Catching Z’s

by Deus Foalt

Rating: mature
Tags: Sex, Profanity, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character
Length: 5416

It’s time for the monthly Meet the Foals event. Will Zippi and Zew finally meet their new parent(s)?

Zippi and Zew have known each other since the moment they were born. How could they not? They're twin sisters. But, apparently, for reasons they can’t seem to remember, their parents didn’t want them. Most of the life they’ve known has occurred within the walls of a place called the Bundles of Joy Adoption Center, tucked away from most ponies’ view. It…is not a very happy place.

Zew thinks the title couldn’t have been more of a misnomer even with intentional malice.

The place is run-down, the staff don’t care, and the foals—well, they’re foals, she can’t fault anyone for their age. But she doesn’t have intellectual peers, and more importantly, she and Zippi didn’t seem to have parents that loved them. But they got by with each other, always. That was just life, right?

Some say misery is the only constant in life. Zew’s about to learn that that’s not true. The only constant…is that nothing is constant. Today’s the monthly Meet the Foals event. And with that comes the potential for change. Sure, potential is not a guarantee…but it’s potentially good.

(Light spoilers: It is good.)

Proofread by LilSlipsy and a bunch of my dedicated fans. Love ya'll :heart:

Very-heavily "Implied" underage (foalcon) sisterly incest, if that squicks you. Sorry. My OCs, my rules.

No actual sex occurs in this story! Shocking, I know. But it is mentioned explicity, so, yeah. Mature for sure.

Over a year in the making! And probably still not perfect. But life must go on.

Story 0 in the Zuniverse! What's a Zuniverse? Let's just say I have far too many characters with Z names, and this is the universe in which their stories take place. I'll have a detailed explanation up sometime later, and I'll update this little aside when I have. (And if I haven't, feel free to bap me.)

Published 2024-04-03 17:20:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-04-03 17:20:00 UTC

Bundles of Joy

Author's Note

This is a labor of love and, at long last, the start of the Zuniverse.

If you missed the warning in the description, there are incestuous filly twin sisters mentioned and partially described. Ye have been warned.

That said...enjoy! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did creating it.

Bundles of Joy

Zew disliked the Seashell Room in the Bundles of Joy Adoption Center.

It had a cute enough name, sure. And it was filled with plenty of games and toys designed to stimulate and develop most young foals’ minds. Even if she preferred Chess to Checkers, and Poker to Go Fish, she could still see the value of having the options that everyfoal did. But a cute name and some toys weren’t nearly enough to save the room from her passive scorn. Where could she even begin?

The decor. It might have been a nice room at one point, but those days were clearly far in the past. Dirtied faded-white folding chairs gathered rust around tables that had, years ago, been a bright light blue. The floor was carpet, but far from soft; it was shaggy enough that even the uncomfortable, dirty chairs were preferable to laying on the floor. Half-finished puzzles dotted the dark blue landscape, as well as abandoned bouncy balls and jacks. And finally, the wallpaper was an ugly combination of both white and coral, haphazardly striped as if its original manufacturer had been drunk when creating it.

Then there were the circumstances. Maybe the room could be forgiven for its unattractiveness, but its availability was scant. She only got to visit it once a month, during the monthly Meet the Foals social event. Only during that one time would the center pretend to care about fun enough to give everyone something to play with that wasn’t a wooden block or a disheveled hoof-me-down doll. Getting in any other time was impossible; it was always locked. And even when she was allowed in to play, she would be subject to the passing figures of houseponies staring into the room like it were part of a zoo. Nobody else seemed to mind being watched while playing, but Zew hated it. It was just sort of creepy.

“Hey! Wake up!”

Zew jumped, startled out of her thoughts by a gray hoof shoving itself next to her muzzle. She followed the leg back to its source, and found—

“Zippi,” Zew huffed, brushing some of her long strawberry mane out of her eyes. “I am awake.”

“Whatcha’ doin then?” The filly countered, leaning in closer and sticking her tongue out as she shook her purple and neon-green bangs from side to side. “I know horses sleep standing up, but usually they close their heckin’ eyes first.”

“I’m not in the mood, Zippi,” Zew sighed, her gaze flicking towards the other foals laughing and playing as though they hadn’t a care in the world.

“Why not?” Zippi asked, her boisterous tone softening slightly. “Sore tummy?”

“No, it’s just…” Zew held her breath for a moment before letting it slip. “It’s our eighth birthday tomorrow and…we’re still here.”

Zippi took a moment to pluck an errant puzzle piece from her cinnamon-bun of a tail before throwing an arm around Zew’s shoulders. “Well…today’s another chance to change that, right? I’m sure we’ll be outta here in no time!”

“That’s what you said last time,” Zew whispered, her eyes flicking to a nearby dilapidated mirror. She saw the same filly she always saw when she gazed into it. Same smooth red mane with streaks of pink, same golden stars and moons sprinkled throughout. Deep purple eyes stared back at her, their hue matched only by her keepsake special wand she had tucked behind her ear, dangling its streamers down freely.

Glancing at the crescent moon at the end, she was reminded of Zippi’s own wand, shoved into the boundary between her straight bangs and her curvy-as-heck bun and ponytails. They could do wonderful things with these wands, she knew, even if she didn’t know exactly how they worked. Make a rabbit appear from thin air? Sure. Make scratchy bed covers into soft silk? Easy. Get adopted? Apparently impossible. Was there something wrong with her…?

Zew felt Zippi hug her from the side, and couldn’t help but smile as warmth spread across her. Maybe they were still stuck here…but she still had her twin sister to keep her sane. As if to punctuate this thought, Zippi pecked at Zew’s cheek, before grabbing her by a foreleg and dragging her into the room proper. “C’mon! That empty table’s got our names on it!”

Zew stumbled after Zippi, and busied her hooves with scraping off a chair until it was clean enough to sit on. Eventually satisfied enough, she took a seat and looked at the wooden door opposite the metal one they’d entered from. That was where the potential parents would come in, ready to mingle and find the perfect foal fit for their household without sitting through a stuffy formal interview. It was always interesting to watch who was a regular, and who seemed to be new. The wait was always agonizing, though. If only she had something stimulating to engage in—

“Chess?”

Zew’s ears twitched as she turned her head back towards her sister. Between them sat…a fully formed chess board, complete with pieces. Rook, bishop, knight, king, queen, and pawns. Bundles of Joy didn’t have anything resembling her ages-old favorite game that wasn’t missing almost all the pieces! Where in the heck had this come from? Was it…Zippi?

“Did you make this?” Zew asked, lifting the board and inspecting it, somehow surprised by the fact it didn’t fall apart from a single touch. She hadn’t even seen a telltale flash of orange magic…had she been that distracted?

Zippi blew a wisp of smoke off her wand, before grinning widely. “Yup. I know I said I was tapped last night, but I saved a little just in case you needed cheering up. No biggie.” Zippi finished her humble-brag by spinning her wand in a few quick circles through her magical field, before shoving it back into her hairband.

Magic was a very precious resource to them. Sure, they outperformed any filly in town at almost anything with the help of their signature wands, but they seemed to run out of their reserves quickly, and regenerated them more slowly. Zew had already blown all her energy on conjuring apples as extra snacks for them both. That Zippi had bothered to save anything, let alone magic, was rather touching compared to her usual behavior.

“Zippi…” Zew muttered, a smile playing across her lips as she nodded to her best friend in the world. “Thank you.”

“Hey, don’t mention it!” Zippi squinted down at the pieces before cocking her head. “You got your nerd mode today? I forget how everything works. Except for the horsie. Best piece right there.”

Zew explained the rules as best as she could. Zippi’s eyes crossed at the mere mention of en passant (“we don’t have any croissants!”), so she kept things simple. Pluses, Xs, and Ls, vertical and horizontal, and so on. They never played to checkmate either; Zippi would just shrug and reset the board any time she got checked more than twice in a row. Zew knew her sister would definitely prefer to be doing cartwheels and standing backflips to work towards her dream of being a famous gymnast, but still appreciated the efforts at playing her favorite game nonetheless. Time passed quickly when it was just her and Zippi, and the occasional foal who leaned in to bother Zippi about something usually trivial, like candy.

Time flew so much that after only the second game she won, her next glance around the room revealed that the possible parents had already wandered in! Crud, it was hard to ponywatch and play chess at the same time. “Hang on a moment,” Zew said to Zippi, darting her eyes back and forth. “I want to observe some more.”

“Like ya’ always do.” Zippi hummed off-key for a few seconds before her face lit up. “So can I go do some epic stunts? I wanna try out my triple cartwheel 360 inverted supermare!”

“Yeah, do that,” Zew allowed, eyes flicking over the new selection of mares and colts. All regulars, it seemed. Ms. Cherrybottom, Cheerilee, Mr. Moneybags, Aleph, Cloudy Rain…nopony new. She’d introduced herself a hundred times to these ponies already. She even suspected Mr. Moneybags came here just to inwardly laugh at the orphaned fillies and colts. Whether or not that was true, it looked like today was definitely not the day. No new would-be parents, no new chances at freedom. As always.

But just when she rested her face atop her hooves, something magical happened.

“Um…is this seat taken?”

Zew glanced up, and found herself speechless. Out of seemingly nowhere, there was an earth pony mare standing across the table from her. She had orange fur, a very large yellow, curvy mane, and shallow amber eyes. Most interesting of all was her little smile, something that seemed to both convey that everything was fine, and ask if there was something she could do. The lovely heart-shaped hair clip in her mane said “fun”, but the orange ribbon-necklace thing tied across her neck said “dependable.” It was always good to see a new face, but this one felt different. Why couldn’t Zew bring herself to say anything? Her mouth opened but nothing came out.

Eventually, she just shook her head, her cheeks coloring as her inherent reclusiveness asserted itself. New ponies were nice…if they were nice to her as well. She’d been fooled by many smiles before. In any event, this smile didn’t seem to care about her hesitation: the mare attached to it nodded, before pulling back the chair and sitting…on the floor. But since she was a full-grown mare, they were now more or less eye-to-eye.

“What’s your name?” the mare asked, her voice as smooth as honey. “You don’t have to tell me, but I am curious.”

“I’m…I’m Zew,” Zew relented, her eyes flinging towards Zippi’s last-known location. If she ever needed social support, now was definitely the time for it. Anxiety bells were ringing loudly in her head. How would she butcher basic conversation with a new face this time?

“That’s a great name,” the mare responded, clapping her hooves together in delight. She adjusted her ribbon, and then spoke again, her eyes twinkling. “It’s very uncommon to find another pony with a Z in their name around here. My name is Zeta, by the way.”

Zew felt her heart skip a beat. That was rare. In the five whole years of misery in Bundles of Joy she’d endured, she’d never once heard a name with a Z in it that wasn’t either herself or her twin sister. How could she follow this up and not seem boring? This felt like a chance she had to take, even despite the butterflies in her tummy.

“That’s nice too,” Zew responded, forcing a less-nervous expression onto her features as best as she could. “Ummm…I have a sister too, by the way. We’re…twins.” That was interesting, right? Not everyone had a twin.

“I’m the better one though!” Zippi hollered across the room.

Zew rolled her eyes, and resisted the urge to smack her forehead. “Please come sit at the table if you want to talk, Zippi.”

“Fiiiine.”

One superfluous backflip later, the ever-excitable Zippi was seated at the table as well, between her sister and the new mare. Zeta looked, seemingly bemused, back and forth between Zew and Zippi. Eventually, she cracked a warm smile, and chuckled gently. “This one is Zippi, right? Looks like I’m asleep…I’ve caught myself some Z’s!”

Zew could feel the tension in her tummy vanish with that. The table dissolved into quiet tittering laughter. Zew felt relief wash over her as the joke disarmed her inner alarm bells. No mean pony would be caught dead using such cheesy wordplay, in her experience. Humor showed where the heart was, and at least as far as she could tell, Zeta’s heart seemed to be in the right place.

Conversation flowed much more smoothly after that. Zeta, after wiping a tear from her eye, started things off again: “You two are such a delight,” she drawled. “How old are you two?”

“Eight!”

“Seven, eight tomorrow,” Zew corrected gently. It wasn’t that important in the scheme of things, but she liked things to be correct wherever possible. Zippi, meanwhile, showed off her disdain for technicalities by sticking her tongue out and going bleh.

“That’s wonderful,” Zeta replied, nodding her head. “I remember when I was your age, I was in the Filly Scouts. Do you two ever help them out?”

Zew glanced at Zippi, who glanced back at her. A silent agreement was made, and Zew broke the news. “Well, no. We don’t get to do much of anything here, in fact.”

“You don’t?” Zeta’s brow dropped lower as she heard this. “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do here?”

Zippi jumped in this time, saving Zew from the task of describing their daily life. “Wake up, make our bed, take a shower, eat food, goof around in the halls, practice sick stunts…” Zippi turned towards Zew, and smirked before addressing Zeta again. “Well, I do. This nerd reads books about astronomy.”

“The same two that they have, over and over,” Zew added. The word tedious didn’t even come close to what it was like to read the same 30-page, filly-friendly books about stars more times than it said the word stars. “And occasionally other books. But there’s nothing invigorating about Green Hay and Clams aside from the rhyming.”

“That sounds…that’s it?”

“Yup.”

Zeta shook her head and softly tsked to herself. “That’s no way for a filly to live. Do you at least get toys?”

“Ehhhh…” Zippi’s face scrunched up. “We get stuff that was toys at one point, but it sure isn’t toys now. Unless you count Zewsie herself.”

“…what?”

Zew began blushing. Oh no. Zippi wasn’t really going to go there, was she? They didn’t have much in this place…but they did have each other. And when the sun went down and everypony was subject to lights out, Zippi would sometimes sneak under the covers and…well, that wasn’t where they were. Right?

Zippi nodded, not showing the slightest hesitation as she plowed forward. “Yeah! She’s the most fun toy here~”

The blonde-haired mare cocked her head, looking between the two sisters in confusion. “I’m not sure I follow…?”

That was when Zippi, indeed, went there. “We fuck!”

“Zippi! L-language!” Zew cried out, burying her face in her hooves as the heat in her cheeks reached supernova levels. She really had to get around to installing a filter in her sister’s mouth sometime. That same mouth that lowered itself between her thighs, or explored her mouth passionately, or wrapped around her horn, or— “And for Celestia’s sake!” she interrupted herself, giving the strongest glare towards Zippi that she could, “T. M. I!”

“You two, er…have relations?” Zeta was hesitant, but not outright disgusted. Maybe the reality just hadn’t hit her yet. It usually did soon after Zippi disclosed that bit of information, time after time. There went another promising parent. And she’d really liked this one, too.

Zew sighed deeply and removed her hooves from her face, resigned to the inevitable. “Yes,” she forced out from behind gritting teeth, cursing her aversion to lying. “We love each other very much.” As angry as she was, Zew couldn’t really find it in her to not love Zippi. She was, however, very frustrated with her.

“I…see.” Zeta closed her eyes and took a deep breath…before smiling and turning to Zippi. “I appreciate the honesty. Do you wish to hear something that might interest you, based on your language?”

Zippi shrugged, fiddling with an errant rook on the chess board as if she were bored with this line of conversation. “Shoot, lady. Big shortage of interesting stuff ‘round here.”

“I can at least agree to that,” Zew muttered, desperately hoping that against all odds, a staff member would declare the whole event over and shoo them away for their daily 20 minutes of napping.

“Well…” Zeta leaned in and cupped her hooves around her mouth conspiratorially. “I’m a professional dominatrix.”

Zew blinked, caught off guard. Zippi blinked too, but more from confusion: “What’s a dominoes matrix?”

“Dominatrix,” Zew whispered, her thoughts calming as a word she’d only seen once in one dictionary came to the forefront of her mind. “A dominating mare, especially one who takes the sadistic role in sadomasochistic sexual activities.”

Zippi’s eyes crossed momentarily as she lost grip on her rook. The young unicorn focused on her sister’s eyes, and tilted her head. “Can I get that explained like I’m five?”

Zew’s blush receded some, but she could feel nervous butterflies of hope returning to her stomach. Had they lucked out this time? “She’s a pony who likes to, um…control sex with other ponies. And they pay her to.” She kept her voice as low as she could, making sure that nopony could hear her outside the table.

“Neat!” Zippi chirped, regarding the mare with newfound interest and excitement. “Can you do that to us?”

“Zippi!!”

“Goodness, not here for one,” Zeta proclaimed, chuckling as she readjusted her hair. “And with two fillies, I’d…have to acquire the proper equipment. But,” she added, her eyes sparkling as she clasped her hooves together atop the table. “If we get more acquainted, I’d be happy to do it eventually.”

“…why?” Zew asked, cursing herself for looking the gift horse in the mouth. Why couldn’t she just accept that somepony had given her and her sister a second chance? Even if they probably didn’t deserve it?

“I’m very…sex-positive,” the dominatrix replied, halting her words as another foal came dangerously close to their conversation, before continuing. “I believe it’s nothing to be ashamed of, wanting it done or doing it. Is it odd that you two know about it? Definitely. But I’m not going to judge you for it.” Her eyes softened as she continued, lowering one hoof to the ground, and placing the other on her chest. “What’s important is in here.”

Zew felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Were they from hope, relief, or adoration? Maybe it was all three. Whatever it was, Zew stumbled out of her seat and ambushed Zeta with a hug before she could think any further. That might have been pushing things a little, but it felt nicely warm and fuzzy to have the mare return that hug (and for Zippi to join in herself a bit later.) Hope was worth holding onto for moments like these.

None of them said a word, and none of the other foals really bothered them. The only thing that eventually broke them up was a stern, familiar voice calling out across the room:

“One minute remains! Children, say your final goodbyes to the nice ponies. Nap time is almost upon us!”

Zew sighed, stepping back from the hug and pointedly not looking in Ms. Sharpbleat’s direction. Zew wasn’t often one for wishing anything on anyone, but in that moment she wished that that old bat would have something good happen to her. Something so good that she left the adoption center and stopped throwing her scraggly voice over everything somewhat good in Zew’s life.

Zew looked up at Zeta, who smiled timidly back.

“It was really nice meeting you, Zeta,” she mumbled, not knowing which hoof to leave in front of which other hoof. “I hope…we can meet again?”

Zippi, almost uncharacteristically calmly, nodded as she slung a leg around Zew’s shoulders. “Yeah. It was a buncha fun compared to the stuff around here.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Zeta agreed, regarding the rapidly-emptying room with mild concern. “Well, um…have a good nap, I suppose!”

“We will,” promised Zew, turning to walk away, and finding herself hesitating to do so for more than a few seconds. Did she dare leave this nice mare? Would they ever meet again? Could she go back to daily life knowing that someone so kind would potentially be gone forever the second the door to this cursed room closed behind her? She couldn’t, she wouldn’t, she shouldn’t—

“Sometime today, children!” called Sharpbleat, her saggy eyes hardening in their sockets.

Zew took a deep breath, let the frustration and despair circle around her…and then let it go, trudging out of the Seashell Room. She wouldn’t even look back. Maybe she could forget this all had happened if she didn’t catch sight of that orange angel again.

Click

The door closed behind them. Zew felt the rickety wood floor assert itself in the absence of the shaggy carpet of the Seashell Room. This was home. A familiar sensation. Her eyes never left the floorboards as Zippi helped guide her back to the grouped beds.

“So that was fun huh, Zewsie?” asked Zippi, lightly jogging her sister on the shoulder.

Zew didn’t answer, instead preferring to take in the hollow clunks of hooves on wood, and the worn grain of the boards beneath. Zippi slowly slid her face underneath Zew’s drooping head until they made eye contact. “You okay?”

“Yes,” Zew muttered, shaking her head from side to side until her gaze focused on Zippi, instead of whatever was one thousand yards beneath her. “Sorry. Just…it always stinks going back to normal after something so good happens.”

“Well, we can tackle it together!” Zippi answered, giving Zew a light noogie as they stumbled into the communal bedroom. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in and kissed Zew on the cheek, blushing slightly. “Now c'mon, let’s catch some Z’s.”

Zew smiled gently. It wasn’t the perfect end to the start of the day, but it was a good one. “Thanks, Zippi. I love you.”

“Love ya’ too, Zew.”

No more conversation was necessary. The twins settled down for naptime, listening to the dwindling chatter of their fellow foals being slowly replaced by gentle breathing. Zew closed her eyes next to Zippi, snuggled up close to her lightly-paunchy side, and wiggled until she was comfortable.

Her last thought before dreamland beckoned was a happy one.

Life, as it tended to do, went on.

Normality returned to their schedule. Sunrise and sunset soldiered on, with nothing overly significant happening in between either event. The days smeared onwards. Sure, Zippi tripped and twisted her leg once; Zew made sure to kiss and bandage it better the best way she knew how, and Zippi was back to cartwheels by the next day. Sure, they had a fire drill; all procedures went as planned and they were back on their schedule in no time. And sure, the showers broke for a whole week and they had to try and bathe with only one sink to share between fifteen foals. The showers were fixed and things smelled less gross from then on. But throughout it all, Zew couldn’t ever shake the events of that day from her mind.

Zeta. That friendly orange face hovered around in her daydreams, her actual dreams, and everything in between. The kind words she’d spoken, the hug they’d shared, and the interesting phenomena they’d traded…it ate at Zew from both directions. One moment she would be lost in a mix of fuzzy happiness and strident hope, and the next she would be in the deepest despair over the uncertainty of it all. They had to be adopted by Zeta, right? Zew wasn’t one to believe in karma, but she found herself begging the universe to bring some good tidings her way. She’d put up with so little for so long; could she please have this one thing? Sure it was one thing that would change all things, ever, but it was still one thing. She could have that, right?

The universe sure took its time with an answer. But one day, it came knocking…and Zew opened the door.

The door to the administrative office, that is. She'd been summoned there, along with her sister, on this Saturday afternoon. Zew was nervous, of course. What had she done wrong now? Was something about to go wrong? Or would the heavens finally decide to give her a break? There was only one way to find out, she figured...

A mare sat behind the long desk on the right-hoof side, peering over a pile of papers. Zew had met her before, of course—she was Mrs. Shelly, the cyan-furred administrator at the orphanage. She was a nice enough mare, but was also very business-oriented. Zew wouldn't say she disliked her, but she didn't really enjoy her company much either. Still, she wasn't the only sight to see in the office. To her and Zippi's surprise, sitting to the left on the other end of the desk, was a familiar mare with orange fur, a swooping blonde mane, and a bright smile.

"Zeta!" cheered Zippi before anypony else could speak. "Hey, uh…what brings you here?"

"I'd like to know that too," added Zew, nervously scratching at her nose as she stepped further into the room, uneasily hovering around an empty seat next to Zeta. "We've not been called here very often." Did she dare kindle that distant spark of hope buried deep in her chest?

Mrs. Shelly cleared her throat and magicked her brown hair out of her eyes. "I'll get straight to the point, then. You are being considered for adoption by a mare who requested you two specifically."

"Adoption?!" gasped Zew, staring wide-eyed at Zeta. She felt something warm spread through her body, filling her soul with a warmth she hadn't felt in ages. It was almost as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. A burden she had carried for so long had vanished without a trace. She let out a shaky breath and reached for one of Zeta's hooves, wrapping it tightly in her own. Her eyes were watering as she blinked rapidly, trying desperately to fight back the tears threatening to overflow. "You mean, we're getting adopted?! Like, today? Right now?"

"Yes, dear," said Mrs. Shelly, nodding. "It's standard procedure that we always check with adoptees first, just in case they have any objections. That's why I—"

"YES!" Zew blurted, even before Zippi, who was beginning to look both suspicious and misty-eyed at once, could say her piece. "I mean no, no objections! We want to—I mean, I want to—or I think we? want to—" She stopped, feeling awkward and unsure of what she should say next. She settled instead for hugging the hoof she held tight to her chest. She felt Zippi hug her in turn from behind, squeezing her tightly against her side. That sisterly bond that had kept them together all this time now felt somehow even stronger. Zeta said nothing for the moment, but did place her other foreleg atop Zew's head and began to gently rub back and forth.

"I'm so h-happy," whispered Zew, her voice threatening to break if she spoke any louder. "I don't care where our new home is, or how fancy it is, or what color the walls are. As long as we're together, I couldn't ask for more. I love you, Zippi."

"Me too, y-you nerd," replied Zippi, her voice wavering slightly. "And I don't care if i-it's a small house or a big one. As long as I can do my ultra-cool flips and tricks and stuff in the living room, it's all—"

"Enough of that," cut in Mrs. Shelly, cutting Zippi off mid-sentence. There was the part of her that Zew didn't like very much. Always acting so stern and formal, and never letting anyone get carried away with anything. "This isn't a playdate."

Zeta and Zew locked gazes as she pulled the twin sisters up to sit on the seat next to her, still side-by-side and hugging each other and Zeta alternatingly. Her eyes were kind, but blazed with a sort of teary-eyed fire that kindled as she shot a motherly smile at the two fillies. She then turned towards the curt administrator, and cleared her throat.

"With all due respect, Mrs...Shelly, was it?"

Mrs. Shelly nodded.

"Shut your fucking mouth."

Zew's mouth dropped along with Zippi's as Zeta launched to their defense.

"My daughters have been through so much for so long. If they want to cry and hug and talk until the sun goes down, you're going to let it happen, or I'm going to call the FPA and have them swarm this place so fast your ass will either be fired for your performance, in jail for allowing such rampant neglect, or both. Got it?" And then her smile returned, sweet as ever—but her eyes flashed a heavy warning. She wouldn’t be able to deal out justice, but the Foal Protection Agency would be able to.

Mrs. Shelly took a deep breath, her face reddening, her eyes blinking in disbelief. "Yes, ma'am. I understand."

"Good," said Zeta, looking back at her soon-to-be children. "Then let’s take it from here, shall we, girls?"

Zew smiled as she looked over at Zippi, who smiled right back, her eyes filled with warmth and hope. This was…this was it. Sure, there was a metric ton of paperwork yet to be done, but as far as the future went, everything else was just details. The rest would work itself out. All they had to do was hold onto each other, and that was something they'd already learned how to do well enough.

They were going to get to go home soon, and nothing was going to change that.

The next few hours passed in a blur; paper after paper, form after form, all of it took its toll on the three of them. But despite all the stress and tedium the twin sisters felt, none of it was anything compared to the joy of finally seeing the end of the line. They were almost home free, and the prospect made them feel like they could fly.

Finally, the last bit of paperwork was dealt with, and the twins found themselves stumbling towards the cafeteria, ready to enjoy some much-needed lunch and take a brief respite. Zeta carried with her the final certificate of adoption, the piece of paper that said “Congratulations, you're officially family now!” Even with it written down, Zew still couldn’t believe it. It was real. It wasn't just a dream, not anymore. Now, she and Zippi had a forever home, and as long as they stayed together, nothing else really mattered.

“You know,” Zeta said suddenly, breaking through the quiet din of the cafeteria, “I don’t think I can put into words how much I love you zirls. I know we just met, but I already feel such a connection—“

“Wait. Zirls?” Zew asked, tilting her head. Was this some sort of slang she was unfamiliar with?

Zeta grinned sheepishly. "Oops, slip of the tongue. You girls.”

“I actually like the sound of that!” Zippi chirped happily. “Rolls right off the tongue!”

Zeta laughed. "Yeah, I suppose I can see that. I mean, it does feel nice to say."

"It does, doesn't it?" Zew agreed, staring at Zeta. “Zeta and her two Zirls.” They went silent for several seconds, but it was more of a companionable silence. They were simply enjoying the moment.

"So what now?" Zippi asked, breaking the quietude. "How do we celebrate?"

Zeta giggled. "Well, I guess we should get something to eat first. After all, you haven't eaten all day."

Zew sighed, the weight of the day's events finally catching up with her. "That sounds like a great idea. I'm starving." Then she scrunched her nose up tightly as the smells of the dining area really hit her. “Wait…we don’t have to eat here anymore!” she exclaimed, tugging at Zeta’s forelegs. “I only brought us here out of reflex! We don’t—“

“Oh goodness no,” Zeta agreed, also wrinkling her snout as she saw a nearby plate of re-re-refried beans and mystery meat. “Let’s go somewhere more…appetizing. How about Hay Burger?”

Zew nodded…

…and Zippi shoved her aside and shouted, “Heck yeah!!”

And so, after dissolving into a small giggling fit, the new family set out to satiate the rumbling in their stomachs.

And life, at last, was good.

⁂