Friday, September 5th, 908 AB

Cure wakes up with a little yawn followed by a spine-expanding stretch. As much as he wants to keep snuggling into his dam’s soft, green chest his bladder is insistent that he deal with the remainder of the shake he had last night.

Navigating the darkened room and hallway is, for the first time in his life, actually kind of fun. Being able to see in the dark, even with muted colors, made him feel like some kind of spy or something.

I don’t care if I’m acting like a little kid. This is badass and I can’t wait to do the same for all my other senses.

Returning from the bathroom he finds Vines still asleep, laying on her side. A quick glance out the window shows that there’s still probably a little bit before sunrise. Knowing his dam is feeling a bit clingy after the incident, he fetches a book and his cushion and returns to his room to read; his enhanced vision perfectly capable of picking the words off the page even in the low light.

It’s about an hour later when the sun finally starts to crest the horizon and Vines begins to stir. Jumping on the bed, Cure pushes his head between her forelegs and snuggles into her chest again, waiting for her to fully wake. Within a few minutes she’s pulling him in tight for a hug.

“Good morning, dam. Sleep well?”

Letting out a big yawn, she squeezes him tight while stretching her back legs. “Good morning, sweetie. I slept wonderfully. You?”

“Yep, though I woke up a bit ago cause of that shake I drank last night. I should probably hold off on getting the big chug if it’s going to be so late, but I know I’ll use up the calories, so… meh.”

“Oh! That’s true! You said we need to eat more so we have more stores to turn into muscle. Oh that’s going to be so nice, no holding back at all!”

“Yep, at some point we’ll have to condition ourselves mentally not to overeat too much, though, so enjoy this while it lasts. I don’t want to have to keep zapping a bunch of fat stores in everypony just because it’s easier than putting down the fork.”

“Aww, but sweetie! Those candies were so yummy!”

“Well, we can get you some more today if you want, maybe without having to summon the guard even.”

“That would be nice. Are your sire and mom awake?”

“Not unless they just got up. I’ve been reading since I went to the potty. I didn’t feel tired enough to go back to sleep and didn’t want to wake you.”

“Oh honey, you shouldn’t read with no lights on, that’s bad for your eyes.”

“Dam… really?”

“Oh. Well, it is.”

“Then I’ll grow new ones.”

Letting out a sigh, Vines gives him another quick squeeze. “It’ll take a bit to adjust, sweetie. Be nice to your poor ‘ol dam.”

“Pfft, old nothin. Go do your morning routine, dam. I’m gonna drag my stuff back downstairs, then I need something to eat. Love you.” With one last quick nuzzle he separates from his dam and jumps down.

“Love you too, sweetie,” she calls back, finally sitting up and starting to climb off the bed.

Slapping the book and cushion to his back and side with his TK field, he makes his way downstairs. Since he’s too short to do much in the kitchen he simply resumes reading in the living room, waiting for everypony else to come down and join him.

It’s about fifteen minutes before his parents make their way down. Cure greets them all with quick hugs and nuzzles then jumps up to his spot at the table.

Vines cooks up a pot of oats while Deed gets the various berries and nuts gathered and ready to go. Title joins Cure at the table and starts poking through the day’s paper. Breakfast is served soon after.

“So. Plans for the day?” Cure asks.

“Well we have a closing this morning, but we’ll be coming home at lunch since it’s Friday. How about we celebrate this evening?”

“Sounds good, babe. What do you have in mind?” Deed calls from the kitchen.

“They’re having a rodeo over on the east side of town this evening. I think it’ll be a decent sized event. They’ll probably have some vendors, games, and maybe some traveling entertainment ponies doing shows for the little ones.”

“That sounds really nice, honey. Would you like to go, Cure?”

“Sure. I’m not sure there’ll be much to keep my attention but who knows what this world offers that I haven’t seen yet. Sounds better than getting arrested at least.”

Title giggles and holds up the paper. “Funny you should mention that. Guess what’s in the paper this morning.”

Ears falling at the possibilities, Cure hesitantly asks, “There’s not a picture of me in there right?”

“HA! No, Cure, printing pictures is expensive. They only do that for really big stories. Nope, just a blurb here in the neighborhood watch section about a scare involving a town guard threatening a young colt. Apparently that sergeant wasn’t joking. Damn near the whole town heard you.”

“Ahh fudge. Does it give names?”

“Never of children, no. It just says there was an altercation and the responding guardstallion didn’t act appropriately. Apparently he’s getting a reprimand and is being sent off temporarily to undergo additional training.”

“Pass me that when you’re done, babe?” Deed asks.

“Sure, honey, I’m almost done with it.”

“Crap. Drift and Glacial will probably never talk to me again.”

“Now sweetie, none of that was your fault. I don’t like that you were fighting but your sire was right. You did everything you could to avoid it, didn’t hurt the filly, and even made sure she was healed up before she left.”

“Still stinks…”

“I wouldn’t worry too much, champ. They know you have a cute lil crush on that Glacial filly and they also probably know you have your sights set on being a doctor. They won’t write you off that easily. You flat out told the sergeant they didn’t want to be there.”

“Yeah, I guess. Oh well, we’ll see. Dam, any plans for the morning?”

“I need to do a little work in the garden and head into town to get supplies if we’re expanding it tomorrow. Is that still okay?”

“Sure, babe. We’ll knock it out in the morning, first thing.”

“Oh good. We hadn’t talked about it since the other day. Cure, sweetie, did you want to come into town with me?”

“Sure, dam. Sounds fun. I wouldn’t mind grabbing a couple things too.”

“Dare I ask?” Title inquires.

“Nothing bad, just some rocks or something to work on the whole TK training thing. I doubt the general store will have a cheap set of weights and I suspect I’d need some decent weight to really do much.”

“Maybe after we’re done with the garden we can head to the creek, son. There’s some decent sized rocks down there we could use for decoration around the garden.”

“It’s not a bad idea, but not worth the trouble either. The gym every few weeks or so would be a better approach for me since I don’t need the constant repetition to build muscle. Also, I’m not trying to bulk up until puberty hits.”

“Yeah… that’s probably at least a year and a half away.”

“What? That’s for fillies isn’t it? I figured it hit around twelve for colts.”

“It does normally, but when you get your cutie mark early like you did that starts early too. You still won’t be considered an adult, legally, until fifteen, but you’ll be nearly fully grown by fourteen, probably. It’s a little different for everypony.”

“You usually grow a lot in the three or so years after you get your cutie mark, sweetie. For ponies that get it really young that doesn’t really begin until they’re about ten, though.”

“That seems insane. So I’m going to basically triple in size from age ten to thirteen? Humans get growth spurts during teenage years too, but not that dramatic.”

“Oh you’ll definitely gain a few hooves between now and then too.”

“Huh. Well that won’t sadden me. I hate being unable to reach the countertops. It would be great if I could help cook and stuff instead of just being in the way.”

“Oh, sweetie, you know I don’t mind at all. I’m just happy having you around.”

“I know you don’t dam, it’s not that. I accept I’m not ready for full independence, but other than using the potty by myself I’m completely dependent on everypony else. That’s not a fun thing when you have thirty years of adult memories in your head.”

“Don’t worry, Cure," Title starts with a sympathetic look. "You’ll adjust and, before you know it, you’ll be able to contribute more around the house. I think I understand what you’re going through. I definitely had to rely on my parents longer than I wanted to also.”

“Yeah, it’s not the relying part… well, I guess it is. I want to be able to help around the house and stuff. I remember when that realization set in after I bought a house and moved out of my parents’ that I used to get home from school and do nothing but laze around.”

Ears falling at the memories, he finishes, “My parents would get home hours later and, exhausted as they were, they still had to do so much. I regretted not being more helpful when I was literally doing nothing important at all most days while they worked, sometimes ten hours, then had to come home to work three or four more to take care of us.”

Vines gets up, wraps him in a hug and whispers, “I can’t even tell you how much you’ve already done. I will never ask you to do any more than you want to, honey.” Setting him down, she goes back to eating, ignoring the questioning looks from the property duo.

After a few minutes of quiet eating, Cure starts looking between his parents. After a few moments of them beginning to worry a little he finally speaks up.

“Hey mom, dad, I have a question. Have you had time this week to try using your marks outside of real estate specifically?”

“What do ya mean, sport? Real estate is where my talent is. " Deed turns slightly to show his mark, a pair of hooves bumping or shaking in front of a house with a pony family silhouetted at the entrance.

“Is it? I know marks are often pretty vague. Maybe yours is showing you making a business deal while providing for your family. Isn’t that how you’d depict a family? A group of ponies living in one house?”

Pausing for a moment, Deed turns and stares intently at his flanks.

“It may extend beyond your family. Maybe your true calling is setting up organizations to help families all over Equestria find better housing. Think bigger than the narrow focus you’ve accepted.”

“Mom, yours just depicts papers being searched through. Those papers could be anything. Titles granted, but also maybe invoices, tax records, research papers… you name it. You could have the most “human-like” mark of any of us, what with the focus on finding and collating information and all.”

Looking at her own mark, now, Title mumbles a "huh" before going back to eating.

“Dam, the cornucopia is another symbol from the same culture as my mark." With a scrunched brow he quietly adds "Huh… weird coincidence." Shaking himself out of thought he finishes his explanation. "The name means “the horn of plenty”. I had to write a paper about it when I was a kid for a holiday. It was an unending source of food for the young god Zeus, the head deity of the pantheon in that same culture. You may find you're good at organizing farmers, planning food-related logistics, or who knows what.”

“I know… ugh, I’m not even sure how to say this. I’ll just blurt it out. I don’t know exactly what it actually takes to ascend to alicorn-hood. My understanding is it involves self actualization and achieving your destiny.”

With his parent's full attention, now, Cure begins his explanation. “I think a big part of it is finding what you truly love, then finding a way to share that with as many ponies, and even other creatures, as possible to make the world a better place. I don’t know all of the deities or conceptual forces are at play in this world, but I know that higher powers are a real thing here. We’ve talked about the Age of Chaos. What do you think Discord actually is?”

The three look back and forth between each other for a moment before Title speaks up. “He’s some kind of spirit, isn’t he?”

With a firm nod, Cure answers “Yes. My understanding is that he is a purely conceptual being. That means he isn’t really a physical creature. If you stabbed him, for example, he doesn’t really have a physical heart or blood or anything like that. He’s basically a being of pure thought or energy or whatever, but in those stories he typically adopts a corporeal form for the purposes of interacting with mortal beings like us.”

“So, he can’t really be “hurt” exactly?”

“Not in a purely physical sense. If you cut him with a basic knife, assuming he even let it happen, it wouldn’t actually do anything to him, he may do something silly to his body to play along for laughs… you know, pretend, basically. Swing a butter knife at him and he’d probably fall to the ground in little chunks like you diced him up or something dumb like that. He wouldn’t actually be hurt though.”

With a mortified look, Vines interrupts Cure's rant. “I think we understand, sweetie. We don’t need to have you putting pictures of cutting anypony into chunks, though. Certainly not at breakfast."

"Right, well in stories conceptual beings can only be harmed with forces aligned from an opposing concept; typically symbolic or imbued with magic. If Discord is the spirit of Chaos then you would need some kind of "weapon" that would be conceptually linked to Order to actually harm him. The princesses used the Elements of Harmony to turn him into a statue. Harmony and Order are not exactly the same, but they're closely related concepts."

Following along with a nod, Title asks, "What’s all this have to do with alicorns, though?”

“As I understand it, and I may not be right with any of this, but it lines up fairly well… I just explained about the opposing force the princesses used, even if saying “they’re opposites” isn’t wholly accurate. That opposing force is what I’m talking about when I say Harmony. I don’t know if Harmony ever takes a corporeal form, though. I know there is a physical plant that is called the Tree of Harmony, but I don’t know if that actually is Harmony’s form.”

Still slowly nodding, Title mumbles out an “okay” and waves her hoof for him to continue.

“I believe that Harmony can empower ponies to, essentially, serve as its champions. That is what I believe an alicorn to actually be. Again, I don’t know but it makes sense. Alicorns are like ponies, just more. In human history there were myths about champions and the children of gods with mortals. They were often called demigods because, while they aren’t full-powered deities, they have that spark of divinity they were given or earned. And how did they end the Age of Chaos? They used their patron's weapon to defeat its opposing force. They were created or elevated for a purpose that they then fulfilled.”

“So… your theory is that alicorns are ponies that Harmony has empowered to serve as its champions. Why do that, though? Why not just stop Discord itself?"

“The same reasons any being would designate a champion rather than act themselves, probably. Maybe they’re not allowed to, or they’re otherwise limited. Maybe they're too powerful to act on a small scale and the fallout would be an even worse disaster. Or maybe the opposite is true, their power is limited but they can ignite the fire with a small spark inside of a worthy mortal."

“And in return for that, Harmony gains an immortal demigod lieutenant to act on their behalf where they won’t, can’t, shouldn’t, or whatever?” Title asks.

“Exactly what I suspect. Being paranoid as they are, humans believed such deals had to have some hidden downside. The only one I can think of is that you’d outlive everypony you care about, but I’ll probably do that anyway unless I just get bored with life eventually. I would be worried about alicorns not still having free will, but if that was the case then then Luna wouldn’t have fallen and become Nightmare Moon.”

"Jeez, son... you don't have to be so casual about outliving everypony. Yer gonna make yer dam cry."

"This isn't really a joking topic, dad," he says in an admonishing tone. "Statistically, I would likely outlive everypony here either way simply for the fact I'm younger." Ears and tail falling, Cure's eyes begin to water as he says, "I remember losing my mom before... it was sudden and painful, but nowhere near as horrible as watching my dad decline for four years after until I lost him too. I'll never forget finding a man I never saw shed a tear sobbing almost every morning for a year. I damn sure don't look forward to losing anypony, but death is a part of life too, even for gods and alicorns eventually."

Pausing to wipe his eyes with a fetlock, Cure takes a few deep breaths to recompose himself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, dad. That... kinda hit a raw nerve, I guess."

"It's alright, son. I understand."

Hoping to push away the uncomfortable atmosphere that filled the room, Title tries to bring everypony back on topic. “So you’re telling us all this because you think that if we were able to fully realize our destinies that it’s possible for one, or all, of us to grow a horn and wings?”

“I have no idea, mom," he answers with a shrug. "I don’t know for sure what the requirements or the criteria are to be elevated. I know it’s possible, but I also know that of however many millions, billions, or however many ponies have lived in the last two or three millennia it’s only happened twice. If things play out like I saw, it’ll happen two more times in the next century." With a smile he adds, "If you really just want wings and a horn, though, I could already do half of that right now.”

Holding up a hoof, Title quickly refuses. “No thanks, I'm good." Getting back to the topic, she asks, "So if you're not sure what's needed then why tell us at all?”

“Because it’ll definitely never happen to anypony that simply accepts whatever life serves up to them and never reaches for more. There’s nothing wrong with that if that’s all you want from life, but if you want more you gotta put more into it too. Most ponies seem pretty happy with whatever lot life has given them, which is why I think so few ascend. Also, not everypony has the right mindset to serve the cause, if that's what's needed."

Tilting his head back and forth in an unsure way he adds, "I think it may also take a metric ton of magic too, though... but who knows what our magic capacity will be if we keep exercising whatever "muscle" that is for the next few decades. Then again, the next to ascend should be a pegasus beforehoof, and I don't think she will ever be what I'd consider a magical powerhouse, even afterwards."

Hesitantly, Vines looks to her son. “Cure… is this a path you see yourself going down at some point?”

Letting out a deep breath, Cure furrows his brows in thought. “Honestly, it’s not specifically my goal, but I feel as if it may be an inevitability. I’m already thinking of ways to prolong life, maybe indefinitely. I have several theories, at least one of which should work. Like I said, I don’t know what all is involved in the process, but if I live long enough I bet I can figure it out. Or at least eliminate a lot of what doesn’t work... and maybe even set it up to witness the actual event, eventually."

"I don't feel the need to reach for that level of power, to be honest. I said before, as weak as I am now I could still do almost anything with some time and creative thinking. Almost anything is possible with such a wide-reaching talent as "biology", so I'm not sure what benefit I would even see, especially if I can emulate or replicate the capabilities of horns or wings... even if I'd have to change my appearance to not be identified."

Pausing to consider the possibilities, Cure adds, “I see myself doing a lot of good before I meet my end, one way or the other. I’d like to think that eventually I’ll have done enough to earn the privilege, even if it never happens. I think that the part of me that is human refuses to accept that a door is out there I’m forbidden from opening. Humanity strives to always aim higher, something I just don’t see in ponies as much."

Looking around the house a bit Cure explains, "When I look at this house, the town, the technology level, and how far civilization has actually advanced in the last few hundred years that really leads me to think that either somepony out there is actively suppressing progress or ponies just aren't trying that hard. Society has stagnated, and if those stories are right, the overall technology level will barely change in the next century."

"I can't even put into words how horrible that is. Granted there were more humans to push progress, and more necessity with greater conflict, but in a hundred years we went from where ponies are, roughly, now to having leisure flights on spaceships, global communication... I don't even know. Everything about the world changed, and the rate of change was only ever increasing. Societies that stagnate eventually die."

Pausing for a moment, Cure throws his hooves in the air, "Humans didn't even have magic! They had to do everything the hard way." Pointing at his flanks he growls, "We have this ridiculous cheat and we're not moving forward at all! It's insane!" Tapping his chest he adds, "I will eventually be a single-pony medical-industrial complex." With a look to his parents he calms down and asks, "How have there not been ponies that can do the same for other industries? We should be cruising the stars after a few decades with potential like this!"

“Son… you ever consider that ya tend to overwhelm yer folks sometimes?”

“I don't know what to say, dad." Letting out another huff, he looks down to his bowl. "I have a lot on my mind too, obviously."

"You don't say..." Title mutters.

Poking at the oats he smiles and meets each parents' eyes. "Look, I wanted to say something to you because, ironic as it is coming from me, you only live once. Normally, I guess. There will always be things we regret. Harmony knows I have a few things I’ll never get the chance to fix," he says with a grimace.

Softening his look he waves a hoof at the three, "I’d hate to keep quiet and think one of you missed an opportunity as a result of my silence at some point. I would be thrilled to help any one of you to find a way to be more than just a real estate pony, or a documentation organizer, or a stay-at-home mom. Those are all fine, but you each have potential far beyond that, I know it. Any pony can change the world." Knocking on the table he finishes, "I won't stop until I do, or somepony makes me."

“Self actualization huh? Sounds like an admirable goal, at least.” Title points out.

“Yep. There was a good slogan that my country’s army used when I was a teenager. Be all you can be. It's a simple idea, but it's also the epitome of achievement.”

“Well I certainly moved past my princess phase, but I wouldn’t mind exploring if you’re onto something, Cure. I’m not sure how to go about testing your idea.”

“Start small. Maybe see if city hall has anything paperwork-wise they need help organizing. I wouldn’t take on a whole project without knowing, but maybe there’s some ongoing project you could volunteer a few hours towards. Government, in my experience, always has a mess somewhere and rarely turns away free help.”

“Any ideas in that noggin for yer pa?”

“I suggest you set aside some bits to take a class on investing. See if “providing for your family” is part of your special talent. If your mark can be applied towards the stock market there’s not a whole lot of bigger opportunities to make money than right there. You’ll at least eliminate a possibility if you find you hate it.”

“Huh. Those are all actually pretty reasonable.”

Scowling at his mom, he asks, “What kind of suggestions were you expecting from me?”

“No! That’s not what I meant. I just figured you would have some big complicated idea or something.”

Rolling his eyes, Cure continues, “I said start small. Simple usually works best. So anyhow, I brought all this up in the hopes that as you go through your day, if an opportunity to go beyond what you think your limits are comes up that maybe you’ll seize it. Carpe diem and all that,” he finishes, rolling his hoof.

“Well…" feeling slightly overwhelmed, Title looks at the window. "as … uhh… unexpected and fascinating as this has been, we do need to go ahead and start carpe’ing this diem. We need to be at that closing in a little bit. C’mon honey,” Title says while getting up. Taking her bowl and glass to the sink she gives Vines and Cure a quick nuzzle and kiss each, and slowly walks out the door, head in the clouds going over the colt's theories.

"Don't go flyin away on us too soon, son. Yer dam'll sprout wings just to chase ya down, then yer mom and I will probably starve or somethin." Wrapping his son and wife in a hug he gives them each a nuzzle and a "love you" before chasing after Title.

“Anything other than cleaning up the kitchen you wanna do before we head out?”

Vines takes a moment to realize she'd been asked a question, but she finally snaps out of it and looks to her son. “No, honey, just give me a moment and we’ll get going.”

Cure helps carry the last few items to the kitchen sink, marveling at how useful the whole body TK field is. He’s just tall enough to stand on his hind legs and reach the counter, and that’s all it takes to hold plates in his TK field and slide them up a leg and over his hoof, which he finds incredibly amusing.

Both ponies make a quick pit stop and grab the necessities before going out.

Once they have their bags, some bits, and Vines is strapped into the heavier wagon they start making their way to town.

“So sweetie…”

“Hmm?”

“You seem to have put a lot of thought into what may be possible with our cutie marks. Have you been thinking of what you could do beyond healing and changing things?”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure how much I can do until I have somewhere to experiment. It’s not like there’s room at home to build a lab and I don’t think you want weird plants in the garden. That would definitely get some attention.”

“No, I don’t think that would work. What kind of plants are you thinking about?”

“Well… I’ve got two really great ideas for helping ponies without my direct, constant involvement. The first came to me when we were at Amethyst’s house looking after the fillies. The other is a total rip-off of any number of science fiction stories.”

“Oh? I'm not very familiar with the genre.”

“They're fictional stories that typically take place in the future or have some kind of technology that hadn’t been invented yet. Space exploration was a popular topic. On a fully explored and conquered planet they called space “the final frontier.” I don’t think we have nearly enough time to talk about it, dam.”

“Oh.”

“No, I mean space itself. It’s a big topic. Literally, and no pun intended. My idea isn’t that complicated though. In several of those science fiction stories there would be a device that a pony would be completely placed inside of. For simplicity sake, imagine a bathtub.”

“Okay…”

“So you have this hurt or sick pony. You put them in this tub like device. It then fills with some kind of miracle healing fluid that gets all in their system and fixes everything. The specific one I’m thinking of was called a bacta tank.”

“Oh we have those, honey. They can regrow legs and fix bones and everything.”

Cure comes to a complete stop next to his dam. “What?”

“Mm hmm. We’ve had them for hundreds of years. Just put a pony in, wait a bit, then sing the right song, and they pop back out good as new.”

Searching his colt memories turned up nothing, but then again he’d never been hospitalized. Trotting a bit faster he catches up and walks beside her in a daze.

What the fuck? I know this world seems different from the show but I had chalked that up to… yanno… this not being a fucking kids' cartoon. Wasn’t a whole episode about Dash being laid up with a broken wing?

Wait… sing the right song? What the hell? Cure takes a moment to look at his dam. She's avoiding eye contact while trotting along the path. … she’s fucking with me again. This is the whole book thing all over again!

“What song?” Cure levelly asks his dam.

Playing aloof, Vines still refuses to meet his eyes. “Hmm?”

“You said you have to sing the right song. Which one?”

“Oh sweetie, I figured that would be obvious. Certainly one of your stories covered that, right?”

“I think I missed that part of the story, dam. What song do I need to sing if I ever have to put a patient in a bacta tank?”

“Well honey, there’s only one possible song that would be appropriate for somepony to pop out of a warm, fluid filled tank all fixed up like new.”

Utterly perplexed at this point, Cure simply raises an eyebrow at his dam.

Looking around to make sure nopony is nearby, she comes to a stop, then leans closer to her colt as he stops beside her.

Despite himself, he leans forward also. Cure thought he was ready to hear this magical melody. He wasn’t expecting such a familiar tune, though.

“Well sweetie,” she quietly whispers, “it goes like this… Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Sweeeetieee… happy birthday to you!” At his baffled look she leans over, plants a big kiss between his ears and resumes her walk to the store, giggling along the way, shouting “and many mooooooore!” over her withers.

Catching back up, Cure has to fight his ears to keep them from pinning down. “Nopony has invented a bacta tank, have they dam?”

Giggling again, she answers him with a smile. “No, not yet, sweetie. But I understand some really brilliant ponies are working on it. I’m sure they’ll have one working before too long,” she says, finishing with a wink.

“Glad to hear it.” Letting out an amused, faux-annoyed huff he explains, “My other idea is a little less ambitious, in a way, but probably just as complex. It’s one I can get started on today, actually. I would like to get a decent sized pot, some good soil, and a variety of seeds. Just a few each of various plants. Fruits, veggies, maybe even some trees.”

“What are you planning, honey?” Vines asks, looking at the colt a little warily.

“I want to make a Cure tree! Or maybe a vaccine tree. I’m not totally sure. When I was going to check the fillies over I thought about modifying a grape to have inert cells in it that would cause the immune system to recognize the virus, but it wouldn’t have been immediately helpful and unnecessarily complex, so I used the direct method instead.”

“So you want to make a tree that will grow these special grapes so ponies can be vaccinated without you being there?”

“Exactly. But making the fruit just vaccinate against one cold strain isn’t that helpful. I need a way for it to learn to add new strains and include them in the vaccine fruit too.”

“Will this plant look like a normal house plant?”

“Mostly. I’m thinking of a small bush for now. Something that can survive indoors year-round. It may take more fertilizer and water than a normal bush but that’ll be because of what it’s using its energy for. I’m still leaning towards a grape-like fruit of some kind though.”

Mulling it over as they continued walking, Cure had an epiphany.

“OH! They can lick the leaves! Or bleed on them, I guess, for bloodborne illnesses. Maybe I can make the leaf change colors when it’s “processing” and change back when it’s done. I need to get a sample of something with bioluminescence.”

Thinking out loud while walking, Cure goes over his options. “I don’t have a clue where to find that. A cave? There’s no way I’d just happen upon a cave with some random glowing fish in it.”

“I think you’re overlooking the obvious, honey.”

“Hmm?”

“You see them every night…”

“Every ni… AH! Dam, you’re brilliant!” Hopping with glee he gives his dam a nuzzle in her side. “I’m sure glad we didn’t have this conversation in like two months. I’d be really bummed if I had to wait until next summer for that feature.”

Walking ahead of her a bit, he turns and hops sideways while looking up at her. “How would you like your mane to literally glow, dam?”

“I don’t think that would be a good idea, honey. We don’t want to confuse the poor bugs.”

“Aww… you could start the next great fashion trend! I’d just need to tweak your mane hair follicles some. I’m not sure how though. It would take some experimenting!”

Unamused at the prospect of being her son’s test subject, Vines simply rolls her eyes and keeps walking.

“If I can figure out how to make some glass-like structure grow inside of a hair follicle that would work. Then we put some bioluminescent cells on the surface of your skin. You could have a style just like the princess! Just think of all the obnoxious fashion ponies trying to learn your secrets.”

“Sweetie, I think that’s exactly what we are trying to avoid,” she points out.

“Bah! No fun. Well I’m adding it to the list of options for my Nightmare Night costume either way.”

“Sun and stars, Cure, what are you planning for Nightmare Night?”

“I dunno dam. I haven’t ironed out all the details.” With a shit-eating grin and a clap he adds, “You’ll just have to wait and see. Good thing I have time to work on it though. Almost two months!” Thinking for a moment he asks, “Hey it just occurred to me. School should be starting up soon, right?”

“Yes, honey. The children that are helping their parents farm will show up a few weeks later, but as it stands now you and the other foals will start after next week.”

“Ahh fudge. Wait… As it stands now? You all come up with a Plan B? I’m not really looking forward to sitting in a classroom learning nothing for six hours a day.”

“You mentioned that earlier in the week. We’re thinking about applying to have you homeschooled. If we do you’ll need to be tested in Baltimare every few months so they can be sure you’re not being left behind. I just don’t know if that would be a good idea with so little time before school starts. You may need to go at least a few weeks until we can schedule the testing so they can see where you stand now.”

“That's fine. I can survive a few weeks or whatever. I’d much rather learn and study at home, though. Should I aim to do really well on the test or absolutely do my best?”

“I don’t know, honey. I’m a little concerned about what could happen if you do your best. If you’re wanting to lay low I would say don’t answer anything you expect somepony in a university would know, but get everything right you can below that level.”

Looking around with his enhanced vision, Cure ensures nopony is in hearing range. Walking close to his dam he whispers up at her. “We really need to find out what the official stance is on biomancy. We may be going through all this secrecy stuff for no reason, after all. I may just need to get a permit and take a test.”

“I… hadn’t thought of that. How would you go about asking without anypony finding out though?”

“Dunno. I bet there’s a list of banned magics in some lawbook somewhere. They can’t just declare something illegal and hide it away so nopony knows, then blindside them with it when they’re caught.”

“I don’t know, honey. You seemed very opposed to anything close to going public yesterday.”

“Well, I was thinking this morning that I didn’t really seek to learn how to do what I can do. It was basically thrust upon me. Make no mistake, I feel like I hit the jackpot with my talent, but there’s no denying it’s a double-edged sword. Either way, though, I don’t see how anypony could say, “Harmony blessed this child with this ability. Burn him for it!” It would be different if it’s something that's banned and I sought out to learn it despite that, though.”

“You may be right, sweetie. Maybe that can be something your mom can research into to test her cutie mark’s flexibility.”

“Good thinkin, dam. Maybe we can go to the library and sic her on the law books for a couple hours before we go to the zoo. Train tickets aren’t expensive are they?”

“No sweetie, not at all. You know, one possibility we haven’t explored at all is reaching out to family.”

“Yeah? I remember going to a reunion a few years back, but it was long enough ago and I was too young. I’m kind of surprised none of my grandparents have visited in years. Then again human families are a lot smaller and can travel far more easily.”

“Those are your sire’s family. You’ve never met my parents,” she explains sadly. “They were very unhappy when I found out I was pregnant. Very hurtful things were said. Your sire and I ended up cutting them off because of it.”

"What?" Taken aback at the very concept, Cure looks up to his dam. "I don’t understand. I mean, I get that I was unexpected… judging from my birth month I’m guessing you didn’t know you were going to get hit with estrus in the fall, right?”

"It was the first time I'd ever had that happen. I'd just gotten my cutie mark the previous year and didn't have that even in the spring."

“Huh. Well, what’s their problem? I thought having a bunch of foals is like… a big deal for most earth pony families. The fact your first foal is a colt should have been cause for celebration, I would think.”

“They didn’t like your sire, sweetie. They thought I should have married a nice farm stallion, not some “fancy business pony” like him.”

“Dad’s a fancy business pony?” Scoffing at the idea he continues, “Dad’s about as not-fancy as you can get. He’s no slob or anything, but… fancy? I’m just not seeing it.”

“Well he doesn’t spend all day pulling a plow or tending a field, so apparently he thinks he’s too good for them, so they think they’re too good for him in return. Your sire has no issue with them other than how they treated us. Him working a farm a few summers with cousins simply wasn’t good enough for them.”

“Wow. That seems like a monumentally foolish reason to cut off your daughter. Well, they’re still family, so unless you tell me otherwise I’ll treat them cordially, but don’t expect me to gush over somepony who thinks my sire isn’t good enough for them when we do meet.”

“I doubt you ever will, sweetie. I don’t think they’re interested in making up for everything. And I’ve moved on. I left almost everything behind to be with your sire. The only thing I took with me was my little recipe box and some keepsakes.” Walking next to his dam, Cure leans his head against her side.

“I’m sorry I brought up a sore subject, dam. Well, we all love you to bits, so if somepony doesn’t want your love then that’s their loss. Live the best life you can, I say. There’s no finer way than that to show somepony they were wrong about you.”

“That’s a wonderful philosophy, sweetie. I love you too.”

Motioning ahead with his snout, Cure asks “Is that the store we’re headed to?”

“It should be up ahead a ways. Not everypony can see that far, honey.”

“Yet. The word you left out was “yet”, dam. You just say the word and, once I’m done testing out these peepers you’ll have your own set. I really need to find.. A DOGGIE! YES!”

Sure enough, sitting up on a porch with an elderly mare was an old schnauzer-looking dog, lying limp next to its owner. Vines couldn’t help but smile at Cure as he nearly bounced over, stopping a meter short of the porch.

“Excuse me, ma’am?”

“Huh? Wussat, young colt? I did’n hear ya.”

“Is your dog friendly, ma’am?”

“‘Ol Fluffy here? You bet she is, son. Jus’ approach reeeel slow-layk. Let ‘er give ya a good sniff ‘n she’ll be yer new bess bud.”

“Oh! I’ve always wanted a pet doggie but my mom has allergies and she’s having a foal soon, so no puppers for me!” Cure offers as an explanation. Vines just stands there and rolls her eyes at his acting.

I swear, this colt’s too dangerous. He can put that “young colt” mask on way too easily. I can’t imagine if he’d decided to keep quiet that night. We’d probably never know about any of this. Thank Celestia he’s such a sweetheart.

Cure gives the old dog a few good scritches behind its ears, gushes all over it for a few minutes, then thanks the old mare for “letting him pet her doggie” before returning to his dam’s side. Tossing one last wave to the old mare and her dog the two resume their walk to the store.

“Well?” Vines asks.

“Got it! I’ll wait until the eye thing settles in before messing around, though. I don’t want to change more than one set of variables at once.”

“That’s probably a good idea. For some reason I feel like we should have done something for her though.”

Giving her another nudge with the side of his head, he explains “It’s because you’re a good pony, dam. Don’t worry, ‘ol Fluffy’s going to find her hips are doing a whole lot better when she goes to stand next time. That’s what took a few minutes. I may not have bought into the whole Karma thing on Earth, but I’m wholeheartedly a believer that what goes around comes around here.”

“Karma?”

“It’s this belief that when you do good things it puts positive energy out into the world. The opposite is true for bad, of course. Either way, the idea is that eventually those good or bad things will catch up to a pony. I am a firm believer that it’s a real thing in this world.”

“I’m not so sure how I’ll do the scent thing anyhow. Dogs have a much larger part of their brain to read the input from the nose. At least, that one did. I honestly expected a bigger difference between the dog and us, but our sense of smell must be way better than even I realized.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, don’t get me wrong, that dog probably can still detect scents a few dozen times better than we can, but we’re still probably at least ten times as sensitive to smells as humans. Our ancestors probably used that as a method to identify each other as much as sight." Vines can almost see the light come on over his head when his ears shoot straight up in realization. "Oh! Duh! You said I would know if I were related to a filly I liked because of her smell.”

“Exactly, honey. Humans couldn’t do that, I assume?”

“Not at all. You would occasionally hear an anecdote about a couple discovering they were related, but families are smaller and everything is documented well, so it was typically more of a joke than a real thing.”

Oh a hunch, Cure quickly compares himself to the pegasus olfactory nerves and bulb in his Crosswind image, verifying a suspicion he had.

“I just checked. I haven’t scanned a unicorn yet, but pegasi have quite a bit weaker sense of smell than us. I’d expect unicorns to be closer to us than them.”

“Really?”

“Well you don’t typically get the best of everything. Sight was obviously more valuable for them, so that’s the direction their brains went. I wonder if unicorns have some magical sense that’s equivalent. We’ll talk more later.”

Since they are approaching the store, Vines and Cure stop conversation about anything they don’t want overheard.

Vines parks her wagon in the small lot to the side of the entrance and both ponies head inside.

“I’m going to go look at their loose seeds, dam.”

“Okay, sweetie. I’ll be at the counter since I need a lot of fertilizer. We have all the tools we need at home, so I won’t be long.”

Making his way past the other shoppers, Cure heads to the bins where a number of seeds for fruits, vegetables, and spices are located. The selection pales compared to the typical WalMart cardboard display in spring, but since Cure wasn’t looking for anything specific he just kind of milled around, taking a quick scan of each bin.

Cherry tomatoes would probably be just about perfect. It’s a vertical bush-like plant, I know they grow easily as hell, and the fruit are exactly the size I’m aiming for. I can just see it some day… every clinic, doctor’s office, and hospital with a Cure Wave Cherry Tomato plant sitting in the lobby. Just walk in, lick a leaf, wait ‘till it stops glowing, and eat a tomato. The Apple family is going to put a hit out on me…

Do I want to make money off of this? I bet ponies have socialized medical care, so maybe I can make a few bits off of this, but frankly I’m more interested in making sure nothing like THAT ever happens in this world. No, I think my parents and Cyndi would be proud of me, and that’s enough.

Plus I just finished saying I believe in Karma in this world. I hope it’s true because if I can pull this off, that should wipe out any horrible thing I could ever imagine myself doing several times over. Hell I may just need to go club some baby seals to bring my balance down some.

Grabbing a couple packets of cherry tomato seeds, Cure also picks up a few different beans, veggies, and fruit packets he thinks may have some positive health benefits. With a dozen different kinds of seeds he heads to his dam.

“Hey dam, I found the perfect thing. Cherry tomatoes. I also grabbed some other seed packets in case they have some good health benefits. I got all different kinds that you don’t have in your garden already. Are there any herbs you use a lot of that you’d like to grow at home?”

“I don’t know honey, some of those are really sensitive and don’t grow easily.”

With a completely deadpan look he just stares at his dam. “I’m confident they’ll do fine.”

“Oh! I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll go get a few too while they’re getting my order ready.”

“I’m going to go grab a nice pot and a trellis for my tomato plant!”

“Okay, sweetie. Gather everything you need up here and we’ll be heading out in a moment.”

Cure finds a pot that seems big enough along with a cheap support cage and brings it all back up to the counter with his seeds. Smiling up to the clerk he informs the big earth pony he’s waiting for his dam. She comes back up a few minutes later with some lavender, oregano, basil, and a few other spices and some additional pots.

The living room is going to smell really nice this winter, I can tell. I wonder if I can make a really neat little lavender plant that can help ponies fall asleep at night. Maybe make it glow a little so foals can have a nightlight too. I think I read about that being done in some story once…

“Didn’t you want some rocks, honey?”

“Ah, right. I’ll be right back.”

Man I really should have thought about putting Title on the case earlier. Then again, it’s only been like four days since I got my mark. If it turns out all this stress is over nothing I’m going to feel like a dumbass. The whole “can we trust the princess” argument is pointless if we just need to fill out a fucking form and take a test or something.

Then again, it’s not just the princess that I probably need to worry about… I bet any “registry” I ended up on, even if I went full legit, would be open to at least some noble asshole that could be a problem. I need to find a way to insulate myself from that kind of threat.

Looking over the selection of rocks, Cure finds a five kg bag of decorative rocks that vary in size and are all rounded. The larger rocks will get him started and hopefully he’ll eventually have fine enough control to easily move around even the pebbles.

Before heading back to the front he snags another small pot for his lavender plant idea.

How the hell can I keep my privacy, be protected, and do good at the same time? Maybe going through my sire’s family is an option. I have no clue what kind of group they are.

With all of the purchases gathered, the salespony rings Vines up and the two go outside to toss their items into the wagon on top of the dirt and fertilizer the clerks had loaded up. Cure stands aside while Vines gets back into the harness. “Need a jolt, dam?” He offers, waving his hoof.

“No, sweetie. Thank you but with the tricks you’ve shown me this isn’t difficult at all.”

“Awesome. When I had to deal with that mess last night I got a glimpse at what it looks like when adrenaline floods the system. If you need a pick-me-up just say the word.”

“That sounds useful.”

“Yeah, it’s useful in a pinch but it’s not a good long term thing. That’s not an issue for us, but also not something to abuse too often. If I may make a suggestion, try to rely less on the thing I showed you and more on your muscles. Work them a bit and I can zap ya at home.”

“Oh! That’s wonderful, honey. I may actually be looking forward to pulling a plow for the first time in my life tomorrow.”

“Right? It’s amazing how many doors open when you start exploiting something you never thought about before. You’re going to love the idea I have for that lavender. I’m totally ripping off another story I read, but I kind of want to surprise you, so no hints!”

“Aww, you shouldn’t tease your dam, Cure. Is that what that little pot is for?”

“No hints! Also, no teasing? Really, Mrs. “you just sing the right song?” You had me freaking out mentally for a minute there.”

“HA!” Covering her face with a fetlock, Vines smiled sheepishly at her son. “I’m sorry, Cure. It’s just this week feels like it’s been so crazy. To find out I accidentally flustered you for a change just struck me as funny.”

Cure simply waves the concern away. “You don’t need to apologize. I’m not upset, it was funny. You’re just normally so quiet and reserved that when you do finally get snarky I’m completely caught off guard each time.”

Leaning over and giving him a quick peck between his ears, Vines just smiles at her son and keeps pulling the cart.

They walk in silence for several minutes, just enjoying being beside each other on a nice day. Vines seems to be exerting herself a little bit, but clearly still has plenty in the tank.

“Oh! A kitty!” she hears him shout. Looking over, she sees an orange tabby walking along the top of a fence.

“Honey, you don’t know if it’s friendly,” she points out while slowing down.

“It’s okay, cats love me,” he says, approaching the cat. Stopping a couple body lengths away Cure opts to test his luck. “Hello, pretty kitty cat. Would you be interested in some free scritches?” Holding up his hooves, he adds, “No strings attached, I promise!”

The cat, clearly unafraid of the inferior lifeform that is only a couple hooves taller than itself, seems to mull over the offer for a moment. Jumping down from the fence it approaches Cure slowly, stopping a leg’s length away. Cure holds out a forehoof so the cat can get a good sniff.

“I’m sorry if I still smell like a puppy, kitty cat. I met a nice one named Fluffy earlier today. She seemed to like my scritches pretty well, but what do dogs know anyhow? I need an expert’s opinion here.”

Dam just shakes her head and watches. There goes the mask again. I swear, this colt…

Seeming to agree with the colt, the cat walks forwards and gives his leg a good forehead bump, then leans heavily into Cure and runs his side down the fetlock in an effort to remove the putrid dog-stink, as any good feline should for their servants.

Gently petting the cat and using his TK field to add some basic “fingers”, Cure ensures he doesn’t disappoint. The cat is actually a male, and has been exposed to heartworms. It looks like the cat’s winning that battle, somehow, but just to be safe Cure sends a wave of magical intent through Mr. Kitty to ensure his days of hunting are not so numbered.

After a few minutes of loving, Mr. Kitty has decided the supplications may cease, and proceeds to hop back up on the fence and go about his business.

Catching back up to his dam, Cure shoots her an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, dam. I figured I might as well take the opportunity. I don’t know if there’s anything to be gained from cats, but I was really curious about how their claws work as well as their flexible spine.”

“Cure, sweetie… if you start clawing up the furniture I will get a spray bottle.”

“I’ll try to control myself, dam. No promises. As long as you don’t have me spayed or neutered we’re good.”

Almost tripping in shock, Vines’ head whips around to stare in disbelief and horror at her son.

“Joking! Sorry, dam, that’s a thing from before. Stray cats breed like crazy, so this one pony was famous for telling others to be sure to get their pets spayed or neutered. It was a legitimate problem in some communities, especially with how effective cats can be while hunting.”

Leaning over and nipping his ear, she growls in a low voice, “I swear, Cure, you’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days.” Letting go, she huffs at him and continues, “You just say stuff so casually that seems to come out of nowhere. You’re going to slip up one of these days if you’re not careful.”

“Ehh, I doubt it. It’s possible, I’ll grant that, but I could just as easily mumble something out in my sleep some day or maybe have one too many drinks and blurt something out. At least that I’ll be able to write off as drunken ramblings. Seriously, though, I am very careful when anypony else is around. You’re the only three I get to really be completely me around, though, so I tend to cut loose a bit.”

Sighing, Vines starts pulling the cart again. “I understand, sweetie. I just want you to be careful. And no drinking until you’re older. Alcohol is bad for you.”

Shooting her another deadpan look, Cure once again does the Spock eyebrow.

Rather than answer, Vines simply sniffs, turns her head up, and continues walking away with a mumbled, “Shush.”

“I wonder if I could make some killer hooch…” Cure mumbles.

“WHAT?”

“Dam! Why are you yelling?”

“I can’t believe you’re thinking of using your talent for THAT of all things.”

“Why? It’s insanely profitable and I could probably make the most premium stuff you can imagine. I bet I could cut the time way down too, I would just need to play with the yeast a bit.”

“How in the world do you know this stuff?”

“There was a vacation spot a few hours away that was all about the stuff. We did tours. You basically just put corn in a pot and heat it for a few hours, add barley, let it cool, toss in some yeast to start fermentation, aerate it, then let it sit.”

“The stuff in yeast eats the sugar and creates alcohol. It takes a while though… like, two or three weeks to eat it all. Then you just gotta filter it and distill what’s left. I don’t know much about that step, but I do know you’re heating it up to evaporate out the water and alcohol. Alcohol turns back into a liquid sooner, so that’s how you separate them out.”

Vines ignores her son’s mumbling and keeps pulling the cart. Of all the things, alcohol. Why not focus on making better yielding crops?

“Of course the real money is in the flavors. What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream, dam?”

“Ice cream? Mmm I like strawberry flavor the best.”

“Okay, it’s official. The first flavored one we’ll go for is Strawberry Cream. We’ll call it Dam’s Delight. We’ll make a fortune, dam!”

“I don’t know if I like that idea, honey.”

“Nah, it’ll be great. We’ll get a picture of your smiling face on it shooting a wink. Maybe with a straw hat on with some berries sitting on the brim. You’ll be famous, even without a glowing mane.”

“I really hope you’re joking…”

“I bet we can leverage all three of your marks for it. Mom can do the research and paperwork to set up the business, dad can work with retailers to set up contracts, and you can work the supply and logistics side talking to farmers and helping dad with the supply contracts. We’ll be set for life, no matter how long we live.”

“You… really think that could happen, sweetie?”

“Sure, it’s possible. Either that or, if it’s legal, I could make some really great weed.”

“Weeds?”

“Oh, recreational drugs.”

Stopping fully, Vines glares down at her son.

“Or not. Just sayin…”

“No.”

“I know it sounds bad-”

“Honey…”

“... but a lot of studies showed some were far less unhealthy than alcohol.”

“You. Are. Not. Making. Drugs. Understood?”

Turning away, he pins his ears to his head and tucks his tail under him.

Mufasa dying in The Lion King. Dad sacrifices himself in A Quiet Place. Andy gives up Woody in Toy Story. That did it… there they are.

Feeling his eyes watering, he turns back and looks up at his dam, pointing the most dangerous weapon in all of ponykind at Vines. “But… but… dam? I thought you would always encourage me…”

Flinching at the assault, it takes all of Vines’ willpower not to comfort her son. Looking back with a reinforced glare she simply says, “No. Nice try, mister,” and continues walking, leaving him behind.

Immediately switching off the “sad pony” look, he catches back up to her and gives her side a quick drive-by nuzzle. “Oh fine, be that way. I’m actually a little impressed. I didn’t know anypony could resist the sad pony eyes. I figured you’d give in for sure.”

“It… was distressingly difficult, actually. Don’t do that. It’s not fair.”

Shooting her a big grin he just says, “I know, but I’ve only got a couple years to abuse it, so ya gotta strike while the iron’s hot and all that.”

“You shouldn’t emotionally manipulate your parents, Cure.”

“Oh come on! Every child manipulates their parents. It’s part of the job. Besides, if you’d given in it’s not like I would have actually gone home and made something like that.”

“Good.”

“I don’t know how yet!”

“Cure!”

“What? I bet I could make some kind of edible that would cause the release of endorphins.”

“Wait… isn’t that what you said happens when you…”

“Achieve Enlightenment? Reach the Peak of the Mountain? Le Petit Mort?”

“Cure! … yes.”

“Sure is. The thing is, if you eat something you really enjoy that already does happen, just on a much smaller scale and, obviously, without physical stimulation. Well, depending on WHEN you’re eating, I guess.”

“Oh my Celestia, Cure! Stop it!”

“What? I’m not the first pony ever to suggest the two can be enjoyed together.”

“You might just be.”

Shooting his dam the most pity-filled look he can, Cure says, “Oh you poor, naive mare. Bless your sweet, innocent heart. You just wait until I get us that big home in Canterlot. Once my booze and “special” chocolate business take off, that is. Hmm… I know she prefers cake, but I wonder if the boss lady would enjoy some truffles too…”

“Cure! You can’t send the princess “special” candies!”

“Why not? If anyone needs one of those it’s her. Poor thing works too much if ya ask me. Of course I may need to up the intensity to work on an alicorn.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, I would have to put a warning in the box not to let other ponies eat any. Depending on how resilient she is it could be fatal to a unicorn or something. I’d probably just assume “peak earth pony” fitness and go from there. Maybe include a comment card so I can get her feedback.”

“Sometimes I think you may just be a little crazy, sweetie.”

“Everypony is at least a little crazy, dam. We all just express it in different ways. Some ponies talk to themselves, others obsess over work, food, material goods, etc. I don’t think coming up with alicorn-level recreational drugs is too bad. Well… when I say it out loud, maybe.”

“Well I’m glad you realize that.”

“After all, the target audience is just too small right now. There’s not a big enough market. No, you’re right. It’s crazy. That business model will never work. Good thinking, dam.”

“That… wasn’t exactly what I meant, sweetie.”

Walking in silence for a few minutes, Cure suddenly freezes mid step, face-hooves, and carries on. Stuck in his mind he doesn’t notice Vines looking at him for a moment until he just happens to glance her way. “Ah, sorry, I was in my own head a bit. I’m guessing you noticed that, though.”

“It tends to draw attention when you suddenly stop and smack yourself in the face, sweetie.”

“Yeah, well, I think I deserved the smack this time. I’m sure you remember our bacta tank discussion?”

Giggling a moment, Vines simply nods her head with a smile.

“Well, you may not have been as wrong about them existing as you thought. We already discussed pods, if you recall, yesterday after the excitement.”

Thinking back to the conversation, the spark of recognition comes to Vines. “Changelings?”

“Yep. Remember, I said they put ponies in a pod and they have dreams? Well I don’t think those have any healing properties, but they must do something to keep the ponies alive. Or, at least, breathing. I don’t remember seeing air tubes when those were shown and nopony drowned in the liquid.”

“I don’t suppose you know how they made them?”

“Not a clue. I don’t even know if I actually saw it in the “real” story, but I understand there was an episode where most of the heroes were captured and put in pods only to be saved by… Well, basically, a group of reformed villains that had become friends.”

“An episode?”

“Yeah, the story spanned several years and was broken into pieces, each one being what we called an episode of the overall story. Think of each one like a chapter in a book. Like I told you all yesterday, I read about it on the bookshelf more than actually watching the real thing.”

“Just be glad we don’t look the same as the characters in the story. They were smaller than us by a fair amount. Much shorter bodies, proportionally way bigger heads. Keep in mind, simplistic designs for children, dam. Their heads were almost the size of their torsos for crying out loud.”

“That would look really strange.”

“Downright alien is how it would look. Are half their organs in their cranium? And don’t get me started on how tiny pegasus wings were in the show. Like.. 6 feathers or something. They looked ridiculous. The earth ponies had no visible muscle either, and alicorns were basically all legs, again, with disproportionately tiny torsos. The worst part was how enormous their eyes were. I’m not joking, probably two thirds of their faces were eyeballs.”

“Why would they depict ponies like that?”

“Remember I said humans look at eyes first. I think most predatory species do… so do we, really. Well, eyes are a good way to visually display emotions and body language, so for little children it was an easy way to do that. Plus it made them look cute, I guess.”

With the house in sight, Vines begins heading off the path towards the shed. Cure grabs his pot, stand, and seeds and sets them aside.

“Is it okay if I scoop some dirt from the garden into this, dam?”

“Sure. We’ll wait for your sire to get home for the rest. He can help unload all this. I think I need a break, somepony is wearing me out.”

“Hmm, somepony should say something to that nuisance. I’m going to go ahead and start working on this tomato plant. Can I keep it in my room?”

“Sure sweetie, as long as it doesn’t get too big.”

“I’m actually planning on making it shorter. It only needs to be a dozen or so hooves tall for what I want. I’m just not sure if I can do it in one shot. If I can, I don’t even need this stand, but I want to be sure.”

Cure scoops some dirt into the pot, grabs a few seeds, and heads up to his room.

Vines, meanwhile, feels like she needs to lay down.

One hour of him throwing around ideas could kill a weaker pony, she reflects. First his ideas for our cutie marks, then talking about alicorns, spirits, gods, and everything else. At least the dog and cat weren’t bad, but then he brings up making booze or drugs… and sending them to the princess! Ironic that he’s going to be the death of me…

Pulling her husband’s cushion beside hers, she settles in for a nap. Enjoying the temporary quiet and the comfort of her stallion’s scent, she quickly falls asleep.

Author's Note

Everyone: "Total troll move with the title, author-san... troll move."
LFoD: "What do you mean? That's like... the main prevailing topic of discussion in the chapter!"
Everyone: /leonardodicapriosquint

So I'd made a comment about never seeing this approach before. Yes, I was intentionally vague, but in my defense I don't think I've ever seen an OC insert that has (granted, limited) metaknowledge, shares that with their family, and actively encourages them to start thinking about how they could be more than they are as opposed to pursuing it while keeping everyone else in the dark. I've definitely never seen any where the MC suggests making o-tastic edible drugs for the princess. Ah well, exploring can be fun, huh?

Frankly the concept gives me lots of insane ideas like... I dunno, NMM coming back and finding like a huge family of like 30 alicorns hiding behind the throne to throw her a surprise "Welcome Back" party or something instead of Big C chillin by herself. Maybe have her sister dangling over a fire pit to distract her while the M6 line up their shot. The boss lady's fireproof, right?