Friday, September 5th, 908 AB

Sitting on his floor, Cure is trying to come up with the best way to approach his “Cure Tree” (patent, and existence, pending). Looking over his notes thus far he’s still not exactly sure how he wants to begin.

Requirements:

• Not too tall, preferably 3-6 feet

  • Do different things at different levels?

• Fruit tastes good, preferably like candy for picky foals

  • Need to make sure you can’t OD on this at all
  • Maybe have something released in the mouth so a second fruit doesn't taste good?

• Adaptable to new strains

  • Lick leaves?
  • Bleed on them?
  • Cough on them?
  • Same as spitting, licking on them basically
  • Have a mesh-leaf structure to catch airborne particles?
  • Don’t plants do this already? CO2 to O2?

• Central stalk to move nutrients up and down

  • small tree instead of bush?

• Hardy, easy to feed/water

  • Special nutrients needed?
  • May need proteins
  • Recycle discarded food waste?
  • Feeder slot like Venus Fly trap

• Doesn’t need much sunlight. Able to absorb artificial lighting?

  • Maybe have a “canopy” layer at top for surface area

• Bioluminescence for status, health, antiviral progress?

  • Have designated signaling leaves as well
  • Pulse green every minute for OK
  • Orange for processing new sample
  • Special patterns for lack of sun, nutrients, water
  • Pulse red for service?

• Able to do more than just viruses?

  • Add more in Mk II plant, focus on viruses for now
  • Possible to add add’l leave for other problems
  • Other things may need different leaf surfaces for absorption
  • Bacteria (e-coli, salmonella)
  • Fungi / Mold (skin diseases)
  • Parasites (malaria)
  • Not sure how to target parasites, especially
  • Capture part for mosquitos like a fly trap?
    • Protein source and pest deterrent
  • Are WBC even the go-to for all these or are there other immune cells used for them?

• Branding

  • Do I want to “sign” this somehow?
  • Maybe have trunk resemble MoD with vines wrapped around like snakes
  • Dam will probably appreciate this
  • Find some way to incorporate sire and mom somehow?
  • Find a way to add patterns to wood

• Fun stuff (for Mk III or later plant)

  • React to songs? Music?
  • Have leaves dance?

• Misc Ideas

  • Voice commands?
  • Admin privileges?
  • No clue how this would work

Man I don’t even know if this is actually going to be a PLANT by the time I’m done with it. I think it may need some kind of legitimate brain to function properly, even if it’s as complex as an earthworm. I need to scan more bugs and stuff, I know they’re incapable of “thought” but they do react to stimuli. I wonder if I could find much out in the garden… I didn’t think to look earlier.

For now I should try to figure out how the fruit will work…

Fruit Properties

• Skin can be the same, maybe different colors if different things needed
• Grape-size or thereabouts would be ideal
• Mostly sugar insides for flavor

• Antigen packets suspended in some kind of “pill”

  • Need to analyze actual pills to see how they get past stomach acid

• Fruit needs to deliver the protein markers for viruses to the bloodstream

  • Protein markers will be inert, nothing attached or just a weak membrane with water or sugar inside
  • Unsure how many are needed to trigger effective immune response
  • Need to actually get vaccinated to examine contents
  • A single ounce of fluid is enough room for tens of billions of cells
  • May need to have ponies take a few cherries with them, eat one per day for a week if vaccine package becomes too diluted
  • OD concern again, see taste of 2nd fruit note above

• Vitamin package to boost immune system against current infection?

  • I don’t think Vitamin C actually works
  • Need to test!!!

Becoming frustrated at his inability to magically pull the answer to all viruses out of his rear in an hour, Cure finishes taking some notes and wanders downstairs to see what his dam is doing.

Laying on her belly, Vines is curved slightly to her left with her head resting between her forelegs on Deed’s pillow. Unwilling to disturb his dam, Cure writes a note saying he’ll be outside so she doesn’t worry if she wakes and he’s not in his room. He sets the note on the floor nearby so she’ll see it if she wakes, then goes out through the back door as quietly as possible.

Deciding that he doesn’t have much else to do, he tries to scan the maple tree to see if anything useful could be hidden in the trunk. Unexpectedly, it takes an actual noticeable amount of magic to scan the whole tree. Only a few percent, but scanning ponies so far hasn’t given him that feeling at all. Chalking it up to the mass, much of which is actually below ground, Cure shrugs and carries on to the shed.

I wonder if I could tinker with that tree and make it produce syrup. I could tell it had sap, but it’s spread all over the place. Also, I have no idea how to convert sap into syrup. I assume you filter and cook it to get out particles, purify it, and evaporate some water, but I’ll need to look that up.

Hell I could probably just whip up a plant that will straight-up produce syrup and call it a day. That seems a lot easier than farting with a tree and cooking for hours on end.

Going through the garden, Cure checks on all his plants. While he’s at it, he scans a sample of each in case he wants to steal traits for his tree or future projects. He also finds a few bugs, beetles and pillbugs mostly and, out of curiosity for what secrets they may have, scans them too.

Taking the opportunity while he's alone he grabs a smaller pot, fills it with dirt, and takes a few lavender seeds to stash in his room for later.

Returning to the garden, Cure sets himself down between his control and experimental melon plants. Running magic through his mark, he first focuses on the control plant. He envisions his magic showing him the photosynthesis process in action. He can't actually see photons hitting the chloroplasts, but the creation of sugars from the reaction is visible.

Exiting the view he touches his enhanced plant and does the same. The view is similar, but the chloroplasts are packed in more tightly. More light is being absorbed and the channels carrying water and sugars are larger.

The whole process seems more efficient, but is likely still limited to the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. That was not a factor he had accounted for on Monday when pushing his magic to enhance the plant. Its capacity to process CO2 may be higher, but in a world with minimal pollution and far less fauna that would probably always be a limiting factor.

Given the likely processing power and whatever juice a protein strand synthesizer will take, Cure could only come to one conclusion. "My tree will probably need to be fed sugar…"

"That's fascinatin, sport."

"AHHH!" Shooting a good four feet into the air while doing a 180, Cure finds himself face-to-chest with his sire who is barely holding back a laugh. Title had no such compunctions and is doubled over guffawing like a loon.

"Now stop me if I'm wrong, but that's not usually how trees work. I always thought you got sap from the tree, not the other way around."

"Don't do that! I think I may have actually peed a little!"

Title just redoubles her laughter, now rolling on the ground while Deed lets out a snort. "I dunno bout that, son. With the way you shot in the air I think we woulda seen it catching the sunlight. Maybe even give us one of them mythological peebows arcing through the air."

Cure just scowls at his sire while Title finally gets herself together enough to explain, "We were calling for you for a solid minute, Cure. You were off in la la land until you started mumbling. That jump-spin move! HAHA!"

"Yeah, yeah… well anyhow… how'd it go today? Did that other sale close?"

"Sure did!" He cheered, scooping Cure into a hug. "Two for two, champ! Got another one lined up for Tuesday too. If this keeps up we'll nearly double last year just in the next few months!"

Cure, still pressed against his sire's chest, brings up a potential concern. "Hey dad, real estate is kind of a zero sum game. Somepony else isn't going to be losing their livelihood because you're having a record year, right?"

Setting him back down, Deed just shakes his head. "Now you could have a point there if I was somehow stealin away clients from one specific real estate agent, but everypony that's signed on with me wouldn't have all gone to one other agency. You're not completely off, but nopony is goin hungry 'cause of this."

"Ah. That's kind of a relief. I mean, family first but with the marks it felt kinda unfair, ya know?"

"I hear ya, son. No worries though. So, whatchya working on here? I distinctly heard something about feedin a tree sugar."

"Yep. Maybe we should go inside though. Dam was asleep when I came out and she's already heard some of this. I'm kinda getting hungry too. Seems like it's about noon, right?"

"Sure is," Title answers, "and I'm ready for some food too. C'mon."

The three trot inside and find Vines snuggled into Deed's cushion. Shooting the other two a mischievous grin he quietly sidles up next to her. Slowly lowering his head onto her, he inches forward, grinding his chin into her back, withers, and up her mane.

Dam musta been having one hell of a dream. Cure notes with widening eyes.

Letting out what can only be called a sensual moan, she starts raising her rear and flicking her tail back and forth.

Deed finally makes his way up through her mane, then pulls back, tilts his head so his mouth is just below her left ear, and uses his teeth to gently grind the base where it meets her skull.

The effect is… not something a typical colt should witness, especially involving one's dam and sire, Cure believes. I think she just squished. I am so glad I didn't enhance my nose yet. I'm starting to think I never should. Or maybe only when outside?

Looking to his mom he asks, "Should I… maybe step outside for a few minutes?"

Shaking her head, Title adamantly refuses. "No. They had their fun time last night. I'm hungry." Turning back to the pair, Title walks up to Deed and gives him a decent kick in the shoulder. "I'm hungrier than you are horny. Trust me."

Pausing, she tilts her head to the side to look over Deed's haunches to Vines. With a quick scenting of the air she adds, "Maybe not compared to her, but your son is standin right there, so clean up that cushion and our wife and let's eat."

Vines, now fully awake, is glowing red in embarrassment. Nodding her head she stands, letting Deed off of her, grabs her cushion, and quickly makes her way upstairs.

Deed, properly chastised, grimaces and follows her.

"Dad," Cure calls to his sire, making him pause at the base of the stairs. I'm a calm, reassuring voice he explains, "I'm not upset, I don't think anypony expected that, but dam's mortified. Make sure she knows I'm happy to see my parents in such a healthy, loving marriage, okay?" Getting a nod and a quick "sure, son" from his sire he jokingly adds, "I just maybe don't need to actually witness the evidence firsthoof, so to speak."

As Deed leaves the room, Title and Cure go into the kitchen. She starts pulling together everything for salads while he stays out of the way.

"She's going to go into estrus in a week or so, I know it."

"You think? I didn't notice anything when I checked everypony last night."

"Mmm, call it a feeling. We're right around when fall season hits. She got pregnant with you in the fall too, so I bet if you check in a few days you'll see her hormones winding up."

"Huh. That would be great to see. I could probably use that if somepony wants to have a foal outside normal estrus seasons at some point."

"You think you can induce estrus? Cure, honey… if somepony shows up to give birth in an odd month that's going to be noticed."

"Really? Like… nopony ever ends up pregnant outside of those two seasons? There has to be at least a few with irregular cycles."

"Maybe, but I would think they probably have some other health issues causing it that would make carrying to term difficult. I’m sure somepony has tried to trigger it with medicine or magic at some point, and I’ve never heard of that working out. To be fair, I’ve never actually heard of anyone trying either though."

"... yeah, that's a real possibility." After a moment of quiet, aside from the sound of movement, Cure asks, "Think they'll wait or go ahead now?"

"I think we'd hear 'em if they were doing it now," she answers with a smirk. At his deadpan look she sticks out her tongue. Finally she adds, "I doubt they'll wait. I'm sure we'll have a conversation about it but I'm all for her having another. I know they both wanted to for a while."

"Good. You weren't there but I told them about Cyndi and I. We never got to have kids together. She had her two, so we struggled financially, then by the time we were doing well she couldn't carry anymore. That's not an issue with me around but you never know what life will throw at you."

Setting down the food and knife, Title turns and picks Cure up and holds him against her chest. "I'm sure you were a wonderful father, honey, even if they weren't yours biologically. I know you'll be one this time around, and you'll make some mares the happiest they could ever be."

Nuzzling into her fur, Cure just nods and lets out a deep sigh. "Love you mom."

"And I love you too, son." After a moment she sets him down and, with a smile, adds, "Now unless you want to see how dangerous a starving, pregnant mare can be I'm going to finish getting food ready."

Looking down at his own stomach rumbling he nods in agreement. "Sounds good to both of us, apparently."

Deed comes down the stairs a few minutes later. With an apologetic look he helps out getting the table ready. Vines takes a few more minutes, but is still clearly upset that her son saw her like that. Sitting at the table she won’t even look up to meet his eyes.

"Dam, really…" Cure says, approaching the mare and doing his best to wrap her in a hug. "I'm not some traumatized child. It's okay, I promise. I told dad and I'll tell you, having a healthy, loving marriage like that is a beautiful thing. I'd much rather see you two… or three, sorry mom, caught in a moment of passion than I would see you fighting."

Title approaches the pair and wraps her forelegs around them saying, "That's a good attitude, Cure. I'm sure most children your age would be embarrassed, but you're absolutely right." Giving her wife a loving nuzzle she adds, "You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Deed comes over and joins the pile, “I am sorry, babe. I… uhh, didn’t expect that strong of a reaction. Please don’t be upset?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Vines squeezes Cure a little tighter and finally nods. “I’m sorry too. I just can’t believe that happened. I think I may be starting to go into estrus. It is about that time.”

“I haven’t noticed any of the signs yet, honey. Maybe you’re just a bit ahead of schedule. I don’t think they would have planned a big social event tonight if it was supposed to hit early this year. It's normally about two weeks out or so, right?” Deed asks.

“I can check your hormone levels if you want,” Cure offers.

Deed and Title break off after another quick round of kisses and take their seats

“Sure, sweetie, go ahead.”

“Want me to help you recover from pulling the wagon too? I kinda forgot before you laid down.”

“That would be lovely. I don’t feel anything yet though.”

“Yeah, you typically don’t until the next day… and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow.” Still wrapped in his dam’s forelegs he activates his mark and checks her over. He isn’t exactly sure how to check for hormone levels, and he doesn’t have a “typical healthy mare” template to review. Amethyst's are close enough, he figures, even if the last ones were still her recovering from the virus.

Comparing two completely different mares at different health levels ends up being basically worthless. Hormone levels, Cure knows, can fluctuate in an individual, so unless one was significantly different from another it would be nearly impossible to tell at this point. Once again, Cure reaches the conclusion that he simply lacks enough data points to make a determination.

Regardless, he runs the “Get Swol” routine on his dam, encouraging muscle growth in all the fatigued areas, stealing a bit of fat for biomass, and flushing away any fatigue buildup while reinforcing all of the muscular support systems. The short walk back from the store with a loaded cart probably did as much good for her as a few hours of pulling should, he estimates.

“Okay, so if I compare your hormone levels today to where you were a few days ago there is a difference. The problem I have is that I obviously have never scanned a mare that’s definitely going into or is already in estrus. Title is pregnant, so no help there, and I’m not comfortable comparing you to the one other mare I’ve scanned and discussing anything related to her info. It wouldn’t matter if I was, you’re two different mares, and have two different baselines."

"That aside, even the difference I’m detecting could just be because you’ve had sex since I scanned you yesterday… and, again, no shame here, judging by what I heard it was a very energetic experience. Good job, dad,” he adds, shooting his sire a nod.

Looking inordinately proud, Deed grins back to his son. “Thanks, sport. You were right, by the way.” Title just nods and smiles before starting to dig into her lunch.

Glancing at Title, Cure adds a bit of awe to his voice, “Jeez, a twofer. Respect, pops.” Holding out a hoof from between his dam’s legs he gets a bump back from his nearly glowing sire. “But yeah, I always am. About what, though?”

Snorting at his son’s comment he answers, “The whole passing out thing.”

Cure can feel his dam heat up at the answer. Grinning and poking her in the chest he simply says, “Good for you dam. Anyhow, with your permission I would really like to check you at least every morning and night to see how your hormone levels change over the next few days. If you are going into estrus this could be a big help for me at some point in my life if I can witness the whole process.”

“Tell them, Cure,” Title prods.

“What am I missing here, son?”

“Well we were talking while you two cleaned up. I should be able to induce estrus if I have a general idea of what hormones elevate and what the entire process looks like. The body may just shut it down if it’s not during the right time of year, though. Too many variables, not enough experience… my motto this week, it seems.”

“Sweet Celestia, colt, no wonder the poor mare needed a nap.” Meeting his wife’s eyes he adds, “I bet he does this to you all day, doesn’t he honey?”

With a pitiable lilt she answers, “He does. You don’t know the half of it. I keep saying it, but he nearly gives me at least one heart attack every day from the things he suggests.” Looking down at her son she squeezes him again, “Not that I would trade it for the world, sweetie. It’s just a little scary at times.”

“Meh, I get it. If I were you I’d probably be reaching for a stiff drink after an hour of putting up with me. Oh! That reminds me. Dad, dam is somewhat opposed to it, but how would you like to start making hooch or selling recreational drugs?” he asks, ignoring the suddenly much tighter legs wrapped around him.

“Uhh wuh?” Title contributes, pausing mid-bite.

“I haven’t tried yet, but if you give me some yeast, water, sugar, and a jar I bet I could whip up something that would make yer mane stand up on end before you start walking into walls.”

“Uhhh…” Deed starts, looking to Title for help he only gets a shrug back in return. “Maybe not the drugs so much, son. I think there’s laws against that. Also, probably against just suddenly selling alcohol. Now for home use, maybe. Are you serious, though?”

With a sigh and a head shake Vines sets Cure down. Apparently the subject change finally pulled her out of her funk enough, or the suggestion annoyed her enough she forgot about being embarrassed.

“I wasn’t really… but hey, why not?” Cure asks, headed back to his booster chair.

“I was poking around the maple tree and thought about making syrup, but I don’t really know exactly what’s involved. It occurred to me that the tree is unnecessary when I could just whip up something that would literally output straight syrup. The alcohol talk was earlier, but same thing. I may just need yeast, not sure if barley will really be necessary.”

Deed pauses mid-bite to ask, “I heard you say you had to feed somethin sugar though, son. What’s the point of turnin sugar into syrup?”

“I was talking about the Cure Tree Mark One!” he announces, waving his hooves dramatically, despite the lack of fanfare.

“Bah, y’all are terrible cheerleaders.”

Filling in for her son, Vines explains, “He’s talking about a plant he wants to make that will produce fruit that a pony can eat that has the stuff in them to vaccinate the pony. He was thinking a cherry tomato plant would be a good start.” Finished adding her two bits, she starts digging in too.

“Yep, totally separate from the syrup thing. I have a page and a half of notes, so maybe I can get them after we’re done eating and go over it. Sometimes you miss the obvious, so second set of eyes and all that. I think I need to get an actual vaccine so I can analyze it as I’m being injected. Does everypony know how a vaccine works?”

“Just the broad details, Cure. You get a shot, your body reacts, if you encounter the same virus again you won’t get as sick or won’t get sick at all since it recognizes it.”

“That’s the gist of it. The vaccine isn’t actually the virus at all. A virus is a small thing, way smaller than even a blood cell. On its surface it has things that let it latch onto a cell, slip inside it like a drill, and then reprogram the cell to make more viral cells. A vaccine just looks like the virus from the outside, that way your immune system is basically tricked into attacking the real thing.”

“I think they use real viruses, just dead or something.”

“I dunno, maybe. Humans used to years ago before we figured out how to use something harmless. The problem with real viruses is you may not kill all of them and then the pony could catch the actual infection. I bet they do something magic-wise to prevent that, though.”

Title summarizes his plan for everypony. “So you have a cherry tomato plant that will have vaccinated tomatoes. A pony eats them, their body is exposed to the fake virus that’s actually harmless, and then if they encounter the real thing they’ll be immune or at least ready to fight the virus.”

“Exactamundo! I also want the tree to learn how to attack new viruses, plus it needs to be able to survive indoors. I’m thinking each hospital, doctor’s office, or clinic could have a tree in the lobby. Or even pharmacies. A pony walks in, coughs on the tree, the tree isolates the virus, creates a vaccine on the spot, and the pony can eat the fruit.”

“But they’re already sick…” Vines says.

“Yep, and that’s one of the problems. The other is updating other trees, of course. I need to have the fruit not just have the vaccine, but also an active antiviral agent specifically for the new strain.”

“That sounds really complex, Cure. Even with your mark, that's a big project.”

“It is. I can see it taking a few generations just to get the shape and size of the tree right. Also, in nature plants make their food via photosynthesis. These will be designed to work indoors, but with all the energy they’ll use doing what they do…” he waves a hoof at Deed.

“That’s why they’ll need to be fed sugar. They won’t be makin enough on their own.”

“You got it, dad. I have no idea how much sugar or how often, or even if it’ll be absolutely necessary. I won’t know until I have a working prototype and can analyze how much energy it takes versus how much it generates. It may be that it only needs sugar when the fruit is in heavy demand or when it’s creating new antiviral agents.”

“Well let’s eat and then we’ll look at your notes,” Title suggests.

Everypony seems to agree, so they all get to work on what’s on their plates.

“Remember, eat more than you think you need for now. I want you all building up your fat stores, especially you mom, so I can convert it all to muscle. We need to start taking vitamin D supplements or drinking more milk too, otherwise the muscles will be tough but the bones will lag behind. Good thing we get calcium from greens.”

“Oh no. My doctor says I need to eat more. Woe is me,” Title giggles out between bites.

“Ponies are lucky, we get everything we need from veggies. Eat until you’re stuffed, I can boost your digestion and make sure every scrap of nutrients goes towards strengthening the body. Muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, all of it. A bit of work and plenty of fuel and you’ll all be at peak health in a couple months, maybe weeks… something that would normally take years of backbreaking work.”

“Don’t forget eyes!” Title adds.

“Oh and nose, if you want. There was an old puppers sitting on a porch on the way to the store. I also ran into a cat on the way home, so if you want claws or a super flexible spine let me know. Don’t get any ideas, dad,” he adds with a snort

Both Vines and Title spit-take straight salad across the table as Deed busts out laughing.

“HA! Oh damn, son, I can’t wait until you’re old enough to go drinkin. The other fellas won’t know what hit ‘em.”

“Yep, plus no hangovers.”

“Son… have I told you that I love you?”

“Only conditionally, dad.”

“Glad to hear you were payin attention, colt.”

Despite the leaf-shower that half the table suffered, everypony finished their meals with little conversation from there on.

Once the table is cleaned up Cure fetches his notes and meets back up with everypony in the living room. Cushions are all pulled together with Cure in the middle, Deed on his left, Vines on his right, and Title half on, half to the left of Deed looking over his shoulders.

“So here’s what I have so far. Ignore the human terminology, a foot is about three hooves. Dad should be roughly four feet tall at the withers, so just go from there.”

“You really should convert that.” Title points out, “If somepony saw these notes it would raise even more questions with stuff like that in them.”

“Yeah… you’re right. Old habits die hard.”

“What’s a venus fly trap?” Deed asks.

“It’s a small plant that has a mouth-like structure. I think it uses some scent to attract bugs, tricking them into landing inside of it. Then it eats them. They’re tiny, though, so no pony-eaters or anything.”

“There are plants like that in some of the forests. None near here thankfully. Don’t ever go in those forests alone or with only other foals,” Vines insists before adding, “or, ever at all, if you can help it.”

“I’m aware there’s all manner of beast in the forests in Equestria. You don’t have to convince me not to go in. I promise I wouldn’t even consider it unless I was fully grown and well prepared. Still, good to know it's safe around here.”

“Why a tree instead of a bush?” Title asks.

“I figured with a primary central trunk it could move nutrients faster. No clue if that’s true or not, but I’m also not really sure where the line between tree and bush is, exactly. I think it’ll be more of a small tree than a medium-sized bush, really.”

Getting a kiss on the head from his dam, he turns to look at her as she says, “I love the trunk and vines idea, sweetie. Some vines wrapped around your tree in place of snakes would be adorable.”

Pointing at the sections under “Able to do more than viruses” Deed explains, “I don’t recognize some of these. Malaria? Salmonella? Do those ring a bell for anypony?” Title and Vines both shake their heads no.

“Meh, they could have different names or just not exist on the planet. I’m sure I’ll learn that stuff in medical school. Salmonella is something chickens can carry. I guess it wouldn’t be an issue for you all since it’s not like you’re butchering them for their meat.”

“No but maybe that’s something that griffons can catch,” Title notes.

“I’ll worry about other creatures later. I think we’re genetically close, but I would need to scan a few to know more. I wouldn’t mind learning more about other creatures eventually. Right now I don’t even know what is and isn’t offensive to any of them. I’d probably tick them off first thing somehow.”

“That’s not sayin much for griffons,” Deed explains. “They’re ready to fight at the drop of a hat from what I’ve heard. And grandpa said dragons are almost as bad. They probably feel like they have less to prove, though.”

“Ah, griffons suffer from short man’s syndrome eh? Gotta always prove how tough they are?”

“You betcha.”

“Not a good thing on something with that many claws,” Title observes.

“Indeed it isn’t,” Deed agrees with a nod.

“You all have anything about the tree or fruit that comes to mind?”

“You need to be able to make more of them, sweetie.”

“Oh, duh. Yeah, the fruit won’t really be seeds, so I guess I’ll need to make them produce an actual seed somehow.”

His dam nods and suggests, “Maybe have it make one when it has enough spare nutrients? That’s what fruit typically is… a container for the seeds.”

“Hmm… yeah, it may need a bit more umph to make a viable seed that still carries all of its strain information. The seed will be more of a clone than actual offspring, but that’s fine.”

“Can you make it so the fruit can be fed to other trees to spread their info around?”

“Huh… yeah, that’s actually a good way of doing that. Good call, mom. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I was trying to come up with some special leaf or whatever, but I can just go with the fly trap mouth idea as an input port.”

The parents look over the list for another moment without comment. Getting the impression they weren't coming up with anything new, Cure prompts them for other ideas. “Anything else?” Seeing everypony shake their head no, he closes his notebook. “Okay. Well I dunno about you all, but I’m getting the after lunch sleepies.”

Letting out a huge yawn, Deed nods in agreement. “I hear ya, champ. It’s nice to be home for the weekend, how about we take a nap?”

“Well dam just slept for an extra hour, so I have an even better suggestion.” Ignoring the muttered “oh no” from his dam he holds one hoof in the air, and in an exaggerated cheer shouts, “Let’s go for a run!”

All three parents scowl at him in return.

“Oh don’t be lazy ponies. We’ll go for a run through paths in the woods to the south, come back, get all cleaned up, take a nap, eat dinner, and head to the rodeo. You don’t need to sleep for hours on end all afternoon. Trust me, you’ll feel great. I’ll make sure of it.”

At the deadpanned response he raises an eyebrow. “I’m going to make sure you get about ten times the benefit from a single exercise session as you should and eliminate any fatigue and y’all are seriously going to scowl at me? Come on!”

“Ugh… he’s entirely too cheery about it, but he isn’t wrong. We should get off our rears and burn off some of that lunch. Plus that means we can eat more when we go out tonight!”

“That’s the spirit mom! Love the enthusiasm! Who wants to carry me first?”

Shooing him with a hoof, Deed shakes his head. “Oh no, no way colt. You’re leadin the charge from the front here.”

“Ahh… fine. C’mon, let’s go.”

After everypony completes their pre-departure checklists, the family gathers in the living room. Despite the grumbling, everypony follows him out the door and to the south. The lightly wooded area has a pond on one end and several paths for ponies running or walking in the area.

Gathering just before the entrance, Cure looks to his parents. “I don’t think I’ve been here more than a few times. Do any of you know the paths well enough? I can lead but I’ll get us all turned around in no time.”

“I’ll lead, I used to come here to run before I met your sire.”

“Alright, set the pace mom. Oh, before we go, everypony line up for a little energy burst. I’m going to tell your body to pull on fat stores a bit more aggressively for energy so you'll be able to go farther, hopefully.”

After giving everypony a tap the family takes off at a decent pace with Cure working twice as hard as the adults to keep up. Deed is doing fairly well, but Vines clearly isn’t enjoying herself. After about a mile, Title slows to a walk to allow everypony to catch their breath.

“Aight, everypony give me a hoofbump. Dam, I can tell you’re hating this. Want me to induce a runner’s high?” Cure asks, while giving Deed and Title each a boost.

“I don’t know what that is, sweetie. I’ve never done much running.”

“Well it’s when you’re running and, despite how much running sucks, you suddenly feel full of energy and ready to race up a mountain. That’s a runner's high. It makes running almost fun.”

“Is that why you’re not breathing hard at all, son?”

"No, I'm testing something else. So far so good.”

“Care to share?” Title asks.

“I stole an idea from bugs and am collecting oxygen through my skin, basically. I’d offer to give the upgrade, but I’m betting there’s a reason larger creatures don’t normally do this, so I figured I should test it on myself first since I can monitor it. I could probably totally stop breathing… but I bet holding my breath too long would be hard on my lungs.”

“Huh… weird,” she observes.

“Yeah, it works better when we’re running though. More air hitting the skin.” Looking back to Vines he waves a hoof, “So, dam?”

“Sure, honey. Anything to make this less miserable.”

Cure gives her a hoof bump and tells her system to release a small amount of endorphins as she runs. Giving her a quick “all set” and a nod to Title, the family resumes its pace.

Cure and Deed take up the rear so they can keep an eye on Vines, though it proves to be unnecessary as the next few miles seem to breeze by.

When Title stops again Cure checks how everypony is doing. “I’m not sure how far I should run in a day, honestly,” he tells them. “I don’t remember doing much endurance running before, and I’ve definitely gone way farther than I used to be able to.”

“I’ll say, son. The fact that you’re barely breathing hard is amazing. I think most colts your age would be dragging after two or three kilometers. We’ve done at least five and I feel great.” Pausing to do a few stretches, Deed is amazed to find his legs still feel good as new. “This is awesome!”

“Damn right it is. I’ve run plenty to stay in shape. I can’t say I ever enjoyed it though. Just being able to go without getting tired?” Her tail wagging like a dog, Title sits up and claps with her forehooves. “It’s actually making it kind of fun! Let’s keep going!”

“I’m not so sure I would call this fun, but it is nice to get out as a family. I wouldn’t mind going a little further before we head home.” Pausing to look herself over, Vines cringes a bit and notes, “I am still getting sweaty though.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point, dam. We should walk a little bit. Even if we’re not tired we’re still going to heat up. How about we go a couple more kilometers, then walk home?”

“We could always go for a dip in the pond,” Title says, pointing down one of the paths. "It’s not deep and shouldn’t be too warm. It’s about a kilometer and a half that way.”

“That actually sounds perfect. Are you okay with that, dam?”

“That’s a good idea, dear. Sure, sweetie, we can go for a dip.”

“Alright, lead the way, mom. Just be glad, dam… our sweat isn’t bad at all.”

“Oh? Another human thing, Cure?” Title asks from over her withers.

“Yeah, they get horrible body odor when they sweat. I literally couldn’t leave the house without putting chemicals all over my armpits or I’d be a stinkin mess in under an hour… and keep in mind that human noses were weak compared to ours. It stank even then, I can’t imagine how potent it would be now.”

On the way to the pond Deed asks Cure, “So son, what’s this test you’re running? Seems like it’s working pretty well so far.”

“Well you remember I said I got the idea from bugs?” After a quick “uh huh” he continues, “They don’t have lungs… they get air through their exoskeleton or skin with these small lung-like structures.”

“So… you have small lungs under your skin?”

“Sort of, but they’re small enough you would need a magnifying glass to see one, assuming you could through my coat anyhow.”

“Ahh, added a bunch, didja?”

“Quite a few, yes. It’s not something I think I could give somepony else, not without doing some work on their lungs too. I was actually maintaining enough oxygen in my blood that the lungs weren’t getting enough carbon dioxide. It could be bad for somepony that can’t monitor it.”

“Gotcha. Shame, we’re all huffin and you’re barely breathin hard with them shorter legs.”

“Pfft… you’d all be collapsed by now if I wasn’t buffing your system way up. Of course I’m over-healing you all enough you could probably do this again without me tomorrow if you ate enough tonight.”

“Really? You’re doin that much?”

“Yes. Enough that I’m not sure we even need to go to Baltimare for a gym. If we were hitting all the muscle groups I would say we don’t, but we’re barely touching some of them. I don’t think we’ll need more than one visit to the gym. This ability is so unfair.”

“Sure is. It’s probably the most versatile one I’ve seen.”

“Eh… it’s up there. I suspect they all could be if applied right, though. There’s at least one that blows mine away though.”

“Oh?”

“Magic. A unicorn that has the special talent “magic” is just unfair.”

“That sounds like it could be.”

“Yep, she might as well be good at anything, since you can basically do anything with magic.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep, enough that even I’m jealous. Oh well, I think I’ll manage just fine.”

“I think you’ll do alright, son.”

"Thanks, pa."

Coming around the bend, Title slows her pace to a trot. The pond has several families in and around it enjoying the day. Cure spots Heavy Lift, his dam, mom, and two sisters on the far side.

"Hey I'm gonna head over to say hi to Heavy. Give me a quick round of hoofbumps so I can fix ya up."

"Okay sweetie, if you want to stay and play that's fine but you need to come home in time to get cleaned up before tonight."

After one final round of recovery buffs Cure tears off to play with his friend.

Watching him go and, from the look of things, chat up a storm with Heavy, Title can only shake her head as she walks towards the water with her mates.

"Sweet Celestia, Vines… how the hay are you doing it?"

"What's that, honey?"

Snorting, Deed doesn't give Title a chance to answer. "Maintainin your sanity. The colt's a dozen bales of hay in a two bale cart. He's got more ideas than any twenty ponies I know and seems to be incapable of wearin out. I think he only sleeps out of habit at this point."

All three ponies make their way into the water, wading in until they can lay down with their backs mostly submerged. Sitting so there's just enough room for water to get between them they all sigh in relief.

"He is still my sweet baby. He's just more inquisitive and energetic than most colts. But he's so much happier than he was before he spoke up."

"He is definitely doing well. It takes a strong will to deal with something like that. We need to figure out what we're doing next though. He's coming up with ideas faster than anypony could manage and the only thing holding him back from doing more is time and resources."

Title looks to Deed and asks, "Are you thinking about reaching out to your grandsire?"

"Kinda am. We can't keep the family in the dark forever," Deed explains. Nodding towards his son he adds, "Like he said, family first, and eventually something will get out anyhow. We need to be ready and I think this is turning into more than we can manage ourselves. We're doing him a disservice at some point if we don't reach out."

"Yeah, after last night I would definitely sleep better if he had some protection. I still can't believe that got so far out of hoof,” Title complains, slapping some water in frustration. “That was a third of the damn guard for the whole town over a children's scuffle."

"It was pretty crazy," Deed agrees. "Honestly I’m a little concerned about that guard. What kinda grown stallion gets in a young colt’s face like that?"

"Makes me wonder what their home life is like," Vines adds. "Little fillies hunting down and surrounding another foal like that… that's not something I would expect from a child. They learned that kind of behavior somewhere, I know it."

"Eh… foals aren't quite as innocent as you give 'em credit for. Besides, if somethin's goin on in their home it's outta our hooves either way."

"Yeah…" Title reluctantly agrees. "So Vines, honey? Are you okay with reaching out to Deed's grandpa? I've only met him once, and he barely said two words to me, so I'm not sure. All I've got to go on are the stories."

"Oh I think we can trust him to look out for Cure. I am a little worried they will bump heads a bit though… Cure is such a sweetheart and Brick is… well…"

"He's a jerk, babe," Deed flatly says. "Total hardflank but if he was nearby when Cure yelled like that they woulda been carting that idiot off in a bucket. Gruff as he is, you don't mess with family. He'll open a lot of doors for the colt. Plus he'll love any booze ideas the colt comes up with. I bet it'll make 'em proud."

"If you're sure, sweetie."

"Eh, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like he'll foalnap him or something."

Title looks over towards Heavy's family and lets out a deep sigh. "He's doing something."

Turning, Deed lets out a quick "huh…" while Vines chuckles with a "yeah… all day."

Over where Heavy's family has been hanging out there is now a large flock of ducks. Heavy's little sisters are rolling around playing with the younger ones while several hens are climbing all over Cure, apparently trying to clean him.

Title spots Heavy rolling on the ground laughing at his friend while Cure endures the aggressive attention. The dams can only watch in disbelief as other foals are making their way over to investigate and join in.

Grumbling, Deed looks between his wives. "Well… I wonder what he's learned from ducks. The colt better not start layin eggs."

"HA!" Title barks out a laugh. "I think he'll make a wonderful mommy!"

"We should probably go see what's going on, honey."

"Yeah. I guess so. I'll put together a letter for grandpa when we get home. I can drop it in the mail when we go into town tonight. We'll probably hear back in a couple weeks."

"Be careful what you put in it, babe," Title suggests, "you know stuff doesn't always make it to the right pony."

"Yeah, Grandpa made sure to drill us on protocol every time he visited when we were growing up. I know what words to use to subtly get his attention. Just the fact I'm sending him something out of the blue should make him curious."

Author's Note

Sorry this is much later than I expected. Unforeseeable circumstances kept me away from my computer for the last 48+ hours.