You consider the options a moment. "First." You hold up a hoof towards her. "I want your name. Calling you by title only is odd, and we're past that, I hope?"

The viscountess cocks one brow. "There are people who have lived and died and never called me by name." She throws one hand up. "But some, friends, outside of public sight, who use it all the time." She turns a finger of the same hand towards you. "You count as 'public', being the trick there."

"A small talking pony is not public and you know it."

She snorts at your logic. "We don't count the sleeping masses as anything. My name's not a secret. It's just not used often. Did you ask before? Whatever, Rassie. Most go with Ras. There, given name, given." She crosses her arms under her chest. "If you use it outside of private, I will see how good of a glue you make."

An involuntary cringe overtakes you with a step back. "No need to get violent..." You look Ras over, as if just having a name changed her in some strange way. "A literal dream warrior visited me."

"Yeah?" Ros crouches closer to your level. "What kind?"

"The kind that knows things." You paw at the air. "The kind that feels ten feet tall, when they're not much larger than you. They gave me a gift, one I know I have now, so it 100% wasn't 'just a dream'."

"Sounds serious." She also sounds serious, taking your words. "What kind of gift? If you don't mind my asking. You started this."

"I did." You angle an ear at her. "You've seen some of my gifts. The healing touch. The healing burst, and now, an appeal for truth."

"An appeal?" She rises to full height. "Just to be clear, using that would be an immediate crime, especially on me. We can't have people interrogating royalty." She dances a few fingers in the air. "Bad decorum at best. So, as much as I adore your healing tricks, you can keep that one to yourself."

"Fair!" You hold up your hooves placatingly. "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I can just ask questions the old fashioned way."

"Better." She leans back against her desk. "So, what'd they say? You didn't bring them up just to gloat, did you?"

"No..." How to phrase it...? "Alright. Ponies." You point at yourself. "They have a few virtues they take as a big deal, and they seem to really be. I'm a kindness pony, my specialty, and where the healing comes from."

"Which is that friend of yours?" She reaches back for a folder. "I hired her, by the way. She insists she can get this place 'moving'. I'm hoping you can help me understand what she's getting at."

"She is a laughter." You step around her office with little clops. "Glad you took her on. She'll try her best to put smiles on more faces."

"Not exactly what I was worried about..." She rolls a hand. "But she made it sound like it would be a big help."

"It will." You turn towards Ros. "Miserable warriors aren't good ones. Um, but getting off-topic. Kindness, laughter, honesty, loyalty, generosity, and magic." You tap hooves with each counted word. "Those are the pillars, the virtues of ponies."

She pokes you, right at the end of your snout. "What's the difference? Generosity and kindness sound like the same thing."

"Close." Part of you was irritated. She reached that way faster than you had! "Caring enough to really get on something's level and see what is hurting them and try to fix it, that's kindness. Generosity is giving what you have, even when it hurts sometimes, to make things right. They're very related."

"Sure... Will you be mad if I say you seem to have both?" She snickers softly, waving over your form. "Good pony."

"Um, thanks." You flip an ear back. "I agree. I have those down pretty well, I think. So... This is where things get theoretical. I think, a long time ago, ponies were way bigger about it." You spread your forehooves. "Like walking exemplars of their virtues. Trying to grab them all was still kind of unusual. The ones that managed it... Those were the ones that ended up on the top of the pile."

"So." Ros points to you, then the door you came in from. "Meet any ponies like that?"

"One." You point to yourself harder. "I've gotten four, maybe five?. Two to go... Problem, one of those two tends to make unicorns go insane. The other, not as immediately dangerous, and I may already have it..."

She brings down a hand on your head, patting you. "Am I talking to pony royalty? Am I hiring pony royalty? That's a feather in the cap... So, did you figure out why ponies are on the no-fly list in the Dreaming? Still something I want to know, and why I can't send you out there again."

Right, that. "I have theories?"

"You have a lot of those. Let's hear one." She goes to the door and casually locks it. "This is not something to share casually."

"No." You consider. "Ponies fell from grace. Why? Couldn't say... But I'm guessing they were expected to do... things... And then didn't do them." You cycle your hooves in the air, thinking it through out loud. "Less paragons, no rulers, it fell apart."

"And promises weren't kept." Ros frowned with the thought. "I can understand that part... As much as I'd like to say we're better, we've broken a few oaths that way... And we're still paying those prices, and the promises still aren't being kept." She shrugs mightily. "It's a tough world, and we're barely hanging onto that cliff's edge. Sounds, to me, like it's time for you little ponies to at least try to get it together and making good."

"So, you want me to reach for that last one?" You bring your hooves together. "Magic. In the hands of a unicorn, powerful. We already have magic, uncapitalized. Adding capital M magic, it can be too much. But let's pretend... I get it. Then you do have pony royalty on your hands. I will be very... busy... doing something." Doing what? You didn't know. But it'd be busy!

"Look." She puts a hand down on the desk beside herself. "Look. As handy as you are as a combat medic, I'd be a real arse if I stopped you here. I'd also be putting myself on a hate list for making sure that promise was never kept. So, you need time off? Take it. I am docking your pay though until you get back. If you get back." She sighs deeply. "I'd rather you get back. If you can, keep me in the loop?"

"Got a cellphone?"

She raises a brow. "No, thanks. You do? Don't pull it out." You nod without reaching. "Great, grab a card on the way out. The shop has a number." She points out. "I'll see you later, fuzzball."

That was a dismissal. "If anything serious comes up, you know how to reach me."

"I appreciate that." She makes shooing motions. "I have things to do. Good luck, I mean that." She settles behind her desk and pushes away the papers that, perhaps, involve your friend. "This place won't run itself."

With a grab of your magic, you unlock the door and head through it with a clopping . "I'll be back as soon as I can."

With that settled, you leave... No. You stop by the triage first and make sure nobody is suffering just because you didn't take a moment. With a smile, satisfied, you head out. As she suggested, you grab a card with the store's number on it.

Later, at home, you greet Nick with a wave, and a hug, and even a little kiss to go with it. "We need to call a meeting."

"Of the house?" He waves to himself and you. "We did it."

"Not that." You frown with a hint of a smile at the silliness of it. "Pony meeting. How do we do that?"

"You call the ponies you have the numbers of, they reach out to theirs. It's a big... thing." He shrugs. "If you got a big emergency, that can help it happen faster. Did something big happen?"

"Nothing bad." You cycle your hands over one another. "But maybe very good. Remember what we talked about? It's time to have a pony meeting about being ponies. Not surviving the latest crisis, but being all the pony we can be."

"Nice idea." He moves for the kitchen, grabbing a glass of water. "But a hard sell. How do you plan to make them pay attention? Most of them are happy to live another day."

A fine point, perhaps... "Well, there are a few angles we can take..." You dance your fingers together. "We can start with greed. The gifts we have are useful. Not using them? That's just hurting ourselves, even if you forget everything attached."

"Greed, alright." He downs the rest of the glass. "Not clean, but worth not forgetting. Got any other angles?"

"Pride." You stop yourself, frowning. "These are sounding like sins to the virtues we're supposed to be doing."

"I was wondering if you'd notice." Nick returns without the glass. "Got any angles that don't come across as sketchy?"

"The world sucks," you sigh out. "But it doesn't have to, and we can make it better, one little step at a time. This isn't 'fixing global warming' here. This is the definition of local action with local results." You clap, crashing onto the couch. "Making one person's day so they don't make someone else miserable. We can be a little tiny push in the right direction. Isn't that worth it?"

"I like the sound, but it won't convince many." He settles next to you. "You're taking this seriously, and, being honest here, I love it. After... How many years of you not even knowing it, this is your thing now." He slaps the back of a hand against your arm. "Love it. We're on the same page. I'll call who I know. You know at least one, give her a call. We'll get the wheels turning. Meanwhile, consider that pitch."

It is a pitch, isn't it? You had to 'sell' the idea of the despondent ponies standing up and being themselves, shining in a dim world. You have to make it sound like a good idea. "This is a tall order." You fold your arms, tapping your fingers. "But I don't... think... I will convince them." You hit the ground on all fours, just to clop and stomp in a moment of frustration. "Someone has to do it!"

"And that someone is you." He pets along your back. "And I want to help, just give the word how."

"You know them." You turn to Nick. "I'm still a strange new thing. I need you, a lot. You need to be on board... You learned an honesty trick, that's a big step. You have to be ready to talk up for me, and mean it. Really mean it."

"I do mean it," he assures in a firm tone. "Speaking of that, time to answer that question." He wags a finger at you. "Girl or guy. We going to be a two dad family, or a dad and a mom? Pick one, because I already signed all the dotted lines I have."

That brings a pause to you. "You'd be alright if I went back to the way I was?"

"There'd be less of what we're doing now," he admits. "But, uh, shoot... There are other ways, if you want... I'm not an ace, as you saw. I have needs. There are other ways to see those done... This'll sound stupid, maybe, but you don't strike me as the kinda person that'd just leave me hanging if you had any other choice. So... yeah." He spread his hands slowly. "This is your choice. I'm not picking your body for you."

That leaves you with two big things to consider.

Author's Note

Y'all are much more certain which way you want to go now. Time to bring her up to speed, and light the pony signal. We do have a pony signal, right?

Why does Nick ask hard questions?

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