Author's Note

Because I've been a lazy ass when it comes to keeping the Cast List up to date I figured I should clue in the more visual folks. The little sisters are unnamed prior to this chapter, sort of. Drift does mention her sister, I think, when Cure is learning to fly.

Crosswind Drift - dark purple coat, royal blue mane
Older sister = Wind Shear - off white coat, gold mane
Younger Sister = Swirling Leaf - green coat, light brown mane
Dam = Thunder Dance - white coat, gold mane (like her oldest)
Sire = Tailwind Flare - off-white coat, red mane

Glacial Breeze - platinum coat w/ a blue sparkle (crystal pony heritage), bright blue mane
Sister = Frigid Glaze - blue coat like Cure’s, lighter blue mane
Sire = Rain - gray coat, dark charcoal mane
Dam = Snowstorm Burst - white w/ cobalt sparkle (crystal pony heritage), aqua mane

Chapter 57: Cupid's Fluffy Cousin

Sunday, March 29th, 909 AB (8 days later)

Cure watches through the unicorn aura as Lemon comes up the stairs and starts making her way towards his room. He’s laid on his barrel, one wing draped over each filly, gently holding them to his sides in a warm, protective cocoon that they’ve come to love sleeping in. He has a small pillow under his head between his forelegs and, for all appearances, is sound asleep.

With the three of them snuggling under the sheet Lemon won’t be able make out anything but a big lump in the bed. She’s definitely unaware of the vine going from Cure’s back, down his right wing, under the bed by the wall, through a hole in the plaster, and then up into the plant’s main body, which is housed mostly in the attic.

Moving the plant up there gave Cure access to the roof, allowing him to cover the entirety of it in a layer plant material that easily photosynthesizes enough energy for the plant to thrive even with a suboptimal solar angle, which is improving every day that June 20th gets closer. The dark red leaf-like structures do a good enough imitation of the typical slate roofs in the area that even fliers paid it no mind.

The skin graft experiment with his mom showed that, when connected to another pony, a part of him stops being “him” and starts being “them” after only about five days, give or take. They didn’t bother running the experiment more than a couple times to really nail down the exact figure simply because they were only interested in verifying it wouldn’t happen in just a few hours if one of the parents had to plug in to use the plant’s defense systems.

Thus far only his mom has been brave enough to try it once. She managed fine but said that unplugging was distinctly unpleasant and disorienting. Cure doesn’t have that issue and isn’t sure if it’s because the whole thing is conceptually “him” or if he’s just more used to adapting to different body shapes.

It may have also had something to do with the way the plant is structured being so completely different from a pony’s body. Aside from the central area where the horn structure is located, the plant truly is just a plant.

The only other nervous “system” present is only what’s needed to run down the length of the vines and articulate the few basic weapons systems present. Although he included one large, long range airgun hidden in the central stalk the more distant parts are only armed with short range (5-10 meters, tops) envenomed dart shotguns.

Cure figures that between the venom darts, the magic regeneration, the three hundred meter aura sense, and the “main cannon” there’s probably not a need to add melee weapons. Plus, if he’s plugged in he can do that ad hoc while engaging enemies at range. Once anything gets in the house he figures he’s probably better off pulling the mass down, armoring up, and dealing with it himself.

In order to address the latency issue, Cure created an insulated, sheathed length of nerves running from the plant’s central nexus directly down a stalk in his room. It’s currently hooked directly to his spinal column and allows for significantly improved speed. It’s not a perfect solution as there can still be as much as a second between when he tells a more distant vine to move and when it does, but with the cluster-fire approach he’s taken it should be good enough.

He had experimented with using metal in place of the central stalk and the result was good, if not simple. Using only a shaving of copper from a pan, which his dam was not happy about, he determined it to be a potential substitute for typical nerves, but likely only for central system to central system connections.

Biochemical signals sent through nerves are not exactly the same as electrical impulses sent via conductive metal wires, he’d found. Also, copper is outside of his talent’s scope and cannot be directly manipulated, so he wouldn’t be able to just grow it as his body matures.

Still, copper is so much faster than nerves that even if he has to have a “spare” spool set aside inside his body it’s looking worthwhile to use the material to connect his main neural areas, minus his isolated backup system, to each other with biochemical adapters at each end. That should allow signals to travel long distances at near light speed before plugging into a “router” of a sort that will translate the electrical signal back to a biochemical one for the short distance and send it to the specific muscle being commanded.

On a list of things to test and plan for is whether or not the copper wire could act as a conductor, making electrical attacks against him far more effective. He’s hopeful that he can minimize the risk by including proper insulation, some biological fuses, and taking advantage of the pegasus lightning mitigation aura.

In a society where electricity is mainly limited to hobbyist toys, Cure isn’t sure where to start looking so he can buy a few dozen meters of relatively pure metal. He’d talked to his mom about his project and she was quick to point out that the rail lines do have telegraph machines at metro stations, which Baltimare is. He considered asking them where they buy from, but being a government entity he’d rather keep that as a last resort.

His plan, for now, is to make a spool of two millimeter thick bone cord with as high of calcium content as he can, then remove all of the “living” matter from it with his talent. Transmutation of living matter may work, but he doesn’t want to risk it outside of direct applications of his talent. Regardless, his replicated, if incomplete, periodic table puts calcium as the ‘closest’ he can easily get, material-wise, to copper, so he figures it will be the most magic-efficient source material to use.

He figures if that doesn’t work he can always ask Ferric if she’s able to make a spool of the stuff in wire format. Plan C is to check with Midnight Gem to see if she has any. D will require a trip to the toy store in Baltimare where the train set was captivating the girls on the way to their spa trip, and plan E is to give in and just ask somepony at the rail line where they get theirs.

The limited use of transmutation has been a source of confusion for the colt. Granted, the spell is exhausting, with a single cast using about three quarters of what a mid-high crystal can hold. That’s enough power to transmute about a half of a kilogram of matter, though, which craps all over Cure’s science-based understanding of the universe.

For anypony with any familiarity with human history or even modern power generation ideas, the very suggestion that an average frequent magic-using unicorn has enough power inside them to change between one and two kilograms of matter into another is not only absurd but terrifying.

The notion alone is enough for Cure to suspect that scientific knowledge may be intentionally withheld so nopony gets the insane idea to transmute radioactive isotopes or something like uranium 235 or plutonium 239 or 240 and blow half the country to smithereens.

It’s only thanks to Edward’s frequent wiki crawls and interest in World War II history that Cure knows the materials were used in the Little Boy and Fat Man bombs. He isn’t sure if just suddenly transmuting a kilogram block of the stuff would cause a detonation and is, unsurprisingly, not even the slightest bit interested in finding out. Either way, if ponies know about it and are suppressing that knowledge then that’s something he is wholly in agreement with.

Regardless, it baffles Cure that nopony seems to take advantage of transmutation for most day-to-day things. He had, at one point, considered making the appliances he ended up buying his parents out of transmuted materials, but his capabilities were far more limited before he built his suit. Now the only limits he has are available mass and his own energy production, which means he is, in many ways, a post-scarcity single entity at this point.

As best he can tell there’s only laws specifically against transmuting precious metals and, even though it’s in the same table column as gold and silver, copper is definitely not considered one.

It’s a shame he doesn’t have more materials science knowledge from Edward. The dude wasn’t a scientist, but he was a very curious guy that knew a lot of “surface level” facts even if he was lacking the details that were necessary to get from Step 1 all the way to Step Profit.

The skin graft experiment wasn’t the only one Cure had run to ensure the plant would remain metaphysically a part of him. He had made a few flowers out of the suit’s excess biomass and found that, when not connected to another living creature, his plants still remained “him” for about three weeks.

He’d hoped it would be at least a month just in case he traveled, but the limited timeframe doesn’t exactly make that impossible, it just means that if he wants to keep the plant “him” he may need to check back every two weeks or so.

He’s taken to plugging himself in most nights and, although his mind can still rest almost as well as normal sleep, he maintains a low level awareness that draws his attention when somepony moves towards the house or there’s unusual activity outside. The morning newspaper delivery was the first to cause this, though throughout the night every so often random bat ponies sometimes pass over or near the house as well.

The plant has grown significantly since he first ate the downed tree. Along the back of the house a few longer, thicker vines trail down into the ground where a large network of roots provides the nutrients and water needed. Combined with the solar array and the guidance of a biomanipulator the plant has flourished, more than doubling in mass over the last month, which opens up a few possibilities he’d not considered previously.

One great, if kind of gross example; Cure doesn’t wake up ready to burst every morning anymore. Normally his bladder would be at DEFCON two right now, given that it had to be pushing seven thirty, but with the hook-up to the plant his body is in mint condition and waste-free, ready to tackle the day. And the unsuspecting mare.

Cure slowly eases the girls away from his sides as he disconnects from the plant and prepares to greet the candy mare with an enthusiastic good morning. He quickly nudges the girls both awake and whispers, “Lemon’s comin, get ready for an ambush!” getting excited nods from the pair once his words register.

Unaware of the incoming attack, Lemon barely restrains herself from giggling as she makes her way to the bed, lifts the edge of the sheet up, and pokes her head underneath.

The three don’t hesitate for a second. As soon as Lemon’s snout appears under the sheet he lightens himself and launches at the unsuspecting mare, spinning around her neck and latching onto her back. “INTRUDER! GET HER!” he shouts over the startled mare’s yelp as the fillies leap off of the bed to assist.

The three soon have the yellow mare rolling on the ground being tickled to death, ignoring their mom’s pleas for mercy. They’re vicious with their assault, wrestling and playing for a few minutes until they come to a stop with Lemon on her back nearly breathless, Cure draped across her chest, and the girls further down on her belly.

With the rest of the family at the park, Title makes her way to the studious colt. She flops on top of him, fully laying on his back and looking over his shoulders at the Guard book Solar had copied for him and delivered just a couple days prior. “So… anything good in there?” she asks, resting her head on top of his, her cheek gently rubbing against his horn.

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” he says, carefully nodding. “That unicorn flight spell is in here. Haze was right about it being a doozie, but it’s not like we need to power the thing to full, so my suggestion to Emerald wasn’t a bad one. Shame she’s not down for tryin, but oh well,” he finishes with a shrug.

“I can’t blame her for not being enthusiastic about it,” Title says. “Even if I knew I would be fine the idea of being even ten meters off the ground and having the spell fail sounds pretty scary.”

“Right, hence the Slow Fall scrolls as a backup,” he argues. “Or just learn the damn spell. It’s a low level spell and she is a unicorn. Though ten meters is pretty low. You would wanna be higher so you have more time to respond.”

“That wouldn’t help if she panicked. In fact, it would make her more likely to panic.”

“I guess,” he surrenders the point with a sigh. “She doesn’t strike me as the ‘excels under pressure’ type.”

“Not like that, no. I don’t think most ponies would react well to unexpectedly falling, though.”

“Eh, do a little flight training like pegasi do before hoofin the things out. It wouldn’t be that hard to hit somepony with Cloud Walk, put one under them, and have them do some basic crash survival exercises. Make it a three year renewable flight license requirement or whatever. The spell gives you freaking butterfly wings, so it’s not like it’s hard to identify who’s using it.”

“That’s not a bad idea, Cure. You could even include the first set of lessons with the crystal purchase.”

“Huh… I wonder if the girls would be interested in doing that. Maybe I’ll put a bug in their ears, see if that’s something they would be down for.”

Cure feels his mom shaking with mirth on top of him. When she turns her head to laugh he cranes his head back and up to meet her eye. Giggling, she explains, “I don’t think that means what you think it means.”

“Uhh… it means to give somepony a heads up or recommend something.”

Snorting, she shakes her head no. “Maybe it does to a hoo man-” she starts, butchering the pronunciation to annoy the colt.

“Oh cut it out with that hyu or hoo man crap!” he shouts, interrupting her and sounding it out like she does. “I only told you about that because I was mocking it!”

Title squeezes the colt between her forelegs and rolls to her right, stopping on her back and bringing him with her on her chest. Worried he could poke her, he quickly retracts his horn, then lets out a sigh, leaning back to rest his head on her neck and chin.

“I’m just teasing you, honey. Putting a flea in somepony’s ear means you’re getting them in the mood.” She gives him another squeeze with her forelegs and wraps him in a tight hug, using him like a snuggle pillow.

“What? What the hell do fleas in your ear have to do with that?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Maybe it has something to do with ear biting?” she half-asks.

“Wait, is that why Dawn nibbles on my ear?”

He feels more than sees his mom shake her head. “Probably not intentionally. You two are too young for most signs of affection. That and you annoy her and they’re right there asking to get bit when she’s on your withers.”

Sighing again, he nods in acceptance. “Regardless, I wonder if Wind is old enough to act as a flight instructor for the crystal idea. I’m not sure if she’s twelve or thirteen now, to be honest.”

“She probably turned thirteen in January. Or she’s going to be tall for a pegasus mare. She’s already two hooves taller than you and they don’t usually get much over nine and a half hooves tall. I’m pretty sure you would need an adult to act as an instructor anyhow.”

“Yeah, probably. I wonder if Glacial’s dam would be interested.”

“Probably not if she’s about to have twins. When are you meeting everypony?”

“Thunder and Flare said Snowstorm Burst and… Uhh…” Cure pauses, furrowing his brows in thought. He saw the light gray pegasus stallion with Glacial’s dam at the tree event, but he never got a chance to talk to him with the other events distracting him.

“I’m not sure what his name is but he said he just goes by Rain. I don’t remember seeing you talk to him at the party.”

“Yeah, I was a little distracted.”

“I bet. What’s the plan there, anyhow?”

“Can’t say that I have one, ma. I figure I’ll just wait and see what happens when we go visit. I mean, whoever has the trees can’t really do much with them other than use them. I wholly removed the cloning seed thing, so unless there’s another biomanipulator out there like me there’s only so much that can be done with ‘em. I would dearly love it if the fucks that stole that came here trying to get more seeds, though,” he growls out.

“No murdering ponies over something you can replace in two minutes, babe,” she softly scolds, poking him in the side with a hoof.

“Fine. I’ll leave ‘em alive. Stitched together like a pony centipede, maybe, but alive.”

The pink mare sighs and, instead of asking, tells him, “I don’t wanna know.”

“No, you really don’t. It’s gross and I would never actually do that either way. I would ask some very pointed questions before the authorities cart ‘em off, though. Anyhow,” he says, using his TK to roll himself over so they’re chin to chin, “Drift’s parents are having them over for lunch and invited me. Have you guys considered looking at cloud houses when you’ve been shopping, by the way?”

Title still for a moment. “I… huh. I have to say that the possibility never even occurred to me. I don’t see that as being feasible, though, honey. Vines and Amy are both pretty scared of heights and we wouldn’t have a way of getting up and down.”

“Yeah, true. I guess that’s more of a ‘maybe in ten years’ kind of idea. Or if we move somewhere where we don’t know anypony. I could give you all wings on the way so when we get there nopony realizes we all changed tribes, sorta.”

“Right, we’re all just freakishly tall, thick pegasi, Cure. I’m sure that won’t be weird to anypony.”

Scoffing, he waves away the issue. “What are they gonna do, demand our birth certificates? They’ll probably just assume we’re genetic freaks like the huge earth ponies are, just a pegasus version.”

Title rolls her eyes. “I don’t think those exist.” With a thoughtful frown she adds, “Ya know, I wonder why that is. Do you think all the really tall earth ponies are like… distant relatives to each other or something? Like, two really tall ponies somehow had, like you said, a genetic freak of a foal and he or she is like… the great-times-a-hundred grandparent of all of ‘em.”

“Oh yeah, absolutely,” he instantly agrees. “That’s almost certainly exactly what happened. I mean, that probably was thousands of years ago, so by now they’re barely any more related than you and I, biologically speaking, but I don’t doubt that’s the case at all. I’ll have to decide if I’m going to do the same thing myself, too.”

“What?” she asks. “Have foals that are different?”

“Sure. I mean, in a way, aren’t I depriving any offspring I have if I don’t pass on my Mark II or Mark Whatever cells? I figure there’s gotta be a few other species out there that have something I can duplicate. Dragons for their heat resistance comes to mind immediately. I don’t think any of the other races have magical abilities, so there’s a good chance I could copy most, if not all of them.”

The idea clearly leaves Title at a loss for words. She has a thoughtful frown on her face and is considering the idea. Still mulling it over, she rolls back to her right side, setting Cure on his left, still between her forelegs. He’s perfectly content to snuggle right up to her, hugging the mare’s neck against his chest and giving her a few grooming licks up her chin before nuzzling against her.

After several minutes she finally speaks up. “I don’t think you would be depriving your foals if they were just regular ponies, honey. I suppose it would depend on who you’re having the foal with, really. If it’s with one of your mates you’ll have the unique option to talk over what you want beforehoof. If it’s a studding agreement… well, I guess you can do the same, or just make it the same tribe as the dam.”

Pausing, she glances down and asks, “Were you still considering doing that? The studding thing when you’re older?”

“I dunno. I haven’t ruled it out com-” he stops as the front door opens. Cure leans up to look over her shoulder as she cranes her neck. Vines and the fillies come in first followed by Amethyst, then Lemon, and finally Deed carrying Savvy taking up the rear.

“The crystal! Hit the Cleaning crystal, girls!” Vines shouts as the fillies take off for the toybox.

“Sorry!” is chorused back as the girls rush back to the door, leaving a second set of muddy hoofprints back. Once cleaned the pair dart off to the toybox, each looking for a doll to play with.

Cure hadn’t intended to become a dollmaker, but his creations are very popular with foals, it seems. Most of them are ponies, but he has also made a few plush kitty and bunny toys for Heavy, Drift, and Glacial’s little sisters. He’d also made each of his friends a set of silk sheets that he has yet to deliver. He originally wished he’d thought of it before Hearts and Hooves, but the thought just didn’t occur to him until afterwards.

When he commented about it to his parents they also made a good point. Giving the girls (and Heavy) a set of silk sheets on Hearts and Hooves day may have been a little more suggestive of a present than Cure intended. He had to concede the point. Hoofing those over on a romance-centered holiday sends a message that is a little more forward than he means.

Dawn, Glacial, Drift, and Rising would have probably taken it that way. He wasn’t sure what to think about Sapphire. Also, Cure’s not sure what’s going on with Delta Coast. He noticed she has been acting strangely towards him ever since Hearth’s Warming and he’s not really sure what the story is there. The only thing he can figure is that she thinks he’s pursuing her romantically and isn’t interested, which is perfectly fine by him.

Ferric would have definitely taken it as a romantic gesture, given she had made him a present with that in mind. His relationship with the filly has changed since then, with her being much less reluctant to be in contact with him. He’d gone to her house the next day to thank her in pony and ended up spending a couple hours snuggled with her while she showed him her favorite designs from the books he’d bought her.

He had a really fun time, and was delighted to see the normally shy filly actually taking over and leading a conversation. She was far more animated and vocal as long as the discussion was about something related to smithing. The big win, in Cure’s book, was that she eagerly agreed to let Cure come to the smithy sometime soon once she clears it with her master.

He plans on taking advantage of the situation to suggest that, perhaps, she has a mark similar to his own and that she may be able to actively use magic as well. The fact that she’s ten and has her mark means that right now is the most important time for her to be developing her magical abilities, so getting her started as soon as possible is key for her to develop a bigger magic pool that will help her the rest of her life.

Cure watches with a smile as his dam extends her horn and uses a heating charm to evaporate the water leftover from the Cleaning crystal. Though it took her the longest of the parents to start using her horn she reluctantly conceded that they are really useful, and has become less and less hesitant to bust it out to help out with chores around the house.

“Gonna hafta move outta the way, champ. Yer sister seems ta be a bit hungry, so…” waving a hoof, Deed shoos Cure out of the way so he can set Savvy down by her dam’s tummy. Cure gives a nod, plants a kiss on his mom’s cheek, and rolls out of the way for his sister to get to Title’s teats.

As the little filly latches on Title looks to the four adults and asks, “So, how was the park?”

“Wet,” Amethyst grunts out, making her way to the stairs. “We woulda stayed longer but the damn weather teams decided ta make it rain while we were out there,” she explains, heading upstairs for the bathroom with Lemon and Vines hot on her tail.

“Eh, it wasn’t that bad, babe,” Deed answers, leaning down to give his wife a kiss. “Your wives just ain’t used’ta keepin ‘emselves dry like yer stud can. Me ‘n the pretty lil lady stayed dry the whole time.” Deed sits on his haunches by Title and carefully lays down, spooning her and resting his head on her left shoulder.

“I’m kinda surprised they have it raining during the day,” Cure observes. “Especially on a Sunday. I thought they tried to avoid that so it doesn’t fudge up the market stuff.”

“They do, son. Sometimes those weather ponies don’t get their days straight, it seems. The calendar says it ain’t supposed’ta rain again till Tuesday. Bunch’a featherbrains,” he grumbles. “You gonna be alright flyin in this?” he asks.

“Oh yeah, totally,” Cure assures him. “I have way more pegasus cells than an actual pegasus does, pa. In fact, I’m fully converted to hybrid cells as of a few days ago.”

“What?!” Title shouts. “Why didn’t you say so?”

“Uhh… why does it matter? I’m still working to convert the Mark I cells to Mark II, but yeah. I finished everything else on Wednesday. Well, except my brain. I ain’t messin with that,” he finishes.

“Feel any different, champ?”

Unsure what exactly his parents are hinting at, Cure cautiously answers. “No… why are you both acting weird?”

“We weren’t sure if something would happen, Cure. That’s all. I mean, we’re relieved…” she pauses as she glances to Deed, then back. “At least, I am. But yeah, I half expected something crazy to go wrong at some point.”

“Really?” he asks, getting nods from both parents. “Why?” When both give him dumb shrugs he just rolls his eyes at the pair and lets out a sigh. “I keep telling you that there’s more to it. At least, I think there is. I would have to … I don’t know. Do something monumental, I suspect.”

“Like deliverin a couple hundred completely healthy foals?” Deed asks.

Title follows along, “Or inventing a revolutionary medical treatment that you’re giving away?”

“Regrowing wings and horns?” Deed asks, apparently taking turns with his wife.

“Creating your antiviral trees?”

“Alright, enough,” he says, cutting off any more. “None of those, given my talent’s capabilities, are all that remarkable.” At the pair of incredulous looks he concedes, “Maybe the tree ones are a little more impressive, granted, but the others are all pretty straight-forward applications of my talent.”

“Well… good enough, champ. Just outta curiosity, what are we all up to at this point on that cell thing?”

“I’ve caught them up to you. Well, mom at least. You’re both at a little under seventy percent. Lemon and Amy are a smidge behind at sixty-five.”

“Really?” Title asks. “So we can walk on clouds and stuff?”

“Yeah, you’ve been able to, probably, since about the beginning of the month. Next time I have a moment I’ll tear off a piece and bring it in the house to show you.”

“Neat! I bet they’re comfy.”

“They are,” Cure assures her. “I’m wondering if I can wrap one in a silk container and use it as a mattress. I guess that would be one way to determine if it’s the aura or their magic that makes clouds solid over time.”

“Aura would make more sense,” Title notes. “After all, you only have that part and can solidify them for yourself. I bet they become solid for everything once you’ve pushed enough aura through them.”

“Dunno, ma. I guess we’ll see.”

“Sounds neat, champ. I wouldn’t mind a cloud bed just fer the novelty.” Pausing for a moment, Deed glances out the window. “Not that I’m tryin to get rid of ya, but yer havin lunch with ‘em, right?” Cure nods yes in response. “When are ya leavin?”

“In a few minutes. I figure I’ll wait for dam to come down, give her a little love before I head out. I know she’s not a big fan of the whole flyin bit.”

“Got yer Sending crystal?”

“Yep. And a Slow Fall, just in case.” After a moment he adds, “And Stun, a few shields, some teleports…”

Title just rolls her eyes and lets out a sigh.

“Good,” Deed says, giving him a nod. “So, what were ya workin on? Lookin over the Guard book?” he asks, glancing at the still open book laying in front of Cure.

“Yeah, we’d talked a bit about the flying spell in particular. Specifically, the possibility of putting it in crystals and selling ‘em. Something I suggested was requiring users to pass an air safety class and havin the girls or maybe Glacial’s dam run it. I figure they can work with Dawn and make some bits off of it. Maybe I’ll throw it out there at lunch.”

Nodding while mulling it over, Deed shrugs saying, “Doesn’t sound like a bad idea ta me, sport. I’m not sure there would be a lotta demand, but who knows. Ya gonna look fer ways ta make all’a yer friends rich too?”

Cure tilts his head back and forth a little in thought. “I mean… that would be great, but unless they mark up the crystals a lot I don’t see them getting rich off of it. I don’t know what the rate should be… at its lowest setting it lasts an hour. Normally it lasts three days, but like 90% of the spell’s power is the ‘battery’ so it could fit in a mid, barely.

“The seven hundred bit starting point makes it kinda cost prohibitive for most to use like I suggested, but if I was commuting and couldn’t just sprout wings I would totally fly to work every day over taking the train.”

“I know you would, honey. Have you thought about just flying to Baltimare instead of having them come get you each weekend? I mean… It’s been a couple months since the princess visited and we’ve seen absolutely no sign anypony is coming. Stars, they sent those trees to the capital what… six weeks ago?”

“Seven, and yes. I would much prefer flying there myself. I’m really struggling not to just go full alicorn mode all the time, honestly. I’m only holding back because I wanna clear it with the boss lady first. I’ve come this close,” he says, holding his hooves barely apart, “to saying something to Dr. Care or Ms. Gale like a dozen times.”

Deed shots him a disbelieving look. “Restraint? From tha colt that was ready ta go out in a big ‘ol alicorn disguise just a month ago?”

“Yeah, a disguise. Totally different tribe, size, color, sex, you name it. Nopony would see THAT and think ‘Cure Wave’ now would they?”

“True. I think yer right, son. Let her highness know first. It’s only another month anyhow.”

“That’s probably the safest option,” Title agrees. “You all done, sweetie?” she softly coos to Savvy. The foal finished feeding and is smiling back at her dam, laying against her tummy. She stands up on her hind legs and looks around until she spots Lotus and Cherry playing with her dolls.

Babbling giddily, she climbs right up and over her dam, across her sire, and makes her way over to them. Fortunately the foals are shaping up to be good big sisters. They’ve always had to share with each other, so entertaining their soon-to-be official little sister is as much fun for them as it is for her.

Happy to see the girls didn’t get stingey, Cure lets out a relieved breath. “Whew. Good thing the girls never developed only child syndrome.”

“Got that right, sport,” Deed agrees, then more loudly adds, “The girls are gonna be wonderful big sisters, I can tell already.” The slight manipulation works great as the two’s cheeks color a little and their ears perk up, even though they pretend they didn’t hear his praise. Deed turns back and nods to the book asking, “What else ya got in there, sport?”

“A few things. There’s kind of a primer for unicorn fighting in general and a vague blurb about non-runic casting. I hadn’t considered it before, but that’s how counterspelling apparently works. If you can recognize the spell somepony is casting and are fast enough to, you can really screw their magic up bad at close range or, for lack of a better description, negate the effect after launch. I’m thinking special talents aren’t counterable like that; they seem to break all the rules.

“There’s also a … Well, not even an introduction, but some notes about wards and alarm spells beyond the actual Alarm runic spell. Just kind of a ‘hey these things exist but leave it to the experts’ kinda thing.”

“That sucks,” Title blurts out. “Those sound useful.”

“Darn right they do. I wish I’d known about this crap before whoever made off with my trees. If I knew how to I coulda put a ward on ‘em to raise an alarm if anypony but us touched them,” he angrily huffs.

“There’s a few really useful things that I didn’t already have, but they’re kinda situational. Like Detect Magic. I could see using it a lot to detect traps or hidden stuff… even charged crystals.

“Force Wall seems pretty awesome. I didn’t realize that was the spell they use to protect infantry from projectiles and dropped crap. I kinda figured it was an actual shield spell or just that projected panel thing unicorns do, but apparently somepony developed the spell as a more magic-efficient alternative. There’s also some scrying spells for looking down on a nearby area. Not super helpful but I guess, again, in the right situation it could be.”

“I would think sending a pegasus up would be better since their eyes are so good,” Title comments.

“Yeah, but it’s a unicorn spell. It was probably created specifically because a pegasus wasn’t available. I bet that’s why the wing one exists too.”

“True.”

“The last bit is about prisoner apprehension stuff specific to unicorns. Stun, Hold, Cutting Beam, a couple pretty nasty spells for when lethal force is authorized-”

“They included that?!” Title shouts. “I can’t believe Haze let you have… well, actually,” she pauses, looking thoughtful, “I guess that’s not really a big deal with you, is it?”

“In a way,” Cure starts to explain.

“It means Haze already knows the colt could be that dangerous anyhow,” Deed points out.

Cure nods in agreement, “Right. He must have an idea about how dangerous I already am even without those spells. I mean, my talent alone is way worse than literally anything I could ever cast, probably. It’s kind of a moot point either way. I knew most of those spells from Arcane Blast’s book. I just never used them at the range because of power requirements and I think that may have freaked Solar out.”

“I kinda forgot about that,” she admits.

“My next big thing on my shopping list for magic is something to protect me from mental manipulation. I think I addressed that with my hardened backup system, but I won’t know until I’m the victim of it, unfortunately. That’s not something I would even let the princess try on me, so I would need both the offensive and the defensive versions to make sure we’re safe from that.”

“Is that for-” Deed pauses as the mares make their way down the stairs before continuing, “the changelings or something? I think ya mentioned the big one usin mind control.”

Vines walks around Deed and lays on his withers. Lemon and Amethyst pull a mat over to Cure’s left side and lay down on it, Amethyst directly beside him and Lemon to her left.

“Yeah, it is. Mind control’s like… I dunno, probably the single scariest thing I can think of on the planet, too. The loss of free will is such a concern that somepony using mind magic on me is one of the few things I would go instantly lethal against. My talent is just far too dangerous to fall into a bad actor’s hooves.”

“Yeesh, sounds like we walked in on a happy topic,” Lemon comments, laying her head on her wife’s withers. “I can’t say I disagree, though. If somepony’s using that kind of magic they would probably be banished or executed if caught,” she points out, getting agreeing nods from the other parents.

“Were you heading out soon, sweetie? The rain’s not going to be a problem is it?”

Deed shakes his head no. “Already asked that, babe. He says he’s got it covered.”

“Yep, was just waitin for you all to get back so I could say goodbye. I’ll probably be up there at least a few hours. I figured I could hang out with the girls a bit after taking care of the folks.”

Cure hops up and lays across his mom, nuzzling against his dam’s cheek, then giving some love to each of the other parents. He steps away from the group and, using the extra mass stored in the bit pouches, quickly grows his wings out and changes his colors, hiding his mark at the same time.

Making sure to be noisy enough she hears him coming, he walks over to Savvy and lays on his barrel, smooshing the girl down and wrapping her in a wing hug, kissing all over her face and getting giggles from the sweet foal before finally releasing her to waddle away.

Spreading his wings and forelegs wide he calls to the others. “Come gimme some kisses, girls, big bro has to go make a house call.” When they run over he wraps them both up for a moment, squishing them to his chest.

“Now you be good,” he lowers his voice and holds them tight, “or when I get home, I’mmaaa gonnaaa hafftaaa eaaatss yaaaaaaaaaa!” he shouts, giving them nibbles and tickling them until they scream and fidget enough that he lets them get away.

“Alright everypony, see ya in a bit,” he calls, waving with a wing as they all yell back to him. He’d completely stopped carrying saddlebags except for his school stuff, so he didn’t need to grab anything on the way out.

With the compressed bit pouches and subdermal pockets there’s little he could normally need that he can’t store internally. His fountain pen, a few blank crystals of each tier, thousands of bits, a few folded sheets of paper, and about sixteen liters of extra biomass filled the bags, each one capable of holding ten.

Inspired by a certain pink party pony, Cure has moved the bags so it looks like he’s pulling items right out of his mane. It draws some curious looks, but so far everypony has chalked it up to sleight of hoof trickery.

He takes a quick look out the door ensuring nopony is watching, closes his nictitating membranes, and starts pushing out with his aura to keep somewhat dry. Pulling the door shut behind himself, he takes off at a canter before spreading his wings, leaping, and taking to the sky, looking around to ensure no pegasi are flying nearby that he needs to watch for.

Cure gains some altitude and, instead of heading straight for the cloud district, veers towards downtown. Other than the guards on patrol there’s not many ponies out thanks to the rain. It’s not even that bad, but in a society that’s so accustomed to having near perfect weather all of the time, the few times when it is raining drives most ponies inside.

Cure does a lazy loop around the city, just taking in the sights and enjoying the feeling of wind and water rushing over him. With the strength of his TK field he’s able to go as fast as he wants, but he takes his time to enjoy the freedom. He doesn’t get to spread his wings too often, so when the opportunity presents itself he doesn’t let it pass him by.

After a few minutes of screwing around he heads towards the bakery he and his friends frequent, landing outside and making his way in. The extra mass he has stored helps strengthen his aura to keep water off of him, but his hooves still get a little wet and dirty when he lands. A Warming cantrip and a Cleaning cast by his internal horn ensures that what little he does track in the bakery will at least be clean water, though.

After buying a pecan and a cherry pie he heads back out and launches himself in the air, climbing up to level off with the cloud district as he does a wide loop, keeping the pies against his belly, surrounded by a quickly cast shield and the TK field he’s pushing out. It takes several minutes until he’s high enough, and he’s not surprised to see that most of the pegasi have decided to stay indoors as well.

Waterlogged wings are a lot more difficult to fly with, as he understands it, but his constant oil extrusion, TK field, and casted shields make flying in the rain a non-issue, at least at the lower speeds he’s tested it at so far. He finds a place near Drift’s house where he can duck out of sight and, after casting invisibility on himself, reabsorbs the wings and changes his colors back before making his way to the door.

<< Made it no problem, ma. I’ll let ya know when I’m heading home. >>

<< Alright, honey. Have fun. >>

“Knock Knock!” he shouts, giving the door a firm rap. It’s only a second later that the door is flung open with Drift and Glacial smiling at him on the other side. “Hello, my lovely ladies!” he greets, ducking his head in a shallow bow.

“You’re wet,” Drift notes, keeping her distance from him.

“That’s some fine observation skills ya got there, Drift. It is raining out, I’m sure you noticed,” he says, motioning over his withers. “I was able to stay mostly dry, but some mist still got on my coat.”

She lets out a deep sigh and rolls her eyes. “Dry off before you get everything else wet, too,” she flatly commands, moving out of the way.

Glacial shakes her head in exasperation and takes a step back, motioning Cure to come in and holding out a towel for him. He passes her the pie boxes as he takes it with a quick thanks. She gives the boxes a sniff and excited looks to the colt. “Cherry and pecan?” she asks.

“You bet,” he says, scrubbing himself dry. He looks around and quickly pops his horn out, casting the Warming cantrip on himself and the towel. It speeds up the process quite a bit and within a few seconds he’s almost completely dry. “I swung by the bakery on the way here. I don’t like to show up anywhere empty hooved, ya know?”

Glacial gives him a beautiful smile and steps in for a nuzzle, Drift doing the same after a moment while thanking him.

Drift takes the towel from him and, without a word, heads towards the back hallway, presumably to some kind of laundry room. Glacial watches her go before explaining, “She’s been acting weird today. I don’t know what’s up with her.” With another sigh she shrugs her wings and adds, “C’mon. Food’s probably about ready. Let’s take those to Mrs. Dance then I’ll introduce you to my sire since you didn’t get to say hi at the party.”

“Sounds good. You can toss those on my withers if ya want,” he says, walking next to her. She passes the pies back and the two make their way to the kitchen together, finding Thunder Dance sitting in front of the stove, stirring some veggies in a pan.

The white mare turns to greet the pair and gushes excitedly when she notices the pies. “You didn’t have to bring us dessert, Cure. Thank you, though!”

“Sure thing, ma’am. Dam raised me never to show up for a meal empty hooved.”

Smiling, she takes the boxes with a thanks and sets them on the counter. “Drift said you like fish. I hope she wasn’t making that up, was she?”

“Nope, I eat basically anything you can imagine, Mrs. Dance.”

“Great!” she beams. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She quickly sets her spoon back down, turns, and wraps him in a tight hug, wings included.

With a contented sigh he leans into it, luxuriating in the warmth. “Can’t get enough of them wing hugs,” he mumbles out, nuzzling into her chest.

“Hey!” a familiar stallion’s voice calls. “You’re not tryin to steal my wife, too, are ya?” Tailwind asks, walking in the kitchen from the living room. Snowstorm and her husband are right behind him, looking through the doorway.

“No sir. I have a legitimate medical condition,” Cure replies. “When a beautiful lady wants to give me a hug I just lock up. Here, watch,” he says, turning to Glacial and shooting her big doe eyes. Giggling, she wraps him in a hug, wings and all. “Ahh!” he faux yells, leaning into her, “I’m trapped! Somepony save meee! But take your time, really, I insist.”

“Tragic,” Thunder sympathizes. “Don’t you think, Snowy?”

“Oh, yes, definitely,” she nods in agreement. “It’s not terminal, is it Cure?”

“Only under specific conditions,” he assures them. “Quadriplegia per bella māre is, however, a chronic condition,” Cure solemnly explains. The adults pause in thought for a moment then snort out a laugh, shaking their heads at the dumb joke.

Glacial separates from him, ending the hug and rolling her eyes at the whined “so cold” to trot over by her sire, turning to face Cure and nuzzling into the stallion’s shoulder. “Daddy, this is Cure Wave. Cure, this is my sire.”

Rain, whatever his actual name is, is the light gray pegasus Cure saw Snowstorm with at the event. He has a darker, nearly black mane and tail and is barely taller than his wife. She is on the taller side for pegasus mares, though, coming in at just about ten hooves as best Cure can tell.

The stallion takes a step into the kitchen and reaches out for a hoof bump, greeting the colt. “Just call me Rain. It’s nice to finally meet you properly. We didn’t get an opportunity after the… Well, you know,” he finishes wincing.

“A pleasure,” Cure returns. “Yeah, that didn’t end how I expected. I think I’ve seen you working a few times, but ya know… most ponies don’t look up very often.”

“Eh, true,” Rain nods just as Thunder says the food is ready. Everypony makes their way to the dining room, just a room over. One thing Cure notices is that the table is much lower than he’s used to. The small fillies have boosters, but he and the girls are just tall enough they can sit on a cushion and reach fine.

Cure ends up being seated on Glacial’s right. On his right on the next side of the table are Glacial’s parents sandwiching her little sister; the cerulean filly that was sleeping on her dam when he delivered presents. Snowstorm introduces her as Frigid Glaze and the filly shyly waves before tucking herself against her dam’s side, barely peeking around her foreleg at the colt.

Drift’s parents sit opposite of him doing the same with their youngest; Swirling Leaf sits there placidly between the two looking for all the world like she just wants to go back to sleep. The filly has a coat just like Cure’s dam, with a light brown mane.

Wind Shear sits to Flare’s right on the left side of the table from Cure with Drift seated beside her, sort of between Glacial and her sister.

Once everypony is situated the food starts getting passed around and plates are quickly loaded up. Cure is barely a couple bites in when Rain decides to speak up.

“So Cure, Snowy’s parents are your biggest fans now. They’ve been doing a lot of vacationing since you fixed them up a couple months ago.”

“Oh yeah? The first mare I deaged is doing the same thing. Jeez I wonder if I accidentally gave the travel industry a little boost.”

“That’s exactly what I would do if I could retire,” Flare says. “I was hoping we’d get stationed over near Las Pegasus at some point, but it doesn’t look likely. I wouldn’t mind going there but,” he sighs, “that’s a two day train ride.”

“I would think that would be a lot more hectic of a location,” Cure comments.

Thunder explains, “It is, but having all of the entertainment options nearby would be worth it. It’s the second most requested assignment.”

“Canterlot being the first?” he asks.

“Mmhmm,” she hums around a bite of fish. “Lots of prestige and higher pay, even if the price of living is a bit more.”

“I wouldn’t mind checking out Las Pegasus in a few years,” Wind says. “Lightwing says he has an aunt that lives there. She’s told his family if they’re ever in town they can crash at her place.”

Drift excitedly adds, “They have some of the best racers in the world over there. I’ve heard they have floating obstacle courses and entire parks for aerial acrobatics.”

“Do they have teams like the Wonderbolts?” Cure asks. “I’ve only ever heard of them.”

“Eh, kind of,” Flare answers. “They have smaller teams that do shows and stuff. I think a few travel up and down the coast, but the Wonderbolts are the elite flyers. Some ponies don’t want to join them just because they’re considered a part of the military, though.”

“I’ve kicked around the idea of enlisting in the reserves,” Cure mentions. “What about you three?” he asks the girls. “You considered a military career?”

“Probably,” Wind answers with a shrug. “At least until I find something I want to do for a long term career.”

“Huh uh,” Glacial grunts out, swallowing a bite. “I’d rather do something with the weather,” she says, getting a proud smile from her sire.

Drift answers last. “I think I’d rather travel, maybe find a job as a courier or something. I dunno… I just don’t want to have to stay in one place all the time.”

“They have logistics officers that do that, honey,” Thunder explains. “You’ll have to really work on your endurance for that.” She pauses in thought for a moment and looks at Cure. “Do you know of any exercises she can do to help her flight muscles outside of the gym?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” He turns to Drift and says, “I have a couple ideas for things that could help a lot. Next time we hang out we’ll work on a few, okay?”

“Like what?” Flare cautiously asks.

“Exercises to help with lung capacity, cardio stuff, weighted carries, and more focus on wing strength instead of endurance on her hooves.”

“Oh. Okay, that sounds good,” he agrees, blowing out a relieved breath.

Snowstorm raises a single brow, looking at the stallion. “What were you expecting, exactly?”

“I have no idea,” he says, shrugging his wings. “Maybe like… another set of wings or something crazy.”

“What?!” Rain shouts, both brows hiked to his mane line.

“Where would they even go?” Cure wonders aloud.

The table goes silent as everypony ponders where an extra set of wings could fit on a pony.

“I’ve got nothing,” Thunder finally admits.

“Yeah, I don’t want a second set of wings coming out my flanks,” Drift insists.

“I have an idea,” Cure says. “I’m just not sure how I would pull it off. It’s not a second set of wings, exactly, but what about some kind of glide suit?”

“Glide suit? Like, something you wear?” she asks.

“I dunno,” he says, staring in thought. “Maybe just something added to your current suit that has like… extendable wings. You could propel yourself with your actual wings, then use the suit’s to glide. Does the military use anything like a glider?”

“Son, I’ve never even heard of an idea like that,” Flare remarks. “What would you even make it out of?”

“Aluminum, probably. I think titanium would be too heavy.” He pauses and looks up in thought, scrunching his snout. “Maybe alloyed with aluminum? Then again, if you can spread your aura through it you’re all set. The grabbing thing earth ponies do doesn’t imbue in things like the pegasus aura does. That may be overkill though…” he mumbles, drifting off in thought.

Drift and Glacial share a look, the former rolling her eyes and letting out a huff while the platinum filly giggles at the distracted colt. She takes advantage of the situation and leans over, giving him a small, quick lick and a gentle nip just behind his jaw on his neck. He jumps from the touch and blushes purple when the adults start snickering at the display, shooting her a weak pout for the abuse.

“Aluminum?” Rain asks once the table refocuses. “I’ve heard of it, but I don’t think it’s used except in some jewelry.”

Cure can’t hide his disappointment at that. “Ahh fudge… it’s not considered a precious metal, is it?”

“Not like gold or silver, no. I think it is expensive though. Most pure metals are.”

“Huh. Well that’s a relief. Maybe I could get some to try it. I have a Transmute crystal and aluminum is close to silicon, which I can produce, so that’s easy enough. Titanium is close to calcium…” he mumbles, slowly nodding to himself before declaring, “Yeah, that could work. The wing could be made of thin chitin like a butterfly. I bet you could ride it like a friggin surfboard so it wouldn’t get in the way of your wings.”

“What’s titanium?” Thunder asks.

“I’ve read about it,” Flare answers. “They tested some armors for pegasi because it’s lighter than steel and almost as hard. I think they scrapped the idea because it wasn’t worth using. It was too difficult to work with and the weight difference wasn’t big enough when we’re flying anyhow.”

Rain looks between the parents and rolls his eyes, smirking at the colt’s fanciful ideas. “Huh. Well, it sounds like a neat idea, son. Just don’t hurt yourself jumping off a cliff to test it.”

Ignoring the slightly patronizing tone, Cure resumes eating, telling Glacial about work while the parents chat amongst themselves. With the meal winding down Cure can’t help notice Drift has been unusually quiet, occasionally looking at her parents then staring at her plate before taking another bite.

Noticing Cure’s distraction, Thunder finally speaks up, softly explaining to him, “Don’t worry, Cure. She was like this when we were talking about having our little Swirl too.”

“Oh. I didn’t think everypony knew that’s why I came.” At Cure’s response everypony freezes, looking in his direction. “Ahh, fudge. They didn’t, did they?”

“What?” Drift asks, thoroughly confused. “What’s that mean?” All heads turn to Cure while Thunder and Flare cringe and look between him and Glacial’s parents.

“Umm… pie,” he says, nodding enthusiastically. “It’s full of sugar and protein. That’s why I bought ‘em. Especially the pecan one. Gives ya lots of energy,” he insists, thrusting a hoof energetically in the air.

Wind starts to crack up before adding her two bits in. “Yep, lotsa pecan will help ya get pregnant!” she barely gets in between sniggers.

“Oysters too,” Cure quickly says. When the parents raise a questioning brow he coughs and adds, “So I hear, that is.”

Snowstorm and Rain look between the colt and Drift’s parents who are doing their best to maintain a neutral look. Sadly, ponies absolutely suck at deception, so they might as well have literal anime-styled sweat drops running down the side of their heads.

“I don’t get it,” Glacial softly says, setting down her silverware. “I thought you were just here to meet my sire and hang out.”

“Well, that too-” he starts.

“He’s gonna get our dams pregnant!” Wind shouts, laughing aloud.

“Wind Shear!” Thunder calls in a scolding tone over the shouted “WHAT?!” yelps from most of the table.

“Jeez, phrasing, Wind! For Celestia’s sake!” Cure grumbles.

“You are?!” Drift asks, horrified while glancing between her dam and the colt.

“Of course not!” Flare and Dance shout over Cure’s mumbled, “Eh, sorta.”

“Gross!” Drift screams, turning and punching her sister while yelling “What’s so funny?!” at her.

“Alright, enough fun, Wind. I’m here to help your dam have twins.” Not giving anypony time to interrupt, he faces Glacial’s parents and explains, “My talent is to alter biology, like I said in my speech. I can cause a second egg to form.” Looking directly at Rain he adds, “I can also make a sire only have sons. Or daughters, I suppose. Whichever,” he finishes with a shrug.

Wind stops half way through his explanation and looks at him curiously. “Really? I figured you could do something, but damn. That’s nuts.”

“Yes, it is,” Cure immediately agrees. “This right here is what made my parents and I paranoid that some noble could snatch me up. I would ask that, above almost anything else I can do, this be kept quiet.” Fortunately nopony objects, though Thunder does point out that the whole ‘abducting earth ponies’ thing is, as far as she knows, an urban myth.

“We were talking about having another.” Rain says off, looking at his wife. “If you can actually do that…

“I can,” he reassures the stallion. “I’ve been healing and doing cosmetic procedures for about six months now,” Cure explains. “As you can imagine, almost all of my customers are mares. Of the thirty or so stallions I’ve used my talent on I’ve found several with an issue that would make it impossible for them to sire a son. I was able to correct that issue once I got a chance to talk to them in private.”

“You’ve found more?” Flare asks.

“Yep. It seems to be about one out of five or six, roughly. I need a bigger sample size to be sure. Oddly, it seems to be that most of the sires that have a bunch of foals are the ones most likely to have it. I can only assume they keep trying to have a colt,” he finishes with a shrug. “It’s something I plan on bringing up when we go to the capital next month.”

“The Wonderbolts trip?” Rain asks. “I know our little Glacial is super excited to be going!”

“Focus, honey!” Snowstorm admonishes her husband. “How… How does it work, Cure?”

“He just puts a hoof on you,” Glacial explains.

“She’s basically right,” he says, nodding. “When I use my talent I can scan you like a unicorn doctor, just way more detailed.”

“I figured your talent took a long time to work,” Rain says. “I know you said it took months for the trees…”

“Yeah, that was a gigantic, complex change,” the colt explains. “Really, a dozen changes with stops in between so I could take notes, plan stuff out, test things, etcetera.”

“I showed you the eyelids,” Glacial reminds him, blinking her membranes. “He did that in like two minutes. Cure can basically change anything.”

“You should have seen when he did the bunny thing,” Drift comments. “He barely looked like a pony at all.”

“Oh my stars!” Glacial gushes, clapping her hooves together, “It was amazing! He was so soft, just like the toys he made!”

“Bunny thing?” Wind asks, suddenly interested.

“He turned into a big fluffy bunny rabbit!” Glacial squees, leaning over to nuzzle into his cheek.

“Bunny rabbit?” Frigid timidly asks in her tiny voice, speaking for the first time. “I wanna see the bunny!” she shouts, giving Cure a hopeful look. When Swirl chimes in in agreement everypony looks at him expectantly.

“I’m… not getting out of this, am I?” he asks with a sigh. At the big smiles and no headshakes, he nods in acknowledgement. “Well, at least it’s thematically appropriate, given the reason for my visit,” he remarks, getting a snort out of the parents. “Where can I change?”

“Just do it here,” Drift insists. “It’s kinda neat looking.”

“I can, I guess,” he says, climbing down off his seat.

He walks around the table behind Drift’s parents, standing in the doorway separating the dining room from the hallway leading back to the kitchen and living room. Frigid hops up on her sire, standing on his withers with her hind legs, forehooves on top of his head. Glacial sits up, forehooves on the table so she can watch him while Drift and Wind can lean back and see the show.

He starts humming and vocalizing an energetic tune, bobbing and dancing with the lead-in. When the speed picks up he does an exaggerated, full body wet-dog shake while growing out the extra thick layer of floof, stopping to look himself over wide-eyed as if surprised. The move gets giggles from the little girls and impressed utterances from the dams.

Shrugging at the situation, he repeats the shake but only with his neck and head, quickly rotating back and forth and growing his ears out until they’re nice and floppy, smacking himself in his cheeks a few times before he stops and perks them straight up, staring upwards in pretend shock.

“His ears!” Swirl shouts, bouncing in her seat and clapping.

Next he turns sideways and makes a show out of looking at his tail analytically. He widens his eyes and perks his ears like he has come up with a great idea, then shoots a wink at the group. Reaching back to grab his tail while pretending to have to fight it a little, he detaches the whole thing causing everypony to gasp in shock.

Sitting on his haunches, he wads it into a ball, smooshing it again and again, kneading it like dough while changing it into a poofy ball. Finished altering it, he holds it up to inspect, nods approvingly, then tosses it up in the air over his shoulders, sticking his butt way up to catch it on his dock, securing it in place with a little wag.

“This… This is crazy!” Snowstorm exclaims. Everypony else just nods along, watching in wonder. Both fillies are enraptured, staring excitedly as a colt-sized bun takes shape in front of them and barely holding back from diving on him.

Still sat on his haunches, he claps his forehooves, then rubs them together before clapping a few more times until the “clop” noise is replaced with silence. He holds his, now, paws up to show them his pink toe pads, then rubs each hind hoof with his forepaws while changing them one at a time. Next, he covers his face with his forelegs, quickly rearranging his muzzle before moving his arms away like he’s playing peek-a-boo.

“Oh my stars,” Wind mumbles. “That’s… awesome!”

“I’ve seen stage magicians pull bunnies out of their hats,” Rain comments, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one turn into one.”

Done with the transformation, he stops humming the song and timidly hops his way around the table, back to Glacial. He puts his forepaws up on her cushion, and gives her cheek a nuzzle, getting a giggle out of her. He pulls away, quickly changing his colors to match her sparkly platinum at the same time, then gives the fillies a surprised look.

“BUNNY!” they shout, bouncing in their seats as he makes his way behind Glacial’s parents, nuzzling into her sister, Frigid. Once again he changes his colors to blue, matching hers when he pulls away, getting a giggle from the filly before he bounces around to Swirl and sits on his haunches, forepaws held up beggingly with his ears hanging limp, giving the girl a pleading look.

She turns around and grabs a piece of lettuce out of the salad bowl, whipping back to offer it to the bun-colt. He hesitantly leans forward to take it from her hoof, giving it a couple sniffs before chomping it and yoinking it back and shifting his coat to a bright green. He holds it between his paws while munching it down, exaggerating the chewing motion between bites like a real rabbit does.

“Can we keep him?” Swirl asks, looking hopefully to her dam. Cure plays along, sitting on his haunches with his forepaws held pleadingly while giving Thunder the big puppy dog eyes.

“I don’t think he’s housebroken, honey,” she sympathetically declines.

Cure lets out a huff, sticks his snout in the air, and haughtily turns away, making his way over to Wind Shear. He changes his coat to white as he smooshes his head up under her left foreleg, nuzzling his ears and forehead into her chest, then reaches up and nuzzles into her chin, framing her face with his ears.

“Oh my stars,” she mumbles, wrapping her forelegs around him and grinding her chest and belly into his back, nuzzling a cheek against his forehead. “How the hay are you so freaking soft?!”

“He cheats,” both Glacial and Drift say at once.

After a moment of snuggles with Wind, Cure separates from her and sits next to Drift, facing her left side. She resists the urge to bury her face in his floof, so he rears up, lightens himself, and wraps his forelegs around her in a hug, pulling her head against his chest, now mimicking her dark purple coat.

At first she lets out an annoyed huff, but after a few seconds he can feel her nuzzling in against him. He gives Wind a wink over his withers and wags his tail back and forth when she pokes at it a few times out of curiosity.

“Alright!” Drift growls, leaning away. “Enough, you nuisance. Go away.”

He leans down and gives her a peck on the top of her snout, getting laughs from the parents, before leaping away from the incoming wing slap. Done with his show he bunny hops his way back to his seat, changing his coat back to blue on the way. It brings a smile to his face when Glacial scoots closer so their sides are touching.

“Well…” Snowstorm starts, then trails off, completely at a loss for words.

Her husband isn’t, though. “That’s absolutely amazing, Cure. Aren’t you going to change back?”

“Eh, maybe after pie. The fillies probably want a shot at me first,” he says, chuckling when they both eagerly nod.

“Is your dam a bunny?” Frigid asks, glancing around at the giggles from everypony.

“No, sweetie. My parents are both earth ponies,” he explains. Looking thoughtful he adds, “Though my sire may be part bunny. He is about to have four wives after all.” The mention of Deed’s harem gets shocked looks from the parents.

The fillies have been aware of Amethyst and Lemon for a while, but the parents must have just assumed them to be friendly neighbors and not prospective wives. Continuing his explanation, Cure tells the little girl, “I can make myself look different with my special talent.”

“Woooowww! So cool!”

“Yup. It’s pretty useful, even just for playin around and stuff.”

“So… bunny rabbit,” Flare starts. “Have you done any other animals? I mean… you see ponies with pets and sometimes you think, ‘I wonder what the world looks like through their eyes.’”

“Not really, no. I can’t easily grow or shrink myself, so it would be kinda weird for a me-sized cat to walk around,” he points out, the adults nodding in agreement. “I do have a Shrink / Enlarge crystal, though, so I could do that if I wanted to sneak around for some reason.”

“I didn’t even think of that,” Drift mumbles. “You should totally do the bug thing for Nightmare Night this year! A big praying mantis would be awesome!”

Snickering, Cure nods. “I think you’d make a better praying mantis than me, Drift.” The adults all burst out laughing, confusing the dark filly.

“What? I don’t get it.”

“Don’t worry about it, sweetie,” her dam assures her.

“In all seriousness,” Cure asks, “how fast would the Guard show up if an adult earth pony sized bug came walking into town?”

“Immediately!” Flare insists. “That would cause an absolute panic.”

“You could actually do that?” Thunder asks.

“Probably?” he hesitantly answers. “I’ve never tried, but I can’t think of a reason why I couldn’t. It would probably take a few hours to grow the chitin and whatnot. I’m sure you noticed I kept my neck the same,” he points out, motioning to the neck that’s far longer than a real rabbit’s would be.

When she nods he explains, “I can’t just cut off circulation or whatever when changing, so big changes or even small ones to my spine or cranium are something I avoid. I could do it, but I can’t think of a reason to ever try to.”

“Well,” Flare slowly starts, seemingly shaken by the idea of pony sized bugs, “if you ever decide to try, let me know ahead of time. I’ll be sure to ask for the day off. Send me after a drunk, angry griffon? No problem! Tell me to go fight a scorpion that’s twice my size? No thank you!”

“Yeah, the thing is the bigger bugs like scorpions aren’t any worse than the ‘cute’ bugs. You would probably Nope the freak right out of here if you came face to face with a you-sized butterfly or grasshopper. I know I would.”

“Huh,” Thunder mutters in thought. “That does sound terrifying,” she agrees. Deciding to abandon ship on that topic, she looks around the table and asks, “So… who wants pie?”

Cure was right; the fillies were absolutely dying to get a piece of him once dessert was gone. The parents and siblings watched on fondly as they climbed all over him, nuzzling into his chest and belly and wrestling with his ears. Once they fell asleep on his belly he grew out a second layer of skin and fur under the surface they were sleeping on and, using his TK field, slid them off to the side, wrapping them in a filly burrito blanket.

“So weird,” Wind mumbles, watching with a little envy.

Nodding in agreement, Cure tells her, “It is, but it’s not really that different from how we make wool. I’m just skipping the middle pony. Well, if you all are interested,” he says, turning to the parents, “I think I can get you all set up, assuming you want to and, ya know…” he trails off, waving to the dams.

“Yep, I’m definitely ready,” Thunder confirms. “I could tell a couple days ago,” she finishes, getting a nod from Flare.

“Back to the kitchen?” Cure asks.

“Sure, that’ll work,” the stallion confirms, leading the way back so they can have a modicum of privacy.

Once in the kitchen Cure sits on his haunches, looking first at Drift’s sire. “Alright, Mr. Flare. I made it so you are only having colts last time, but just in case whatever is causing this is a recurring thing I should probably make sure,” he says.

The stallion is quick to turn his back and sit down, letting out a self depreciating chuckle before he extends his wing to the colt. Once Cure takes hold he confirms that Tailwind is still only producing male sperm before letting go.

Thunder sits down and holds out a hoof, looking hopefully towards the colt.

“So just a few questions, first, Mrs. Dance. One, how many do you want? Two, fraternal or… I guess, half identical? Huh, you know, I hadn’t thought of that before… they’re not exactly identical, are they?”

“Huh?” she confusedly mutters.

“Well, identical twins are what you get when a fertilized egg, or whatever it is called at that point, splits into two. If I clone your egg like I did my dam’s before conception then they’re more like half identical twins.” He ponders on it for a moment, then shrugs saying, “I guess fraternal is still right in that case.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Tailwind agrees. “How many is it safe for her to carry at once?”

“I wouldn’t recommend more than three,” Cure advises. “And if you go with three, I’d feel a lot better if you came by my work every few weeks at least so I can make sure everything is going well.”

“I think twins will be plenty, honey,” Thunder tells her husband. “We already have three girls and, before you said something, I hadn’t really considered having more at all.”

“Yeah, two is going to already be a hooffull, Cure. I don’t think we really care too much about the whole identical twin part. They won’t actually be identical anyhow, after all.”

“Right,” Cure agrees. “I’m not willing to mess with a fertilized egg. I may be able to cause it to split, but I’m just not confident enough to do it. It’s an unnecessary risk too. Also, two is probably safest given it’s possible one of these could split also, giving you triplets or quadruplets anyhow. Would you be okay stopping by the store in a couple weeks to check, Mrs. Dance?”

“Absolutely. I agree; twins, please, Cure.”

Nodding, he takes her hoof and, within only a moment, has duplicated her egg. “All set. You have two viable eggs ready, Mrs. Dance.” She wraps him in another warm wing hug, thanking him repeatedly.

Cure is completely unprepared when Tailwind does the same, smushing the buncolt against his chest. It’s not unusual at all for male ponies to embrace as well, but Cure certainly wouldn’t have expected this outcome if somepony had asked what his relationship would be like with Drift’s parents six months prior.

Once they’ve finished squeezing the life out of the colt they make their way to the living room, sending in Glacial’s parents next.

When Snowstorm walks in she can’t help but giggle at the colt’s ridiculous appearance. “This has to be one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen,” she comments.

Cure shrugs helplessly, agreeing with the beautiful white mare. “My life promises to be an interesting one,” he notes.

“Especially with how many fillies you have chasing after you,” Rain agrees. He keeps the tone light, but Cure can see some concern in the father’s eyes.

“I treat them like friends,” Cure explains. “If it develops into something more, that’s great. If not, I hope we can still be friends after. I’ll freely admit, I’m somewhat enamored with your daughter. In my defense, though,” he says, motioning to Snowstorm, “how could anypony not fall for such a beauty?”

Snowstorm lightly blushes at the compliment while Rain bursts out laughing, nodding in agreement. “Well, as long as you always keep that in mind, son, we’ll get along great. So… how’s this all work? Just hold a hoof for a moment and you do your thing?”

“That’s the gist of it for the dam. Unfortunately, the sire’s part is a little more invasive. I try to keep things entirely clinical when I’m on the clock, okay?” When the pair nod he continues, “I’m going to be sending magic into a very sensitive part of your body. I can numb the sensation, thank Harmony, but short of knocking you out or completely blocking all sensation up your spine you will still feel something.”

Rain cringes, shying away slightly while asking, “Does it hurt?”

Cure can’t stop a nervous chuckle from escaping him. “Umm, I almost wish it did instead. No, the magic seems to… well, tickle? I guess? It’s not an unpleasant sensation if you catch my drift.”

His wife barks out a laugh, covering her face with a wing. “He’s going to react isn’t he?”

“Oh my stars, no!” Rain defeatedly cries out, covering his face with his hooves.

“That’s exactly what’s happened thus far,” Cure agrees. “If it’s any consolation, sir, at this point I’ve used my talent on about three dozen stallions and well over five hundred mares. I worked three suburbs during the births this year, dude. If you don’t make it weirder than necessary then I won’t either.”

“That’s fair,” Rain agrees. “So what do we do?”

“First, you make a couple decisions,” Cure answers, explaining the options the couple has available.

“Are you sure triplets would be safe?” Snowstorm worriedly asks. “That… sounds a little scary.”

“I delivered a healthy set to an earth pony. I strongly recommend twins at most, especially if you’re unsure, though. I mean… you’ll only be producing colts,” he says, motioning to Rain. “You’re young enough to have another colt later if you’re not sure. Or more twins,” he adds with a shrug.

“Twins,” Snowstorm finally decides, Rain nodding along.

“I feel weird,” Rain admits, “It’s almost like we’re picking out our foals like you would fruit at the grocery.”

“Yup. It’s a bit different, dude. I dunno what to tell ya, but I would ask that you at least, ya know,” Cure says, moving his paw in a downward facing spiral motion.

“OH! Right, right!” the stallion enthusiastically nods, turning to face his wife and using his wing to block the colt’s sight.

Cure reaches back and activates his mark, finding that Rain does indeed suffer from the same condition. “Yep, you have it too. You wouldn’t have been able to have colts, ever, otherwise. Brace yourself, Mr. Rain. I have to do this in two parts, so you’re gonna feel it.”

The stallion lets out a defeated sigh. “Do it,” he says. Cure lets his magic at the stallion, noting that unlike Thunder, Snowstorm watches in fascination. When her pupils dilate it dawns on Cure that the mare is in season and, in all likelihood, will be pregnant within the next few hours. Just to be sure, he eliminates the female sperm that Rain has now. Even if she doesn’t conceive tonight, with him producing nothing but male it’s all but inevitable it’ll happen before the end of the season.

Once done with both rounds of treatment, Cure waves her over, giving her a second egg. When she wraps him in a hug he can definitely pick up the faint scent of her excitement. Once again he finds himself being thanked profusely before the ready-to-go couple make their way out of the kitchen.

Cure gives the pair a small head start, not eager to be directly behind the excited mare, and is shocked when Wind Shear makes her way in only a second later. She pauses, eyes widening when she picks up the scent too, then barks out a laugh. She regards the still-bunnified colt for a moment with a smirk and walks the rest of the way in.

“Wind? You’re not going through estrus already, are you? You’re too young, right?”

“No, but I was curious if you could do something for me,” she bashfully admits. With a brilliant blush she hesitantly makes her request. “I, uh… was wondering if you could do something to help me keep Lightwing.”

“Like… what? Are you two having sex already?”

“No!” she shouts. More shyly she explains, “I just don’t want him to… I dunno. I’m just worried he might want another fillyfriend if I don’t.” Huffing, she adds, “Having to put up with Streak is bad enough.”

“Ah. Umm… Okay, so I know I’m a lot younger than you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea if I’m making changes like that to ponies that also aren’t adults. Do you think your dam or sire would be okay with you having stuff like that done?”

“I think my dam would,” she hesitantly admits. “I think daddy would say no.”

“Okay. Look, I get it. I really do,” he explains. “Can I be completely candid with you?” he asks.

Shrugging, she ducks her head in a nod.

“As you may have noticed,” he starts in a light tone, “I am an earth pony.” He dramatically pauses to look himself over. “Well, normally.”

“Whaaat? No!”

“Right? Well, rumor has it that earth ponies are… umm… physically larger than other tribes.”

“You ain’t that big, colt,” she bluntly retorts.

“Yet. Being big isn’t going to be a problem for me either way,” he comments. Wind’s eyes almost bug right out of her head, but Cure holds his paw up to wait. “What I mean is, if I end up marrying a pegasus if anything I’ll probably have to do the opposite of what you’re thinking. So I get it; wanting to make changes there is definitely a good idea in some situations.

“If your dam says yes or, if not, when you’re an adult just come see me. We’ll have a serious, adult conversation and if there’s something you want done then I’ll do it for free, okay?”

“I don’t get why I have to get my dam to agree,” she complains.

“Parents get final say on minors’ medical treatment, Wind. I’m okay with small or cosmetic changes, but I have to draw a line somewhere. Making changes to a minor specifically so they can have better sex? That’s the kind of thing I could see a parent skinning me alive over.”

Wind lets out a sigh, nodding in acceptance. She obviously isn’t happy with the answer, but Cure can tell she at least can see his point. “Come here, Wind,” he says, sitting on his haunches with his forelegs spread.

Thus far in his life, Cure hasn’t found a single pony that turns down an offered hug. Drift is about the closest, but he’s pretty sure she’s just a tsundere under all of those layers of angry. Wind slowly walks over to the colt, wrapping her forelegs around his back and smushing him against her chest and belly.

“You’re a beautiful filly, Wind. If Lightwing bails on you he must be too dumb to be worth losing any sleep over,” he reassures her.

“Thanks, Cure.” She blows out a sigh and, after a moment, comments, “You are dangerously snuggly like this.”

“I know. I’m debating busting this out on the princess just to see her reaction.”

She freezes in place, processing what he said before it dawns on him that she wasn’t in the know before. It was only the other two pegasi that were aware. “That’s who those trees are going to. We’ll all be meeting her, that’s why I told everypony they should come.”

“Sweet Celestia, Cure!”

“Exactly, she does seem pretty sweet.”

She rolls her eyes at the lame joke, then after thinking for a moment she barks out a laugh, shaking against his chest. “HAH! Oh my stars! You have to do it! I can’t even imagine how awesome it would be to see her highness squeeing like a little filly!”

“I don’t know about squeeing, but I’m not sure there’s a pony on the planet that wouldn’t lose their mind at seeing this level of floofiness. C’mon, let’s go see what the girls have gotten up to.”

She finally releases him, though she still gives him a quick nuzzle when they separate. Walking shoulder to shoulder with the older girl, he walks into the living room to find Glacial and Drift sitting on a cloud, reading a book together. The two little fillies are still asleep, wrapped up and holding each other in a lethally adorable embrace.

“Where’d all the parents go?” Cure asks, looking around.

Glacial and Drift both shoot him a completely deadpan look, then slowly turn their heads up towards the top level of the house. Cure follows their gaze and, upon pointing his ears up there, hears exactly where the parents went.

“Sweet Harmony!” he exclaims. “They didn’t waste any time did they?!”

“Now you know why I wasn’t in a good mood,” Drift huffs.

“Ah, that does explain it,” he agrees, nodding in acknowledgement.

“Guess you were right about the pie,” Wind reminds him. “Good call, colt.”

“I know what I’m talking about when it comes to nuts, Wind.”

“I guess we’ll find out for sure soon enough,” the white filly snarks back.

Cure gives her an accepting nod, then looks between the shockingly unbothered girls. “So awkward question. I normally wouldn’t ask, but curiosity compels me to. Are your parents all like,” he taps his forepaws together meaningfully, “couples together?”

“They do stuff together,” Glacial confirms with a nod. “Don’t earth ponies do that too?”

“Umm… I don’t know, honestly. Probably? I guess? There’s no reason we can’t, I suppose.” He pauses, unsure how to continue. “Oh well, rock on, I guess,” he says with a shrug. The girls just look at him curiously over the unfamiliar saying. Attempting to dispel the awkward, unfortunately not-silence, he asks, “Is it still raining out?”

Glacial shakes her head no. “It stopped a little bit ago.”

“Sweet,” he says, changing his coat brown and reverting to his winged Riddle disguise. “How bout we all go for a flight?” The question gets eager nods from all three girls, and, after rousing the two fillies, the group heads out, happy to leave the couples to enjoy their baby making.