Author's Note

This is, essentially, the other half of the last chapter. They started as one, but when I got closer to 20k I split them up.

48 through 51 are done aside from some cleanup. I'll warn you all right now, though, they're not the 13k behemoths I've been putting out. Those take a minute, for reals.

Chapter 47: Heartfelt Hellos II

Sunday, January 18th, 909 AB (the next morning)

Amethyst, Lemon, and the fillies spent the night again. Both stallions in the house were happy to have them over; Deed certainly wasn’t opposed to some ‘welcome home’ snu-snu and Cure was delighted to have a little sister snuggle pile all to himself.

After breakfast the rest of the family joins Cure on his way to Town Hall. Title had started getting contractions before breakfast, so Cure suggested they all go together to deliver the foal first thing before it gets busy. They kicked around the idea of having her at home, but with all of the stations prepared to handle the paperwork and everything they decided it would be easier to go down and take care of everything at once.

Lemon went to her shop to work on more treats for everypony and get some order forms and a business sign ready like Cure had suggested. Amethyst, along with the girls, decided to stay home, get everything ready for the foal, and wait for the family to return.

Fortunately there isn’t a whole lot for the three to do. Pony babies are ridiculously low maintenance compared to humans, so a few cloth diapers, some blankets, toys, and a crib are about all that’s necessary. With Cleaning and Prestidigitation crystals, not to mention Title’s upgraded ganglion-run horn, the multitude of supplies Ed had to tote around when he babysat for Alanna won’t be needed.

Neither are backups of anything required when a Cleaning cantrip or a Repair spell can instantly put anything back to exactly how it should be. With Cure’s ability to sterilize the area and address anything health-related that would be needed, Title can look forward to, possibly, the easiest time a new dam has ever had with a newborn. She doesn’t even have to worry about pumping or storing milk with her mammary upgrades and Vines there to help.

Despite Cure’s insistence that a good sire should be willing to contribute, Deed refused Cure’s offer for, “A killer set of tits.” Title thought it was a great idea and even Vines got a good laugh at the suggestion, but Cure relented when Amethyst asked when he’d pop out his own set of ladies to help out.

After the princess left Cure had explained his mitochondria project, minus the recent addition of griffon capabilities, to his increasingly likely future moms. Lemon was all on board for getting converted but Amethyst took a little convincing. They both wanted to wait for the girls to get old enough to understand how to keep their capabilities secret before starting on them, something he hadn’t considered but agreed was a wise precaution.

Unfortunately, unlike his parents the bond that allowed him to share magic did not exist with the two mares. Instead of using their own magic he had to rely on his sire to act as a pony battery; something he didn’t mind doing, but still frustrated Cure, but was also a relief in a way. The fact this bond existed with his parents but not with anypony else reassured him again that he is their son, additional memories or not.

The griffon Cure had scanned is the owner of Early Bird’s Beakery (a griffon pun, apparently) and not actually named Early at all. Early is just a nickname he’d adopted due to being open hours before most shops are in Baltimare. It stuck, apparently, so he ran with it and renamed the business accordingly. His bakery is very popular amongst not only the early risers, but also the bats looking for a snack before bed.

Regardless, several months prior when asking about the abilities of other creatures of the world his parents had told Cure that they were fairly certain griffons had a way to sharpen their talons and claws. The tests he’s run so far seem to support this. Though he’s only converted five percent of his cells to include the additional functions, he can already tell that the resolution on his TK field has increased as a result.

The change has been significant, lending further credence to Cure’s belief that the relationship between aura effectiveness and cellular saturation is logarithmic in nature. The “sharpness” of his field is still a ways below what he guesses is necessary to create a pure force blade, but presumably that will improve as he grows in total mass and with the percentage of his cells he converts.

Their mitochondria setup is similar to a pegasus or earth pony with a different design in their muscles compared to the rest of their body. Cure hadn’t expected to find magic-generating cells in the scan, but that appears to be what’s in everything but their muscles. As far as he knows griffons can not control the weather, so presumably the results of those cells’ production is used to enhance their vision, protect against the elements, or possibly sharpen their aura beyond what the mitochondria themselves produce.

When he’d told Amethyst and Lemon about the conversion last night the very first line of questions Amethyst had asked made him and all three parents feel like complete morons.

“So muscles have either pegasus or earth pony parts ‘n everything else is unicorn?”

“That’s right, Amy. Unicorns have the same throughout their whole bodies though, mostly,” he explained. “Keep in mind in both muscles and other cells there’s also five percent each of the other kinds. That’s why we’re all lightning resistant and can grab things, even if they’re weaker than us.”

“Right, right,” she nodded in acceptance, “I just don get why ya ain’t changin that fat mitowhatevers over. Ain’t that like a fifth of what most ponies are?”

Cure sat for a moment working his jaw but not coming up with any response. He looked at Title and found the pink mare giving herself a facehoof, which told him it hadn’t occurred to her either. “See?” he asked, motioning to the purple mare, “this right here? This is why I discuss crap with everypony. Amy?” he said, meeting her amused eyes, “I wasn’t sure it possible, but you might just be as brilliant as ya are beautiful, you know that?”

With an indifferent shrug the mare simply nodded in acceptance. “Shoot, son, I coulda told ya that months ago. Now what else are y’all doin wrong I can setchya straight on?”

Rather than restart from scratch, Cure had applied the new template, which he calls Hybrid Mk II mitochondria, to unicorn mitochondria cells that were scheduled to get converted next. His cells are, excluding his brain and fat, 62% Mark I hybrid, 5% Mark II, and 33% unicorn.

The new plan is to begin changing the fat mitochondria over (accounting for the slightly different design compared to other tissue), then resuming the rest of the conversion of his normal cells. With the “blank” fat cells included and after the morning’s session, Cure is at about 53% Mk. I, 4.5% Mk. II, 28% unicorn, and 14.5% fat.

Griffons seem to be about the same size as an earth pony, and have approximately the same muscle mass, though it is configured differently. Ponies would definitely leave them in the dust in any kind of long distance run. That likely would never be an issue, though, as griffon wings are designed for gliding and diving and would certainly make it difficult to escape a determined pursuer unless there is cover to hide under like a dense forest canopy.

He would need to scan a female to be sure, but most of their internal systems, including digestive, nervous, muscular, and reproductive appear mostly mammalian, but their pulmonary and cardiovascular systems have features normally found only in birds.

Their lungs are an interesting design that is primarily avian, with smaller volume but massively superior efficiency compared to a pony. Cure has seen a similar design in the many birds he has scanned, but now that he has a working model scaled to the appropriate size, he intends to replicate useful parts of it within himself.

The lungs in particular correspond to their wing size and shape, further supporting his theory that griffons are best at higher altitudes where pony lungs would struggle to get enough oxygen, especially with their songbird-shaped wings that are fantastic for maneuverability and quick takeoff, but comparatively less efficient for long distance flights or gliding.

That, in particular, was something Cure noticed when the princess visited the night before. She has the same teeth as bat ponies and wings that are longer than a pegasus’ but without the huge secondaries that line a griffon’s wings. He’d only seen the same wing shape on a duck, in fact, which is really strange and leaves him wondering what that shape could excel at. Presumably takeoff speed, given that a duck is doing so in water with little or no starting velocity.

Regardless, based on their wing design, at low altitudes a pegasus or, especially, a bat pony should eat a griffon alive if they can catch it, but if caught unprepared, a swooping dive from a griffon would mean a swift and bloody end for anything in its path not sporting steel armor.

On the ground an unarmed pegasus would probably be in trouble, and a unicorn without magic would be dead meat. Unless griffons can burn magic to increase strength, an earth pony would be considerably stronger, but landing a blow on a more agile and, likely, quicker foe would not be easy. It would depend heavily on how effectively the earth pony could leverage their grabbing aura and use it to catch an attacking griffon off guard.

Cure wanted to discuss the princess’s destiny speech with his parents, but that was a conversation he was not prepared to share with Amethyst and Lemon until they were officially going to be family. From the way the topic was not specifically focused on he was certain his parents felt the same way. He managed to maintain eye contact throughout her speech, but even in his periphery it was impossible to miss the dawning realization on their faces at the key concepts she mentioned.

Of course there were plenty of other bombshells dropped during the princess’s visit that distracted the mares. The big one being the offer for the princess to teach Cure at some point. He’s not sure exactly what she has to teach him, given that he doesn’t think she knows he can use unicorn magic. He was initially worried she would be some kind of all-seeing, all-knowing demigod, but given that she never even considered that Radiant Hope could still be out there that's obviously not the case.

It's possible that, since she was somehow bypassing the rune steps, perhaps there’s something earth ponies can do he hasn’t found evidence of yet. He doubts that’s the case though based solely on the fact that, while she was not using runes, her horn did still vibrate during casting. There's also the fact that Cure cannot come up with any legitimate reason that the princess would keep that kind of knowledge from her ponies. He is only keeping information from his friends to protect himself and his family, after all.

Depending on what she meant the offer could be huge. Beyond huge, in fact, to the point where neither mare seemed to be able to wrap their heads around it. Cure assured everypony that, depending on the details, he intended to take the princess up on the offer, but probably not until at least the fall or maybe next year. He will have to get more info and have a serious sit-down with his parents.

Cure hopes to find time to have a private conversation with her highness at some point during his visit in May to see if she’ll give him a hint of what the agenda could be. If it’s some political science bullshit he may just pass. She did, after all, only say “I’m certain there is much I could teach you.”

Amethyst in particular was very leery of the idea simply for the fact that she believes some unicorn noble will take it upon themselves to put the lowly earth pony in their place. Cure didn’t show off any of his capabilities but he did assure her that it would likely take a purpose built team to kill him off and anypony that tried and failed would regret the attempt.

Still, Cure didn’t discount the fact that an attempt on his family would be far more likely to succeed, even if he would do his utmost to ensure the perpetrator’s name would be immortalized as a cautionary tale against thinking oneself untouchable. Few things would make Cure want to truly torture another creature. After a moment's imagined fury at the thought of his dam being hurt he had to reshape his teeth back to normal from the serrated edge he'd given them subconsciously.

The other huge topic that neither Amethyst or Lemon seemed to be prepared for was the discussion of immortality; or at least of eternal youth. Cure explained that he can think of a few ways to pull it off, but all of them require his direct involvement for now. Everypony agreed that’s a great way to end up at the center of a complete shit show, so until an alternative can be found there’s not much point in making it known that he likely really can turn back the clock.

As the family approaches Town Hall they pass by much of the same as Cure had seen the day before. This time nopony even glances their way since Title is obviously about to pop. Cure does have to split off, but assures his parents he’ll either be back soon or somepony should come get them once he checks in.

He approaches Bulwark who is standing front and center before the birthing areas again, though noticeably straighter and more rigidly with an extra layer of polish on his gear. “Well aren’t you all gussied up, sarge?” he teases. “I do believe our special guest went home, though, sir. I lost sight of her flying due west an hour before sunset at somewhere around nine hundred kph. Did you know she could move like that?”

“Shit, son. Came to say hi, did she? Can’t say I’m surprised.” Bulwark sighs and looks around a moment, then shrugs before continuing. “Well I had no clue she was here yesterday until she walked in my office, nopony else the wiser, so I think I’ll assume the same today. Nine hundred kph, though? How’d you figure that?”

“Counted until I couldn’t see her. The tail helped. Or she turned invisible, projected an illusion, and was standing next to me making silly faces the whole time. I could honestly see her doing that. She seems to have a pretty good sense of humor. Anyhow, I think she mainly wanted to talk to me, which she did, so…” he trails off with a shrug.

“Ah. Good talk? Anything I need to be aware of?”

“It went well. She’s very soft and warm,” he teases, getting a barked laugh from the sergeant.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

Scoffing, Cure points out, “Dunno, sarge, I bet she’d be happy to give ya a hug. Just maybe ask off the clock and out of armor. She’s still a pony and I ain’t found a pony yet that doesn’t enjoy a good hug.”

“HAH! I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Just don’t call her mom or something. That would make it weird. Anyhow, to answer your question, no. We just had dinner, then talked about why she stopped by. Apparently some of the archmages in Canterlot got a little nervous and thought I was gonna start…” Cure pauses in thought, trying to come up with some nefarious scheme and coming up blank.

“I dunno, honestly, what they thought. I’m not the best evil schemer apparently,” he says with a shrug. “I’m makin good money, have friends, and my whole family is alive. My bad-pony origin story is weak as fudge. You have any good ideas, sarge?” he asks, looking up at the large stallion.

“Ideas… for you to do something evil? I can’t say that I do, Cure,” he answers with a chuckle.

“Damn, I would probably make an awful villain. Oh well, I sure as the sunrise ain’t plannin a coup. I think you just gotta have a different kinda mindset to want that job. Whatever, I better get to work. Have a good day, sir.”

“Alright, son. Good luck today, Cure. I think you may need it,” he ominously warns. After a second he adds, “Oh and if you come up with any good schemes let me know first, okay?”

Cure pauses to look at the big earth pony, trying to decipher his meaning. Bulwark smirks back until Cure gives up and nods back. “I’ll come get ya if I think of anything, sarge. You can be my number one henchpony!”

Cure heads back to get his gown and vest on and, once suited up, makes his way over to the Emergency Response Team’s area between birthing Areas Four and Six. He finds Dr. Crystal, Nurse Ruby Star, and Nurse Gentle, along with a white unicorn mare; all of whom turn to face him when he walks up.

“Umm… I’m not late, am I? I checked when I left the house…” he trails off when Nurse Gentle shakes her head no.

“Cure, " Dr. Crystal starts, waving to the unicorn, “Mrs. Veil here is the lead organizer responsible for the whole process. She has been asked by somepony, and I have my suspicions who,” she says tersely, “to rearrange the process today.”

When Mrs. Veil opens her mouth to explain, Dr. Crystal talks right over her, earning a withering stare that she pays no mind to. “They want us on point. Every dam that comes in today will end up with us. They’ll bring them in when they hit stage three and we’ll have ERT 1 on standby and to cover breaks. The interloper has asked that, for all intents and purposes, this is your show today.

“Frankly,” she shouts, looking slightly upwards, “I think she’s putting too much on a young foal’s withers too early,” she continues in a normal tone, “but hey, if you think you’re ready for it then who am I to argue?”

“I think she went home. Then again, she’s fast enough… Is she here?”

“Got a visit, huh?” she asks with a smirk. “No, or if she is, she’s hiding even from me, but it’s possible,” she answers shrugging.

“I think I can manage it. By the way, my mom is here. She’s in stage one but I wanted to see if I could get her done and on her way.”

“We’ll check to see if anypony else is closer to delivery. I want you to conserve magic, so she may have to hold off until she gets closer. We’ll be moving between Areas One and Three.

“They’re wanting to send runners out throughout the day to bring in every expecting dam that hasn’t delivered yet. The idea is that when we have ‘down time’ and your magic is full they want to grab one and induce them since you can do it completely safely. They’re going to keep a few waiting here at all times so we can do them when we’re out of ones actually in labor. You clear them out, they bring more in until we’ve got them all.

“The way they’ll work is you get the foal out and check them over. The cleanup crew rushes in and does the rest. We go next door while they take care of the foal, dam, and the area, sterilize everything, and find the next one to get them set up while we’re in the other area delivering.”

Cure nods along, the whole time wondering if he’s going to have enough magic to keep up with the volume. Worried he may not, he begins converting the remaining fat cells’ mitochondria to the Mark II hybrid.

The conversion, for himself, takes little magic, but he’s going slow at only a percent every few minutes just in case. This also means he’s staying near full due to his regeneration working at the same time. With another, roughly, sixth as many magic producing cells he should be able to go from empty to full in about twenty five to thirty minutes when pushing himself.

He’s not happy that he had to do it without talking to his dam first, but he’s surrounded with medical professionals, so there’s just about never going to be a better time to try it. As the conversion is running he continues the conversation as normal. “What happens if three or more show up at once?”

“Then the other teams get them or, if one is high risk, take over for us and we go there. We’re expecting another sixty to seventy today. We had a hundred and fifty seven notify us, but there’s always some that don’t. Some may have also gone to Baltimare proper, so who knows. Are you ready for this, Cure? You can say no. This is completely unfair to ask of somepony so young. Stars, even if you were older this is still a lot to ask.”

“It’s fine. I can do it.” He turns to Mrs. Veil and tells her, “I’m going to be running hot. Literally. I’m going to possibly need ice water and carbs or sweets between each patient. Can you please have somepony get that for me?”

“Absolutely,” she nods, “We’ll have everything ready for all of you whenever you want to take a break as well. Don’t hesitate to speak up when you need it. We already have your mother in Area one if you’re ready.”

“Okay, sounds good. Doc, can I have a quick word in private?”

“Sure, colt. Walk and talk,” she says as the four start moving to Area 1. She casts a small Sound Bubble as they move. “Nopony should be able to hear us.”

“Do me a favor and keep my mom’s scan results to yourself, please. Some irregularities are going to show up, but they’re all done with her full knowledge and safety in mind.”

Dr. Crystal glances down questioningly at Cure, but doesn’t say anything for a second. “I’m about to see something wild aren’t I?”

“Yes. First off, mom really won’t need help with the foal. She has… uhh… significantly enhanced muscles. All of her muscles, basically. And bones. And a subdermal armored mesh layer. And some other stuff. Don’t worry about all that, though. Okay?”

She shrugs and explains, “Patient confidentiality. I won’t say anything, but now I’m curious what I’d find if you let me scan you too.”

“Mostly the same. I’ve shared everything with my parents,” he answers as they enter the area. Just as Mrs. Veil explained Title is in position and ready to go. “Hey momma. How are ya?”

“Oh look at your little vest!” Turning to Deed and Vines she asks, “Isn’t that adorable?”

“Heya champ,” Deed answers while Vines smiles broadly, nodding and visibility restraining herself from nuzzling him in his medical getup. “They got us just a bit after ya left.”

“Well, sorry to say but this is going to be a quick one. They’re going to have me helping to deliver almost every foal today. You ready, ma?”

"Yep. This the doc?” she asks, motioning to Dr. Crystal.

“Sure is. Dr. Crystal Dawn and Nurse Ruby Star. You’ve met Nurse Gentle Heart before.”

Dr. Crystal gets in position and activates her horn. Cure can see the doctor’s puzzled face when she casts the diagnostic spells. She subconsciously mouths “what the fuck?” three or four times, tilting her head back and forth with scrunched brows before looking up at Cure questioningly. He just shrugs back and asks, “Ready doc?” before putting a hoof on his mom’s side.

“Right. Sure.” With a full body shudder she nods back. “Okay, yeah, I’m ready now.”

“Alright, ma, we’re dilating your cervix. I’ll have you out of here in a sec.”

“Take your time, honey. You know I’m fine.”

“Maybe I was talking to my sister,” he teases. “How much do you want to feel? Some dams want the full experience or whatever. Dunno why, but who am I to judge?”

“Meh, I’ve had enough experience for one foal. Just go ahead.”

“Alright, you’re dilated. Ready doc?”

“Sure, colt.”

“Fire when ready, ma,” he jokes.

Cure doesn’t have to do anything. A while after their talk about “boa constrictor hoo-ha’s” where he mentioned how easy it would make foalbirth she had asked him to make the change and convinced Vines to do the same.

Birth is usually an easy process for earth ponies with their heightened resilience and stronger muscles. With a few improvements Title could easily push the foal out once dilated enough with neither pain nor difficulty. Cure could see Nurse Gentle’s puzzled face as Title, with about the same effort it takes to brush one’s teeth and while humming, of all things, pushes the filly out, pauses, then once she gets the go-ahead, does the same with the afterbirth.

Once the foal is born and the placenta taken care of, Deed and Vines both come over and give her kisses and nuzzles. Cure is still in his full gown, so he gives her a hug and follows the family out to the stations where they cleaned the foal and prepared them for the trip home.

It is the first time Cure got to see his little sister and, just like her dam, she has a lovely pink coat, but the little tufts of mane and tail are a light blue just like his coat. “Aww, she’s beautiful, ma. What’s her name?”

Title pauses in thought for a moment, and with a small smile declares, “I’ll name her Savvy Venture. Oh, honey,” she cries, wrapping around Deed and kissing him all over, then latching onto Vines, bawling her eyes out. Releasing her wife, she gives Cure a nuzzle, then scoops up her crying foal and starts heading to the new dam feeding area.

Cure wants to come too, but a runner arrives informing the team that another dam is ready. “I have a few dozen more foals to deliver. I love you, mom. Congratulations. I’ll see you all when I get home tonight,” he calls, waving as they’re escorted away.

Deed makes his way to the front door, unsure what to expect. The colt should be home soon. Stars, he should have been home a couple hours ago. Thankfully the clinic had enough sense to send a messenger to let them know he’s busy, but otherwise fine.

Deed certainly wasn’t expecting the other visitors they had earlier to show up, though looking back he definitely should have. He likes Title’s moms and sire well enough, but their relationship couldn’t really be described as anything but cordial. Still, they are family and absolutely have the right to come see their oldest daughter’s first born. Nevertheless he wasn’t heartbroken when they left to settle in for the night; the long train ride from Foaledo wearing on his father in law in particular.

It’s probably for the best that they not be here for Cure’s return anyhow. The colt’s paranoid enough he’d probably insist they let him scan them before getting within two meters of his sister. Finding ponies he probably barely remembers in his home unexpectedly after two long work days in a row sounds like a good way to stir up trouble.

As he gets closer to the door he can tell his son’s is indeed outside but he can’t think of a reason why he woud knock. Somepony is out there with him; from the smells he thinks it’s Sgt. Bulwark and Thunder Dance, Crosswind Drift’s dam.

Title is laying on her mat nursing Savvy and Vines is sitting opposite of her nosing at the little filly and struggling to keep from smothering her in kisses, only holding back because she’s eating. Amethyst, Lemon, and the girls had stuck around for several hours, but the mares had taken the girls home shortly after Title’s folks arrived.

She’d slept, pottied, and ate all day, barely crying or fussing at all. It looks like maybe he’d gotten lucky twice now; Cure was an easy foal to take care of too, which was a sun-sent blessing given their circumstances at the time. Deed had expected it with Savvy, though. Foals usually only cry when something isn’t right or they’re hungry, and with her big brother monitoring everything there was no doubt little Venture is as healthy as a newborn filly can possibly be.

Opening the door, Deed finds the expected trio of ponies but is surprised that his son is asleep on Thunder’s back. Bulwark is in full armor, but Thunder isn’t wearing anything. She has her wings cocked back, half covering the snoozing colt who has a happy grin on his face. “Huh… he okay?”

“Yep,” she answers with a nod, “just worn out.”

“Gotcha, come on in,” he says, stepping aside and waving them in. “Either of ya want a drink or anything? We have plenty to celebrate,” he adds, motioning to his wife and newborn.

“Tempting,” Bulwark sighs out as he walks in behind Thunder, “but we’re both on duty for another hour. We volunteered to provide escort for the VIP after he fell asleep while getting undressed,” he explains with a chuckle. “Nurse Gentle had to hunt him down and finish stripping him when he didn’t report back. Thank the stars she found him quickly; a few of my guards looked ready to raze the building when we thought he’d disappeared.”

Vines stands at seeing her son, but Thunder carries him over to her and Title, gently setting him on a cushion between the two and giving him a nuzzle. “Dr. Crystal checked him over,” she explains. “He’s perfectly fine, just tired, which is no surprise given what he did today.” Looking at Savvy she squees at the now-sleeping newborn. “So precious! Congratulations!” she whispers, getting a happy thank you from the new dam.

Vines doesn’t hesitate for a second to pull her son between her forelegs and check him over. He’s a little warm and sweaty, but seems to be sleeping peacefully otherwise. When she’s nosing at him he latches onto her neck and pulls her into a snuggle; something she’s perfectly happy to accommodate.

“That colt’s getting heavy,” Thunder complains as she rejoins the sergeant, “how the hay is he so much heavier than Crosswind when they’re the same size?!”

“He’s a solid slab of muscle, corporal. I told you he’s heavier than he looks. Just be glad you could lighten him most of the way here.”

“Yeah… he’s gotta weigh more than Wind Shear, though, and he’s eight!” Meeting his dam’s eyes she adds, “Your colt’s going to be beating them off with a stick, honey. Celestia knows he’s got my little Crosswind smitten with him; you shoulda heard her talking about that massage. I’m tempted to make an appointment just for that based on her description if he’ll let me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Title explains, “he doesn’t mind one bit. Just be sure you don’t have anything planned for the rest of the day afterwards and maybe have a ride home. Even if you somehow don’t fall asleep you’ll be in a daze for hours.”

“Mmhmm, that’s what she and Glacial said too.”

“So what has the colt all tuckered out?” Deed asks. “Normally he’s got more energy than any three foals oughta.”

Bulwark stands at ease as if he’s delivering a report. He takes a deep breath and explains, “Over the course of a little over eleven hours he helped deliver sixty eight foals. Granted, with some he just helped induce labor, but they count in my book. Other than the few dams out there that didn’t notify Family Planning and a couple that refused to come in, every single mare in Golden Hills that was due this season has delivered their foal. There was not a single stillbirth or complication all day.

“Every single foal born when he was present was in perfect health. Literally perfect as far as anypony could tell,” he continues with a disbelieving head shake. “He was able to completely heal most of the dams, at least the ones that stayed long enough for him to get free, and he helped several having difficulty feeding somehow. He said he was ‘buffing’ their mammaries. It was unbelievable. Utterly unbelievable.”

“Yep, you should have seen the workers that weren’t in the know trying to figure out what the hay was going on when there wasn’t a single foal in the incubators or getting breathing treatments or anything,” Thunder explains. “We took precautions to obscure his identity after you left. He changed his colors and put a fake horn on, then we removed his ID vest, though a few of the doctors and a couple nurses were asking questions. We got ‘em all, though, so no worries.”

“Got them?” Vines asks.

Bulwark answers, “She means we spoke to them and ensured they will respect everypony’s wish for privacy. Of course a few were a little… difficult, when she set this up Her Highness had the foresight to leave me some paperwork in case anypony started probing. All they saw was a light brown unicorn colt running around with a couple out of town experts.”

“Umm… She set this up?” Deed asks.

“She did,” Bulwark replies, “She made me aware of it yesterday evening. He could have declined, but we all know he wouldn’t.” Bulwark pauses for a second, then slowly and clearly continues while looking between the parents. “She said he has great potential, but needs to be challenged on occasion. I know the colt is something else and far be it for me to question Her Highness, but if She said something like that about one of my foals I think I would want to know it.”

Bulwark watches the three to gauge their reactions, then shares a quick look with a baffled Thunder. “This is not a surprise to you,” he observes. “You’ve all been expecting something like this?”

“Since about two days after he got his cutie mark,” Deed solemnly replies, then sighs. When he doesn’t elaborate any further Bulwark figures that’s probably all he’s going to get. That’s fine, though; he has no right to demand to know what a family discusses in the privacy of their home, after all. “Thanks fer bringing him home, sarge, Thunder. Do we need ta do anything special tomorrow or is he all done?”

“No. He’s done plenty. If he’s tired in the morning and wants to stay home from school that’s fine,” he suggests, pulling a slip of paper from a pocket in his chest piece and passing it to Deed. “Here’s a note from Dr. Crystal. The colt’s certainly earned a day off in my book.”

Bulwark turns towards the door to leave, then pauses and looks back to everyone. “I’m sure you all are, but it needs to be said. You should be very proud of your son. He did a lot of good today. Sixty three dams, sixty eight foals, and who knows how many husbands and wives; all of whom are safe, healthy, and home thanks at least in part to his efforts. That’s a lot to ask of anypony. It’s sure as the sun far more than I would expect from a foal.”

Turning fully to Title he gives her a respectful nod. “Congratulations, Mrs. Search. Your daughter truly is beautiful.” Looking between the three he finishes, “We’ll get out of your manes now. I hope you have a pleasant remainder of the evening.”

Thunder follows Bulwark out the door, calling one last “Goodnight, everypony!” over her withers as the door shuts.

Deed rejoins his wives and looks over his son curiously. “Does he seem okay? I’m guessin if the doc said so, but… uh oh, I just realized something.”

“What? That a doctor checked him out?” Title asks.

“Yep,” he nods, “I wonder if that’s gonna be an issue.”

“I doubt it is, honey. It’s the same doctor he deaged for free yesterday, remember? That’s also the same doctor that delivered Savvy.”

“Ah shit, I didn’t even think of that,” Title mumbles with a grimace. “You don’t think she’ll say anything about what she found?”

“Just another thing,” Vines sighs. “It seems like since those memories came life sure has gotten interesting. I don’t mean to sound unhappy; I truly couldn’t be much happier,” she adds, nuzzling her chin into her son’s, “but it certainly has been busy.”

“I’m sure you heard what the princess said yesterday. Then she set him up today and made another comment about challenging him. Do you think she can somehow tell when a pony is on the path like he talked about?”

“She can,” Cure answers, still unmoving from between Vines’ legs. “I know for a fact she gets visions of the future in her dreams,” he explains, stretching out with a big yawn. “On the show she gets one when Tirek escapes Tartarus in a hundred years,” he says as he slowly rolls onto his barrel and reaches up to give his dam a nuzzle on the underside of her chin.

“Well howdy there, sleepyhead. Have a long day?” Deed teases, poking Cure with his snout.

“Friggin long day,” Cure scoffs, “I burned, and I mean that almost literally, through more magic today than I probably have ever before,” he explains. “I don’t think a foal’s brain can keep that kind of activity up all day long. Even cheating to stay up and moving I eventually just fogged over. Next thing I know I wake up here. Did I miss much?”

“You passed out getting undressed, apparently. Nurse Gentle found you,” Title explains, “It sounds like Bulwark’s were about to scour the building when you disappeared, so it’s safe to say you’ve made some friends in the Guard. He and Thunder Dance brought you home.”

“Ah. I’ll have to thank them. We got anything to eat? I’m not exaggerating when I say I used more magic today than I have maybe ever before, total. I literally did not fill up on magic all day while pushing my regeneration to max.” Cure pauses and looks up to his dam. “Hey dam, I had to do something today I don’t think you’ll be too happy with. I kinda needed the extra magic regen, so… I converted the fat over first thing this morning.”

Unable to look up and risk seeing her disappointed or angry face, Cure instead focuses on his sister. Other than letting out a sigh, Vines doesn’t react for a moment, then nuzzles into her son’s head. “I suppose if you’re going to do things like that then you might as well do them when a doctor is nearby. I’m guessing nothing happened?”

“No, not really. I could refill my magic a little faster, but that’s it.”

“Oh! That reminds me, babe. I’m not knocked up anymore, so can we start doing my cells ton…err, maybe tomorrow?” Title asks hopefully, changing gears slightly at Vines’ snapped up glare.

“Sure, ma. How does everypony feel about doing more than a half percent per day? It’s been fine for dad and I. I can’t imagine it would matter if I sped up the process just a little bit until they’re even.”

“How far along am I, champ? I haven’t exactly been trackin it every day.”

“You’re at forty percent, pa. Well, a little less if we’re counting fat. I converted all of your muscle cells, basically. Truth be told, you’re getting almost all of the benefit from everything that I can give you; beyond about forty percent the only cells that seem to really make a big difference are the unicorn ones.”

With a hopeful look Title asks, “So I could catch up in about a month?”

“A little more if I keep doing a half percent in dad every day, but yeah. Maybe by the beginning of March? Dunno, math is not going so hot right now.”

“I say catch ‘er up. A percent a day is still slow enough and if ya do it first thing in the mornin you can keep an eye on ‘er till ya go to school.”

“I’m down,” Title instantly agrees. “Or a half each morning and night.”

Sighing, Vines just nods along.

Cure scents the air and looks around, then focuses on the closet with the guest mats stored away. “Did somepony…” pausing, he looks at his mom as realization dawns on him. “Are your parents here?”

“No, honey, they stopped by a couple hours after we got home. My sire was tired from the train ride, so they left for the hotel just after dinner. They’ll be back tomorrow morning though.”

“Ah. Gotcha.”

Savvy is still out cold, snuggled against her dam’s belly. Cure scoots closer and noses at the pink filly, getting her scent, then gives her a kiss on a cheek. “So beautiful… congrats, mom. The whole pony color thing is weird, though. I don’t understand how she and I got the same color, though in different spots, when dad doesn’t have an ounce of blue on ‘em. Delta Coast is gonna love her; she’s like her reverse twin or something, discounting Coast’s stripe I added, at least.”

“Thanks, babe. And thank you, again, for making the whole process so ridiculously easy. Those muscle enhancements felt like a cheat, and the ability to completely turn off feeling… Well, I’m very grateful, honey.”

“I don’t think anypony’s ever explained the color thing to me, son. Sometimes it’s from the parents, other times… who knows. Muscle enhancements?” Deed asks curiously, glancing up to his wife.

Cure shares a look with Title who winces at the slip-up. She and Vines both had the “upgrade” to their vaginal muscles done after New Year’s when Cure suggested them for the birthings, but they had planned to wait and surprise their stallion once Title could participate in their activities.

“Meh, don’t worry about it, pa. I gave the ladies a little more muscle control so that they can simply push the foal, or foals, out when their time comes. That way if I end up having to go to Baltimare when dam is due she’ll have as easy a time as mom did today. I didn’t have to help at all aside from a little cleanup after the placenta. No tearing, no bad stretching, no nothing at all. I’m glad it all worked so well.”

Vines stands and walks towards the kitchen. “I’ll get something heated up for you, sweetie. We ate a couple hours ago. We have some broccoli soup if that sounds okay.”

“Sounds good, dam. I can hit it with a heating cantrip; that may be even faster than the stovetop.” Scrunching his snout in thought he adds, “Damn, maybe I do need to invent a microwave after all.”

Title looks over curiously. “That’s the thing that heats water, right, babe?”

“Good memory, ma. It does. The little electromagnetic waves hit water molecules and cause them to vibrate just like we can do with our TK auras, but way faster.” Cure looks himself over and sighs. “Ugh, I need a shower.”

“Once you’re done eating I’ll help you clean up, honey,” Vines calls from the kitchen. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. Bulwark said you delivered sixty eight foals today.”

“Ugh… felt like a thousand and sixty eight. Heavy’s dam came in today, so I got to see them for a split second. How would you all feel about me tagging along with Dr. Crystal to help out in Fillydelphia, Manehattan, and Bostrot for the next three weeks?”

“Absolutely not,” Deed immediately responds. “You can help the other suburbs and in Baltimare, but you’re too young ta be travelin like that, son. It’s admirable ya wanna help, but yer not doin that ‘till you’re at least a few years older, got it?”

“Okay, okay… fine. I understand. You’re right, given I literally passed out today.”

“Good,” his sire nods, then wraps him in a hug. “I’m real proud of ya, champ. We all are. Ya done a lotta good today. You’ll get the opportunity again in just a few months, ya hear?”

“Sure pa. Love you. Maybe I can at least go to Canterlot in the summer if the boss lady will let me crash at her place.”

“Love you too, son. We can talk about it. Now go eat then let yer dam scrub ya real good. You know it upsets her seein ya carried home like that, even if yer alright. You can snuggle with yer sister once yer cleaned up, okay?”

“Alright. Ma, you need anything?”

“Nope. Go eat, honey.”

Cure nods and goes to the bathroom to take care of the long-awaited after-work routine. He also pops his horn out and hits himself with a cleaning cantrip to get rid of the sweat and grossness he feels all over his coat. Vines keeps him company while he eats in silence, then the two of them rejoin Deed, Title, and Savvy in the living room.

She’s awake and exploring, making happy noises as she climbs around Title’s hooves and legs. Title is laying on her side so Savvy can feed whenever she wants. Deed is curled around her front, occasionally nuzzling and kissing on his wife. Both of them are content to watch their little girl piddle about and make baby talk to her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that,” Cure warns as he approaches. “The whole baby talk thing sounds cute and all, but it can hinder early language development skills. You can soften your tone, that’s perfectly fine, but use real words and, if anything, speak more clearly. I’ll hafta talk to Amy at some point to see if she’ll let me work with Lotus on her lisp too.”

“Huh… I’ve never heard that, sweetie. I suppose it does make sense, though.”

“That’s not a bad point, Cure. Any other good parenting tips in that melon?”

“Lots, ma. Don’t use overly soft bedding in her crib. No blankets, and no sleeping with her either. Also, no toys. You definitely don’t want her associating the crib with playtime. Also, something that’s really hard, especially for first time dams; you can’t come runnin every single time she cries. Believe me, she will have you trained in no time, and fixin that ain’t easy. Feed her before bed, feed her in the night, then feed her in the morning all at set times if you can manage it.”

“No blankets?” Title asks, “How’s she gonna stay warm?”

“We’ll make her a sleep sack and keep a warming crystal nearby. Dam you got some leftover zippers? Buttons are a big no-no.”

“Sure, sweetie. Want me to go get one right now?”

“Ehh, let’s wait till after I shower maybe. I’ll do what I should have done with Dawn, Glacial, and Drift. I’ll extrude a sheet then just reshape it. In fact, I’ll get some crystal dust and I can add in the runic lines and add a fully-enclosed pocket for the warming crystal. She’ll be snug as a bug all night, momma.”

“Oh honey,” Title starts leaning over to kiss between his ears, “you’re such a wonderful big brother. She’s so lucky to have you looking out for her,” she coos, nuzzling up and down his cheek.

Vines lays opposite her wife and Cure is happy to snuggle into her tummy, turned to face his little sister who’s curiosity brings her to her big brother pretty quickly. While playing with her between his forehooves he asks his mom, “Are you okay with me checking her over?”

“Of course, babe. You don’t need to ask.”

Activating his mark, he gives his sister a quick check. “She’s perfect, ma. She’s gonna need to potty soon, though. You know, I bet I can help her with a lot of things like potty training and coordination and stuff. How much do you want me doing and how much do you want her to have to learn on her own?”

“How could you help potty train her?”

“Well it may take a little fine tuning, but from my understanding the hardest part of it is getting her to let you know before she needs to go potty. She has to learn to associate that ‘I need to potty’ feeling with ‘let dam know’, right?”

“Uh huh,” Title agrees, “that makes sense.”

“So we can do a few things. First off, dad and I need to go to the hardware store and get some treated, waterproof wood or lumber and some kind of finish, that way we can make like… I dunno what to call it, basically a platform that’s not as wide as a grown-up toilet, that way she can put her hooves on that and learn to squat and go like normal. Also, something for her tail to keep that out of the way.”

“We can do that tomorrow, son. Couldn’t you just reshape some wood inta somethin though?”

“Ugh. Overtired. You’re right, pa. We can go find any random tree and I can do it a lot easier. I can also put a soft tissue scan spell into a mid-low crystal. You can use that to check on her bladder and bowels every little while and see when she’s getting ready to fire. Of course, once I’m home I can take over that.

“Once we can get her to associate the need with going and, basically, teach her to use the modified toilet, we just need to make sure to reward her when she does a good job. How long does it usually take to potty train a filly?”

“You usually wait until they’re about a year and a half old, sweetie,” Vines answers. “Colts are a little easier. You were using the potty a little after a year.”

“That’s faster than humans, but that’s not surprising. Everything on this planet is smarter than humans start off. I just thought of something.” Cure gently takes Savvy’s forehooves in his and holds her so she’s sitting up and looking at him. “Savvy? Savvy Venture,” he gently coos, “Quick isekai test, sweetie. If you have memories from another life blink twice, okay? You aren’t the only one, baby girl, trust me.”

Deed snorts out a laugh, but judging from Title’s wide-eyed look she hadn’t considered the possibility. Vines pays rapt attention too, but apparently it’s not necessary as she looks up at her big brother and burbles while drooling a little and paws at his nose.

“Okay, just figured I would be sure,” he says. “One sec. Hola. Bonjour. Konnichiwa. Hmm… ni hoa? Guten tag?” She still fails to respond to anything, so Cure nods in satisfaction. “Okay, I think we’re in the clear. I only know how to say goodbye in Russian, but one of those woulda gotten a response from them anyhow. Then again, I woulda failed that test too, huh? We’ll just have to wait until she’s six or seven or so and have a serious sit-down with her in case something like what happened to me shows up again.”

“Honey…” Title starts, “do you really think that’s likely?”

“Not unless the princess was down the street blasting magic like when I was born, no. At least, it wasn’t until you asked that question. Way to toss that flag out there, ma.”

Deed chuckles and pokes at her mane with his snout. “C’mon, babe, even I know not to say stuff like that since last time. Hey son, ya ever consider what ya woulda done if you got them memories back and were a filly instead?”

“Ugh… no, not really. I guess it would depend, pa. If I was comfortable being a filly I suppose that’s what I would have been. It’s hard to say, ya know? I can definitely say the idea of another dude’s dude does not sound like a good time to me though. What would you do if you woke up in the morning and your outie became an inny?”

“I know what ya mean, but outie and inny?” he asks with a raised brow.

“Maybe that’s not a thing here. Actually, come to think of it, I’ve never seen anypony with a navel that sticks out. Some humans’ belly buttons kind of poke out instead of being recessed. I don’t even have one anymore, which would probably freak out anypony that scanned me.”

“Ah, speaking of which, champ, that doc ya worked with probably did scan you. Bulwark said she checked ya over when they found ya asleep.”

Cure cringes a little, but ultimately shrugs, “Eh, was gonna happen eventually I guess. She scanned mom, too, and I had a quick talk to warn her beforehoof. At least it happened to somepony that owes me a favor and, as best I can tell, likes me.”

Vines speaks up asking, “Does your horn show up on scans, honey?”

“Yep, definitely. The horn, the bump on my head, the sleeve it slides out of, the raised area between where it rests, etcetera. All of that should show up, but I doubt my bones would show up as unusual. Even though they’re made differently they’re still just bones. They would probably have to analyze a sample to catch that change, not that it matters here.

“She definitely noticed my subdermal armor, redundant cardiovascular system, spiracles, hardened nervous system backup, and probably a half dozen other things, though. The only one that really concerns me is the horn, though. As far as I can tell nopony has even considered the possibility that I can use unicorn magic. It was flattened and segmented, though, so who knows… maybe it just showed up like another weird, unidentified structure. It’s not completely obvious what it is when I have it tucked away.”

“Bulwark gave me a note in case you were too tired to go to school, sport. Maybe you should go see her before they move on to the next town. At the very least you’ll know if your secrets are out there then. Anyhow, if I woke up as a mare I’m pretty sure I’d be at yer bedside beggin ya ta fix me as soon as I finished screamin my head off.”

“Hmm, not the best example. How about this? What would you do if you woke up tomorrow as a mare AND had a whole lifetime of memories being one along with the last twenty some odd years of being a stallion?”

“Oof… okay, yeah, that would definitely muddy the waters. I still can’t imagine it enough to change my answer, though.”

“The correct answer,” Title interrupts, “is you’d have Cure change ya back to a stallion right away. I’d still love you as a mare, but I need my big, strong stallion to stay one, got it?” Cure notices his dam is nodding in agreement behind him.

Savvy seems indifferent, happy to roll around and paw at Cure’s hooves. He notices she’s getting tired, physically, and her muscles are fatigued. That’s not a surprise given that prior to about eight hours ago they’ve never been used. “Hey mom, do you want me rejuvenating her muscles? I can’t think of any reason not to.”

“That’s fine. Is she getting tired already?”

“Yep, also she’s going to go number two here in just a second. I’ll hit her diaper with a Clean when she does, but I don’t think I can do much about the smell for those few seconds, so everypony should turn their senses down to normal.”

“Ya never answered, son.”

“Oh right. Umm, with my current memories I would definitely change myself back to a male. It’s funny; I’m probably the only pony in existence that could actually determine which gets their rocks off harder; dudes or chicks. It was a thing humans would discuss on occasion.”

“There’s spells that can temporarily change somepony’s gender, honey,” Title explains, “but I don’t think they last long enough to produce sperm, and I don’t know what happens to stuff like that when the spell ends.”

“So they still have time to get the ‘experience’ if they want, though, huh? Well, the prevailing thought I heard, which I agree with, is that females can certainly enjoy the act more than males. The main reason being the potential for multiple orgasms. Once dudes finish they may be able to go one, or if they were really in a mood, two or three more times, but that’s the absolute max, at least for an average guy.”

“Honey…” Vines warns with a scowl.

“What? We’re having a serious discussion, dam. I’m not being lewd, just clinical. Jeez. Anyhow, based on my memories for a human, without magic, two was usually the limit. I think there was maybe two or three times ever that round three yielded results and, to be honest, beyond that it was unpleasant to the point that Ed just wanted to be left alone. After that it was time to bust out the BoB.”

At their confused looks he explains, “Battery operated boyfriend. Toys. Vibrators, typically, for clitoral or vaginal stimulation. Sometimes Cyndi got in a mood and really needed a good toe-curler… err… she needed to be satisfied beyond what was probably humanly possible. I mean, maybe there’s a few dudes out there that could throw down like that, but they were the exception. The average female could outlast the average male several times over.”

Cure pauses, watching as Savvy makes the “I’m pooping” face. It’s an expression that transcends world boundaries, he supposes, because it matches Alanna’s almost perfectly. He casts the cleaning cantrip on her and her diaper a few times as the process completes, then chuckles when she looks around confused.

“Aww, where did your poops go, Savvy? Did somepony magic yer poop away?” he coos, getting chuckles from the parents. “No poops for the Savvy girl. Aren’t you lucky, sweet thing?” She loses interest in her rear half pretty quickly, then turns and looks at Title’s nipples with another familiar look. “Looks like it’s chow time again. How are the boobs workin, ma?”

“So far so good. It’s weird actually being able to turn the milk glands on and off, but with the healing, smelling, membranes, and everything else it isn’t that big of a deal. Damned convenient, though,” she acknowledges. “Did you do this for other mares today? Bulwark said some needed help feeding.”

“Nope, the few that weren’t producing enough got a little buff, but they’ll still leak and whatever until their body naturally shuts that down after they stop feeding for a while. I just gave their mammary glands a little helping hoof. Nopony got ‘modified’ today beyond what was necessary to heal.

“We had a set of triplets that needed a little more from me, but almost everypony else was pretty healthy. Foalbirth is not as easy for pegasi and unicorns, though, that’s for sure. I learned that yesterday. There were a few dams that would have needed to be stitched up if I wasn’t there.

“Everypony that came in today got off easy though. Well, except my team and the other Emergency Response ponies. They filled in when we took breaks; mainly going through whoever was waiting and getting them organized. They sent most of the teams to Baltimare to help them at lunch when it became obvious we had it under control.”

“I’m sure having all of those ponies freed up will help the other areas a lot, sweetie. Do you even know where the doctor is staying?”

“Ahh fudge. I do not. I bet they have a hotel in Baltimare for all the staff in the region. I never thought to ask. Oh well, I’ll take the note to school then head over to the clinic in the morning. If they’re going to take me somewhere nearby to lend a hoof I’ll have them send a messenger.”

Cure feels another yawn coming on, so he leans back against his dam’s chest and says he’s going to go clean up.

“I’ll come with you, sweetie. We don’t need you falling asleep in the shower and flooding the house.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of her onesie then I’m going to bed afterwards,” he says as he stands. He learns down and gives his sister a smooch between her ears, then gives his mom and dad a goodnight kiss too.

He is basically bathed by his dam; the hot water on his coat ends up just about knocking him out, and Vines gets to coddle her exhausted baby, washing him, helping him dry, making him brush his teeth even though he insists it’s pointless, and nudging him into his bedroom.

At his insistence she fetched a zipper just long enough for the onesie, so he spends a few minutes making it based on Savvy’s scan, enchanting a crystal, and arranging the runic lines, then climbs into bed.

The last thing he remembers for the night is the warm embrace of his dam holding him against her tummy as he drifts off to sleep.