Chapter 40: Sharing is Caring

Sunday, November 16th, 908 AB (5 days later)
Location: Baltimare library

“Why did I even agree to this?” Solar grumbles. “It’s cold out and I could be spending time with my friends.”

“First off, ouch. Second, c’mon dude, yer gonna break your sister’s heart talkin like that,” Cure whispers, giving the pouting filly a nuzzle. “I’ll always look forward to hanging out with ya, Sunrise.”

“Why don’t you wanna spend time with me, big bwuther?” she asks, bottom lip quivering at the red colt.

“Gah! Don’t point that at me!” he hisses, turning away from ponykind’s most feared weapon. “I know you’re fakin it anyhow, so just quit. You know damn well that’s not what I meant.”

Smirking in victory, Dawn looks back to Cure. “What are we here for anyhow?”

“A few things. I wanted to get a book I didn’t snag when I came here with my parents,” he explains as he digs through the magic section, “and I figured I should look for something about clothes making. Wait… dressmaking? That’s not specifically about dresses is it?” he asks, pausing in thought.

A poke from Dawn knocks him out of his head. “Screw it, sewing. Anyhow, with my dam making baby stuff I thought maybe I could learn a little to help out.”

“Aww… you’re gonna be such a good big brother, Cure!” she gushes, nuzzling into him.

“Here it is! Thanks, babe,” he says, returning the affection. Cure passes the spell modification book to Solar and takes off for the Arts & Crafts section. The pair trail behind him with Solar looking through the book, levitating it in front of him while walking.

“I really hope you’re not planning on trying this stuff when I’m not around, Cure. Modifying spells without somepony else around is a horrible idea. Dawn doesn’t have enough experience to know what she’s doing, either.” Considering the material for a moment he adds, “I don’t have the experience to know what I’m doing with this… I’m not sure our sire does either, really.”

“Nah, I’m not going to do anything. Not anytime soon at least. I’m mainly doing pattern analysis with my talent in the hopes I can piece together some working models on spell creation,” he explains as he looks through the selection of books about sewing.

He grabs a beginner’s guide and a book about looms and tosses them on his back. “Two or three more books and I’m good to go,” he calls as he trots towards the reference books.

“Chemistry?” Dawn asks as he pulls a book off the shelf. “Is this for something with your talent?”

“Nope. This is more to refresh my memory. I saw something once that I thought may be useful if I ever do learn spell creation and I wanted to find a copy of it to scan with my talent. I probably won’t mess with this stuff for years, but the curiosity is eatin at me.”

“I don’t think you can leave with these books,” Solar points out. “The Reference section is only for use here at the library.”

“Yeah, I figured that,” Cure says, leafing through a second book, “I may have to reproduce the table on my belly or side and just scan that. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Good thing I can write small with my talent.”

When the colt moves to the third book Solar asks, “What is it you’re looking for specifically? Maybe we can help.”

“A copy of the periodic table.”

The siblings look at each other with the same befuddled look before Dawn turns back asking, “The what?”

Realizing Dawn probably wouldn’t know that, Cure looks up from the book to the pair. “You know… the periodic table of the elements,” he clarifies, still getting confused looks. “You’ve never seen a periodic table?” Waving a hoof across and then up and down he adds, “All the elements in rows and columns based on their atomic number?”

Both unicorns slowly shake their heads no. Solar explains, “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t you learn any chemistry in school?”

“Miss Shadow gave us a science book that had a chapter on chemicals and which are dangerous.”

“Ahh… crap,” he mumbles, shoulders sagging. “Gimme a second, I think I was looking for the wrong thing,” he says, starting over and, instead of looking for a big, colorful table, searches for a list of chemicals and their properties. He does find a list, though there’s only about sixty chemicals on it with the highest being Lead, somehow still bearing the familiar Pb abbreviation.

Okay so everything matches at a glance, probably because it all comes from Latin, but I coulda sworn several chemicals got their name from a location they were found originally. Maybe that’s only the newer artificial ones.

Fuck it, I’m just glad they’re not too much more suspicious of me. I think I can fill in a lot of the crap missing outside of all those metals and probably a dozen of those with this list.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Cure asks for a moment to duplicate the page. Solar looks over his shoulder for a second before backing away, shaking his head. “I only recognize a few of the names on that list. What in the hay are you going to use that for?”

“I’m trying to determine if there’s a correspondence between conjuration spells and what’s being conjured. Water is the key because I know exactly what it’s made of. I suspect there’s at least a pattern on the metaphysical side, but I figured I might as well make sure it’s not more obvious before I give up on it.”

“That… sounds kinda brilliant, actually. I’ve never heard of the idea, but it would make sense.”

“What could you do with that?” Dawn asks.

“Not much in the short term, but the potential is unlimited if I’m right. And that’s not hyperbole. If I’m right about this then I’d be very worried about somepony else figuring it out because the possibilities are almost endless,” Cure warns as he closes the book and replaces it on the shelf.

“Normally I would dismiss stuff like that from a foal…” Solar says with a questioning brow.

Meeting his eyes, Cure casually explains, “The same elements that bond and make water, when not combined, explode violently when ignited. Not a powerful explosion, mind you, but still.”

“What? How? Water doesn’t explode…”

“Water is H2O; two hydrogen atoms bonded with an oxygen atom. The H2 part without the oxygen atom is hydrogen gas. Add flame and it’ll explode and you’ll end up with a fireball, then water vapor because during the explosion the H2 bonds with oxygen in the air, giving you H2O.”

Heading off the question he knows is coming he explains, “I saw a chemist explain it, then poke a balloon full of hydrogen with a candle on a stick to demonstrate. It was pretty neat.”

“Oh.”

“I’d kinda like to see that,” Solar says, getting an agreeing nod from his sister.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. We could buy balloons and try, but we would have to figure out how to conjure the H2 part without the O part. I would need to do some prep to make it safer. It may also be restricted since, ya know, explosion and all. It’s also very loud.”

Nodding in understanding, Solar asks, “Ah. Like, how loud are we talking?”

“It’s an explosion, dude…”

“What if we used the Sound Bubble spell?” Dawn asks.

The two colts share a look and shrug. “We could try but it’ll be a long time before we can even figure out the right spell,” Cure explains as he replaces the books. “Alright, the last thing I am looking for is a list of formulas, so I’ll need a physics and a math book. They usually have an index at the end with all of them listed.”

“There is no way you should know that,” Solar says with a frown.

“Yeah, when the hay have you read a physics book, Cure?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever actually read one but physics is basically math, and every other math book I’ve seen has a formula page at the end so you don’t have to dig through the text.”

The unicorns share an unsure look, but instead of arguing they start looking through books themselves. Once Cure finds and duplicates the formula pages they put the books back and he turns to the pair.

“We’re going to Early’s next, unless there’s something else either of you needs…?” Getting no head shakes Cure nods and trots to the desk to check out.

Flush with cash and hoping to stock up for the winter, the three make their way to Early’s Odds and Ends. The enchanting section still sucks compared to what was in Canterlot, but Cure didn’t expect much anyhow. He is planning on sending a few thousand bits with his sire when he goes to the investment seminar in January, but it occurs to him that may not be necessary.

“Hey mister?” he calls, approaching the same older stallion. “Do you have a catalog for higher tier crystals or maybe some inventory you don’t leave on the shelves?”

“Hrm… ya seem familiar, son. Weren’t you in here askin about enchantments a couple months back?”

“Yessir. Remember I said I have a friend who is a really good caster?”

“Right. Yep, I remember ya now. Have any luck comin up with anything, son?”

“Not for makin money with enchanting, but I’ve found uses for everything we bought that day. My fillyfriend’s brother brought us so I could stock back up on supplies. I’m going to be helpin the local guard unit by providing them some scrolls, but I thought I’d check your crystal inventory while I’m here.”

“Ahh. Good thinkin. Always wondered why I never see the guard carryin scrolls. The little things can be really useful. I have a couple mid tier gems I keep locked up, but they’re 750 bits apiece. Anything more and I’ll hafta get it shipped in.”

“Would ya sell the pair for 1200? I’m buying out your ink supply, most of the scroll paper you have, a hooffull of the cantrip crystals, six lows, and a few more of the mid-low too if that’ll help.”

“Mmm… I’d be takin a loss on the gems at 1200. 1400.”

“Yer killin me here, buddy! 1300, and don’t go tellin me yer not coming out ahead when I’m about to drop another 500 and change on everything else. Dam didn’t raise no fool, mister!”

“HAH! Alright, son, if you got the bits they’re yours. Don’t go expectin me ta hoof ya over the whole store next time, ya hear!”

“You bet, old timer. We’ll gather everything up and be right there.”

“Sounds good. Here’s the price list for ordering more. You pay up front. Add ten percent on for shipping and my overhead. Minimum order is five hundred bits.”

“Great, thanks mister!”

The list has a few manufacturers of enchantment machines listed and a few models under each one. There’s also a section for bulk purchases of powdered crystal dust, ink, parchments, a variety of fancy quills and fountain pens. The prices for crystals are what he expected, if a tad marked up.

The mid ones like he is buying are 700 each, then 5000, 50,000, and “Auction only” for mid-high, high, and superior and above. The exceptional he’d seen an auction for in Canterlot would probably go for a few times its starting bid, but given that it could contain a hell of a powerful spell or just a lot of juice, it’s probably well worth it. He assumes crystals like that are used in the military or for some kind of industrial purposes.

A few items Cure hadn’t even considered draw his attention; an enchanted scroll book and legitimate spatial bags.

The bags start at two grand for a bit pouch and go up from there, but the description says they hold up to ten times their volume and the weight inside is nullified. Cure can only assume the contents are being shunted to some kind of pocket space, but the possibility alone is enticing.

Larger bags or ones that have more features, like binding, cost a helluva lot more. None indicate they have the “stopped time” feature he’d seen in a lot of fantasy stories, but the security options available are extensive, if pricey.

The scroll book promises to be a purchase he’ll be getting in the very near future. At five grand apiece they still feel like an absolute steal if the description is accurate. The books are similar to the storage bags in that they have a small, compressed spatial enchantment. They can each hold up to twenty scrolls. The enchantment lets the user label a scroll or paper when storing it, then can eject the called for document on command when needed.

It may be a bit pricey for Bulwark’s guards, but he and his parents will certainly be well prepared should the need to fight or flee come up at some point.

Done reviewing the catalog, Cure starts heading to where he sent the others to get all the enchanting supplies they need. Before he can take two steps towards the aisle the unicorn siblings trot out of it with everything levitating behind them. The three will be fairly loaded up for the trip home, but with no more planned stops it should be no problem.

“What kept ya, Cure?” Solar asks.

“I was checking out a catalog for enchanting supplies. Also, I was able to haggle down the dude running the shop. Got 200 bits off a pair of mid tier crystals to go along with everything else. Thank the stars business has been insane this last week.”

“Nice! Any idea what you’ll do with ‘em?” he asks as they make their way to the counter.

“Not yet but I’m sure I’ll find a use eventually. I’m thinking one will be for practicing teleportation. It’ll be a good way for me to burn magic off when we can’t hit the range.”

“Yeah you probably only have barely enough to move a couple meters normally, huh?”

“Right, but compared to when I got my mark I’ve got about three quarters more capacity. Not bad for two and a half months.”

“That’s fantastic, Cure,” Dawn proudly beams, “you’ll probably catch up to me in a year or so!”

They had experimented at the range at the beginning of the month and found that Dawn has roughly four times his capacity. As if that wasn’t enough of a blow to his ego, they’d done the math and estimated Solar is somewhere around seventy to eighty times his maximum.

The not-even-fully-grown unicorn’s output is double the combined total of Cure and all three parents, if barely. Like Dr. Care, Solar was quick to explain that Cure will likely end up with more given how early he’d gotten his mark compared to himself, who’d only gotten his shortly after turning thirteen.

Cure’s biggest advantage at the moment is his cheating ability to amp up his regeneration relative to his magic capacity. Unicorns already generate magic at slightly under double the rate of earth ponies and pegasi, and all ponies’ regeneration increases along with their capacity.

With a little over 35% of his body’s mitochondria converted he has almost as much percentage of “magic generating” cells in his body as the siblings do. Combined with his “Mana Pot” routine to focus his system primarily on magic regen and the fact he’s physically larger with lower fat percent, Cure’s regeneration is about 80% of Dawn’s, making up much of the advantage she has due to her larger pool and whatever is happening on the metaphysical side of the equation.

The 35% of cells (fat excluded) he’d converted make up about 90% of the “earth pony” cells in his muscles. He’d started with them specifically because it’s easier to verify that he wasn’t losing his strength advantage when converting. As a result his body’s mitochondria makeup is approximately (fat excluded) 3.5% earth pony, 35.5% hybrid, 5% pegasus, and 56% unicorn.

He’d initially been excited to see what effect the conversion would have on his magic, but now he was curious what will happen with his TK field once he starts converting the unicorn cells outside of his muscles to the hybrid version.

“Maybe. You’re a half year older and have a four year head start, but I have my regen trick. Of course it could be due to having my mark too.”

Conversation stops as the three place their selection on the counter. “Got the crystals, mister?”

“Right here, son. Ya got the bits, don’t ya?”

“My butler here does,” he says, patting Solar on the side. “Pay the nice stallion, Bentley,” he commands, intentionally looking away when Solar scowls down at him. Dawn’s snickering to the side doesn’t seem to speed up the older colt, but he still relents and pulls two thousand bits out of his bag and pays the bill, casting a side-eye at Cure the whole time.

“Just for that I’m keeping the change,” he mutters under his breath.

“Maybe use it to buy a nice suit, young stallion. Gotta dress the part,” the shopkeeper suggests with a smirk.

Solar takes the purchases with a huff. “Everypony’s a comedian, huh?” he remarks, dropping the heaviest item (the ink) on Cure none-too-gently. Dawn stows the paper in her bags and Solar puts the assortment of crystals in his bag along with the receipt.

“Hey mister, how long does it take to get special orders like those bit pouches in that catalog?”

“Usually two to three weeks, son. Lookin to order something special?”

“Yep. I’ll have to come back another time, though. Didn’t come prepared for all that.”

With an understanding nod, the clerk reminds him, “Don’t wait too long if you’re wanting it before the holiday.”

As they turn to leave Cure yells back, “Thanks, old timer! I’ll be back soon!” The three exit the store and start their walk back to the train station. Solar is walking between the pair with his sister on his right. They’re only a block away when two earth ponies, a mare and a stallion, step out from between two buildings right in front of them, causing them to come to a quick stop.

The mare pulls her bag up slightly on her left side showing a knife handle hanging off her back. “In the alley-”

She doesn’t quite finish before Cure takes a half step forward and blasts out a huge sneeze, interrupting her mid sentence.

“ACHOO!”

The pair freeze, then collapse in a heap. “What the fuck?” a third voice calls from in the alley, drawing all three foals’ attention. Solar doesn’t hesitate to hit the last mare with a quick Stun, knocking her out on the spot while Cure leans over and taps both Solar and Dawn.

“Ah… bless me. Sorry ‘bout the spray,” Cure chuckles as he skips to the downed pair. “I can’t believe it finally happened!” he excitedly calls out, tail wagging like a puppy as he does something to the two he’d disabled.

“What in Tartarus did you do to them?” Solar asks.

“I didn’t do shit! Nice fire speed on that stunner, Quick Draw McGraw. Quick, shoot these two. Trust me. Now!”

Solar gives each of the downed ponies a stun just as they begin to stir.

“Nice!” Cure cheers with a hoof pump. Next he takes a deep breath and yells, “GUARDS! I NEED A GUARD!” drawing looks from further down the street. “Dawn, honey? Are you okay?” he asks, giving the frozen filly a nuzzle.

“Yeah… I’m fine,” she insists, stepping closer to Solar and leaning into his right foreleg. “What was that?”

Walking between the pair and the muggers he faces them and explains, “That was your lightning quick brother stunning three miscreants before they could even finish their nefarious command to follow them into an alley where I’m betting that knife on her,” he points at the armed mare, “would have come out to be all intimidating and whatnot.”

Looking at Solar he comments, “Solar Strike indeed. The only horn that’s faster than light, eh buddy?”

Solar looks like he has no clue what’s going on. “What?” he confusedly asks.

“Get it together, you two,” Cure commands with a clap. Waving to the downed pair he explains, “These schmucks stepped in our way, flashed a knife, and tried to coerce us into the alley, got it?” At their nods he says, “Pegasus guards incoming, 30 seconds. Anyhow, I sneezed, distracting them, and Solar opened fire, tagging all three before they could react. Understand?”

“Yep.”
“Okay.”

“Great! Stick to the story, okay?” Sitting on his haunches, Cure waves his forelegs in the air yelling, “OFFICER! OVER HERE!” even though the pair of pegasus guards are already obviously on their way.

One is barely over eighteen, if that. She has a light green coat with a yellow mane like Cure’s dam. The other one looks a couple years older, has a pink coat and navy blue mane, and has a pair of chevrons on her armor.

As they land the corporal approaches the six while the private stays back a few steps.

“Oh officer!” Cure starts, still waving back turned to the alley, “Thank Celestia you got here so fast. These three just tried to mug us! Watch out, that one has a knife under her bag. We’re all unharmed thanks to my friend here,” he explains, reaching over and patting Solar’s left foreleg with his right hoof.

The mare approaches the downed ponies, but keeps them between herself and the trio. She does remove the knife, tossing it on the ground off to the side of her partner, then checks the other two quickly, finding another knife on the mare in the alley and, once she moves closer, throws it near the other.

Finally satisfied that the stunned ponies are disarmed, she looks at Solar and asks, “Stunned all three of ‘em?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I’m assuming these two stopped ya and that one was waiting in the alley?”

“Yep. They stepped out and said to go in the alley while flashing a knife. The colt,” he motions to Cure, “sneezed and that got them looking his way. Once they had their eyes off of me I hit ‘em with a stun and the mare in the alley made a noise. I hit her as soon as I noticed her.”

“Nice work, son. We’ve had a couple reports matching these three. The rest of our squad should be here in a sec. How hard did ya hit em?”

“Hard enough. It’ll be about an hour before they’re up.”

“I can wake them up sooner if it’ll help. I have a healing special talent. We’re all from Golden Hills and I’m workin with Staff Sergeant Bulwark over there, so I’m sure your Captain, LT, and maybe even your sergeant have seen my RMF-4 papers.”

“Uhh… let’s hold off on that for now, colt.”

“I didn’t know you could wake up a stunned pony,” Dawn comments.

“I haven’t tried,” Cure explains with a shrug, “but it probably does. It does every stupid thing else, so why not heal whatever nerve shock thing the Stun spell seems to do?”

Solar sighs and rolls his eyes. “I can’t even argue with the logic there. It’ll probably work.”

Cure can hear the distant clanking of armor and synchronized clomps of hooves a few moments before eight guards come into sight from a crossing street a block away. The squad makes good time at a quick canter and, within twenty seconds, is slowing down to a trot and forming a perimeter around the area.

The lead pony is a unicorn and, from the insignia, a sergeant. She’s a half hoof taller than Solar and, even with the armor, a little slimmer. She has a very bright white coat with a silver mane. The corporal stands at attention as the sergeant approaches and asks her for the situation. Cure catches most of the conversation, which is a retelling of what Solar had told her along with his RM status.

The sergeant looks over the three muggers, waves at a few troops, and snarls out “Bind ‘em!” Then approaches the trio, the corporal and her partner following.

“Nopony’s hurt, right?” she asks.

“No ma’am,” all three chorus, Cure adding, “I’m a biomanipulator, ma’am, just so you know you’ve got an RMF-4 on your hooves. That’s the designation Sgt. Bulwark told me, at least.”

“Thanks for the heads up, son, but that doesn’t matter here. We’ve been after these three for a few weeks. They come after you after you spent some bits?”

“Yes ma’am,” Solar answers, “just spent almost two grand at the hobby store on enchanting supplies.”

Nodding, she explains, “One of them probably saw three youths shopping and overheard. I bet they were in there watching to see how much ya spent. No matter. Corporal Streak will take your info and we’ll have you on your way. You stunned all three, son?”

“Yes ma’am. I’m enlisting in January. My sire is the day shift second in command in Golden Hills.”

The sargeant looks up in thought for a second before asking, “Sgt. Haze, right? You’re his colt?”

“Yes ma’am, and this is my sister and her coltfriend.”

The sergeant gives him an up-down look and nods in approval. “Yer damn sure ready. Basic’s gonna be a joke for ya, son. Keep up the good work, young stallion,” she calls as she turns away. “Load ‘em up and let’s move!” she orders, getting the attention of her guards.

The three muggers are thoroughly cuffed and restrained. A unicorn loads the two mares onto one earth pony guard and the stallion on another. The other three earth pony guards form a triangle with two on the sides and one behind. The sergeant takes point, the other two unicorns take the rear, and once the corporal gets Solar’s info, the pegasi shoot up into the air to circle above.

“We’ll be in touch if we need anything,” the sergeant yells over her withers as the squad starts marching off; the crowd parting and cheering as the prisoners are taken away. A few come over to thank Solar and ask if the group are okay, but after a few reassurances that they’re fine they make an expeditious retreat for the train.

The train arrives soon after they got to the station. All three are hesitant to discuss what happened until they were somewhere safe, so after a few minutes of quiet Dawn finally thinks of something she hadn’t thought to ask Cure about during the run last night.

“Hey Cure?”

“Hmm?”

“I was wondering how it went yesterday. You know, the unicorn?”

“Ah. It went really well, actually. I didn’t get a chance to tell you last night, but they flew me to Baltimare for it.”

“Huh, dam didn’t say anything either,” Solar explains.

“Does she usually talk about work stuff much?”

“No,” Dawn starts, “We only hear about gossip from her, mostly.”

“Yeah, I’ve had a few ask about ‘my little fillyfriend’ or whatever. I suspect they may be trying to hook me up with their daughters or nieces or whatever.”

“You’re going to get that a lot, dude. It’s bad enough when you’re a normal colt, you on the other hoof… everypony’s going to try to introduce you to their daughter if they’re remotely close in age.”

“No doubt. We talked about that a couple weeks ago at my business too. I’m gettin it everywhere now. See that, babe? Snagged yerself a winner, ya did,” he teases Dawn while nuzzling into her cheek.

Rolling her eyes she pokes him to get him back on topic. “So you flew to Baltimare?”

“Oh, right, sorry. Yep. They had me change my colors before they flew me off. I went with an off-white coat and a light brown mane and tail. I didn’t bother hiding my mark; nopony paid any attention to me and they had me in a gown once I landed anyhow and slapped a fake horn on under it so I looked like a young unicorn. The flight was really short and the transport they provided was enclosed, so it wasn’t too bad.”

“I’ve heard it can get bumpy in the air for some reason,” Solar says.

“You went alone?” Dawn asks. “Nopony went with you?”

“Nurse Gentle did. They had another nurse come in to cover while we were gone. It was only like an hour or so total.” Looking up to the older colt he explains, “What you’re thinking of is called air turbulence, Solar. That’s only when you’re way higher or there’s bad weather, I think. It was noisy from the wind, but that’s all.

“Nurse Gentle lives up to her name. She laid across the bench and kept a foreleg around me to hold me to her chest and belly the whole trip. Them’s good snuggles, I tell ya. Anyhow, so I get there and meet with some other hospital bigwigs and a couple of their surgeons I’ll be working with. The Chief Physician, Dr. Care, ran the show yesterday, and show is the right word. They turned the whole thing into a big damn spectacle.”

“It’s kind of a big deal, Cure,” Solar rolls his eyes and says.

“I know, I know. It’s just, ya know, to me it’s like… I coulda walked up to the dude on the street, we coulda sat on a bench for a minute or two, and gone our separate ways and accomplished the same thing.”

Cure blows out a deep sigh.

“So after havin this poor unicorn sign all these privacy forms and disclaimers and waiver or whatever they bring me into the OR… err, that’s operating room, in case you didn’t know,” both roll their eyes, so they did know, “shattap, anyhow, the dude’s sittin there on the surgical table and I’m like, ‘He does realize we’re not cutting on him or anything, right?’ and the minder freaks out because I’m not supposed to talk even though I barely whispered it anyhow.”

Snout scrunched adorably in confusion, Dawn asks, “Why?”

“So that nopony can recognize my voice. I had changed it and there’s no way he heard me, but either way, ya know? So they have this diagnostic tech specialist unicorn that’s supposed to be projecting everything and Dr. Care’s all telling me what’s wrong and how it should look and all this crap even though I literally showed her I know all this last weekend.

“Well I didn’t want to give a bad impression, so I kinda played along with everything and let Dr. Care tell me what to do. I basically sat beside her and put a hoof on the patient and did everything from there. She has her horn glowing and is describing what she… or I… am doing, so nopony even looked my way. I guess they assumed I was just following along or something.”

“Did she do a good job?”

“Oh yeah, babe. Absolutely. I mean, she’s absolutely brilliant, she doesn’t have the ability to do the fine manipulation like I can. The horn nerves and muscles are too complex and, apparently, the horn itself interferes with the unicorn spells somehow.

“She is the chief physician for a major metropolitan area, so she’s probably forgotten more medical stuff than I’ll learn in a decade. I really need to check my ego, sometimes, honestly. When you can do something nopony else can… Well, it’s easy to get a big head, I suppose.”

“Smart move doing that, Cure. That’s very mature for a colt your age.”

“Thanks dude. I mean, I never would, but I could have walked in, busted out the Illusion crystal, gave the guy a tap, and fixed his horn in like a minute, but that would have been a complete dick move and pissed off a lot of ponies I’ll eventually probably work with, not to mention crapped all over the anonymity that Iinsisted on.

“The best thing to do is to trust the hospital executives and do what I’m told when and how they say to do it. I mean, I know how that sounds, but if something happens then it’s not my mess to clean up if I was doing what they told me to do.”

“So the pony was able to use his horn?” Dawn asks.

“He sure was. And frankly, I was thankful for Care’s presence right then and there. The stallion was so busy hugging and crying all over her I was able to make my escape with him probably forgetting I was there at all. The way the hospital did it was really smart; it seemed like she was simply explaining what she was doing the whole time when really she was telling me how it should look, even though I knew, and she knew I knew, exactly what to do.”

“And you just… left afterwards?” Dawn asks.

“You bet, I left the room right away. The whole point was to deflect attention away from me. The stallion knew I was there, but he had no idea it wasn’t Dr. Care doing her thing. He probably figured I was some apprentice or whatever, which is true. Nopony is gonna look at the young colt in a room full of qualified surgeons anyhow, ya know?

“We had a meeting afterwards where we talked about the operation and did the notes, but that’s all standard procedure. They were very happy with everything and I had no complaints, so it was pretty brief. I figure they keep it short since, ya know… eight year old colt, short attention span, whatever.

“Really it went great and I felt… I don’t want to sound corny here, but I felt a sense of accomplishment that I’ve barely felt for like two months. It was, pardon the phrase, magical. They’re wanting to bring in a pegasus in a few weeks once they’re sure everything with the unicorn turned out fine. He’s doing some kind of testing and horn therapy or whatever right now.”

“That’s amazing. Simply amazing, Cure,” Solar praises. Laying a hoof on Cure’s withers he continues, “I have to give ya credit, you’re really doing good with that. You’ve changed that pony’s entire life with that one little act.”

Dawn leans over and gives him a kiss on his cheek, then nuzzles into him.

“Totally worth it,” he agrees with a smile.

“Heya sport, how’d it go?” Deed calls out as the three pile in the house. Vines is using his right haunches as a pillow, turned opposite of him with her right side leaning into him. Title is leaning on his left side reading and looks up when the three walk in.

“Not bad! We had a tiny incident when we left the hobby shop but we got everything we needed plus a couple mid level crystals for six fifty each!”

“Hmm…” Title hums, looking at the unicorns’ incredulous looks, “somethin tells me whatever happened is a bit more than that.”

“Yeah, son, Solar looks a smidge worn out there. Come in and take a load off, you two,” he says, waving to Vines’ and Cure’s unoccupied cushions. “Thirsty, Solar? Dawn?”

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” Solar replies, levitating the gems out of his bag, setting it on a hook by the door, then relaxing on the cushion facing the trio.

Dawn floats the ink off of Cure’s back, then empties her bag and, after Cure jerks his head at her brother, leans into his left side while snuggling against him on the cushion. Cure joins on the other side a moment later, squishing the older colt in a foal sandwich and giving the colt a reassuring nuzzle.

Title looks at the three and asks, “So… what did Cure do?”

Turning away, Cure lets out an indignant huff while complaining, “Everypony’s all quick ta blame me around here. Like I ever cause trouble…” he grumbles.

“Eh, he’s actually innocent of this one, mostly. We had a couple ponies step out…”

Solar gives the parents the full, unedited version of events, then looks down at Cure asking, “You never did say what that sneeze was. Some kinda drug?”

“Magically enhanced wasp venom. I need to use way less next time, though. Another ten seconds and they’d both been pushin up daisies. I’ll tell ya, my cutie mark don’t play when I pull up a venom and say ‘tweak this for an instant knock-out’ cause woo-doggy… those two were out in an instant.”

Deed lets out an impressed whistle, “Damn, son. Way to give ‘em Tartarus. They gonna be okay?”

“Yeah, they’ll feel perfectly fine once that stunner wears off. I removed all evidence from their coats and outta their systems, that’s why they started waking up so fast.”

“I’m guessing we’re just moving on from the fact you almost killed two ponies with magic wasp venom?” Solar asks. When both awake parents shrug he rolls his eyes. “Well… I guess it’s not that dangerous as long as you’re there to heal them too.”

“No, not really. Even if their hearts had stopped for a couple minutes I coulda brought them back. Probably. I wouldn’t want to test it, but once blood starts moving with air in it everything kinda wakes back up, mostly, and I should be able to jolt anything that doesn’t. As long as I don’t damage their brains it’s all good.”

“Why have bro stun them instead of just waiting?”

“The guard doesn’t need to know I can do that. This way they’ll detect Solar’s magic on them, assuming they can, and will go along with what we said.”

“They can,” Solar explains, “They checked them all while we were chatting with the sergeant. How the hay did you know that?”

“Common sense? I figured there has to be a way to tell who cast what, so… yeah,” he trails off with a shrug. “I hope the stun spell blew off any traces of my magic on them. If not I’ll say I was making sure they were unconscious if anyone asks. They may be able to scrape the area and find some venom, but it’s harmless as long as nopony licks the ground or something. It’ll be gone next time it rains.

“Ah fudge… I scanned the mare in the alley after you stunned her. Oh well, good thing I was up front when the sergeant came.”

“When?” Solar asks. “I never saw you touch her.”

“Earth pony magic isn’t touch-only.”

“It’s not?”

“Nope. After about two meters it cuts off, though. If it was purely touch only we couldn’t make seeds grow once planted without shovin our hoof in the dirt. It gets fuzzy after a meter and a half, roughly but I do the touch thing so ponies know for sure when I’m using my talent.”

“Huh… not a bad idea, I guess.”

Dawn climbs up on Solar’s withers to look over him. “Why didn’t you use that instead of sneezing then?”

“Making changes to myself is almost free as far as magic use, also a lot faster. That way I could get them both at once, too.” Shadow boxing a couple hoof jabs with a big, triumphant smile he adds, “Besides, wasp venom sneeze blast! C’mon, that’s totally awesome!”

Deed starts chuckling while Title shakes her head in exasperation. “Colts…” she mumbles.

Solar huffs in annoyance, but Dawn nods in agreement. “It does sound like a hardflank move. How far could you shoot that?” She asks, getting a raised brow from her brother, who’s turned his neck to the right to look at her.

“As a mist? A couple meters, tops. I could lace a porcupine quill and shoot it further. I would need to practice my aim, though. A bone dart would probably go even further than that, especially if I made some kinda compressed air chamber to propel it, but I’d have to find a good dose or I could accidentally kill somepony with that.”

Cure drifts off in thought considering where on his body he could fit the structures to pull it off. The shoulders or pectorals would be a good spot, or perhaps there’s room for some kind of pop-up barrel over his haunches. Of course, aiming would be difficult, so a specialized eye stalk would probably be required to improve accuracy.

Solar gives the colt a shoulder bump, bringing him back from his daze. “Huh?”

“I asked if you needed to get anything else. We need to go home here soon. Our dam and sire will be getting dinner ready before too long.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ll come into town with ya. I need to visit the ice cream shop and go to the hardware and garden stores.”

“Wanna take anything with you, Solar?” Title offers. “We have lots left even after selling everything at the market. We’re gonna need a bigger wagon so we can take more… Vines sells out in no time even when we load up.”

Solar pauses in consideration. Vines’ produce was exceptional and, according to Cure, the family replanted and did their magic ritual every weekend, so they’d always have plenty of food. “Sure, if you don’t mind. My parents will be thrilled. Thank you.”

“Cure, babe,” she starts, “why don’t you take the little cart with you and grab whatever Dawn and Solar would like? Do you want me to come with you?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, ma. I can manage it just fine.” Cure stands and heads for the stairs calling, “Give me a second to grab a few more bits. I didn’t plan on going back into town today,” as he disappears up the stairs.

“Are you two okay?” Deed asks, legitimate concern on his face. “The colt’s thinkin ain’t like most ponies, so I know he’s fine.”

“He seemed to think it was kinda funny…” Solar says. “I’m fine though. Cure’s been putting me through what he calls ‘mental conditioning’ at the range so I don’t freeze when things happen. He didn’t even let that mare finish her sentence before he knocked ‘em both out, though.” Turning to give his sister a nuzzle he asks, “How are you, sissy? You alright?”

Scoffing, she chuckles a few times. “Am I okay? It was over before I even realized what was happening. I’m fine.”

“Talk to your sire about it,” Title suggests, cutting off when Cure comes down the stairs.

“Good advice,” he agrees. “Feel free to give him the unedited version. I don’t think he’ll tell Bulwark, but even if he does I’m not too worried about it. It’s healthy to talk about these things,” he insists. Looking at the pair he asks, “You two ready?”

Dawn climbs off of Solar with a nod. Solar stands, calling farewells and thanks over his withers as the three go out to the garden.

“Pick out whatever you’d like. I’ll get the cart on,” he instructs, waving to the garden. The harness is too big for Cure, but he’s able to hold it in place with his TK. It looks a little silly, but given Cure’s shopping list he’ll need it.

After selecting a decent variety of produce and thanking Cure repeatedly the three start their trek into town. Solar can’t help but notice that Cure seems to be looking around more than normal, almost like he’s expecting them to be followed.

“Dawn, can you please cast a Sound Bubble?” She gives him an odd look, but does so anyway. In a low voice, Cure explains, “I wanted to talk to you both about something, but I’ve not really been sure how to broach the subject.”

“That’s not ominous,” Solar notes.

“It’s nothing bad, I promise. It’s this experiment I’ve been testing that I told you won’t be done until April.”

“What about it?” Dawn asks.

“I’ve confirmed that, at least to some degree, it makes a difference. I can reduce my effective mass by a lot. I’m guessing 70% or more. I’ve nearly converted all of the cells in my body that are responsible for an earth pony’s TK field into the hybrid cells. As you’ve both seen, my magic regeneration is completely unfair, even if my capacity is lacking, and you certainly noticed my TK field isn’t any weaker when I jumped on you two weeks ago.”

The older colt feels a touch of annoyance at Cure over that spider fiasco, but he knows it was just the colt’s way of treating him like an older brother. “Right,” Solar agrees as both he and Dawn nod.

“I don’t want to do anything big until my experiment is concluded, but if either of you are interested I don’t see the harm in bringing you up to ten or twenty percent conversion slowly over the next few weeks. I would prefer to do it at the same rate I am; half of a percent per day, and also be present for the next half hour or so in case either of you have a negative reaction.

“My only concern, especially with you, Solar, is that you may accidentally show off at Basic by doing something a unicorn normally cannot do. I think ten percent should be safe; your TK level would be at roughly what a pegasus normally is. Still enough to be noticed unless you’re careful, but you’d also be very cold-resistant and, if you can get the visual right, able to lighten yourself and vastly increase your jump distance.”

“Definitely!” Dawn shouts. “I hate being cold, and the other stuff sounds awesome too! Does this mean we’ll be able to get strong like an earth pony?”

Waving a hoof to quiet the filly down, despite the Sound Bubble, he replies, “I think so. The only metaphysical ability that earth ponies seem to have is our plant growing thing. I’m sure there’s things a pegasus can do that I’ll never be able to also; I suspect weather control or some of the cloud shaping stuff since the aura we all have mitigates lightning to some degree and definitely is responsible for their mass thing.”

“What about unicorns?” Solar asks, “It seems like, for once, we actually end up getting the short end of the stick.”

“My guess? I’m betting you just have more magic. Period. It’s like this, I figure unicorns’ “system” is more open, in that anypony with a horn can access what you guys got. The flip side is that, if you invest the time and effort, a unicorn can come up with something to mimic literally anything else too. Unicorn magic is kinda like… I dunno, the universal key or something, but you gotta know how to use it to really open all the doors.”

“That… seems plausible, I suppose. Good analogy.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda proud of that one too,” Cure says with a happy smile. “So we talked previously about how with the hybrid thing I’m almost kind of like an alicorn junior, sort of. Well that’s not completely wrong, but obviously She literally can do everything any of us can do just naturally, including all the crap on the metaphysical side that one of us would have to come up with a spell to mimic.”

“Huh. You spend a lot of time thinking about stuff, don’t you?”

“All the time, Solar. I spend all the time thinking about stuff. So… my only concern is whether or not I have enough magic to do a half percent of each one of your cells. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you do the math it’s actually like hundreds of billions of cells at once that I’m permanently transmuting, even if it’s just a part of ‘em.”

“Maybe only do Solar for now,” Dawn suggests, “He’s only got a month and a half before he has to go.”

“You sure, sis?”

“Definitely,” she confirms with a nod. “There’s no rush for me at all.”

“I’m willing to try if you’re certain, Cure.”

“Well… now’s the best time. We have another fifteen minute walk. I can hang out for a few minutes while you all put the groceries away before I have to run a few errands. Here, let’s step off the path a second.”

The two follow Cure off to the side of the path where they won’t be interrupted.

“Alright Solar, gimme a sec,” he says as he takes the harness off. It only takes a moment since it wasn’t really fastened onto him in the first place. Setting it on the ground, he leans into Solar’s side and begins his work.

Solar can feel Cure’s magic at work. The capacity isn’t very high, but just like when the colt had fixed up his knees the direct application of another pony’s magic in his body is a little weird. Still, he knows and trusts Cure and does everything in his power to lower whatever metaphysical protections he can imagine to make Cure’s job easier.

After several minutes Cure finally comes out of his trance looking quite a bit more tired than Solar normally sees him, even after going wild at the range. Dawn nuzzles into his other side and noses at his cheek to bring him out of his stupor.

“Ugh… working on other ponies sucks when you can’t use their magic.”

“Are you sure you can’t? I mean… not to make it weird, but I basically think of you as a little brother.”

“Aww, thanks dude,” he replies, giving the older colt’s shoulder a nuzzle. “We’ll definitely try next time. I think the bond that’s needed takes a while to establish, but who knows? What happens if it doesn’t work?”

“It just doesn’t work, I assume. Normally when unicorns are sharing energy like that it’s during a spell, though, and the runes support the flow of energy.”

“Is there a way to flat out share power without casting a spell?”

“Mmm… I don’t think so. The magic isn’t actually going into the caster during a spell like that; it’s being fed into the spell itself and the caster is directing the magic. That’s why your whole group casting thing is unusual. Without a focus the only way I can figure that’s working is, like you said, due to the close bond… probably more on the metaphysical side than emotional since that’s where the magic is happening.”

“Right, that’s my theory too. I figure a bond like that probably takes a year or two since the ponies really have to see each other as, basically, family even on a subconscious level, and I’ve only known my mom a little over three years now, so it has to be less than that. I didn’t really start thinking of her as “mom” until a couple years back.”

“Well if you’re theorizing you must have already recovered some. I can tell you do stuff like this a lot… I’d probably be a drooling mess if I ran myself dry like it felt like you did. How far did you get?”

“I got to a half of a percent. Barely. It seemed to get a little easier half way through, thankfully. Keep in mind you probably won’t be able to tell a difference at all until at least five percent. I’ll have to teach you how to think “light” too, but I’m betting the first thing you’ll notice is your acceleration and stop speed increasing since you can grab the ground harder.”

“Well I may not be able to share my magic with you, but it sounds like I could at least lower some kind of defense, because about half way through is when I imagined my magic trying to help you as best it could.”

“Huh. Cool. Something to note when it’s your turn, Dawn.”

Dawn looks over the colt again. He seems almost back to normal already; maybe just a little more tired looking than normal. “Are you sure you’re okay, Cure?”

“Yep. Good to go. We better get movin too, I got lots to do today. Good thing the ice cream parlor is on my list; I could go for a chocolate shake. Dawn, maybe I can do your thing in the morning before school, then spend the day recharging before doing Solar in the evening after work. You’re a lot smaller, so it won’t wear me out as much.”

Solar had levitated the harness onto himself before Cure could get to it, and insisted he can at least pull the cart while thanking Cure profusely the whole way.

When Solar went a full thirty minutes without detonating or keeling over, Cure felt confident enough to say his goodbyes and take off for his next stop; the ice cream parlor where he planned on buying Heavy a year’s supply of free sundae coupons. And himself a snack.

He hadn’t told the siblings, but he was trying to get most of his Hearth’s Warming shopping done at once.

Normally foals didn’t buy presents for friends; only close adults did that. Foals can typically expect a present from parents and maybe another visiting relative, but the holiday just hadn’t been commercialized like it was for humans.

Either way, Cure treasures his friends and looks forward to seeing their excitement when they open their presents. Few memories bring him more joy than the those of his kids or granddaughter screaming and leaping on him on Christmas morning.

He’ll never forget Josh’s reaction when he opened an XBox about a month after they very first came out. The hysterical ten year old was so excited he had to be called back down to open the last few presents before he tore off to his room to hook the unit up. It made the nuisance of getting the damn thing worthwhile.

Ed had taken Thursday off of work and spent Wednesday night holding a numbered, red raffle ticket while camped out waiting for his turn to be let in Best Buy after midnight. Thankfully it was a somewhat mild November evening and the other people in line turned it into an impromptu nerdfest. Sadly, the store’s management team took forever, so he didn’t get home until almost three in the morning.

Cyndi’s display of her appreciation the next evening made it completely worthwhile. Diamonds may do the trick for some, but going out of the way for her kids was more than enough for her.

Cure shakes himself out of the happy memory as he approaches the supply store he’d come to with his dam a few months prior. After parking his cart he goes in and heads straight for the seed selection. After picking out a variety of perfumey flower seeds including honeysuckle, jasmine, lavender, and, of course, lilies he picks two large, ornate pots and asks for a couple 20 kg bags of potting soil.

Purchases complete and loaded, his next stop is the town bookstore. As expected, the store didn’t have what he wanted in stock, but the clerk took his order for a six volume set of books detailing everything a budding smith could want on designs of weapons and armors developed since just after the country’s founding. Cure paid the extra few bits to ensure early delivery and was told to come back in a few weeks.

Next Cure went to the only appliance store in town and got his parents’ gifts ordered. The refrigerator itself is a lot less expensive than he’d expected, probably because it’s just a well insulated box with runic or enchantment lines running throughout it. Almost the entire price are the enchanted crystals; two mid-low with a chilling effect in one and the food preservation in the other.

The oven/stove combination unit was a little more advanced and, in all likelihood, a better unit than even modern humans can produce. The runic patterns inside the oven ensure quick and even heating throughout the unit and the upgrade to a four-burner stove top won’t be unwelcome. The biggest challenge was finding a unit that fits right in the same spot the current one does.

Ponies don’t eat a whole lot of hot meals, but between baked goods, pastas, casseroles, soups, and the occasional fish filet Cure can easily justify spending more than is necessary, given his ridiculous income.

He knows they’ll probably be house hunting by the summer at the latest, but that’ll just give him an excuse to buy his dam something nice again in about seven months. The best present he can think of for his birthday is a big smile and a warm hug from his favorite mare in the whole world, after all.

A quick stop in a beauty shop on the way home was his last one for the day. The clerk was certainly a little surprised to have a colt, especially an earth pony, buy three sets of fine grooming brushes for a pegasus along with a couple feather oil products. She wasn’t going to say anything, though, when Cure tossed a stack of bits on her counter, thanked her, and happily trotted out the door.

Dinner finished and nightly cleaning taken care of, the family had piled up in the living room for their typical cuddle session. Cure is sitting in front of the three with a filled planter and his stack of seeds, obviously deep in thought.

“So, you get all your shopping done, sweetie?”

“About half. By the way, I’ll be doing a few things before and after my appointments tomorrow, dam, so don’t expect me home until just before dinner.”

“Okay, that’s fine. I hope you aren’t planning on spending a lot on me.”

“Me too, champ,” his sire calls, planting a kiss on each wife’s cheek. “I got everythin I need right here.”

“Go ahead and spend their portions on me, Cure. I’m fine with that.”

“Too late, mom. I’ve already taken care of shopping for the family.”

“Damn. So what are these going to be?”

“Well back when my friends and I were messing around after the Running of the Leaves I got to talkin with Glacial…”

“Oh? You mentioned timing each other but I don’t remember you saying anything about a private chat with your crush,” she teases.

“Yep, totally crammed my hoof in my mouth like a moron too. Oh well, it wasn’t a bad slip at least.”

With a big grin, Title leans forward and pokes him with her hoof. “Let’s hear it, Cure!”

The other two are paying attention too, so Cure explains, “Dawn and Drift were having some argument and Dawn made some quip about Drift’s attitude; something about her havin a bent primary or whatever. I was standing by Glacial and asked if that actually happens. She told me no, then spread a wing to show me which the primaries are and why they don’t typically get bent unless they crash. I… uhh… complimented them.”

“Son, we ain’t playin this game again. You tell yer moms what ya said afore I bop ya one,” Deed threatens, waving a hoof at Cure. It ends up getting him a jab in the shoulder and a glare from Vines.

“She fanned a wing in front of me. Before I could even stop myself I blurted out ‘Damn your wings are gorgeous.’ She froze for a second then giggled and teased me by waving them in front of me. I was… somewhat captivated.” Looking up in thought he mutters, “Mmm… Uhura feather dance…”

“Aww! That’s adorable, sweetie! That probably made her whole day.”

“Yeah, Cure. Mares love genuine, unintentional compliments like that. I certainly wouldn’t be upset if somepony,” she says, scowling at Deed, “couldn’t help but point out how radiant I am.”

“Aww babe! That ain’t fair! I tell ya yer beautiful all’a the time!”

“Those don’t count!” she insists, turning away with a huff. “They’re not accidental!”

“Uhh… wait, what?” The poor stallion seems to be legitimately confused about how to intentionally, accidentally compliment his wife. In his defense, Cure is stumped too.

Leaning close Cure whispers, “Show her how much ya love her, dummy.”

With her enhanced hearing she can obviously hear every word, but Title still plays coy when Deed climbs on her withers and growls into her ear while massaging her shoulder and neck and giving her loving nips and kisses.

Vines watches with a fond smile, then turns back to Cure. “Do you need help with the plants, sweetie?”

“I’m going to, yes, but not until I can think how they should look.”

“Why not just replace the flower itself?”

“Eh… I kinda want the flowers to be there, I’m wanting to add an oil filled and scented bulb too.”

“That sounds kinda like your tree, but with oil instead of a vaccine.”

“Sorta, maybe. Way, way less complicated though since it doesn’t have to react to outside stimuli like the tree will. These have way less features, overall. They’re still going to be the same flower, mostly, but with the oil bulbs added on. Maybe I need to do four separate plants instead of trying to merge them.”

“You should be able to fit four flowers in those big pots you got.”

“Yeah… that’s probably the best way to go about it. Thanks dam.”

“Sure, sweetie. Let me know when you’re ready for us to help.”

“You bet, dam.” Cure starts with the honeysuckle. Popping a couple seeds in his mouth, he mushes them up while considering what properties of the plants he is trying to bring to the forefront, and which features he’ll have to borrow from other plants that he’s encountered.

The flowers will need to be cold resistant since they will spend most of their time in the cloud houses half a kilometer off the ground. Cure’s immediate thought is something like a coniferous tree, but he wants leaves, so a northern tree like maple would be better, and he has a full scan of the one right in his backyard. He instructs his magic to isolate the properties that make a tree cold resistant and apply them to the seed he’s developing.

Next he needs to come up with a way for the oil to be produced. His original plan is to have bulbs grow similar to his cherry tomatoes, only filled with the desired oil instead of the sugars and seeds normally in the fruit. Given the weight of the liquid, Cure thinks it would be best to have a tougher, wooden stem to support the bulbs.

Ed’s parents had a house that faced north, so his mom always planted shade plants in the front flower beds. Hostas are big, leafy plants that don’t need much sunlight. As an added bonus the flowers they produce grow on taller, wood-like stems. With the proper visual for the bulb stems and leaf shape locked in he commits the change to the seed.

When he thinks of “oil” and “plant” the first thing that comes to mind is poison ivy, but he’s definitely not interested in mass producing the rash-inducing allergen itself. At least, not for this project. Still, the leafy plant has the oil producing leaves he thinks will be a nice addition, so he adds that property into the mix, careful to exclude anything that would be undesirable in the final result such as the ease with which the plant spreads or the aforementioned allergen in the oil.

Focusing on the oil itself, he concentrates on his scans from various bird species; specifically ducks and other waterfowl. The oil should be thin and easily spread, completely hydrophobic, shine bright in the sun, antibacterial, antifungal, safe to eat, and healthy for the skin; all of which are properties of the product extruded from ducks’ glands.

With the addition of the scented flower oils in small quantities it should result in a floral, aromatic version of the waterfowl’s extrusion.

If the wooden stems’ internal composition is lined with oil producing membranes and veins to carry the product up and into the fruit it grows then it should be able to produce a bulb or so worth per day, which hopefully will be enough. If not, he can always make another couple plants.

Regardless, ensuring he’s covered the basics, Cure pieces the seed together while maintaining the image of the unusual looking honeysuckle flower. The final product is a seed just barely larger than what he started with. He repeats the process with the other three flowers, then clones each seed.

Once done he gives each one another adjustment to ensure they have no means of reproducing whatsoever. The resulting flower should not produce seeds, shoots, pollen, or spread by any other means. If they die then the only way they can be replaced is by him doing so manually.

Cure plants one of each seed in the planters and turns back to his parents. All three are watching him, so he quickly trots to the kitchen, fills a big bowl with water, dumps it in one of the pots, does the other, and waves at the planters saying, “They should be all set. Wanna give ‘em a jolt and see what we get?”

“Sure, sport.” Deed climbs off of Title and approaches a planter. “You ready, babe?”

“Yep. Title, honey?” she asks over her withers as she sits directly in front of the planter, touching haunches with Deed in his left. “Are you ready?”

“I’m here. One sec,” she responds, moving to sit on Vines left, also touching hips.

“Fire when ready, dam.”

The three harmonize their magic, and with Vines gaining experience over the months she, instead of blasting it everywhere, directs it down her leg, through her hoof, and into the pot. All four plants grow quickly. It’s like Cure is watching a stop-motion picture over the course of three months.

The extra moisture is absorbed into the plants along with, presumably, almost all of the nutrients in the soil, but the end result is four full bouquets, each with a central stalk covered in a dozen cherry tomato sized bulbs sitting in the middle of the plants.

He quickly scans each plant and verifies that, at the very least, the oil should be what he was looking for and they do not have any way to spread. Presumably his magic did its thing as far as the hardiness and cold-resistance, but he’ll have to leave the plants outside for a few days to see how that works out.

“Awesome! I think it worked perfectly.” Looking up and down the stalks full of oil he can’t help but whistle in appreciation. “Wow… that’s probably way more than they normally go through in a month. Oh well, I doubt that’ll be a problem. Their dams will probably love this stuff too,” he says, plucking a “fruit” of each type. He grabs a leaf and runs it against his coat. It does leave behind a bit of a shine, and the smell is quite nice, if a little girly.

“I bet one of the pegasus EMTs at work can tell me if this stuff is any good. Thanks, mom, dam, dad,” he says, giving each a quick hug. “I’ll need something to pour these in.”

“I have some preservative jars you can use,” Vines says, moving towards the kitchen. “You may need to grab a few of the fruits, though.”

“Cool, thanks. Umm…” he pauses, looking at the dried out soil. Deed and Title have both gone back to flop on their cushions snuggled together again.

“I’ll take care of the dirt in this one while you’re at school, honey. They’ll be fine for tonight.”

“Perfect! Thanks, dam!” he calls after her. “Hey I just had a thought,” he mumbles, causing Deed and Title to warily turn his way. Ignoring the concerned looks he asks, “Can either of you think of any reason not to use this stuff too? It’s probably better than any coat oil you could find at the store.”

After the pair blow out relieved sighs, Deed scratches at his chin in thought. “Dunno, son. Maybe if ya find a good stalliony scent instead them marey flowers.”

“Definitely. Hey mom, this sounds kinda weird, but do you mind bein a sniff tester for a minute? Nothin gross, I promise.”

Looking a little unsure, Title hesitantly nods. “I guess… I don’t suppose you’ve scanned any fancy trees like sandalwood or rosewood, have you?”

“No, but I’ve scanned a lot of fruits and spices and stuff, here… try this,” he says, holding out a fetlock with a mixture of cinnamon and orange.

“Oh! That’s nice! Add some vanilla in there too.”

“I haven’t scanned a vanilla bean yet. Maybe we can get some next time we’re in Baltimare. I need to make a trip back to Early’s at some point anyhow.”

“Aww… oh well, it’s still nice. When we all go to your grandsire’s next Sunday we’ll hit a few flower shops and maybe a fancy grocery store that’ll have more samples for ya. For now try pine. I bet that would be good too.”

Vines, back from the kitchen with a few jars stuck to her side, comes over to join in. “That does smell nice, sweetie. I bet the fillies will absolutely love that too,” she suggests, eyes lighting up.

“Yeah probably. Maybe I can just have a tiny hint of it in my mane. The nice glossy shine is what I was mainly thinking about, though. Hmm… I’ll experiment with the oil gland idea and let you all know when I have it working right. For now, I have one more thing I need to do before bed but I doubt you want me to do it here.”

“What is it, sweetie? A surprise for somepony?”

“Yeah but that’s not why. You know how those spinnerets look on your frogs?” At her confused nod he continues, “I’m going to try extruding an entire sheet of silk at once… I’ll be turning my whole side into one long series of spinnerets and it’s going to take a lot of practice to get it right, so… yeah, it’ll probably be pretty gross looking.”

Title gives Cure an odd look and asks, “How the hay are you going to make it into sheets?”

“I got a few books at the library today about sewing. One goes into detail about how thread is turned into sheets on a loom. It’ll be slow going, but I think I can reproduce the effect as I go by passing a thread up and down my body length while I extrude out threads. I think I can attach some ganglia to the arms and basically train the muscles to work automatically.”

“I have no idea what a ganglia is.”

“Singular would be ganglion. Ganglia is plural. Think of it like a tiny brain, but instead of being able to think it can do a specific task. It’s like muscle memory, just with a dedicated unit, so way better. I’ve been experimenting with them for a couple weeks, especially in my horn bump. Once I train it for a while I only have to think ‘Light’ and it casts the spell with whatever parameters I want. I don’t have to consciously picture the runes at all anymore.”

“Gimme!” she demands.

Rolling his eyes he explains, “I can, but first I wanted to make sure it all worked right first. I’ll need to spend some time with you to show you how to turn it on, off, or put it in ‘training’ mode. They’re great for precision stuff. I bet I could use the actual enchanting machine that way.”

“Could you learn to play an instrument with them?” she eagerly asks.

“Umm… yeah. Probably nearly flawlessly too after a while. That’s an interesting idea, mom. Is there an instrument you’ve always wanted to learn?”

“Oh my stars! If your sire knew the saxophone I woulda mounted him the first day right there in the office!”

“Title!” Vines yells.

“Gross. Well, that aside, I need to get started on figuring this out. It’s gonna take a few hours, though once I get a working model I should be able to go pretty fast… a couple centimeters a minute maybe.”

“Just do it here; I wanna watch.”

“Really? Dam are you okay with that?”

“I’ve had them on my frogs for a month now. I don’t mind.”

“True… okay.”

“Not gonna ask yer pa, champ?”

“Sorry dad, married stallions don’t get opinions on things. You shoulda got that memo almost a decade ago.”

“Ah… so that’s what I was signin. Shoulda paid more attention.”

“Yep, that’s how they get ya.” With a sigh Cure trots to his cushion, lays down, and focuses on his mark. “Alright… let’s give this a whirl.”

Monday, November 17th, 908 AB (the next afternoon, after school)

“Ferric, Heavy, I’ll see you two tomorrow. Me ‘n Coast are doing a little shopping, so we’ve gotta head into town.”

“You’re… going shopping? With Coast?”

“Yeah, dude, I need help picking out some stuff for my dam and mom. You wanna come look at jewelry with us?”

“Can I come?”

“Of course, Shine. I didn’t know you liked that stuff. Heavy, if ya wanna come that’s fine too.”

“No thanks, Cure. I’ll see ya later.”

“Later dude,” he calls out with a wave. “C’mon Red, let’s go get the girls. We’re going to yer dam’s store, so I shoulda invited ya anyhow. Sorry,” he says, giving her a quick nuzzle and turning to catch up with the girls.

Dawn, Sapphire, Rising, and Coast are waiting up ahead so the two canter a bit to catch up. “Hello my lovelies. The dumb colt back there said he didn’t want to spend the next hour looking at pretty gems,” he starts as they trot into town, “of course I’m always thrilled to see you all,” he says, waggling his eyebrows with a big smile.

All five fillies giggle at his flirting. Dawn’s the first to recover, of course, being on the receiving end most often. “I’m not sure most colts would ask a bunch of fillies to take him to a jewelry store, babe. I know you can make changes… is there something you need to tell me?” she asks, giving him a challenging look.

“Oof!” Sapphire laughs out with a wince, “Dawn shows no mercy with a fireball to the gonads!” Rising and Coast both crack up but Ferric just blushes a deeper red than normal.

“Oh don’t worry,” he teases, “Everything’s where it should be, babe. We’re shopping for jewels for the family. You go somewhere else if yer worried about the family jewels,” he finishes with a wink, getting laughs from the girls and an eye roll from Dawn.

Midnight Gem and Diamond Pick have a store just a few blocks into town. It’s near all the other shops, just south of the train station and close to Lemon’s store and a couple blocks west of Town Hall. Cure would have taken care of this yesterday, but the jewelry store isn’t open on Sunday evenings and he wanted to get the girls’ input anyhow.

The group makes their way into the store finding Midnight Gem busy with a customer. Ferric splits off from the group to give her dam, Diamond Pick, a nuzzle and the two start talking. Rising, Coast, and Dawn all start looking around. They don’t notice, but everything they stop and stare at is noted by Cure.

“So I have an hour before my first appointment. Saph, I don’t know anything about jewelry boxes, but I’d like to get a nice one for my dam. Do you have any recommendations here?”

“Oh absolutely! Does she have a lot of jewelry?”

“Hmm… I don’t see her wear much but I know she’s got a few pieces from before I was born. Are there any here you’ve been thinkin about getting? I trust you know better, what with your dam running the store and all.”

“Definitely! I’ve been trying to get my dam to let me have one of these,” she says, pointing out a nice, dark wooden unit with a number of drawers and cabinets that open on both sides. “It’s got lots of room for earrings, necklaces, leg bands.” She looks over her withers and leans in to whisper. “It comes with inserts for horn jewelry too!”

“Hmm… I’m not sure my dam needs that, but it sounds great anyhow. I’ll take it!”

“Great! I’ll set it over by the counter for ya! My dam should be done soon. In fact, it looks like she’s just finishing up. C’mon!”

Sapphire tosses a box on her back and leads Cure to Midnight just as the mare she was helping thanks her and turns to leave. She gives her mom a nuzzle, passes her the jewelry box with a proud smile while explaining how she got a sale, then goes to join the other fillies.

“Well hello, Cure. How have you been? I’ve heard business is booming thanks to a certain pegasus filly. I certainly can’t complain, either,” she says with a titter.

“That’s awesome, Mrs. Gem! It was a little scary having my house swarmed by all those pegasi, but I’ll tell ya, business has been insane.” Pausing for a moment, he glances to the fillies, then leans in close to whisper. “I’m glad Saph went over with the others. She’s right that I’m doing some holiday shopping, but what I didn’t tell her is that the jewelry box she picked out is what I’m getting her for Hearth’s Warming.”

At Midnight’s confused look he explains, “I don’t know anything about this stuff so I told her I wanted a nice box for my dam and asked which she’d buy for herself. I was going to ask your help for the other girls too.”

“I’m looking to get Rising and Coast each a pretty set of earrings or something for around two hundred bits each, so I was wondering if you could help ‘em without them knowing and set something aside for each one. I’ve already ordered something for Ferric and this box is under a hundred, so I need something for her too. I’m trying to keep it even, ya know? I know you'll be better coming up with ideas than I possibly could. If you're willing to lend a hoof I can come by after work to pay for whatever they pick along with the box.”

“Well aren’t you clever? I don’t think I’ve seen anypony set up somepony to do their shopping for themselves. I’ll be happy to help. Two hundred bits each?” she confirms. “I’m sure I can help… I bet some nice, sparkly manebands would be perfect! Just leave it to me, sweetie.”

“Great! If you go a little over budget that's perfectly fine. I'd rather spend the couple extra bits for something really nice than fall just short.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, honey! I’m going to go help the girls. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a great deal, just like I promised, and I’ll find each something really nice!”

“Thanks Mrs. Gem!”

The appointments were quick tonight; two basic mane jobs and one more complex wing design. That worked out perfectly as Cure had a stop to make before returning to the jewelry store. Trotting into the only fancy clothing boutique in town, Cure was hopeful he was in the right place.

A unicorn mare with a dark yellow coat and a purple mane is behind the counter. She certainly looks like she stepped in something unpleasant when Cure walks in, but he writes that off figuring that young earth pony colts don't frequently come into her store, especially unaccompanied.

“Pardon me, ma’am, I’m hopeful you or somepony you know is a skilled seamstress? I have need of one with experience working with exquisite materials.”

The look changes into one of surprise and curiosity as Cure reaches into his pack to retrieve the ten centimeter square of the most dense, thick silk cloth he had ever seen.

The first sheet he created took over four hours to produce. The first two hours were figuring out the technical "how" part and making minor changes to the spinnerets, then he spent another two hours training the ganglia. Once set up, the actual sheet only took fifteen minutes to produce.

It was when he was proudly displaying the result of his work that his mom asked why he didn’t just basically roll a layer of skin off and transmute it since both skin and silk threads are basically sheets of proteins, just arranged very differently. He felt like a complete dumbass, having wasted four hours when he could have accomplished the same thing in about two minutes with a level of quality that would be flat out impossible otherwise.

The result is nearly a quarter of a millimeter thick and as smooth as polished glass with a weave that’s done on the molecular level. Cure has no idea how to turn it into the three outfits he’s wanting, but he’s hopeful he can hire somepony that can.

“May I have a look at that?”

“Yes ma’am. I have one more sheet like that with me, but I have a way of getting more, obviously.”

“This… is pure silk… and of exquisite quality. Where did you get this?”

“I know somepony with a way of making it because of their cutie mark. I can’t tell you any details. If I provided sheets of that would you be capable of using that in two flight suits and a winter outfit? The fillies I’m shopping for are all about my size. I have a way of giving you their exact measurements.”

“I can,” she explains, “and it’s a good thing you came in to place the order early. Having outfits custom-made is neither fast, nor cheap, you’re aware?”

“What if I provide double the needed material? You can use the remainder for some of the finest clothes anypony has ever seen.”

“Mmm… tempting but that won’t do me much good without an ongoing supply. No, I’m afraid this isn’t an option here. In your size with the material provided, the flight suits would be a hundred and fifty bits each; the winter outfit will be slightly more, depending upon what exactly you have in mind.”

“Oof… do you lay enchantment lines too?”

“Yes. Embroidered is an additional sixty per; inlaid doubles the outfits’ prices.”

“Embroidered will be fine. We’re all growing, so they may not even last a year.”

“If they outgrow them and they’re well cared for I would buy them back to resell.”

“Hrm. Well one has a younger sister, but the other two may be interested. We’ll see next year. So I’ll bring the material by tomorrow before school. I really only need to know how much you need. Do you have a form we need to fill out?”

“Measurements first, dearie. I need to know what I’m working with here.”

“Ah, right. One sec,” he says, digging into his pack for the Illusion crystal. “Okay, the highest priority is my fillyfriend, Dawn Glow,” he says, projecting a life-size illusion of the girl.

Author's Note

As a prelude to the excitement that is taxes, Cure goes holiday shopping!

WILL THE MADNESS EVER END?!?