Saturday, August 15th, 909 AB (4 days later)
Shortly before dinner

Since tonight’s get-together is primarily for Cure’s friend, he had insisted he be the one responsible for cooking the majority of the dinner. Though his parents had been less than enthusiastic about what he’d chosen, he was confident that at least eighty percent of their guests would be perfectly happy with his selection for what he considered to be the main course.

It was one of Edward and Cyndi’s favorite meals, not only because of the flavor, which he loved, but because it was reasonably quick to make. The lack of an air fryer slowed the process somewhat, but as far as he’s concerned, the food comes out just as good when you bake it, even if it does take nearly twice as long.

He makes a mental note to take the oven apart sometime soon so he can add some small, ceramic fans and a few Spin enchantments to the unit. It may not be as important to thoroughly cook things as it was for Ed, but even if there are no bacterial concerns, the idea of eating some things raw just didn’t sit right.

While he keeps an eye on the heated food, his dam is off to the side prepping the enormous salad that is customary to any pony meal. Kilograms of spinach, cucumbers, diced cabbage, sliced beets, tomatoes, and several hooffulls of craisins go into the mix; enough to feed the fourteen ponies that will be dining tonight.

“How’s it lookin, colt? Smells purty good.”

Cure cracks open the oven and looks over the two dishes inside. “It’s more or less ready, Amy. I’ll leave it open to cool.” Wings spread, he lifts up enough to check on the two huge pots full of mashed potatoes and the sauteed veggies, floating the former to a waiting trellis and turning off the burner on the latter, then giving it a quick stir.

He gains a faraway look for a moment when Dawn Sends him a message, then turns to the front of the house, calling out. “Hey dad! They’re here!”

Deed leans left and right to give Title and Lemon each a quick kiss and climbs off the couch, trotting over to the door and opening it just as the small herd steps onto the front porch. Cure focuses back on the meal, only vaguely paying attention as the family makes their way in.

He notices the moment Emerald first catches sight of him hovering beside the stovetop. She’d been casually chatting with his parents at the entryway to the nursery area and glanced in his direction, only to double-take when she noticed him floating midair completely undisguised.

As best he can recall, this is only the third or fourth time she’s seen him in full-on “alicorn mode” and not in his Prince Serpentus disguise. The two have crossed paths at the hospital a few times, but never interacted other than a quick greeting with other parties present, which prevented any show of familiarity.

After paying the hug and nuzzle toll to the three infants, dam and daughter make their way back to the kitchen with a bottle levitating in the mare’s aura. “Vines, dear, I know Cure said not to bring anything, but I simply could not come empty hooved. This is a lovely peach moscato, perfect for dessert. Perhaps we… the adults,” she clarifies, narrowing her eyes at the colt, “could enjoy a small glass after dinner?”

Cure shoots the mare a teasing pout, only to have it wiped away by a nuzzle from her daughter into his chest. “Hey beautiful,” he greets, dropping down to sandwiching her neck between his own and an outstretched wing. “I made something special for everypony tonight! Hope y’all are hungry!”

Dawn gives the air a testing sniff and glances between the stovetop, counter, and oven door. “I’m smelling nothing but garlic. It smells good,” she quickly adds, “but lots and lots of garlic.”

“Yep. No need to worry ‘bout vamponies gettin a hold of ya tonight, babe. A taste of your blood and they’ll run screamin. Or melt on the spot. That is, unless, they’re some kind of vampiracorn!” he shouts and leans away, eyes slitting and fangs erupting from his muzzle.

A bright Light shoots from her horn, projecting a shadowed outline of the colt against the stove and wall. With a playful hiss the colt recoils away, ducks behind his wing, and cries out, “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! EET BUURNZ!” melodramatically.

“The food’s gonna burn if ya don’t quit fartin around. C’mon you two, take everythin out to tha table.”

Dawn gets started helping with setting the table while Cure gets all of the hot dishes loaded up on trivets and potholders, then teleports them one at a time onto the dining room table before hopping up towards the left end of the long side closest to the kitchen.

Cherry and Lotus join on his left while Dawn, Starlight, and Solar fill in on his right, Emerald and Haze taking the farthest edge to the right of their son. Deed sits closest to the older stallion and opposite Solar with Blazer and Golden between himself and their dam, followed by Savvy in a highchair between him and her dam. Lemon and Amethyst sit opposite the unicorns to the left of their two foals.

The unicorns eye the two large baking dishes he’d set out with more than a little trepidation. They’re aware the colt has an unusual fondness for meat, but hadn’t expected to be served it for dinner.

He figured they would be a little hesitant, so before anypony has the opportunity to get too worked up he waves his forelegs and wings in placation. “Don’t get all freakin out on me; that is not meat. It’s an entirely plant-based meat substitute that is completely safe and healthy… well, mostly healthy, for ponies and other herbivorous creatures to eat. Omnivores as well, I suppose, but this version wouldn’t digest right in a griffon’s belly.”

“What is it?” Haze asks as he levitates a piece to his own plate. Cure, his parents, and his siblings have already dished themselves up some along with all of the sides. “It doesn’t smell like fish.”

“Colt says it tastes just like chicken,” his sire answers, waving at Cure as he does. “Said it’s a garlic-cheddar chicken ‘a some kind he came up with.”

“Yep! Minus the chicken, obviously. The texture is a little different because the ‘meat,’ for lack of a better term, is more uniform. If this were real meat you would have things like fat and stuff, but since I grew this from plant matter, its consistency is the same throughout it. No fat, no bones, no tough parts; just nice, tender, juicy, relatively healthy plant filets, basically.

“I only say ‘relatively’ ‘cause they’re slathered in butter and cheddar cheese at the moment. Nutrition-wise the meat itself might as well be beans. Give it a try; I won’t be offended if it’s not for you and I made plenty of ‘taters and veggies and dam made a big ‘ol spinach salad if you don’t care for it.”

Dawn and Solar barely hesitate at all to serve a portion up for themselves. Starlight quickly follows suit, but Emerald watches on warily, sticking to the safer options as everypony starts digging in.

“Huh. It’s actually quite good,” Haze thoughtfully comments. “You really should try a bite, dear. I’m certain you’ll like it. The flavors come primarily from the garlic, cheese, and the breading.”

“The little crispy bits of fried breading with cheese in ‘em are the best parts, Mrs. Aura. They’re the least healthy, too, but it’s not like that’s a concern or anything.”

When the rest of her family nods in agreement she finally concedes, accepting a bite of the not-chicken from her husband’s fork. “Oh! That is delicious!”

“Glad ya like it, Mrs. Aura. I tell ya what, I’m half tempted to set up a big ‘ol barbecue station at the Squads Competition, but if I’m gonna open a restaurant in my civilian guise sellin sandwiches made outta this stuff then that won’t work. It’s a shame, too, ‘cause that griff restaurant I visited in Canterlot had lots’a good sauces for meat.”

“The potatoes are really good too,” Dawn says, scooping up a spoonful and chomping down. Cure shoots the girl an appreciative smile, leans over, and wraps his right wing over her back in a brief hug that she accepts with a happy swish of her tail.

Dinner properly gets underway with everypony going to town on the dishes. Seeking to bring some conversation to the table, Haze washes down his bite with some cider and turns to Cure’s sire. “So Deed,” he begins, interrupting the relative quiet of everypony eating, “word is you’ve been doing a lot more business in Baltimare proper recently. Thinking of relocating at some point?”

His sire narrows his eyes at the sergeant and teasingly asks, “Got yer spies watchin me, do ya?”

“You tend to stand out in a crowd these days,” Haze retorts, panning his gaze up towards the crown of the taller stallion’s head, then side to side at his shoulders.

Cure can’t deny he has a point; his sire has grown nearly an entire hoof since they started adjusting his height, and between the family jogs, trips to the gym, and the colt’s manipulation, the stallion is a fair amount broader and more chiseled than the vast majority of stallions in town; a fact that his moms all seem to appreciate immensely.

“That’s fair, I reckon. Truth is we’re lookin ta expand inta tha city. Been in talks with Warm Hearth in town ta partner up ‘n go in tagether-like. It ain’t gonna happen overnight, but it’d be nice ta get up ‘n runnin by Nightmare Night at the latest.”

“Oh? Consolidating with the local competition, are you?”

Title jumps in, pointing out, “Less risk that way. Hearth has a bigger firm with more employees, but we’ve been cutting into her business a fair amount. Deed’ll be a partner over the sales team, I’ll be in the office. Her staff can take care of more of the administrative stuff while we,” she waves between herself and Deed, “can stick to our talents. Fair is coming with us as well, of course, helpin ponies get their financing in order.”

“Right,” Cure agrees, “can’t have the boss lady’s spy gettin left behind.”

His parents all roll their eyes or shake their heads disbelievingly, but Solar echoes back in question, “Spy? Why would the princess have a spy working for your parents?”

“He’s been goin on about that fer months now,” his sire grumbles. “Even said somethin ‘bout it to the princess’s face.”

“And she didn’t deny it, if you recall,” he argues. “As for why? Security, probably. Somepony to act as a bodyguard if anypony comin after me went to their offices instead. Besides, Miss Rate started before I ascended, so Celestia,” he notes Emerald twitch slightly at the informal use of the princess’s name, “probably wanted somepony to keep an eye on all of us, just like the ones that keep an eye on your store,” he finishes with a wave to Lemon.

The mare pauses mid-bite and frowns, looking at everypony else in confusion. “I have ponies watching my store?”

Cure, Title, Deed, and Amethyst all respond at once.

“Of course you do!”
“No you don’t.”
“Nah, colt’s just paranoid.”
“Probably.”

All eyes drift over to the still silent Vines waiting for her input. Nervously glancing side to side, she shrugs and meekly says, “It’s a possibility?”

“See! At least two of ya have some sense! Sarge, what do you think? Would the princess assign ponies to keep watch over somepony that she originally considered a possible threat to national security and, later, became the target of international intrigue?”

“Uhh… are you asking me as a typical colt or,” he drifts off, waving to his own head.

“Take your pick! It doesn’t friggin matter! You have a pony in town with a special talent in a restricted class of magic. Would you not keep an eye on him?”

“Considering the dossier you know we put together on you, I would.”

Cure meets his sire’s eyes and points both hooves at the sergeant, saying, “And there ya go!”

Lotus leans to her left and quietly asks her dam, “What’s a daw-see-ay?”

“A fancy way ‘a sayin report, baby.”

“Either way,” his sire says, rolling his eyes again, “pay-wise I ain’t expectin a big change right away, but I reckon in a year or two with a lil luck we oughta be takin on tha bigger firms in tha city.”

“Still don’t know why you’re goin in as partners,” Cure grumbles. “Could just hire a few ponies and own the business. Ya look for partners when yer business is strugglin, not kickin tail.”

“Or when you’re trying to grow your business without spending fifty, sixty hours a week in the office,” Title argues. “This way her staff can do the advertising, creature resources, accounting, contract work, and whatever else and, like your sire said, within a couple years we should be making a lot more without having to kill ourselves.”

“I guess,” he begrudgingly agrees. “I suppose money isn’t really a big issue anyhow.”

“Exactly, champ. Got five cute lil foals ta take care ‘a. Maybe if they were all grown up.”

“Five?” he pouts.

“Ya have yer moments, I reckon…”

“Foal abuse,” he quietly grouses.

Haze raises his glass and suggests, “Well I suppose congratulations, presumptive as they may be, are in order.”

“Here’s hopin,” Deed agrees, tapping the stallion’s glass with his own.

“What of your shop, Lemon?” Emerald inquires. “I’ve noticed you have a couple employees now. Are you seeking to expand as well?”

“I am, as a matter of fact! Over in Baltimare there’s some storefront available not far from city hall and some on that fancy shoppin strip up north that I’m lookin at.” She nods in Cure’s direction and adds, “With the colt all but eliminating what supplies I have to buy, costs have dropped to almost nothing. My only expenses are rent, water, payroll, and a bit of fertilizer these days, so I shouldn’t have any problem settin up in either or, eventually, both.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Emerald responds, glancing between Cure and the yellow mare.

“His plant,” Dawn volunteers. “He put a big plant in her kitchen and up on her roof that makes almost everything she needs. Eggs, milk, fruit, nuts, you name it.”

“Oh. That would give you quite the advantage.”

“Yep. The feed isn’t free and some of the products use a lot of water, but I figure it’ll cuts costs down by eighty percent or more eventually. Plus, it’s ready when I need it and nothing ever goes bad now, and it can make things I can’t normally get like concentrates or powdered flavorings. Now, there’s no need to worry about the other stores in town,” she assures them. “I’m not gonna drop my prices to undercut them or anything. I just get to keep more of the sale as profit.”

“It’s still a little unfair,” Cure grants, “but ponies eat enough sweets that it’s not like anypony’s gettin driven outta business. I’m very conscious of the impact my plants can have. I didn’t do a good job considering the end results with my pharmaceutical plants, unfortunately, and we all nearly paid the price for that.”

“That wasn’t your fault, honey,” his dam is quick to argue.

“Not my fault, no, but still,” he shrugs, “there’s no denyin my actions led to it. Mine and a moron of a lieutenant I never got the name of.” Haze’s eyes go wide for a split second, though he doesn’t speak up. “Yeah,” Cure says, turning his direction, “I know I could find out pretty easily, but I’m choosin ta let that one go.”

“A lieut-” Emerald begins to question, stopping abruptly when Lemon and Amethyst both quickly shake their heads no.

Seeking a way to change the subject, Deed turns to the only adult that hasn’t spoken up yet. “So Starlight?”

The young mare hums in question around a mouthful of veggies.

“You’ve been awfully quiet over there. How’s yer business doin? Lotsa summer weddins keepin ya busy?”

“There are! There was a lull for a few weeks after the Celebration, but that just gave me a moment to get caught up! Thank goodness, too, because it won’t be long ‘till the end of year celebration planning starts.”

“Speaking of year-end celebrations,” Haze begins, looking between Cure’s parents, “do you have any plans to attend the one at town hall again?”

“I wouldn’t mind, but I reckon we’re not invited,” Amethyst answers.

“None of us are government employees,” Lemon agrees.

“Ah. I suppose that’s true, in a way.”

“I could ask the mayor for tickets,” Cure suggests. “I don’t know if Baroness Wheatfield even knows my identity.”

“Technically speaking,” Haze begins, “she should not. Her office would not have been privy to the report we prepared regarding your talent, and the details surrounding your Serpentus identity are strictly confidential. That said, unofficially, ponies do talk and her family has been in charge of the city for decades. Even if nopony directly told her that you are an alicorn, I would be shocked to find her unaware.”

“Ponies know,” Dawn nearly whispers. “Heavy Lift’s twin sisters overheard mares talking about him at the park.”

“Right, but don’t worry about that. I’m workin on addressin that issue,” Cure insists in a firm tone. The surety and speed with which he does gives the unicorns pause. Solar looks to Dawn in question. She shrugs in answer. He turns to his sire and cocks a single brow, getting a single no head shake in response.

Emerald similarly stares at the colt for a moment before sharing a worried look with his dam. Vines waves the concern away, explaining, “He spoke to her majesty about it on Sunday night. It will take a couple weeks to arrange for a few ponies to act as body doubles on such a long term basis, but they got the ball rolling anyway.”

“Exactly! Me and the boss lady have it all under control. I’ve got fake customers scheduled the whole time I’ll be in Canterlot for the competition and everything. Ponies will show up, get their ‘procedures’ done, and leave under an illusion. I’m even setting aside bits so my normal weekly deposit will happen.”

Dawn asks, “Will they be living here too?”

“Not all at once, but they will if they’re on the clock. It’ll only be while I’m gone that week, but yeah.”

“Huh. Weird.”

“Yeah. It is what it is,” he agrees with a sigh. “I don’t think I’m going to be going on any more long trips like this again until January, at least.”

“What’s in Jan… oh, the births again?”

“Yep. The plan is to have all of the high risk mares across the nation come to Detrot. I’ll induce ‘em two or three weeks before they’re due and ensure the foals are healthy. Kinda sucks I won’t be here for Mrs. Dance and Mrs. Burst, but they’ll be fine. I plan on giving them the upgrades to ensure smooth foalbirth here at some point.”

Solar and Starlight both freeze for a fraction of a second upon the mention of Cure’s upgrades, a reaction that doesn’t escape anypony’s notice. Title completely fails to stifle a snorted laugh that’s immediately echoed by Savvy in a high pitched giggle. Both Amethyst and Lemon grin unabashedly at the teenagers’ reactions.

Dawn looks to her right as Starlight gradually changes from her typical dark blue colors to something closer to fuschia, then leans forward to peek around her at her brother with his slightly brighter than normal red glow. “Why is that a big deal? You’re acting all embarrassed and stuff. I know what happens during foalbirth.” She leans to her right to affectionately bump Starlight and adds, “I think having Cure give you his upgrade was a great idea.”

The mare chuckles uncomfortably, nodding more than is warranted. “Yeah! Easier foalbirth! That’s why I asked for it!” she weakly insists.

“Right!” Solar instantly agrees. “I’m sure it will be very useful when we eventually have foals! Assuming Cure isn’t available to deliver them, that is.”

Haze notes everypony’s reaction and asks, “What…” he coughs into his fetlock to clear his throat, “What exactly is the nature of these… ‘upgrades,’ if I may ask?”

Emerald’s head whips right to glare at her stallion.

He recoils away before rallying. “What?! While modern medical advancements have made foalbirth far safer than was in centuries past, it is still a process fraught with danger, both to the dam and the foal. If his highness has a method to improve the chances of a successful delivery then I would be remiss in my duties as a health professional if I were not to ask for more information.”

“Exactly, Mr. Haze!” the colt cheers, bounces in his seat; his excitement to share information about one of his least distributed enhancements nearly palpable. He fishes out his Sound Bubble crystal and erects one over the fillies. The move gets a bewildered look from the two, then a scowl when they realize they’re being excluded from the conversation.

He gives them a quick wing hug and mouths “just a moment” to placate them, then turns to explain, “It’s a complete overhaul to the muscular and neural pathways in the area!” He leans forward and grabs the serving spoon, scooping up a huge pile of mashed potatoes and dumps it into a visible field of his aura overhead.

“See, the normal muscles can contract, to a degree, and push the foal from the womb through the birth canal all slow and weak-like, right?” He contracts the cylindrical forcefield, gradually pushing the lump of potatoes slowly from one end to the other to demonstrate. “Well, nopony likes a weak birth canal, amirite?! After all, why drag that whole fiasco over hours when you can blast that baby out and get on with yer day?”

“A fantastic point,” the stallion agrees, flicking his eyes to his left to gauge his wife’s reaction, but keeping himself otherwise pointedly facing forwards.

The three moms are leaning against each other cackling madly. Vines has covered her eyes with her pastern and has her ears pinned back, quietly sighing, “Every meal…” while his sire watches on in amusement. Starlight and Solar are frozen as if moving will draw everypony’s attention to their shared mortification.

“The Mark II upgrades the musculature a significant amount,” the colt explains as he slightly thickens the forcefield, adding additional power to move the potatoes back and forth much more quickly, “and adds a lot of flexibility and far more control.” He squeezes the forcefield cylinder small, squishing the potatoes evenly down the length, then widens one end and undulates the field to force the mass back into a ball. “I jokingly compared it to a boa constrictor with the way the snakes are so strong yet flexible. As humorous as it was at the time you can’t deny the comparison is accurate.”

Title barely gets “boa constrictor hoo-ha” out between laughs, leaning against the table for support.

Emerald is so impressed by the ingenuity that she stares, mouth agape, at the entire display and can’t help but listen with rapt attention.

“With this puppy in place the act of actually pushing the foal out is far more simple and almost completely pain-free.” Done with his demonstration, Cure tosses the wad of potatoes towards himself and snaps it out of the air, humming and wiggling joyfully in his seat, satisfied from both the brilliance of the modification itself and the extra helping of taters he managed to snag.

The elder unicorn manages only a single utterance. “Huh.”

The colt swallows his mouthful and gleefully adds, “Also, with all the extra nerve endings and control, my understanding is that the act of actually making the foal is a whole lot more fun as a result.” He leans right, holds his fetlock over the left side of his muzzle, and stage whispers, “But you’ll hafta ask the ladies ‘bout that, sarge,” punctuating the statement with a wink.

Dawn covers her eyes and glows crimson, quietly muttering, “Maker help me.”

The colt continues on unperturbed. “If I had the magic capacity I’d probably have given this to every mare I’ve helped deliver so far. Within a few years I’d more ‘n likely end up with more friggin statues in my likeness than even the boss lady has.”

Shoulders still shaking in amusement, Title nods along and says, “It sure helped me with Savvy, didn’t it honey?” The sweet filly excitedly babbles and bounces in place, nodding energetically to mirror her dam’s motions.

“Yeah, ma, but you never had ta give birth with the old Mark I. What’s your thoughts on it, dam? Were Goldie and Blaze a whole lot easier than me or was it not a big deal what with the whole earth pony thing?”

Face still covered from embarrassment, the green mare sighs and shakes her head. “Neither was difficult, but the twins were definitely quicker and easier despite there being two of them.”

Cure glances to his left and dispels the Bubble, quickly apologizing and promising his sisters treats in reparations for his offense. “Of course, that’s only tangentially related to why we, and I specifically, wanted to have you all over tonight.”

“Not that it was the only reason we invited you,” his sire quickly insists. “We’re always thrilled ta have ya over, after all.”

Emerald’s eyes go wide as she looks between the colt and his sire. “You intended to offer this upgrade to me as well?!”

“Well, honey dearest, you certainly can’t deny that your deliveries did not go smoothly in the past. Perhaps we should consider it.”

“That’s really not what I meant,” Cure interrupts. “I wanted to propose something for Solar, as a matter of fact. If you want that upgrade, then that’s great, but that’s not why I suggested you come over instead of us all going to a nice restaurant or something.”

Though not enthusiastic to speak up and become the center of attention, Solar quietly comments, “Uhh… I don’t think I need that upgrade.”

Cure scoffs, rolling his eyes. “Oh please, as if I would need ya to come here for something so mundane as that. No, what I was gonna propose is far more extensive, if you’re interested.”

“Maybe that can wait until after dinner, honey,” Vines suggests. With the meal basically concluded, Cure doesn’t object in the least. “In the meantime, I could really use a glass of the wine you brought, Emerald. Would anypony else like some as well?”

Emerald briefly considers not objecting when even her daughter’s hoof shoots into the air.

With five additional horns it only takes a few moments to clean up the kitchen and dining area and put away the plates and cooking utensils. For what must be the thousandth time since Edward’s memories arrived, Cure can only sigh and internally scream at the simple daily uses of magic that humans have to do without. He can easily recall dozens of memories where Ed would stand over a sink scrubbing away for seemingly hours on end to accomplish something easily done with the most basic of spells.

After a socially acceptable amount of time idly chatting in the living room, the mom squad volunteers to keep the foals occupied while Cure leads everypony else to the office towards the front of the house opposite and slightly further down from the downstairs bathroom. The room is not very large for a pony-designed room; roughly five by five meters, and has only a single, lonesome, wooden couch just large enough for Deed to comfortably lay on all the way against the back left corner and supported by a tangle of roots emerging from the floor beneath it.

The walls are a light colored wood, as is the flooring and, from all appearances, seem to be a single, continuous, unmarred piece. As unusual as the decor is, the ceiling of the room is what truly sets it apart as bizarre. Haloing the room at the top of each wall is a continuous strand of glowing white vines, filling the room with almost hospital-quality illumination. The remainder of the ceiling is covered in dark green vines. They range from hoof thick to a fraction of a centimeter wide and are covered in a canopy of small flowers in every color imaginable.

The scene leaves the unicorns bewildered, staring in confusion and some slight wonder at exactly what they’re seeing and, more urgently, why they are seeing it. The scents of anxiety reach the colt’s snout before their parents even enter the room. Dawn and Solar trot right in unperturbed and, with only a split second’s hesitation, Starlight follows in their wake and squeezes between the two.

“I know it may not be terribly comforting coming from me, but I promise, y’all got nothin to worry about. This is just kind of my home operating room, of a sort. I mean, technically, I could do the same anywhere in the house but… I dunno, this is kinda my room. It’s also a safe room in case somepony is stupid enough to try storming the castle, if ya know what I mean.”

“I’m not entirely sure I do,” Haze responds.

“Fair,” he acknowledges. He waves to the single piece of furniture in the room and asks, “Dad, you mind showin ‘em?”

“Eh, no need for anythin so dramatic, champ.” Deed turns to the two and waves around the room at large, explaining, “Ya know he’s been worried somepony would come fer us since even ‘afore the train. The whole room’s a safe, darn near.” He walks to the right wall and gives it a firm rap and, as Haze had determined with his aura, proves that the wall is not hollow like a typical interior wall would be.

“Steel?” Haze guesses.

“Several layers of steel, titanium, ceramics, and living matter to prevent somepony burrowing through with Transmutation,” Cure answers. “The door’s the same way,” he adds, lighting his horn to swing the door halfway shut to show that below the surface it is a thick plate of steel as well. “The only way anypony is getting in is through the ground, and that’s where most of my plant is, so may the maker have mercy on them if they try that route. Now, none of that really matters for our purposes tonight. Like I said at dinner, I have somewhat of a proposal for any or all of you, but Solar in particular.

“I have privacy wards set up in the walls, so I would ask you to trust me a little and come in where I can ensure there’s no way anypony could possibly listen in on us.” Haze immediately trots inside to stand between Deed and his son and, though her anxiety seems to be ratcheting up, Emerald steels herself and joins her husband on his right, pressed tightly to his side. Vines follows and squeezes between her husband and the wall, standing to the far right of the group.

With everypony inside, Cure pushes the heavy door the rest of the way shut and seals them all inside. His horn flashes and glowing lines of enchanted circuitry briefly illuminate on the walls and ceiling, encasing the room in a privacy spell. It’s nowhere near as powerful as the princess’s, but until his alicorn abilities begin to manifest it’s the best solution he has available.

“Alright, so Dawn, Solar, and Starlight already know some of this, but the full breadth of what I can do is not something I have shared with anypony but my parents. Solar leaving town for a few months gives me a bit of an opportunity I felt I couldn’t completely ignore.”

The stallion in question cocks a brow and asks, “How so?”

“What I propose is that I, essentially, remake you. All of you, if you’d like.” He turns to his friend’s parents and explains, “You’ll be better than you were at your prime. Stronger, faster, tougher, better coordinated. You’ll cast faster and more accurately, you won’t have to worry about miscast feedback or spell interruptions. You’ll regenerate magic slightly faster. You’ll never again feel pain, get sick, or, unless you’re starving yourself, feel exhausted. You’ll still need sleep, but that ‘it’s five o’clock and I’m ready for bed’ feeling will be a thing of the past.”

Their eyes widen and brows climb with each benefit listed.

“You’ll have perfect eyes, hearing, skin, and teeth. Your coat, mane, and tail will always be vibrant, well oiled, and healthy looking. Hay, I’ll even make you taller or your horn bigger if you want me to. I recall you,” he nods to Emerald, “said you had difficulty nursing when they were born. Stuff like that won’t be a problem if you decide to have more foals.

“Anything you would like, biologically speaking, I can do right here in this room in a matter of minutes or hours, depending. Want wings? Not probably a great idea until the boss lady says it’s okay, but I could give ‘em to ya. Talons, claws, a layer of dragon scales under your coat, bones as tough as steel? Just say the word.

“The only thing I ask is that you not tell anypony I can do this. Call it a Royal Decree if you must; Harmony knows I’ll rarely ever use those except to safeguard my privacy. I’ve spent a great deal of time coming up with solutions to health problems that don’t require my direct intervention. There’s no way I can think of that would let me share this with the world at large. This is much more of a close friends and family only kind of deal.

“To be completely frank, we,” he waves between himself and the two elder unicorns, “aren’t quite that close. I’m including you in this conversation because despite him being an adult, he is your foal. This isn’t exactly something that I could keep secret from you forever. No offense.”

The two share a look. Haze turns back to Cure, shrugs helplessly, and nods. “That’s fair.”

“I don’t get it,” Solar finally comments. “What’s special about this room? You could do all that anywhere, best I can tell.”

“Mass. There’s no way for me to easily add mass to another pony anywhere else. I can’t really remake bones and vital organs easily out there on the street without emaciating somepony as I change their fat reserves, but here? I can do anything you can imagine, and probably quite a few things you can’t. Right now you probably weigh about one forty, right?”

“A little more since I’m, basically, fully grown now.”

“And you have almost no fat on you.”

“Right.”

“So if you wanted to be a half hoof more broad and a hoof taller, then this,” he lightly stamps a hoof on the floor, “is where I can make that happen easily and all at once, instead of taking almost an entire year like it has for my sire. Back when you were enlisting I couldn’t do much ‘cause I was still hiding.” He pulls a rolled scroll from his mane and floats it to the young stallion. “Now I can act a little more freely.”

Solar takes it in his magic and unrolls it. His parents, sister, and marefriend all lean in to read at the same time.

Official memorandum from His Royal Highness, Prince Serpentus of Equestria:

Corporal Solar Strike has undergone highly classified medical procedures resulting in increased physical and magical performance. Any questions, concerns, or issues are to be brought to the attention of myself via any means necessary.

It is hereby ordered that none, save under the direct, explicit orders of Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, should attempt to analyze, extract, or replicate any abnormality detected in Solar Strike’s physiology, nor should the nature of said abnormalities be publicly and/or privately discussed beyond what is absolutely necessary for the fulfillment of the corporal’s duties and obligations to the crown.

Any and all unauthorized disclosure of the existence of, the nature of, or the results of these procedures not directly and explicitly approved by Her Majesty, Princess Celestia, or His Highness, Prince Serpentus, will result in the most severe of disciplinary measures possible.

Any authorized disclosures are to be reported to His Highness, Prince Serpentus, within seventy-two hours of the disclosure incident. Failure to do so will result in disciplinary measures.

Regards,
His Royal Highness, Prince Serpentus
11 AUG 909 AB

The colt’s mark is embossed to the side of his name and title at the bottom.

“Huh,” Solar grunts. “I suspect that oughta do the trick.”

“I do believe it would,” his sire agrees. He leans forward to look more closely at Cure’s signature, staring intently for several seconds. “Did you sign this… in blood?!”

“Of course he/I did,” Dawn and Cure simultaneously answer; her tone with a complete lack of surprise and his as if it’s the only possible thing he could have ever signed it with.

She scowls at him, sighing when he responds with a beaming smile.

“Nopony screws around when you sign something in blood, sarge. There’s not a whole lot’a ways to more directly show that I mean business. Besides, it’s not like I’m running outta the stuff. If we only count what’s in my plant then there’s way more blood-like liquid in this house than there is water.”

Emerald grimaces and looks at the vine-covered ceiling somewhat warily.

“I don’t think that’s very comforting, honey.”

“Eh, it’s still true, but ya gotta keep in mind that, aside from the water heater, the only water in the house is what’s in the pipes, the fridge, and the freezer, and most of the pipes are only a few centimeters in diameter. We’re getting distracted, though.”

Cure focuses on Solar and makes his pitch, “I’m going to ask that you trust me here, bro. What I propose is that next Saturday morning you come over here and hop up on this couch for a quick nap while I do my thing. When you wake up you’ll be the very epitome of unicorn-kind. It’ll take a little bit for me to show you how the upgrades all work, but you’ll adapt in no time.

“With you going away for a few months there’s no better time to do it. The ponies at Maelstrom won’t know anything’s different, aside from a few you’ll have to show that letter to. As for anypony here, they won’t see you for nearly four months. You’ll be able to wave it away as classified special training or whatever to your friends. You have a whole week to decide what all you want done, if anything, but, like I said, golden opportunity here.”

“I imagine you are proposing something similar to your sire’s treatment for us,” Haze waves between his wife, Starlight, and himself, “should we wish the same?”

“Exactly. I could do the same thing I’m suggesting with Solar, but it’s going to be even more proof that Prince Serpentus is here in Golden Hills. A couple ponies in their thirties suddenly growing another hoof ain’t exactly subtle. Spread it over a year and only ponies you know will ever notice at all, and most of them will write it off as them forgetting how tall you were before.

“If you want to be here at the house, or even in the room during the procedure, that’s fine with me. I will have to g-tube him to add mass, so seeing your son like that may be a little upsetting.”

Solar’s snout scrunches in distaste at the idea of a tube being crammed down his throat.

“Don’t worry, dude,” Cure assures him, “you won’t feel a thing before, during, or after.”

Deed quietly shakes in laughter, unnoticed by all but his son and wife. The latter scowls at her husband and gets an exaggerated innocent smile in return.

“What about me?!” Dawn hotly asks.

“Only if your parents say it’s okay. They’re all adults and you’re not yet.”

“No,” Emerald immediately insists. “It’s not that I don’t trust your abilities, Cure, but she is still a growing filly.”

Before she can throw a fit, Cure quickly interjects, “That’s a valid point and is the same reason I haven’t done anything significant with my sisters except Savvy’s wings, which should grow normally. You wouldn’t benefit from most of this right now and, without my guidance, I can’t be sure what impact the changes could have as you mature. It’s much safer and easier if we at least wait until you’re into your early to mid teens.”

“We’re takin tha same approach with all’a the foals, Dawn girl. Don’t let it upset ya.”

“Right. Besides, babe, it ain’t like either of us is goin anywhere. So…” he pauses, turning back to the adults, “I’m not expecting any immediate yes’s or anything, and I don’t expect you to just give me carte blanche to do whatever. I mean, if you do I think you’ll be pretty friggin happy when ya wake up, but, meh,” he finishes with a shrug of his wings.

“I’m interested,” Haze says, “but you’ll forgive me if I’m somewhat selective regarding exactly what you’re doing.”

“Gleaming?” Cure is somewhat relieved when the mare’s tone is more of questioning concern rather than outright refusal. He’d been fairly sure she would be demanding to be let out of the room by now, but can only assume that she’s grown to trust him sufficiently to not instantly reject the offer. Either that or the potential is just so great that she can’t bring herself to say no out of hoof. Given her worried scent, he’s leaning more towards the latter.

“What, dear? This is, quite literally, something many creatures would kill for. I am sure many have killed for far less, in fact. Unless there is a valid reason to decline then I fully intend to accept his offer.”

The mare worries her lip, glancing between the colt and her husband. “Is it safe?”

“Absolutely, one hundred percent safe, Mrs. Aura. You’re infinitely more at risk going to sleep in your own bed on any given night than you are going through with this. I mean… Not to toot my own horn, but you’re standing in the very seat of power of the Alicorn of Life, here. I know I’m still a ‘baby’ alicorn, but Death has no Authority within the bounds of my Domain.”

Everpony, Cure included, freezes in shock at the way his declaration reverberates within the room. He coughs to clear his throat and gives an abashed smile. “Didn’t quite mean to put so much force behind that.” Seeking to quickly move on, he proposes, “How about I show you what I plan, or at least, what my ‘ultimate package’ would entail?”

It takes a few seconds for everypony to recover from the experience. “No, that won’t be nec -” Emerald finally begins, pausing when Haze interrupts with an upraised hoof, “Now hold on, dear. I’d like to have an idea of what he has in mind.”

“Okay. Just don’t freak out,” he insists, hopping up on the couch. “This may look somewhat odd, but there’s only so much I can do to pretty-up biological modification.”

A large vine pokes up through the floor to the left of the colt, the end of which begins rapidly swelling into a leafy green sphere. As the bulb continues to grow, Cure explains, “So what I’m doing right now is, basically, making a copy of Solar as he is now. It won’t have a brain, which now that I say it out loud, isn’t a significant change from the original.”

“Har, har, jerk,” the young stallion replies, talking overtop the quiet chuckles from everypony else.

The bulb splits open to reveal a duplicate of the unicorn laying in the ponyloaf position. The leaves retract up into a single vine that is attached to the clone’s withers. It opens its eyes and stands, looking around the room in wonder, then focuses on the original’s parents. “Hey dad, hey dam. What’s shakin?” it asks in an exact duplicate of their son’s voice.

“I don’t sound like that,” Solar weakly complains at the same time Haze gasps, softly murmuring, “Maker above. That’s incredible!”

The clone buffs a hoof on his chest and proudly declares, “Darn right I am. Way better than that old thing,” it taunts, motioning to the real Solar who scowls in response. It turns to Starlight and takes a step closer, waggling its brows. Standing tall and proud, it flexes its pecs and in a deep, sultry voice, says, “Hey there, good lookin. How ‘bout you ditch the loser and come hang out with a real stallion, hmm?”

Shouts of “Cure!” ring out from Solar, Dawn, and his dam all at once.

Starlight giggles and steps closer to her beau, pressing against him with her right side and nuzzling into his cheek. “As much as I appreciate the offer, I think I’m good for now.”

“Fiiine!” the clone petulantly whines. He turns and blows a raspberry at Dawn as he steps back to Cure’s left.

The colt looks up at the doppelganger and loudly complains, “I swear, I don’t know why you can’t just behave yourself.”

“Oh like you’re one to talk,” it sarcastically quips. “I learned it from you, ya know?”

“I’m a perfect gentlestallion! Aren’t I, Dawn?”

“I’m staying out of this,” she defers.

“See?” the clone exclaims, waving a hoof at the filly. “You can’t even get your own fillyfriend to agree, ya cretin.”

“I’mma tell ya the same thing my dam always tells me: I brought you into this world, I can take ya outta it whenever I want!”

“I don’t remember saying that,” Vines pouts.

“Yeah?!” the clone insistently asks, reaching over to shove the colt’s side.

“This is bizarre,” Haze quietly comments.

“Yeah!” Cure responds, smacking the hoof away. His horn lights up and blasts a harmless illusory bolt at the clone, who immediately falls and rolls onto his back with his legs sticking straight up into the air.

“Ahh! You got me! I’m like, super dead and stuff ‘cause of how weak I am!”

Solar huffs in annoyance.

“That’ll learn ya, punk.”

His sire clears his throat and suggests, “Maybe ya oughta get on with it, son.”

“No fun,” he grouses. “Alright,” he begins, wrapping the clone back in the wooden shell, “out with the old, shoddy construction and in with the new and improved, Solar Strike Mark Two-X.”

While Cure is working, Haze leans to his right and whispers over his wife’s withers to Deed, “Does he really do that whole iteration bit with everything?”

The dark stallion sighs and ruefully nods. “Darn near. Can’t deny it’s useful ta know when a new version comes out, even if I don’t quite get the whole ‘firmware upgrade’ thing he goes on ‘bout.”

It only takes a moment for the shell to split open again, this time revealing a taller, wider, and far more physically intimidating version of Solar Strike. “Behold, the Solar Strike of the future. Better. Stronger. Faster. Superior to the original in every way!”

“You’re kinda starting to hurt my feelings over here,” Solar mildly complains.

“Sorry, bro, but this could be you, if you’d like. Nature builds optimized for survival, but it doesn’t improve very quickly. It finds something that works, but doesn’t tend to change much until that suddenly stops working or until some freak mutation comes along that wipes out the original.

“This,” he waves to the clone, “is the culmination of the best of everything nature has to offer that I’ve found so far. Mostly. I didn’t go all out since it’s just for a quick demo, granted. Still, eyes keener than a griffon, hearing better than a bat, bones like steel, armored skin like a dragon, redundant backup cardiopulmonary systems, a significantly strengthened spine, neck, and cranium, vastly improved digestive system… The list really just goes on and on.”

Cure makes the clone walk out into the center of the room and stand at attention. It’s as tall as an earth pony stallion, though slightly slimmer, but still bulkier than the real Solar Strike. The horn is easily twenty-five centimeters long, almost half again an average unicorn’s length, and proportionally thicker at the base. Even the young stallion has to admit that Cure lived up to his boast; if this isn’t an apex unicorn he can’t fathom what could be.

“You said my magic regeneration would be increased?” he timidly asks. “That’s kind of important, you know… going into the Artillery Division.”

“Not by a whole lot, but yes. I’m sure you’ve all heard that the more physically fit you are, the more magic capacity you have?”

All five unicorns voice their agreement.

“It’s not wrong, but also not completely accurate. A portion of your magic generation happens in your physical body. The more mass and, especially, the less fat you have, the more magic you generate. It’s why you get a boost when you sugar up after doing a lot of casting; you’re burning sugar to produce magical energy. Now that’s only on the physical side of things, of course.

“On the metaphysical side… I’m not sure how it all works. Obviously, the more you use magic and, specifically, the more you do work related to your special talent, the more your magic grows. Mrs. Aura, I bet since you’ve been working at the hospital with your talent you’ve probably seen a small uptick, right?”

The mare frowns in thought, unprepared to be called upon. She slowly nods yes and answers, “I had assumed it was simply because I was using magic more frequently.”

“Some, but I’m sure some also comes from sharing your talents more often. Mr. Haze, how often do you use your talent?”

“Not… very often. I’ve found it’s not that useful.”

“I have a hard time believing that.” Cure glances at the stallion’s flanks; something that, in public, can be seen as rude but is socially acceptable to do when specifically discussing special talents in private company. Gleaming’s mark is an indistinct golden cloud with a pair of eyes staring out. “I’m guessing between your mark and your name you have some talent to create a smoke screen?”

The stallion’s brows shoot up in surprise as he slowly nods. “Something along those lines, yes.”

“Can you see through it?”

“I can.”

“Can you let other ponies see through it?”

The stallion hesitates for a moment. “I… uhh… I don’t know. Not to my knowledge?” he answers with a questioning lilt.

“Can you control the size, shape, thickness?”

Each question causes the stallion to cringe slightly until he admits, “Somewhat. Truthfully, I’ve never really experimented with it.”

“Why?!”

“I haven’t had any particular need to blind anypony.”

“You’re a guard.”

“Very astute of you to notice.” Emerald jabs him in his right shoulder and scowls. “I’m only teasing!”

“He means you could blind ponies that you have to arrest, daddy.”

“Stunning them is easier, glowbug.”

“It would be amazing on a battlefield,” Cure notes. “How big and thick can you make it and how long can you keep it up?” Deed chokes back a laugh while his wife sighs to his right. “What?” the colt innocently asks the room. “The size and thickness of the haze is crucially important, dad! Just as important as making sure he doesn’t peter out right away from using it! What’s funny about that?!”

“Maker above,” Emerald groans. Starlight wheezes trying to hold in her laughter while Solar facehooves. Dawn just looks between everypony in confusion.

The sergeant awkwardly clears his throat and stoically answers, “The haze is plenty large enough, and has sufficient reserves, I assure you.”

Deed leans in front of Emerald to quietly whisper, “Glad yer not lackin confidence, sarge, but talkin in the third pony is kinda strange.”

Emerald closes her eyes and despondently sighs. “Stallions…”

Cure holds his hooves up placatingly and nods in acceptance. “Okay, fair enough. Still, we should test your talent at some point and see exactly how much control you have over it. We’re getting way off topic again, though. Solar? Starlight? What are your thoughts here?”

“If it’s safe,” Starlight begins, heavily emphasizing the word, “then I don’t see a downside.” She bumps Solar’s hip and says, “Everything else Cure has done has worked really well. I honestly can’t think of a single reason to say no. Most of what you listed is completely useless to me, but I’d still be thrilled just to have the cosmetic parts if nothing else. I would love to be able to get up without a mess of a mane every morning.”

“Again, it’s one hundred percent safe. I promise. I would never have made the suggestion if it wasn’t. It’s also completely reversible if you hate it, which I know you won’t. I sure as heck haven’t regretted anything I’ve done to myself.” He thinks back to the coronation prank and grimaces. “Except one, I suppose.”

“Still can’t believe you did that,” his dam grumbles, looking away to avoid meeting his eyes. As much as he finds the whole thing hilarious, the fact that his dam is ashamed of it still stabs into his heart.

“Right,” he sighs. “Live and learn.”

“You’re not going to do anything weird like… pull my brain out and stick it in that, are you?”

The suggestion alone elicits a sharp intake of air from the stallion’s dam and a smothering spike of anxiety indicating pheromones to explode out.

“Absolutely not. I wouldn’t need to g-tube you to do that, but even though the possibility didn’t escape me, I ruled it out primarily because I don’t know what kind of impact that would have on your ‘metaphysical self.’ No, I’ll be going about this another route. Your body will still be you, just with a bunch of extra mass added to it, which will also be you.”

Solar gives the colt a doubtful look.

“You’ll come in, lay down, fall asleep, then I’ll alter your digestive tract and feed you the mass needed to fuel the additions. Food becomes ‘you’ once fully digested. You won’t wake up feeling sick or bloated or anything, so don’t worry.”

“His ma watched ‘em do the same thing to himself,” Deed interrupts. “She said it weren’t pretty, but that’s mainly ‘cause he was eatin a tree an’ doin so much at once he had’ta give ‘himself a bunch’a extra teeth and whatnot.”

A much more calmed Emerald regards the colt whose withers barely reach her barrel. “You ate an entire tree? At once?”

“I urgently needed the mass for a project,” he weakly shrugs. “Besides, it was more like a third of a tree, and only of what you see above ground. It also took a few hours and was like… eight or so times as much mass as what I’ll need to give him, so nothing so dramatic is necessary here.

“I could simply graft the extra mass onto you like a transplant, but I don’t really want to add thirty, forty percent of your mass onto you like that. We start wading into the whole ‘metaphysical self’ issue again, potentially, and I would much prefer to entirely sidestep that potential issue. It may not matter at all, but I’m not gonna experiment on anypony like that.”

“What’s that mean, exactly?” Emerald inquires.

“Metaphysical self?”

She nods.

“You are you. Every bit of you is part of you because you consumed it in one way or another, your cells processed it, and it became part of you. That means you, as a whole, are a single entity, both physically and spiritually, or, metaphysically. You have been wholly and completely you from, at the very least, the moment you were born up to this point.

“If you were to be injured or had some disease and needed a transplant then that transplant wouldn’t actually become ‘you’ for about a week. Mom - Title, that is - and I tested it when I grafted a small patch of skin onto her. It took a little under a week for it to become part of her instead of me, so -”

“How - sorry to interrupt - but how were you able to determine whether it was ‘you’ or ‘her?’” Haze asks.

“I can tell by how much magic it takes to use my talent on something. In her case, we waited a day and I tried changing the color of the patch of grafted skin, then we waited two, three, and so on days between attempts. It was noticeably more difficult to change when I had waited five days to interact with it, presumably because by then her blood and body had been supplying it nutrients, thus making it ‘her’ at some point between four and five days.”

“That’s… quite fascinating, actually,” the stallion muses. “So I suppose the concern, then, would be that having a significant portion of one’s mass being transplanted could interfere with their magic or alter the definition of that pony’s metaphysical being?”

Cure nods and adds, “Or worse. Or do nothing. I don’t know. I’m not gonna experiment on somepony to find where that tipping point is, assuming there even is one. Maybe it doesn’t matter at all as long as your brain is still functional. I’m not exactly big on pony experimentation, sarge, so unless somepony has everything from their neck down destroyed and I have to rebuild them from scratch we’ll probably never know.”

“And we’re all relieved to hear that,” he assures the colt. “Though, again, we’ve strayed from the topic at hoof somewhat, even if this is quite interesting.” He turns to his son and says, “You are an adult. You’ve been informed of the potential benefits and, in this case, the lack of potential pitfalls. It sounds to me like you…” he glances between the two teens, “both of you, have some decisions to make, as do we,” he finishes, leaning into his wife. “Unless anypony has further questions,” he pauses, glancing around the room to see if anypony speaks up, “then I believe we should retire before it gets too dark out.”

“Sure thing,” the colt agrees. He encases the clone in a shell and begins dissolving it once it’s no longer visible, “though if you have just a second, sarge, I wouldn’t mind speaking to you in private for a moment.”

The stallion nods in acceptance despite the oddity of the request and the concern Emerald can’t help but show. Once the clone is fully reabsorbed and the vine withdraws back under the couch, Cure dispels the privacy screen and unlocks the door. Everypony but the sergeant makes their way out, Emerald stealing glances over her withers a couple times on the way. “You’ll have him back in ten minutes, tops, Mrs. Aura,” he assures her.

“I’ll be right out, dear,” Haze echoes as the two are finally left alone. The door swings shut, the privacy field reactivates, and the stallion turns to regard the colt with a curious look.

“Damn, sarge… she’s acting like I’m gonna freaking eat you or something if you’re left alone with me. Seriously, what the hay could I possibly have done that worries her so much?!”

The stallion’s shoulders and neck sag as he shakes his head. “I really do not know, Cure. I can only assume that she fears somepony she believes she previously offended having so much authority over her. There’s also the fact that you just casually made a perfect duplicate of our son on a whim, seemingly largely for your own amusement.”

Cure cocks his head to the side in confusion. “That wasn’t a copy at all. It just looked and sounded like him. I even said it didn’t have a brain. You, or nearly any unicorn on the planet, could do the same thing with an Illusion in like three seconds.”

“And yet, that Illusion would fail under any number of scenarios. What could stop you from actually making an exact duplicate?”

“My morality, which, by now, should be worthy of some significant trust.” Not finished with his answer, he holds up a hoof to forestall the sergeant’s response. “Beyond that, my respect for the sanctity of life; a key and crucial requirement, I suspect, for anypony that would bear such a mantle. I can’t fathom what the artificial creation of a sapient being would result in. Perhaps a typical pony. Perhaps something other. I have absolutely no desire to test those waters, Mr. Haze.”

The stallion takes a deep breath and bows his head in acceptance. “I did not intend to sound accusatory. I can only say that seeing something that so accurately matched my son, but wasn’t him, was somewhat unsettling. I would not be surprised if the impact was the same, or more significant, for my wife.”

Cure can’t help but sigh. Celestia has specifically warned him how easily he could inadvertently scare ponies, and here he was doing exactly that to the parents of two of his closest friends. “Then I owe you both an apology. Dawn and Solar too, I suppose. I figured a show of ability would help cut back her anxiety.”

“I don’t believe she has any real doubt in your ability, Cure. She even said as much only a few moments ago. She’s seen enough of what you can do. You will simply never understand how much a parent worries about their foal until you have one yourself.”

“Fair. So… yeah, sorry for freaking you out, Mr. Haze. I’ll say the same to the missus when we’re done here.”

Haze gives the colt an easy smile. “Apology accepted.” The stallion’s lips twitch upwards as he comments, “Of course, that whole thing with your voice and glowing eyes probably didn’t help much.”

“Myeyeswhatnow?!”

“Glowed,” he slowly repeats, drawing the single syllable out for a couple seconds.

The colt frowns, furrowing his brow in confusion. “Huh. That’s really freaking weird. I wonder what could possibly cause my eyes, of all things, to glow.”

Haze idly shrugs and explains, “It happens to unicorns when channeling large amounts of magic. I’m sure somepony explained the theory to me at some point, but aside from the details going well over my head, all I recall is the oft-repeated cliché that eyes are the window to one’s soul. Perhaps it is something you should inquire with her majesty about.”

“Yeah, that may be a good idea. I’ve heard that one too, but I’ll check with the boss lady when I talk to her.”

“Excellent. Regardless, I hope you are aware that I do not share my wife’s concerns.” He glances around the room and blithely adds, “Though I suppose that is obvious, or I would not be here. Alone.”

“Right. So, serious subject time, sarge. I’m going to propose something that I think should only be discussed in private. Technically there’s no reason Mrs. Aura couldn’t be present for this, but I thought you may want to surprise her instead. I only ask that we approach the subject as if we’re medical professionals and not a couple of blushing fillies. Can you do that for me?”

It only takes a second of thought before he nods. “I can.”

“Great. I’m going to be completely blunt. It’s not just vaginas that I can upgrade, as I’m sure everypony has figured out, even if nopony is willing to say it out loud. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a typical penis, but there’s also nothing wrong with one that’s a few steps beyond average.”

Despite his assurance, the unicorn can’t help but begin to blush. It’s easy for the colt to spot his forced stoic expression. Cure maintains eye contact as he continues, “Size and shape are two obvious things I can change, but I can also make it more flexible, stronger, and capable of altering its surface slightly to increase or decrease pressure in specific spots as desired, a useful feature as not all pleasurable nerve clusters are placed in the same spots, and I understand that sometimes something will feel better or worse on any given night.”

“How could you possibly -” Haze begins.

“Mares talk. A lot. My hearing is very sharp.”

Haze cringes, but nods minutely. “Ah.”

“Yeah. So anyhow, I can also add musculature at the base similar to what’s in a horn,” he explains as he points to his own horn and flexes the muscles, causing it to vibrate without any magic effects, “which is… effective, or so I have, unfortunately, heard. Several times. Seriously, buy a Sound Bubble crystal for Dawn’s sake, please. I have a spare you can just take with you if you want.

“Further, a pony’s refractory period can be cut down to nearly zero, so the whole ‘once and done’ can be a thing of the past. I mean, the tap will still eventually run dry, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop pumping.”

The sergeant’s blush intensifies and his eyes widen.

“You weren’t the only one to notice those three’s dalliance last weekend,” Cure dryly remarks.

Haze sighs and shakes his head in disappointment.

“Finally, I can also grant far more conscious control over everything. Want to have another daughter someday? Another son? I can give you a mental switch to control that, or so you can still enjoy yourselves without the risk of pregnancy. I can do all that in just a few minutes and you’ll walk out that door with nopony the wiser. I mean, they’ll probably guess, but unless you tell, this stays between me and you exclusively. At least, until you decide to enlighten the missus about our discussion. I am the Alicorn of Life, Mr. Haze. The creation and celebration of life is central to my domain.”

Haze takes a moment to process all that and slowly nods in acceptance. “Maker have mercy… you really just came out and said it, didn’t you?”

Cure bobs his head and lightly chuckles. “I warned ya.”

“True. You did.” The stallion lets out another sigh and rubs a fetlock against his brow. “I’m not exactly sure how to respond, given that you’re nine years old.” He blatantly grimaces and adds, “And, essentially, courting my daughter, no less.”

Cure idly shrugs and asks, “You want grandfoals to spoil eventually, right?”

“Of course!”

“There’s a pretty finite number of ways that’ll happen, sarge. I’m guessing that, all things considered, you’d prefer to think that neither of your foals is with somepony that fails to address their needs, even if you would prefer to stay ignorant regarding to what degree those needs are being met.”

“I certainly would,” he agrees, still cringing heavily. “On both counts. Regardless,” he sighs shaking his head in resignation, “I cannot deny that your suggestion, while immensely difficult to discuss, is not a completely unappealing prospect.”

“Then say yes. It’ll feel weird and I’ll need a minute or two to show you how a couple things work. Physical therapy for new nerve endings, more or less. You may need to duck into a bathroom when you get home to experiment, but if I hear a single complaint from you or the wife, except maybe that you left her exhausted, then I’ll be well and truly shocked. So,” he extends his hoof, “what do you say, sergeant?”

Author's Note

Definitely had some alternative titles for the chapter.
Welcome to My Tentacle Dungeon
His Highness Issues Royal Decree: STFU
Horny Family Comes ~~at~~ to Dinner
Cure Offers to Fill Solar with Life
Addressing Performance Issues
Lemme Cram My Life Tube in Ya & Pump Ya Up
Unicorns Sample Cure's Meat, Approve Overwhelmingly
Cure Shares the Gift That Keeps On Giving

Yeah, the list goes on. There might just be something wrong with me.

Anyhow, Cure finally reveals almost the full breadth of his abilities. Obviously that doesn't exactly wipe away Emerald's maybe-slightly-reasonable fear of the colt, but, at the end of the day, who could say no to all of that? Can she say no?

There's also the unspoken assumption that his family has already been similarly modified, though I considered adding some conversation regarding that. Ultimately, the chapter was bloating, I felt, so I moved on.

We get to hear, if from a second-hand source, what the plan is in regards to Cure's need for a body double here. It sounds like it should throw off the townsponies, right? Guess we'll have to wait and see if it works out like they're planning. Hopefully nothing big happens in the meantime that blows his cover, huh?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I think I should have a chapter ready next week, but I ended up having to scrap chunks of what would have been 93 to take it in another direction, so no promises. If I'm not publishing a chapter next Monday I'll at least pop in and add a comment, as I always do.

Until then, have a great week and, as always, thanks for reading, rating, and especially, taking the time to comment!