glands and a cheek swab. The school's medical first responder had opted not to take blood or urine samples until they got back to the infirmary, a fact for which Celestia was grateful. As good as Redheart was at her job, Celestia had to clean enough blood out of her carpets already this year and didn’t relish the thought of having to spend yet more money to have it cleaned again if there was an accident during the draw.

“Did you show her how to use the inhaler?” asked Celestia when she saw that Sunset didn’t have it yet.

Redheart looked up from her work with a confused expression, “Hmm? But…there’s no omega here…?”

Celestia nodded, “It’s not to mask a heat, it’s to mask…everything else.” At Redheart’s continued confusion, the principal tilted her head in Sunset’s direction and said simply, “Pony.”

Redheart nodded with a silent, “oh!” and popped open a compartment on her kit labeled, “vapor inhalers.” She pulled out a blue tube and handed it to Sunset. “Okay, deary, I’m guessing you’ve never had to use one of these, so pay attention.” She pulled a second inhaler out to demonstrate. “So you’ll want to break the seal on yours, just twist it at the base and then pull the cover off.”

Sunset fidgeted with the small plastic device and found the seam. Following the directions, she revealed a rounded tip that had a pair of vents. An icy menthol smell trickled into the room, only barely noticeable above the other scents that had been layered in over the last two hours. “Very good. Now you’ll want to pinch one nostril shut and stick the tip in your other nostril, don’t shove it in too far.” Redheart demonstrated everything short of actually pushing the capped and sealed tube in her own nose, just holding it just away from the side of her nose. She waited until a grimacing Sunset did as instructed before continuing. “Now inhale slowly through your nose. Once it starts to feel like a burning sensation, stop and pull it out.” The tween complied, eyes beginning to water as she stopped inhaling with a, “Gah!” Redheart nodded and said, “Very good, now the other side too…” shuddering, Sunset did as instructed.

Sunset re-capped the inhaler and started breathing normally again, then blinked and heaved a deep breath. “What…? The…the pressure is gone! My mind is clear all of a sudden!”

Celestia spoke up, “The inhaler is made to blow out your scent receptors temporarily. We normally use those on Alphas who are struggling with the scent of an omega in heat who isn’t able to use suppressors for whatever reason. Your brain interprets the scents that you pick up and creates the mental state you were experiencing. It’s meant to make you a more effective member of the pack by increasing your awareness, being able to read emotions in others, and recognizing allies or friends. You can even scent family members when you learn how to read the scents well enough.” She scooted her chair around the desk and reached out to take Sunset’s hand, “I cannot even imagine not having that sense. It’s so much a part of our lives…even when cubs are born we make sure parents have as much time touching and holding their infant so there’s a sense memory. For someone to go from not having that scent at all to suddenly being surrounded by it…”

Sunset was staring down at the hand clasping hers, a mixed scent of the cherry pie from earlier and the girl’s rancid oil nervousness. “...probably the inverse of how it felt,” she took a shuddering breath, “How it felt to lose my magic when I came through.”

Celestia blinked in surprise. If their connection to…magic is as close as ours is to scenting… “Yes, that may be an appropriate comparison.” Taking a gamble, she clasped her other hand around Sunset’s, “I’m sure there are similar rules for magic, but here we don’t abuse our sense of smell. That inhaler is a short-term solution to your inexperience, it will damage your olfactory nerves if you abuse its use. I will be teaching you how to process the scents around you.”

The nervous scent started to fade as the smell of cherry pie grew more pronounced. Sunset let out a watery sigh, still staring at her hand held clasped in Celestia’s, “Just like old times…” she muttered.

Celestia gave Sunset a reassuring smile. “You’ll have to explain that one to me…but later. For now, I need to talk with Redheart in private. Can you wait for us in one of the chairs by Raven’s desk, please?”

Sunset nodded and stood, removing her hand from Celestia’s (somewhat reluctantly if she read the girl’s body language properly), and retrieved her pack from in front of the desk. she paused and looked to the journal still open on the desk, then up to meet Celestia’s eyes. The principal shook her head gently at the unasked question, “I still need to report to your…princess about your current condition. I’ll bring it home with me, I’ll make sure you have access to it there.”

Sunset started, “Wait, what?!”

Celestia’s smile gained a mischievous edge. “You didn’t think I was going to make you sleep in the P.E. storage shed still, did you?” At Sunset’s shocked expression, she tapped the side of her nose, “We scented you the third day. You’re a…unique Alpha, we could tell that’s where you were sleeping. No,” she shook her head, “You’ll stay with me and Luna for the time being.”

Sunset clutched her backpack against her chest and nodded, a slightly shell shocked look accompanied by a mild renewal of the rancid oil scent, then left the office to grant Celestia and Redheart privacy.

Once the door was closed, Redheart turned to the Alpha, “Should I presume you want me to run a rape kit?”

Celestia shook her head. “No, not unless your more thorough exam later shows signs of a need for it. By all accounts, she arrived in our territory from her home universe and never left, and you know what I’d do to anyone who was found trying to rape anyone in my territory.”

Having witnessed the aftermath of the last victim that came to Canterlot High for sanctuary from a pack of rogue Alphas, Redheart shuddered. She was a beta and so hadn’t had to take part in the hunt, but was head of the team that was responsible for patching up the rogues left alive so they could face trial. It had not been pretty.

“What I’ll need you to do,” continued the principal, “Is to explain the second gender to Sunset.” In response to Redheart’s indignant snort, Celestia grumbled, “You’re the best clinician I’ve ever had and you’re fantastic at speaking to the students. She’s already shown she’ll listen to you.”

Redheart chuckled as she stood and grabbed her kit, swinging the shoulder strap on and heaving it up from the chair it had rested in since she arrived. “I’m also the best doctor you’ll ever get to work for the title of ‘Nurse,’ and you earn that loyalty because you’re the best damn Pack Alpha in six states, if not the country. You’re also an Alpha that doesn’t shirk duties that you volunteered to take on…princess.” she replied with a smirk.

Celestia just leveled an exasperated glare at the beta, “I wasn’t making a request…”

Redheart rolled her eyes, “I’m not one of your pack-bonded Alphas or omegas, you can’t order me and you know it. Besides,” it was her turn to flash a mischievous grin, “It’s the parent’s job to teach the birds and the bees to their kids. You issued that territory-wide mandate yourself four years ago, complete with consequences if students wound up failing tests in health class.”

Celestia blushed slightly and scoffed, “I’m not her mother!”

Redheart was by now walking toward the door and didn’t even bother looking back at Celestia, “Sure thing, ‘princess,’” she opened the door and said, “I’m taking Sunset to the infirmary, don’t take too long to join us.”

Celestia watched the door close behind her chief medical officer and school nurse. “...betas…” she chuffed with a frustrated sigh.

Three-quarters of an hour later, Celestia watched as a mildly blushing Sunset pulled her pants back on a second time for the day, this time having done so in the privacy of one of the medical bays. “Gynecology is a lot less intrusive when you have a unicorn doctor doing the exam.” she grumbled at the older Alpha.

“I’m sure, but I guarantee that if you could create a scanner that you could just wave at a woman’s belly and get the same information, you’d be set for life and become the hero of everyone with a cervix,” replied Celestia with a grin.

Sunset rolled her eyes and reached for her jacket. “Well, maybe you guys should figure out a better solution for these always-on teats…I mean, ‘breasts,’” she corrected herself, “They’re just kinda lumps of tissue and they’re always there and you need a special exam just for them, I mean, what’s that about? Cool machine, but I’d rather they not be sandwiched in it again.”

By now Celestia’s eyes were glittering with repressed laughter, “Let’s just say that, for us, the benefits have so far outweighed the negatives.”

Sunset sniffed at the air, as though catching wind of something familiar. “What…what is that?” she reached into her pocket and pulled out her inhaler. She turned it over in her hands struggling with the fine print on it, “Did this stuff wear off already?”

“Probably, it’s not intended to be overly powerful, just strong enough to shut off your sense of smell for a little while. Don’t use it,” she shook her head at Sunset as the girl moved to twist the cap off again, “Not yet, anyway. Until we can get you trained in managing your senses and your inner Alpha, only use that when the sensations from the scents around you grow too intense.”

Sunset nodded as she put the tube back in her jacket pocket, “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you smell and what it makes you think of?” the principal prompted.

Sunset sniffed the air again, this time more deliberately. “I smell…bubbling cider, or maybe…” she sniffed again, “The soda fountain at the Canterlot Palace Pharmacy!” a grin split her face and the cherry pie smell started wafting from the girl again, “Celest…er, Princess Celestia used to take me there after I finished an exam! We didn’t even wait for the test results, we always knew I’d pass with a perfect score, so it just became a thing for us to sneak a little time out of her schedule after classes got out for the day…” the smile slipped slightly, becoming more melancholy, and the scent drifted away from baked goods to an old library that had too much dust on the shelves, “...we…stopped doing that after I got to university level…and I got…greedy.”

The cherry pie is…nostalgia? Homesickness? thought Celestia, Which would probably make the ‘dusty library’ regret… “Very good. Now, do you remember what prompted the scent?”

Sunset cocked her head to the side in a gesture that was more canine than equine, which made Celestia wonder just how thorough the magic that turned the pony into the girl before her was. After a moment’s thought, she said, “...we were talking about my gynecological exam?”

Celestia’s smile returned, “Yes, but you were also expressing a rather amusing level of frustration with the attendant parts of the medical process associated with it. You weren’t saying anything that hadn’t been said before by nearly every woman or omega who’s had their heels in the stirrups. You were scenting my amusement.”

“Oh,” Sunset thought about that for a moment, then wrinkled her nose incredulously, “You smell like the soda fountain from Canterlot when you think something is funny?”

Celestia giggled, “No, that’s how your brain interprets the scent. Luna says I smell like clean pennies and Granny Smith says the scent reminds her of a particular tree in her orchard.”

Dawning comprehension started to blossom on the younger Alpha’s face, “Oh, so it’s not the smell…”

“Scent,” interrupted Celestia.

“...what’s the difference?” Sunset inquired.

“A smell is what comes off a thing. To me, when you’re thinking of some aspect of the world you came from, or at least the pleasant moments you had there, your scent is like cherry pie. You’re not actually producing the smell of what an actual cherry pie would create, that’s simply the association my mind makes when that particular scent is processed by my olfactory receptors.” She tapped her nose in absent demonstration, “A cherry pie will smell like a cherry pie…well, assuming you make it right,” she winked at Sunset, “But the scent you make when you’re remembering triggers a response that has nothing to do with cherry pie.”

“She’s right, kiddo,” came Redheart’s voice from around the corner, immediately preceded by the sound of a rolling office chair being pushed across the tile floor. In moments, Nurse Redheart wheeled her way into the alcove backward, propelling herself with her feet. She made her way over to Celestia and stopped about a foot in front of the principal. With a flourish, she handed the Alpha a folder with a small stack of papers in it. “Smell is objective,” she explained to Sunset, “Meaning everyone smells the same thing about the same thing, but scent is interpreted; no two people identify the same scent the same way.”

Celestia began flipping through the folder she’d been handed, “Except for smarty-pants betas.” she interjected without looking up from the report.

Redheart responded by lobbing a pamphlet at Celestia, which bounced off her nose and landed in the folder. “Ow!” blurted the principal and smacked her free hand against her nose. She glared without heat at the other two, who were openly giggling. Celestia glanced down to see what had been tossed at her and saw the title in plain sans-serif font that read, “Heat, Rut, and Reproduction: A Parent’s Guide to Having ‘The Talk’ With Your Children.’”

By the time she looked up from the pamphlet, the school nurse was already wheeling her way back out of the bay, “Redheart!” she snapped at the retreating beta.

“Have fun, princess!” sing-songed Redheart as she closed the privacy screen with a delinquent grin.

Celestia sighed and closed the pamphlet into the file folder, which contained Redheart’s preliminary report on Sunset’s physical, including the brief notes the beta had made about the pelvic exam. Definitely an Alpha, complete with all the appropriate parts. She sighed and repositioned briefly to get more comfortable. Sunset seemed to sense Celestia’s change in mood…the principal saw Sunset’s nostrils flare and a moment of calculation, and she made a minute nod, apparently to herself, and a mix of floral honey and chalk dust met Celestia’s nose. I’d say she just felt satisfied that she solved a puzzle, and that she made the first conscious use of scent identification.

Celestia stifled a flicker of pride (She’s not my daughter, she growled to herself), and took a settling breath. “Well, your second gender…I suppose we should begin with the question; what sexual presentations and gender presentations do ponies have?”

Sunset pushed herself back up on the exam table they had used earlier so she could sit, “Well, we’re sexually dimorphic, meaning there’s mares and stallions…or male and female. There’ve been some articles in medical journals about transgender ponies, but it’s mostly been experimental research. The princess was pushing for it to be properly studied, apparently, she had some advisor a few centuries ago that said he should have been born a mare and…I guess he couldn’t cope with not being one.”

Celestia thought she was correctly reading between the lines on that subject, but chose to leave it for another time and continued. “Well, leaving aside the transgender issue for the moment, which is an issue on this world, by the way, you’ll be expected to respect pronouns while you’re here; our primary sexual presentation is the male-to-female spectrum. I presume this corresponds with the mare-to-stallion spectrum in your world,” she trailed off briefly to flash Sunset an inquiring look, to which Sunset responded with a shrug, “Fair enough, let’s assume for the moment it does. We have a second gender, which is fairly immutable compared to the primary sexual presentation. Unlike the male-female spectrum, there are really only three definitive secondary genders, which present in people across the primary spectrum identically; Alpha, beta, and omega. Some experimentation has been done, usually unsanctioned, to alter someone’s second gender presentation, but it has almost always either been unsuccessful or resulted in…something else.” A flash of darkness crossed Celestia’s face, but it passed as quickly as it came.

“But...why? What do these sub-genders…” Sunset began.

“Second genders. Don’t ever call them sub-genders.” Celestia interrupted, “A faction of betas started a genocidal war trying to wipe out Alphas and omegas a couple generations ago. They used the term ‘sub-genders’ to dehumanize Alphas and omegas.”

Sunset flinched, then continued, “What do these second genders even mean?”

Celestia bit her lip. She had never before had to explain the concept to someone with only a single-axis of sex characteristics as reference. Everyone simply had both and were at the very least taught what theirs was from birth. Sure, some people were suspected of being betas but were simply late-blooming Alphas, but they still at least knew what a beta was and had a reference point for the others. …actually, she thought, That may be the reference point I need.

“Betas are most like your people if I understand correctly. While they’ll have the vestigial tissue that becomes knots and mascervixes on Alphas and omegas, it’s inert. Male penis and female vagina. I’m guessing that’s the same with ponies?” Sunset nodded with a blush. “So betas can mate most easily with other betas, and they have so-so odds of producing offspring. Between 10-15% likelihood that a sexual encounter between two betas producing a child. Also, betas have, at least compared to Alphas and omegas, stunted pheromone glands and tissue. In some cases, the pheromone sacs are completely inert.”

“Okay, yeah,” Sunset nodded again, “That sounds about right, but with a pony couple, the chance of a child is higher, around 20-30%, which is pretty high compared to even the griffins or minotaurs. Theirs is in the 10-15% range, too. Equinologists theorized ponies have a higher birth rate ‘cause of the higher ratio of mares to stallions.”

Celstia sighed, “I find myself wishing our two species had made contact under better circumstances. The comparison alone would probably result in incredible studies and breakthroughs.” Sunset lowered her gaze to the floor as a scent of day-old guacamole wafted from her. Celestia sighed, “I’m sorry, Sunset, I spoke without thinking.”

The younger Alpha straightened with a start and blinked in apparent surprise, “Oh, uhm…that’s alright.”

Silence reigned for a moment, only to be interrupted by the school bell announcing change of class. Celestia chose to use that as a prompt to continue. “So, omegas are…’submissive,’ is the old term, and most do fall into that role in a relationship dynamic, but there are enough individual omegas who are more assertive and aggressive than even betas that we’re trying to figure out a new way to describe them that doesn’t happen to equate to, ‘always follows orders and is unsuited to lead.’ Omegas tend to be built to be caretakers in some capacity. They tend to be more empathetic, less likely to escalate to violence in any given conflict, and are more receptive to compromise.”

“This is a good balance to the Alpha. We,” she indicated herself and Sunset with her hands in a sweeping gesture, “Are going to be more assertive and aggressive. Again, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, and being assertive and aggressive won’t necessarily look like the same thing from Alpha to Alpha. Miss Harshwhinny is collected and controlled, but still a powerful Alpha. Similarly, Coach Iron Will is loud and bombastic, has larger muscles, and is generally acknowledged as being the more aggressive of the two, but he’s actually much lower on the pack hierarchy than Harshwhinny.”

“As for physiological differences…” Celestia finally reached a point where she was uncomfortable with the subject of conversation. There’s only one good way to discuss the mechanics of the process of procreation without introducing oversimplification or misinformation, after all. “So, all males have a penis, and females have a vagina. There’s intersex and transgender, but we’re keeping it simple for the moment.” Sunset’s blush returned full force and nodded in comprehension.

The older Alpha continued, her own blush starting to form as she sought for the right words, “All omegas have cervixes, so even the males will have to have exams like the one you just had and their…waste elimination configuration has remarkable resemblance to an Alpha’s sheath to protect their reproductive system. When they go into heat, they tend to alter their diet to consume larger quantities that will produce less solid waste, their slick glands produce massive quantities of fluid for cleaning and lubrication purposes, and their mascervix descends to make the opening to their uterus accessible to an Alpha.” Poor Sunset was turning slightly green as Celestia described the mechanics. “Male omegas tend to have lower pregnancy and birth rates than all females except female Alphas, but they also have a lower tendency toward infection due to the amount of protection their organs create against their own bodies.”

Sunset shifted in discomfort, settling her weight back and forth as she gripped her stomach with her arms and Celestia tried not to identify the scent bubbling off the girl for the sanctity of her own digestion, “I don’t think I’ll ever complain about my period again…”

Celestia snorted in mild amusement, “Well, fortunately, the rest are less…’squicky,’ to use a phrase. All women have vaginas, cervixes, uterus, etc., but in Alphas they’re…less developed, save for the ovotestese, which develop differently in the womb depending on if the individual is male or female-presenting at birth.”

Sunset held up a hand, “Okay, hang on. ‘Mascervix,’” she mispronounced it, more like ‘masservix,’ but that was common for children learning the name of the organ for the first time, “Is pretty easy to guess in context, ‘masculine cervix,’ duh. But what in Tartarus is an ovatestese?”

Celestia bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain it, “They’re the…gonocological organs responsible for the production of semen or ovum depending on the primary sex presentation.”

“Oh! Testicles and ovaries!”

The older Alpha blinked in surprise, “Those are…archaic terms. I don’t think they’ve been used in common language in centuries.”

Sunset’s expression grew thoughtful and her eyes flitted about, as though tracking prey, “It makes sense that you would have a single word for them, though. They come from the same fetal tissues in the womb and on male omegas they would probably not produce sperm…?” she glanced at Celestia for confirmation.

The principal smiled warmly and bobbed her head, “A small fraction do, most don’t.”

Sunset nodded and continued, hopping off the bed and beginning to pace as she worked through the problem in her head, “So if the omegas are always…fetal carriers, betas are based on their primary sex presentation and the women are the fetal carriers…then I’m guessing that the Alphas are the ones who get the fetal carriers pregnant…hang on, I need to write this down…” she glanced around the room and spotted a whiteboard mounted on the wall with a magnetic eraser stuck to the surface and a handful of markers in clips on the back of the eraser. Sunset darted over to the board and snatched the eraser down, pulling a maker out of it’s clip and popping the cap off. Sunset’s problem-solving scent is like whiteboard markers? Celestia thought in amusement as the smell of the markers permeated the room.

The student started drawing a two-axis chart, splitting the middle of the board into quadrants. At the top she wrote “Alpha” in her slightly untrained but extremely florid handwriting, then at the bottom wrote “omega.” On the right she wrote “male” and the left “female,” and where the two lines intersected in the middle wrote “beta.” She uncapped a red marker and drew two parallel lines separating “Alpha” and “omega” from “beta,” then paused, clearly thinking through what she just drew before erasing the middle horizontal line and replacing it with another pair of lines on top and bottom, bracketing the whole diagram. She capped the black and red markers and pulled out the blue before drawing hash lines on the parts of the chart for “omega” and “female” and wrote off to the side as the start of a chart legend, “Has uterus” with a small box containing similar blue hash lines.

Celestia observed Sunset work, and could easily see how the girl had graduated magna cum laude. She didn’t even have all the information yet and she was so close to a complete picture that the principal was confident the younger Alpha would have been able to figure it out with a single reference book and enough time. Additional labels were added, noting details of the omega and female commonalities in the reproductive process, adding notes on topics that Celestia had only hinted at. In the corner of the board, a swiftly jotted, “slick = ?” indicated a gap in her knowledge but an unwillingness to stop the creative process. A couple of minutes later, Sunset re-capped all the markers, having eventually just pulled the caps off all of them so she wouldn’t have to waste time between colors, and stepped back to take in the whole image. She gave a confident nod and turned to Celestia, “How’d I do?” The wide eyes and hopeful smile were almost incongruous with the display of intellect, and she looked for all the world like just any other girl looking for approval from a teacher or parent for a job well done.

Her inner Alpha suddenly started demanding she take this stray cub in as her own and raise her. Calm down! she told herself, I’m already bringing her into my home and teaching her, she’s a grown woman in a tweenager’s body, I’m not going to try to mother her. Out loud, she said, “Very good! Only one thing missing, and that looks like something you haven’t guessed at yet. I’ll give you a hint, see if you can piece it together; when two omegas mate, they have less than 1% chance of gestating and being able to carry to term. When a beta mates an omega, it’s less than 2%. An Alpha mating a beta offers a 5 to 10% chance of pregnancy. When two Alphas mate, the probability drops back down to 2 to 3%. An Alpha mating an omega results in a 50 to 60% chance of pregnancy.”

Sunset’s knees buckled, but she caught herself and straightened. “Sweet Cel…er, I mean…wow!” She looked at the chart she drew and her brows furrowed. “So, wait, what’s the population breakdown along the primary sex presentation between Alphas and omegas?”

Celestia’s eyes twinkled with a burst of pride, She’s almost there… “Nearly identical to betas. It fluctuates to favor females during times of war, more Alpha males tend to die in large-scale conflicts, but that’s mostly due to antiquated ideas of primary sex somehow impacting gender roles in society...well, that’s a lesson for your history class. So pretty close to a 50/50 breakdown between males and females when factoring out the statistical minorities of trans, intersex, and similar individuals.”

Celestia watched as the cub examined her diagram, nostrils flaring unconsciously, eyes dilating in an effort to gather as much information as possible. Watching this pre-teen tilt her head back and forth, working the problem like worrying a bone for the marrow. She’s probably not even aware she’s doing it…

Sunset’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Do…female Alphas mate with…omegas?”

I think she’s got it… “Yes, I take it where you’re from females aren’t capable of mating with another female?”

Sunset blushed again and shrugged. “I mean, I was kinda…antisocial, but I had fantasies…but a pregnancy? Not without magical assistance, and that’s fairly recent, like ‘last 50 or so years’ recent.”

“If your species developed without Alphas and omegas, then your development may not have required it, leaving the question moot. But here,” she gently pulled a pair of markers from Sunset’s grip and stepped over to the board and began filling in parts. “There’s two elements you’re missing. The sheath and knot.” She filled in the spaces on the Alphas with a reverse crosshatch and added to the legend for “knot” and did similar for the Alpha female and omega males with a vertical stripe pattern and labeled it “sheath.”

“Both Alpha females and omega males have sheaths that protect their sex organs. We’ve already talked about omega males; for Alpha females, the sheath protects their phallus, which is the Alpha female’s means of inseminating during their rut.” It was Celestia’s turn to blush, “Of course, rut isn’t the only time it can come out. If you happen to be…with a special someone…and you’re getting affectionate…your phallus can drop and…uhm…”

“It’s okay,” blurted a poleaxed Sunset, “Don’t go into details, please!”

Feeling completely awkward and out of her depth for the first time, Celestia darted back over to the file folder and fished out the pamphlet, flipping through it to find the applicable section. A quick glance confirmed the diagrams on the page were complete and the clinically presented information was accurate as to the mechanics of the Alpha-female-on-omega sex acts. She folded the corner down, slapped the booklet closed, and handed it to Sunset. The girl took it slowly, as though it were about to bite her, then tucked it into her jacket. For a moment, the stood facing each other, looking everwhere but at each other, faces bright red.

“Oh my god!” came a playfully aggravated groan from the other side of the privacy screen, “You two are such useless disasters!”

“Redhart!” snapped Celestia, eyes whipping to the screen.

“What?! My desk is right next to that bay and it’s not like this screen is sound-proofed and you’re the only other two people here. I’m a beta, not deaf.”

“You could at least pretend to have the professional courtesy of ignoring us!” growled the Alpha.

“Knots, princess.” came the reply, “Don’t forget to explain knots!”

Celestia growled quietly, “...and stop calling me princess!” she snapped under her breath. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, before turning to face Sunset directly. The girl finally managed to overcome her own embarrassment enough to return the look. Celestia smiled reassuringly and took another cleansing breath. “So, yes, she’s right. Knots. It’s the final component for Alphas and has long been thought to be part of the reason the birthrates for Alpha-omega pairings are so high.” She stepped over to the nearby counter and leaned against it to at least appear as relaxed as she was trying to sound, and honestly leaning while she was also expending a lot of energy to suppress her pheromones so as not to exacerbate the woefully inexperienced younger Alpha’s mood meant she didn’t have to focus on such minor things as “staying upright.”

“Without getting into too many details, the knot swells up and, effectively, seals the opening to the vaginal canal. Betas are…not well equiped. Due to their reproductive organs being non-specialized compared to Alphas and omegas, they simply don’t have the ability to take a knot, so Alphas have to be careful to not fully…ah…penetrate the beta if they’re…being intimate.” she cleared her throat as Sunset’s blush renewed itself, “I’d recommend avoiding putting yourself into that situation, whether with an omega, beta, or even an other Alpha, especially if you’re going to be leaving for your home universe in a couple of years.” Celestia was glad she was already suppressing her pheromones, because she wouldn’t have been able to hide how much the thought of Sunset going away forever hurt. Must be my inner Alpha thinking she’s my cub, she thought, Bad Alpha! She’s a grown woman and just because she looks 12 and in your territory doesn’t mean she’s your cub!

Celestia looked back at the whiteboard and smiled. “You know, I don’t think anyone’s ever put the pieces together like that before.”

Sunset glanced back at her then took in the chart they had cobbled together. “Well, I always was a visual learner, it helps me figure out things when all I have is a blob of data.”

The principal pulled out her phone and took a picture of the whiteboard, Might as well duplicate this for the princess, a picture is worth a thousand words, after all.

They were both startled when the privacy screen slid open. “Well, Sunset, your samples are off to the lab and we should get results in a couple days. This particular lab is in a friendly territory and knows better than to keep Celestia waiting, so there shouldn’t be any delays.” She glanced at the whiteboard, “That’s the ugliest pride flag I’ve ever seen.” Sunset’s face scrunched up in confusion as Celestia sighed in exasperation.

Princess Celestia sighed heavily as she put down the journal, gazing out the open window overlooking the valley below the Canterhorn but not seeing any of it. Her counterpart’s explanation of Sunset’s new biology after going through the mirror was fascinating, and had it been any other circumstances or any other pony…

I shouldn’t have waited, she reflected, I should have told her she was my daughter when she graduated. Even if I had to tell her it was a state secret…

Her musings were interrupted by the grandfather clock in the corner of her private study chiming the hour, and she realized it was officially evening and time to raise the moon. Her heart hurt anew, but the original pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been 10 centuries ago. No, now the pain was compounded by losing another pony important to her…

Another member of her family, locked away from Equestria entirely, transformed into something almost unrecognizable, and all due to her mistakes.

For the hundredth time, she thought about just writing a message to Sunset in the journal, finally relieving her burden she’d carried since Sunset was born, filling the hole in the filly’s heart that Celestia saw even when Sunset tried to hide it. But there was too great a chance somepony could find the journal, and her enemies in the court, especially Welldweller, would use it for…horible leverage. They’d make demands she could never in good conscience meet, demands to make pegasaii and earth ponies less than citizens, bar non-ponies from Equestrian soil, and if she capitulated on even one thing, it wouldn’t be too long until they were pushing to legalize slavery in some form or another again, and she could never let that happen.

And if she didn’t…well, before Sunset went through the mirror, they could assasinate her in retaliation, or just…disapear her. They could even go so far as to replace her with a changeling (as little as the race had been heard from in the last decade, Celestia was all too aware of the threat they still posed) and threaten to dispose of the real Sunset if Celestia didn’t continue to follow orders.

Now? They could shatter the mirror and burn the journal, and Sunset would be forever beyond her reach, forever removed from Equestria and Celestia’s reach entirely.

Resigned, she gently nudged the sun through it’s final setting before raising the moon into the sky. As Luna’s face stared unseeing down on the world she threatened to plunge into eternal darkness nearly 1,000 years ago, Celestia looked up, hoping her sister would forgive her in time.

A young, bubbling laugh carried up to the window and drawing her attention to the courtyard below. In the courtyard, Lieutenant Armor had his sister Twilight in a headlock and giving her a noogie. “Shiny, stop that!” she ordered.

Ineffectualy ordering, of course; Shining just shifted his position slightly, “What’s that you said?” came his amused chuckle, “You want more Humble Noogies? Well, okay!”

Squealing laughter made the night seem less dark, and a little off to the side their very proud parents looked on with satisfied smiles on their faces.

The star cluster cutiemark that Twilight had gained just that week was more evidence of Celestia’s mistakes. She had spent so much time preparing Sunset to be the bearer of the Element of Magic, pushing her daughter without being able to say why…only to lose her to another world. And it had all been unnecessary; a little pony from one of Canterlot’s lesser noble families bore what Celestia always thought was just the Tree of Harmony’s symbol without the filly having ever been exposed to even the knowledge of the tree’s very existence.

Destiny had once again made a fool of the princess who would be wise, but at the same time, young Twilight gave her hope. The day was drawing close, so very close, for Nightmare Moon’s return. The same group of extraordinary fillies she had found in Ponyville, hoping they would be Sunset’s friends eventually, were still there. The old castle certainly wasn’t going anywhere, and if her counterpart was as good as her word, even Sunset would be returned to her in the blink of an eye in comparison to the length of an alicorn’s life.

The amused mezzo-soprano voice greeted the pair of siblings, followed by the traditional “sunshine, sunshine” dance that Cadence always performed with her former foalsitting charge.

She needed a reverse coup; a young noble seizing control of Equestria’s greatest superweapon, one that hadn’t been used in a millenia, a new ally nation, raised from the ashes of history and helmed by the first new alicorn in Equestria’s recorded history and fully allied with the Equestrian throne, and Luna returned from exile, hopefully by the very Elements she had been originally banished by, this time properly wielded by six ponies for whom the bonds of friendship went beyond the obligations of family? Sunset’s triumphant return after returning from an alien world would just be icing on the cake.

Celestia hated gambling, but this was history’s biggest gamble and she knew it. All her chips were on purple, and if that gambit failed…well, at least her daughter was safe.

Author's Note

I'm a total slut for Momlestia. I've done it before and I'll do it again, don't think I won't!

As you may have guessed, this universe is a touch different. I've left plenty of context clues, but the biggest is the infirmary in CHS. It's MUCH better equipped than any high school nurse's office in our world, and I've already hinted at the reasons why.

I've read a few other fics that bother to world-build beyond, "Like our world, but with A/B/O dynamics," and when you put certain real-world events in the perspective of a world populated by Alphas, betas, and omegas, some of them would never have happened the way they did, for good or ill. The EQG universe provides a fantastic narrative platform to examine this, 'cause you get a whole playground of a civilization to alter to fit your needs without having to figure out how it would match IRL historical events.

If you've read my other works, specifically "My Empire of Dirt," you'll likely recognize the setup between the two Celestias and Sunset. I didn't want this to be a re-hash, however, so I had to come up with a damn good reason for Princess Celestia to not tell Sunset about her family history, thus the conspiracy by unicorn supremacists (which will become a plot point later) that could threaten Sunset's life if anyone knew of the relationship. It's the decision between the right choice and the right choice, but neither is a good choice.