What's in a Name?

by IcarusFics

First published 29th of March, 2016

The naming dream is an extremely special thing for a prospective mother to have. Humans, however, aren't really supposed to get them. Especially if they're male.

It has been known since the dawn of written history, that the magic of the universe grants prospective pony mothers a wonderful gift. The naming dream. This dream not only helps the parents pick their foals name, but it also has the uncanny ability to form itself around whatever special talent the foal might have.

When I had my naming dream, I honestly had no idea what it was. I was also a dude. And a human. Probably should point that out.

__________

Contains: TF, TG, Pregnancy, Cute pone shenanigans, Clop in later chapters

Cover image by me!

Wowie zowie! Featured on 4/21/16 For a grand total of ten minutes. One day too late for 4/20, but oh well.

Featured again on
4/30/16
5/16/16
7/12/16
10/21/16

Chapter One

Every pony knows about the naming dreams. As a tiny little bundle of cells and magic begins to form in the prospective mother's womb, a certain recurring dream passes through her mind. It is always a quite simple dream, usually focusing on objects, places, colors, times of day, largely simple stuff that appears for extended periods of time during the dream. As the dreams continue to occur, it inevitably causes the mother to form certain words around those things in her mind. For example, if one were to dream of pumpkins, surrounded by growing plants, it is possible for the two words that the mother imagines to be something like “Pumpkin Sprout” or “Pumpkin Seed”. These dreams are well known as naming dreams, and those words that form are usually used as the name of the new foal.

No pony exactly knows where the magic comes from, but it’s rumored that the foal itself sends this dream to the mother subconsciously, thus causing the name to pertain to its destiny and talent. How else would ponies be named after something related to their talent?

Look at me, getting ahead of myself. We're not here to talk about the magic of foal birth, in both the literal and figurative manner. What we’re here to talk about is my naming dream. Although, I must admit, mine was a little… Different than others. You see, when I had my dream, I was a human. And a dude. Probably should point that out.

------

I jolted awake in my bed, sweat dripping from my brow. I sat, shirtless, in my bed, panting from the weird dream I had experienced. Seriously? The same dream again? What was this, the sixth time? I wiped myself down and tried to calm down, my heartbeat slowing and my breathing returning to normal.

My cat, Simon, leapt onto the bed and mewled pitifully. He had the same grumpy look on his face that he always did, the look that said “Feed me. I yearn for sustenance.”

I chuckled and picked up the mangy tabby up before moving him off the bed and onto the floor. I pulled myself up and out of bed, a few joints popping as I stretched outward. A small mew reminded me of my cat's insatiable hunger and I trudged out of my room toward the kitchen. I sleepily pulled out the box of cat food and poured it out into his bowl, not bothering with a measure. I'm sure he'd live if I fed him a little bit too much, and I most definitely wasn't feeding the fatso too little. He purred appreciatively and rubbed his head against my hand before digging into his breakfast.

Breakfast… Mmmm, sounds good right now. I swung open the fridge and started searching for something to eat. There wasn't much in there besides milk, eggs, some bacon, and leftovers from last night's meal. I huffed, disappointed at what I had as a selection and decided on bacon and eggs. Before pulling the eggs and bacon out to cook, I quickly scribbled down a big “EVERYTHING” on my shopping list

Before long, my bacon and eggs were done and I browsed through my phone for jobs while I ate. Retail assistant? Fuck, they want years of experience. Cashier? Experience. Trainee barista? Three years of experience. What the hell? Cut me a break, will you?

I locked my phone and slid it into my pocket, done with my job search for today. I finished my breakfast and after a two second cleanup, I decided to make myself a coffee and sit on the balcony.

I opened the shitty sliding door to the tiny balcony and leant up against the rail, staring down at the city below. I kinda liked doing this on early winters mornings, sipping my coffee and staring out at the street below. Almost made me feel like I was in some movie. The young, handsome protagonist, who lives his boring life, day after day, except one day, *insert movie plot here*. I laughed at the daydream. Movies aren't real. “Protagonists” don't exist. My life was was a boring monotony. Maybe I'd get a job, a wife, whatever, but after that, I'd go back to the same old boring monotony, now just with different wallpaper.

It's not really healthy to think like this, is it? If I had a shrink or something to talk to, then they'd probably prescribe me with various heavy doses of anti-psychotics, anti-depressants, anti-everything drugs. Honestly, a lobotomy might do me some good. Wouldn't have to worry about these nightmares, at least.

I finished my coffee and walked inside, picking up my phone and sitting down on my couch. As I sat, Simon joined me and curled up into a little ball on my lap. I silently “D’awwww’d” at the sight and then went back to my phone.

News was pretty much what I had come to expect. A bunch of increasingly stupid people vying for leadership of our great and glorious nation, the most recent celebrity scandal, various stupid and inconsequential articles that flooded every news site. Surely there must be something worthwhile to report about, right? Surely, a terror threat, a missing plane, zombies, a whole bunch of people disappearing around the world… Wait, what was that last one?

Gah, nevermind. Just some clickbait bullshit. I put down my phone and yawned, glancing down at the clock as I stretched back. Shit, 10 am? Had I really been doing nothing for the last two hours? As I finished yawning, I heard a quiet buzz coming from the cushion next to me. I picked up my phone and saw the name and face of one of my friends pop up on the screen. Jack. Great, what did he want?

“Yo, Jack. What’s up.”

“Hey man, I need your help.” A feminine voice spoke out from the other side.

“Oh, uh, hey miss. You Jack’s lady friend?”

“What? No!”

“Oh, so you’re a friend? Sister?”

“No and no! I’m… Jesus fucking christ, Alex, it’s me! It’s Jack!”

I let out a little laugh.

“Oh, I see. So is this your way of coming out to me? Proud of you, man.”

“Shut the fuck up, Alex! I’m not coming out to you! Please, just… Just come over, okay? I need your help.”

I scratched my chin, feeling the day old stubble. I looked down at myself and realized just how filthy I was.

“Uh, do you mind if I get cleaned up a little first?”

“Fine, yes, but please hurry. I’m freaking out over here.”

“Be over asap.”

I hung up and put my phone down before standing up and groggily walking to the bathroom. What the hell was going on? Was Jack sick? Was that why he sounded like that? I shook my head and began to shave, watching the light shadow of stubble disappear. I took my clothes off and washed myself quickly, before throwing some fresh clothes on.

I stepped out the door and into the Brisk morning Breeze. Luckily, it was only the very beginning of winter, otherwise I would have been freezing. My windcheater and longsleeve shirt was good enough for today and I began my short walk over to Jack’s apartment. I sighed happily as the fresh air filled my lungs. It was mixed in a little with the strange city smelling air that was always present, but the Breeze was just right this morning and mostly canceled out the stale city smell.

I felt like doing Jack a favor and dropped by the coffee shop half way between mine and his. I ordered him a coffee just the way he liked it and bought one for myself as well. I had my shitty coffee before, and I knew I would regret having two, but the coffee at that place was too good to resist.

I pushed down the buzzer to Jack’s apartment and after a short while, heard a voice speak out.

“He-hello?” A voice, similar to what jack had sounded like before spoke out, but now it was very clear he was trying to make his voice as low as possible.

“Hey nerd, buzz me in. I have coffee.”

There was a small pause before I heard the buzzer go off and I pushed the door to the apartment block open. As I reached his door I knocked lightly before waiting for a response. At first I heard nothing, then what sounded like footsteps, and finally, a large crashing sound as a few glasses and mugs seemingly shattered on the floor.

“Sorry!” The girly voice called out.

“Jack?”

“Gimme a second! Sorry, sorry!” I could hear her call out as sounds of glass being swept up from behind the door.

All of a sudden, the door swung open… And no-one was there. I leant in and glanced around the room, unable to see anyone.

“Jack?” I called out.

“Here, dumbass.” I heard the voice again.

I looked around the room and stepped forward only for my foot to bump against something soft that let out a little “Eep!” As I hit it. I looked down and saw a little pink cartoon horse plush toy. Or at least, it would have looked exactly like a plush toy if it weren’t for the fact that it was moving. And scowling at me.

“H-holy fuck.”

“Yeah, asshole. I’m a fucking tiny horse.”

“J-Jack?”

She rolled her eyes and tried to pull herself up to her hooves only to fall down, letting out another cute “Eep” as she did.

“Do you want some help?” I offered, only for her to look up at me and scowl again.

“Just… Just get in and close the door. I don’t want anyone seeing me like… Like this.”

I quickly moved into his (her?) apartment and closed the door behind me. Luckily I did close the door when I did as I saw an old lady step out of her home just the door shut. Turning around, I watched as the little Jack-horse stumbled forward, hooves slipping around on the tile floor. That explains the shattering glass before.

“Shit… I do hope you plan on explaining this stuff, right?”

She turned around with a look of worry on her face before continuing on to the living room and sitting on the couch. I apprehensively followed, still looking around the room to see anything out of place, but there was nothing different to what was usually here. Well, besides the fluffy horse thing. I sat down on the couch next to her and stiffly handed her the coffee. She muttered a quiet thanks and took it with both hooves, placing it on the coffee table and taking small sips.

“So.” I broke the silence. “Mind telling me what’s going on?”

“Alex, please… I don’t know what’s going on.” She nervously rubbed her hooves together.

“How can you not know what’s happened to you? You don’t just wake up, am horse!”

“Well I did! I don’t know how it happened, it just did, okay?” She shouted, before lowering her voice down to an almost whisper.

“Okay, fine. So you’re not fucking with me, right? You’re actually Jack? Not some animatronic that he’s using to play a prank on me?”

“No, I’m not an animatronic. Yes, I am really Jack, and no, this is not a joke.”

“You’re a… Horse.”

“Yes.”

“And a girl.”

“...Yes. At least, I’m 90% sure I am. I’m not looking down there until I absolutely have to.”

I breathed out heavily and leant back on the couch. This was for real, wasn’t it? It wasn’t a dream? I pinched myself to test, and yep. Not a dream.

“So…” I said, twiddling my thumbs. “What do you want me to do about it?”

She looked at me, shocked. “Look man, I don’t expect you to fix it, okay? I called you because you’re a good friend and I was panicking! What did you expect me to do, go on with my day!?”

“Well, no… I just… I guess I can help you, I just don’t know how.”

“Thanks. I’m sorry for shouting at you, I’m just super fucking scared. I just… I needed a friend. And I’m out of food.”

I chuckled and pushed myself up.

“Who knew I’d be doing errands for a tiny little pony. Not too much of a bother, I gotta grab some food for my apartment too, so I’ll get you some when I’m out. How long did you want me to hang around for?”

“Hang around…? Uh… I was kinda hoping I could come over to yours for a while. Until this wears off or something.”

“Stay at mine? Dude, there’s hardly enough space for me and Simon, let alone another pet.”

“Hey! I’m not a pet!”

I brought my hands up in defense.

“Hey, sorry, didn’t mean to offend. What I meant is that you’re pet size, and until you turn back, you won’t really be able to do any of your own cooking, washing, cleaning, etcetera.”

“Uh, I think I can clean like this. Maybe? I dunno, I don’t really eat much besides hot pockets and frozen pizza’s, so as long as you don’t mind maybe putting them in the microwave for me, I’ll be fine.”

I looked at Jack and sighed. As much as I enjoyed messing with her, it definitely wasn’t the time to do it now. She looked legitimately distressed, and rightly so. I could only imagine what I would be like if I had my body ripped away from me.

“Okay, you can stay.”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” She leapt forward and threw her hooves around me, pulling me into a hug. Before I could really even react, she pulled away and looked ahead nervously.

“Uh, sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She mumbled out. “Thanks for letting me stay, Alex. It really means a lot to me.”

“No problem, no stress.” I smiled at her. It really wasn’t very much like Jack to act like that when he was still… Well, when she was actually a he. I assumed that it probably had something to do with turning into a horse, and I could definitely see myself acting a little uncharacteristically if I was suddenly a little pony thing.

“So, there anything you want to bring with you before we head off?” I said, breaking the awkward silence.

“Yeah, my laptop, phone, and… Uh… My... hairpin.” She trailed off quietly at the end.

“Your what? Speak up, man.”

“My… Hairpin.”

“Hairpin? I didn’t know you had a hairpin.”

“It’s my mum's, okay? Not really mine. It’s the last thing I have left from her, so don’t make fun of me.”

“Hey, no worries man, just didn’t know you had one.”

“Thanks. It’s on top of the shelf in my room, if you could grab that while I get the rest of my stuff, that’d be great.”

I grinned and gave Jack a thumbs up before lifting myself off the couch and heading toward her room. I had been in this house enough times that I knew the cupboard she was talking about and opened it up, finding a small jewelry box up the top. I pulled it down and opened it up, revealing a beautiful, white, flower shaped pin. It was made of white gold and enamel with thin metal stamens in the center, tipped with yellow gemstones. Wow, this pin really was incredible. Even if Jack bought it for herself, I wouldn’t make fun of her. I wonder…

As I walked out of Jack’s room, I found her packing a few electronics and books into a duffle bag double the size of herself. I snuck up behind her and as she lifted her head up, I reached downward and pinned the flower on her head.

“H-hey!” She looked up at me. “What did you do?”

“Oh, nothing. Just made you look pretty.”

“Wh-what the hell are you talking about?” She said with a blush, bringing a hoof up to her hair and finding the hair pin.

“Alex, why did you put the pin in my hair? I-I don’t want to wear it, I just want to keep it.”

“Nope.” I folded my arms. “It’s a condition of staying at my house. You wear the cute pin, or you live on the streets.”

“A-Alex! Are you serious?”

“Yep.” I grinned even wider and she scowled even harder. As she was frowning, I looked down at her and saw something that I hadn’t realized before. On the side of her hips was a symbol, almost dyed into her fur. It was three flowers, almost identical to the one in her hair and was mirrored on both sides.

“Dude, you got flowers tattooed on your ass.”

She rolled her eyes.

“They’re Lilies, and I know that they’re there. It only proves that I should take this s-silly pin out.”

“Nah, I think it almost completes the picture, ya know?”

She huffed and looked away from me, continuing to lift items into the bag by her mouth. As the bag got bigger and bigger, it became more and more obvious that she wasn’t going to be able to carry it.

“You do know that bag is going to be way too heavy right?”

She froze and looked down at the bag before letting her head droop and sighing.

“Yeah… I was putting off asking you, but… Could you carry me there?”

“What, like a little baby?”

“No, asshole. Like, in the bag.”

I glanced between her and the bag. It was definitely big enough to hold her, and the amount of stuff she had put in there definitely left enough room.

“In the bag? You sure? Probably not the most comfortable ride.”

“I know, but I’m not going outside like this, and I am NOT pretending to be your pet.”

“Hey, I said nothing about it, you just assumed.”

She scowled at me, before relaxing her face and looking down sadly at the floor.

“Look, Alex… I’m really sorry that you have to do this. Trust me, If I didn’t think of you as such a great friend, and if I wasn’t in such a dire situation, I wouldn’t ask for so much. But… I am in a dire situation. I’m confused, I’m scared, and I just need a good friend who I trust to help me while I figure this stuff out.”

“Hey, I’m sorry too. I… I know I have a tendency to joke around a lot of things, and you know from experience that I do this whenever shit gets real. I do care about you, man, and I’m sorry that this crap has happened. I promise that I’ll try to joke around a little less.”

She smiled warmly and walked toward me, wrapping a hoof around my leg.

“Thanks, Alex. It means a lot.”

“Oh, yeah.” I added. “You don’t actually have to wear the pin to live at my house. That was a joke too.”

“No! Uh, I mean, I kinda… Like it.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow but shrugged in acceptance anyway. “Cool, no problem. So when did you wanna head off?”

“Well, I gotta drop in the payment for this month's rent, call in sick for work, and then we can go. Hopefully I don’t get fired for this, but… Honestly, there’s not much else I can do.”

“Fair enough, I wouldn’t expect your boss to believe that you’ve contracted “Acute Pony-itis.”.”

“A-cute-pony-itis? Real fucking funny.” She said sarcastically but laughed all the same.

------

After a short trip to the landlord's office and a very awkward phone conversation between Jack and her boss, we were on our way back to my apartment. I could feel her wiggle around and grunt every once and awhile, clearly struggling to stay comfortable in that claustrophobic environment. I tried to keep the bag as stable as possible, but unfortunately, I didn’t really have a choice when walking up the stairs. As soon as I pushed open the door, I placed the bag on the floor and unzipped it, letting Jack jump out and breath in deeply.

“Ah! Fresh air, thank jeebus!” She sniffed in heavily before stopping, now noticing my half eaten dinner from last night on the kitchen bench that I hadn’t bothered to clean up yet.

“Really, man? And you were worried about me not cleaning up. You hardly seem to do any of your own.”

“Hey! I take great pride in the miniature society I have growing in my coffee mug.”

She giggled and walked through the apartment to the couch, jumping up and sitting down. I carried the bag over to the couch for her and pulled out the basics she had brought with her, plugging her laptop into the wall and handing her the phone. She looked at it nervously before looking up at me and raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, right. Hooves.” I put the phone down.

“So what do you want for dinner?” I asked. “I don’t feel like going out shopping tonight, so we’ll grab some takeaway.”

“Hmm… How about chinese? I don’t really think I need as much food as I did before, so it won’t cost us too much.”

“Us?”

“Well, yeah. I’m gonna be putting money toward food and stuff.”

“Honestly, you don’t need to.”

“I’m gonna be the one eating your food, using your power, taking up your space, so I can at least put some money in.”

I sat back in admission.

“Sure, that’s fine. So, chinese take-away?”

“Sounds good man.”

------

I was surrounded by rushing winds, standing on top of a mountain. I knew this place, and I had had this dream before. The details of the dream were vivid and beautiful, and I was strangely lucid. Every time I had this dream in the past, I couldn’t control my actions or remember the last time I had been in the dream. I glanced over the edge of the cliff before backing up a bit. I knew what happened in these dreams. Every time, I jumped off and fell to my death. Or at least, fell until I woke up. This time, there wasn’t the drive to jump at all.

“Ah, a naming dream. I haven’t dream walked into a naming dream since I was reformed.” A deep, strong, but distinctly female voice spoke out from behind me. I spun around and came face to face with a huge, dark blue horse with huge wings and a long, sharp looking horn sticking out of it’s head. It’s mane was absolutely mesmerising as it flowed like magic and sparkled in the sun, almost like stars. Oh shit, they were stars.

“Wh-what? Who are you?”

“Who am I?” She looked a little confused, before shaking her head. “I am Princess Luna, Keeper of the Night.”

“Princess? You’re a princess?”

“Yes, and I drift between dreams of ponies in distress. I sensed that this dream was distressing, but had no idea it would be a naming dream. Is it the health of your foal that you’re worried about? Or your future with your foal?”

“F-foal? What are you t-talking about?” I stammered out.

“Do you not know?” She asked and I shook my head. “Oh dear. This dream is a naming dream. It is the dream that pregnant mares experience before giving birth to a foal that helps form a name around your foals destiny.”

“What are you talking about, “Pregnant”?

“Oh. You really don’t know? Uh, you see, when a mare and a stallion love each other, they have the option to make love. When they do so, the mare becomes pregnant, and in nine to twelve months, they will give birth to a-”

“I know what pregnancy is! What I’m saying is that I’m a man, and I’m most certainly not a horse.”

“You’re… What?” The princess glanced at me, confused.

“I’m not a mare. I can’t get pregnant and I have no idea what this dream is! I bet it’s just all that shit yesterday with Jack. Fucking tiny pony shit.”

“Jack? Who is this “Jack”?”

“He- or well, I guess, She turned into some tiny little pony thing yesterday. She’s also a girl now, I guess. Kinda… Kinda like you. But smaller. And no horn or wings.”

The princess stood still with a contemplative frown on her face. I could tell she was deep in thought and I waved my hand in front of her.

“Hello? Princess lady?”

There was a loud pop and all of a sudden, the horse Princess was nowhere to be seen.

My mind suddenly became fuzzy again and I felt a weird sensation come over me. Almost like my consciousness was slipping away, but I wasn’t any less or more awake feeling. I began to involuntarily take some steps, turning slowly toward the cliff. As I stepped forward, I tried to reign control of my dream again, but the fogginess was becoming stronger and stronger. As my dream self approached the edge of the cliff, I closed my eyes and prepared myself for the fall that was sure to come.

My feet left the floor.

But I didn’t fall. I opened my eyes again to see myself floating, or more realistically, flying. As the last inklings of consciousness left me, I wasn’t filled with the fear that I had felt toward the end of all of these dreams. I was filled with joy.

------

I woke up, the smell of coffee wafting in through to the living room from the kitchen. I pushed myself up and rubbed my eyes free of any remaining gunk. I breathed in deeply, enjoying the scent of coffee just as I awoke. I sleepily looked over to the kitchen and saw Jack mixing a coffee with her mouth.

I yawned and smacked my lips loudly, trying to wake myself up. Jack turned to me from her coffee making and immediately dropped what she was doing to run over to me.

“A-alex! You’re u-up! H-hehe, uh, that’s g-great! Here’s your coffee!”

She placed the coffee on the table in front of me. I opened my mouth up to talk but a hoof shot forward and covered my mouth.

“Wait. Before you say anything, you… You gotta know that I had nothing to do with this, okay?”

“Nothing to do with what?” I said.

Or maybe, I didn’t. It definitely wasn’t me speaking.

“Jack, is someone else-” I froze. The voice was saying what I was saying. Exactly.

“Like I said, Alex. I had nothing to do with this.”

I looked down at my body and saw that my chest was covered in fur. Looking down at my limbs, I could now see that they ended in small stumps. Hooves.

“What. The. Fuck.” I said between gritted teeth. There was something weird about this voice as well. It kinda sounded different. Almost… Feminine.

Oh fuck. I pulled my legs apart and stared downward.

“FUUUUUUUUUUCK!”

Author's Notes:

Honestly, not too sure where this story is going. I usually have a story skeleton written out, but i've decided to take this one in a more free form direction. Hope you all enjoy.

Chapter Two

Author's Notes:

Disclaimer, as I've had many comments about this:
In my version of this universe, the ponies are vegetarian. They evolved in a world where 99% of the species were sapient, so it would also be considered evil to kill and eat these intelligent animals regardless. The terrible smell is there to discourage them from eating meat, regardless of whether they want to or not.

“Alex!”

I rolled over in my bed and pulled my pillow over my head only for it to hiss at me and run away. I let my head fall down to the bed and groaned in protest to being woken.

“Alex, wake up.”

“No… Five more minutes, mum…”

Suddenly, a huge rush of cold covered my head, causing me to jolt up. I felt water drip down from my hair and down into my mouth, causing me to sputter in surprise.

“What the hell was that for!?” I shouted, my voice awkwardly squeaking as I did.

“To wake you up, idiot You fell asleep on the couch, woke up like this, and freaked out.” The girl in front of me said, matter of factly.

“I would have woken up eventually.” I said and cleared my throat, trying to get the weird sound of my voice to stop.

“Are you okay now? You not gonna pass out on me again?”

“What are you-”

Oh wait.

Memories of what happened yesterday returned to me in a rush. The whole “Jack being a pony” thing and then my freakout after it happened to me as well.

“U-uh, no… At least, I don’t think I will.”

I slowly lowered my head and took in the form that my body had taken on. My… Fur? I guess that’s what it was. My fur was a bright beige-yellow colour and was strangely comfortable feeling, just surrounding my whole body in an aura of warmth, even if I was covered in water right now. Between my legs was- No! Not that type of between my legs. Look a little further back.

My tail.

Woah. I flexed a muscle that I didn’t even know I had and the slightly damp, but still quite pretty looking red tail swished back and forth.

What really surprised me the most was that, just like Jack, I had a small mark on my hips in the shape of a flower. It was a singular, beautiful rose, with a green stem and leaves. Looking at the mark filled me with a strange sensation, one I didn't really have much experience with before. Pride.

“H-holy fuck. This is real.” I deadpanned.

“Yeah, Alex. You better get used to this.”

“H-how did this even happen!?”

“I dunno. As I said, I have no idea what caused it or anything about it. I just woke up and suddenly, was like this.”

My mind rushed for answers that weren’t there. What if… What if she was contagious? I came over to her house to help her out and ended up turning into the same thing that she was.

“Y-you’re sick!” I pointed at her with my hoof.

“Wh-what!? I’m not sick!”

“Then how else do you explain this, huh? I turn up to your house, and you’re a horse! I… I breathed the air you breathed. I touched you. I got this from you. What if it doesn’t stop with us? What if we spread it to the whole world!?” I could feel my pupils contract to pinpricks.

“Alex, stop freaking out! I’m not sick, okay? This shit doesn’t happen from diseases. You don’t switch genders and you most certainly do not turn into a pony!” She screamed, her eyes now glazed a bit from the building tears.

“You… You sure?” I said apprehensively, letting my breathing and heart rate slow. Jack sighed and lowered her head, worry covering her face as she did.

“No, I’m not sure, but there’s nothing we can do about it now except for just deal with it and try to figure out what happened.”

I nodded, drips of water still falling from my hair.

“Should probably get myself dried, I guess.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” She rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “Did you need any help getting down?”

“Getting down?”

I looked over the edge of the couch, only just realizing now how small I really was. Peering off the edge of the couch seemed almost like looming over a cliff. I tentatively put a hoof out and began scooting forward off the edge of the couch. As I moved forward, one of my new back legs got caught on part of the couch and I tripped, smacking my face onto the floor heavily.

“Alex!” Jack ran to my side and put a hoof under my armpit. She pulled me upward as I tried to push myself up, the muscles my mind was controlling not exactly responding as they usually did. I still felt like I had all of the parts I usually had (besides one very special part) they just felt almost… Displaced. Like my back legs were really short and the large majority of my leg was now my foot. My forelegs were a little closer to what my arms and hands had been like before, just missing the tiny little spaghetti fingers I was used to seeing there.

I wobbled clumsily as Jack helped me to my feet, almost falling over a few times before I finally felt like I had regained a semblance of balance. I tried to take a step forward, but slipped as I did, removing weight from the wrong area and tripping over. Lucky for me, Jack was still holding on to me, and that stopped me from getting yet another taste of the carpet this morning. I looked over and smiled appreciatively. She smiled back and we continued on our way to the bathroom.

It was so strange try to learn how to walk in this body. I had no idea what hoof to put forward, and in what order. I watched Jack walk next to me and managed to vaguely follow along, which helped greatly. By the time we got to the bathroom, I almost felt comfortable enough to walk a few metres on my own. Maybe not just yet, I thought to myself after taking another small tumble on a loose tile.

Jack helped me pull a towel from the closet in the bathroom and I pretty much wrapped myself in it completely as I dried my wet hair and fur. After a short while, I was done and we walked back to the couch together.

“So.” Jack jumped onto the couch next to me after helping me up. “What now.”

Good question. What the hell could we do like this? We looked almost like tiny dogs with dyed fur and comically oversized eyes like this, so we couldn't exactly go outside. We had hardly any food left in the fridge, possibly some frozen meals and the few things that I had used some of for breakfast this morning.

The thought of breakfast made my stomach let out an audible growl which triggered a giggle from Jack.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing, just even your stomach growling sounds cute like this.”

“I am not cute.”

She laughed loudly, attempting to stifle it with a hoof.

“Payback for calling me cute before.”

I pursed my lips and glanced up at her hair, noticing that the pin was still there. I raised an eyebrow and was about to point out that she had insisted on wearing it, but decided to drop it. Honestly, any form of comfort was better than feeling completely alienated by this situation. If that made her happy, then good for her.

“So, there any food around?” Jack said, looking toward the kitchen.

“Some. I was going to go grab some food this morning, but… that probably won't be happening any time soon.”

“Crap. What do we have?”

“Uh, eggs, bacon, some milk, possibly some frozen vegetables or pre packed crap in the freezer.”

Jack put her hooves together and hummed.

“Some bacon sounds pretty good right now.”

I nodded in agreeance and pushed myself toward the edge of the couch again. I slid off successfully this time and with relatively little wobbling, regained balance and began walking toward the kitchen.

“You sure you don't want help walking there?” Jack called out, jumping down from the couch to catch up with me.

I walked forward cautiously, but was definitely getting the hang of it so I shook my head.

“I think I should be fine. Gotta learn to do it on my own some time soon.”

The walk to the kitchen, while only a few metres in reality, felt like fifty, not only due to the fact that I sucked at walking, but my substantially smaller size also made the room seem so much bigger.

I eventually reached the kitchen and with a little help from Jack, I managed to pull myself up onto the kitchen stool that we moved in front of the stove..

“Okay, now that I'm up here, did you wanna grab the stuff and I'll cook?” I asked Jack and she nodded in return.

Jack pulled out the ingredients and cooking utensils before bringing them to me. I lit the stove carefully and placed the frying pan down. It took a little bit of fumbling before I got it out, but I eventually pulled out a few slices of bacon from the packaging and threw them in the pan.

I sighed with satisfaction as I heard the sizzle of the bacon beginning to cook. I just couldn't wait, I was absolutely starving.

“Hey Alex, do you…” Jack said, sniffing the air. “Ugh. Do you smell that?”

I breathed in through my nose and was instantly greeted with a pungent odor coming from somewhere in the room.

“Ugh!” I recoiled. “What the hell is that?”

Jack walked around the room holding her breath as I glanced around from my perch. The smell seemed to be getting more and more intense, more and more rancid as time went on.

“This is gross!” Jack exclaimed while struggling to open the door to the balcony. The fresh air it let in certainly seemed to help a little, but the smell was still getting more and more intense. I turned back to the bacon the check on it only for the smell to increase tenfold. Curious, I brought my head closer to the pan and took a sniff.

My stomach felt like it just about ready to jump out my mouth and I gagged uncontrollably from the smell.

It was the bacon! What the fuck! In a blind panic, I grabbed the pan handle in my mouth and tipped the bacon into the sink before turning on the tap and covering the bacon in water. It helped diffuse the immediate stink, but the smell still lingered.

I hopped down and stumbled over to Jack, pushing her out onto the balcony with a hoof before shutting the door behind us. We both breathed in heavily, relishing the gift of fresh air that mother nature was granting us.

“Oh god!” Jack gasped out between breaths. “What was that!?”

“It was the fucking bacon, man!”

“The bacon?”

“Yeah! For some reason, it just stank like fucking rot!” I gagged at even the thought of the smell.

“Why? Was it off or something?”

“I bought it three days ago, there's no way.”

“Wait, can horses eat meat?”

I scratched my chin.

“Uh, maybe? I dunno.”

“Do you think… being a pony has stopped us from being able to eat meat?” She said, her voice filling with fear.

“What!?” My mind had gone blank. “N-no bacon…?”

Jack dropped to her knees and tears began to form in her eyes.

“Noooooooooo!” I screamed out over the balcony while jack began to writhe on the floor next to me.

“The horror! The horror!”

------

After we had calmed ourselves and accepted the fact that our existence was now a bacon free one, Jack and I finally let ourselves relax a little. It was still quite early in the morning and the Breeze was definitely relaxing. The sun was shining lazily on us as we sat on the few chairs I had out there.

This whole situation was honestly starting to grow on me. Don't get me wrong, I wanted my old body back, dick and all, but I found myself strangely enjoying this. It was… exciting! I mean, when does this kind of stuff happen? To anyone? Ever? It was just what I had been looking for. Something that was exciting and strange, but also meant that I didn't have to go outside and socialize with anyone. My perfect type of adventure.

I was still hungry from before, but the smell of the bacon had been so off putting that I think it spoiled my appetite. As I said that, my stomach growled again. Okay, maybe my appetite wasn't completely spoiled. I was pretty sure that I could still eat eggs, right? Regardless, I kinda felt like eating some of the leftover Chinese food for breakfast. Good thing I really liked the vegetarian dishes from there more than the meat ones.

I looked over to Jack and sighed in relaxed satisfaction I was presented with the option to either go get some food and interrupt our relaxation time together, or to just stay out here with her and stay hungry for a little longer. Both were equally as enticing, but I decided to get up and grab some food. We could always come back out here after eating.

I stood up and stepped down carefully from the chair. It was even higher up from the ground than the couch was, but I was getting the hang of how to move with these tiny, shitty limbs. Once I was down, I yawned and stretched my body outwards, Jack stepping down from her chair as well.

“So, you think the smell is gone?” She asked.

“Eh, probably not completely. It’s in the sink right now, so i’ll have to go throw it in the bin. Not too sure how I’m gonna do that without hands, but I’m gonna have to figure it out somehow.” I said as I opened the door precautiously, awaiting the horrible smell.

The air inside still had a hint of the rancid bacon, but was substantially less intense than I thought it would be. As I approached the sink, I was given a reason as to why. Leaning into the sink, head first, was Simon, who currently had a mouthful of bacon.

“Heheh, good kitty, Simon. Sorry for not feeding you before.”

The tabby mewed happily, not seeming to care now that he had bacon instead of dry cat food.

“Well, I guess that kinda answers our theory.” Jack said as she walked beside me. “Simon can eat the bacon, so it must just be us now. Damn.”

With the bacon now sitting in my cat's belly, the fresh breeze soon cleared out the remaining horrid smell and left the room almost stink free. I walked toward the couch and was about to sit on it when I noticed the wet spot from when Jack had “woken me up” before.

I decided against sitting there right now and instead, made my way to the fridge. I opened it and after pulling myself up a bit, managed to grab ahold of the leftover Chinese food and pulled it out.

I hopped up on the stool again with the assistance of jack and threw the takeaway containers in the microwave. After a minute or two, I opened it up to the incredible smell of leftover takeaway.

I pulled it out, being careful of the heat, and placed it on a plate. I handed it down to Jack before jumping down myself and heading to the kitchen table.

Eating was super strange as a pony. I had watched Jack eat last night and tried my hardest to emulate. She had gotten quite embarrassed when I looked at her before, but observing her eat was definitely helping right now.

I was both using my tongue and lower part of my mouth to scoop up the food before chewing. My new tongue was surprisingly dexterous and managed to work almost like a limb in my mouth from how flexible and useful it was. It was gross thinking about using it for anything else, but it felt like it could definitely help me carry stuff sound or do finer motor functions without hands.

Soon enough, our bellies were full and we were satisfied. I sighed in relief, finally fed, and made my way back to the now dry couch. Jack and Simon both followed me there and jumped up beside me. As Simon landed on the cushion, I noticed just how big he was. Or more realistically, how tiny I was. With my new size, he was only a small amount shorter than myself and Jack, which felt very weird. I knew we were small, but where we really that small? I guess so.

I was lost in thought when Jack spoke up.

“Hey, you alright Alex?”

“Huh?” I snapped out of my stupor. “Oh, uh, yeah. Just thinking.”

“About what?” Jack scooted a little closer to talk to me.

“I don't know, really. I’ve been kinda thinking about our ass tattoos I guess.”

“These?” She looked back at the three lilies she had plastered on her flank. “I don't really know what they mean, but looking at it makes me feel all weird though. Like I did something to earn it.”

I nodded.

“I get what you mean. Like some strange sense of undeserved pride. Of all the weird shit that has happened over the last couple of days, these marks are kinda the most strange thing that appeared.”

“But that’s the thing…” Jack said quietly. “I didn’t earn this mark. So why do I feel like I did?”

“I…” I paused, unsure of what to say. I knew what she meant, the feeling of pride that I felt when looking down at the rose I had on my butt. It was so strange to not know why I was feeling it, but to still feel it. “I guess it’s kinda better than being proud of nothing.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… My whole life I’ve done nothing, you know? I finished high school only to get a job flipping burgers for four years. I moved out here to try and find a job, and the only reason I haven’t been kicked out of this apartment is that I’m draining my savings completely. I’m just… I’m a waste of space, and I should not feel “proud” of anything, especially not an ass tattoo.”

Jack sat silently, nodding as I spoke and her eyes beginning to tear up.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you or anything.”

She wiped her eyes and forced a smile.

“No, no, it’s… It’s fine.” She sniffed out. “I just… I kinda did the same thing. I mean, you know, we met at a fucking bar for fucks sake. How many people go to a bar alone to do anything but be with friends, hook up with a girl or drink their worries away? You are really one of the only friends I have, and… Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For being a friend, d-dummy. You are the one person who was willing to talk to me, even if you only started up a conversation because you were “Bored”. I… I don’t think I ever asked what you were doing at the bar that night?”

“I was…” I didn’t really want to say it, but I trusted Jack. “I was stood up. I had been waiting at a restaurant for the past two hours, waiting for her to turn up.”

“I-I’m sorry, man, you don’t have to-”

“No.” I interrupted. I looked down at my hooves before continuing. “I owe you this much. I got tired of waiting, knowing that she wasn’t coming, so I went to the bar. Just felt like I really needed a drink, y’know? I saw you there, and you just looked super bored. You didn’t have anyone else around you and you were just staring off into the distance, blankly. You kinda know what happened from then.”

I looked back up only to see even more tears coming from her.

“What’s wrong?” I said, worry in my voice.

“N-nothing, I… I just never thanked you before today and I really should have… I think I kinda owe you an explanation as to why I was there. I… was going to do something that I really shouldn’t have done. I knew it was a mistake, but I was just so… alone. Have you ever had a group of friends who you thought would never abandon you.”

I stayed silent.

“I did. We were friends all the way through school. We went out every weekend, we played video games together, all that kinda stuff. I just never… Never thought that I could do something so mundane and have them all leave me. I was going to… Hurt myself.”

She paused for a while to wipe the tears from her eyes. I took this opportunity to move closer and put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked up and me and I gave her an encouraging smile, or at least, tried to. It seemed to work and she smiled back at me.

“T-thanks.” She finished wiping the tears away and continued. “I never thought… I never thought being bisexual could cause so much hate, you know?”

She was bi? I mean, I kinda always thought she might be, but I never took the time to ask. That was her business, not mine.

“Y-you don’t hate me, do you?” She muttered nervously.

“O-of course not! Dude, you’re my best friend. You’re my… Only friend.” Now it was my turn to feel my eyes sting a little as tears began to build up. “I’m s-serious. Something like that is not going to make me feel any different about you.”

Jack smiled brightly through her tears and threw herself onto me, hugging me tightly. It was a bit of a shock seeing her act like this, but I returned the affection all the same. I could tell she needed this, and turning into an entirely different species was traumatic enough without me making it harder for her.

“Th-thanks.”

“You already said that, Jack.”

“Uh, sorry.”

I poked her in the nose with a hoof, which seemed to confuse her a bit.

“Stop apologizing too. You don’t have a reason to.”

She laughed nervously and muttered out another sorry.

“So. What now?” I said after a short while.

“Uh, I guess we could look up what’s happening to us on the Internet?”

“The Internet? You do know we're gonna get some really weird stuff if we search “Suddenly turning into small horse”, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Got a better idea?”

“I guess not.” I laughed lightly and picked up my phone between my hooves.

“Uh, hate to tell you, Alex, but hooves don't work on the touch screen. I only managed to call you after fumbling with the phone for half an hour, trying to use my nose to call you.”

Crap. Forgot about that.

“The best we can really do is use the laptop.” Jack continued. “I guess I can use a pen in my mouth to type.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

------

Clearly not the best plan, unfortunately. We spent hours trying to get the laptop to do what we told it to and even once we finally got it to search what we wanted, the results were exactly what I had expected.

Now tired from the days events, I decided to go to sleep. I was about to head to my room when I saw Jack's face as she lay on the couch. Her face was filled with sadness as she lowered her head to the pillow, clearly stifling her tears.

“Hey, what's wrong?” I said, walking up to the couch.

“A-Alex? Uh, nothing! I'm f-fine!” Her eyes darted back and forth.

“No you're not.” I hopped up on the couch next to her. “What's wrong?”

Jack looked away from me, a frown showing subtly on her brow.

“Please? Jack, I care about you.”

“...Promise you won't laugh at me? That you won't think I'm messing with you?”

“Of course. I promise.”

She looked back towards me.

“...I don't want you to call me Jack anymore.”

“Okay.”

“Wh-what? Just like that?”

“Yep. Just like that. I promised you that I would take you seriously, and that's what I'm gonna do.” I gave her the most welcoming smile I could.

“Th-thanks…”

“Can I ask why you don't want to be called Jack anymore?”

She fidgeted with her hooves for a few seconds before continuing.

“Because… I didn't like Jack.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jack is… Jack was a loser. He had no friends, a family that hated him, no prospects, nothing. He had a shitty apartment and a shitty job that he hated. He just… doesn't feel like me anymore.”

“Well… What about you?”

“I'm… Lily.” A smile began to flicker on her lips as she said that. “She's… confident. Proud of herself. She has a great friend who helped her when she really needed it. Who actually wants her to feel happy. Like this, she's… a new person. Like, this is a new chance to do it again and not fuck up this time, you know?”

I did know… I knew all too well. She was just like me. No real friends, no career, nothing. Where was I headed in my life? ‘Cos the way I was going right now was goalless. I didn't really know what I was going to do with my measly existence, but this whole pony thing felt like a new start. Maybe one day we would be able to leave this apartment, join society, start our lives again properly. Maybe there were even more people out there like us? Who knows. What I did know is that the old me… was sad. This strange new version of me was genuinely having a good time being here with my friend, even if it had been a learning experience. It was exciting. And I loved it.

“Lily… It's a really cute name.”

Her eyes seem to light up at that and her lips began to slowly curl into a smile.

“I… I think you're right, Lily. I think that this is a perfect chance to begin again.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, and that's why…” I glanced back at my flank and smiled at the mark. “I want you to call me Rose.”

Chapter Three

I shot up again, waking from the same dream I’d been having for the past week. This time, it had gone exactly the way it had for the past week. I stood at the edge of the cliff, as the strong Breeze blew, before I jumped off and plummeted to my death. I looked to my side and saw Lily sleeping peacefully. She looked absolutely adorable, a small smile on her sleeping face that distracted me for a short time, causing me to smile at the sight. She was lying nuzzled up to Simon as he purred happily, which only caused me to melt even more at the sight.

I pulled myself up to my hooves before I felt a strange wave of nausea sweep my body. I tensed my muscles as a cold sweat formed on my head and I breathed heavily, trying my hardest to settle down and relax. My head spun even more and the nausea grew stronger. I tripped a little and bumped into Lily, waking her up.

“R-Rose? Is it morning already?” She said as she rubbed her eyes clean of sleep.

I turned to her and her face filled with a look of worry.

“Oh gosh, are you okay?”

A new wave of nausea hit and a small amount of vomit filled my mouth. I pursed my lips shook my head before jumping off the couch and running to the bathroom. I ran through and dipped my head downward into the toilet, letting all of the nausea (and last night's dinner) pour out. Tears began to flow from my eyes as the pain from the vomit became more and more intense.

I heard the hoofsteps of Lily come up behind me and she reached downward, lifting my hair up out of the toilet bowl and pulling it behind my head, away from the water. I was about to lift my head up to thank her when the nausea surged again and I was forced back down again.

After a few more “rounds”, i finally felt the majority of the nausea subside. I lifted myself up and looked over at Lily, a weak thankful smile on my face. I pulled away from the toilet and toward the bathroom sink. As I got there, I remembered just how small I was and that the sink was out of reach. The taste in my mouth was almost making me want to vomit again, so I jumped into the shower and turned the it on, letting the cold water cover me and fill up my mouth.

“It’s freezing in there, you’ll catch a cold!” Lily shouted at me in a panic.

I wanted to reply, but I was enjoying the fact that the taste was now leaving my mouth and I stayed in the water until it was gone. I shivered as I leant forward and turned the shower off. I stepped out of the shower, but my hooves lost all traction when they landed on the tile and I was sent sprawling to the floor.

“R-Rose!” Lily shouted in a panic and ran to my side, almost tripping herself on the tiles. She got to my side and for the second time in two days, helped me to my hooves.

“What was all that about?”

I tried to reply, but my teeth were chattering too much for me to get even one word out.

“Oh jeez, let’s get you dry and warm.” She said and wrapped a nearby towel around me. She started to wipe down my legs and body with the towel before drying my mane and tail thoroughly. By the time she was done drying me, my body was still chilled to the bone and she began walking me toward the living room. She helped me up onto the couch and wrapped a large blanket around me.

“Th-th-th-thanks, L-L-Lily.” I chattered out, trying to smile, but the muscles of my mouth too sore to do anything but grit my teeth and try to stop the chattering.

“Don’t thank me. I’m gonna make you a cup of tea, try to warm up your insides.” She smiled with her brows furrowed in worry before rushing to the kitchen and putting the kettle on. After a few minutes, I was no warmer, but the tea was done and she brought it over to me, holding it by the handle in her mouth. She placed it on the table and I leant forward to grab it between my hooves. Luckily, she hadn’t filled up the cup all the way, so it was relatively easy to handle without spilling any by accident.

“Th-thanks again, L-Lily.”

She smiled and jumped onto the couch with me, pulling herself under the blanket and hugging me.

“Wh-wh-what are you d-doing?”

“I’m warming you up, dummy. Wouldn’t have to do this if you hadn’t jumped in the shower like an idiot.”

I turned away from her silently and took a sip from the cup, enjoying the warmth and relaxation that both the tea and her unexpected affection was providing me. I felt my cheeks began to warm up, not only from the fact that my body was warming up fast, but also from the fact that I was enjoying this hug a little too much. Soon enough, my shivering stopped and I felt my muscles relax. Lily hummed happily next to me and I closed my eyes, sipping from the cup. I felt strangely happy like this. I felt Lily’s body next to mine and couldn’t help but feel completely relaxed.

All of a sudden, Lily pulled herself away from me and removed herself from the blanket.

“You feeling warmer now?”

“Uh, y-yeah.” I said, finding it hard to hide the disappointment in my voice.

“You sure? You look a little uncomfortable still.”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

She raised an eyebrow and smiled at me.

“If you say so. I’m probably gonna have some more leftovers to eat. Did you want any?”

“Yes, thanks.” I returned to my drink as Lily left the couch and walked toward the kitchen.

What was with that whole interaction? I felt so comfortable next to her, like I never had before. I mean, me and Lily had never been anything like that when she was still Jack. If I had gotten myself cold, the most she would have done would have been to throw me a blanket and call me a pussy.

And why did it make me so… Happy? To be like that? It had been so unexpected, and Lily had done it without even a seconds contemplation. Did she know I would have liked it? Did she do it… for more than just the purpose of warming me up? My cheeks began to flush again at the thought of her cuddling up next to me and I pushed the thought thought from my mind.

She’s just being a good friend, no other reason.

Once I felt that I had warmed up enough, I pulled the blanket off of myself and walked to the kitchen where I found Lily taking a plate of food out of the microwave. She had set up a chair next to the stool so she could leap to that before leaping up to the stool, which reached the microwave. She jumped down carefully before placing the plate on the table, then crawling up again and placing a second in the microwave.

“H-hey, Lily.”

“Oh, hey Rose!” She smiled happily as the plate cooked. “You’re looking a lot better now.”

“Y-yeah, thanks to you.” I tried to hold back a blush as I thought of what had happened on the couch.

“Hey, I owe you for listening to me ramble about my problems last night.” Lily rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof.

“If I remember right, I did just as much rambling as you did.” I giggled as she laughed as well.

“Yeah, you did.” She pulled the now finished meal out of the microwave and placed it back on the table. I jumped up and ate slowly, careful not to upset my nausea from this morning again.

“So, any idea what upset your stomach this morning?” Lily asked after we had been eating for a short while.

“Not too sure.” I swallowed my bite and stared at the plate. “I don’t think it was the chinese, you had just as much as me, if not more, and didn’t get sick. You don’t feel sick now, do you?”

“Nope. I doubt it was the food, and I got just as much a noseful of that bacon smell as you, so unless you decided to eat some, then I doubt it was that too.”

“What could it have been?”

“Not too sure, Rose. Just make sure you don’t get yourself cold if it happens again.” She giggled.

A weird thought passed my mind. I wanted it to happen again. For some reason, I felt myself wish that it would all happen again purely for the chance to cuddle up next to Lily again. I shook my head, trying to dispel the thought from my head.

“Something wrong?”

I shot up, my face red from the thoughts.

“No! Uh, I mean, nothing’s wrong. Just… thinking about stuff.”

“Your face looks really hot, you sure you didn’t heat yourself up too much from being under that blanket?”

“No…” I wanted to do it again. I wanted to hold her again. “Gah!”

“Rose, what is going on? You’re acting all weird!”

“No! I’m fine, I swear!” Shut up, brain. Stop thinking like that. She’s your friend. I need to distract myself…

“I’m… I’m just bored. Yeah, that. Can we do something? Watch a movie? TV show?” Please say yes, I just need to stop my brain from thinking of this stuff.

“Sure.” She smiled and leapt down after finishing the last few bites of food she had left. I finished my food and followed her to the couch. She opened up her laptop as I crawled up next to her.

“What you wanna watch?”

“Anything.” Anything to distract me from wanting to cuddle with you.

“How about we watch Harry Potter? I haven’t watched that in years.”

“Ugh, no thanks. I hated that movie.”

“What about a series? Oh, I know! Let’s watch Pokemon from the very beginning!”

“Sure, that might be fun.”

Lily opened up her files and slowly navigated to where she had apparently downloaded the entire series of Pokemon, all the way up to the modern seasons.

After a few episodes time, it was obvious that watching shows wasn’t working to distract me. I found myself wanting to drift towards Lily the entire time and had forced myself to avoid it. Lily was completely oblivious, and as the episodes went on and on, the sun eventually began to drop below the horizon and we were illuminated only by the light of the computer screen.

I looked to my side and saw that Lily had already fallen asleep, her head drooping and her mouth slightly open as she breathed in and out peacefully. I smiled at the sight and picked up a blanket, covering her in it. I shut her laptop and moved myself to the other side of the couch, curling up in a ball and attempting to fall asleep.

------

I awoke a little more calmly this time, not because my dream was any different than last time, but because I had prepared myself for it. I was still sweating and uncomfortable from the dream, but I managed to calm myself down faster waking up.

I felt a weight on my back and realized that some time during the night, Lily had put a blanket over my back. I was about to pull myself up when I realized that a hoof was draped around me. I froze, knowing exactly whose hoof that was. I scrambled up and moved away from Lily, who luckily had not woken up. She moaned in her sleep and rolled over, but showed no other signs of being conscious.

I moved to the kitchen and decided to do the same thing that Lily had done for me a few days ago and make her a coffee for when she woke up. I made my way to the kitchen and making use of the stair-like setup of chairs and stools, I got up to the bench and started boiling the kettle. As it was nearing a finish, I heard hoofsteps approach from behind. I looked around and saw Lily yawning adorably before smiling at me sleepily.

“Mmmm… Morning, Rose.”

“Morning.” I turned from her, not wanting her to see my blush after remembering how I had woken up. “Sleep well?”

“I slept amazingly. Thanks for covering me in the blanket last night. Didn’t think I could fall asleep so easily, I was just super comfortable.”

“N-no problem.” I said, pouring water from the kettle into a mug for her. “How do you like your coffee?”

“Black, no sugar, thanks.” She took a seat at the table and I brought the mug over to her. She smiled at me and took a sip before humming in satisfaction.

“Thank you, Rose. Perfect.”

“No problem.” I blushed and smiled at her, enjoying the praise. “Anything for you.”

“Don’t throw that around too lightly, I might get you to do something embarrassing.” She laughed, but that only made me blush harder. I went back to the kitchen bench and made my own coffee before placing it on the table and sipping slowly.

“So what did you want to do today?” Lily asked between sips.

“I-I dunno. We should probably try and do something about our lack of food.”

“Yeah, this chinese food will only last us so long, even if we seem to need less to eat now.”

“Hmmm…” I thought about what I wanted to eat for a second and for some reason, came across a very weird desire. “I kinda… I kinda want prawns. And peanut butter.”

“What?” Lily laughed. “That’s so weird!”

I giggled nervously.

“Yeah, I guess it is. I just really want to have that for some reason.”

“Well, hate to break it to you, but I don’t really think you should risk eating prawns. They could have the same effect that the bacon did, and I do not want to revisit that.”

I nodded in agreeance. It was a strange request, but for whatever reason, that’s what I wanted.

“Hey.” Lily spoke up. “Don’t some grocery stores do home delivery now?”

“Oh yeah! I guess we could order it online and just get them to leave it at the door to the apartment.”

“Sounds like a good plan.” Lily smiled and jumped down from the chair. I was about to follow her when another wave of nausea overtook me.

“Oh god.” I strained out as I felt sicker and sicker.

“Rose?” Lily turned to face me. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m gonna be sick.”

“Oh gosh. Uh, is there a bucket around?”

“Nope.” I jumped off the chair and ran to the bathroom, Lily following close behind. I immediately went to the toilet and began retching, now with nothing but bile and coffee coming out. My eyes watered up again as Lily lifted my mane out of my face.

“What is wrong with me!?” I screamed into the toilet bowl before retching again, my stomach nearly completely empty now, nothing coming out of my mouth.

Lily said nothing and stroked my hair, trying her hardest to calm me down and make this as painless as possible. After a while, the sickness and nausea subsided again and I cried loudly into the toilet.

“Shhh, It’s okay, honey. You’ll be fine.”

“Why is this happening!?”

“I… I don’t know, but I’m here for you.”

I sniffed and lifted myself up with the assistance of Lily. She flushed the toilet for me and started up the shower again, this time turning the hot water on, unlike how I had done yesterday. I was still crying as she helped me into the shower, following me in afterward.

I was about to ask what she was doing before she grabbed a loofah and squeezed some soap onto it. I sniffed, my eyes stinging from the tears as Lily stepped forward and began to scrub my fur and mane.

“Th-thanks.” I muttered out as she washed me clean of any remnants of what had just happened.

“It’s fine, hon. Turn around for me?”

I turned around and Lily wiped down my back and tail. It was strangely relaxing and I sighed in comfort as I felt the loofah scrub me down. After a short while, Lily rinsed me off and turned off the shower. She stepped out and held out a hoof for me to take, which I held onto as I stepped out of the shower.

She dried me down the same way that she did last time and then lead me to the couch and wrapped me in my blanket. Just as I was about to close my eyes, I felt Lily wrap her hooves around me.

I began to cry, letting all my confusion, sadness, and worry pour out. Lily did nothing but hold me harder and stroke my mane as I cried.

“What’s happening to me?”

“I don’t know.”

“...Promise you won’t leave me?”

“I promise.”

After a short while, I felt exhaustion overtake me and I fell into a dreamless sleep.

------

As I woke, I saw that It was already around midday and it had begun to rain during my sleep. Simon was purring next to me, but Lily was nowhere to be found. I groggily stood up, my body feeling a lot more refreshed and calm now that Lily had helped me and I had been resting for a while.

She was being so nice to me. Even though she had no idea what was happening, all she did was help me and make me feel… wanted. It was such a strange feeling, this “wanted” feeling. I had never felt it before, and even though it was alien to me, it was one of the most enjoyable feelings I had ever felt. It made me all… Warm inside and want to smile, no matter what was happening.

The sound of a door opening derailed my train of thought and I watched as Lily pull in a box from the front door with her teeth. She dropped it inside before rushing out again and grabbing another.

On her second time returning with a box, she saw me and dropped the box, smiling at me warmly.

“Hey, Rose. You feeling alright now?”

“Uh, y-yeah. Thanks to you, that is…”

“Don’t think too much of it. If you don’t mind, could you come help me bring in the food? I ordered some groceries over the net while you were asleep and they just arrived. I want to spend as little time in the hall as possible to avoid getting caught.”

I smiled and nodded, following her out. She said “don’t think too much of it.” But honestly, right now, all I could do was think of her. How kind she had been to me, how soft her fur felt, how nice her mane smelled…

I scrunched up my eyes again and forced the feelings down and away from my mind as I grabbed a box in my mouth and pulled it in. After one more trip, all of the boxes were inside and we closed the door.

It took us awhile, but together, we helped eachother pack the groceries into the proper places. My nausea returned temporarily while we were doing the work, but stopped not long after we were finished.

“Pwah!” Lily exclaimed as she dropped the last item into a drawer. “Thanks for helping. You feeling alright?”

“Y-yeah, I think so.” I said as the nausea subsided.

“Rose, do… do you mind if I talk to you about something real quick?” She said, her tone suddenly quite serious.

I froze up. What did she want to talk about? Did she think I was being too touchy feely? Did she want to go home? Did she want to leave me here alone!?

“It’s about you getting sick. I think… I think I know why.”

I relaxed a bit, but not entirely.

“My nausea? Wh-what do you think it is?”

“You might… You might wanna sit down for this.”

We walked toward the couch together and sat down. I stroked Simons back with a hoof, which helped me calm down and prepare for what Lily had to say.

“I was…” Lily started, nervously fiddling with her hooves. “I was looking up what it might be on the internet while you were out, and found some… Impossible stuff.”

“Impossible? How?”

“Well, not completely impossible. I mean, either of us would have said what happened to us a few days ago would be impossible, but look at us now. That got me thinking… Maybe it wasn’t as impossible as I thought. I mean, we magically turned into ponies who could talk, so why not?”

My heart was beating like crazy.

“Please, Lily.” I put a hoof on hers. “Please tell me what you think is causing this.”

“Rose, I…” She me in the eyes before looking down at my stomach and then back to me. “I think… Because of all the sickness, and the weird cravings you were having for prawns and peanut butter, I think…”

She took in a deep breath before breathing out.

“I think you’re pregnant, Rose.”

Chapter Four

“Pregnant.”

A million thoughts flew through my head at the same time, making it completely impossible to focus on one thought.

“Y-yeah. Pregnant.” Lily pursed her lips nervously, trying to read my face for emotions.

I did nothing but sit there and think, my eyes trembling as I tried to process this information.

This couldn't be happening. I was a man. Not a girl. I couldn't get pregnant! Even if I was a girl, I was a virgin! No sex, no baby. Simple as that.

What was this, some sort of immaculate conception? No. It wasn't possible. Stuff like that didn't happen. Then again, turning into a pony mare didn't usually happen either.

“Th-this can't be real.”

“Rose, I…” Lily quietly said. “I've thought about all the options, and nothing else seems likely. I got… I got a pregnancy test, just in case, but I have no idea if it'll work, what with you being a pony and all… I got like, ten just to make sure. I'll try it out a few times as well to make sure that they work properly as a pony.”

“I'm not pregnant.” I said blankly.

“I'm hope you're right, Rose. This is what the tests are for.”

“I'm not.”

Lily said nothing but pulled me into a hug, holding me tightly as I began to cry. I didn't want her to let go, her holding me was just so amazing and calming. She stroked my mane with a hoof, which also helped me calm myself down.

“Y-you won't l-leave me, r-right?” I stuttered out.

“Of course not.” She said warmly and nuzzled against my cheek with hers. “You're my… best friend, Rose. I'll never leave you.”

I gave her a weak smile behind my tears and hugged her again. I eventually forced myself to pull away and pushed myself off the couch.

“OK.” I said, mustering as my confidence as I could. “Let's get this over with.”

------

I sat quietly as I waited for Lily to come out of the bathroom. I could hear the sound of the toilet seat going up, a slight hissing sound and then the toilet flush. I watched as a bright red faced Lily walked out of the bathroom, holding onto the pregnancy tests.

“Gosh, that was weird.” She cringed and sat next to me. “I mean, I'd been to the toilet before like this, I just… never looked at myself down there.”

My mind was suddenly filled with images of what Lily's private area might look like, which I quickly forced out of my mind.

“It should only take a few minutes to show the results, and I did three, so that should help us know whether they show proper results for ponies or not.”

I nodded and we both sat silently, watching for the tests to show their results.

Three negative tests.

“Whew, I was almost worried it would turn up positive for me too.” Lily laughed nervously. “So, you think you're ready for yours?”

“No. But I know I have to do it.”

“I know, honey.” Lily said and began to stroke my mane again. “I know you can do it.”

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the relaxing feeling of her hoof brushing my hair over and over. I felt this strange sensation of warmth when Lily called me “Honey” as well. It's entirely possible that she was just trying to calm me down, but… I wished it meant more.

I slowly pulled myself off of the couch and away from Lily's comforting strokes. I hesitantly made my way over to the bathroom and shut the door behind me, seeing Lily's comforting smile just before the door shut. I stood there for a while, breathing in and out slowly.

I could do this. I could do this. I could do this.

I crawled up onto the toilet and sat precariously over it. I picked up one of the pregnancy tests and stared at it. This stick… was going to control what the next eleven months of my life would be like. Heck, it would control my entire life. If the results were positive, everything would change.

I wouldn’t be Alex, the unemployed, uneducated idiot, but I would be… Rose. The mother.

That scared the fuck out of me.

I took a deep breath and held the stick between my legs. I felt my bladder release and I cringed as I heard the stream of urine hit the stick and the water below. I pulled the stick away and threw it to the side before grabbing another. Then another, then another, until both my bowels were empty and the sticks were all used. I slid off of the toilet and collected the pregnancy tests, carrying them with me to the door.

As it opened, I saw Lily, sitting with a worried look on her face, but also an encouraging one. I could tell she was trying to be strong for me, even if I couldn’t. I tried to smile back, but my lips just quivered as my eyes began to fill to the brim with tears. I walked Briskly toward Lily and let her embrace me, crying into her shoulder.

“I-I’m s-so s-s-s-scared, Lily!” I sobbed out, struggling to form a cohesive sentence.

“I know you are, Rose. I’m here for you.” She nuzzled my neck and stroked my mane.

I pulled away from her and took in a deep breath before placing the tests on the couch in front of us. I closed my eyes and held them shut. After a few minutes had passed, and I was still holding my eyes shut, I heard Lily speak.

“R-Rose?”

“Yeah?”

“Are… are you looking?”

“...No.”

“...Me neither.”

I felt a hoof hit the pillow next to me softly and reached out towards it, taking a hold of it and feeling the comfort and love that it gave me.

“How about…” I started nervously. “How about we both look at the same time.”

“O-okay.”

“Ready? On one.”

“Three.” She began to count, her voice wavering from fear.

“Two.” My heart was racing now and the thoughts of what could happen flew through my head. A kid. A foal.

I saw myself, sitting with Lily and taking care of our child. I was smiling softly at the little baby that I was holding calmly in my hooves, and Lily was stroking its little mane as it slept peacefully.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” The dream version of Lily said.

“She is. Our little Brisk Breeze.” Dream me whispered, nuzzling up to Lily and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“One.”

------

Positive. All seven of them.

I looked up to Lily and saw that tears were already pouring down her cheeks. I threw myself forward and hugged her tightly, letting my tears flow and my sobs free. I cried so loud that even the neighbours beneath me must have been able to hear.

Lily tried to stroke my mane, but I was hugging her so tightly and crying so loudly that she had no choice but to cry as well and hug me back.

My life was over. I was dead. My old life was nothing, and I knew that from now on, I was Rose.

The biggest question was “Am I okay with this?”

If you would have asked me a week ago, I would have said no. If you asked me a day ago, I would have said no.

If you asked me today?

Fuck.

I can’t answer that.

Lily began to nuzzle my neck and held me even tighter than before as her sobs grew almost as loud as mine.

“I-I-I’m sorry, R-Rose! I’m so s-s-sorry!” She cried, almost screaming into my shoulder as I felt her tears leak through my fur and onto the skin below.

“I’m s-sorry too!” I held onto her and returned the nuzzle as best as I could in this situation.

We sobbed together for a short while before eventually, the sobs became less frequent and we quietened down substantially. Not entirely because we were calming down a little, but also from the fact that our throats were so sore from before.

I sniffed, trying to get my nose unblocked as I stared, teary eyed, at the seven positive pregnancy tests. I was pregnant. As I stared down at my stomach, I imagined the little foal growing inside of me. I felt a strange sensation as I thought of it, something that I was only recently familiar with.

Pride. I was proud of this child. It was my child and I would love it for my whole life.

That thought process brought me even more confusion. My child... But how? I knew now that there was a child growing inside of me, but how? Who was the father? When did it happen? HOW did it happen? Was it magic?

I didn’t have any idea what it could be, and I didn’t care. I still felt an immense amount of love for the little bundle of joy that had only just begun its journey toward life. That love that I felt now would carry on throughout the entirety of my life and the life of my child.

“L-Lily.” I said, looking up towards Lily with tears in my eyes.

“Rose?”

“I…” I squinted, letting the tears that had built up pour down. “I’m… happy.”

She sat, staring at me blankly for a while, unblinking and unmoving.

“You’re… happy? Really?”

I nodded, trying my hardest not to smile, only for it to break through my tears and show despite all of this.

“Rose…”

She moved closer to me.

“I love you.”

------

I was on the edge of the cliff. The Breeze was blowing quietly and calmly and I felt it pass through my mane. I let out a relaxed sigh and smiled contently at the view before me. The sun was almost at the end of its journey through the sky and stars had already begun to pop up. I shifted my gaze up and saw the moon slowly drift upwards, its progression bringing more and more stars into the wonderful vista.

“I always liked watching the sunset with my sister. Family is definitely an important and amazing thing.” A familiar voice spoke out from behind me.

I spun around and saw Princess Luna, who had visited my dreams a few days ago. Just before my transformation.

“It was quite difficult, but I’m glad to have found you. How are you, my little pony?”

“I’m…” I tried to formulate an answer, but only one response came to mind. “I’m pregnant.”

She smiled at me calmly.

“I know, little one.”

“Why?”

“Why?” She walked closer to me and sat down, looking out over the horizon. “Because you fell in love. You wanted a child, and so you decided with your partner that you would have one.”

“No I didn’t. I don’t… I didn’t love anyone when I became like this.”

She nodded silently, the calm smile disappearing from her face.

“No, you didn’t. Let me rephrase that. Rose fell in love and decided that Lily and her would have a child.”

“Wh-what? What are you talking about.”

“I… I don’t know how to tell you this, and I myself do not know how, but… It seems that, in my world, Equestria… Lily and Rose have passed away. When they did, Rose was with foal.”

------

I flew upwards, throwing my arms forward and pulling in a deep gasp. My heart was beating at an insane speed and my breathing was almost as fast.

“Rose!” Lily shouted from beside me, causing my head to swing towards her.

“L-Lily!?”

“R-Rose, are you okay? You passed out again, I was so worried!”

“I’m… I’m fine.” I said, not even thinking. All I could do was focus on what I had learned during my dream. What did this mean?

“Rose, do you remember…?”

I broke from my stupor and looked at her again.

“Remember?”

-

“I love you.”

-

I stared at her, my eyes wide with shock. I stared deep into her brilliant golden eyes and felt as she put a hoof on mine.

“Yes. I remember.” I muttered quietly.

“Your… Your eyes are really pretty.” Lily said, staring back.

“Yours are too…”

We were silent for a while as we did nothing but look into each others eyes and get lost in them.

“Rose…” Lily broke the silence, moving her head closer to mine.

“Yes?” I responded and moved mine closer to hers.

“What is wrong with us?” Lily's eyes began to relax.

“I think…” I put a hoof on her cheek.

“What do you think?”

“I think we’re in love.”

Lily closed the gap between us and her lips met mine. I melted immediately as I felt the softest lips in the world press up against me. I let out an involuntary moan as Lily put her hooves around my body and pulled me in closer to hers. There was almost nothing else left in the world to worry about as she moved her hooves up and down my body, brushing my fur tenderly and increasing the energy she was putting into the kiss.

I could do nothing but return the favor and put my hooves around her. Even with my relatively numb hooves, I could feel just how soft both her fur and her body felt. After a short while, I pushed my tongue against her lips and they immediately parted, letting me explore her mouth with my tongue.

Lily pulled away and I reluctantly let her as she breathed in heavily.

“S-sorry. My nose is all blocked and I couldn’t breath.” Lily laughed nervously.

“I love you.” I said.

Lily stared at me, her eyes lighting up and a smile forming on her lips. She threw herself at me, this time laughing happily as we rolled around on the couch together. I couldn’t help but laugh along as we fell to the floor and continued to hug each other. I peppered her face with kisses and hugged her tightly as we lay on the floor together, eventually stopping when she locked lips with me again.

I had to stop the kiss this time and looked at her, my eyes half lidded and full of love.

“This is real.” I muttered, my smile growing wider.

“It is.” Lily smiled back and kissed me on the nose, eliciting a laugh from me. I rolled onto my side and lay next to Lily, resting my head on her chest.

“I…” I breathed in, catching my breath from our intense makeout. “I can’t believe this. It’s so unreal, but… I know it is real.”

“I know what you mean.” Lily said with a breathless laugh.

“Lily…” I said, my mind returning to my dream. “We need to talk about something.”

“I-is something wrong? You just got all serious all of a sudden.”

“I… I had a dream a few days ago. It was… weird. It was the same recurring dream I’d been having for the past week or so, but this time, I saw… another pony.”

“Another pony?” Lily gasped. “What, like us?”

“Not exactly. She was tall, and had wings and a horn. She said her name was Princess Luna and the dreams I was having were naming dreams.”

“Naming dreams?”

“Apparently, all… all pregnant mares get them, it helps them name their foal.”

“Oh. But wait, you weren’t pregnant before you changed, and you said that you were having these dreams for like, a week.”

“I don’t get it either. When I turned into a pony the next day, I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me, but when I was out cold before… I saw her again.”

“Her? You mean the other pony?”

“Yeah. She said that… that we… well, the version of us in her world, were in love and Rose was pregnant. She also said that… we were dead.”

Lily's face went pale and her pupils shrunk down to pinpricks.

“D-dead?” She stuttered out.

I nodded.

“I don’t understand either, and as soon she told me, I woke up.”

“So you’re saying that… We’re just copies!?”

“No!” I held Lily's hoof with mine. “We’re not them. You are Lily. I am Rose. While we might… look like them, and be in love like them, we are not them.”

Lily nodded nervously, tears still appearing and rolling down her cheeks. I wiped them away and kissed her on the forehead.

“We aren’t copies. I don’t understand what’s happening, but… this kid is mine.”

Lily placed a hoof on my belly and looked me in the eyes.

“Ours.”

I nodded back, smiling and nuzzling up to her neck.

“Our little Brisk Breeze.”

Author's Notes:

Another chapter. I am really enjoying this story, so I hope you guys are too.

Chapter Five

I sat out on the balcony, cradling my cup of tea between my hooves and breathing in the fresh morning air. It was definitely an advantage, being this high up, as the city smell didn't reach me anywhere near as much.

I felt my hoof wander down and begin to rub my belly in a slow circular motion. I don't exactly know why I did it, but I found it comforting and I guess a part of me wanted the foal inside me to be comforted as well.

The foal… I wanted to see her. I wanted to hold her in my hooves and tell her how much I loved her. And I would do that, just not right now.

I thought of myself a few days ago compared to now. Would I have reacted anything like this? Would I still want to have this child? It was so hard to tell. The version of me a few days ago felt like an entirely different person, so much so that I couldn’t even really tell how I would’ve reacted. I guess I kinda am an entirely different person, I'm not even really a “person” anymore. I'm a pony.

Brisk Breeze. The name had come out of my mouth without even really thinking about it, but I knew that it was her name. The only explanation that I could think of was the naming dreams. Luna had told me previously that the dreams I was having were dreams a pregnant mare had before their foals were born.

Last night, though… was dreamless. For the first time in a proper sleep, my naming dream did not appear. Was that… was that because I had named my foal? It would make sense for the naming dreams to stop after deciding on the foal's name, but it caused me to worry. Would I not see Luna again? She had said that it was hard to find me the second time, and now that the dreams had stopped, would she find me again at all? I had so many questions left to ask!

From behind me, I heard the door to the balcony open and I turned around to see Lily walking out with her own cup of tea. She carefully crawled up onto the chair with me and lay down next to me, nuzzling into my neck. I nuzzled back and she sighed happily, taking a sip of her tea.

“It's a nice morning.”

“Not as nice as you.” I said and pecked her on the cheek.

“Ugh, gay.” She said with a laugh.

“Well… technically, I guess we kinda are. I mean before we were like this, we were both guys, and now, we're both girls.”

“So… is that like… double gay?”

I giggled and cuddled up closer with her.

“I guess it is. Lily… I gotta ask. Are you okay with this?” I asked apprehensively.

“Well, I was the one to say that I loved you first, so yeah.”

“Not… not just us being together, I also mean… the foal.”

Lily smiled and nuzzled me lovingly. She pulled up a hoof and poked me in the nose.

“Of course I am. I would say so if I wasn’t.”

“But… It’s such a new thing. I mean, we only found out about it yesterday, but… I don’t find myself worrying for some reason. Like… I'm only looking forward to it.”

Lily smiled and placed a hoof next to mine of my stomach and stroked in a calming circle.

“I know. It’s so weird… I know for a fact that this whole situation would be terrifying and strange for me before we became like this, but now? I can easily say that I really am okay. I mean, yeah, it’s still scary, but in a different way.”

I nodded and looked down at my belly. It was so strange to imagine the fact that in a few months, my stomach would be growing and new life would be about to start. It gave me an immense sense of pride and love, to imagine our child growing up, learning who she wants to be, reaching her goals, making friends…

“So. Brisk Breeze, hmm?”

At the mention of our child's name, I turned to Lily.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just don’t know why you decided on that name.”

“It was…” Images of the dream flashed in my memory. “The dreams. You know how I said that those dreams were called naming dreams? I think that… I think they were helping me name her.”

“Did it also tell you it’d be a girl?”

“...No, I just… It’s just a feeling that I'm getting. I guess I could be wrong, but I just kinda… know.”

“Not entirely sure what you mean, but I hope it is a girl. Girls are much cuter than boys.”

We sat together and watched the sun rise up over the cityscape. I felt a chill from the wind, but the warmth of Lily's body next to me seemed to be more than enough to keep me warm. I lost track of time as we napped together.

My mind drifted to our future together, and all of the worries that I had been pushing to the side. What were we going to do? I knew for a fact that even if we put all our money and savings together, we would only be able to afford this apartment for a few months before our cash ran out. Not to mention that Lily was still paying for her apartment while she was here.

Plus, even if we did find some way to earn money and keep the apartment, how would we be able to raise our foal here? It was a tiny, shitty apartment in the middle of the city, with nothing interesting around, not to mention that it would be dangerous to go outside. Would we be able to educate her here? Would she be able to make any friends at all?

I knew that it wasn’t good at all for her to grow up here. This was no place to raise a foal, regardless of whether it was possible or not. I wanted to give her the best life she could possibly have, and with no other ponies that we know of… That isn’t going to happen if she’s stuck in this appartment.

As the day dragged on, my mind was plagued with worries about our future. I was worried about all of us. Our happiness, our well being, everything that could possibly exist to be worried about crossed my mind at least once.

What if we were found? What if we couldn’t hide and someone found us? We could be captured and sold as rare animals! We could be experimented on and tortured in some lab somewhere! We could be made to be someone's pet!

“Is something wrong, Rose?” She put a hoof on mine and looked me in the eyes. I must have been making a strange face for her to know something was up.

“I’m just thinking.” I said, staring off.

“About what?”

“Just… us. Our future, I mean.”

“Talk to me.” She smiled encouragingly and put a hoof on my cheek. I smiled back, but it was halfhearted at best.

“I… I just want the best for Brisk Breeze. I want us to be the best parents we can be, but… I don’t think that we can do that here.”

Lily nodded silently and let me continue.

“We’re gonna run out of money eventually, and then someone's gonna come looking for us. I just… I don’t want anything to happen to us if we get found. If anything tore us apart… It’d kill me.” I tried to hold in sobs, as even thinking about the possibilities scared the absolute crap out of me.

Lily hugged me once more and stroked my mane, calming me down in the perfect way she always did.

“I'm scared too, Rose.” She whispered in my ear. “But they'll never take me away from you. Never.”

“You don't know that.” I buried my face deeper into Lily’s fur and tried my hardest not to soak her with tears while doing so.

“I will do everything in my power to protect you.” She pulled away and looked directly into my eyes before moving a hoof to my belly. “Both of you.”

I let myself smile through my tears and nodded before sinking back into another hug.

“I'm just being paranoid… and stupid.”

“No you're not. You're being a mother.”

------

The next few days passed relatively peacefully. I had my morning sickness a few times again, and found out the hard way that the “morning” part of morning sickness is a flimsy description at best. One day I was sick at around five in the morning, the next I was sick at eight at night. Regardless of when it was though, Lily was always there when it happened, holding my mane from my face and whispering comforting words in my ear. It was still a terrible thing to have to deal with, but it was made thousands of times more bearable with Lily there to comfort me.

My cravings seemed to switch up every few days as well as I found my desires switch from prawns and peanut butter to wasabi on toast. Lucky for me, I had a bit of wasabi left in my fridge and Lily had bought some bread for toast when she ordered groceries online. Not so lucky for me after I had eaten it though as Lily sat with me, helping me gulp down loads of water to satiate the burning in my mouth.

While originally using the couch as our primary sleeping spot, we eventually migrated to my room and slept together on the single bed. While obviously it wouldn’t be large enough for two adult humans, it was more than enough for two adult ponies and we both fit with ample space left over.

Lily and I grew more and more comfortable with each other as the days went on as well. When we kissed, she began to take the more dominant stance and pushed her tongue into my mouth instead of the other way around. I honestly loved it, as it left me feeling like… like the object of desire. Like I was wanted.

It was incredible.

It had not happened before hand when we kissed, but for one day, I started feeling something different, especially when Lily was being more dominant. I wasn't entirely sure what it was the first few times it happened, but after taking a look at my crotch after the third time, I realized that I was becoming extremely aroused. Being aroused in this different body felt completely different to how it was before. Instead of only focusing at my crotch, I began to feel all squirmy and fidgety, my entire body growing more sensitive as my arousal grew.

I became more and more frisky as the days went by, finding myself gravitating towards Lily's side even more than I usually did. I was still weirded out by the situation, so I avoided touching myself and forced myself to stop after kissing Lily for a while. I could tell, at least after a while, that Lily might have been noticing my arousal. She would also pull away from kisses earlier than normal, and while I didn’t mind her doing it, I still wanted to kiss her more and more.

------

One afternoon, we were watching episodes of a show on Lily's laptop when she suddenly paused it and looked at me nervously.

“Aww, was just getting to the good part.” I mock complained and pecked her on the cheek. “What’s up?”

“It’s about…” Lily looked off as if she was unsure of exactly what to say. “When… when we kiss.”

I kissed her softly on the lips, which she flinched away from.

“L-Lily? Wh-what’s wrong, why don’t you want to k-kiss me?”

“No, no! I want to kiss you more than anything!” She said in a rushed panic before calming down. “I’m just… when we do kiss, something… something happens.”

She must be talking about me getting aroused.

“I-I’m sorry, I just can’t help it. When you kiss me, I feel so… wonderful, and I just let myself get into it way too much. I’ll try my hardest to not get… you know, excited.”

“Wait, what?” I said, my eyes growing wider

“Y-you didn’t know?” Oh shit. “Uh… sorry. I didn’t mean to, I'm just, like, super attracted to you.”

“No, no, I meant… I get like that too.” I smiled and nervously held onto her hoof.

“Y-you do?”

“Yep. I just don’t know about how… you feel.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I have no idea if you feel… Comfortable being aroused like this.” Lily asked, her face scrunching a bit in embarrassment

“I… I can’t say I really am. At least, I’m not used to it yet. To be a man for so many years of my life, then to switch genders? It’s freaky, to say the least. Not to mention I’ll be…” I cringed at the thought of going through childbirth. “Giving birth in less than a year's time. It’s pretty scary.” I answered honestly

“Oh… Okay then, sorry.”

“Why are you being sorry?”

She looked away from me and fidgeted with her hooves. I placed a hoof around her withers and pulled her closer, causing her to turn around and look me in the eye, centimetres from my face.

“Please, Lily. I love you. Tell me why.”

She closed her eyes and sighed in defeat.

“I want to be with you.” She said blankly

“You are with me.”

She rolled her eyes and groaned.

“No, I mean I want to be with you intimately.”

“Y-y-y-you m-mean you-”

“I want to have sex with you.”

Oh. Oh wow. I felt a shudder of arousal sweep through my body and I felt my body shiver slightly.

“I… I just wanted to know if you were comfortable having… You know, girly bits. It was hard to get used to, but… I kinda like what I have now, but if you’re not comfortable, then we won’t do anything.” She put her head down in disappointment and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“No!” I leapt forward and pinned Lily down to the bed. She stared back up at me, her eyes filled with confusion and a little bit of fear. “Uh, I mean… Yes. I want to be with you too.”

“B-but I thought you said that you didn’t like what you have down there. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Lily, I have been uncomfortable for the past three days, but not because I don’t feel completely used to my parts yet. I’ve been uncomfortable because I was so scared that being aroused would freak you out.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable, so I stopped kissing you whenever I felt myself get… too into it.”

“Oh my god.” Lily brought her hooves up to her face and covered her eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you telling me we’ve been doing the exact same thing this entire time?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been pulling out of our kisses because I thought my arousal would make you uncomfortable!” She shouted, hooves, still covering her face. I reached forward and pulled her hooves away, revealing a brightly blushing Lily beneath.

“I might not be used to having these parts yet, but… I want you to make me comfortable.” I pushed my head down and kissed Lily passionately, this time taking dominance over the situation and exploring Lily's mouth. She immediately moaned into my mouth, accepting the kiss completely and stroking my body with her hooves.

I pulled away to her disappointment only to shut the laptop, leaving us in the light of the dwindling sun.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this, Rose?”

I smiled down at her, my eyes half lidded, and bit my lip.

“Make me your mare.”

Author's Notes:

I wanted to make this chapter a little longer than the others, but I did say that I would split the clop chapters into separate "cloptional" chapters for those who wanted to experience the story without explicit scenes, so this one is unfortunately shorter than I wanted. While the next chapter is optional, it does offer insight and development to our characters, so feel free to read it if you like, even if it is just for the development.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed.

Chapter Five and a Half (Cloptional)

Author's Notes:

While this chapter is optional, it does offer insight and development to our characters, so feel free to read it if you like, even if it is just for the development.

My mind was a mess. I was completely overwhelmed by the sensations I was experiencing from everything that was happening to me. My body felt almost hypersensitive as Lily ran her hooves over my fur and mane, breathing in and out through her nose to keep the kiss going for as long as possible. She pulled down away from my mouth, but before I could protest, I felt a sharp but sensuous nip on the nape of my neck. I let of a soft coo as the wave of pleasure went down my entire body and I felt my muscles all relax in an instant.

I was in a constant state of flux between wanting to do something to please Lily and wanting to let her continue to please me, but Lily wasn’t really giving me a choice as her hoof traveled downward and placed itself between my thighs. I bucked forward, trying to get Lily to touch me, but as I did, she pulled away.

“Nuh uh, I’m in control tonight.”

I whined, but said nothing as Lily's hoof slowly moved upward. Just before it reached my loins, she removed her hoof from my thighs and placed it just above my belly.

“You know… I found something out the other day.”

I said nothing but whimpered in pleasure as she circled my stomach.

“Just below our tummy’s, we have these little… dots.” She punctuated by poking me lightly in the belly and nipping my neck. “Did you know that? We have teats.”

I shivered as her hoof traveled even further downward and rubbed just above my pubic bone. A strange, relaxing sensation spread through me as I noticed that she was rubbing my newly discovered teats.

“They’re not very big normally, but since you’re pregnant… In a few weeks, those teats are gonna swell and fill up. I can’t wait to touch them.”

Somehow, she managed to grasp one of my nipples and twisted softly, eliciting a quiet moan from me as I tried to kiss her, only for her to pull away and move her head downward, biting her lip as she went.

“I bet that they’re already growing warm… and sensitive… and tender.”

Her hoof traced circles around one of the mounds that I could now see, a tiny dot peeking out from the fur. She moved her head even further down and placed her lips on my nipple, pecking it with a soft kiss that made my whole body feel incredible.

“You like that?”

I nodded jerkily and tried to move down to kiss her, but she placed a hoof on my chest and pushed me back.

“I’m in control. You’ll get to make me cum, but… not yet.”

I groaned in frustration and she sighed coyly before placing her lips on my teats again and licking intensely. My back arched upward as pleasure shot through my body, making my mind even more messy and my eyes rolled back in my head.

“H-holy fuck.” I whispered to the dark of the room and I heard a quiet giggle as Lily continued to lick me softly. After a short while, she pulled herself up and pressed her lips into mine again, kissing me softly yet intensely before separating us again, leaving a short trail of saliva between our mouths.

And that’s when I felt her hoof.

She grinned as the tip of her hoof stroked the side of my unfamiliar opening, causing me to close my eyes and thrust my hips even more to try and get her hoof to move even closer. As I did so, she jerked away.

“What did I say, Rose? I’m in charge. I decide when, and how, you cum tonight.”

This side of Lily… I had never ever seen her so dominant before. I loved it.

I nodded and she slowly brought her hoof back down to my burning folds, tracing the edge slowly as I sank back into the feeling. It took all of mental power not to thrust forward, and I ended up trembling in frustration, silently begging for her to continue with my whines.

Lily laughed silently and pushed the very tip of her hoof between my lower lips, the sensation of an object intruding inside of me, even if it was a little, causing immense pleasure and making my mouth open for a silent scream.

She kept her hoof still for a short while until she saw that I had gotten over the initial shock of her hooves insertion before beginning to move again, in an up and down motion, sliding further and further in as she did so. I was tempted to buck against it again, to force it deeper inside me, but I both didn’t want to hurt myself and didn’t want her to stop.

“Do you want it?” Lily slowed her hooves movement, placed her face close to my ear, and whispered quietly.

I nodded enthusiastically.

“Hmm… I don’t believe you.”

“Wh-what? P-please! I really n-need it!”

“I’m not convinced.”

I began to move my hips only for her to start to remove her hoof.

“N-no!” I stopped moving my waist and she began her ministrations again.

“I want to hear you say it.”

“S-say what?”

“What you want.”

I moaned and tried to kiss her only for her to move her face further away and stare cheekily at me.

“Say it.” She said seductively, staring me directly in the eyes.

“F-f-fuck me…”

“What? I didn’t hear you.”

“F-fuck me.”

“Louder, please.”

“FUCK ME!”

Lily grinned and began to push her hoof in as far as it could go without hurting me. I immediately moaned loudly from the extra intrusion and bucked my hips along with the thrusts of her hoof. I could feel every bump, every ridge, every millimeter of her amazingly soft hoof inside of me, filling me up. I stared down and… WHAT? She had only only pushed in a tiny proportion of her hoof inside of me! I wanted more!

I pushed myself down further, eager to receive more and more of her beautiful hoof, but Lily had other plans and removed her hoof from me entirely.

“No! Wh-why!?” I closed my eyes and whined, the space inside my crotch suddenly feeling incredible empty.

“So I can do this.”

I opened my eyes and looked downward only to see her place her mouth over the entrance to my vagina and thrust out her tongue. I screamed out in pleasure, for real this time, and put a hoof on the back of Lily's head, trying as hard as possible to force her muzzle and her tongue deeper.

“Lily! I l-love you!”

She began to lick at the inside of my now clearly dripping hole, tasting and lapping up all of my juices before they fell to the bed. I felt a pressure building up in my belly that came in waves, lowering one second before coming back the next, but even more intense.

I started to become louder and louder, higher and higher in pitch, forcing me to muffle the noise I was making with a pillow. I felt myself grow closer to climax with every second, my face and groin now burning hot with desire.

Lily looked up towards me and smiled, her muzzled absolutely covered in my mare juice. It was extremely arousing to look at and I thrust my hips towards her again, begging for her to continue.

“Tell me what you want, Rose.”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m not gonna let you cum until you beg for it.”

“Oh god, please! Please, Lily, Let me cum! I want it so bad, I love you so much. PLEASE MAKE ME CUM!”

“Oh wow, that didn’t take long.”

Lily plunged down again and took ahold of my clit in her mouth, immediately sucking on it like it was a tiny little lollipop. I felt the pressure build to unimaginable levels before an earth shaking orgasm spread throughout my body. I moaned loudly as I felt my muscles tense and contract, forcing my legs to tighten around Lily's head as she sucked on my clit all throughout the orgasm.

I could feel as a large amount of my mare cum hit the sheets beneath me and I groaned in immense satisfaction. I relaxed all my muscles at once and dropped to the bed, releasing Lily from my hold as she pulled away and gasped for air.

“H-holy crap.” Lily said as she lifted herself up and flopped down next to me. I could do nothing in response except lie there, basking in the glow of my incredible first orgasm. I tried to nod, but ended up just spasming a little as another mini wave of pleasure washed over me.

“That good, huh?”

This time, I managed to mutter out a breathy “Yeah” through trembling lips. Lily rolled over and I opened my eyes just in time to see her face drop down into mine, locking me in a kiss. I tried my hardest to return the kiss with just as much fervor, but I was absolutely wiped out from my recent climax that I ended up just letting Lily do most of the work.

I felt a lot more energized after letting myself relax into the kiss for a while and began to push back, sitting up in the bed as Lily held onto me. Once we were on equal ground, I began to lean forward, pushing her downward until I was on top of her. I looked down at her, golden mane drooping over her eyes. I brushed it away before placing a hoof on the side of her face.

“Lily, the way you make me feel…” I smiled uncontrollably, so incredibly infatuated that I found it impossible not to smile. “I’ve never felt this in my entire life. I love you so much, Lily.”

“I love you too, Rose.”

I placed my forehead to hers and breathed in heavily before kissing her lightly on the lips. I then began trailing downward, peppering her with kisses. I heard a gasp come from above me as I kissed her lightly on one of her barely showing nipples.

I dropped lower and stopped a short while, taking in the beautiful sight before me. I had no idea why, as I hadn’t found them particularly appealing before, but I was absolutely amazed by how she looked down here. All that imagining I did a few days ago was not justice for this sight at all.

I reached forward with two hooves and spread her lips apart, eliciting a gasp and a low coo from my lover. I placed my tongue at the bottom of her cunt and licked all the way up, flicking her clit with the end of my tongue, and causing Lily to clench my head with her legs.

“Ro… Rose! That felt amazing!”

I smiled and dipped forward again, attacking her vagina with my tongue rapidly, licking all over as fast as I possibly could. I didn't get much of an inkling of her taste with my first lick, but now? I couldn't get enough of the amazing fluids and I sped up, licking every drop up as fast as it appeared.

It was such a strange, yet incredibly arousing taste, almost like a mix between her saliva and flowers, with a tangy undertone. Above me, Lily bucked her hips, forcing my muzzle deeper and allowing me to get every single drop.

As I ate her out, I reached my hoof down to my own crotch and began idly rubbing myself, moaning into her cunt as the soft pleasure wracked my body.

“Oh god! I'm so close Rose, please! Please, please, please!”

Lily's gasps and moans began to raise in pitch and volume, just as mine had when I began to crest over the edge of climax, and so I decided to give Lily exactly what she wanted, latching onto her clit with my lips and licking the tip rapidly.

That was it for Lily and she practically exploded in orgasm, her entire body shaking and spasming as I continued to lick her as she had done for me. I managed to drive myself to a mini orgasm with my own hoof and moaned quietly into her cunt as she did so loudly above.

Just as Lily released me from her hind legs grip, she reached down and pulled me up by the underneath of my arms. I found myself face to face with an incredibly red cheeked Lily.

“Oh… my… god…” She gasped out, breath almost steaming with how hot she was.

“I know, right?”

“I… I love you, Rose.” She pulled me in for a kiss and moaned sensually. I let her dominate the kiss again as her tongue searched through my mouth, no doubt tasting her own cum as she did so. She pulled away and gazed into my eyes.

“Rose.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Thank you.”

I giggled and pecked her on the face a few times.

“You don’t have to thank me, Lily.”

I pecked her again and she scrunched her eyes up with a smile.

“R-Rose, stop!”

I kissed her over and over again, faster and faster, all over her face.

“Rose!”

She began to laugh hysterically and fell backwards, taking me with her, laughing the whole way down. I lay beside her and sighed, closing my eyes happily and reflecting on what had been the best night of my life.

“Lily?” I whispered to my incredible marefriend.

“Yeah?” Lily rolled over to face me.

“That was literally the most amazing I have ever felt.”

She smiled and nuzzled up against my cheek, brushing her incredibly soft fur against mine.

“I could not agree more.”

I closed my eyes, enjoying the calming afterglow of our intimacy with each other.

“Uh, might not want to go to sleep just yet.”

“What?” I opened my eyes and looked at her. “Why?”

She pointed with down to both of our legs, which I only just noticed were completely soaked with mare cum and saliva.

“Heheh…” I rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof and smiled at Lily. “I’ll go get a towel.”

------

After a little bit of cleaning and a quick shower, I lay in bed with a sleeping Lily, watching the moon travel through the clear sky. The stars were particularly bright tonight, especially since they were usually drowned out by light pollution and clouds.

There was definitely a prettier sight than the clouds though, and she was holding me tightly as my head rested on her chest. I listened peacefully as her chest rose up and down, heart beating steadily while she slept. I looked up at her beautiful face, a small smile forming on my lips as I took in her features in the moonlight.

How could I have gotten this lucky? It almost seemed impossible that I would not only be having a child, but be in love a week ago, but now, it was my reality. My life was Lily's. My life was Brisk Breeze’s. I lived for them as much as I knew they lived for me.

There was one thing that I knew was not right. Something that we did not belong to, and I had no idea how to fix it.

We did not belong to this world.

Chapter Six

I lay in a field of flowers, staring out at an orange sky. The wind almost seemed to be completely still, yet above, the clouds traveled fast. A pink hoof pointed up to the sky next to me and a voice spoke out.

“See that one? Looks a bit like a bush.”

I giggled and turned to my side, now realizing that Lily was next to me, holding me tightly and smiling.

“It’s just a blob, though.” I laughed as I sunk deeper into her hug.

“Oh, see that one? That one also looks like a bush.”

“They all look the same!” I lifted my head up and smiled at her, confused.

“Yeah, exactly. They all look like bushes.”

“You’re so silly.” I chuckled lightly and lay my head down on her chest.

The evening sky turned to night and we watched the stars together. I tried to look for familiar constellations as I had done when I was younger, but this sky looked different. I could see some possibly similar shapes, but no constellations that I recognized were there.

“Welp.” Lily pushed herself up and cracked her neck a few times, stretching out. “Should probably head back home. You gotta get some food in you before bed, especially now that you’re eating for two.”

I smiled warmly and lifted myself to my hooves, ready to follow Lily. Just as she walked over the crest of the hill, I noticed that the stars began to move slowly out of the corner of my eye. I spun around to watch them only for a tall, starry maned pony to appear in front of me.

“Princess Luna!” I bowed to my hooves, dipping my head down in respect.

“Please, rise, Rose.” Luna spoke, her voice filled with a sense of worry.

“I-is something wrong?”

“Do you… Do you remember now?”

“Remember what?”

“This day. This is the day you died.”

“Wh-what!?” I stepped backward, my hooves tripping a little as I fell to my rump, staring dumbfounded at the princess.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t. This dream… It’s a memory.”

“Dream…” I only just realized how cloudy my mind was now that the fog was dissipating. I was dreaming. “I’m dreaming right now?”

“Yes.” Luna smiled, the look of worry still present. “But we have yet to find whether it is a nightmare, or a pleasant dream.”

“Wait, you said that… This dream is a memory?”

Luna grimaced and closed her eyes.

“Yes. I tried to tell you all about what had happened to you when I visited you during your dream last, but I'm afraid that in my rush to tell you what happened, you woke from the shock. Please try to remain calm as I tell you what has happened and I will be able to tell you everything.”

I nodded shakily, then spun around as I heard my name called from behind me.

“Please, ignore her. This version of her is only a memory. Part of the dream.”

Her calls ceased and I nervously turned back to Princess Luna.

“Now, Rose… What I have to say will shock you, but you must understand that you need to know this.”

She sighed and closed her eyes before continuing.

“You and Lily… Have always been yourselves. You always were Lily and Rose.”

“Wh-what? What do you mean?”

“The human version of yourselves… That was a trick. An evil trick played by the god of chaos.”

“Chaos?”

“Discord. Before he was reformed, he presented himself to a large amount of ponies and offered to grant them wishes. But to hear that part of the story, you must hear the start.”

I nodded nervously and listened intently.

“Lily and Rose… You and your lover, were normal citizens of ponyville. They lived their lives in relative peace, and grew together as most ponies did. Your relationship matured over the years, and eventually, you decided together that you would have a child.”

My heart warmed at the mention of our foal but was turned to ice when I remembered what Luna had said before.

“This is the day you died.”

“Obviously, being two mares, you could not conceive a child naturally, so you decided to use a donor. Lily had two siblings, a sister named Daisy and a brother named Posey Wind. Posey was delighted to have the chance to help you conceive a child, and since he was the closest to Lily genetically, you all agreed that he was the perfect candidate. In a few months, you were pregnant with your foal.”

I smiled, but my mind was still locked on what could have happened this day.

“Then… today, or, well, the day that this dream is a memory of, something happened that no pony could have ever stopped. A dreadful, one in a million chance thing that stopped you in your tracks and tragically ended your life. Have you… Have you ever heard of an aneurysm?”

My body froze.

“It’s extremely rare, and treatable if discovered, but yours… was not. In an instant, you had passed away. You didn’t even stand up to follow Lily back to Ponyville, you just… stayed here.”

I felt the tears fill my eyes and my stomach threaten to jump out through my throat.

“Lily was hysterical. She began doing… horrible things to herself. Drinking, self harm, she even attempted…” Luna raised a hoof to clear her own eyes. “She attempted to take her life.”

“N-no!” I shook my head, flinging tears from my face. “Not her too!”

“Fortunately, she was not successful, and I assure you that the ending to this story, while not here just yet, is no doubt a happy one.” She smiled through her tears and sat down next to me. I looked up at her as she sat, a sensation of warmth and calm spreading through me. I reached out to her apprehensively and she took me into her forehooves, hugging me as I cried.

“Shhh, it will be okay Rose. Lily is alive now, and so are you.”

I pulled away and nodded at her to continue.

“A few weeks later, a being known as Discord was freed from his imprisonment. He went around, causing chaos and mayhem for all of equestria. Eventually, he was stopped, but first… He found Lily.”

“He better not have hurt her!”

“No, he did not. While his original intentions were malicious, he may have, in fact, saved your life. Discord offered a wish to Lily, and she accepted, wishing that you, and your child, were alive again and that she could see you again. Discord, at this time, was a malicious trickster, and gave her this wish, while taking a few… liberties on how the wish was granted. He transported your soul to Earth and you were born without any of your memories. He granted the next part of Lily’s wish by doing the exact same thing for her. He assured that Lily would see you again… but that didn’t mean you had to ever be together again.”

“So… We’re not copies?”

“No.” Luna smiled at me, this time, her smile unmarred by sadness. “You are your true self now. Your human lives were just as real as your pony lives, but this form is what you were meant to be.”

I felt my own smile begin to grow on my face and I wiped away my tears.

“A short while after this happened, Discord went through a “reformation” of sorts and expressed deep regret for his actions. Part of his redemption was him going through and reversing the negative effects of a lot of these wishes. While his intentions were now kind hearted, he still has a lot to learn and made quite a few mistakes while reversing some of these wishes. One being that you and Lily, while still reverted to your previous forms, were still stuck in this unforgiving and dangerous world. Another being that your memories and personality were not able to be properly restored to you. You will probably experience more dreams like this one that are actually memories of your previous life, but your personality will become a hybrid of your human self and your old one. It is up to you how much of that personality is pulled over.”

“So… does that mean you can take me and Lily home!? To this “Equestria” place?” I said excitedly, only to see the smile drop from Luna’s face.

“I would love to say “Yes”, Rose, but the truth is… I don’t know. My sister and I have been working with Discord on finding a way to bring you home, but it could take weeks, even months to find a solution. For now, you must stay safe.”

I nodded as confidently as possible and hugged Luna again.

“Thank you, Luna. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us.”

------

I sat up, calmly this time, remembering the events of the dream vividly and clearly, as if they had happened in reality. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon of the mostly overcast sky. I looked down to see a sleeping Lily, mouth open and chest rising up and down. A few subtle snorts came from her as she snored quietly and rolled over in her sleep. I smiled at the sight before pulling myself to my hooves and out of bed carefully, as to not wake up Lily.

I walked into the kitchen, jumping up on the stool and pulled out a loaf of bread. I placed two pieces into the toaster and pushed down the handle. I sat there as the toast cooked and I thought of Lily.

How would she react to all this? I knew she had worries of being a copy, but would that mean that she would react even worse to this news? Would she now think that her life as a human was fake? A lie?

A better question to ask right now was… Did I? I had no idea really what to think. I remembered my life as Alex, but as I had said before, Alex didn’t feel like the same person. We were similar, but I wasn’t him.

I was Rose. I was Rose. I wasn’t some sort of copy of her, I was her, and she was me. Was… was that why we had so readily accepted this? Not just the turning into a pony part, but literally all of it. Not to mention we had decided on these names without even knowing that they were what we were called in a previous life.

It takes years to learn how to walk as a child, but I had gotten the hang of it in under a day. Sure, my brain is more advanced than that of a babies, but in the first day of being a pony, I felt just as agile as I was while human.

I definitely got used to the idea of having a foal much easier than I thought I would. I thought I would I hate it. I thought it would ruin my life. I never wanted a kid before, but now that I was actually expecting one? It felt like the one thing my whole life was building up to.

The toast popping out of the toaster shocked me out of my train of thought and I went about spreading the pieces with spreads. Peanut butter and jam for Lily, jam and margarine for me. As I finished lathering up the pieces, I heard the door to our room open and shut as Lily walked out, her eyes half open.

I placed the pieces of toast before walking over to Lily and pecking her on the lips, surprising her a bit.

“Ech, Rose. Thanks for the kiss and all, but your breath stinks like death.”

I raised a hoof to my hoof, breathing out into it before sniffing in and recoiling.

“Fuck. I’ll be back, gonna go wash out my mouth.”

I went to the bathroom and jumped up on the stool we had set up there, similar to the one in the kitchen, before gargling with mouthwash and spitting out into the sink. Satisfied, I jumped back down and walked out to see Lily happily munching away on her piece of toast.

“Mmm, fanksh, Roshe!” She said, spitting crumbs out as she spoke.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

“What are you, my mum?” Lily swallowed and giggled. “At least you’re playing the part, even if you are a few months too early.” She winked playfully at me and I jumped up to eat my own piece of toast.

I was about to place the toast in my mouth when I remembered last night’s dream. I looked over to Lily, happily eating, oblivious to what I was about to say.

“Lily?”

“Yeash?” She faced towards me, more crumbs dropping from her mouth.

“I… I had a dream last night.” Lily stared at me and chewed. “Luna was there.”

She swallowed.

“L-Luna? You mean that princess pony you saw in your dreams?”

“Yeah… she… she told me some pretty… insane sounding stuff.”

------

“Holy fuck.” Lily, said, her eyes darting back and forth as she processed what I had just told her. “You… died.”

She looked toward me, her face contorting as she began to cry. I leant forward at pulled her into a hug.

“Shhh, It’s fine. I'm not dead.”

“B-but you j-just said that you-”

“That was… yes, okay, I was dead, but you saved me. You saved… both of us.” I held a hoof to my belly.

“So… the human versions of us… they weren't real? Did we, like, imagine it?”

“Not exactly. While our “Souls” were originally ponies, the human part of our lives is just as real as our pony lives.”

“I wish it wasn't real.” Lily mumbled with a scowl.

“Wh-what?”

Lily frowned and looked away from me.

“Nothing.”

“That was not nothing, Lily. Tell me what you meant or… or no kisses tonight.”

She glared at me.

“You wouldn't…”

“Try me.” I tried to repress a giggle, but failed completely and Lily laughed along with me. We soon calmed down and Lily’s face dropped from a smile back to a worried frown.

“I'm… I'm sorry, Rose, it's just… my human life was shit. Utter fucking shit. The only upside I seemed to have was being friends with you. I just… I wish I had my memories back. I want to be Lily, completely.”

I held Lily by the shoulders and stared into her eyes.

“You are Lily. Your body, mind, spirit, everything. Just because you might have trouble remembering some stuff doesn't mean you are any less you. Remember what I said? Your memories aren't completely lost either.”

“You mean the dreams?”

“Exactly. It might take a while, but all the memories that matter will come back to you. Even if they don't, we'll make new ones. Together.”

She smiled nervously at me.

“Do you… think I'm weak?”

“For what?”

“For… not wanting my human life.”

“Of course not. We've discovered who we truly are. We are truly Lily and Rose, and we are truly in love. As much as I believe my human life will always be a part of me, I'm willing to move on. To make being Rose my life. I am Rose. Not Alex.”

She wiped her eyes with a hoof and kissed me lightly on the lips.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” I whispered back.

I was about to pull her in for a deeper kiss when I remembered something very important that I had forgot to tell her.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you!”

Lily was a bit taken aback as I had shouted it two millimeters away from kissing her.

“Wh-what?”

“Princess Luna said she might be able to take us back to Equestria!”

Lily’s eyes opened in shock.

“What!?”

“Yeah!” I nodded enthusiastically. “She said it might take a while, and she couldn’t promise anything, but it's a chance that I'm willing to take..”

“Oh my gosh…” Lily began to cry from happiness and hugged me tightly. “I… I can't wait! Y-you do want to go there, right?”

“Of course I do.”

She pulled away, her smile beaming brightly.

“I wonder what it's like? There's other ponies there, right? Like us? Breeze will have friends to play with, and a school to go to! Ooh, I bet there's so many different new places to see!”

I couldn't help but grin widely as Lily kept going, talking about all the different things we would do once we were there. Once we were home.

------

“Are you sure we'll even need one?”

“We’ve already been through this, Lily. I have no idea if we need one, but there's nothing wrong with planning for the future.”

“She's not gonna be here for another ten and a bit months! You don't even know if we're gonna be on earth in ten months!”

“Who's to say that it won't be able to be brought with us to Equestria?” I said as I opened up the flat pack box that contained the pieces of the new crib we ordered online a few days ago.

“Who's to say that it will?” Lily said, a frustrated tone to her voice. “Not to mention that the thing you ordered will be huge! It's more suited for us than a foal.”

“That's even better, then. We’ll be able to sleep in the crib with her if she has nightmares or can't sleep.”

Lily rolled her eyes and walked out of the room.

“I need a drink.”

“Not too much! You know what happened last time.”

“Of water, Rose. I'm never drinking alcohol again.” Lily cringed.

The last few weeks had been relatively peaceful, I reflected as I worked. Lily and I had fallen into a routine, which was both a good and a bad thing. Good in the way that it helped pass the time, but bad in the way that it felt like we were doing nothing.

I guess that's probably why I'd been on a bit of a “mothering” frenzy as of late. I ordered a whole bunch of toys including rattles, a large (compared to our size) plush Peter Rabbit doll, and a plush horse.

I'd also gone on a little bit of a binge with supplies for the foal. I bought some small towels for diapers as I knew that normal human diapers would be way too big. I had bought a few blankets and pillows as well as the crib that I was putting together now. I intended on breastfeeding Breeze for as long as possible, so bottles weren't necessary.

Coming to the conclusion of feeding Breeze like that was… strange. One night, I had begun to talk with Lily about buying food for Breeze closer to when she was due to be born when Lily had offhandedly suggested that I just breastfeed her. I was a bit taken aback by this, not even contemplating the possibility of doing it before, but my instincts seemed to defeat me and I had immediately replied, saying that it was a great idea.

Speaking of breastfeeding, my teats had been growing incredibly tender as of late. I didn't really look down there too often, but I could feel the weight slowly increase and the almost invisible mounds grow slightly larger, day by day. My nipples also seemed to be growing in preparation for suckling once the foal was born. We hadn't had sex since the first time we were together, but I couldn't wait to try them out when we did.

After that first night, I hadn't become immediately used to having female genitals, although it did help and I found myself growing more and more used to them as time went on, even taking time to “inspect” it when I was alone. It felt awkward, almost naughty, to be looking at my own parts like this, but I reminded myself that this was me now. I was a mare. I would be for the rest of my life.

Lily and I had grown closer together as the days had gone by, and while we had disagreements every once and a while, it didn't feel like there was any resentment or malicious intent between us at all. It felt rather cathartic to let out my worries on Lily, and for her to do the same to me, then console in each other and apologize if we had done anything to hurt each other. If anything, it felt healthy rather than detrimental to have these mini disagreements.

Lily had received a call from her boss a few days ago, turns out that bosses don’t generally like it when you take three weeks sick leave without updating them. Luckily, she had gotten a little bit of severance pay for being fired, which would keep us going for a little while longer.

-

I was having trouble piecing together this crib and threw down my screwdriver in frustration. I stood up and walked over to Lily who was sitting on the couch, watching something on her laptop. I jumped up next to her with a frown on my face and rested my head on her lap.

“What's wrong, grumpy bum?” Lily stroked my hair and I relaxed my frown a bit.

“Nothing. Just annoyed at my lack of hands.”

Lily giggled and leant down, kissing me on the forehead.

“Told you we shouldn't have bought it.”

“I'll get it made eventually, it's just gonna have to sit half done in our bedroom for now.”

Lily nuzzled me and laughed. We sat there and watched TV for a while, as Lily stroked my mane. We had gotten up to the episode of Pokemon where Ash had returned home for a while and contemplated giving up his dream to stay home.

What would my parents think about this? About me, not only magically changing genders and species, but having a child? They would freak. Last I saw of mum and dad was when they had called me on Skype a few months ago. I had left home last year in search of independence and had ended up getting exactly what I wished for. When I talked to them about my financial troubles, they offered to send me some money, but I had refused, adamant to remain completely independent.

“Hey, Lily?” I rolled onto my back and stared up at her. She paused the episode before looking down at me and smiling.

“Yes, hon?”

“What do you think your parents would say if they saw us like this?”

Lily grimaced shook her head.

“Probably call me a freak. Wasn't the first time they said that to me.”

“What? That's horrible!”

“Yeah, well it's their loss. I'm not worried, I cut contact with them a long time ago. What about yours?”

“I honestly don't know. I'm sure they would be shocked, but I have literally no idea how they would react.”

“Why don’t you call them up?”

I laughed at her and watched for her to laugh back, but her face remained mostly blank.

“Wait, you're serious?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don't hate them or anything, and what's happening to us now is pretty big, Rose. Not to mention we agreed to go to Equestria if the opportunity comes along, don't you want them to know what's going on?”

“Oh jeez, you're right, Lily. I'm so dumb, of course they'd want to know.”

“I understand your worries, but even in the off chance that something goes wrong, I'll be here to protect my perfect Rose.”

She placed a hoof on my cheek and kissed my nose.

“Thank you, Lily.”

------

I sat on the couch with Lily, nervously staring at the computer screen. I saw the Skype conversation I had with my parents before me and I felt my hooves jitter slightly from the nerves.

“Hey, It'll be fine, okay?” Lily placed a hoof on mine and kissed me lightly on the cheek. “They love you. It'll be fine.”

I had messaged my parents last night after Lily and I were finished talking and had a short conversation via the messages. I pretty much said that something extremely big and shocking had happened and I needed to talk to them. They had messaged me back asking what it was, but I said that it was impossible to believe without seeing me.

Now, I sat with my hoof hovering over the mouse, hesitating to press the call button. I loved my parents, and although we might have our differences, they loved me too.

I breathed in and out slowly before taking to plunge and pressing down on the “call” button. My heart raced as I heard the dial tone beep a few times before they answered, the webcam from both of our computers showing on the call screen.

“H-hi, mum. Hi, d-dad.”

My parents confused faces looked back at me for a few seconds.

“Alex?” My dad said, leaning closer to the screen. “What's with your voice? And what's with the toy horses?”

“D-dad, they're… they're not toys. This is… me.”

Lily waved a hoof and I nervously followed. My mum brought her hands to her mouth while my Dad looked even more confused.

“Son, I'm usually fine with your jokes, but this one's just a little bit too strange. And why do you sound like a girl? You got one of them voice changer things?”

“Dad, it's n-not a joke.”

“Stephen, I think he's… telling the truth.” My mum said, holding onto her husband's arm.

“What, you mean to tell me that this horse thing is our son?” He motioned to the screen.

“Dad, I promise you. I'm telling the truth. Remember… when I was eight?”

“What about it?”

“When I was eight, I told my friends who I had a crush on. They told my crush and she told me that my friends told her. I ran away from school and you had to go searching for me. It wasn't until around the end of school that you found me.”

My dad looked at me, eyes wide open and mouth agape.

“Alex?”

“Y-yeah. It's me.”

“What… What happened to you?”

“It's… complicated. Just know that one day, me and Jack woke up like this. We didn't ask for it to happen, it just did.”

“Jack?” My mother's eyes looked between Lily and I. “Is that the other horse next to you?”

“We’re actually ponies, but yeah. That's Jack.” I said and Lily shot me a strange look. Oh yeah. The names.

“Well, she's not exactly Jack anymore. We've decided to go by different names now. She's Lily and I'm… Rose.”

My mother's eyes closed and she brought her hands to her face. My dad just stared on in disbelief.

“Jesus, kid.”

“I know… that's not even the half of it. First, I guess you should know that… we're kinda… Uh, how should I put this…”

Lily put a hoof around my shoulder and kissed me on the cheek.

“We're seeing each other.”

My mother continued to cover her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh while my Dad looked at his feet and nodded.

“Son… that's… really fucking gay.”

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or to be shocked at this, so I just sat in silence.

“I'm proud of you for finding someone, especially someone who's the same… species as you. But this whole situation is just really, really gay.” He looked up and laughed towards the end of his sentence. I giggled along and Lily smiled, still holding onto me.

“It's… It's not over yet.”

My mother looked up from her hands with a look of worry on her face.

“What else could have possibly happen in the two months since we talked last!?” She said, clearly overwhelmed.

“Well…” I put a hoof on my belly. “I'm pregnant…?”

My mother tipped backward In her chair and fainted.

-

I sat silently as my dad picked up my mum and brought her to another room. After a few minutes, he came back into view and sat down, scowling slightly.

“Jesus, Alex. Have you ever heard of subtlety?” My dad shook his head.

“S-sorry. I wasn't exactly sure how to say “I'm pregnant.” without saying “I'm pregnant”.”

“Nevermind, just… how did this all happen? How are you… pregnant?”

“Uh, it's a bit of a long story…”

“Go ahead, Ale- Uh… Rose. I’ll relay it as best as possible to your mother when she wakes up.”

I relayed the story of what had happened to my dad, starting from the beginning. I explained how I had started having these strange recurring dreams, and not long after they started, Lily called me and asked for my help. When I got there, she was already like this and I took her home. The next day, the same thing had happened to me and she helped me get used to it. I then noticed that I was getting sick in the mornings and having strange cravings, then after doing plenty of tests, discovered I was pregnant. I explained to him most of what Princess Luna had told me, besides the fact that we might be going to Equestria eventually. I definitely needed to take my dad's advice and tell them that a little bit more carefully, preferably when they had come to terms with what had already happened.

“H-holy shit.” My dad put his head in his hands and breathed out.

“A-are you okay, dad?”

“Yeah, it’s just… a lot to process.”

I sat silently for a while as my dad thought of what I had told him. I felt Lily tighten her hold on me and kiss me on the cheek as we waited.

“So… You’re saying that… you never really were our son? You’re some horse thing from another universe?”

“N-no! I was your son, but… You just weren’t my first parents, I guess. You’re just as important, if not more important than whoever my pony parents are, but I just don’t remember them.”

“This is so crazy.” He shook his head and folded his arms. “I mean, I'm happy that this has happened to you if this is what makes you happy, it’s just… So, so insane.”

“Thanks for being so supportive, and I-I know how crazy this is. I didn’t think I’d be okay with it, and at first, I wasn’t, but now that it’s happening… I am.”

“Well, you’re happy, so I'm happy.” He smiled apprehensively and nodded.

“So…” I rubbed the back of my head nervously. “How do you think mum will react when she wakes up?”

“Knowing your mum? She’ll freak out for a while, then try and convince you to let her send you loads of baby supplies.”

“Rose has already gone on a bit of a bender with that kind of stuff, but I dunno how useful they’ll be.” Lily explained. “We’re like, slightly larger than Simon.”

“I thought you two looked a little small on that couch, but that is tiny. You’re not having too many problems getting around, are you?”

“Nah, not now that I'm used to it. It would be faster with hands, but it’s not too bad. We leave a lot of the doors open and have chairs set up to reach benches.”

My dad nodded along, searching for something to say.

“You okay, dad?”

“Yeah, yeah, I'm just still thinking about this. So you… you really want to have this kid?”

“Yep.” I nodded happily. “Her name is Brisk Breeze.”

“That’s a kinda strange name.”

“It feels natural though. Like it really is her name. It was the name that I decided on from the naming dreams, so it must be hers.”

“It’s a her?”

“I’m pretty sure it is.”

“I see. You do know I'm gonna be sending you some money, right?”

“Dad, no!” I frowned. “I-I told you before, I don’t need handouts.”

“This is completely different. Not only do you not have a job, but you have a child on the way. What’s gonna happen if you run out of money? You’ll be kicked out of your apartment. You won’t be able to afford food.”

Lily held my foreleg and pursed her lips.

“I think we should take his offer, Rose. I don’t really like taking handouts either, but I’d rather accept charity than be living on the streets, especially now that we’re… y’know. Ponies.”

“Okay then, dad. I guess you can send me some, but no more than we need for food and rent. We’re not homeless yet.”

“Thanks, Al- er, Rose.”

We sat there, saying nothing for a few short moments before I decided to break the silence.

“So…” I trailed off. “I guess we should say goodbye? Unless you have any more questions.”

“No, I think… I think I'm good for the moment. Call again soon, okay? I’ll let your mother know what we talked about when she wakes up.”

“Thanks dad. I love you both.”

“We love you too, Rose.”

I pressed the hang up button on the laptop and let out a huge breath that I didn’t even know I had been holding in. I felt Lily hug me again and kiss me on the cheek.

“You did good, Rose. I know it was hard… I couldn’t imagine what it would be like trying to talk to my own parents again, let alone as a pony. You were amazing.”

“I made my mum faint.”

“I know, right? Must run in the family.” She giggled and nudged me playfully. I laughed a little as well before stretching my forelegs out and yawning.

“Gah. Pretty tired. You ready to head to bed?” I asked.

“Sure.” She said sleepily and we made our way to the bedroom together.

Author's Notes:

A much longer chapters than my last few. Hopefully it's not too shit, but I'm not too happy with this chapter.

Chapter Seven

I was awoken by a movement next to me as someone bumped into my back and I rolled over, confused as to what had caused me to wake when I saw a lump of blankets rolling around in the darkness. I turned to my side and flicked the bedside lamp on, looking back to see Lily, her face contorted and forehead dripping with sweat.

“L-Lily?” I held onto her shoulders and tried to hold her still, in case she hurt herself while also trying to wake her.

She began to mumble something unintelligible and I shook her, attempting to jostle her awake.

“Lily!” I shouted, a worried feeling filling my stomach. “Wake up!”

Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she flung herself forward, gasping heavily. Immediately, she broke down and began to sob, her entire body shaking from the tears. I wrapped my hooves around her and hugged her tight as I could as she rocked back and forth.

“It's okay, Lily. It was just a dream. It was just a dream.” I whispered in her ear. She shook her head rapidly and rocked back and forth even harder.

“No, no, no, no, no…” She repeated, shaking her head as she did.

“It's okay, it was only a dream.”

“No!” Lily screamed. “It wasn't a dream!”

“You had a nightmare Lily.” I pleaded, trying my hardest to get her to calm down.

She shook her head.

“Rose, I saw…” She clenched her eyes, letting tears drip down. “I saw you die.”

My stomach pitted and my eyes contracted. I felt tears build up as I looked down at Lily.

“Y-you… what?”

Lily gritted her teeth and trembled again.

“D-don’t make me say it again, Rose.”

I threw my forelegs around my beautiful Lily and held her tight, her tears releasing and leaking onto my coat. I stroked her mane as she stroked mine and whispered “I love you.” over and over in her ear.

“R-Rose… you were so beautiful.”

“Wh-what?”

“That day… I was going to ask you to marry me.”

My stomach sunk somehow even further and I wasn't sure if I was going to cry from sadness or smile from happiness.

“We were… already having a kid together, so I just… I wanted every pony to know that you were my mare. My perfect Rose.” She smiled and her lips trembled as she brought a hoof to my face, stroking me softly.

“I had… I s-set up this whole d-dinner for us and it was going to b-be amazing.” Her smile faltered and changed quickly to a look of pure sadness.

“Then… when we were in this field together… I left to go home and I th-thought y-you were behind me, b-but when I turned around… y-you were still there. Lying in the flowers.” She broke down into sobs again and I hugged her, my own tears now joining hers.

“Oh G-God, Rose! I thought you were g-gone forever!”

I silently sobbed and stroked Lily’s mane.

“I-it… was real. I know that it was a m-memory. Of our life b-before.”

I shakily nodded and held her tighter.

“I'm not dead, Lily. It's all thanks to you.”

Lily smiled at me while tears still poured down her face and she buried her face into my fur. She kept repeating “You're alive.” over and over again, almost as if she was trying to convince herself it was true.

“Lily.” I held her by the shoulders. “I am alive. A-and I think you have something to to ask m-me.” I said, shaking and trying to hold back a wide smile.

“Wh-what?” She said, confused.

“It's simple.” I smiled warmly yet nervously. “Four words. You a-already said y-you were planning to ask it b-before…”

Lily’s eyes opened wide and she breathed in.

“W-wait, you d-don’t mean-”

I silenced her with a kiss.

“Ask me.”

She nodded and closed her eyes.

“Rose… Will you marry me?”

“Yes!” I screamed, loud enough for anyone awake to hear and I flung myself at Lily, tackling her into a tight hug and pecking her face over and over again with kisses.

“I love you so much!” I squee’d and kicked my legs happily hugging a very happy looking Lily as she hugged me back, tears still streaking her cheeks.

Lily began to laugh, both from happiness and relief. Despite the nightmare, Lily’s smile, in this moment, was the most real I had ever seen it be.

------

We had hugged each other and kissed so much last night that we exhausted each other completely and ended up falling asleep, splayed across the bed in each other's hooves.

The next morning, I woke up sleepily and my mind immediately replayed the events of last night.

Lily asked me to marry her! And I said yes! This was so exciting, but also kinda scary. Almost like having this foal, I was looking forward to it immensely, but the thought of it actually happening was intimidating to say the least.

Next to me, snoring beautifully, was Lily. Even when lying sideways, with her tongue poking out of her mouth as she snored, she was the most beautiful pony in the world. Okay, well, there is kinda only two ponies in this world, but still. She’s beautiful, okay? I yawned and stretched out before jumping out of bed and walking to the door, planning to cook a nice breakfast for my fiance.

Fiance! I found myself hopping between hooves and giggling as I thought of it and had to stop myself. What was I, a schoolgirl? You know what? Who cares. I was happy! I was going to let myself be happy. I resumed my childish giggling and hopping for a while before calming down.

I pulled out some eggs and milk from the fridge, intent on making some french toast for Lily. As I prepared the ingredients, I had the intense desire to slather it in soy sauce. I dismissed it as another one of my extremely strange cravings and avoided doing it. Even if I found myself craving something, experience told me that it still could taste terrible regardless.

I finished up the french toast before placing it on two plates and filling up some glasses with orange juice. I precautiously carried the plates to our room and placed it on our bedside table next to a still sleeping Lily before going back for the glasses of orange juice. Carrying things was still a pain, but almost two months of doing it had made lifting things in my mouth and hooves a lot easier.

Gosh, almost two months. Two months into my pregnancy. Two months since I became a pony again. I placed the glasses of juice on the table and jumped up onto the bed, looking down at my belly. I wasn’t exactly “Big” yet, but there was a definite bump in my belly just above my slightly larger teats. I rubbed my belly contently and hummed happily.

“I wonder what she will grow up to be?” I thought to myself, longing to finally hold her in my hooves.

A yawn from next to me broke me out of my stupor and I looked over at Lily, whose eyes were half open and who was smacking her lips sleepily.

“Morning, Rose. What smells so good?” Lily said, rubbing her eyes.

“French toast!” I said in a chipper tone. “For my beautiful fiance.”

Lily looked a bit confused before her face relaxed as she remembered last night. A look of happiness spread across her face and she launched herself at me, hugging me tightly.

“Woah!” I slipped backward as I took the force of her hug. “Careful, Lily!” I laughed as she buried her face in my fur.

“I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Lily. What’s gotten into you?”

She looked up, her face wide with a huge smile.

“W-we’re gonna get married!” She said, her smile somehow growing wider.

“Yes, Lily.” I tried to keep calm and mature, but the thought of being wed to her was too much and I smiled back, giggling happily and hugging her tightly.

“Oooh!” Lily said and lifted her head up. “French toast! I love french toast!” She said, breathing in deeply through her nose.

“Yep! Sprinkled in sugar and cinnamon, just how you like it.”

“How do you know that I like it like that?” She raised an eyebrow at me.

“I may have had a dream about it a few nights ago. Maybe.”

“Wait, you’ve been having memory dreams too?”

“I think so. They’ve only been really mundane, like eating breakfast, going shopping, walking in the park, that kind of stuff. I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re memory dreams. I was always a pony in them and they were pretty vivid compared to normal dreams.”

Lily nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve been having the same things happening in mine. Besides… last night.” She said and her face drooped again. I lifted her chin up with a hoof and stared her in the the eyes.

“Hey, I will not have my beautiful fiance crying, okay?” I smiled and her cheeks flushed red.

“Fiance…” She muttered quietly and her face quickly switched back to a happy expression.

“We should probably eat our breakfast before it gets cold.” I mentioned and Lily jumped.

“Oh! Yes, sorry! Thanks for cooking breakfast.” She happily grabbed her plate and began digging into her meal.

------

“Mum, can you please stop?”

“No!” My mother said, slightly annoyed at me. I could hardly see it from how bad her webcam was, but there was a distinct frown on her face. “I’ve been looking up what a horse pregnancy is like and I want you to listen to what I have to say!”

“Mum…” I groaned and put my face in my hooves. “I already know what I’m in for, and it’s not a normal pregnancy. Ponies-- Well, the kind of ponies that we are, have extremely similar pregnancies to humans.”

“And how do you know this, hmm?” She asked and folded her arms.

“I told you before, I’m having memory dreams about this stuff. I remember from that.” I said bluntly as possible, my cheeks still heating up from the embarrassing conversation topic. I had called her in the first place to tell her and my dad about me and Lily’s engagement, but as soon as I called, she started going on and on about what I should do.

“I’m sorry, Rose, but as your mother, It’s my job to make sure you’re prepared for this stuff.”

“I’m sorry, Mrs Linden, but Rose is right. She’s extremely prepared and knows exactly the differences and similarities between a pony pregnancy and a human one.” Lily spoke up for the first time since the call had started.

“Well, if you’re sure, then I won’t say anymore about it. I do, however, have a few books I want to send you which might be able to help you. They’re just a few simple books on-”

“Mum, please.” I interrupted. “I called you for a reason. Is dad there at all?”

“Oh, sorry. Yes, he’s just in the garage. Stephen!” My mum called out and my dad walked in a few seconds later.

“Oh, hey honey.” He said, smiling after seeing Lily and I on his screen.

“Hi.” I nervously waved back. “So, dad… We have something to tell you. It’s pretty big.”

“What could be bigger than “I’m a tiny horse and I’m pregnant”, Rose?” He said with a chuckle.

“Well…” I lifted up my hoof, showing a small chain with a gold ring attached to it. “Me and Lily are engaged.”

There was a second of silence before my mum and my dad both smiled happily.

“That’s great news!” My mum said, holding hands with my dad.

“I’m so proud of you, Rose. Honestly, we were both kind of expecting it, especially after you told us you were expecting, but congratulations all the same.” My dad smiled warmly. I felt a tear of happiness collecting at the rim of my eye and I wiped it away. Lily nuzzled up against my cheek and whispered softly.

“See? Told you they would be happy for us.”

I nodded and looked down at the ring on my hoof. It was Lily’s idea to get this ring in the first place, and although I had said that I didn’t think I really needed one, Lily still dug into her savings to buy it. I had been looking for one to buy for Lily yesterday when she mentioned that we should probably call my parents and tell them the good news.

“We have a little surprise for you too, Rose.” My mum said excitedly, looking at her husband before looking back at us. “We’re coming down to visit tomorrow!”

My jaw dropped and I glanced over at Lily, who looked just as shocked.

“Wh-what!? Tomorrow?” I looked around at our apartment, at all of the mess that we had left uncleaned both due to laziness and the fact that it was hard to clean such a large place when we were so small. They couldn’t come here when it was in this state! “Uh, can you m-maybe reschedule?” I asked with a shaky smile.

“Sorry, Rose. Your mother and I both booked time off of work to come see you, and we only have tomorrow and the day after to see you.”

“Th-the day after?”

“Rose, we not only haven’t seen you in months, but we want to meet Lily! She seems like such a lovely girl, but we’ve only ever met her over video calls. Two days should be enough, and We’ll bring a blowup mattress to sleep on.” My mum protested firmly.

I rolled my eyes and slumped in my seat.

“Couldn’t have warned me, could you?”

“We only actually found out we could earlier today, so this is the soonest we could have told you. Anyway, we have to pack and get ready to go, so we’ll see you tomorrow! Love you, bye!” My mum said before hanging up. I slumped even further down and groaned loudly, Lily letting out a small chuckle at my behaviour.

“Oh come on, they can’t be that bad.”

“You haven’t seen my parents visit before. If this place isn’t spotless when she arrives, we’ll never hear the end of it.”

Lily looked around the room and her pupils shrank.

“W-we got a lot of work to do.

------

I stood in the centre of the room and looked around, exhausted but happy. We had spent the entirety of last night and this morning cleaning up and had only just finished when I heard the doorbell to our apartment go off. I jolted in surprise and Lily put a hoof around me, kissing me on the cheek as she did.

“Hey, It’ll be fine, Rose.” She said calmly.

“What if they don’t like you?”

Lily rolled her eyes and lifted her hoof off me, walking toward the door.

“You worry too much, honey. I’m sure we’ll get along perfectly.” Lily smiled and jumped up, grabbing onto the door handle before pulling the door open. Behind it was my mum and dad, both of their faces filling with surprise as they saw me, standing in the middle of the room. I nervously raised a hoof and waved.

“Uh, hi? You two alright?” Lily said, causing them both to look down and stare at Lily. She grinned widely at them, but their expression didn’t change.

“Mum, dad? Can you come inside? I don’t want anyone else seeing us like this.”

This jolted them out of their surprised looks and they both hurried inside, closing the door beside them and placing their bags on the floor. They looked at me and smiled, still obviously very surprised.

“Uh, did you want a seat?”

They nodded and took a seat down at the dinner table. I jumped up and shortly afterward, Lily followed. I looked over expectantly at my mum and dad who remained silent as they looked at me.

“Is everything alright?”

“Oh, uh, yes.” My dad said, nudging his wife, who nodded. “Sorry, we’re just… Still shocked. I mean, we’ve seen you two before, but seeing you in person makes this all so more real.”

I nodded understandingly before looking to Lily.

“Well, you’ve met before, but this is Lily.” She waved at them happily. “Uh… How was the drive down?”

“Fine.” My mum said, nodding. “Your father decided to listen to his metal music the whole way down, but besides that, it was fine.” She joked and laughed. My dad chuckled and put his hand on his wife's shoulder.

“Rose, I know we said it before, but we are just so proud of you. I remember talking to you before you… changed, and you just seemed so… bored.”

I giggled and nodded.

“Yeah, bored is definitely accurate. I am happy now though, and that’s what matters.”

“Ooh!” My mum smiled and leaned down to rifle through her bags. I looked at dad questioningly, but he just rolled his eyes back. She popped back up again, a bag in her hands and a huge grin on her face. “I bought you two a present!”

“Mum, you didn’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense! You just got engaged, I can’t not buy you something.” She said, leaning forward and pushing the bag toward us. I looked inside and pulled out a large box. Well, large compared to us.

“What is it?”

“Open it up!”

I opened up the plain white box and pulled out a large folder-like book from inside. On the cover was the words “Precious memories” in cursive font.

“A picture album?”

“Yep! I want you two to fill that book up with happy times and do amazing things together. Me and your father have a book just like it, filled with pictures of you as a kid.”

I smiled at my mum and jumped down, running towards her and jumping up onto her lap, before wrapping my hooves around her and hugging her. She froze up from the hug but relaxed and hugged me back.

“Thank you so much, mum.” I said, looking up at the face of the woman who raised me. She looked down and smiled a motherly smile which changed to a very excited one.

“Oh gosh, Rose! You’re so cute!”

“C-cute?” I moved back a little.

“Your little floppy ears, and your tiny nose! Oooh, and your hair is so pretty!” I blushed as my mum prattled on and I heard a laugh come from both my dad and Lily. Suddenly, I felt two strong hands lift me up from underneath and pull me over. I was plonked down softly on my father's lap and he grinned at me.

“Come here and give your dad a hug.” He said and placed his arms softly yet firmly. My dad’s hug was a different kind of hug than my mums, and instead of being more calming, it was more reassuring than anything else. He pulled away and looked down at me.

“You are… really small.”

“You know how small I am, dad.”

“But seeing you in person… You’re like a cat!” He chuckled deeply.

“I-I’m not a pet, dad!” I frowned, pursing my lips.

“I know, I know. I wasn’t saying that, but you are the size of one. I scowled playfully at him before jumping down and trotting over to Lily. I jumped back up on the chair and she kissed me on the cheek.

“You two really are a cute couple.” My mother said, clapping her hands together.

“Mum… Stop…” I blushed again, only for a hoof to move my face toward Lily and her lips to meet mine. I was shocked by the kiss but reciprocated it anyway. It was only after it ended that the realization hit that she had kissed me in front of my parents.

I looked over only to see my mum almost jumping out of her seat from how much she was smiling and wiggling around. My dad was smiling widely, but staring at Lily, almost as if to say “You better be treating her right.”

I swung back to Lily who was softly smiling, eyes half lidded and looking at me. I frowned at her and scrunched up my muzzle.

“L-Lily, please. You’re embarrassing me.”

“I only do what I do best, Rose.” She said and pecked me on the lips again.

“Anyway!” My dad said to change the subject and I looked appreciatively at him. “Your apartment is looking very nice, Rose. A lot better than last time we visited.”

“Oh, thanks. Yeah, it’s kinda hard to clean up like this, what with the lack of opposable thumbs and us being quite small compared to humans.” I replied.

“I have to agree with your father this time. Your place is looking perfect, if a little… Plain.” I smiled in relief. The approval of my mum in regards to my apartment signalled a complaint free visit.

“Ooh, I know! Me and Stephen were thinking of going out to do some shopping for you two tomorrow, how about we buy you some flowers to spruce up the place?” My mum offered.

Flowers? I would normally have said “No way”, but the idea of having some flowers in here sounded absolutely amazing.

“Y-yeah, that actually would be pretty good.” I nodded. “Thanks, mum.”

“And I know exactly what to buy! Winter is the season for both Lilies and Roses, so that would be perfect.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled at my mum. I had expected her to do this, trying to do everything for me while she was here, and usually I would have complained, but to be honest, it would be nice not having to do too much for a few days. Lily seemed to be getting along pretty well with my parents too, which I still expected, but it was a relief to quell my fears, no matter how unnecessary they were.

------

I sat on the couch with my father to my right and Lily cuddled up to me on my left as a wonderful smell wafted in through from the kitchen. After a little bit of convincing, I finally agreed to let my mum cook dinner and the amazing smell of Laksa filled our apartment. I had told my mum and dad that meat was inedible for us now, and so she had filled the meal with bok choy and other asian vegetables to create a different kind of laksa.

Dinner was unexpectedly pleasant. Usually when my parents came over, my mum would complain, my dad would stay silent, and I would nod along quietly to whatever she said. Tonight, though, was extremely different. My mum did minimal complaining and instead, busied herself by asking all about Lily. I answered as best as I could, but my mind started getting jumbled up at a few points. When my mum asked how we met, I started telling her the story of how I had only just moved into town, and I had comforted her after her flower stand had been ravaged by pests. I stopped myself when I realized that the story I was telling was actually a memory from our life before, not how we had met when we were still human.

Despite a few slip ups and jumbles, I managed to tell her all she needed to know about Lily and soon enough, our meal was finished and we sat at the table, satisfied.

“Ahhh… I really enjoyed that, mum. Thanks for cooking for us.”

“Thank you for letting me! You’re usually so stubborn about this stuff, but I’m glad you’re finally letting us help.”

“Yeah, I can be a bit hard headed at times…” I rubbed the back of my head. Next to me, Lily yawned and rubbed her belly.

“Thanks, Mrs Linden. That was really great. I’m feeling pretty pooped.”

I nodded, only just realizing now how tired our frantic cleaning this morning had left us and I hopped down from the chair.

“Sorry mum, I think me and Lily are gonna head to bed.”

She shook her head and raised a hand.

“No, no, don’t be sorry. You’re carrying a baby inside you, you need all the rest you can get.”

I smiled at my mum, silently thanking her for being so understanding before I walked through to me and Lily’s bedroom. I sleepily jumped up on the bed as Lily closed the door, waving goodnight to my mum and dad. She followed behind and jumped up next to me, pulling the blankets over us and raising a hoof for me to rest on her chest. I sighed happily as I felt her chest rise up and down slowly.

“Thank you, Lily.” I said contently.

“What for?”

“For being so amazing.”

“Pfft. I’m not amazing.”

“Yes you are. My parents absolutely adore you. I’ve brought partners to meet them before, and trust me, if they had any problem with you at all, even the slightest, they would let me know. Not subtly either.”

Lily said nothing but tightened her hold around me and kissed me on the top of the head.

“I love you, Rose.”

I nuzzled her and closed my eyes calmly.

“Night, Lily. I love you too.”

Chapter Eight

The dim light of the rising sun filled our room as I was awoken by a bump at my side. My mind immediately remembered the last time I had been woken up like this and I rolled over to see Lily squirming around. I brought my hooves to her shoulders to shake her awake again when I heard a small moan come from her. When my eyes cleared up and I looked down at her face, she didn’t seemed to have a worried or pained expression, but a… Oh dear.

I sniffed the air and the faint but familiar smell of Lily’s arousal filled my nostrils, causing me to follow suit a little as a tiny bit of arousal swept me. Oh gosh.

“Uh, L-Lily?” I shook her lightly, trying not to breath in through my nose and get any more excited than I already was.

“Ohhhh…” Lily moaned and her cheeks somehow flushed an even deeper red than they already were. I clenched my legs together and tried to think of anything else.

“Lily.” I shook her a little lighter.

“I love you… Rose…” She said in her sleep, small eeps coming from her afterwards as she wriggled around. I was about to shake her harder when I felt her legs clench around my thigh and something extremely warm and wet touched me.

“Nope. Nope, nope, nope.” I said, wrenching my leg away from her. Not with my parents in the house.

“Lily!” I shook her harder this time, waking her up as her eyes fluttered open. They suddenly shot open wide and her body stiffened, the sweat on her forehead practically dripping down.

“U-uh… Morning, R-Rose.” She stammered, forcing a smile. “I was… dreaming about y-you.” She covered her face with her hooves.

“Uh huh.” I smiled, glad she was awake and conscious of her actions. “I kinda guessed, what with you moaning my name.”

She stiffened up even more at that and let out a pained chuckle.

“Eheh… Sorry, Rose.” She said, beginning her squirming again.

“It’s okay.” I said, but she continued to move around, the blush on her cheeks and obvious arousal not dropping at all.

“Lily? I… I don’t really want to burst your bubble, but… we can’t really do anything this morning.” I said and she closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly. Eventually she let out a frustrated groan, which switched into a moan half way through.

“I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me! I can’t s-stop… thinking about stuff.” She murmured nervously. I leant down and kissed her on the forehead.

“I promise, we can do stuff later, once my parents have left, but these walls are really, really thin, and I know how loud you can get.” This only caused her to moan again and cover her face.

“I can’t! I don’t know why, but I… I just want you so much.” She pulled herself up and wrapped her hooves around me, holding me tight. “P-Please, Rose!” She said in a strained whisper. “I n-need you!”

I had to close my eyes and force myself to think about something different, as my own arousal was climbing by the second .

“Lily, please. I promise you, I will let you… do anything to me tonight, just… try and calm yourself down.” I had to force myself not to kiss her, knowing it would make matters worse but I still wanted to show my affection towards her. I instead settled for stroking her mane, which did actually seem to calm her down a bit and she breathed in and out slowly.

“I-I think… I think it’s at least a bit better… but it’s not gone, Rose. I don’t know what’s going on! I’m s-scared…”

“Hey, hey, it’ll be alright.” I stroked her mane again. Suddenly, a memory of something I dreamed about about a week ago entered my mind…

------

“Good morning class!” An elder, green mare with a messy purple mane and a book next to an apple for a cutie mark entered the classroom.

“Morning, Mrs Cherry Apple!” I joined in as the rest of the class greeted her back.

“Now, we have a guest in today to talk to you about some very important stuff. I’d like to introduce you all to Speedy Learning.” She motioned to the door and a portly pegasus mare walked in. She had a very calming look to her face and waved as she walked in.

“Good morning to you all. Now, I know that Mrs Cherry has told you all that I would be in to teach you all about sex education today.” A few colts and fillies in the class groaned, but I just listened intently. I had no idea about what “sex ed” was, but I liked to listen to my teachers, so I sat quietly and waited. Speedy Learning giggled quietly and looked around the classroom. “Yes, from the looks of it, a few of you have already been told about this by your parents, but every young pony must know about what I have to tell you all. Now a lot of teachers would split the colts and fillies up for this lesson, but I do think that defeats the purpose. Now, onto your lesson…”

-

Wow! I had no idea that colts even could do that with their parts! I mean, I knew that a colt and a filly had to be together to make a foal, but I had no idea that was how it was done. I never really felt myself wanting to do something like that with a colt, let alone kiss one, but having a foal sounded like a nice idea. Although, Speedy Learning did say that it was a big responsibility having a foal too, and I didn’t even really like the “responsibility” my mum gave me when she left me alone in the house. I was always so afraid I’d break something.

“Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard enough about how colt’s work, but how many of you know about how fillies bodies work?” Speedy Learning asked the class and only a few raised their hooves. Less than when she had asked this about colts. I was rather excited for this part, not only because I didn’t like colt’s -- They were icky -- but I wanted to know how my own body worked.

-

I had no idea we were so complex inside! I had seen a few mares with large bellies walking around town with their coltfriend or fillyfriend, but I thought it was maybe because they had too many milkshakes, not that they had a baby inside of them!

“There’s also something that you should all consider when you get older and want to be intimate with your coltfriend’s. There is a very particular time of the month that all fillies have that is a very special time for them. You may find yourself being very warm, or wanting to do particular things, but you must not do that. The reason is because if a mare and a stallion have sex during this time, it is very likely that the mare will become pregnant with a foal. This time of the month is referred to as “Heat”, mostly because of the fact that you will feel very hot during this time, almost like having a fever. This happens so that the mare knows when her body is ready to have a foal. It is perfectly natural and will go away in time or until the mare becomes pregnant by having sex with a stallion.”

That was a relief! Colts were gross, I didn’t want to do this “sex” thing with any of them. Mares smelled a lot better and weren’t anywhere near as ugly.

“I do believe that concludes our lesson today, class.” Speedy Learning smiled at us and a few members of the class sighed in relief. “If you have any questions, ask Mrs Cherry Apple and I’m sure she will be able to answer you.”

-------

Oh gosh. I knew exactly what was going on. I smiled nervously at Lily, trying to act normally, but she seemed to catch on to my worried expression.

“R-Rose? What’s wrong?”

I needed to tell her. It would probably be a bit of a shock, but unless she wanted to have a foal too, it would be happening for the rest of her life.

“Lily… You’re in heat.”

“H-Heat? Like, the thing that dogs get?”

“Well, kinda. I don’t know how it works in dogs, but… It’s just kinda like a period, except not painful. You’re just gonna be… like this for about a week.”

Lily groaned and rolled onto her back, covering her face with her hooves.

“A week!?” She complained. “I can’t deal with this for a week. How do you even know about this stuff?”

“Uh… I had a memory dream a week ago about pony sex ed.”

Lily let out a weak laugh.

“Of course.”

“Hey, it’s not too bad.” I said and put my hoof on her cheek, causing her to look at me and raise an eyebrow.

“Wh-why?”

“Because.” I leant down and put my head next to her ear. “Once my parents leave… I’m gonna eat you out so damn much you’ll be keeping our neighbours awake for the next week.”

------

I should not have said that. I should not have said that. I sat in the bathroom with Lily as a cold stream of water covered her body, trying it’s hardest to quench the fire in her loins.

“I’m sorry.” I said for the fiftieth time.

“I know, Rose. Please stop saying sorry.” Lily chuckled and turned the tap off. I lifted up the towel and helped dry and warm her body back up after her chilly shower.

“Thanks again. It’s definitely a lot less distracting now.”

“The, uh… smell is gone too, which will help” I giggled and dried Lily’s mane. After it was dry, I reached over and clipped the lily hair pin into her hair again. I smiled as the lily completed her image perfectly and we stepped out of the bathroom together.

As we entered the living room, I saw my mum sitting on the couch, petting a very happy looking Simon, still in her pyjamas, while my dad rummaged around in the fridge, presumably for breakfast.

“Morning, Mrs Linden.” Lily said happily and walked toward her, hopping up onto the couch. I followed behind and jumped up next to her.

“Oh please, Lily! We’re family now, call me Jenny!” She smiled up from her book.

“Oh, uh, okay. Morning, Jenny.”

“Hmm, you know what? Just call me mum instead! I’ve always wanted another daughter.”

Lily’s face paled and she looked down at her hooves.

“I-I’d rather not… Is just Jenny fine?” She said nervously and I nuzzled her, knowing what was going through her mind right now.

“Oh, yes, Jenny is fine.”

“Hey Rose, where’s the bacon?” My dad called out as he searched through the fridge. Now, both me and Lily’s faces went pale as we remembered our last encounter with bacon.

“I’m afraid that… bacon and I don’t get along anymore. You know, the whole vegetarian thing.” I said, strong on the outside, but on the inside, I shed a single tear for my lost comrade. I will forever keep you in my heart, bacon.

“Good night, sweet prince…” Lily whispered.

“What was that?” My dad called out.

“Nothing, dad. We just don’t keep bacon anymore. Not really any meat at all. Our pony bodies don’t really seem to like it that much.”

“No meat? How do you live?”

“Better than if we did eat meat, probably.” I laughed. “I know it’s no bacon, but we got some portabello mushrooms, some tomatoes that you can fry up, and eggs are still fine to eat, so we got some of that too.”

“Okay then…” My dad said, saddened by the lack of meat. “Hey, what’s with the tubes of wasabi?”

“Oh, that.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “You can probably throw that out. I was having weird cravings a while back, but I’m sure you can tell that wasabi on toast isn’t exactly a great combination.”

“Ah, I remember my cravings I had when I was pregnant with Alex. Uh, with Rose. I believe I wanted pineapples and milk one day. I can tell you now, not exactly a tasty combination, but it sated my craving at least.” My mum laughed, Simon mewling for attention on her lap. “So what would you like to do today?”

“Well, we can’t exactly leave the house, so I’m happy with just talking for a while. I’m sure you guys have a lot of questions.” I smiled, but my mind traveled to a pressing matter that I still had to address before they left. “We have something important to talk about with you guys too, but it can wait until after breakfast at least.”

------

My dad had settled on some fried mushrooms with scrambled eggs, which didn’t really taste any different than I remembered it, but was definitely a lot more appetizing than before. Lily looked at me nervously as she finished her meal, her cheeks becoming redder now and her body letting off quite a bit more heat.

“Are you okay, Lily? Is it… you know what?” I asked and she nodded jerkily.

“Mum, dad, Lily and I have something to talk to you about, and she’s feeling a bit... off, so it’d be better to tell you now than later.”

“Oh jeez, what is it now?” My dad complained. I looked at my hooves, unsure of how to say that I wanted to travel back to Equestria. I was remembering more and more of it every day, and as time went on, I couldn’t help but feel more alienated in this world than ever. Equestria felt like home. I know she didn’t want to admit it, but by the way Lily sounded when we talked about it, she felt the same way.

“You know that Princess I was telling you guys about? Luna?”

“She the one that was visiting you in your dreams?” My dad asked and I nodded.

“Yeah, she… she told me something that she’s trying to do. An opportunity that might not ever happen, but if it does become a possibility, me and Lily have decided that we would like to take that opportunity.”

“She’s going to be able to turn you back into Alex?” My mum asked expectantly and she smiled. My heart sunk and I closed my eyes. I knew she wanted Alex back, but that wouldn’t happen.

“Mum, no. I’m still your kid, but… I’m not Alex. That wasn’t the real me, and I feel so much more comfortable now.” I replied and my mum looked dejected for a second before smiling and nodding.

“I know, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said it like that.” She said, trying to smile, but a few tears breaking through. Why did everything have to be so hard?

“Mum… Dad… Me and Lily want to go back to Equestria.”

My mum gasped and her eyes began to well up and my dad folded his arms, closing his eyes and looking down.

“I-I’m so s-sorry…” I began to sob. “I just…”

“Neither of us feel at home here.” Lily spoke up confidently. “If there is a way to contact you when we are there, we will, but this place… This world isn’t ours.”

My mum nodded but her tears still poured down her face, while my dad said nothing and remained stoic.

“I wish I didn’t want this…” I said and Lily put a hoof around me. “I love you guys so much, and I wish I didn’t have to say this, but… Luna has given us this chance, and we’re not missing it if it comes around.”

“I wish…” My mum said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I wish this never happened.”

“Wh-what?”

“Why couldn’t you just be normal!” She screamed at me and I stepped back, shocked at what she had said.

“Jenny!” My dad shouted, saying something for the first time since this conversation started. “Our son- No, our daughter is normal. I know that this is hard, and of course I don’t want to be parted from her, but this is her life. Her decision.” He unfolded his arms and looked toward me, the tears in his eyes betraying his demeanor. “Rose… we love you. You know that. I know that you know how hard it is for us to hear this.”

“O-of course I do. I’ve been s-scared about telling you e-ever since I met Luna.”

“And I know how hard it is for you too, Rose.”

“I don’t… I don’t want to say goodbye.” I sobbed into my hooves.

“I know.” My dad walked over to me from the kitchen and sat next to me, hugging me as best as possible. I sobbed into his chest as I felt another pair of arms wrap around me.

“I’m s-sorry, Rose.” My mum muttered through the tears. “I didn’t… Oh gosh, I’m the worst mother ever.”

“No you’re not, Jenny.” Lily said, joining in on the hug. “All of our lives have been flipped upside down, you’d be a bad mother if you weren’t scared.”

My mum said nothing but tightened her grip on the hug, pulling us all in close.

I didn’t want to say goodbye. I didn’t want to break apart what I had managed to bring back together. I cried, torn between wanting to leave earth and not, but I knew what I was going to choose. I didn’t want to want this, but… earth wasn’t home. I couldn’t raise Brisk here. I couldn’t have a life here. We couldn’t have a life here. My life ended at the doors to this apartment, and if I was stuck on earth… I would never leave.

“I’m sorry, Rose…” My mum said between sobs. “I just… I don’t want to lose my baby.” I blushed and smiled at her.

“Mum… I’m not a baby. I’m about to… to start a new family. I’m engaged, and I have a foal on the way, and this is… just the next step. Finding a home.”

“Oh my gosh.” My mum groaned and covered her face, giggling a little as she did. “I’m gonna be a grandmother.”

All of us joined in and laughed a little, our spirits raising slightly.

“Hey, I’ll be a granddad too! I wonder if she’ll look like us?” My dad chuckled and ruffled my mane. I refrained from saying “Probably not.” and just laughed along, glad that they weren’t too upset anymore. I knew for a fact that it would take a lot of preparation, but hopefully they were used to the idea when Luna found a way to take Lily and I home.

If Luna found a way to take us home.

Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading, everyone.

This chapter is shorter again as chapter 8.5 will be a clop chapter. It is a little bit more of an important chapter than the last cloptional chapter, so it would be good if you read it for the story parts, even if you avoid the clop.

I'll be releasing that chapter later today or tomorrow.

Chapter Eight and a Half (Semi-Cloptional)

Author's Notes:

While this chapter does have clop, some important story parts are in here as well, so I recommend that you read, even if you skip the clop.

The rest of the day was relatively peaceful. Things were still awkward between my parents and I from before, but they started being a little bit more normal toward the end of the day. I was silently worried the whole day, knowing that there was more to my mums outburst. She didn't like this situation one bit, and I could tell it was hurting her. I wanted to say or do something to help, but until she accepted it, the only thing I could do was wait and offer her support. All in all, the rest of the day was nice, if a little awkward. Not to mention that Lily was clinging to my side and breathing heavily in arousal for a lot of the day, taking another shower at around lunch time to help cool off a little more.

It was honestly super cute watching her struggle to keep her arousal as un-obvious as possible, shrugging it off as a fever whenever my mum or dad asked if she was okay. A small while after lunch, my parents packed up their stuff and we said our goodbyes. I promised them that we would talk over Skype very soon and be in contact as much as possible.

As the door shut behind them, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It was still nice seeing my parents, but the past two days had been absolutely exhausting. I was just kind of glad to finally get some res- Woah!

I stumbled back as Lily practically threw herself at me, pressing her lips to mine and forcing her tongue into my mouth. I was a bit shocked for a second, but melted into the kiss after a short while. I heard both Lily and myself let out short, high pitched, involuntary moans as we passionately kissed.

I forced myself to separate from the kiss and looked into Lily’s beautiful, half lidded eyes.

“Jeez, Lily. That bad, huh?”

She nodded jerkily and kissed me again. I felt a familiar warmth and wetness begin to spread through my groin and each touch of Lily’s hooves only sent my passion soaring even more.

The smell of her arousal began to fill the room and I felt a hoof grip my rump, pulling closer into the kiss. It was much fainter than hers, but I began to smell my own arousal as well as our kiss intensified. Lily began pulling me, mid kiss toward the couch and when we got there, she pushed me up against it, pinning me down and staring into my eyes, lust practically dripping from her.

Oh. Wow. It was literally dripping from her. I felt a warm liquid drip onto one of my hind hooves currently pinned under Lily.

“L-Lily…” I said, my arousal reaching a peak, causing me to squirm around in anticipation. “W-we should probably get to the b-bedroom.”

“No.” She said plainly. “I'm taking you here.”

My cheeks flushed with heat and I lifted my hooves up, slightly covering my blush as she pecked me softly on the forehead.

“My mare…” She whispered between kisses. Her kisses slowly lowered until she kissed me once on the nose and she pulled away.

Lily held me by the hoof as we both jumped up onto the couch together, immediately resuming our kiss as we fell into a comfortable position. Lily pulled away and looked me up and down, breathing heavily.

“You're so beautiful, Rose.” She smiled slightly, still panting. “My beautiful perfect Rose. I'm so lucky to have you, Roseluck.”

“R-Roseluck?” I was confused. Why was that so familiar.

“That's your full name. Roseluck. We shortened it to Rose.”

“Wh-what’re you talking about?”

“I had a dream… about when we met.”

My mind drifted to that day, the one that my memory dreams seemed to focus on so much, yet somehow… I had missed such an important detail.

------

I glanced out of the train's window, watching as the beautiful landscape passed me by. How many more ponies would I meet here? How many more romances would blossom thanks to the help of some of my flowers? I couldn't wait to see their happy faces as they picked their flowers, with my help of course.

It wasn't only flowers for love that I sold, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was my favourite type of bouquet to sell. A bouquet of love.

I sighed happily, reminiscing about the last couple that I had helped with my flowers; I usually tried to get to know any ponies who might be buying flowers for a potential partner so I could help them pick the perfect arrangement. Lyra was her name, and the pony whose heart she was after was Bon Bon. I had heard from them, after they started their relationship, that they were sick of the busy lifestyle that was so common in Manehattan and had decided to move to Ponyville.

I myself had been looking for an escape from this city for a while, not only because I prefer a less frantic home, but also because ponies living out here liked the simpler things. Roses, chrysanthemums, sunflowers, any flower could easily brighten up the day of a sad pony, or bring the hearts of two ponies together.

The train began to slow as I saw the tops of houses poking out from the trees I stepped up a little, smiling as my new home came into view.

“We will be arriving at Ponyville in a few minutes, everypony. Please gather your belongings and prepare to disembark.”

-

I carried my huge pile of luggage all the way across the station floor, looking for a trolley of an kind. It was times like these that I really wish I had gotten my mother's horn.

“Hey, stranger!” I jumped as a golden glow enveloped my bags, lifting them up off the floor. I spun around and was greeted by a mint green unicorn, her smile spread all the way across her face.

“Lyra!” I stepped forward and hugged her in greeting. A cream coated mare with a flossy blue and pink mane stepped up next to us, smiling as she did. “Bon Bon! You’re here too?”

“Yep!” She replied. “When you told us when you’d be getting to Ponyville, Lyra immediately said that we should come and surprise you.” She kissed Lyra on the cheek and began walking toward the exit of the station. “Come on! We’ll help you get settled in.”

-

The first few days here had been great! I was relaxed, calm, and happy for once in a long while, partly due to the relaxed atmosphere that this town exuded, but also the fact that today was also the first day of business for my flower stand in the Ponyville marketplace! I got up bright and early, setting up my small stand and placing a few bouquets that I had prepared beforehand for display. Across from me, a pink pony with a blonde mane was also setting up a stand, placing pots full of flowers, all perfectly and trimmed and watered.

As the mare turned her head toward me, I felt my heart race as she smiled at me. I waved to her, strangely enthralled by her. Maybe I… Maybe I could make a new friend. Yeah.

“H-hi!” I called out. “Lovely morning, isn’t it?”

She said nothing but smiled and nodded back, going back to her preparations. Right, I should probably be doing that too. As I turned, I felt the ground begin to rumble slightly. Confused, I watched as the pots on my stand began to vibrate and slide along the side of the stand.

I jumped as I heard a scream from next to me, swinging around to see the pink mare gasping. I looked toward where she was looking and felt my heart plummet as a literal stampede of rabbits charged toward us.

-

I came to a short while later, blinking as I woke up from my fainting spell. I looked over at my stand and gasped as I saw that every single flower had been eaten! Every last flower, devoured! I heard a quiet sobbing over to my left and saw that the other flower mare from before had her stock eaten as well. For some reason, I felt extremely guilty and walked over to her, placing a hoof on her withers.

“Hey, miss? Are you you okay?” I asked quietly and she looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

“N-no… All of my flowers… Gone…” She sobbed.

“I… I know. Mine too.” The realization that not only was this my first day of business, but also that my entire days stock had been eaten hit me hard.

“O-oh, gosh. This is the worst day ever.” She sobbed again and I helped her to her hooves. “W-wait, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around town before.”

“Oh, yeah. I just moved to Ponyville a few days ago. My name’s Roseluck, but my friends call me Rose. Did you want some help cleaning up?” I asked, glad to extend a helping hoof to this, hopefully, new friend.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” She asked, hope in her eyes.

“Of course! What’s your name?”

“Oh! Sorry. My name’s Lily. Lily Valley.”

“That’s a pretty name.” I said without thinking and froze after I had said it. What the hell was that, Rose!?

“Th-thanks…” She blushed and turned away to start cleaning up her stall. I joined her and swept up as much of the debris and plant matter as possible, shooing away the stray rabbit or two as we worked. There was something weird about Lily that I couldn’t put my hoof on. Or was it me being weird? I had no idea, but I was sure that I had made a great friend today, despite the tragedy that was our lost flowers.

------

The memory smashed into me like a train, leaving me stunned for a second. That was so… vivid! I knew I had had that dream before, but this was so weird. I was awake, and the memory had rushed into me.

“R-Rose?” Lily asked, looking down at me. I snapped out of my stupor, realizing that we were just about to make love when that memory had rushed me.

“S-Sorry, I just… I just remembered that day, when I came to Ponyville… It all just kinda hit me at once. Roseluck… That’s my full name...”

“Y-yeah.” Lily smiled nervously. “I think it’s kinda pretty.”

The heat came back to my cheeks and I pecked Lily on the lips, sending a shiver through her body.

“Sorry for killing the mood. Where were we?” I grinned, reaching up and placing a hoof on her rump, eliciting a slight coo. I put a little pressure down, pulling her firm but malleable rump apart. She closed her eyes and breathed out slowly, lowering her head to my chest as I felt her body against mine.

“Your fur is so soft…” I whispered in her ear, sending another subtle quake through her body, her breathing now picking up in pace.

“You smell so nice…” I breathed in through my nose, the faint smell of her natural flowery scent mixed with the smell of her arousal flooding my senses. It was my turn to shiver this time and Lily pulled her head up, placing her lips on my neck and suckling it lightly.

“Oh, Lily…” I wriggled around, the arousal coming back to me and my groin warming up once more. I felt her hoof stroking my side before slowly drifting downward toward my crotch. She lifted it up off my belly and I held my breath, expecting her hoof to press against my sex any second now…

Only for it to press into an entirely different part of my body. Her hoof began to slowly massage my tender and sensitive teats. I let out a small moan as I felt the tip of her hoof brush against my nipples, now much larger than they had been last time.

“W-wow… They’re so big.” She mused lustfully. Her head lowered slowly as she kissed me, eventually reaching the space just above my crotch. Her lips planted themselves softly around a nipple and a calming pleasure washed over me as she began to suckle. I let out a soft moan, wiggling as her tongue flicked my nipple softly. They were extremely tender, and even though I felt a small amount of pain from her ministrations, the pleasure far outweighed it.

“You like that?” Lily chuckled from between my legs.

“Y-yes, but… I want to make you feel good too.” I replied, trying to lift myself up to kiss her. She answered me by quickly slipping the tip of her hoof between my dripping folds, causing me to gasp in pleasure and fall back down.

“Just because I’m in heat doesn’t mean I don’t want to make you cum.” She replied, her language causing even more arousal to spread. “Trust me, I’m gonna make you make me cum, Rose. Whether you like it or not.”

“I-I will, though. I w-want to make you...” I said nervously as she began to move her hoof around again, flicking the tip against my clit. I let out another groan as her lips fell to my teats once more, her tongue grazing the side of my nipple as she licked all around.

All of a sudden, her snout entered me and her tongue shot out, licking the inside of my walls. My legs instinctively clenched around her head as the familiar pressure of an orgasm began to build up in me. Lily pulled her head up and moved it next to mine.

I panted as I saw Lily’s beautiful face, her muzzle dripping in my fluids. I accepted her kiss, the taste of my own wetness entering my mouth along with her tongue. She pulled away, leaving a trail of what was either saliva or my own mare juice between our lips.

“T-touch me, Rose.” She stuttered, her eyes wide. “I can’t take it any m-more. I n-need you.”

I immediately dropped my hoof between her thighs and pressed firmly into her cunt as she did the same with her own hoof. She moaned along with me, millimeters from each other's lips as we pleasured one another. I kissed her sloppily as my pressure began to climb, causing me to involuntarily thrust my hips to the movements of her hoof.

“O-oh god, Rose!” She moaned into my mouth, thrusting her hips in the same way that I was. “I’m so close!”

“M-me too.” I whispered breathily. “Make me cum for you, Lily!”

We both climbed over the edge at the same time and our bodies rocked and shook, our simultaneous orgasm shaking through us. A few spurts of cum dripped onto both of our hooves as we continued to rub each other, prolonging the incredible orgasm that we were both having.

Eventually, Lily fell away, panting heavily as her hips convulsed and my own amazing climax beginning to subside. I watched as Lily still writhed in pleasure, turning to me, her eyes unfocused as she continued to cum.

“W-woah.” I muttered as she spasmed again from the pleasure. While she was distracted, I grinned and lowered myself between her legs. I felt her body lock up as I placed my lips around her clit, her wetness squirting onto my muzzle.

“R-Rose!” She screamed my name, much louder than she had done before. “Oh god, I l-love you!”

I smiled and continued to lap away, tasting her familiar mare cum as it filled her love tunnel, only for me to happily drink it up.

“Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, ohgoshohgoshohgosh!” Lily panted out, getting more and more frantic until eventually, she held her legs around my body and I felt her cunt clench itself intently on both my tongue and my muzzle. I moaned into her pussy as she came, enjoying the pleasure of my beautiful marefriend as she climaxed for the second time that night.

I eventually pulled myself away, smiling at Lily as she shook in orgasm. I flopped down next to her, our lovemaking session taking all of my energy out of me. Lily glanced over at me, still panting in the afterglow of her orgasm.

“R-Rose… Oh my gosh. Y-you’re so b-beautiful.” She leant forward and kissed me weakly. I could tell the two consecutive climaxes had exhausted her, so I took control of this kiss, exploring her mouth intently. She cooed into the kiss and I let her taste her own fluids as she had done to me before.

I separated from the kiss and rested my forehead against hers, smiling happily, knowing that I had satisfied my marefriend.

“T-that was amazing, Rose.” Lily said, smiling weakly and pecking my face between pants.

“You’re amazing.” I replied, kissing her strongly again and gripping her in a tight hug. “Satisfied?” I asked coyly and Lily nodded silently, closing her eyes.

“You do know that it doesn’t go away, right? I can make you cum every night and your heat won’t stop until the week is up.”

Lily looked over to me, her eyebrows raising in a mixture of confusion and lust.

“I-it won’t go away..?”

“Nope. And I fully intend on taking advantage of this. I love you, Lily, and when we’re together like that… I feel so close to you. I love you, and Brisk Breeze, of course, more than anything in the world.”

“I-I love you too.” She smiled and closed her eyes again. I kissed her on the forehead and went to kiss her on the lips when I heard a soft snore coming from the mare beneath me. I smiled warmly and pulled a blanket over us.

“Goodnight, my beautiful Lily.”

Chapter Nine

I awoke to the fresh breeze wafting through my window. In my hooves was the incredible pony that I had only met a few months ago. Who could have guessed that meeting in such a way would have pulled our lives together? I was so scared. Scared of doing anything wrong, scared of trying to move too fast, scared of upsetting her in any way. I pulled myself up and looked out the window at the glorious Ponyville morning awaiting me.

Morning was my favourite time of the day. It was peaceful, quiet, tranquil, and was the time of the day where flower buds opened, ready to take in the sun’s rays. Luckily for me, Lily enjoyed mornings as well and she yawned sleepily, glancing up at me as I held her in my hooves. She instantly smiled at me and hummed happily.

“This is real, right?” She whispered.

“Yeah.”

“We really… We had… s-sex. Oh my gosh...” Her cheeks flushed red and she nervously bit on the tip of her hoof.

“Hey.” I placed a hoof on her cheek. “I know… I know it's scary, and if you want to slow down, please tell me. I would never hurt you.”

“S-slow down?” She said, panic in her voice. “N-no! It's more… I just never thought… I would feel this way. About another mare, that is.” She said quietly, her head swimming with thoughts as her eyes darted back and forth. “I m-mean… you said you've always been attracted to mares, but… this is all so new, and to be honest… scary.”

“I know, that's why I said if you want to slow down, we will.”

“I don't think I want to. I… really really like you, Roseluck. I just don't want to overload myself.”

“Lily, we're friends. You don't have to call me Roseluck. Only my mum calls me that anymore.”

“I - I think it's a pretty name…” Lily muttered. Who would have known that four months ago, those words would have kickstarted my feelings for this incredible mare.

“A quite lovely memory, if I do say so myself.” I jumped as a voice spoke from across the room. “I hate to have to interrupt it.”

“L-Luna?” I jumped up before bowing. I heard her laugh before walking over and placing a hoof on my withers.

“Oh, I really must remind you before I get into things, you are dreaming, Rose.” Princess Luna laughed and a rush of conscious thought filled me. This morning… the morning after our first time together. The morning after I first told her I had feelings for her.

“I wish…” I started. “I wish all my memory dreams were as nice as this one.”

“Yes, unfortunately though, life is a journey. If it was all easy, then it wouldn't be life.” Luna said solemnly.

“I-I guess so.”

“I believe this is your third month along in your pregnancy, how are things going? I see you’re beginning to show quite obviously. Has everything been alright recently?” Luna asked, genuine worry in her voice.

“Uh, fine, really. I think the last of my morning sickness is going away, but the cravings are still kinda crazy. I told my parents about us, about the pregnancy, about our engagement-”

“Ooh!” Luna clapped her hooves together. “Congratulations! I am very happy for you both.”

“Th-Thanks. I also told them… that you might be taking us back to Equestria some time In the future which they had… mixed reactions to. My mum still has a little bit of doubts and worries, but she seems to be accepting the idea, if quite slowly.”

“Yes, about that…” Luna frowned in worry, sitting down next to me. “We must talk you coming to Equestria.”

“Wh-what? W-we can still come, r-right?” I said, panicking slightly.

“Yes, of course! In fact, it would actually be better that you arrive here sooner rather than later.”

“What do you mean?”

“Rose… this world is slowly draining you.” My blood went cold. “Pony bodies were not meant to live in a world devoid of ambient magic. It is the fabric that holds our reality together, and without it… ponies will deteriorate.”

“Oh my gosh.” Fear filled me, not even so much for myself, but for Lily and Brisk.

“Do not fret too much, as you are far off from experiencing any effects of this magical deterioration, but obviously, we want the best for you, Lily, and your foal. As such… I would recommend you begin preparations to arrive in Equestria as soon as possible.”

“Wait, for real?” My eyes lit up. “You found a way to take us there!?”

“Yes, Rose.” She smiled and nodded warmly.

I smiled and was about to shout in celebration, but a certain question nagged at the back of my mind. “W-wait… I have a question to ask.”

“Go ahead. I will answer to the best of my abilities.”

“I know that this life, my life on earth, isn’t what I’m supposed to be living. I know for a fact who I am, but… The love I have for my human parents is still real. I don’t… I don’t want to have to say goodbye to them forever.”

“I think I know what your worries are. I can assure you that we will be able to organize a magical tome that you can use to communicate with your parents. All you need to do is write in your version of the tome and it will show up in theirs. I hate to separate you, but unfortunately, Equestria works in the opposite way that Earth does. There is too much magic there. If humans were to come to Equestria, the ambient magic would slowly overload them.”

“I-I understand. Thank you, Luna. I just need to give my mum something to hold on to. That magic book will mean I can talk to her when I want, and although it’s not perfect, I really hope it will be enough to satisfy her.”

Luna nodded, her eyes closing.

“I can sense that the love you hold for this world is real, and I would be heartbroken if you had to be whisked away without any connection to your family here. My sister, Princess Celestia, and I have decided to give you one month to prepare. Any longer than that, and the risk of you, Lily, or your foal being harmed increases.”

“Th-thank you.” I said, my mind still rushing with all of this new knowledge. I was going home!

-

I shot up, waking up from the dream and looking to my side. I was about to shake Lily awake, eager to tell her the amazing news that I had just heard, but the image of Lily sleeping was way too adorable to wake her. I smiled, happiness filling me entirely as I imagined what our lives would be like. I wanted a nice little cottage home, close to the markets, yet not too close that the morning rush would wake us up on our days off. I wanted to find a nice school for Brisk Breeze, where she would be able to make many friends.

I would wake up early every day, preparing food for both of the wonderful mares in my life, before sending Brisk off to school, going to work with Lily, and setting up our stall together. Flowers were adored by every pony in ponyville, not only as a gift, but also as a nice snack.

That shocked me a little. A snack? Did ponies really eat flowers? I mean, I guess they could, but humans can eat them too, and they rarely did, if at all. I licked my lips as I tried to imagine a flavor for them, my curiosity causing me to glance over at the flowers that my mum had bought to “spruce up” the living room. No, I was not going to eat my mums gifts. I would try flowers later.

I decided to wake Lily up with a warm cup of coffee and made my way to the kitchen. I prepared it just the way she liked it and returned with a steaming hot cup of coffee in my hooves. I placed on the table before relieving my own cup and placing it next to the other. I gently shook Lily awake, my heart racing and my face plastered with a huge smile. I couldn’t wait to tell her the great news!

She slowly woke, yawning before looking up at me and smiling. Her face went red as she remembered our time that we spent together last night.

“M-morning, Rose.” She smiled sleepily.

“Morning!” I beamed at her.

“What’s with the smile?”

“Lily… I had another visit from Princess Luna last night.”

“Oh? What did she have to say?”

“Well… First, I want you to not panic at what I say next. Luna has assured me that we’ll all be safe for the time being.”

“Y-you’re kinda scaring me, Rose… Did she tell you something bad is gonna happen?”

“No, no, no. It’s good news. Well… mostly good news. Point is that if all goes well, nothing bad will happen.”

“Okay…” She trailed off nervously and glanced at me to continue.

“The way she explained it was that on earth, there’s none of this thing called “Ambient magic”. I don’t know exactly what it means, but apparently, ponies were never meant to live without it. Since we live here now, as ponies, we’re getting slowly hurt by this.”

“Wh-what!? I-It’s hurting us?”

“No, not yet, but…” I tried to hide my excitement at the next part. “Luna says that we have a month until she’s gonna be taking us to Equestria.”

Lily’s face immediately lost all looks of worry and instead was showing disbelief.

“A-a month…?” Tears dripped down her face.

“Hey, why are you crying? This is good, right?”

“Yes!” She threw her hooves around me, sobbing into my fur. “I-I’m so h-happy! I’m c-crying because I’m just so happy!”

I relaxed, hugging her back, planting reassuring kisses on the side of her head.

“W-we’ll be able to give Brisk a real life, Lily.” I whispered in her ear. “We’ll be able to live our life. Together.”

“O-oh my gosh…” Lily panted out between happy sobs. “This is the best day ever!” She launched herself at me and planted a kiss on my lips, giggling through her tears as she covered my face in kisses. I giggled back, returning her kisses whenever she gave me the opportunity to do so.

“R-Rose, I love you so much.” Lily smiled, exasperated and panting. “I c-can’t believe this! We’re… We’re going home!”

------

“Dad… I got visited by Princess Luna again and she said that we… we have to go to Equestria in one month.”

“What!?” He said, face immediately filling with worry. “One month!? I thought you were going in like, a year!”

“I-It’s not actually our choice now, dad…” I nervously explained what I had told Lily before, about the fact that living in this world was slowly hurting us.

“My god, Rose… I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” My dad said, tears beginning to show.

“It’s okay, dad. I know how you feel. Honestly, I would have loved to be able to spend more time with you and mum before we left, but it’s not all bad! Mum will be pleased to hear that Princess Luna will be bringing a magic book over, when you write in it, it’ll show up in my book in Equestria. I know it’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing, right?” I smiled, hoping that it would make at least my dad happy. “Who knows, maybe I’ll even convince Luna to let us visit in the future. If it’s possible…”

“If it’s possible, I’m sure she will let us.” Lily smiled and placed a reassuring hoof on mine.

“Rose, I… I’m sorry for the way we’ve been acting.” My dad apologized and I raised a hoof to stop him.

“You’ve been fine, I’m more worried about mum.”

“No, I should have been acting kinder to you too. Your mother… will be fine. She’s been getting better over the past month, but I’m sure you understand why she’s like this.”

“I do.” I nodded, confident that my mum would support me, no matter how hard it might be.

“I’m… I’m gonna go explain things to your mum. Wish me luck.” My dad waved to me and stood up. I watched in silence as I waited for him to return, fiddling with my hooves and staring at the empty seat that my dad had been in. After a short while, I heard quiet voices coming from the laptop speakers before thumping footsteps, slowly growing louder. Suddenly, my mum dropped into frame, her face full of tears.

“Listen here, missy! You and Lily are coming to live with us for the next month and that’s final!” She shouted, pointing a finger at me.

“Uh…”

“No buts! I’m not letting you go without spending as much time as possible with us!”

“O-Okay.”

“Do I get a say in this?” Lily asked before my mum replied with a deafening “NO!”.

“Well. Looks like we better get packing, huh?” I said, pursing my lips. Lily smiled at me and wrapped a hoof around my withers.

“Thank you, Rose… I’m sorry for shouting, I just…” My mum said, sorrow in her voice. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“We’ll still be able to talk to you through the book, mum. It’s not goodbye forever.”

“B-Book?” She raised an eyebrow. “What book?”

“Dad didn’t tell you?”

“I tried.” My dad said, coming into frame. “She got all hissy and stormed off before I could even mention it.”

“Mum! You didn’t even let him finish?”

“No… Sorry.” She said guiltily.

“Okay, well listen, please. Before overreacting, honey.” My dad said, kissing her on the cheek.

“Princess Luna said that she would bring a magical tome to our world that when you write in it, will send that message to my book in Equestria and vice versa. I know it’s not the same as seeing us, but I promise that if we ever get the chance, we will come visit.”

“Th-thank you, Rose.” My mum sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Y-You’re still staying with us for a month, though.”

I nodded.

“Yes, mum. I promise.”

“Okay, I have the day off on tuesday, so I’ll come pick you two up then. Make sure you pack everything you need!” She shouted before hanging up the call.

“T-Tuesday!?” I stuttered in disbelief. “Th-thats… tomorrow! Why didn’t she just say tomorrow?”

Lily shrugged and hugged me tightly. I felt her body relax against mine and immediately, the worries left my body. I kissed her on the forehead before lying backward on the couch, Lily falling with me and placing her head on my chest.

“Your mum really loves you, doesn’t she?” Lily spoke up after a minute of silence.

“Yeah, she does. Sometimes, a little too much.”

“I… I wish…” Lily started before looking away and clenching her eyes shut.

“Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Talk to me, Lily.”

“I…” She nervously glanced toward me, lip trembling. “I wish… my mum was like yours.”

“I know you do, Lily. I wish so too, but there’s one thing that I don’t want you to forget.”

“What?”

“You have more than one mum.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“You have a mother in equestria too, you know.”

“I know, but… they’re not really my parents. I mean, well, they are, but… do they think that they are?”

“Of course they do! What kind of parents would ignore their child because they’re slightly different?” I said, immediately regretting my words as tears welled up in Lily’s eyes.

“Oh gosh, I’m so, so, so sorry, Lily. That’s not what I meant…” I said, stroking my now crying marefriends mane. “What I meant is that I’m sure they would still think of you as their kid. You might not have all of your memories back yet, but they are returning, and you are Lily. Not Jack, Lily.”

“I-I don’t even know what they l-look like!” She sobbed loudly.

“Well, who’s to say you won’t have a memory dream about them?”

“Who’s to say I will?”

“No-one. That’s the thing. You gotta let you control your life and your emotions. I believe that if you truly want to remember them… you will.” I smiled warmly and placed a tender hoof on her cheek, wiping tears away and staring into her beautiful golden eyes.

“P-promise?”

“You need to promise yourself that, not me. My promise won’t do anything. It’s yours that will.”

“I-I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Lily. We should probably get packing. We’ve got a lot of stuff to do before tomorrow.”

------

“Okay!” Lily said, clopping her hooves together. “Just got off the phone with your dad, he’s gonna sort out the rent situation. Once we leave to Equestria, He’ll come and take the furniture and stuff, then pay off the rest of the rent contract.”

“Really? G-gosh… that’s a lot of money, Lily…” I said, a guilty look on my face.

“I know, but I’ve promised him all of my remaining funds for when we leave; It won’t do us any good here. I still have quite a bit saved up that was just gonna go towards living here anyway.”

“O-okay, if you’re sure. I finished packing our laptops, phones, clothes, our-”

“Clothes?” She interrupted, giggling. “Rose, we don’t wear clothes. Not to mention that they’re male clothes, even if we did wear them.”

“....Oh. I guess you’re right.” I blushed, looking away from embarrassment. “I don’t think there’s actually much more to pack, then. I keep forgetting how little we actually need.” I said, wracking my brain for anything I’d forgot, when I remembered something slightly off topic that I had forgotten.

“Oh! Lily!” I squee’d excitedly, rummaging through my luggage.

“Wh-what’s up?” She asked.

“This!” I handed her a soft blue velvet box, relatively large for us, but smaller than a palm on a human.

“R-Rose, is this…?” She said, a smile spreading across her lips.

“Open it!”

She slowly lifted the lid to the box with a hoof, revealing the gold ring with a red-gold band around the outside. I made sure that this band was slightly different from mine though, in a strangely convenient way.

“I-It’s beautiful, Rose!” She said, trying to keep herself from crying in happiness. “I love it! I really like the indent on the side, what is it?” She said, looking toward the red tinged gold part of the ring.

“It’s called rose gold. It’s to show you that I’ll always be with you. Even if I’m not with you physically, I will always be close to your heart.” I smiled, showing Lily a gold chain. Lily’s face was dumbstruck as she let me take the ring from her, attach it to the chain and clasp it around her neck, the chain letting the ring rest just above her breast.

“C-Close to my…” She sniffled, the tears finally pouring free. “My heart… Oh, Rose!” She flung herself at me, pulling me into a loving embrace. I let her press her lips against mine and she kissed me passionately. I didn’t even care that she was crying all over me, I just wanted this moment to last for ever.

Knock, knock!

Lily jolted out of the kiss in surprise.

“We’ll finish this later, o-okay?” I stared up at her and she nodded, wiping her tears away as I composed myself and walked to the door. I opened it up and my dad walked in carrying a large duffle bag.

“Morning, Rose! Your mum’s just waiting in the car for you, so let’s grab your stuff and get-” He stopped when he saw Lily, still wiping tears away. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yes, yes.” Lily laughed, waving a hoof in dismissal. “These are happy tears, Mr Linden. Rose just... gave me an engagement ring, and it’s… very very beautiful.” She said, the tears returning a little.

“Aww.” He smiled at me approvingly and picked me up, giving me a large hug as I struggled around, shocked that he had handled me like that.

“D-Dad! Put me down!”

“Fine, fine!” He said, placing me back on my hooves. “It’s hard to find a comfortable way to hug my cat sized daughter, okay? Speaking of cats, I assume Simon’s coming with you?”

“Yep. He’s not gonna be very happy in that carry cage,” Almost as if on cue, he hissed from his uncomfortable position. “But I’m sure he’ll forgive us. You… you guys don’t mind taking care of him once we’re gone, do you?”

“Of course not! He lived with us when you were at home, he only left because you did too. I’m sure he’ll love to be back there.”

“Okay, then I think we’re all set to leave.” I said, smiling confidently at Lily.

“Not exactly.” My dad said, unzipping the duffle bag he was holding. “I think I remember you telling me how you got Lily here, right?”

------

I am so sorry, Lily. I had no idea how horrible it was in that bag, or I would have tried my hardest to make it more comfortable for you. Not to mention, we only had to go down the stairs and outside this time. Last time, it was down her stairs, all the way to mine, then up my stairs again.

The drive out to my parents house was long as usual, but after being locked in one apartment for three months, not even able to go outside, really did make us appreciate the views of the city we got from our seats. We agreed not to stand up in the seat until we were out of the city to avoid prying eyes, but once we got to the outskirts and then eventually, the countryside, we both peered out of the windows, greatly enjoying the view.

Everything seemed so… big! It was like we were tiny! Oh, wait… Nevermind. It was definitely nice to be able to see a little bit of the outside world after such a long time, even if it was through a window. My mum was awkwardly quiet on the ride to their home, but I knew not to push her. This change was going to be huge for all of us. Hell, it already was huge for all of us, and they had reacted admirably so far. Any normal person probably would have lost it completely.

After the ride, we finally arrived at my parents house and I stepped out of the car, breathing in the fresh country air. Ah! So wonderful! This was what I remembered Ponyville smelling like. The dew on the green grass, the smell of nature integrating with life. It was a calming and refreshing smell, one that, from the look on her face, Lily was enjoying and remembering too.

“Well, Lily, this is our humble home!” My dad mentioned dramatically to the relatively large country house. It had two stories and was made with raw weatherboard. It’s look perfectly encapsulated the “retired old couple” look, but just happened to also be the home I grew up in.

“It’s amazing!” Lily said, trotting to the patio. “It’s so big, too!”

“Hehe, it’s not that big, it’s just big for you.” My dad chuckled and lifted our luggage out of the car. “Best part about it is that the entrance to the property is behind the treeline, so you’re safe to go outside as much as you like without being spotted.”

My dad and, unfortunately, still silent mum, showed Lily and I around the house. I knew the vague layout, but a fire had caused them to remodel a few years ago, so a lot of it was new to me too. One thing that wasn’t new was my old bedroom, the one room on the second storey. It was almost an attic like room, but was incredibly warm and cosy, with it’s angled roof making the room feel a lot larger than it was. As much as I had taken some stuff from this room when I moved out, there was still some stuff left behind. A large couch that was too big for my apartment, by old bed that was too small for a six foot man, my old CRT TV, which was hooked up to…

“My SNES!” I said, running over to the cherished console and picking up my old and battered controller. “Oh gosh, Lily, we have to play Kirby together.”

“Kirby? The pink blob that eats everything?”

“Yeah! I still have a working version of Kirby Superstar. We totally need to play it!”

“Sure!” She said and jumped up onto the bed. “First, though, I believe we were in the middle of something before we left this morning…?”

It took me a few seconds before it clicked and I smiled nervously at my enticing marefriend, placing my SNES controller to the side before joining her on the bed.

Chapter Ten

I pressed my body against Lily’s while keeping the pressure away from my belly as I kissed her intently. The bed was much more comfortable than the one at my apartment, mostly because my mum and dad actually put a good amount of money toward this bed instead of buying the first one they saw. I felt Lily’s hoof begin to rub my belly in circles, eliciting a soft coo from me as I melted in her touch.

“I love you, Rose. She's going to be so beautiful…” Lily said with a soft smile on her face. She placed her lips on my stomach and kissed me lightly, trailing downward. I held my breath, warmth building inside me, as her kisses got closer and closer to my-

“Rose! Lily! Lunch is ready!” I heard my mum call from downstairs. We both froze as we heard footsteps coming up the stairs before Lily quickly pulled herself up and sat next to me, trying to calm herself down as the door to my room slowly creaked open.

“We made some lovely kale and cucumber sandwiches for you two, if you feel like-” My mum stopped as she saw the huge blush and awkward look on both of our faces. “O-oh. Uh… did I interrupt something?”

“N-nope! Nothing, w-we’ll be right down!” I said in a panic and my mum smiled before closing the door. As she left, I covered my face with my hooves and groaned. “Ugh, damn it. I'm sorry, Lily.”

“Hey, no problem. Look at it this way. When I eventually do make you cum…” She said, whispering seductively in my ear, causing me to shudder slightly. “It'll be that much more intense.”

I “eeped” quietly as I felt myself get even more aroused at her words.

“C’mon!” She grinned at me and jumped down from the bed. “I'm starving!”

I followed her down and caught up to her. As I reached her side, she leant over and whispered in my ear once more.

“I sure won't be hungry after how much I'm gonna eat you out tonight.” I shook in arousal again before playfully shoving Lily.

“You are unbelievable, Lily. I love you.”

“I love you too, beautiful.” Lily said, smirking.

------

“So, Rose, as much as we know about you, you still haven't really told us much about this “Equestria” place. What's it like?” My dad asked curiously as we ate lunch.

“It's amazing!” I said, swallowing my bite of food. “I mean, I still don't know a huge amount of it, but I'm learning more through those memory dreams every day. There are three “tribes” of ponies there, the earth ponies - that's me and Lily - the pegasus ponies, who have wings and can fly, and the unicorns. They have a horn that let's them use magic to do lots of stuff like levitation and teleportation.”

“Wow. Real magic, huh? Just a shame you got the short end of the stick.”

“Not really.” I shook my head. “Earth ponies are super resilient and have an affinity for plants and nature. Both Lily’s and my cutie marks are nature related too.”

“Cutie marks? That's the girliest thing I've ever heard of.” My dad chuckled. “Those are the things on your sides, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Everypony eventually discovers their special talent, and that's what we get our cutie marks for.”

“How did you get yours?”

“I… I don't really remember yet. Sorry.”

“No, don't you be sorry. What about you, Lily?”

“O-oh!” Lily shot up, her mind clearly on something else. “M-my cutie mark? Uh, I was… ten, I think, and I was trying to help my friend out with their school project. They had to grow and take care of some flowers, but eventually gave up. I don't know why, but… I kept going. The next week, my friend came by and saw all of the flowers had grown, and I hadn't even noticed that I got my cutie mark, I was so engrossed in working.”

“That's lovely, Lily.” My mum spoke up, breaking her silence. I smiled at her, glad she was at least trying to cheer herself up.

“So what about Ponyville? That's the place where you'll be living?” My dad asked.

“Y-yeah. Me and Lily had a house there, but I don't know if we still do. I mean, Luna said that time had only progressed about a year in their time since our disappearance, even though it's been like, twenty years here.”

“Woah, that's even weirder. My dad smiled, taking another bite of his lunch. “You better tell us all about it when you get there, Rose. I'm sure your mother would love to hear about your life there as well.”

“Of course.” I smiled. “Kinda defeats the purpose if I don't, right?”

“I guess so.” My dad chuckled and began to stand up from the table. “So, Rose, did you want to join me on a walk down to the stream? Like we used to when you were younger?”

“Of course!” I jumped down and began to follow my dad. I turned around to Lily to see her looking down, her mind drifting again. “Did you want to join us, Lily?”

She looked up again before shaking her head. “N-no, I'm a bit tired, so I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.” I smiled at Lily, placing a kiss on her hoof before turning and following my dad outside.

-

I sat on my chair as I watched Rose walk away with her dad. I quietly looked back to my food as Rose’s mum silently ate. I felt my eyes well up as I began to think about my own mother again, but forced the memory down. I didn’t need her anymore. I reached up and pulled the pin out of my hair, placing it down on the table and staring at it.

“It’s a very pretty pin, Lily.” Mrs Linden spoke up and I raised my head to meet her eyes. She was smiling, but there was that same look of sadness on her face that had been there the whole day.

“Th-thanks. My… My mum gave it to me.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to touch on that subject, Rose told me how it made you feel.”

“No, no, it’s not your fault, I… I shouldn’t be so sad about it. It happened years ago, and she… My mum is the only one that lost anything of value. Sh-she doesn’t d-deserve to have me in her l-life…” I said, trying to subdue my tears and stay strong through the sentence.

“Lily… I know that you didn’t react too well before, but… I’d love to be someone that you can confide in. I’d love it if you talked to me more. I'm not a replacement for your mum, but… It’s hard. I only just got Alex back, and now he’s… She’s… leaving. I'm losing my son. I just want to help and accept what’s going on, but it’s hard.”

I nodded. I knew what she was feeling and really, I wished I could help, but… I couldn’t. All I really could do would be to try and make this last month with Rose enjoyable.

“I… I know how you feel, Jenny. More than you think. I lost my mum and dad. I know they didn’t die, just as you know that Rose isn’t dying, but the fact that… I'm never going to see them again, purely because of how I wanted to live my life? I didn’t want to leave! I would have happily only dated girls for the rest of my life, but they didn’t want that. The off chance that I might ever be attracted to a man was too much for them and they threw me out!”

“I-I'm sorry…” Jenny said, fiddling with her hands.

“Rose… She still loves you. Never forget that. She might be going to another world, but she still loves you, and through that, you’ll never really lose her. She’s promised that she’ll write at least once a week in the book, and I know for a fact she’ll try her hardest to come visit if it’s possible.”

Jenny nodded, guilt filling her face. “I'm… so, so selfish. I should have been thinking about her happiness, and instead, I'm only thinking of mine. I-I know this isn’t even a choice anymore, and I never wanted to try and hold her back, but Alex… Rose… She never was a very social child. She locked herself away in her room and rarely went outside. When she left to live in the city, I thought I had definitely lost her. This change has made her so much more happy. To have her start talking to us again, only for her to be torn away… feels like torture. I know I'm not “losing” her, but I still feel like… I don’t know, but it’s not the same.”

“It won’t be, but… we can’t live here. Even if we wanted to stay, this world is hurting us. I will never let anything hurt Rose or our foal. Ever.”

“Lily, you’re… You really are the perfect girl for Rose.”

“I-I wouldn’t say perfect, I… I just love her with all my heart. It hurts me to see her in any type of pain.”

“I know what’s best for my Rose, Lily. Right now… You’re best for her. She really needed someone to love and take care of her, and you’re the perfect candidate.”

“Well, I'm glad you think so. Th-thanks… m-mum” I smiled at her, tears dripping down my cheeks as she sat up and rushed over to me, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly.

------

“Wow! It’s so beautiful this time of year!” I said, glancing around in awe at the amazing foliage around me. The green of a few plants was mixing incredibly with the oranges and yellows of the autumn leaves. “Oooh, I love these flowers!” I said, trotting over to to a thin plant with bright red flowers. “Fairy’s Trumpet, if I remember right.”

“Jeez, Rose, since when did you know so much about flowers?” My dad said, walking up beside me as I inspected the plant.

“Probably some of my memories leaking through. I wasn’t into flowers before I changed. I wasn’t, right?”

“No, Rose.” My dad chuckled. “You were much more into the “anime’s” when you were younger.”

“Well, I can’t say I don’t have an appreciation for it now! It’s my special talent!”

“So, I assume that’s what you plan on doing for work when you get to Equestria?”

“Yep. Lily and I had a flower stall that we ran together. Lily was a lot better at growing them where I had a better hoof on arranging them in a way that looked pretty.”

“You’re so girly, Rose!” My dad said, laughing as he scratched my ear with his finger.

“S-so what?”

“Nothing bad, you were just so into games and boy things when you were younger.”

“I-I'm still into that stuff too, I just… also kinda like to do some feminine stuff too.” I said, blushing as I turned away from my dad. He stroked a hand down my back, relaxing me slightly as I looked at the stream beside us.

“Y’know, Rose… I always wanted a daughter.” My dad said quietly, sitting down next to me on the bank of the river.

“Really?” I asked, looking up at the man who had raised me. “B-but you were always so… I dunno, you always seemed like you were happy to have a boy.”

“I was, don’t get me wrong. I wanted to have more than one kid, but your mother only wanted one. You know how many aunts and uncles you have on your mother's side, she grew up in a large family and absolutely hated it. I let her have her way, and we only had you, but I always wanted a daughter too.”

“Do… Do you mind if I ask why?”

“I don’t really know, but I think a lot of it was probably the fact that you were always so… confident, I guess. You protected yourself and shut yourself away. I wanted a little girl that relied upon my help. That I could protect. You didn’t ever seem to want or need that.”

“Dad, I was a stupid teenager. I wanted to be one of those self-dependant guys who didn’t need any help, but… Lily has really opened my eyes. I'm not as scared to ask for help when I need it now. I… I needed you guys.” I said, smiling happily up at my dad.

“Rose, I love you, kiddo. I always will. I might not show it, but…” He stopped, tears dripping down his face. “I'm gonna miss you just as much as your mum will. She just shows it more.”

“Oh, dad.” I wrapped my hooves around him and hugged him. He slowly placed his hand on me, taking extra care not to hurt me as he accepted the hug. “I’ll miss you too.”

------

The sun was still high in the sky by the time my dad and I reached home and we walked in to see my mother and Lily tending to some potted flowers. She smiled happily as she gripped some pruners between her hooves and neatly cut some overgrown leaves from a bright yellow flower.

“We’re back, girls.” My dad said loudly as we walked in the door. Immediately, Lily turned around, smiling as she saw me walking in behind him. She looked up at my mum and she returned her look with a motherly smile before Lily placed the pruning shears down, then nuzzling her hand.

“Thanks, m-mum.” She whispered, just within listening volume of me and my dad. She jumped down, stopping when she saw a huge smile across my face. She nervously stepped toward me again and I sidled up next to her, leaning over whisper in her ear.

“I'm so proud of you, Lily.” I said quietly and kissed her on the cheek, rewarding me with a cute blush.

“How was your walk, honey?” My mum said as my dad took his boots off.

“It was nice. The woods are very nice this time of year. I’d love it if we had a picnic with Lily and Rose before they leave.”

“That would be lovely!” My mum said, taking her gardening gear off. “We’re still having a barbeque tonight, right?”

“Oh cool!” I said, hopping a little in excitement. “I haven’t had a barbeque in years!”

“Yep, that’s still on. I even bought some cucumbers and mushrooms to cook for Lily and Rose.”

“Can I help?” I asked, walking up next to my dad. “You’d be surprised how much stuff I can do with hooves.”

“Heheh, sure. Well, we better get started then!”

------

I always loved it when my dad cooked barbeque food. The chilly night, warmed by our outdoor heater (and in this case, the body heat of my beautiful marefriend), the sound of night time bugs, the smell of cooking smoke and vegetables. I had explained to my dad that the smell of meat cooking was unbearable to Lily and I, so he reluctantly agreed to do any meat cooking inside and to leave the meat inside after it was cooked. We were mostly unable to smell the meat, and even the small amount we did smell didn’t spoil the nice evening.

“So I look across the field…”

“Dad, please!” I pleaded.

“And there’s Rose. She’s pulling at her sports shorts and making this weird face. The game starts, so I don’t have any idea what’s going on, but she keeps wriggling around.”

“Stephen, must you embarrass her further?”

“Of course!” He laughed loudly. “So, at half time, she comes over to me and says “Daddy? I forgot my underpants!”. Hahaha!”

“Daaaaad…” I groaned loudly as Lily laughed.

“Turns out she’d been wriggling around because her pants kept riding up her buttcrack!”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough.” My mum said, stifling a laugh. “Unless you want me to tell them the story about how you got drunk last new years and came home in someone else's car, hmm? Covered in…” My mum said teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop.” He said, raising his hands in defeat. “Did you feel like having anything to drink, girls?” My dad said as he stood up and walked over to the wine cooler.

“Uh, no thanks, dad. I'm pregnant, remember?” I answered.

“Oh, god! Sorry, Rose, I completely forgot. Did you want any, Lily?”

A grimace appeared on Lily’s face for a split second before she looked away.

“N-none for me, thanks.” She replied, her voice strained and awkward.

“Hey, you doing alright?” I whispered to Lily as my dad poured himself a small glass of wine.

“Y-yeah, I just don’t… I don’t ever want to drink again.” She said, her voice still strained. I knew that something about this was touchy and dropped it for now.

“Here you go!” My dad said happily, sitting down and taking a generous gulp from his glass.

“Thanks for the food tonight, dad.”

“No problem, Rosie! I got it just how you like it.”

“Stephen, you charred it. The only one who likes it like that is you.” My mum said, frowning at him.

“What are you talking about? Everyone likes it like that.” My dad said with a cheeky grin, winking at Lily and I.

Lily yawned next to me and rested her head on my shoulder, smacking her lips.

“Thanks for tonight, m-mum and dad.” She said, an air of nervousness still in her voice.

“No problem!” My dad shouted boisterously. “Happy that you’re feeling more comfortable, too, Lily.”

“Thanks.” She smiled sleepily and yawned again.

“Looks like Lily’s getting a little tired. We’re probably gonna have an early night tonight.” I said, lifting my nearly asleep marefriend up as she blinked, trying to keep her eyes open.

“She does look pretty tired. You get her to bed, we’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks, mum. Night, guys!”

------

I smiled as I lead an extremely tired looking Lily up the stairs and toward our bedroom. Hey, I'm the pregnant one! Why am I carrying her up the stairs? Oh well, I was happy to help her. She yawned again as I opened the door and shut it behind us, walking toward our bed and helping her up.

“Up you go. What has you so tired?”

“I dunno, I guess the excitement today just took it out of me.”

I laughed and kissed her, causing her to attempt to kiss me back.

“Lily, can we…” I was interrupted as she yawned. “Can we pick up where we left off tomorrow?”

“Awww, but I wanted to make you cum…” She said, closing her eyes as she finished. I giggled at the childlike nature of how she said that and lifted our blanket over us.

“You will, beautiful, but not tonight. Besides, you’ll probably just fall asleep between my legs.”

She responded by laughing quietly, her eyes still softly shut. I heard a cute snore come from her as she fell asleep and I pulled her foreleg around me, letting me rest on her breast. It wasn’t long before I was off in the land of dreams as well.

Author's Notes:

In case it wasn't obvious, the personality of Stephen is based off of this wonderful man.

Chapter Eleven

I found myself sitting in a beautiful park, Lily by my side, as we watched ponies pass by. The sun was high in the sky and shone down through a smattering of clouds. We were watching a group of young ponies playing in particular, imagining our little Brisk Breeze playing with her future group of friends. I smiled at Lily and she smiled back, placing a hoof on my slightly swollen belly.

“She's gonna be so beautiful, Rose.”

“Yes she will.” I smiled back.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my body, emanating from my belly and spreading outward. I was about to scream in pain when I saw a small trickle of blood coming out from between my legs.

“No…” My stomach and heart dropped lower than they had ever done before. “NOOO!”

-

I was in the doctor's office, waiting for the doctor to come back. My heart was racing as I held onto Lily’s hoof. He'd be back any second now to tell me what I already knew. I jumped and gripped Lily’s hoof tightly as the door to the office swung open. The doctor walked in, a blank, emotionless look on his face.

“Ms Roseluck, I have some unfortunate news for you. It seems that your foal had miscarried. I'm very sorry for your loss.”

Tears fell freely from my face as I let out an absolute, primal wail of sadness. She was gone. My little Brisk Breeze was gone.

------

“Rose, please!” A voice shouted as I sobbed, thrashing around.

“Please!” the voice screamed, panic in her voice. “Wake up, Rose!”

I flung myself upward and threw my forelegs around Lily.

“She's gone!” I screamed into the crook of her neck, soaking her with saliva and tears. “I can't l-live without her!”

“Hey, hey, calm down Rose. Everything's alright. I'm still here. I haven’t gone anywhere.”

I sobbed for a while longer before looking between my legs, fearful of what I might see.

Nothing. Just plain white sheets. It was…

“You were dreaming, Rose. Everything's gonna be okay, I'm here.”

“I-it wasn’t a m-memory?”

“What… What did you dream about?” Lily asked apprehensively.

“I…” I tried to force the words out, but they got caught in my throat. I hacked and coughed, the phlegm from my sobbing clearing itself a little. “Brisk… I l-lost her!”

“What do you mean?”

“I… I miscarried.” I said and broke down once more.

“Oh, Rose…” Lily said, holding me softly and whispering in my ear. “It was nothing but a dream. She’s still here.” She brought a hoof to my belly and rubbed it softly. I glanced down, seeing that my belly was still swollen and full. Brisk was alive.

“Oh gosh… Oh thank god.” I said, the weight lifting off of my chest. “Th-thank you, Lily.” I said, smiling sadly at her, the dream still on my mind.

“I’ll always be here to protect you, Rose. You and Brisk Breeze.” She kissed me lightly on the forehead and nuzzled up against my wet cheek. “Did you want to get some more sleep, beautiful?”

I shook my head.

“No… I don’t want to e-even possibly have that dream again.” I replied.

“That’s fine. Come on, let’s go downstairs. You get comfortable and I’ll make you a warm drink.” She smiled an almost motherly smile at me and I nodded back.

“C-could you make me a c-cup of tea?” I asked nervously.

“Of course. I’ll bring down a duvet too so you can wrap yourself up in it.”

We stood up together and Lily walked by my side as we descended the stairs to the living room. She kissed me on the cheek before walking off into the kitchen and preparing my cup of tea. I pulled the blanket over myself and hugged it tightly, longing for Lily to return so I could hold her instead. Even while wrapped up in the blanket, I was still a bit chilly, so I stood up and turned on the gas heater, quickly filling the room with a heady heat.

“Brrr, thanks for that, Rose.” Lily said, carrying two cups of tea over to the coffee table one by one.

“I should be thanking you. All I did was turn on a heater…”

“You’re still amazing.” She said and pulled herself under the blanket, moving as close to me as possible while still letting me hold the mug. She hummed in satisfaction as she lay her head on my shoulder.

“You’re more amazing, Lily.”

“No, you.” She said, booping my nose playfully. “You’re so cute, Rose.”

“Am not.”

“Yuh huh. You are. You are going to look even more cute in your wedding dress.”

“W-wedding dress?” I stared, a little shocked that she had brought this up out of nowhere.

“Yeah! I think you’d look absolutely amazing in a short, simple but poofy dress. Maybe even a veil of flowers.”

“Lilies.” I said without even thinking. “I… I want to wear lilies.”

My fiance’s face went a little bit red at that and she smiled bashfully.

“R-Really?”

“Y-yeah. And… I think you should wear roses. I-if you want to, of course.”

“Of course I do! That sounds like a lovely idea. Where do you think we should get married?”

“I dunno. I haven’t ever really thought about it. Maybe a small little chapel or something-”

“Not in a chapel.” Lily interrupted. “Sorry, but I hate churches.”

“What about…” My mind drifted to a memory of mine. I had no idea if it would be anywhat appropriate or not, but the idea of getting married there kinda… felt right. “What about in a field of flowers?”

“Wh-what!?” Lily looked at me, surprised. “Y-you don’t mean where you…”

“Well, not exactly there, but a similar kind of place. A field, full of flowers… the smell, the colours, in spring too. I… I think it would be nice.” Lily began to relax and I could see her mind working.

“Y-yeah, I actually think that’d be pretty nice.”

“You sure?” I said, placing a hoof on her cheek. “I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do.”

She nodded confidently.

“No, I am sure.”

“Well, you two are up early.” I heard my mother's quiet voice say from behind us and we turned around to see her enter the room, still in her pyjamas. I opened my mouth to speak, but Lily beat me to it.

“Rose had a nightmare, so we decided to get up a little earlier than usual.” Lily said, holding me tightly.

“Well, nothing wrong with getting up early. I was going to get some gardening done today, if you two wanted to join me?”

My face immediately lit up and I nodded excitedly.

“Absolutely!”

My mum giggled and raised an eyebrow at me.

“I was expecting a ‘no’ from you, Rose. Since when have you enjoyed gardening? No, wait, that’s a silly question.” She chuckled to herself as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I’ve been growing some flowers recently, if you two wanted to help them grow while you’re here?”

“That would be lovely.” Lily replied.

“I’d love to, mum.” I said as well.

“Oooh, I'm so excited! Thank you, girls, it does really mean a lot to me.” She said, walking over with her coffee in hand.

“So, mum…” Lily said nervously. “Rose and I were just talking about our wedding.”

“Oh! That reminds me, I have something for you, Rose.” She jumped up all of a sudden and walked out of the room. We sat in silence, and after a short while, she came back, a small bundle in her hands.

“I want you to have this.” She said, handing the paper bundle to me. I cautiously took it from her and unfolded it to find… Oh my gosh. In my hooves was a pure white veil, lined with small pearls.

“M-mum…” Happy tears began to well up and I looked up at her, smiling. “Y-you don’t have to give this to me.”

“Of course I do. I know it’s quite large, and probably looks a bit too seventies for you, so I know you’ll have to get it altered once you leave, but I still want you to have it.”

“Th-thank you, mummy. I love you.” I said, crying happily while leaning forward and embracing her. I hugged her tightly as she placed her arms around me and hugged me back.

“I’ll keep this forever.”

“I know you will, Rose.”

------

The midday sun lazily shone down on us as we happily worked away in my mum’s garden. It was much larger than it was when I was a kid, probably due to the fact that she had more time to herself with me out of the house. I wiped the small amount of sweat from my brow and smiled over at Lily who was currently pulling out a weed from the ground with her teeth. I had no idea why, but any weed we began to pull on never snapped prematurely and we were able to pull it out, roots and all. Did it have something to do with our earth pony affinity for nature? I had no idea, but it was entirely possible.

I trotted over to Lily, smiling happily before nuzzling her after she pulled the weed out. She spat it into a nearby pile with a “pwah!” and nuzzled me back. We glanced over at the garden, impressed with the amount of work that we had managed to do in such a short time. I kissed Lily on the lips briefly before walking off to do some more work. As I traveled around the corner, I spotted a bush that sent a strange wave of happiness and familiarity through me. I knew for a fact that it was a rose bush. Staring in wonder, I slowly approached the plant. As I neared it, I reached out a hoof and placed it on one of the closed buds.

-

“Ugh, why does everything have to be so hard!” I screamed, slamming by pens down onto the table.

“Dear, you must be more patient.” My mum said, placing a hoof under my chin, directing my gaze toward her. “It takes time to learn all of this stuff, but you know you must do it.”

“Muuum, maths is boring! And super hard! I suck!”

My mum responded by harshly placing a hoof down on mine.

“Roseluck, do not speak like that. You are a young lady and you will act like one.”

“Oh, calm down, dear.” My dad said, walking in the door and placing his hat and coat upon the rack.

“Daddy!” I jumped up, to the dismay of my mum, and ran over to my dad.

“Hey, Rosie!” He said, picking me up in his hooves and swinging me around. “How’s my little blossom doing?”

“Thorn, she was in the middle of studying.” My mum said, walking up to my dad with an annoyed look on her face.

“She wouldn’t let me play outside until I was done.” I whined. “I tried really hard, but I'm not good at maths!”

“Dear, look at her!” My dad said. “Poor widdle thing.”

“You should be more strict on her, darling.” She said as my dad let me down.

“You always say that. What were you trying to teach her?”

“Just some basic calculus, but I don’t-”

“Calculus!? Clover, she’s twelve! I don’t think I studied calculus until I was in university!”

A look of guilt passed across my mother's face.

“I know, I know, I just wanted to give her a headstart in learning.”

My dad laughed and walked over to my mum placing a kiss on her lips (gross) and placing a hoof on her withers.

“Dear, you have to let her be a kid. You only get to be a kid once, and for Rosie, that time is now.”

She sighed in defeat.

“Okay, fine. Roseluck, you may go outside and play.”

“Yaaaay!” I ran forward and hugged my mum before turning around and heading out the door.

-

Woah! This park was so big! I know my dad had said never to go here alone, but I loved all the pretty flowers and plants so much, I just had to. I wandered around aimlessly, gazing in wonder at the greenery. A few ponies were here, playing around with their parents or friends and laughing happily. Sometimes I wish my mum and dad would come and play with me, but dad was always working and mum never wanted me to play outside. Maybe if I gave my mum something super pretty, she would want to play with me!

I trotted over to a bed of flowers and scratched my chin. I picked a few colourful flowers and held them together. Hmm, that was nice, but it could be a lot better! I wandered around, looking for more flowers, when I saw some roses, just beginning to bloom. I quickly ran over and began picking them before stripping them of leaves and thorns like my dad had shown me.

Before long, I had a nice arrangement of flowers, the red of the roses perfectly accented by the purple and yellow of the other flowers that I had found. Mummy would love this!

-

“Mummy!” I called as I walked into the house, the bouquet I had arranged hidden behind my back.

“In here, dear!” My mother called out from the living room. I walked in, a huge smile on my face, and I pulled out the bouquet

“Rose! They’re beautiful, where did you get the money to buy them?” My dad said, looking up from his newspaper as my mum sat, mouth open wide. “You didn’t spend your pocket money on them, did you?”

“Nope! I made them myself with flowers from the park!”

“The park? Rose, I said you shouldn’t go there alone. Not to mention, the park owns those flowers.” My dad chastised me and I looked down in guilt.

“Sorry, daddy…”

He laughed and motioned for me to come over.

“It’s fine, Rosie, just tell us so we can come with you next time.”

“Roseluck, this…” My mum stared at the flowers and I walked over, holding them out to her.

“They’re for you, mummy! I hope you like them.”

“Roseluck…” Tears began to well up in her eyes. “They’re beautiful!”

“Wh-why are you crying, mummy?” I nervously stepped toward her.

“Oh, sorry dear, they’re tears of happiness. These flowers are absolutely beautiful.”

“Yaaaaay!” I said, jumping around in a circle. I had my eyes shut so tight that I didn’t even notice the flash of white light fill the room.

“Roseluck, oh my gosh!” My mum said, gaping in awe. I stopped and turned to her, confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Y-your cutie mark!” My dad stuttered, smiling as he did. “Rosie, you got your cutie mark!”

“I did!?” I said, staring back at my flank to see that a single red rose with a bright green stem had appeared. “I did! This is the best day ever!”

I rushed toward my parents and they both pulled me into a tight, loving hug.

“We love you so much, Roseluck.” My mum said, calmly. “And we both couldn’t be prouder.”

------

I stumbled back as the memory of how I attained my cutie mark rushed into me.

“H-holy crap.” I whispered, my mind swimming after having so much information shoved into me at once. I glanced forward, not noticing until my eyes began to focus again that the rosebud I had touched was now in bloom.

The last time this had happened to me, I thought it would be a one off thing, but this was completely new information too, not just a more vivid version of what I had already dreamed. Not only did I now know how I got my cutie mark, but I also knew who my pony parents were!

Lucky Clover, my mum, was a statistician for a huge company in Manehattan and had a beautiful green coat, with a red mane and a four leaf clover for a cutie mark. My dad, Rose Thorn, was a gardener for some of the most famous ponies that stayed in manehattan as well as a groundskeeper at Canter Park.

This information that I had previously not known, was now readily available to me and the speed at which it hit me left me dazed. While I was stumbling a bit, trying to stay upright while I fumbled, Lily had run over to me and placed a hoof around me, holding me still.

“Th-thanks, Lily.” I said, smiling at her, but still embarrassed by my clumsiness.

“What was that about?”

“I just… I just remembered my parents. My real parents!” I said, smiling widely.

I jumped as I heard something drop to the soil behind us. I swung around to see my mum gasping, tears in her eyes.

“M-mum, wait!” I called out to her as she ran from me as fast as she could.

Chapter Twelve

“Mum, please! Why are you doing this?” I pleaded as my mother ran around my room, throwing clothes and belongings into bags, scowling angrily.

“I will not allow this in my house!” She screamed, turning to me. “You are a lady!”

“Mum!” I sobbed, my entire body trembling as I stood there, staring at my mum packing my stuff. “Please!”

“No! I will not allow it. It’s… It’s… unnatural! I thought I raised you better than this.”

“Mummy…” I said, dropping to my knees. “I-I thought you loved…”

“I do love you. That’s why I must punish you to deter such… perversion!”

“I-I’m not a pervert!”

“It is unnatural! Freakish!”

“No it’s not!” I pleaded uselessly. “I’m not…”

“Roseluck, proper ladies do not fornicate with the same gender!”

“I haven’t even had a marefriend yet!”

“And you never will! That’s why you’re going to live with your aunt and uncle in canterlot. They will sort you out. They fixed your cousin, so I know they can help you too.”

“I hate you.” I whispered, bitter spite to my voice.

A hoof fell across my face and I was knocked backward by the harsh strike. I stood there, utterly shocked. My mother had never hurt me before. Never. She panted, voice ragged, as I stepped back from her.

“You don’t love me.” I said blankly.

“Roseluck…” Guilt filled her face. “Oh gosh, I…”

“I HATE YOU!” I let out a high scream and pushed her backward. Gathering my bags, she stood just as stunned as I had been. I pulled my heavy luggage down the steps and out the door, only to see my dad walking in.

“R-Rosie? What’s wrong?” He stuttered, the look on my face surprising him.

“Why don’t you ask that thing that calls herself my mum!” I said, walking past him and slamming the door behind me.

-

Happy tears dripped from my eyes as I read the response Lyra had sent me. She found a place for me to stay in Ponyville! Thank gosh, staying in this disgusting hotel was absolutely horrid. I wasn’t uppity about it, but I had always lived in my parents relatively fancy house my entire life. This rat infested hotel, the only one I could afford with the small amount of savings I had, was a stark comparison to what I had lived in before.

I had been running my flower stand while staying here, but it really was almost impossible. I moved location every day as well to avoid having my parents find me, and kept well away from the park.

How could she have done this to me? Was that really so much to hate? You’d think I had killed a foal from how badly she had reacted to it. I'm not wrong. I don’t need fixing.

I tearily gathered my bags together, packing all of my stuff away and walking down to the hotel lobby. I payed my bill and left, hailing a cab that took me to the Manehattan train station. The platform was usually busy, but this morning, it was almost empty. A few business-stallions stood in suits and ties, ready to head to whatever job or meeting they had. I closed my eyes, ready to nap a bit before the train came when I heard a voice say my name from behind me.

“R-Rosie…?”

I swung around, my heart racing a mile an hour only to see my dad, his eyes wide with shock.

“D-Dad?” I stepped back, frightened of what he might say to me.

“Rosie!” He called out and galloped toward me, throwing his hooves around me and hugging me tightly. “My beautiful little girl… We missed you so much!” He said as I cautiously returned the hug. “Where are you going?” He pulled away and looked at my bags.

“I’m… I'm going to live in Ponyville.”

“P-Ponyville?” He said, sadness crossing his face. “Rosie, please, come back to us. Your mother and I are so worried.”

“I d-don’t care about what mum wants.”

“What? Why?”

“You know why! She called me unnatural! She said I needed to be fixed! You don’t… you don’t know how she looked at me. Like I was a freak.” I spat, my voice laced with malice towards her.

“Oh, gosh, Rose. She doesn’t… She doesn’t think those things. She just grew up thinking a certain way. You don’t need to be fixed.”

“W-wait, you don’t think the same…?”

“No! I love you and your mother exactly the same amount, but I don’t always agree with her, same as you and I don’t always see eye to eye. I’ve tried my hardest over the past month to convince her to accept you, but… She’s stubborn. You know how she is.”

“I don’t forgive her.”

“I know. It will take time for both of you to settle your differences and for her to learn to accept you for who you are. I accept you, you know that?”

“Th-thanks dad.” I said, wiping the tears from my face.

“You’re my beautiful little girl, Rosie.” My dad said, chuckling. “And, personally, I can’t wait to see what beautiful mare you bring home.”

------

My hooves got caught beneath me as the rush of memories smashed into me. I tried to pull a forehoof forward to catch myself, but it got caught and I fell to the ground. I groaned in pain after I face planted, dirt and mud flying into my mouth, face, and mane.

‘R-Rose!” Lily called out from behind me and cantered to my side, helping me stand up. “Oh gosh, we need to get you inside. There’s a big gash on your cheek.”

“N-no…” I said, trying to free myself from my fiance’s grasp. “I need to… I need to find my mum.”

“Rose, you’re bleeding!”

“I don’t care!” I said, pulling myself from her hold. I felt a pang of guilt as I did that, but I had to find her. I needed to tell her I was sorry. I galloped back through the garden, toward the house, and pulled open the door as fast as possible. Inside, I found my mum, head in her hands, crying, while my dad held her.

“M-Mummy!” I said, running toward her. “I’m so sorry, mummy!”

“Rose…” My dad looked at me sadly. “She won’t even say what happened.”

“I…” I sputtered, coughing as my throat got caught. “I screwed up. I really, really messed up.”

“Wh-what did you do?”

“I had a memory. Like, I dunno, a weird flash of a memory, and in it, I saw my parents. My pony parents.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Of course! B-but… I messed up. When Lily asked me what happened, I said… that I remembered my ‘real’ parents. Mum heard me.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. I felt such an immense wave of guilt fill me, knowing what I had done had upset my mum so much. “I’m so s-sorry, mummy.” I cautiously approached her, placing a hoof on her leg. She quietened her sobs and looked up from her hands.

“Rose!” She said, her mood immediately switching from sad to worried. “What happened to your face?” She stood up, picking me up and walking to the kitchen. I yelped a bit as she grasped me and lifted me up, but I let her carry me anyway.

“Sit here, I’ll get some disinfectant.” She said, placing me down carefully on the kitchen bench. I sat there, both confused at how easy it was for my mum to switch like this and embarrassed that she then could so easily carry me here. She returned a few seconds later with a bottle of disinfectant and some cotton wool.

“Ooh, honey.” She said, pouring some disinfectant onto the wool buds. “You really got yourself a nasty gash.”

She dabbed my cheek with the cotton wool and I flinched backward at the pain.

“Oh, stop being such a baby.”

“M-mummy…” I said as I let her clean my wound. When she didn’t reply, I called her again. “Please talk to me, mummy.”

“I will, just stop squirming for the moment.” She said with a teary giggle and covered my now clean would with a bandaid. “I have no idea how well that’ll stick to fur, but we’ll see.”

“Mummy… I'm so sorry.” I said, holding my hooves out. My mum’s eyes began to water as she smiled through her sadness and hugged me back. “I-I’m so sorry! I d-didn’t mean to s-say it like that.” I quietly sobbed into the hug.

“Rose, I… I know that you a-are moving on, and trying to make your old life yours again, so… I understand.”

From behind us, I heard the doors slide open and soft hoofsteps rang out.

“Rose! Is everythi-” She stopped when she saw my mum, eyes puffy and red, attending to my wound.

“Hello, Lily.” My mum sniffed and smiled at her. “Y-yes, everything is fine. I'm just talking with Rose and cleaning the nasty gash on her cheek.”

“It’s not that bad…”

“Rose…” My mum looked toward me again. “I know I have to accept this, but you know how hard it is. I know I'm not…” She sobbed again. “Your real mum, but I’d still like to be your mum.”

“You are my real mum!” I said, my frustration at myself and my actions bubbling over. “What I said was wrong, okay? You are my real parents. But… my pony parents are too. I had another memory of my pony parents, and I can assure you, they’re not perfect, but that doesn’t make them any more or less my parents than you. My pony mum, Clover, said some… horrible things to me. Things I know that you would never say.”

“Rose is right.” Lily said, stepping into the kitchen. “My parents… My human ones, they are my parents. They don’t deserve to be called that, but they are. So… So are you!” She said proudly, looking between my mum and dad. Our mum and dad. “You two are just as much my parents as my pony ones. I don’t remember them yet, but they are my real parents too.”

I nodded happily and smiled at Lily. She always knew what to say. I glanced back at my dad who was smiling proudly. My mum was doing so as well, but her eyes were still rimmed with tears. Happy tears.

“Mum, I love you. I-I might even hazard to say that you’re slightly more accepting than my first mum, and you still are my mum.”

“Th-thank you. Thank you so much, Rose. This means more than you can imagine to me.”

“I think I can guess how much.” I said and pulled her in for a hug again.

------

After my mum and I had made up, I felt the stress of the whole situation suddenly bear down on me. I felt absolutely exhausted, even though we had only been working for a few hours when the incident had occurred. Weren’t earth ponies supposed to be hardy and resilient? I hardly felt resilient at all like this. Probably due to those sudden flashes of memories.

Lily and I had decided to take a break from gardening work, as much as we both seemed to be greatly enjoying it, and talked with my parents for a short while. We mostly talked about random things, but my mum did ask what had caused those memories. I was pretty sure it was the touch of that rosebud, but I wasn’t certain. Maybe that was just a subconscious trigger to my memories?

The conversation was pleasant enough and, as much as I did want to sit next to Lily, I agreed to sit on my mum’s lap for a while, quite enjoying the stroking of my mane and coat. I saw my dad stare at me and chuckle, but I just shot daggers back at him. Like he could talk, he enjoyed “petting” me just as much as my mum did. I-I guess it kinda felt nice too...

It was around midday that the exhaustion really seemed to affect Lily and I and we both decided to head up to our room. I sighed happily as I snuggled up next to Lily on my bed, the still relatively fresh sheets feeling very relaxing against my coat.

“Rose?” Lily said as I lay my head down on her chest, cheek still stinging a bit from my fall earlier.

“Mmm?” I replied without lifting my head up.

“Those memories… You said that… your pony mum said something… ‘horrible’ to you.”

I felt an icy chill shiver through my body as the memories returned to me, fresh in my mind, as if they had just happened. My mum… Clover… she called me a freak. She tried to fix me. I felt a pang of guilt as I shifted my gaze upward to Lily. I knew what she had gone through with her parents kicking her out, but now? I didn’t just sympathize now, I could empathize.

“Lily… I think my mum hates me.”

“Wh-what? After all that, you still think that?”

“N-no, sorry, not what I meant. I mean… my pony mum.”

A concerned frown crossed her face as she sat up a little in the bed. “Why?”

“She… I told her that I… liked mares.”

A look of both sadness and realization crossed Lily’s face. “Oh gosh.”

“Y-yeah.” I said blankly as Lily tightened her grip on me.

“I love you so much, Rose.”

“I know. I love you too.”

“I just… I didn’t know. I'm so sorry.”

“Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for.” I smiled tearfully up at my fiance before nuzzling her cheek softly. “I mean, I don’t think I talked to her after I ran away, so-”

“You ran away?” Lily interrupted, shocked. “I thought you said… Or well, I thought you meant that they kicked you out.”

“Sort of.” I said, glancing down at my hooves. “My mum wanted to… fix me. She said that my aunt had ‘fixed’ my cousin, so she could do it for me as well.”

“That’s horrible!”

“I know, but… I think she was just scared.”

“Scared!?” Lily shouted, her face switching from concern to anger. “That bucking mule wanted to fix you! The only thing she should be scared of is me beating her face in!”

“L-Lily, please…” I said, cowering a little again. Luckily, Lily seemed to notice her outburst and quickly calmed herself.

“Fuck, I… I'm sorry, Rose. I just…” She clenched her eyes, clearly trying to clear her thoughts of her own parents. “I don’t forgive my parents. You might eventually forgive yours, but I don’t forgive mine.”

“I know, beautiful.” I said, placing a calming hoof on her cheek and directing her gaze back to me. “I love you, and no matter what, we’ll get through everything together.”

“Th-thanks.” She said, smiling cautiously and kissing me on the forehead. I giggled lightly and leant upward, returning her affections with a soft kiss on the lips. I hovered a short distance from her mouth, smiling subtly as I felt myself drawn toward her again. I placed a second kiss on her lips, this one lasting just a little longer than before. I threw caution to the wind, and with my third kiss, I pressed myself intently against her.

-

I let out a short, surprised squeak as Rose kissed me, pressing her tongue up against my lips. I sank down and opened up, letting her tongue explore my mouth fervently. My mind swam with passion as a heat built between my legs and I felt the familiar sense of arousal begin to strengthen.

I pulled from the kiss and stared into Rose’s eyes. The beautiful leaf green irises of my fiance stared into mine and I giggled in unadulterated joy. She smiled down at me and leant down to kiss me once more.

Oh gosh, this was what I was waiting for. I felt my body begin to unintentionally squirm as Rose’s hoof traveled lower and lower, closer to my-

-

“Are you sure they’ll like me?” My nervous-- Well, I guess she was my marefriend now, wasn’t she? My nervous marefriend looked at me as we stood outside the front door of my family home.

“Well, I'm sure they’ll like you. Whether they like us being together is another thing.”

“I thought you said they weren’t like my parents?”

“No, I just said they never said anything bad about ponies like… us before. I mean, before I met you, I didn’t even think anything like this would be a possibility for me.”

“Y-you still want to be with me, right?”

“Of course! Even if my parents don’t approve, which I'm sure they will, it doesn’t matter. I… I'm not losing you.”

She smiled at me, still apprehensive about this whole situation. She had a right to be, after what she told me had happened in Manehattan, anypony would. I brought a hoof up to the door and rapped on it loudly. A few seconds later, the door swung open and a pink, smiling mare with a green mane opened the door.

“S-sis?” I said, shocked that she was here.

“You know it!” Daisy said, bubbly as always. “I heard you were coming over, and since Swift hadn’t met mum and dad yet, I thought I would bring him over as well! Uh, who’s the friend?”

“This is Roseluck, my mare-… My friend. You’ve seen her around, right?”

“Not really. I moved my stand ages ago.” Daisy replied and I face hoofed for forgetting. “You know I hate stealing your customers, Sissy. Anyway, come inside! I want you to meet Swifty as well!” She turned around and happily trotted inside. I followed Daisy, my marefriend almost hiding behind me as walked in.

Suddenly, a bright red stallion flew forward and took me into a huge hug.

“Lily!” The stallion said, hugging me tightly. Too tightly.

“P-Posey, please!” I gasped out, my breath strained from his tight hug.

“Oh, sorry, Lily. You know how I get. Who’s your friend?” Posey said and glanced over my shoulder.”

“This is Roseluck. We… work together. She ran a flower arranging stall, and we decided to become… business partners..”

“Just like you to make friends with another flower mare.” He grinned, playfully nudging me.

“Hey.” He said, pushing past me and smiling sideways at Rose. He gazed at her, eyes half lidded and mock bowed to her as she pursed her lips and stared back. “I’m Posey Wind. I really hope my sister can tell me all about you. I just hope you want to get to know me.”

“Posey, can you please try and keep your dick out of my friends?” I said, pushing him playfully. “Besides, she’s… taken.”

“Damn.” He said, pulling himself up and glancing at Rose apologetically. “Sorry, Rose, I just can’t resist a pretty mare.”

Rose said nothing but smiled nervously, her face slightly blushing.

“Come on, idiot.” I said, pulling him by his tail into the living room.

Inside was my beloved mother and father, my sister, and her apparent coltfriend, “Flitter” or something.

“Lily! Welcome home, little miss!” My dad said, smiling at Rose and I. “This that friend you were talking about?”

“Yep. Everyone, this is Rose.” I said, motioning to Rose as she blushed nervously. She waved back as everyone greeted her merrily.

-

Dinner was very loud, as it usually was in my household. Daisy was nothing but happy the whole time, my dad was arguing playfully with Posey, and my mother chatted with Daisy’s coltfriend, Swift Dive.

“I always knew you’d go after a pegasus, sis.” Posey said and waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Stuff it, Posey.” My dad said and chuckled heartily. “Now, Lily, you haven’t really told us what Rose is doing here.”

“Trim!” My mother snapped at him. “That’s no way to say speak to your daughter! What your father meant to say, is what brings your lovely friend here? You don’t usually bring a lot of your friends to dinner.”

I chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof. Under the table, Rose placed a hoof on my lap and smiled at me reassuringly. I smiled back and took a deep breath looking back to my family.

“Rose isn’t exactly what I would call a normal friend…” I said, trying to think of a non blunt way to say ‘I’m sleeping with another mare’.

“So what, she’s a business partner?” My dad asked, chewing on a piece of carrot.

“Yes, she is, but that’s not all she is.” I said, my cheeks filling with nervous heat. “I wanted Rose to come along tonight so she could meet you guys.”

“What?” My dad said. “Why?”

“Rose is…” I felt another reassuring squeeze of a hoof from Rose. “Rose and I are marefriend’s.”

The room was silent, the only sound being the clink of a fork dropping down to a plate.

“Congratulations, Lily.” Daisy’s coltfriend was the first to reply before going back to his meal. After another moment of awkward silence, and my family staring at me, Swift looked back up from his meal. “Is something wrong? Did I say something wrong?”

“N-no, babe,” Daisy replied, stuttering.”Lily just hasn’t… Uh… Told us yet. I’m very happy for you, Lily.”

“So, couldn’t really tell us first, could you?” My dad smirked and placed his own cutlery down on his plate. “Don’t get me wrong, I'm more than happy for you, but this is one way to come out to us.”

“Th-thanks dad.” I smiled back, tears beginning to show themselves in my eyes. Rose leant over and kissed me on the cheek, eliciting a shocked gasp from my mum.

“Wait, she hadn’t told you?” Swift said, now realizing why my family had a shocked look on their faces.

“Lily! I'm so happy for you!” Posey cheered, smiling widely. “Sorry about before, I wouldn’t have acted like that to Rose if I knew.”

“That’s fine, ya big dummy.” I laughed, still glancing nervously over at my mum who had yet to say anything. “You didn’t know, so no reason to be sorry to me. You should be sorry to Rose.”

“Heheh, yeah. Sorry, Rose. I can be a bit forward some time.” Posey apologized, still flashing his signature grin. “How long have you been together?”

“About five months now.”

“Lily Valley.” My mum said firmly, standing up. “You are unbelievable.”

“W-what?” I said, my heart sinking as she walked toward me.

“H-hey, there’s nothing wrong with-” Rose started but was interrupted by my mum opening her forelegs up and pulling Rose into a huge, tight hug.

“Mum?”

“I can’t believe you hadn’t told us sooner!” She said, releasing a very shocked looking Rose from the hug. “You better take care of my Lily, you hear?” She said, pointing a hoof at Rose jokingly.

“Uh, I will, Miss Valley.”

“Good.” She smiled, turning to Lily. “Lily, I’m… so happy for you. Happier than you might think.”

“Thanks mum.” I felt the weight lift off my shoulders entirely. They like her! And they didn’t hate me!

“So!” My dad said as my mother took her seat next to him again. “How did you meet your lovely marefriend?”

“Oh, uh… you know that rabbit stampede that happened at the start of the year? So after my stall was destroyed…”

------

“L-Lily?” Rose said, jolting me up as my memory ended.

“H-holy crap.” I said blankly, trying to recover from the rush of information that had almost invaded my mind.

“What happened?”

“I just… I just had a memory thing! Like, that rush of memories that you’ve been having!” I said, Rose’s worried expression relaxing after she saw the joy that this memory had brought me.

“You know, I'm getting sick of these memory flashes interrupting our sexytimes.” Rose said, blushing at her own words.

“O-oh!” I said, remembering now what had been happening before the memory flash. “Why don’t we… continue?”

“I’d love nothing mo-”

“Rose! Lily! Afternoon tea is ready!” Rose’s dad called from the bottom of the stairs.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Rose let out an exasperated sigh of frustration.

“And someone is here to see you!” Rose’s mother's voice added.

Author's Notes:

Hopefully you guys enjoyed. I've been a bit distracted as I got robbed recently, so sorry if the chapter is a little sub-par.

Chapter Thirteen

“Rose?” My mum called as I hesitantly walked down the stairs. Who could be coming to see us? Who the hell even knew we were here? Did my parents tell someone? I guess telling a relative might be okay, but if my mum had called a vet to make sure my pregnancy was going along well, then there’d be hell to pay.

“Coming, mum!” I said, turning my head to make sure Lily was still following. She had just as nervous a look on her face as I did and offered me as reassuring a smile as possible. I turned back and began my journey down the steps again.

I cautiously stepped around the corner into the living room only for an extremely familiar face to greet me.

“L-Luna!” I gasped, struggling between rushing forward to hug her or bowing down.

“Luna?” Lily looked between Luna and I. “This is P-Princess Luna?”

“You bet!” My dad said, placing his hand on my mum’s shoulder and chuckling heartily. “Nearly gave your mum a heart attack when she showed up as well.”

“I admit, I should probably have opened the portal outside instead of in your… living room.” She giggled, politely covering her mouth with a hoof. “Definitely ‘twas quite the shock for your mother. How have you been my little ponies?”

“Luna… You… How…?” I said, grasping to form a coherent sentence.

“I will explain in due time, Roseluck. Lily, I’m glad that we can finally meet. Rose has told me a lot about you.” She said, turning to Lily and offering a polite, welcoming smile.

“Oh, uh… It’s nice to finally meet you too.”

“Likewise. I almost offered for Discord to come along too so he could apologize directly for the pain he put you through, but this visit was meant to be more civil and calm. Bringing Discord into the equation would not achieve that.”

“D-Discord?” Lily said, her brow furrowing at the name.

“It wasn’t really that much of a bad thing that Discord did. This life, our human ones, wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it definitely wasn’t all bad. Plus, he… he saved me.” It felt immensely strange saying that, knowing that I would be dead if it wasn’t for this originally malicious being. “He’s not all bad, and I know that.”

“He… He may have tricked me, but he brought back my Rose, so he’s good in my book.” Lily said, smiling as she stopped by my side.

“I’m very glad you see it that way, Rose. He has been making a conscious effort to improve himself.” Luna said before turning to my parents. “I don’t mean to bother you, but you did mention…” Luna began to blush. “Uh… Afternoon tea?”

“Oh, of course!” My mum said, dashing into the kitchen and retrieving the meal she had made for us. It mostly consisted of biscuits and crackers, but a fresh pot of chamomile tea had also been prepared. It was strange, seeing Luna sit next to my father. She was quite tall for a pony, but given that normal ponies were about our size, she only really came up to a little bit higher than my dad’s knees.

“So, you’re this princess that we’ve been hearing so much about, right?” My dad said, munching down on a biscuit. “You’re bigger than I imagined.”

“D-Dad! Talk to her a little nicer, she’s a Princess!” I scolded him, shooting an apologetic look to Luna. She giggled again and waved her hoof in dismissal.

“Oh, let him be. It’s not often that I meet ponies that treat me like a normal mare. Being royalty is… a lonely affair.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be your friends!” My dad said and playfully slapped Luna on the back, causing her to stare at him in shock before relaxing and smiling again. Her smile was definitely genuine, so as long as my dad didn’t go overboard, I guess I could live with him being like this.

“Here we go, princess!” My mum said, placing cups before us all. I smiled contently as my mum walked around, pouring a generous amount into all of our cups. I placed a cube of sugar into mine, while Lily took hers without and nervously sipped it. I could tell the shock of seeing Luna for the first time was still fresh, so I just nuzzled up next to her, smiling.

“I must say, your home is lovely, if a little… large.” Luna giggled. “I knew there was a size difference between our races, but this difference is much more than I anticipated.”

“Yeah, definitely took a lot of getting used to for Lily and I. Not to mention that we aren’t unicorns, so no handy magic to grip handles with or items with.”

“I still can’t bring myself to open a door with my mouth, so we just leave doors ajar most of the time.” Lily added.

“So, besides coming for a visit, I guess, what brings you here? Can’t exactly be easy to make a portal to earth, can it?”

“No, not exactly. While, yes, I did come to check up on you and see how you were doing, I usually could just do that through your dreams. I came to… give you a check up.”

I felt my fur stand on end.

“A ch-check up?”

“Yes. While pony pregnancies are safer than human ones, there is always the possibility of something going wrong. I’m sure that you would not prefer to go to a human doctor to make sure everything is alright, as well as the fact that they wouldn’t know exactly what they’re doing. Before I became a princess, I studied pony physiology for many years, and am more than qualified to give you a check up to make sure your pregnancy is going well.”

“Thank you so much, Princess Luna!” My mother said and gave her a hug, eliciting a shocked look from Luna. “I’ve been so worried about her, and I just want her and the baby to be alright.”

“Uh, n-no problem, Mrs Linden. I’m glad I can put some of your fears to rest.” Luna said, breathing a sigh of relief as she was released from the hug.

“Anyway, after tea, I would like to perform this check up, if that suits you.” Luna asked me.

“Uh, s-sure. What are you going to be doing exactly?”

------

I lay on my bed as Princess Luna’s horn glowed, and a wave of light passed across my body. A frown crossed her face as the light touched my hooves and I felt my heart beat faster with worry.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly. At least, nothing that can’t be fixed easily now that I’m here.”

“Wh-what is it?” Lily said, grasping my hoof as Luna’s magic scanned me. A more intense frown appeared when the light from Luna’s horn touched Lily’s hoof as well.

“Hmm, it is as I feared. I’m afraid that the magic from your bodies has been draining faster than I had anticipated. It is possible that your thaumic resonance is just a little weaker, but my scan proved otherwise. Your thaumic resonance is strong. Dangerously strong. Have either of you been experiencing tiredness that is out of the ordinary recently?”

“Now that you mention it, we’ve both been pretty tired over the last few weeks…” I said, my worry increasing.

“Ah, well, it’s not too much to fret about, little ones.” Luna explained, clearly seeing the worry evident on my face. “Now that I’m here, I can transfuse a little of my own magic into you. My natural reserves are quite a bit larger than a standard pony, so it won’t hurt me at all to do this. I must ask though, have either of you experienced… Flashes of memories?”

“H-how did you know?” I gasped.

Luna giggled politely and continued her scan. “I had actually hope that this would happen, just preferably once you arrived in Equestria. My sister and I discovered that your memories might begin to return to you even while awake, but these flashes are quite magically intensive. The strength of your magic resonance explains this, as the more intense the connection to the magic in your body, the more you will remember. Unfortunately, this also means that the closer connection you have to your magic, the faster it drains.”

“Okay… Th-this isn’t going to hurt us, r-right?”

“No, not now that I’m here. I can give you both magical infusions to stop your magic from draining completely. I do recommend that you try and take it easy over the next few weeks, especially you, Rose. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to Brisk Breeze.” Luna said, her magic now passing over my slightly bulging belly. Luckily, a smile crossed her face and she breathed a sigh of relief.

“What is it?” Lily asked.

“Nothing. As in, nothing is wrong. Your foal is completely healthy.”

I smiled widely and Lily leant in, nuzzling against my cheek.

“Now, that brings me to another thing I must tell you both. Because your magic is draining quite fast, and I still want you two to be able to spend as much time as possible with your parents, I must remain here on earth for the remainder of your time here so that I can continue to give you magical infusions. Your parents have not been informed yet, but I’m sure they will approve of this decision, as it is in the interest of protecting you and your foal.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, and that means I can also continue to do more check ups on you to ensure the health of your foal. I also must admit…” Luna said, blushing slightly. “I am quite curious on the culture of your world.”

“That’s great!” Lily said enthusiastically. “I don’t think we’re the best teachers, but I’m sure we can find something that will interest you.”

------

“What is this device?”

“It’s called a Super Nintendo. It’s not a modern thing, but plenty of humans use it, or similar things to it.” I said, handing a controller out to Luna, who cautiously held it in her magic. Lily giggled as she inspected it, almost like a rare artifact.

“What does it do?”

“Well, the thing I gave you is actually the controller. You press the buttons here,” I said, pointing to the front of the controller. “and it will control the character on the screen here.” I punctuated by pressing a button and watching Kirby jump up and down on the screen.

“What is the purpose?” Luna said, raising an eyebrow and making Lily and I both laugh, eliciting a blush from her.

“It’s for fun, Luna.” I explained and her face lit up.

“Oooh! I like fun!”

“Well, I hope you like this. Games aren’t for everyone.”

“I play quite a few games with my sister. We play a fun game called Ogres and Oubliettes. You create a character, and somepony will control the game, giving players monsters to fight, puzzles to solve, and objectives to do.”

“Wait, let me get this straight.” Lily started. “Your world has Dungeons and Dragons?”

“Is that similar to what I described?”

“It is exactly what you described.”

“Well, I’d be happy to play that, if you like.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!” Lily shouted, pumping the air with her hooves while Luna and I watched and laughed.

------

“Oh, come on!” Luna shouted, motioning at the screen. “I was far ahead of you, then you hit me once, and I fell behind!”

“You snooze, you lose.”

“I am the MASTER of the night, Rose. I snooze, and I win!” Luna said, as the item wheel on her side of the screen switched to a certain blue shell.

“Oh gosh, that’s not fair!” I said, dropping the controller as the shell smashed into me metres from the finish line. Luna’s character sped right past me and the victory fanfare play, Luna dancing along happily to it.

“Yes!” She said, closing her eyes and clapping her hooves merrily. “I am the victor!”

“You just got lucky.” I said, folding my forelegs in frustration. Luna seemed to not only take a liking to video games so far, but also seemed to be quite the natural at it. She was already just as good as me and she’d been playing for only a few hours, compared to my years of experience. I was just about to challenge her to a rematch when I heard my mum call out from down stairs.

“Luna! Girls! Time for dinner!”

“Dinner?” Luna gawked in shock. “I could have sworn that it was only tea time an hour ago!”

“Yeah, that’s what playing video games will do to you.”

“Do they transcend time itself?”

“Nope, you can just get lost in them very easily.” I laughed and stood up along with Lily as we headed to the stairs.

“W-wait, Rose…” Luna said from behind me.

“Yeah?’

“C-can we… play more tomorrow?”

“Of course!” I laughed. She smiled and stood herself up, joining us as we traveled down the stairs and into the kitchen. A beautiful, smooth but sweet smell wafted throughout the entire living room and I breathed in through my nose, savouring the smell.

“What smells so good, mum?” I asked and my mother stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a large steaming pot.

“Pumpkin soup! My very own recipe. I hope you enjoy it, Princess Luna.”

“Oh, I’m sure I will. Rose is right, it smells absolutely divine.”

“Good!” My mum said, smiling at us before placing the pot down on the table. I trotted happily to the table and lept up to my chair, eager to dig into the lovely meal that had been prepared for us. Luna followed behind with a much clearer sense of regality and calming crawled onto her chair before pulling it in with her magic.

“So, my daughter ever gonna be able to do fancy magic like that?” My dad asked Luna, who looked to him.

“Oh, not exactly. All ponies have a natural type of magic, unicorns and alicorns can just focus this magic more consciously than Earth ponies and Pegasi.”

“Ah, I remember Rose telling us something about that.” My mum said, beginning to ladle out servings of soup for us.

“Yeah, I didn’t explain it very well, though.”

“No matter. Not all ponies know about the magical abilities that they inherit, many just assume it is part of their natural abilities or their special talent. Pegasi can, of course, fly, but their physiology just assists their bodies natural magic. The magic assists them greatly in flying and also makes it possible for them to walk on clouds.”

“It sounds like something out of a storybook.” My mum mused as she finished ladling all of the bowls of soup and began laying them out in front of us.

“In Equestria, that is just a normal part of life. Earth ponies also have magic, but theirs is focused on the earth itself. Earth pony grown crops will flourish more abundantly, their plants will grow faster and healthier, amongst many other things. They also have a more natural resilience. While any pony can have any talent, it certainly helps to be an Earth pony if your talent is related to plant life in any way.”

“This all so fascinating!” My mother gawked. “I’d love to hear more stories of Equestria while we eat!”

------

“....And so, the evil controlling me was banished by the Elements of Harmony. While Nightmare Moon was borne of my own selfish desires, the spirit manifested in me was abolished that day and I was reunited with my sister.”

“Wow, this really is something out of a storybook.” Lily said, eyes unfocused as she thought about the magical world we would be soon living in.

“Yes, Equestria is a world of wonder, no doubt. I’m very happy to see you two so enthused about coming home.” Luna said, addressing Lily and I.

“When did you have to go home, Princess?” My dad asked after taking a sip of soup.

“Ah, yes, I must ask something of you, Mr and Mrs Linden. Unfortunately, magic is being drained from your daughter and her fiance faster than I had initially anticipated.”

My mother's face dropped and a look of fear crossed it.

“No, no, there is nothing to worry about, Mrs Linden. I have a proposition that I’m sure you will be glad to hear. In order to keep your daughter and her partner here as long as possible before they must leave, I have decided that I will stay here until they leave, giving them infusions of magic to keep them safe.”

“Oh, thank gosh.”

“This also means I will be able to remain and complete more check ups on the health of your daughter and the foal. I’m sure this will put your mind to ease. I only ask that you allow me to reside in your humble abode while I stay on Earth.”

My mum’s face immediately switched back to her happy expression and she smiled appreciatively at Luna.

“Absolutely! I would love to have you here, Luna!” My mother said.

“It definitely has been pretty nice having you here, and I wanna hear more stories of Equestria too, so it sounds great to me.” My dad replied.

“Thank you.” Luna sent a genuine thankful smile to them both. “I must admit, I’ve been quite looking forward to coming here. Not only because I wanted to meet you all in pony, but also, the life of a royal is… overbearing at times, to say the least. I am constantly in the spotlight, being relied upon and looked up to by so many ponies, who also find it necessary to step on eggshells around me. It really is nice to feel… normal for once.” She said, a small blush reaching her cheeks.

“We’ll make you feel part of the family in no time, Luna!” My dad said boisterously, chuckling heartily afterward.

“Thank you very much.”

“Well, I hope you all enjoyed dinner, and I hope you also saved room for dessert!” My mum said, dashing into the kitchen before coming back, holding onto a fresh, steaming apple pie. The smell coming from it was so incredibly enticing that even if I hadn’t saved room, I wouldn’t be able to resist it. She laid it down on the table before returning to the kitchen and retrieving a punnet of vanilla ice cream.

“This smells absolutely heavenly, Mrs Linden!” Luna exclaimed, her eyes wide, taking in as much of the pie as possible. “I would hazard to say it looks almost exactly like it was prepared by one of the Apple family themselves.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” My mum smiled as she began to distribute pieces of the fresh pie. “Dig in, everyone.”

------

Both dinner and dessert were lovely, as it always was when my mum cooked. Lily and I, both of our stomachs bulging now from the food - and mine a little larger than hers for obvious reasons - felt ourselves quite relaxed and lethargic from our pie induced food comas. We said goodnight before trudging upstairs and lying on the bed together.

Just as I was about to roll over to face Lily, she pulled herself on top of me, my cheeks beginning to burn red as she looked down at me seductively. She slowly lowered her head and kissed my nose, causing me to scrunch up as she grinned cheekily at me.

“You’re so cute when you do that.” She said, kissing my nose again.

“Y-yeah, well… You’re c-cute all the time.” I said, earning me an adorable giggle from my fiance.

“Touche.” She said, slowly lowered her mouth to my lips. I felt my own mouth begin to quiver in anticipation as she got closer and closer, until the gap between us was bridged and she kissed me softly, yet passionately. I pressed back into the kiss now and let her tongue slip past my lips. I pressed my body into her, feeling her warmth almost encapsulate me, protecting me from the cold evening air.

“Oh g-gosh, Lily.” I said, my breathing beginning to become heavy with the telltale signs of my increasing arousal. “I love you more than the whole world.”

“I l-love you too, Rose.” Lily smiled before kissing me again, running her hooves up and down my waist. I wriggled in her grasp, eager for her hooves to touch each and every part of me. I lowered a single hoof between her legs and stroked the inner of her thigh. I was about to reach closer toward my intended prize when she suddenly pulled away from me and jumped down off the bed.

“L-Lily! What now? I n-need you!” I greedily whined, wanting nothing more than to feel the touch of my beloved again.

“Sorry, Rose, one second.” She said as she walked to the other side of the room and pulled over a chair to the door. She pushed it flush against the door, hopefully blocking any rude entry before walking back and crawling back onto the bed again.

“No more interruptions.” Lily said, leaning down and nipping at my neck. I let out a sensual moan and moved my forelegs around my beautiful Lily. “You’re my mare, Rose, and I’m taking you now. Nothing is gonna get in my way.”

Author's Notes:

Next chapter will be another cloptional one. Sorry for all the teasing

Chapter Thirteen and a Half (Cloptional)

Author's Notes:

New cloptional chapter of What's in a Name. Hope you all enjoy, and sorry for all the cockteasing in previous chapters.

“L-Lily…” I whispered Into her ear, the heat of my breath almost fogging the air. I shuddered slightly as I anticipated her touch, her own breath brushing the side of my neck

“Rose…” Lily kissed my neck lightly, suckling extremely lightly on the supple, sensitive skin beneath the thin layer of fur. “You are everything I've ever wanted and more.”

Her romantic words pulled a quiet moan from my lips and I closed my eyes, not letting any senses but touch and hearing fill my mind. My heart was racing, almost jumping from my chest with love for this pony.

“I love you so much.” She whispered again and brought her lips off of my neck and onto my own. She kissed me softly and sensually, and I tried my hardest in my delirious state to return the kiss. She teasingly pulled away and bit her lip.

“Slowly. This night has been a long time coming, and it is going to last as long as I want.” Lily said, her demanding, but love laced tune returning. I had no idea why she switched so fast in bed, but I loved it. I was her mare, and I didn't care how many times she showed me that.

I reached a hoof forward and placed it around her neck, pulling her close into kissing range. “Lily, p-please. I d-don’t care how much you t-tease me, but… let me kiss you.”

Lily smiled a warm, loving smile that stretched all the way across her face. She leant down and planted an amazing kiss on my lips, darting her tongue forward and eagerly searching my mouth. I moaned into the kiss and pressed my body against hers. She lowered a hoof to my belly and stroked it slowly in the incredibly relaxing way that she did so well. I let out a sigh into the kiss, the waves of arousal and calming pleasure washing over me. I would do anything Lily wanted right now and I wanted her to know it.

“L-Lily.” I said when she pulled away from the kiss for a breath of fresh air. “I am… c-completely yours.”

She giggled lightly and placed a hoof on my cheek. “And I'm yours.”

“I-I mean… I want you to… do whatever you want to me.” I said and her cheeks somehow got even more pink. “Anything you want. Any… position, act, anything.”

“Rose…” She stared down at me, the blush still present. “R-right now, all I want is you. Maybe later, or another night, we can… experiment, but tonight is about nothing more or less than me and you. Our love.”

I nodded jerkily and pressed my lips against hers again. It was my turn to take control of the kiss and I pulled her to her side, so we were lying down, facing each other as we passionately made out.

I placed a hoof on her hip and slowly began to stroke up and down, enjoying the lovely contours and shape of my fiancé’s body. She shuddered as she slowly pulled her hoof up to do the same. With my hoof, I slowly trailed down, now stroking the outside of her thighs as she did the same.

I only really paid attention to it now, as I was so completely enamored by our kiss, but I was incredibly wet. I was so wet that a trickle of juices poured down my leg as I felt my pussy clench on its own accord.

The room was filled with the heady, incredible aroma of our familiar collective arousal. I could feel Lily’s body shiver frequently as I stroked her side, and could tell without looking that she was just as aroused, if not more so than I was.

I moved my ministrations to the inside of her thigh, another shudder coming from Lily as she felt my hoof so close to her marehood, which was almost radiating heat outward. Lily’s own hoof froze on my hip as I stroked her thigh, edging closer and closer to her flower until eventually, I let my hoof press softly into her puffy, wet mound.

She moaned loudly into our kiss as my hoof pressed between her folds and I slightly opened my eyes to see her brow furrowed in absolute pleasure. I could feel even more of her wetness drip down my hoof and onto the bed, knowing that with both of our fluids combined, we would undoubtedly have to clean this sheet tomorrow.

She pulled away from the kiss and began to pant lightly, her hot breath brushing my lips. I felt her own hoof begin to travel downward, stroking past my teats as she lightly pressed against them. I cooed softly, enjoying both the feeling of her hoof against me and the feeling of her sopping wet pussy against my hoof.

I watched as she lowered her hoof once more time before pressing firmly into my crotch, the familiar and wonderful waves of pleasure radiating outward through my body. I moaned into another sloppy, yet passionate kiss that she gave me as she began stroking up and down in time with my own strokes.

“R-Rose… I love you s-so much…” She whispered, her moans and pants getting louder as her pleasure increased. I let out small, high pitched sounds as well before whispering back.

“I l-love you too, Lily.” I said before kissing her again. I became lost in the pleasure, not even feeling like I was getting any closer to orgasm as she gently massaged my marehood, but it didn’t matter at all. I felt so amazing and so incredibly close to her in this moment that even if I didn’t cum, I would be just as happy. I flicked the tip of my hoof against her clit and she arced her head backward, moaning even louder this time.

“I-I like it when you’re loud.” I smiled at her and she stared back at me, her red cheeks blazing with passion. I saw what I could have sworn was a cheeky grin form on her face, but it disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. Suddenly, Lily rolled on top of me and pinned me down, forcing my hoof away from her crotch, but not hers away from mine.

“I like it when you’re loud too, Rose. I want… I want you to be loud for me.” She said breathily, pushing her hoof just that little bit deeper.

“Nnngg… w-we… we can’t be too loud, Lily… My parents will hear.”

“I don’t care.” She flicked my clit again and I let out an involuntary yelp of pleasure and surprise. “I want to hear your moans echo throughout this room. You are my mare, and I will take you how I please.” Her almost dominating words sent my mind into a spiral between agreeing to her and protesting to avoid my parents hearing. I looked away and bit my lip.

“Rose, look at me.” She said, angling me back to her with a hoof. “Your parents know that we are engaged. They know that we are in love. We are both adults and you are going to be having a baby. If they really care that we are making love, then that’s their problem.”

“L-Lily, I-”

“No to mention.” Her cheeky smile returned as she locked eyes with me, moving so close that our muzzles almost touched. “You melt in my hooves like butter. I don’t think you even really have a choice.” She punctuated by vigorously stroking my clit, her hoof not leaving the sensitive nub once. The muscles in my back contracted and I felt my body arc upward, the pleasure overriding any semblance of decency I had left. I let out a loud scream, letting my pleasure show as bright as the sun. Lily pressed her lips against mine and I let out frequent, high pitched moans into her mouth as she continued to rub my pussy. I gyrated my hips along with her thrusts, her hoof slipping slightly inside and the feeling of fullness that I craved beginning to return. I pushed my hips immediately down, forcing her hoof so far inside me that it almost began to hurt with how far it was stretching. I let out another moan, this one more guttural than the last, but just as passionate and love filled.

“Lily!” I screamed her name to the night, wrapping both hooves around her and pulling her close before clenching around her body with my hind legs. I felt so incredibly close and amazing in that moment that even with Lily being in a slightly more difficult position, her hoof's movements still felt incredible.

“Lily! Lily! Lily! Lily!” I shouted her name in the place of every one of my frequent and loud moans. My love for her was real and I didn’t care who knew it. The pressure in my belly began to build up to unimaginable peaks and I screamed her name one last time, my voice echoing through the house. I came with almost thunderous force and I felt as my mare cum squirted outward, almost painting Lily’s hoof and the sheets beneath us with my love. I moaned into her neck as I came, trying as hard as possible to muffled my pleasure in her coat. Lily’s hoof slowed down, now only rubbing softly as to prolong my incredible orgasm. I didn’t even feel any embarrassment as she let out a quiet chuckle, clearly surprised that I had gone along with what she had asked.

“You know,” She said, pulling away but still softly massaging my cunt as she did. “I didn’t actually think you would do it.”

“I-I promised, Lily.” I strained out between moans as the afterglow of my orgasm continued. “I p-promised I would do anything you w-wanted.”

“Yeah, but… if it made you uncomfortable, then I wouldn’t want you to do it. S-sorry I got so intense…”

“No!” I said, smiling up at her. “I… I loved it. I love this side of you that only I get to see.”

“I love you so much, Rose.” She said, moving her hoof away from my crotch as the orgasm completely subsided.

“Oh, gosh, I love you too, Lily.” I said, staring into her beautiful golden eyes. I inched forward again, glancing between her eyes and her supple lips before I threw caution to the wind and kissed her again. I pushed upward until we were both sitting up before using my weight to softly lay her down on her back.

“I…” I muttered softly, taking in the sight of my incredible marefriend beneath me. “I wanna t-try something.”

“Oh?” She bit her lip and raised an eyebrow. I nodded nervously before pulling myself to my hooves and shakily turning around. I placed my body over hers, now looking directly at her crotch, upside down.

“Y-you really wanna do it like this?” Lily nervously said from behind me.

“Y-yeah. I r-really like… tasting you, and I want you to taste me too. At the same time.” I said, not taking my eyes away from her beautiful flower. Her tight lips, her slick, dripping folds, and her tiny pink clitoris, all completing this perfect image that was her most private of areas. The area that only I got to see. I lowered my muzzle nervously, stopping only to gasp when I felt a soft, warm tongue slide itself up my slit, starting at my clit and working forward. I immediately repaid the pleasure by planting a kiss on her clit, causing her to shudder a little and let out a low moan.

I felt her tongue press against me again and she began to lap at my cunt, her incredibly soft tongue exploring every possible area and crevice. I lowered my own muzzle and both of us moaned as I plunged my snout completely into her. It was petite enough that it fit completely into her entrance and I was free to dart my tongue out, tasting all the way inside of her. The tangy, faintly floral, but all in all incredible taste filled my mouth and I increased speed as I felt Lily’s muzzle do the same. She moaned into me as the incredible waves of pleasure rocked my body, my pleasure increasing tenfold knowing that I was bringing the same pleasure to her.

“O-oh gosh.” Lily pulled away from my slit and gasped out as I licked her insides. “D-do that again.” She muttered. Do what? Was there a particular place I licked that she liked? Here?

“Ahhh!” Lily let out a high scream as I pressed my tongue against a certain spot inside her. “D-Do that again!”

I continued to rapidly lick and press my tongue against that spot and she screamed my name out loud.

“Rose!” She said, an idle hoof pressing against my tender teats. “Oh gosh, Rose! I love you!”

I smiled and continued to lick, faltering for all but a second when Lily’s muzzle returned to my cunt with extreme vigor, licking everywhere she could as fast as she could. I shuddered, my muscles beginning to contract again with the telltale pressure building up in my belly once more. I tongued her as hard and as rapidly as possible as her moans reached a peak before both of us simultaneously exploded. I tried my hardest to continue to lick as the extreme pleasure flowed through and out of my body. I felt a large squirt of her fluids shoot from her cunt, just as I could tell mine was doing as we soaked each other's muzzles. As the orgasm began to fade out a little, I jumped up and spun around, immediately mashing my lips against Lily’s. She returned to kiss, both of us exchanging fluids as we explored each other's mouth with messy, but love filled passion.

“Rose…” Lily panted, pulling away from the kiss for a split second before returning. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I said, doing the same thing. We continued to roll around in the bed, our bodies pressed tightly together as we basked in the incredible leftover sensations of out simultaneous orgasms.

“Oh gosh, I feel so close to you.” Lily whispered in a low, breathy voice.

“I do too.” I whispered back. “Like this… there’s nothing but us. Nothing but you, me… and our love.”

“This is… oh gosh, this is like a storybook.”

I giggled and kissed her on the nose.

“You’re so silly. But I agree. You’re so perfect, Lily.” I said, stroking her cheek with a hoof as she blushed back at me.

“You’re the perfect one.” She said, causing me to blush as well. “And I love when you blush like that. You’re cheeks are so…” She giggled once. “Rosey.”

“Oh jeez.” I laughed back, still enjoying her sweet words. “You’re too cute.”

“No, you.”

“You.”

“You!”

“You!”

“Lily, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Hey, I heard some screams, is everything-”

I swung around in a panic as I heard the chair that was blocking the door scrape along the floor and the lights to my room flicked on. In the doorway was my mum, standing wide eyed in the doorway. My cheeks rushed with heat as she continued to stand there, unmoving. Eventually, I had to take the initiative.

“MUM!” I screamed, picking up a nearby pillow and throwing it at her. She quickly dodged out of the way and slammed the door shut, shouting “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!” as she ran down the stairs.

“Oh my gosh.” I groaned, covering my now extremely rosey cheeks with my hooves and leaving forward. I leant forward so much that I slammed my face into the mattress, eliciting a giggle from Lily.

“Are you okay?” She asked, knowing the answer.

“No! My mum just walked in on us… after we… oh my gosh. Ooooooh myyyyy gooooooosh!” I let out my frustration, slamming a hoof into the sheets.

“Hey, it’ll be okay, beautiful.” Lily said, gripping me by my withers and pulling me up to a sitting position. “Like I said, she knows we’re engaged, so she should expect this kind of thing.”

“Exactly! Even if she did hear us, she should have still knocked!” A realization hit me. “Oh gosh. She heard us. That means… so did my dad. And… so did Princess Luna.” My entire body froze as I felt an all encompassing embarrassment fill me.

“Hey, hey, calm down.” Lily said, nuzzling my cheek from over my shoulder. “It’ll be fine. They know we’re in love.” She giggled. “Maybe we’ll just have to be a little more quiet until we get our own place.”

I let out a noise that was almost a mixture between a frustrated sigh and a groan before Lily pulled me backward. I fell to the bed with her as she began to cuddle up next to me. She nuzzled my cheek and let out a satisfied sigh.

“I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too.” I said, staring at the roof of our room. “Oh gosh, why did she have to go make things so awkward?”

“It’ll be fine.” Lily said softly. She pulled herself up, much to my protest, before she shot a smile back at me.

“I’ll be back in a second, honey, I just have to turn off the light and move our… mess.” She said, grinning as she pulled the dirty sheet off of the bed and flicked off the light. She walked back to me and pulled herself up onto the bed. I opened my forelegs up in an invite for a hug which she obliged, but not before shooting me another smile.

“You are so cute.” She said, nuzzling up to my chest.

“No, you.”

“You.”

“You.”

“Goodnight, Rose.”

“Goodnight, Lily.” I said, closing my eyes and trying to remove the events of a few minutes ago from my mind. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Chapter Fourteen

Author's Notes:

As promised, here is chapter 14 as well as a little bonus that I drew myself as both an exercise and an apology for taking so long. Again, sorry for taking so long to deliver on this chapter. Life stuff sucks.

I shivered slightly and pulled the blankets tighter against my body. The late autumn chill was well and truly in the air, and there was definitely not enough blankets to keep me warm. In my still mostly asleep state, I blindly fumbled for the normal source of warmth that shared my bed with me, Lily. My hooves came into contact with nothing but air and I slowly opened my eyes.

She wasn't there! I jolted upward and looked around the room, seeing no sign of my fiancé around. Lily pretty much never got up before me, why would she now? I froze as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Wait those weren't footsteps, they were…

“Mrnrng, Rrsh!” Lily greeted, her speech muffled by the fact that she was holding a tray in her mouth. On it was two cups of steaming tea and some freshly toasted toast. She carefully walked over and placed the tray up on the bed before jumping up.

“I decided to get up early today and make you some breakfast. I mean, I owe you for all the times you've brought me breakfast in bed, and it's the least I could do.”

“You're so sweet, Lily.” I blushed at her words and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She giggles happily and lays the tray down before crawling up and lying down next to me. I looked over at her nervously, the events of last night returning to me.

“L-last night was… Pretty awesome.” I smiled apprehensively.

“You’re pretty awesome.”

“Stooooop.” I said, hiding my blush and playfully shoving her. She laughed and grinned at me before grabbing a piece of toast and taking a bite.

“So, I saw mum down stairs.” Lily stated and I froze.

“Sh-she didn’t s-say anything, d-did she?”

“Uh…”

------

I quietly stepped down the steps to our room, cautious both to not wake Rose up, but I would also rather avoid seeing Jenny right now. I shook my head, attempting to dispel any fears. She was… pretty much my mum now. I was willing to welcome her and Stephen into my life, if not as my real parents, at least as parental figures. She wouldn’t hate me for wanting to be with her daughter intimately, would she? That’d be silly.

I walked softly to the kitchen, my hooves making quiet clops as they contacted with the wooden boards. I eventually reached the kitchen and stopped. Crap, I knew where pretty much nothing was in this house. The toaster was on the bench, but the kettle was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the stuff I needed to make tea or toast with.

I walked over and searched through the pantry, eventually spying a breadbox on the fourth shelf up. If I had been the size of a regular human, or even a child, reaching the breadbox would be no problem at all, but my height definitely put me at a disadvantage. I grimaced to myself and slowly began to place my hooves on the first shelf, eager to climb up to reach my goal.

I struggled as I pulled myself up onto the first shelf, then onto the second. I was about to pull myself up to the third when I happened to glance downward and felt my stomach sink. I was so high up! Looking down at the floor like this was disconcerting to say the least. At least houses in Equestria were normal sized…

I turned around and pulled myself up to the third shelf, making sure not to look down again and freak myself out even more. How the hell was I even gonna get down from here without looking down? I really should try to have better foresight.

As I reached for the fourth shelf to pull myself up to my goal, I heard a voice call my name from behind.

“Lily?”

“Gah!” I shouted, a hoof missing it’s mark as I lost my grip. I felt my body tip backward and a sense of dread filled me. I closed my eyes, preparing my body to smack into the hard wooden floor when I felt something very soft against my back instead. I glanced upward and saw the worried face of Jenny looking down at me.

“Lily! Are you alright?” She said, slowly lowering me to the floor and allowing me to land softly on all fours.

“Th-thanks, Jenny. I mean, mum.” I said, my heart still beating from the fall.

“What were you doing in there?” She scolded.

“I was trying to make some breakfast and tea for Rose, but the bread was all the way on the fourth shelf.”

“Lily, that’s very dangerous! What would you have done if I wasn’t there?”

“Hey, I’m not completely helpless. I can still help out.”

“You helped out plenty with the garden yesterday. Please don’t be afraid to ask for help doing something that you can’t exactly do. What were you going to do when you wanted the kettle? It’s all the way in the top cupboard.”

“Sorry, mum. I just kinda… you know after you walked in last night, I didn’t really want to bother you. Plus, it would be really awkward if you brought it up.” I said, freezing afterward as I realized that I was the one to have brought it up.

Jenny shook her head and smiled at me. I smiled apprehensively back, not knowing exactly what the smile was for.

“Come on,” She said, walking back toward the kitchen. “I’ll help you make Rose some breakfast.”

-

We worked in silence for a few minutes as I slowly prepared the ingredients. Rose liked her toast with jam and butter, so I would make it like that for her. I tried picking up the kettle in my hooves and pouring into the cup, but it was a lot bigger than the kettle at Rose’s apartment, so I struggled to even hold on. Jenny snickered quietly and picked it up out of my grasp before pouring the water for me.

“Th-thanks, mum.” I smiled up at her.

“Lily, I’m sorry I walked in on you and Rose last night.”

“Wh-what?” I stepped back.

“I… I’m sorry.” She said, an apologetic look on her face. “I should have… I should respect your privacy and knock. She always used to get so annoyed when I didn’t knock on her door.” Jenny laughed to herself, her face still apologetic.

“I-It’s okay, we shouldn’t have been-”

“Don’t say that, Lily. You two are in love. I just… I always have this vision of Rose being such a pure, innocent little boy. She was always so… I guess you could say “disinterested” in that kind of thing. She never had any partners, never had any girlfriends, and before we could blink, she was grown up and out of the house. I should have made the connection that you two would want to be together like that.”

“I-if you want us to stop-”

“Lily, stop saying things like that! I am the one at fault. I should have made the connection, but all I could do was worry.”

“Thank you, mum.”

“Why? I didn’t do anything except ruin your night.”

I laughed and waved a hoof in dismissal. “You didn’t ruin the night. We were… d-done by the time you came in anyway, just maybe knock in the future.” I continued my smile at her and she smiled back.

“I promise I will. No parent really wants to walk in on their kids doing the deed anyway. Let her know that I’m sorry?” She nervously laughed and I nodded in response. “Now, let’s make that beautiful daughter of mine, and beautiful fiance of yours, a lovely breakfast.”

------

“S-so she doesn’t mind?”

“No, she just never really put two and two together.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I mean, even if she didn’t “approve” of it, we’d still do it, but it was good to have the pressure off of my mind. I finally let myself relax and began to eat the toast that Lily and my mother had prepared for me. It was a little cold, as we had let it sit while we talked, but it was still crunchy and delicious. Two pieces was enough for me and I sighed in satisfaction, rubbing my pregnant belly. I had to make sure I was eating enough for two now as well, so I forced myself to consume another half piece of toast while finishing my tea.

“So what did you feel like doing today?” Lily said resting her head on my chest after finishing her own breakfast.

“I don’t know. I have some… private things to talk about with Luna, so I’d like to have a chat with her.”

“Is this about last night?”

“No way, I’m avoiding that topic if at all possible. It’s just about the baby.”

“Do you mind if I come along?”

“I’d rather not, it’s a little… personal.” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Okay, if you’re sure. You know I’m here for you, right?”

“I know, but it’s nothing bad. I just have a few queries for her.” I said, trying my hardest to reassure her. I knew she cared about me, but I did not want her to have to sit through my conversation with Luna. It was going to be awkward enough asking a gosh darn monarch about this, let alone having Lily there as well.

------

“Luna?” I whispered, the door to her room creaking open slowly. Luna had taken up residence in the guest room next to my parents room downstairs, so if she was awake last night, she most definitely would have heard our… Ahem, activities.

“Luna? Are you awake?” I called out a second time to the darkened room. The blinds were pulled across the window and it was almost impossible to make out the silhouette of Luna, bundled up in her bed sheets. I slowly walked over to the window and slid open the blinds, filling the room with the morning light. Immediately, Luna shot up, her usually spectral mane now frizzed up and messy from her sleep. It was also light blue, and honestly, quite pretty.

“Huh? Wha…?” I giggled as she looked around the room, her eyes squinting from the light flooding in.

“Sorry, Luna, it’s almost ten thirty. You asked me to wake you last night.”

“Huh?” She looked at me, confused for a second. “Oh! Oh, yes, I did. Sorry, Rose, I’ll be up shortly.”

I watched as she stretched outward and yawned sleepily, drawing another giggle from my mouth.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Oh, s-sorry, Luna, just... “ I paused to laugh again. “I’ve never seen you be this… non-royal.”

She glanced at me and folded her forelegs.

“Even royalty is allowed to take a vacation sometimes, Roseluck.”

“Sorry,” I smiled at her. “I just didn’t realize your mane looked like that either.”

“My mane?” She gasped, shocked. “Oh gosh!” Her horn lit up and her mane transformed from it’s frazzled look to it’s usual sparkling, flowing form.

“Sorry, Rose. I forget to cast the spell again some mornings.”

“Spell? I kinda thought that it looked like that naturally.”

“Well, it does for my sister,” She said with mock spite. “but my magic is a little less passive than hers. I have to cast it every morning to get it to look like this. Quite the hassle, really.”

“Why don’t you just, you know, not cast it?”

“Not cast it?” She gawked at me like I had shot a deer. “Rose, I have to uphold an image! This mane is a sign of power, and if I show weakness to my subjects, they will lose faith in me.”

“Well, I doubt that would happen, but why do it here? You’re on holiday. Relax a little.”

“R-Rose, I can’t exactly… Just… Well, it’s like this, uh…”

“You don’t have a reason!” I said, pointing a hoof at her. “Luna, I know you’re a princess and all, but… you’re also a friend.”

“A friend…?”

“Yes, silly! I have no doubt in my mind you can do some pretty powerful stuff, and if you want me to act more… like a subject once we get back to Equestria, then that’s fine, but right now, you should be relaxing.”

“L-like a subject? It’s n-not that I want you to act like that, it’s j-just…” She trailed off, glancing around the room as her mind searched for answers. “You… really want to be my friend?”

That took me a little by surprise.

“Of course I do, Luna! Besides the fact that you’ve helped Lily and I so much, you’re the only pony - or person - I can talk to that isn’t my fiance or my parents.”

“So you… won’t think I’m weak if I keep my mane like n-normal?”

“Of course not. Luna, you could be a normal, regular pony and I would still want to be your friend. In fact, I kinda like your mane like it was before. The light blue is very nice.” I smiled up at her and earned myself a shy smile back. Her horn glowed once more and her frazzled, regular mane returned. Once it was back, her horn glowed again and her mane smoothed itself out, ridding itself of its bed hair. Luna looked over to the mirror on the wall and smiled.

“See?” I said, jumping onto the bed next to her and offering her a friendly nuzzle. “You’re just as wonderful like that too.”

“R-really? You really think so?”

“Of course!” I beamed at her. “In fact, I would say that your subjects would relate with you even more if you looked like this. Your sister can be the great and powerful princess, why can’t you be the kind and relatable princess?”

“I-I don’t know about that, Rose… I still have to keep my image up.”

“Just think about it, okay?”

“I… Okay. I will think about it.”

“Yay!” I said, hugging her. She froze at my touch initially, but returned the hug after a short while. We separated after our hug and we both made our way down off of the bed.

“So, I’m afraid we’ll have to abandon our friendly conversation for a more… professional one. You mentioned that you had a few questions for me relating to your pregnancy?”

-

Luna, after having a cup of tea and some toast for breakfast, brought me back into her room, where she had turned on the lights and set up a few chairs facing each other, almost exactly like what you would see in a doctor's office, if it weren’t for the bed and vanity taking up the other side of the room.

“Now!” Luna said cheerfully, sitting down onto her chair as I crawled up onto mine. “What questions do you have?”

I immediately felt my stomach sink as she said that. I knew this was coming, and I knew I had to tell her, but that didn’t make any of this less awkward or scary, especially after our heart-to-heart this morning.

“I… I have a… problem. Well, it’s not so much a ‘problem’, as it is gross. I have no idea why it’s happening, but it’s weird. I might be just paranoid, but I just want everything to be alright, and I want Breeze to be safe, and I want me to be safe, and I don’t want to worry Lily with something that might be bad, but I have no idea, because I’ve never ever ever had a baby before and-”

“Rose, Rose! Slow down!” Luna stopped me with a smile. “Take a deep breath and calm down. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Remember that our scan found nothing wrong with the baby or yourself before, okay?”

I took her advice and breathed in and out slowly, feeling my heart rate slow and the sinking feeling in my stomach reduce. I could do this. No matter how… Icky.

“I have this weird white stuff coming out of my vagina.” I blurted out and closed my eyes. I kept them tightly shut as I waited for a panicked gasp from Luna, only for her to quietly chuckle.

“D-Don’t laugh at me!” I said, heat rushing to my cheeks. “It’s g-gross, and icky, and weird!”

“I apologize, Rose.” Luna said, still smiling. “The “white stuff”, as you call it, is perfectly natural. It’s called leukorrhea, and is there because of an increased amount of estrogen in your body, as well as an increased blood flow to your vagina. It’s very common, and nothing to worry about at all. Nearly every pregnant mare will experience increased vaginal discharge while pregnant.”

I cringed at the up front and scientific description of what it was, but was glad to hear that it wasn’t anything particularly out of the ordinary.

“So… I’m not dying?”

Luna giggled again. “No, Rose, you are not dying. If anything, it’s a sign that your body is adapting well to your pregnancy. There are a few other minor and harmless side effects that I would like to inform you of, if you would like to hear them?”

“Sure.” I nodded. Nothing could be more disgusting than that ‘leukorrhea’ stuff, right?

-

WRONG. SO, SO WRONG.

I stepped out of Luna’s room with her in tow, my face pale. I had almost thrown up half way through her explanation and had to take a fifteen minute break for a drink of water. After our “appointment” was done, I quickly rushed out of the room, glad to have that over with.

I stepped into the living room and found that Lily was smiling happily and chatting with my parents. I walked over to Lily and jumped up onto the couch next to her, my face still grim.

“Hey, Rose, how was your talk with Luna? And why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?” Lily asked, letting out a nervous chuckle.

“You… You don’t want to know.”

“Don’t worry, Lily, Rose is fine.” Luna said, taking her own seat on a chair between my parents and I. “She just learnt a few of the more “icky” parts of having a foal.”

Lily giggled again and offered me a hug which I gladly took.

“Princess, your hair looks very nice today!” My mum spoke up, placing her cup of tea on the coffee table to address Luna.

“Oh, th-thank you, Jenny.” Luna smiled, looking at me before back to my mum. “It was Rose’s idea.”

“Well, I think it’s lovely.” My mum continued. “No offense, but your mane, as much as it was beautiful before, was sort of distracting.”

“Mum!” I shouted to her. “Please don’t make her feel any more guilty.”

“Any more guilty?” My mum raised an eyebrow. “Why would she feel guilty at all?”

I froze, but saw a way I could turn my slip of the tongue around.

“Exactly.” I said, glancing at Luna. “She should not feel bad at all for wearing her mane how she likes it.” I said, Luna giving me an appreciative look afterward.

“So!” My dad said, breaking away from the awkward conversation. “I’ve planned us a little something that I’m sure you’ll all enjoy!”

“What is it?”

“We’re going on a picnic!”

Chapter Fifteen

“Wow! So pretty!” Lily gasped as she trotted happily through the path. The leaves of autumn had almost all fallen by now, but there was still plenty of colour to be seen. I remembered being appreciative of nature back when I was in Equestria, but my memory of earth was a little jumbled. I remember thinking it was ‘pretty’ but not really thinking past that point, yet those memories of being out in nature, amongst the flowers and leaves, always seemed to fill me with happiness.

I thought back to a picnic that I went on with my parents when I was about ten years old. I remember that when we went on this picnic, all I wanted to do was go home and play video games, yet for some reason, this memory brought me such joy and filled me with a warm fuzzy feeling. I smiled at the memory and brought myself back to the present, watching as Lily cantered off into the bushes, smelling the flowers and gawking in awe.

I giggled at the sight. Lily being happy always seemed to make me happy as well, almost as if we were sharing our emotions together. It was a wonderful feeling of closeness with her, one that always brought me unrivaled happiness. How I wished to frolic along with her, but the weight in my belly, coupled with Luna’s warnings that I shouldn’t be too active, stopped me from chasing after her. Regardless, I was still able to look around and take in the sights around me.

I smiled as a squirrel popped it’s head out from a hole in a log only to scamper off as he saw us pass. Luna let out a little chuckle from next to me as a large leaf slowly drifted down and landed on my face, causing me to yelp in surprise and blow it away from my face with a snort of air. I laughed along with Luna, the simple, yet hilarious situation sending us both into a fit of giggles.

We trotted along until our small group came to an old wooden bridge, made to cross the river that we had been walking alongside. My mother and I looked down at the rushing waters together, my reflection in the water distorted by how fast the water was moving. There were no rocks to disrupt the flow of the river, so even though it was moving fast, I could distinctly make out Lily’s reflection as she joined me in looking down into the river.

“Woah… It’s so fast!”

“It’s called the Blackwood river.” My mum said from above us. “I think it’s because it’s so hard to see the bottom, but the water’s actually only a meter deep.”

“Really? Why can’t we see the bottom?”

“There’s a tree around here called a “Tea Tree”. When the leaves fall in the water, they stain it a dark brown, so the bottom of the water is hardly visible.”

“That’s incredibly informative, Jenny.” Princess Luna said, joining us in our gaze down at the rushing waters. “I have a friend like you back in Ponyville who I’m sure you’d get along with.”

“I’m sure we would.” My mum said, a strange stark tone to her voice before she pulled away from the bridge's handrail and clapped her hands. “Well, the picnic site is pretty close by, now. Only a few more minutes walk and we’ll be there. Your father has already been there for a while now, and knowing him, he’s probably also already set up the barbeque.”

We all stepped away from the river and began to follow my mum again. As we got closer to the camp, the smell of roasting mushrooms could be smelt throughout the air.

“That smells great!” Lily called out, a few meters ahead of us.

“It sure does. Smells like Stephen couldn’t wait for us to start cooking.” My mum grinned and shook her head. As we finally reached the picnic site, we found my dad, wearing a large apron and flipping portabello mushrooms like burger patties. I trotted up next to him and wrapped my hooves around his leg.

“Hey, dad!” I called up at him.

“Hey, Rose! Wanna come up here and watch your dad cook?” He asked, motioning toward a stool next to him. I nodded with a smile and he picked me up, placing me down on the stool. I looked over and watched happily as my dad cooked.

-

I giggled as I watched Rose be lifted up onto the stool next to dad. The loving and adoring look that Rose gave her father was an absolutely heartwarming sight to see. Luna and I walked over to where mum had started to set up for our picnic, and I sat down next to her.

“Hey mum, you want any help making sandwiches or something?” I offered, glancing up at her.

“Ohoho, sorry Lily.” She frowned at me apologetically. “I don’t mean any offense, but you’ve been walking around on your hooves all day. Unless you have some hoof gloves in your size, I might take a raincheck on that.” She giggled as Luna walked up next to us and took hold of a piece of bread with her magic.

“How about magic? I assure you, I haven’t been levitating anything particularly dirty recently.” Luna joked and offered me a playful wink.

“P-Princess, really, you don’t have to-”

“Mrs Linden, I insist. You’ve shown me such hospitality and kindness so far, it would be disrespectful of me not to offer my assistance for such a simple matter. I also consider your family my… f-friends.” I watched as Rose gave a knowing smile over her shoulder before looking back to her dad.

“Thank you, Prin- Uh, Luna!” Jenny smiled as she continued to unpack sandwich ingredients from the cooler. “So, if you don’t mind, would you be able to start buttering up the bread while I…”

------

It wasn’t long before my dad had finished cooking the mushrooms and vegetables and had brought them over to the picnic blanket where we were sitting. Luckily for us, he had the discretion to not cook meat with the vegetables, and him and my mum just ate mushrooms in their burgers along with us.

The meal was quite delicious and after a short rest and a friendly chat, Lily and I decided to go exploring together. The bank of the Blackwood river was incredibly beautiful and we both walked side by side as we traced its edge.

“I wonder how far it goes?” I mused as we walked.

“Not sure. The water looks so strange, yet so pretty. It really is almost like watching a river full of tea.” She giggled lightly. “Oooh, I know! We should try something!” Lily hopped up and down excitedly. “We should go fishing!”

“Fishing?” I laughed at her excitement and at her suggestion. “We don’t have a fishing pole or bait! Or a hook!”

“C’mon, Rose, use your imagination!” She laughed and ran over to some bushes. After a short moment of her rustling through the bushes and me standing there silently, she popped out with a long stick in hoof and a long reed in her mouth.

“You’re kidding me.”

“Nope!” She smiled widely and sat down next to me, tying the reed to a stick and testing its strength. She giggled playfully and lifted up her crude creation. “Tada! A fishing rod!”

“You are so silly, Lily.” I walked to her side and kissed her cheek. “Come on, let’s go ‘fishing’. Can’t wait to catch all these fish that we can’t even eat.”

I stood up and walked over to the river's edge, looking out into the water and frowning.

“Hmmm, the edge of the river isn’t deep enough. Did you wanna go back to the bridge and fish off of that?”

“The bridge? That’s ages away. No, I have a better idea.” She excitedly trotted forward to a large tree stump imbedded in the bank of the river that hung out over the edge. I smiled, going along with her game, and trotted to the stump.

“Alright then. What kind of fish do you think we’ll catch?” I said, walking carefully out to the edge of the log to sit next to Lily.

“Well, I’d imagine that they taste like tea.”

“Tea?” I laughed.

“Yeah! Your mum said that the water’s dark because of the tea tree leaves, right?”

“Uhuh, sure. I somehow doubt that the leaves taste the same as tea.”

“Well, I think they do. Only makes sense that the fish will be tea fish as well!”

“You’re so silly. I love you.”

Lily smiled bashfully and nuzzled up next to me. “I love you too. Wait here, I’m gonna go make another fishing rod.” She hoofed her ‘fishing rod’ to me and walked down off of the log. I smiled back at her before looking back into the water. I lowered my fake rod into the water and watched as the reed skimmed the surface. Silly Lily, it didn’t even sink into the water. It just floats on top. Not that it really mattered, Lily seemed so happy and playful today, and I had no problem going along with her game to make her happy.

I gasped as I saw the shimmer of silver scales as a fish passed by. I knew that I would never catch it with this rod, but the sight of it still filled me with a little excitement. In my joy, I turned around to Lily and jumped to my hooves.

There was a slight cracking noise as the stump I was on jiggled from my jump. I froze still as I felt it drop a few centimeters.

“Lily.” I said, my voice trembling.

“Rose? What’s wrong?” She walked out from behind the bush and gasped when she saw the look on my face.

“Help me.”

The log broke.

-

“ROOOOOOSE!” I screamed as I watched my fiance drop behind the bank of the river. There was a loud splash, followed by a scream that echoed through the tree’s. No! This wasn’t happening! I galloped to the water's edge and skidded to a halt as I arrived. I looked ahead but couldn’t see a thing. My eye’s darted around, searching for anything, any sign that Rose was there.

“Rose!?” I shouted, running down the edge of the river. “Rose, please! Oh gosh, oh gosh!” I came to a stop and looked back to where the stump had dropped. This was all my fault. I should have known that it was rotting and old, and idiot could see that from how old it was. Why was I such an idiot?

“Rose!” I called out in panic, still hoping that I would hear her response. Nothing.

What do I do? I had no idea how to swim in this pony body, and even if I did, the rapids would probably just take Rose and I along with it. I could follow the river along, hoping that she could crawl out somewhere along the bank of the river, but that wouldn’t help her right now. She was somewhere in that river and I couldn’t help her.

“Lily!?” I heard a shout from behind me. I spun around, Luna now galloping toward me.

“Luna!” I screamed, tears pouring down my face as I stood there in shock.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Rose?” She came to a stop and began looking out toward the tree’s.

“She fell! We need to save her! Oh gosh, what if she drowned!? What if she’s dying!?” My panic reached a peak and my breathing sped up. I felt my head begin to spin as I unconsciously sped up my breathing.

“Lily, you need to calm down.” Luna said, walking closer to me and wrapping me in her magic. I felt a wave of relative calmness flow through me and my thoughts became clearer.

“Luna! Rose fell into the river and got swept away!”

“Oh no.” Luna’s face paled and her eyes opened wide. She looked back to me, determination filling her gaze as she placed a hoof on my withers. “Lily, you need to go back to the picnic ground and inform your parents. I will find Rose.”

“But what if she’s… Oh gosh! Oh gosh!” I fell to my side and felt the absolute horror of what might have happened fill me. “It’s happening again! I can’t lose her! I can’t live without her!”

“Lily, calm down! You need to listen to me, every second is precious.” She lifted me up to my hooves with her magic. “Rose needs our help. You need to go find your parents. They know what this river is like, and they might be able to tell us where the river becomes shallow, or if it forks off anywhere. You need to calm down, and you need to listen to me.”

I clenched my eyes and shook my head, clearing it of all of my paranoid thoughts. Luna was right. Rose was in danger, and it was my fault. She needed us now, and me crying and worrying won’t help her at all. I looked up and Luna and nodded, a similar determination filling my still teary eyes.

“Good. Now run.”

-

I struggled under the dark water as I tried my hardest to swim to the surface. My heart raced with panic as I breathed in a small amount of water. I coughed and hacked, sending bubbles upwards as I tumbled around near the bottom of the river, the current forcing me both forward and under the surface. I finally felt myself even out a little and I pushed off from the river bed, launching myself up and above the water for a short second.

I gasped for air, filling my lungs with relief before I was pulled under the surface again. My muscles screamed in pain as I tried my hardest to swim upwards with these weak hooves, but the surface only seemed further and further away. I forced my body to work harder and felt the freezing air hit my face again. I gulped in a few breaths of sweet oxygen and swung my head around in panic.

“LILY!” I called out to the empty forest before my head dunked under the water again. I swam upward once more and peaked over the water's surface. “HELP ME!”

“ROOOOOOSE!” I heard a cry ring out through the tree’s. Lily! She was coming to save me! But it was so distant... I watched as the tree’s sped by at incredible speeds. There was no way that Lily could run as fast as the river was taking me, and no way she could help me unless I got to the river bank myself. I felt the flow of the river calm down, and as much as I was still being dragged down the river, I was no longer being thrust underwater at every possible moment.

I used this opportunity to try swimming toward the bank, but a sharp pain rocked my body as something sharp cut against my foreleg. I gasped out in pain before I felt myself pulled under the water again. I squinted my eyes and held my breath as I clenched my muscles, trying as hard as possible to not let the pain distract me from my goal.

I pushed forward, only one foreleg still useful, the ache in my body seeping down to my bones. I let out pained whimpers, fear absolutely taking control of my mind. I was going to die. I was dying again, and I would never see Lily, Luna, or my parents again. I would never see the smile of Brisk Breeze as she played in the flowers. I would never see her grow up. I would never hug her when she’s sad. I would never act the over-protective parent as she find’s her first special somepony. I would never feel absolute pride when she finally get’s her cutie mark. I would never…

------

I felt like my mind was drifting, almost as if I was asleep, but not asleep. I knew that I was somewhere, but where that place was, I had no idea. I could feel sensation returning to my body and I tried my hardest to move, feeling my sore and aching muscles begin to twitch slightly.

All of a sudden, I felt my body wrack with coughs, a small amount of water coming up from my throat, followed by bile and parts of my lunch. My eyes fluttered open weakly as I tried to force myself awake, but even with my eyes open, I could see nothing of my surroundings, only a dim spot up in the sky shining down on me. The moon.

I lifted my hoof to push myself up, but gasped out as a sharp pain shot through me, originating at my foreleg and spreading from there. I fell to the ground and let out a moan of pain into the wet sand beneath me. In the distance, I could hear voices shouting my name, but I hardly had the strength to breath, let alone call back in reply.

I lay on the sand for a short while before beginning to force myself to my hooves again. I avoided my injured leg and was able to make it a few steps forward before fatigue dropped me to my side. I think I might just… rest here for a while.

The last thing I saw before my vision blacked out completely was a tall blue dot come out from behind a tree and gasp.

------

“Rose!” Jenny called out as we traced the bank of the Blackwood river. Throughout our search, nothing but immense dread and worry had filled me. Each passing second only cemented the fear in my mind that I would never see her again. I wiped another tear from my horribly sore eyes as I struggled onward. Even though the sun had set, I would not rest until she was safe and sound. I would never give up on Rose. My perfect Rose…

“Rose! Can you hear us!?” Stephen shouted, the forest replying with silence. I jumped as I heard a loud popping sound reverberate from next to me and Luna appeared, her eyes drooping, yet a determined smile on her face.

“Mrs Linden, I have found your daughter!” She shouted, Jenny immediately running toward her.

“Please!” She leant down to Luna. “Save her! Save my baby!”

“She is fine, Mrs Linden. I only teleported here to inform you that she has been found and is alive, if injured from her accident.”

“Oh god! T-Thank you!” Jenny fell to her knees and let out the tears that she had been holding in. I wanted more than nothing to join her, but there were more important things than crying right now. Rose needed me.

“Rose is too injured to be teleported right now, but I will teleport you all to her so that you can help her. Prepare yourselves, teleporting can be nauseating your first time.”

-

“Rose!?” I heard my beloved’s voice call out to me and my eyes shot open.

“L-Lily…” I mumbled weakly, trying my hardest to extend a hoof to her.

“We’re here for you, Rose. You’re gonna be fine, I promise.”

“Lily… The baby…”

There was silence before Lily let out a single pained sob. “Brisk Breeze will be fine, right now, we have to get you home.”

Lily stepped back as a large shadow took her place.

“Hey, Rosie.” A deep, calming voice said to me.

“D-Daddy?”

“Yeah, it’s me, sweetie. I’m gonna pick you up, okay? You’ve got a wound on your leg, so we need to get you home and clean it as fast as possible.”

“Luna… please, ch-check that Breeze is okay.”

“I will,” Luna’s voice said from behind me. “but your health is more important right now. I will scan you once your wounds are treated.”

“Th-thank you… Lily…?” I strained out as Lily stepped back into view.

“Y-Yes, b-beautiful?”

“I love you.”

My consciousness faded once more.

------

“It looks like… everything is okay!” Luna almost jumped for joy as she completed her scan. “Brisk Breeze and Rose will be completely fine. I’ve sealed the wound on her foreleg, and it should heal with minimum scarring.”

“R-Really?” I said, relief washing through me. “Oh thank you so much, Luna!” I jumped towards her and wrapped my hooves around her barrel, pulling her into a tight hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“R-Really, it wasn’t that much…”

“Luna, you saved her! You saved them! I don’t… I don’t think I could go on without them, Luna, but you saved them. I will never forget this.” I said with determination and sincerity. Luna giggled nervously and returned my hug.

“Thank you, Lily.”

“F-For what?”

“For being a true friend.”

“Anytime, Luna. Anytime.”

Author's Notes:

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter more than I did.

Chapter Sixteen

Author's Notes:

Thanks everyone for reading! This is the last chapter before I start my new job, so I apologize if I slow down a bit. Pretty happy with this chapter, so I hope you enjoy as well.
Thanks also to my proofreader who has chosen to remain anonymous

I grunted as I carried a tray in my mouth, pushing open the heavy wooden door to our room with a free hoof. The past few days had followed the same routine of me getting up early after sleeping next to my injured fiance, going downstairs and making a simple breakfast of eggs and toast, then bringing it back up to her.

I could tell… No, I could feel the pain that Rose was going through. My heart almost felt connected to hers, and although I didn't feel any physical pain, the emotional pain I went through was just as bad. Seeing her lying there helplessly, groaning in pain as she tried to make even the slightest movement was heartbreaking.

I opened the door and smiled warmly as I saw Rose sitting up in bed to pet Simon. The aged cat had made a point of spending as much time as possible with Rose, almost as if he knew her pain as I did.

Rose turned to me and offered a weak smile to me as she had done every morning since the accident.

“Hey, pretty girl. How you doin’?” Rose grinned before being interrupted by a fit of coughs. Unfortunately, on top of her injuries, the ordeal she had gone through also left her with a mild cold. It wasn't anything major, but it was pain on top of pain.

I rolled my eyes at her and lifted the breakfast tray over to the bed. Rose smiled after her small coughing fit and welcomed me with a hug as I leapt onto the bed.

“Thanks, Lily. I love you.”

“Love you too.” I blushed at her affectionate hold on me. We pulled away and ate our breakfast in relative silence, waiting until we were finished to begin talking again.

“Luna will be in to do another check up at around eleven.”

“Really, Lily, I know you're worried, and I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't worried, but Luna’s performed five scans in the last four days.” She placed a hoof on one of mine and held it tightly. “Breeze is fine. I'm fine. I just need time to recover, and you need to relax your cute little head.”

“My head is not little.” I said defiantly. “Nor is it cute.”

“Yes it is, you're the cutest little filly aroun-” Rose was interrupted as another fit of strained coughs wracked her body.

“A-are you okay, sweetie?” I asked in a panic and Rose lifted a hoof.

“Yes, I'm-” She coughed once more before clearing her throat. “I'm fine.”

“You don't need to pretend to be better to make me happy, you know that, right?”

“Lily, I'm being one hundred percent honest. I'm still recovering, but it won't be long before I'm up and helping out in the garden again.”

“Fine, I believe you. Luna’s still doing that check up though.”

“Alright, but no more for at least a few days. I know she's not actually seeing anything, but it still feels kinda invasive.”

“S-sorry.”

“Hey, don't worry about it. If you weren't worried, what kind of fiance would you be?”

“I-I guess you're right.”

“Of course I am.” She grinned a grin that sent warmth through me. A smile that said everything would be alright.

------

Another day passed and I felt my strength slowly returning to me. I knew it would be a while before I could properly help out around the house again, but getting up from bed made me feel so much better.

It was probably because I had been off my hooves for so long, but standing up again really extenuated how large my belly was becoming. Standing next to Lily, there was no way any passers by - not that there were any around here - would immediately be able to tell I was pregnant.

The thought sent a wave of happiness through my body. More than just happiness, I felt pride. Once we were in Ponyville, I'd be able to walk around, Lily by my side. Every passing pony would know by the affectionate gazes and nuzzles that we shared that we were together, and my distended belly would let them all know that we would soon be the proud mother of a beautiful little foal.

Luna’s presence brought me out of my little fantasy and I jolted as the door to her room shut behind her.

“Morning, Rose!” She smiled in greeting. The last few days had been great with Luna. She had really started to come out of her shell, showing not just confidence, but the want to be herself. Because of my immobility, we had spend a long time each day chatting about whatever came to our minds. Luna was incredibly inquisitive and loved hearing all of the stories I had to tell and information I had to share. I told her of my childhood, correcting myself whenever the lines got jumbled and I ended up recalling a pony memory as one of my human ones. Regardless, Luna was happy to hear what I had to say, and it even helped her start to talk to me about her life as well. Any pony with any sense could tell you that Luna was much more than her regality and leadership. Below that was the real Luna. A lonely, caring mare that only wanted the best for her subjects and to be appreciated. I knew I was only one pony, but I would be her friend no matter what. What little I could offer, I gave to her as we bonded closer throughout my recovery.

“Morning!” I chirped, the sight of the pony that had quickly become my friend bringing a smile to my face. “How are you feeling?”

“Quite well, Rose. I conversed with my sister using the communication tome I brought here for your parents, not just as a test, but also to check in with her. She was… perturbed by my decision to come to earth during this last month, but luckily, we were able to patch things up.”

“That's good. I'm glad your sister understands why you're here.”

“Well, it, uh… It wasn't exactly that. She knew full well why I was coming, it was more that it might have been a tiny, itty bit… risky coming here.”

“R-Risky? Luna…”

“Fear not, my sister was just being overprotective. It had only been a few years since my return when I offered to come over, and she feared that I would be damaged by the lack of ambient magic your world has. She feared that I may have not regained all of my strength.”

“Well, have you?”

“Not exactly, but-”

“Luna! Did you put yourself in danger to come here?”

“L-Let m-me explain…” The stammering princess protested. “My magic has not completely regenerated, but it is perfectly safe for me to be here. Alicorns have a much larger reserve of magic and magic regeneration, so there is no problem at all.”

I relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Sorry for scaring you, Rose.”

“It's fine, I just… you’re a friend, Luna. I don't want to see you hurt.”

“Rest easy and relax. Oh gosh, silly me, this whole situation made me forget why I called you here! Probably might be a good idea to call Lily in for this as well.”

------

After we retrieved Lily, who was busy helping my mum out with gardening again, Luna laid me down on the bed and performed another scan on my belly.

“Uh, I thought we were gonna at least wait one more day before doing another scan. Did you put her up to this?”

Lily frowned and shook her head.

“N-no, I even apologized for making her perform so many scans.”

“All is well, girls.” Luna smiled as she finished the scan. “I did not bring you here only for a scan, I only did it because it had the chance.”

Luna closed her eyes and her horn began to glow. An ethereal looking square appeared next to us and Luna smiled again.

“This is what I brought you here for. Would you like to see your foal?”

My heart filled with warmth and I found myself nodding before I could even think of something to say.

“R-Really?” Lily gripped my hoof with hers. “You can do that?”

“Yes, but on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“I have heard you speak of this “Final Fantasy” game on your electronic games device. I would like to play it with you.”

Lily and I let out a simultaneous giggle and I nodded. “I accept your terms, Princess.”

“Good.” Luna smiled in satisfaction before directing her attention to my belly again. A bright glow, similar to the one that could be seen when she did her scans was emitting brightly from her horn.

I felt a slight tingle in my belly before a blurry image began to form on the ethereal screen.

“Just let me adjust that a little…” Luna whispered as her horn glowed again and the image began to sharpen.

My heart pounded in anticipation. I didn't even stop to think before my mind dispelled any negative thoughts. No matter how she looked, she was our foal. Nothing could take that from us.

I held my breath as the blurry image slowly became less and less blurry, a vague outline of something appearing amongst the mass on the screen. After a few more seconds, the image focused and…

“Oh my gosh.” Lily said, tears brimming her eyes. Her hoof tightened its hold on mine and her face lit up with a wide, beautiful smile. “That’s our baby.”

She was beautiful. She was hardly formed yet, but she was beautiful. The small, almost unrecognizable form of our child floated before us, remaining completely still.

“It looks like you have a…” Luna squinted, moving closer to the screen as her magic glowed again and the image shifted slightly. “A wonderful little pegasus filly. Congratulations!”

I could do nothing but sit in awe and watch the screen as Lily nuzzled up against me, rubbing her face lovingly on my shoulder and smiling with absolute joy.

“Oh gosh, she’s so beautiful, Rose.” Lily took a break in nuzzling me to plant a soft kiss on my cheek.

“She is.” I said, wiping my own tears away from my face.

“Lily, Rose…” Luna said, her own tears beginning to form. “I am so proud of you. You both have endured much confusion and hardships to be here right now, but through it all, you have remained strong. You have not let anything get in the way of your love, or your friendship, as such a jarring experience must have strained you.”

I smiled at Luna and returned Lily’s kiss before turning back to her.

“Luna… When we first changed, I was in absolute shock. I thought my change of gender would destroy me, but… I found myself feeling more at home than I ever had been before.”

Luna smiled at me and Lily as Lily held onto my hoof.

“Then, when I found out I was pregnant, I thought... I thought my life was over. I thought I had lost all I had worked for, even though it wasn’t very much. My world came crashing down on me, but I didn’t even realize at the time that I had a safety net.” I glanced toward Lily. “My love.”

“Rose, I…” Lily started, wiping away her tears. “I don’t know what to say, I just… I love you so much. You gave me hope. My life had already fallen apart, and I was just biding my time. You saved me from myself, Rose. Now, we’re going to be starting a new life together. It’s more than I could ever hope for.”

Suddenly, I heard a sniffle from the other side of the room and gawked when I saw my mother's face, peeking in from behind the door. She stopped when she saw me and began to pull away when I called out to her.

“Mum, wait!” She froze in her tracks. “Please, don’t go.”

She apprehensively turned back to us and opened the door. There were tears of happiness in her eyes and I smiled at her, opening my forelegs wide and motioning for a hug. She rushed toward me and hugged me, gently, yet firmly.

“Oh, Rose, I'm so proud of you both.”

“Thanks, mum.” I said, straining a little under her embrace. She pulled away and took her seat next to us.

“I'm sorry, Rose, I knew this was private, but I overheard you talking and just peeked in. I'm so sorry, Rose.”

“Mum, calm down!” I laughed playfully. “This isn’t like last time, I don’t mind you coming in.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course!” Lily replied for me, excitement filling her voice. “We want you to see Brisk Breeze too! Luna, bring up the magic ultrasound thingy again.”

She smiled and nodded before her horn lit up again and the glow encompassed my belly. It wasn’t long before the screen was back and the image focused in on our little Breeze.

“Oh god, she’s so tiny.” my mum whispered out excitedly. “What’s those things on her side?”

“She’s gonna be a pegasus.” I explained and my mum smiled widely.

“Ooh, so she can fly? That’s incredible! You two are gonna have a lot on your plate once she’s born.”

“Your mother is surprisingly accurate, pegasus ponies often go through spurts of flight at a very young age as a muscle growth mechanism. It helps kick start their development, and while it is great for them, I've heard it can be quite the hassle for the parents.” Luna explained.

“I'm sure we’ll be able to deal with it together.”

“I wish we could see her.” My mother said, bowing her head in sadness.

“Well,” Luna started. “I could organize a little trip to earth again in a few years time, but unfortunately, the time Rose and Lily have spent here will take a toll on their magic reserves. If you’re willing to wait until both they’re settled in, and maybe a while after the foal is born, I could set up a-”

“Yes!” My mum said and pulled Luna in for a hug that she apprehensively returned.

“Err, no problem, Mrs Linden. It really is no big deal”

“Princess, you’ve just given me a chance to see my baby again. It is most definitely a big deal. Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, Mrs Linden. Rose and Lily are my… my friends.” She said with a sense of pride to her voice. “I’ll do anything for my friends.”

------

After informing our, now very ecstatic, dad about both the foal and the possibility of us returning for a visit, he immediately started preparing for yet another one of his barbeque dinners. As much as I was happy to spend time with my family, it was getting quite boring having similar food. I held back my protests, knowing that this was what my dad wanted to do, and even though we’d still see eachother again, it would be quite a while until then. For now, I was more than happy enough to go along with it.

After dinner, Luna, Lily, and I went up stairs to our room and I plugged in my Playstation.

“I still have no idea how this device works.”

I laughed as I set up the console. “Well, I don’t really know either. I know that there’s a bunch of information in the disc and the console lets us see and interact with that information, but I guess that’s really all I know.”

After a short while, the console was set up and I smiled as the familiar sounds of the Playstation booting filled our ears.

“There we go!” I lifted myself up and away from the console, hoofing the controller off to Luna as I took my seat next to my beloved.

“This one looks different than the other.” Luna said, observing the controller with her magic, like she had done with the previous one.

“It’s a little more complex, but you’ll get it soon enough.”

“If you’re sure, then I shall try my best.”

-

“I do not like this “Zidane” character one bit, and what I dislike even more is that he’s the protagonist of this game!” Luna complained as she played, beating down another monster, the victory fanfare playing as she did so. “He is a womanizer, a thief, and a scoundrel.”

“You sound like Steiner.”

“Steiner? I do not sound like Steiner, although I do sympathise with his princess somewhat. The only difference being that when I… threatened to bring eternal night to equestria, I was in the wrong, Garnet is most justified in her actions against the queen.”

“Well, Zidane gets better. He’s cocky, sure, but he has a lot of redeeming qualities. He’s already gone out on a whim and protected Garnet at many times.” I explained.

“That may be, but he’s still… still a dick.” Luna giggled naughtily and smiled at herself.

“Luna, such language!” I laughed along with her.

“I-I'm sorry, I d-don’t know what came over m-”

“Luna, relax. Rose was joking.” Lily said from her seat next to me.

“Ah, yes.” She looked back to the screen nervously. “I knew that. Where do I go now?”

“Weren’t you reading?”

“I may have been... distracted.”

“So you were skipping through the text?”

“...Maybe.”

I giggled playfully and walked over to the screen, pointing to a spot on the map.

“Head that direction, there should be a town filled with those black mages around there.”

“The black mages? Were they not our foes?”

“You’ll see.” I added knowingly, making my way back to my seat. I missed this. It felt so long since I had just relaxed with friends and had genuine fun. Or had I ever done this to begin with?

-

“Rose…” Luna said, pausing the game. Lily let out a quiet snore as she snuggled up next to me, dead asleep.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think… I don’t belong?”

“What? Of course you belong.”

“Where?”

I sat in silence, contemplating what she had said.

“What do you mean, ‘where’?”

“Vivi has been searching for meaning his whole life, and now, he has come across a village he might fit in only to realize that the black mages there only live for one year, yet instead of spending time around his kind, he chooses to leave?”

“Well… I guess Vivi feared what might happen and left, promising to return and tell them about the world.”

“Do you not think that he belonged there?”

“No, I think he belongs with Zidane and Garnet. The world was in danger, and I guess if he didn’t help out, the world could be completely destroyed.”

“Where… where do you think I belong?”

“I don’t really know.” I replied

Luna sighed.

“I'm sorry, it was silly to think you could find an answer to my problems.”

“Luna, where do you think you belong?”

She sat in silence, the light buzz of the tv shining off her eyes.

“I don’t know. I was foolish to expect a positive reaction to my return from the nobles. When they talk with me, they are kind and respectful, but I can see past that. I have heard the rumors. ‘Luna is dangerous’, ’She’s only one accident away from becoming Nightmare Moon again’, ’I wouldn’t trust her with my cat, let alone the country’. Do they think I am deaf?”

“Luna…”

“The only pony with any respect or kindness left more me is my sister and the Elements of Harmony, but they all live far away.”

I said nothing and just let Luna think for a short while. After a minute or so she spoke up again.

“I… I think I am jealous of Vivi.”

“Why?”

“Because he has a place to go back to. If they are successful, Vivi can go back to the black mage village. If he doesn’t want to go back, he can stay with Zidane or Garnet. I am sure they would take him in, but… I don’t have that.”

“You don’t think you belong by your sister's side?”

“...No. I do not. I am also jealous of Vivi because he… He is in the opposite situation as me. Alicorns are not immortal, but we live for a long time. A very long time. Vivi fears his life span may be very short, but in knowing that, he can live in the moment. I spend so long thinking about the future and what I do that I fear I've had no time to think about myself, or where I belong.” Her voice raised to a small panic.

“Where do you think you belong?”

“I don’t know!” Luna shouted all of a sudden, shocking a sleeping Lily out of her restful slumber.

“Huh, wha…?” She stared around the room.

“It’s okay, beautiful. Nothing’s wrong, you can go back to sleep.”

“Hmmmkay…” She trailed off before resting her head down again.

“I'm sorry, Luna, I didn’t mean to.”

“No, it is I who needs to apologize. I should not have shouted. I guess I just… I don’t deserve to belong anywhere.”

“That’s not true at all, Luna. You deserve to belong, and you do belong somewhere, it just might take a while to figure it out. You do have something else in common with Vivi, you know.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have friends. Like Zidane and Vivi, you have the Elements, and you have us.” I said, brushing Lily’s mane with a hoof. “I think you even have your very own black mage’s village too.”

“My own...?”

“Ponyville! The ponies there adore you. You have ponies that you know, ponies who would welcome you with open hooves. Ponies like Lily and I.”

“Are you seriously suggesting that I move to Ponyville?”

“Don’t reject it just yet. It’s just that, a suggestion. Just like with your mane, I don’t think you should do anything without careful consideration, but do consider it.”

“B-but moving to P-Ponyville is much bigger than just a mane style! What of my sister?”

“What of her? She lead the nation for a thousand years, Luna. She can deal with a few extra on her own. You said it yourself, you spend so much of your time thinking of other ponies that you forget about yourself. Why don’t you do just that and think about yourself, your happiness?”

“I… I…”

“You said that you live for a very long time, so what is it to you that you spend a while living in Ponyville and just be yourself for a while. Let yourself live, Luna. Come stay in Ponyville with us.”

Luna said nothing but gazed blankly at the screen in front of her.

“I will… think about it.”

------

“Rose! Heya, how’ve you been?” Lyra shouted a friendly greeting as I trotted toward the cafe. I smiled as I returned her greeting and took my seat next to her.

“Not too bad, Lyra. How was your date?”

“Bon Bon took me to the same place she did last week, but it was nice. She isn’t very explorative, but I guess I can’t blame her. You spend enough time moving around like she did and you just want to settle a little, y’know?”

“Yeah, I get that. I spent so long in one place when I lived with my parents that I think moving to Ponyville would have been inevitable. Maybe wouldn’t have been this soon, but I didn’t want to live in Manehattan my whole life.”

“Gah, Manehattan’s a drag, girl. You did good getting out of there when you did. I'm sure you’d prefer it be under different, uh… circumpants?”

“Circumstances, Lyra.” I giggled.

“You know what I mean! So how’s that business deal with Lily going?”

The mention of my… *ahem*, “Friend” made my heart simultaneously race, yet stop at the same time.

“Uh, g-good! Yeah, r-really good.”

“Great, so you two will be running the stall together now?”

Together.

“Y-Yeah.”

“Good, that means you can ask her out!”

“Wh-What!?”

“Oh, come on! I'm not blind, Rose! I can see how your face lights up when you see that girl.”

“Uh… I may have… Kindaalreadyhadsexwithherlastnight.”

“YOU WHAT!?” Lyra’s face lit up with a smile as she placed her hooves on the table, not noticing as a few other ponies turned their heads to face me.

“Not so loud, Lyra!”

“Oops, heheh.” Lyra grinned nervously and took her seat again. “You have to fill me in, Rose. Wait, was she your first? Oh Celestia, she was your first!”

“Lyraaaaaaa…” I covered my face with my hooves, hiding my blush.

“So how did you woo her?”

“Uh, we just went out for drinks after work, which turned into dinner, which turned into coffee at my house, which turned into… y’know…”

“That’s so sweet!”

“I think it shocked her more than me, honestly. She didn’t exactly… know she was attracted to mares.”

“Dude, did you turn Lily gay!?”

“No, more like I think she realized that she was bi. Maybe, I think. She’s still kinda figuring it out for herself.”

“You totally turned her gay.” Lyra said, offering a sly grin.

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Whatever, Lyra. Hey, thanks for coming out with me today.”

“No problem, girl. I'm always here for a friend.”

Chapter Seventeen

Author's Notes:

There we go, after a month of being lazy and unmotivated, here it is.

sorry.

“Shh, Rose, it’s fine. It’s just a movie!”

“I-I know, b-but…” I sniffed in heavily, the horrible sound of coagulated snot coming from my nose. “I c-can’t… I want him to make it.” I cried into Lily’s hooves as she held me tightly, rolling her eyes at my blatant over reaction. I knew how this movie went, and had never cried watching it before, but for whatever reason, I was affected ten times more than I usually was.

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Lily sighed as she stroked my mane. I could tell that she was getting tired of my overreaction, but I found it impossible to stop the flow of tears or emotions, no matter how hard I tried. “Rose, he lives, remember? It was a packet of sauce, look!”

Lily pointed to the screen and I lifted my head up, watching as the main character stopped pretending to be dead and looked up at his friend that had “stabbed” him.

“See?” Lily said and I nodded, tears still dripping down my cheeks. It was a comedy movie, and I was reacting like this? I just didn’t get it, and neither did Lily. My mum was giggling at my reaction while Luna sat, blank faced as she watched the screen. The initial shock of profane language and gore in the movie had kept her silent, but now, she was silent because the movie had engrossed her so much that the only sounds she let out were laughs.

“Oh, Rose, I remember when I was like this.” My mum sat down next to me and placed a hand on my head. “I was about… six months into my pregnancy, and your father took me out to see Star Wars for the fiftieth time. I’d seen it so many damn times, but the scene with Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader made me cry like a little baby!” She chuckled at the memory.

“Y-you were l-like this t-too?”

“Hormones play havoc with your emotions, sweetie. You’ll be fine, but your mood might be a little fluctuating for a while now.”

“Gosh…” I whispered to myself and let Lily hold me tightly. I thought I was so prepared for this, but dear Celestia, I was wrong. No matter how much reading I did, it couldn't prepare me for this. Another week had passed, and the wound on my leg had almost completely healed. According to Luna, earth ponies scarred a lot less than the other types of ponies, so lucky for me, I'd be left with a tiny scar at absolute worst. The fur would completely cover any scarring up anyway, but it was nice to know it wasn't major.

I had happily returned to helping out my mum in the garden alongside Lily again, to my relief. Luna and Lily both agreed that I should still take it easy, but that wasn't going to stop me from putting in at least a few hours of gardening a day. Out of the garden, I still enjoyed the time I had spent with Luna, playing video games and talking about Equestria, but I felt I belonged out there in the dirt. Feeling the cool soil beneath my hooves, the smell of plants and flowers, and the cool fresh air on my fur, it was exhilarating. It filled me with a sense of life, the feeling that only Lily had been able to give me until I found this. I could tell that Lily felt it too, as every day, she walked back into our room with a content smile plastered on her face. She would lie down and rest in my hooves as she regaled me with the day’s events, no matter how minor. I sat and listened, smiling as she spoke, only speaking to ask questions or reply to hers.

It was weird, but I felt content. I enjoyed working the field with Lily and my mum. I enjoyed relaxing in the cool of the evening. I absolutely loved falling asleep next to my beautiful fiance every night. I knew a lot would change when Lily and I went to Ponyville, but I was getting more and more eager to return to my old life as the days went past. I only hoped that Luna took me up on my offer to come stay in Ponyville for a while once we got back. Maybe she could even meet Bonnie and Lyra!

Memories of my life in Ponyville had been returning quite rapidly over the last week. I remembered how I met Lily, how my feelings for her grew until I eventually started dating her. I remembered Bonbon and Lyra, as well as a few other friends that I spent time around. I remembered Minuette, a Unicorn that had moved to here from her home city of Canterlot to avoid the snobbish attitude of high society. Carrot Top, a local farm pony that I met through Lily who helped her grow her flowers in perfect condition. These were only a few of the friends that I had met, and couldn't wait to meet again once we returned.

“Rose?” I felt a hoof nudge my stomach. “What're you thinking about?”

“Huh?” I jolted, Lily bringing me out of my train of thought. “Oh, uh, not much. Just Ponyville.” I smiled at her. After the movie had finished, and I had sufficiently cried my eyes out, we had come upstairs and I was now lying in bed with her.

“I really can't wait to see all our old friends again.” I added.

“Yeah, m-me neither.” Lily said, averting her eyes.

“Hey, what's wrong?”

“I'm just… kinda worried, I guess.”

“About?”

“Our friends. I mean, for all they know, you passed away, and I spent the next few months shut away from the world until Discord turned up and…” Lily scrunched her muzzle, trying her hardest to fight the tears away. “What if… What if they don't want us back? What if they don't accept us?” the panic was rising in her voice. “What if… What if they think we're zombies!?”

I felt a strange urge to panic along with her rising in my chest, but I forced it down and closed my eyes.

“I d-don’t think our friends will hate us, Lily.”

“What if they're scared of us? What if they-”

“Lily, please!” I begged, some force in my mind almost pushing me to panic as it had before. “Calm down, okay? There's no point in focusing on the negative ways they could react, but if you like, we can ask Luna to have a talk with them before we show up. It'll give them a chance to process what's going on and they won't simply freak out the second they see us.” I put as calmly as possible, a struggle in its own right.

“Okay…” Lily conceded and dropped her head to my chest again. I breathed a sigh of relief, silently thanking my brain for not sending me into a panic like it clearly had wanted to.

“I love you, Lily. Our friends love us too, and I'm sure they won't be freaked out by us. We just need to take it slowly and be understanding. It's not every day that your two best friends, both presumed dead, come back into your life. We have to understand what they're thinking and give them time, right? Then they’ll accept us.” I said, almost trying to convince myself.

“Gosh, Rose, you're so smart.”

“No I'm not, I'm just… I dunno, but I'm not smart.”

“Whatever you say.” Lily giggled lightly and hummed as she rested her head on my chest. “Goodnight, sweetie. Love you.”

“I love you too, Lily.”

------

“Bonbon, please!”

“No!” The cream coloured earth mare screamed, backing away from me. I took a tentative step toward her only for her to leap backward in fear, stumbling over her own hooves and falling to the ground. “G-get away from me you freak!”

My heart stung at that single word. The absolute animosity and hate in her tone chilled me to the core.

“There it is!” I heard a call from behind me and swiveled around to see Lily, running at full steam from a group of ponies. Right at the front of the pack, levitating a spear in her magic, was Lyra.

“Lily!” I called out and galloped at full speed toward my beloved. I ran in between the mob, splitting them off from Lily and standing my ground against them.

“What are you doing!?” I shouted, my face contorted with confusion and anger.

“Rose!” Lyra stepped forward and brought her spear down. “You’re just as bad as her. You’re a freak of nature and you need to go back where you belong! In your grave!” She leapt forward, faster than I could react, and plunged her spear into my side. I instinctively cried out but stopped when I realized that although I had been wounded, I didn’t feel any pain from my injury.

When I looked back up to my assaulter, I noticed something peculiar. She wasn’t moving at all. Was this a…?

“Rose!” A panicked voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Lily stumbling back to her hooves. “What’s g-going on? Why do all our f-friends hate us?”

“I… I don’t think they do. I think this is a dream.”

“A d-dream? But… But you’re here? Wait, are you really here or am I just dreaming you are?” Lily said, her face half way between scared and confused.

“I don’t know. I think I am, but I guess you could just be dreaming that I am me? This is some M. Night Shyamalan buckery going on right now.” I joked, earning me a much needed giggle from my nervous marefriend. “If it is a dream, then… Well, I guess we can’t expect Luna to turn up to every one of our bad dreams.”

“You can for this one.” A new voice said and we spun around to see Luna, her - now usual - mane missing, replaced with the ethereal one that she had first showed herself to me with.

“Luna!” We both called out in unison and ran toward her, hugging her tightly. I looked up at her, relief flooding my mind. “S-so this is a dream?”

“Yes. What you two are sharing right now is called a Unity dream. When two ponies, usually those in love, have similar wants or worries, the magic in our bodies let’s us have shared dreams. I see the two of you definitely have the same worries.” She said glumly as she looked around the frozen dream. Lyra was motionless in front of us, spear thrust forward in her magic, while the angry mob behind them bared their teeth and shot hateful glares forward.

Almost like dust, their images began to blow away, reducing them to nothing but colorful clouds drifting in the dreamscape. Luna’s horn began to glow, collecting the dust in her magic before it seemingly disappeared. She breathed out and smiled at us.

“Are you alright?” She asked us.

“I-I guess so. I didn’t… I didn’t think I was that worried about this.”

“Sometimes, our dreams play tricks on us. Your worries are amplified in your own mind, so it makes sense that your dreams would appear so aggressive in theme.” Luna frowned before smiling slightly. “That, and you both seem to have a natural tendency to panic easily.” She added with a giggle. I tried to giggle, but the memory of the dream was too fresh in my mind.

“Our friends… Do they know of us? You know, the whole… being alive again thing?”

Luna nodded.

“They do, and I can assure you, they do not think of you as what you fear they do. You might have some ponies who are put off by your re-appearance, but in time, I am sure they will come to realize that you’re the same ponies they knew back then.”

“But…” My heart sank at a particular thought. “We’re not. As in, like, we’re not the same ponies. I know who I am, I am Rose, but tiny bits of Alex are still there.”

“Honestly, I think you and “Alex” have more in common than you think. You seem to think that now you’re Rose again, Alex doesn’t exist, but he does. He isn’t you, and you aren’t him, but deep down, you are the same in spirit. Ponies grow and change, Rose. You may have changed from who you were a little, but it is no different from you growing up, learning from your mistakes, and becoming a better pony as you would have if you stayed in Equestria.”

“I… I dunno, I still feel like ponies are going to think I’m all… different.”

Lily sidled up next to me and kissed me on the cheek.

“Rose, you’re you. No matter how different you think you are, and if they have a problem, they’re gonna have to go through me first.”

“Thanks.” I smiled at her and nuzzled against her neck. “Uh… Luna?” I said, turning back to her. “Would you be able to give us a little more of a… relaxing dream?”

“Of course.” She nodded, her horn lighting up, the vision of a quiet looking coffee shop appearing before us. Chairs and tables began to appear and we sat down after an apron wearing pony arrived and pulled the chairs out for us.

“Luna?” I said, looking back to the princess, who was now stepping away from us. “Thank you.”

“It is no problem, Rose. I’d do anything for a friend.”

Chapter Eighteen

I raised a hoof and knocked on Rose and Lily’s door. After a short while, I received no response and knocked again.

“Lily? Rose?” I nervously pushed the door to their room open. I peeked around the corner, sighing when I realized that both of them were missing. I walked forward and sat down on the couch next to Rose’s television, a spot that I had grown to become attached to whenever the three of us were playing games together or simply talking. An idle hoof brushed through my mane, calming me and reminding me of why I was here in the first place. Only one week remained until we all went back home, and my two new friends weren’t the only ponies who needed to prepare.

I wonder what my sister would have to say about my decision? I let out a nervous chuckle, imagining her surprise when I told her. She would obviously have her doubts, probably arguments against doing it in the first place too. The worst part is that I had trouble disagreeing with those probable arguments. What about your responsibilities as the second princess? What would your subjects think? I only just got you back, and now you want to leave me again?

I shook my head, my blue mane swishing as I dispelled these thoughts from my head. Celestia would understand, right? I needed to do this. Mother knows, being an Alicorn was lonely, let alone being the princess of an entire nation. That was why I needed to do this. I know what my calling is. I know I am meant to rule alongside my sister, but our lives are long. I needed to spend this time to connect with myself, find out who I am without having the role of princess thrust upon me.

I smiled, determinedly. I was going to do this. I was going to live in Ponyville with my friends, and my sister would just have to accept it.

“Luna?” I jumped in surprise and spun around, seeing as Lily walked into the room.

“Ah, Lily! Sorry for the rude intrusion, I just wanted to… to talk to you two.”

“Well, Rose is off helping mum in the garden, but I’ve gotten a splinter in my hoof, so I’m gonna take a little break. What is it you wanted to talk about?” Lily asked calmly, making her way over to the couch and taking a seat next to me.

“I…” I froze up, my nerves taking hold. I tensed the muscles and then relaxed. I was doing this, and I was not going to feel guilty about it. “I’ve decided to stay in Ponyville for a while once we go back to Equestria.”

“What!?” Lily said, a smile plastered itself across her face. “That’s great! What made you think of doing that?”

“I’m… I’m confused, did Rose not tell you?”

“About what?”

“Well, we had a conversation a while ago about me possibly staying in Ponyville for a while. She made quite a convincing argument and I said I would consider it. Rose didn’t tell you?”

“Well, it’s the first I’ve heard of it, but it’s great none the less!”

“Y-yes, well, I’ve decided to be… selfish, for lack of a better word. I’ve spent every minute since my return preparing to become a Princess again, and no time at all thinking of my own mental wellbeing. Before I… before I was banished, I spent a very long time ignoring that and focusing entirely on being a leader. A tyrant, even…” I said, choking back a few tears. “I don’t want to dip down into darkness again. I need to find my bearings again, and I think that they’re in Ponyville, with… with my friends.”

“Well, you’re not a tyrant. You’re a cool pony who I’m happy to call my friend, and I’m glad you’ve decided to come to Ponyville.”

“I know I'm not any more, but… Some ponies think I am. I don't know if you remember it yet, but I gave Ponyville quite the fright the first time I showed up there and I'm afraid that outside of festivals, I don't exactly make many public appearances. I'm just… Worried that it won't be any different. I'm worried that history will repeat itself, or worse.”

“Yes, I do remember that night, but you need to realize that it was a long time ago. You're not the pony you were that night and I'm sure that the ponies there will realize that too. If they don't, I'll have to do a little bit of manual persuasion.” Lily laughed as she jokingly pounded her hooves together.

I giggled along, her jokes actually managing to tug a smile from my cynical lips instead of a groan.

“Thank you, dear friend. Your words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. I do feel we must also break the news to Rose as well.”

------

“Oh my gosh, really?” I shouted in a high pitched squeal of delight. “Lunaaaa~! I'm so happy for you!” I rushed forward and pulled her into a friendly hug.

“Y-yes, Rose, I have decided that I need to reconnect with the civilians of ponyville, and with myself, so to speak. Thank you for suggesting that I live there for a while.”

“No problem!” I said, separating myself from the hug and walking back to where Lily was sitting on the couch.

“Well, now is probably the best time that I tell you, as we only have…. Four days before we leave for Equestria.”

I blanked for a second. What was that?

“F-four!?” My jaw dropped."Four days!? H-holy crud, we’ve got so much to prepare for, I'm not even ready, I haven't spent enough time petting Simon, not to mention packing our belongings! Wh-what if something goes wrong? What if-”

“Rose!” Lily shouted, snapping me out of my panic. "Calm down, you know how infectious our panicking is.”

I breathed in and out slowly, practicing the tactic of calming down that Lily and I had devised together after I had lost my wits over some dead flowers.

“S-sorry Lily. So, do you have any idea where you'll be staying once you get to Ponyville? You know we'd be happy to have you in our house. That is still there, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, your house is still there and under your name, and while I would take you up on that offer, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't mind sleeping on your couch.” she giggled and we laughed along. "No, I do have a place in mind, as long as the Twilight doesn't mind me staying at her place. I'm sure she would be more than happy to accommodate me, at least until I find a place of my own.”

“Twilight? I wouldn't have thought that her library would be large enough. It’s hardly large enough for just her and Spike, isn't it?”

Luna stared at us, blinking a few times before a smile spread across her face.

“Silly me, I forget you two have missed a year's worth of goings on in Equestria. Twilight is a princess now. She ascended to Alicornhood after finishing a spell half crafted by Star Swirl the Bearded. She also has a small castle situated in the center of Ponyville.”

It was my and Lily's turn to stare at Luna in surprise this time.

“W-well, I guess we missed a lot more than we thought.” I gulped and smiled nervously. “So Twilight won't mind you staying there while in Ponyville?”

“ I don't intend to stay there for my entire time in Ponyville. Part of the point was avoiding higher lifestyle and trying to feel like a real pony again. I know Twilight can attest that the castle is not exactly the best place to stay if I want to avoid living like a princess.”

“Yeah, castles kinda scare me too.” Lily added with a smile. “I'd really like for you to come visit a lot though. Part of being a normal pony is coming out for coffee with Rose and I. No arguments.” She smiled confidently, Luna nodding with a laugh.

“Of course. I could never forget the two ponies that helped me feel more alive than I have in a millenia. Now, I think, what with our departure right around the corner, it would be reasonable that we think about packing soon?”

“Oh gosh, we have so much to pack.” I paled, the blood leaving my face.

------

“Rose, for the last time! It’s not going to work in Equestria! We have magical energy there, not electricity.” Lily said, her frustration showing.

“I am not leaving without it!” I shouted back, gripping my Super Nintendo to my chest tightly and scrunching my muzzle in indignation.

“To be quite honest, Twilight would easily be able to figure out a way to power it with magic as well.” Luna said as she began levitating more boxes of possessions toward the door, ready for our departure. My dad was still downstairs, calming down my very teary and emotional mother. It was no surprise either. We were leaving. Not even to another country, we were leaving to what was essentially another dimension. I could tell my dad was upset too, but he was too hard-headed to show it.

“Not you too, Luna.”

She shrugged and smiled at us.

“It’s not my fault that your human games are so entertaining. I have yet to finish that Final Fantasy game too. I want to know if Zidane succeeds.” She said guiltily.

I poked out a tongue playfully at Lily and placed my console into an empty box, followed my my games and cables. Transporting the television would be hard as well, but I'm sure Luna would help out with her levitation.

Today was the day. Today was the day that we finally said goodbye to this world and in a way, goodbye to our old lives. Of course, not goodbye for ever. There was no way I’d forget my old life, nor would I ever forget my parents and old friends, as little friends that I did have. Huh, maybe I should say goodbye to those friends. I scrunched my eyes, remembering what had happened the last time we had all hung out and dispelled that thought. If they cared about me at all, they would have tried to get in contact at least once after I had left my parents house the first time.

Regardless, the good and the bad, I would remember it all. I watched Lily as she grumpily helped me pack my games away and I knew she would do the same. She would remember her human parents, as much as I’m sure she wishes to forget them. She would remember our friendship together as humans too.

“Rose? Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry, just kinda thinking about stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?” She asked, stepping toward me and nuzzling my cheek.

“Well, just… stuff that we’re leaving behind. People that we’re leaving behind.”

“Don't forget, it isn't forever at all. Luna promised that we would be able to come back and see mum and dad, and you can play all the games you want. Who knows, there could be something new by the time we decide to come back and visit.”

A knock on the door distracted us from our conversation and we watched as my dad walked in, his eyes red from crying. I felt my own eyes begin to water and I trotted toward him, Lily following behind. I didn't protest as he leant down and picked me up in his arms, his reaffirming hug comforting me more than it ever had before.

“I-I’m sorry, dad.” I whispered into his ear as he stroked my mane with his fingers.

“Shh, no, Rosie. You haven't done a single thing wrong.”

“B-but I c-cut you out of my life for so long, then the second we reconnect, the reason is because I'm going to have to leave. I… I shouldn't have done what I did. I love you so much, dad.”

Another voice came from behind my dad before he could answer.

“Rose, your father is right.” My mum said calmly, her eyes also red from crying. “We don't care that you're leaving, or that it took this long to talk to us again. What we care about is that you,” She stroked a hand on my cheek, “and you,” She smiled, picking up a willing Lily, “are happy. I don't care if you're traveling the world searching for sunken treasure, as long as the both of you are happy.”

“M-mummy…” Lily murmured and buried her face into my mum's hair. “Th-thank you. I'll never forget what you've done for me. For us. I… I love you, mum.”

Instantly, tears dripped down both Lily's and my mum's faces, causing the dam holding back mine to burst. My dad walked toward my mum and wrapped an arm around her, holding us all together in a hug.

I heard a quiet little snap sound emit from next to us and I turned my head to see Luna holding onto my old Polaroid camera with her magic.

“I apologize, I just could not let such a touching moment go uncaptured.”

“No, it’s fine.” My mum said with a wide smile. “In fact, I think that this photo would be a perfect first picture for your photo album, right Rose?”

My eyes lit up and my dad let me down to the floor, allowing me to rush over to a packing box and pull out the large leatherbound album with “Precious memories” emblazoned on the front. As Luna levitated the photo over to me, something came to mind.

“Wait, no. This shouldn't be the first picture in the album.” I looked up to her with a smile. “Somepony’s missing. Luna.”

“Wh-what? Me? No, this should be for pictures of your family.”

“I know, and that's exactly why I want you to be in it.”

“Rose, what are you-” she stopped as the realization hit her. “No, Rose, I'm not… I'm not worthy of being-”

“Nope, shush.” I silenced her. “You're just as big a part of the family as Lily is.”

“Rose is right.” Lily grinned, trotting toward us. “Sometimes, a friend can mean even more to you than family. Sometimes you can say that… you don't love your parents. And that isn't wrong. Being your parents doesn't give them the right to make you feel bad for being you. Just as much as being related doesn't make them family. You’re more family to me than they've ever been.”

Luna looked between us, a look of disbelief on her face.

“I… I don't know what to say.”

“You don't have to say a thing. What you might have to do is take the picture, since none of us have magic.” Lily said with a giggle. Luna nodded, wiping tears from her eyes as my parents sat down on the couch next to us, lifting us onto their laps. Luna stood happily beside us as she levitated the camera upward.

“Smile, everyone.” My dad said. “This is the beginning of your new lives.”

Smiles stretched across all of our faces as a click resounded throughout the room.

------

“Mum, please.”

“Nope.” She said with a teary smile as she continued to brush my mane slowly. “I always wanted to brush a horse’s mane, and you don't seem to dislike it too much either.”

“Th-that’s not the point. We’re leaving really really soon, and I want to be ready.”

“Oh hush, Luna explained exactly how it would go down. She'll open up the portal thing, you three will walk through, and Luna will close it behind you. Your luggage is all packed and ready to go, so all we’re waiting on is Luna.”

“She is right, honey.” Lily chuckled. “You don't seem to mind it at all.”

I pursed my lips and dropped my head. She was right, I was enjoying it greatly, but I was not about to go and admit it.

It was only a few minutes later that Luna walked into the living room, my dad following behind.

“Rose, Lily, I do believe that it is time for us to depart.”

“No.” My mum wrapped her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Mum…” I pulled myself out of her grip. “You know this won't be goodbye forever. I promise, I'll write to you every second day-”

“Every day.” She interrupted. I rolled my eyes with a smile.

“Fine, yes. I'll write to you every day in the tome, and I promise to try and come visit at least before the foal is born.”

She smiled apprehensively and released me from her grip, allowing me to jump to the floor and take my place by Lily's side.

“This is amazing, Rose.” She said with a tear in her eye. “We're finally going home. To our friends, our home… the place where we can raise Breeze, and she can grow and learn.”

“I know. Oh gosh, I hope Lyra and Bonnie recognize us.”

“Of course they will, silly. Not to mention, Luna said they already knew the whole situation. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to see us.”

“I hope so…” I murmured as Luna stepped forward, her horn beginning to glow brightly. A quiet humming sound started and rapidly rose in volume, almost to a point that I thought I might have to cover my ears when a bright golden light shot out from seemingly nowhere and connected with Luna's horn. The deep blue of Luna's magic swirled and mixed with the gold until a bright purple ball of energy was clinging to the tip of her horn. There was a small pulse of force emitted from her horn and the ball of energy split apart, stretching until it was double the height of Luna. She turned to us with a smile and offered a hoof.

“Are you ready?”

“I…” I trailed off, trying my hardest to say yes, but my nerves kept my mouth wired shut.

“I think she's trying to say yes.” Lily nodded to Luna and I slowly extended my own hoof. Luna took hold of it and stepped forward. I turned around as we walked and smiled at my mum and dad, both hugging each other and crying.

“Goodbye, mummy. Daddy.” More tears fell from my own eyes as we moved away from them. “I love you!”

“We love you too, honey! Don't talk to strangers!”

I giggled as my vision started to fade to white.

“I promise.”

Chapter Nineteen

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, I'm very sorry about the long wait, but the Nineteenth chapter (and also the first Ponyville chapter) is finally finished. I've been contracted to work on a games project recently, doing 3d arts and whatnot, so my writing progress is very slow as a result. I still haven't given up on any of my stories, the chapters will just come a lot slower than they used to.

Most stories or movies describe portals as very simple things. One way it’s described is like a door, you just kinda pop your hand through and it comes out the other side. Another, you're kinda sucked through and thrown out. All those TV shows definitely didn’t prepare me for what really happens. Your body locks up and it feels numb. If you could look down, you'd see your body dissolve and almost turn into dust. Your conscious mind feels like it's floating in endless nothingness until eventually, the pieces are put back together and you become you again. Now, with the whole situation described, I'm sure you won't judge me for my reaction.

“Shh, it's okay.” a very pale faced Lily said as she held my mane away from my mouth. A bucket had been prepared for me on arrival, apparently, and I now had my head over it, trying to keep the contents of my stomach from separating from me.

“I-I'm sorry, Rose, I completely forgot about portal sickness. I don't feel it anymore, but I should have known you two did. Though Lily seems to be holding up.” Luna said with an apologetic expression on her face as she sat next to us.

“I wouldn't h-ugh…” Lily lurched forward before righting herself. “I wouldn't talk too quickly.”

“Luna?” a rich, mature, yet feminine voice called out and Luna turned around as the door to the room opened, an enormous white pony walked in, covered in gold regalia, not unlike Luna’s black regalia from when we first met.

“There's no way that's not Celesti-hurk.” Lily covered her mouth with a hoof before reaching for her own bucket. With my own nausea starting to lower, I held Lily’s mane back now as I watched the exchange between the two princesses.

“Celly!” Luna called out and ran forward, throwing her hooves around the other, taller princess.

“Luna! You look…” She pulled away from the hug and glanced down before looking back up. “Happy. And your mane… Did the portal cancel out your mane spell?”

“Well, not exactly…” Luna said, turning away from her sister slightly. “Celly, I… I have something to say. I know what I want and I’m not backing down.” She turned back and stood confidently. “I'm a real pony. I want… I want what other ponies want.”

“I don't understand. Are you okay, sister?”

“I am better than I have ever been. Living with Rose and Lily… has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. With them, there was never really this sense of… rulership that I have over other ponies. They talked to me from the heart, and became good friends with me. I'm constantly scared that I'll always be Nightmare Moon in their eyes, and so, for my sake and for everypony else's sake, I'm… I'm moving to Ponyville with them.”

Celestia stepped back, shock showing over her body. She pursed her lips before closing her eyes and breathing in slowly.

“I accept your decision. Granted, it still is out of the blue and therefor, a little bit surprising. ”

“W-wait, really? Do you not have worries for me?” Luna looked shocked.

“Oh sister, of course I do. You’re my sister, and I love you, but this time, you've made one of the best choices you could have, despite it coming as a bit of a shock.” the older Alicorn giggled. “I have seen the sadness grow in you, dear Luna. The fear of failure, the worry of your appearance in our subjects eyes, and don't think I was deaf to the words of nobles as well. Move to Ponyville with your friends. I shall be completely fine in your absence.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Luna rushed forward and threw her hooves around her sister again, hugging her tightly as her sister hugged back.

“Now, there is the matter of these friends that I have been waiting so long to meet.” She pulled away from the hug and looked to us just as Lily was pulling her head out of the bucket.

“Oh, uh… Hiya, princess.” I waved nervously and smiled at her.

“You seem well, despite the travel sickness.” Celestia smiled as she approached me. She glanced downward and smiled again. “Your foal seems to be developing well additionally.”

“L-Luna did a pretty good job, despite fate's decision to throw me into a river.”

“A river? Oh dear. Well, you seem to be alive and well despite these hardships.” She let out a low giggle. “Are you excited for your foal to arrive?” She asked calmly.

“More than anything else.”

“I am very glad. You two will make wonderful mothers.” She righted herself with a relaxed smile. “Preparations are complete, and whenever you two - or I guess, you three - are ready, we can depart for Ponyville.”

“I think I might be a few more minutes at least.” Lily said, dipping her head into the bucket again.

Luna suppressed a giggle while Celestia calmly smiled.

“I will be traveling with you, now that your living arrangements must be sorted, sister.” Celestia turned to face her sister with that same smile.

“Thank you. I was hoping, until I… get a job and have enough money to move out, that I could stay at Twilight's castle.”

“My thoughts exactly, but I was thinking you'd stay there until you wanted to return. “

“Well, part of this whole thing is that I feel… like I'm not a real pony. Don't get me wrong, I know my calling, and it is to rule by your side, but I… I don't want to risk becoming Nightmare Moon again. I want to create bonds with our citizens. Treat them more like friends than subjects. Part of that is making my own way in life, and I’m not sure that living in a castle is going to help me do that.”

“Luna, you have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that. I am so proud of you, dear sister.”

“Th-Thanks.” She smiled bashfully.

There was a short, brisk knock on the door and with a golden glow, Celestia opened it with her magic. Behind it stood a pony, large in stature, wearing bulky armor.

“Your carriage is ready, Princesses.” He said with a brisk salute. “Awaiting your orders.”

“Thank you. We will be out shortly.” Celestia nodded as the guard took his leave. “Are you ready to go?”

I nodded confidently and Lily nodded as well, putting a hoof around me. She leant toward me and placed a kiss on my cheek before giggling happily.

“We're gonna go home!”

“N-never. Never again.” I shivered, holding Lily tightly with my hooves. Lily seemed a little more calm than I did did and was stroking my mane, but I could tell she was also a little scared.

“You didn't mention we'd be flying.” I said to a laughing Luna. “How are we flying.”

“The Pegasi driving the coach filter their magic into the wood, letting it fly along with them despite its weight.”

“Woah, magic.”

“Idon’tcarejustpleaselandthisthing.” I quickly blurted out, my nerves getting the better of me.

Luna laughed a little, again unsuccessfully stifling her laugh with a hoof.

“I guess I could levitate you the whole way there. Would that suit your needs?”

“Oh, haha. Just cos I'm a huge wuss…”

“She was only trying to lighten the mood.” Lily smiled and wrapped her hooves around me in a hug. I felt a lot safer in her hooves, but ultimately, she couldn't save me from plummeting to my death.

In a few minutes time, I felt the carriage shudder and rumble as it presumably landed and rolled on the cobble a little.

“We have arrived!” Luna announced and opened the door to the carriage. She stepped out into the sunlight and disappeared from view.

It was out there. All I had wanted since this whole thing started… home. A place to belong. A place to spend the rest of my life with the two ponies I loved the most. A place to raise Brisk, a place to watch her grow and be happy. I stood up, nervously looking at Lily, who was still clinging to me. She looked up at me, worry on her face.

“Rose, what if-” I silenced her with a quick peck to the lips. She pulled away and smiled nervously. “Right. Sorry. No more freaking out. Let's catch up to Luna.”

She pulled herself to her hooves and held one out to me, helping me stand with the additional weight of a growing foal. We walked together toward the door and stepped out together.

“Oh my gosh, Rose…” Lily mumbled as we stepped down from the carriage. The sights before us were incredible. More incredible than I could have ever imagined.

Ponies walked around, talking to others, buying groceries from stalls, just kind of going about their daily lives. The town was filled with beautiful, thatched roof cottages, their cobble stone chimneys dotting the horizon.

The smell of the countryside mixing with the smell of a nearby market filled my nostrils and I breathed in deeply. A warm, fluttery feeling filled my belly as a sudden rush of memories flooded my mind, almost like the flashes of memories we had experienced on earth, but hundreds of times more intense. I knew this place. I remembered the ponies I could see walking around, I remembered the joy and serenity of living in this town, and I most definitely remembered my life here with Lily.

“Lily…” I gawked as I turned to my lover and best friend. “Did you just…?”

Tears were falling from her eyes as she nodded shakily.

“I remember… I remember! Rose, I’m… I’m so happy!” She started hopping up and down on the spot, the smile on her face stretching from ear to ear. She only stopped when a purple aura surrounded her and Luna approached us.

“Now now, calm down.” Luna said with a smile almost as wide as Lily’s. “I know you’re-- We’re excited to be here once more, but we do have an agenda. Princess Twilight is expecting us any second now.”

As if on cue, a short, purple Alicorn approached, several sheets of paper floating beside her in a lavender glow. As her sight landed on Luna, a large smile appeared on her face and she quickened her pace.

“Princess Luna!” She said joyfully as she came to a stop in front of us. “I’m so happy you’re here! But… Why are you here? I thought Celestia was going to be showing our new-- uh, new again, friends around the town?”

“Did she not tell you in a letter? No bother. I have decided that I have become detached from society during both my time on the moon and after you saved me from the nightmare.” She explained. “So, with my sister's blessing, I have decided to live amongst the ponies here in Ponyville. With my… friends.”

“Friends!?” Twilight looked to Lily and I as I waved a hoof. “Oh, I’m so happy for you, Luna! Rose and Lily were wonderful mares when I knew them before, and I’m sure they’re just as wonderful now, so you’ve chosen your friends well. I can’t wait to see what other friends you make.” Twilight leant forward and hugged the lunar princess, eliciting a smile and a blush from her.

“Th-thank you, Twilight. Uh, I have… a request for you as well.” She said nervously. “Would I be allowed to stay in your castle for a while until I secure myself employment and a residence?”

“Of course!” Twilight smiled brightly. “I’d be more than happy to let you stay for as long as you like.”

As she finished talking, a second carriage landed softly next to our one and the door opened. Celestia stepped out and approached us while Twilight walked closer to close the gap.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight bowed to the princess. “I’m very happy to see you.”

“Now, Twilight, what have I said about bowing? You’re a princess too, you know.” She teased playfully.

“I-I know. Sorry. Anyway, I’m sure Roseluck and Lily would like to see their home, so would you like to follow me?” She asked as she turned to us.

“S-sure.” I stuttered, the overwhelming situation still bearing down on me a little. Lily and I followed close behind as the three princesses walked through the town. I barely even noticed the excited expressions of ponies seeing three of their rulers as I stared at the scenery. Even more memories of this lovely town filled my mind. I remembered coffee dates with Lily and other friends, and early morning pastry indulgences as we passed by Sugarcube Corner. I was tempted to ask if we could stop by for a bite to eat, but the excitement of seeing our home again caused me to dispel that thought.

I remembered browsing through the large selection of clothing that Carousel Boutique had on offer as we passed by the stylised building. I remembered, with a giggle, the panic that the bunny stampede had caused, and then blanched when I remembered what happened to our flower beds.

Shaking my head, I turned to look at Luna as she idly chatted with Twilight in front of us. Luna… I really did hope she would be happy here. In the short time I had gotten to know her, she had quickly become one of the best friends I had ever had. She smiled widely and laughed as Twilight told a corny joke, she herself giggling at the silliness. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight. I could only hope that Luna’s friendship with Twilight would blossom as brightly as it had with Lily and I.

“Rose…?” Lily said, tapping my shoulder with a hoof.

“Hmm?" I said, slipping out of my train of thought and looking toward her.

“I think we’re here.” she gaped, her voice almost in a wonderous tone.

I followed her eyes and stood just as wide mouthed as she was. It was a house. Besides its cottagey look, the only thing that stood out was its overwhelming familiarity. I knew this house.

“L-Luna, is this…?”

“Yes, my dear friends. Welcome home."

I silently walked forward, every sound but the sound of my hooves hitting the path fading away from focus. The planters under the windows were woefully bare, but my memories were filled with images of beautiful gardenias and blossoming daisies. The windows were coated with dust and grime, but all I could see in my mind's eye was sparkling clean glass.

Lily walked up past me slowly and stepped up onto the stairs leading to the door. She placed a hoof on the door and slowly pushed. It let out a loud creak as it opened, revealing the dusty interior. I stepped up beside her and felt myself naturally gravitate toward her until our sides were touching. The contact was reaffirming and Lily breathed in and out shakily.

“You ready?" I asked before placing a soft kiss on her cheek. She nodded quickly before taking a deep breath and we stepped forward together.

As we entered, an immediate musk hit my nose. The furniture around the room was covered in thick white canvas with a thin layer of dust coating them. I slowly walked through the room, ghosts of memories floating in my vision. Time spent on that couch with Lily, laughing together as we cooked dinner.

Lily walked by me to the stairs that led up to our bedroom and started climbing them. She beckoned me with a wave of her hoof and I trotted to catch up before following Lily up the stairs.

She eventually stopped at the door to our room and slowly pushed it open. She stood at the border between the hall and our room and I stepped up beside her.

“You okay?” I asked, planting a soft kiss on her cheek.

“Y-yeah, I just… Oh gosh, I remember it all. I remember our first time.”

A blush crossed my cheeks and I giggled nervously.

“Heheh, yeah, I do too.” I said taking a step into the room and offering a hoof out to Lily. She took it confidently and stepped into the room with me.

Just as the rest of the house was, our room wasn’t anything special to look at, especially with the white sheets covering every piece of furniture, but as I looked around, even more memories rushed in. I glanced over to Lily and could tell by the awestruck look on her face that she was experiencing the same thing.

“Oh my gosh…” Her expression changed to a wry smile. “We totally banged here.”

“L-Lily!” I looked around to check that no-one was in listening range only for her to giggle in response.

“You are such a tease, but I love you for it.” I said grumpily and she kissed me on the lips lightly before pulling away and walking toward our bed. She slid the white sheet off, revealing the bare, coverless mattress beneath. We both sat down together and I laid my head on her shoulder, letting out a satisfied sigh.

“We’re really home, aren’t we?” I said quietly, closing my eyes.

“We are. Gosh, it really does feel like a dream. But… It’s not. We’re really home.”

“Hey Lily?”

“Hmm?” She said, turning her head slightly toward me.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I haven’t done anything that you haven’t done for me.”

“Well, I won’t mind if you thanked me too, but you really have brought happiness into my life. You supported me through the panic of all this happening so fast, you’ve helped me through nightmares, and through all of the struggles life has thrown at me.”

“Well… Thank you too then. You’ve helped me too, and I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life. I love you, Rose.”

“I love you too, Lily.”

The sound of hoofsteps coming up the stairs broke us out of our reverie and we looked to the door as Luna slowly peeked her head around the corner.

“Hello, you two. I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but there’s somepony outside who’s very excited to meet you.”

“Oh?” I said as I lifted my head off of Lily’s shoulder.

“Yes. Somepony very, very excited.” She gave us a look of mock dread before smiling and heading back down the stairs.

“You ready, Rose?” Lily said as she hopped off the bed and held out a hoof to me.

“When I’m with you? I’m ready for anything.”

Chapter Twenty

Author's Notes:

Hey all, thanks a bunch for being patient with me. Life has definitely taken hold of me as of late, especially with this project I'm working on. To reward you all for being so patient with me, this chapter also comes with a new cover photo for the story, drawn by yours truly! Hope you all enjoy the chapter. Also, a super big thanks to my best friend in the entire world for proof reading for me and being a huge influence and inspiration for me.

“LILY!!!" I pressed my hooves to my ears as an almighty screech of Lily’s name was echoing throughout the yard. Finally letting my senses return to me, I watched as a pink coated mare with a bright green mane jumped through the air to land in Lily’s splayed hooves.

“Gah, S-sis!” Lily yelped with a frown on her face as she almost tumbled from the surprise embrace. “What do I always say about air tackling me?"

“Oh my gosh, you still say that? It was like, a year ago that I last tackled you. Oh wait, that's right, you were a weird “Hyoo min” for a bit back then, weren't you.” The mare said flatly.

“Uh, that's right!” I interjected. “Excuse me, are you…?”

“...Am I what?” the dumbfounded mare stared back.

“Daisy. You're Daisy? Lily’s sister?”

“ 'Course I am! Who else would I be? Anyway, who are you?”

I blinked.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“Uh, your name?”

“Roseluck…?” I replied nervously.

Her face paled.

“Oh.”

A huge smile suddenly stretched across her face.

“Oh! You're Roseluck! Oh my gosh, it's been so long! You totally died a while back, didn't you?”

“Woah, uh, yep. That was me.”

“Don't worry, I know about the whole situation, so I'm not gonna freak out.” she added with a charismatic smile. Then she looked down and her eyes opened wide.

“Oh. My. Gosh! You're super pregnant!” Daisy rushed forward and placed a hoof on my belly. I nervously scratched my neck as the zealous mare inspected my swollen belly.

“Have you had the dream?" she asked, staring up at me.

“The dream?"

“You know, naming dream."

“Oh! Uh, yes. Her name's gonna be Brisk Breeze." I smiled nervously. What was with this mare? She was making me feel just a little weirded out.

“Awww, that is just the sweetest thing ever!”

Meanwhile, Lily had picked herself up off the floor and was brushing herself down. She stepped to my side and smiled widely at her sister.

“Sis, I really can't say how happy I am to see you again.”

“Ooh, I know, right?” she said as she hopped up and down on the spot. "We’re gonna have so much fun. And Rose! We didn't get to spend much time together before, we should definitely find time to now that you're back!”

“Okay, okay. Rose might not be in the best state to do all the stuff I know you'll want to do, so maybe think of the baby before you plan your events?" Lily said, almost pleading, to her sister.

“You got it, Lily!" She punctuated with a sharp salute and a stamp of her hoof before breaking into giggles.

A strange feeling of normality had started to wash over me. Like, everything, while it was now something I remembered, felt so fresh, yet so… normal. I remembered the few times I had actually met Daisy before, yet it still felt like our first time meeting.

I relished in the feeling of calm that was pervading my senses, yet a sense of dread still stuck with me. Luna had even assured me that they should be fine with everything, but part of me still worried about seeing Lyra and Bonbon again.

“Hey, you okay?” Lily put a hoof on my shoulder, sensing my worry.

“Yeah, I think so. Just being paranoid. Again."

“Thinking about Bonbon and Lyra?”

“That obvious?”

“Rose, they're your best friends. I'd be more worried if you weren't scared. Hey Luna?” She turned from me to our mutual friend.

“Hm? Yes, Lily?"

“Can we take Rose to see Lyra and Bonbon?”

“Wh-what?” I stammered out.

“Of course we can. That was next on our agenda anyway."

“Oooh, I just remembered I have to meet up with somepony else, but I’ll see you two later, okay?” Daisy smiled, bouncing up and down.

“Of course!” Lily answered with a smile and her sister walked off with a wave.

------

Thankfully, the journey to our meeting spot was uneventful, and the time was passed by Lily and I talking about what we remembered about Ponyville. I wasn't sure how much of it she remembered, but with the speed that our memories were returning now that we were back in Equestria was kinda intimidating.

Luna had said that our memories were kinda connected to our magic energy or whatever, and there was supposed to be a lot more of it here, so it made sense as to why it was coming back this fast, it was just another intimidating thing in a long list of intimidating things.

Apparently, we were meeting up in a park, a place I now remembered as a regular hangout spot for Lyra and I. Like the rest of this town, it was a beautiful sight to behold. Birds chirped cheerfully in the trees, flowers bloomed brightly in the garden beds, and Lyra sat happily on her favorite chair.

Wait, what.

Lyra! Lyra was there! Ahead of us, about twenty meters away, was the pony I once, and hopefully again, would call a best friend. Cheerful butterflies filled my belly at the sight of her and I quickened my pace to reach her faster. My excitement got ahold of me and in the last few meters, I rose my pace to a run.

“Lyra!” I called out, a smile beginning from ear to ear. She turned to me and her mouth opened up in awe. I came to a stop in front of her and paced excitedly.

“Heya! Excited to see me?” I asked as Lyra’s expression remained the same.

“Uh, Lyra?”

Suddenly, Lyra’s eyes glossed up and a tear dripped down her cheek. She breathed in as if to say something but it got caught in her throat and she said nothing. Her lip quivered a little as she looked me up and down, taking in every detail.

“Rose…? Is it… is it really you?"

“It is." I smiled, my own eyes beginning to well up.

“Rooose!” My friend wailed as she threw her hooves around me and sobbed hysterically into my shoulder. I held her as she cried and said nothing, knowing my presence said more than anything I could say.

She pulled away for a second and looked at my face only to collapse back into my hooves. I let her cry herself out until she eventually pulled away. Her eyes drifted to my face again and a tearful smile crossed her lips.

“It's really you, right?”

“It is.”

“Rose, I… when you… died, I… I thought I had lost my best friend. When Princess Celestia told me about what happened, I could hardly believe it. But now… here you are." She giggled tearfully. “You're alive."

“I am. I'm so sorry, Lyra."

Lyra let out a weak laugh. “Sorry? You haven't done a thing wrong."

“Well, I worried you, I made you sad, I… I dunno.”

“There's the Rose I remember. Always apologizing for something she doesn't have to. You really are one of a kind."

Lyra pulled me in for a hug just as Luna and Lily approached. She glanced toward Lily as she arrived and a smile graced her face again.

“Lily! Oh my gosh, you too. Come in for a hug, right now.”

Lily stepped forward and accepted the hug happily. After the hug was over, Lyra turned to Luna.

“Would I be stretching my luck if I asked for a hug from you too, Princess?"

“M-me?” Luna said, confusion in her voice.

“Luna, you helped bring back two of my best friends. There is no way that doesn't deserve at least a hug."

A blush crossed Luna’s face as she stepped forward and accepted the short hug from the minty coloured mare. After a short while, they separated and Lyra turned to me.

“So, what has my second favourite mare in the world been up to?”

“You mean besides figuring out that the last twenty years of my life might as well been for nothing? Not much.”

“Gosh, twenty years. You really lived as one of those humans for that long? Wait, that means that time must go slower on earth, right?”

“Uhh…” I turned to Luna for an explanation.

“Well, not precisely. Human years are slightly different to ours, but time moves at the same speed. When Lily and Rose were incarnated as humans, our world wasn't fully connected to theirs, so time didn't flow at the same rate. Once I created the link between our worlds to visit Rose in her naming dream, our time started traveling at around the same pace.”

“Woah." Lyra blanked before giggling. “Now that is some major magic babble.”

“Oh yeah, I'm also pregnant.” I added.

“You're what!?" A huge grin plastered itself across Lyra’s face. She quickly looked down and began inspecting my belly even more than Daisy had.

“I mean, I knew you were kinda pregnant before, but now you're really, really pregnant!”

“Heheh, yep. Her name's gonna be Brisk Breeze.”

“Brisk Breeze, huh? Wonder if she's gonna end up as pretty as her parents.” Lyra nudged me playfully and giggled. “Ooh! Wait, Bonnie should be here any second! She’s gonna be psyched when she sees you!”

Almost as if on cue, I saw a colorful two toned mane walk out from behind a building, one most definitely belonging to Bonbon.

“Bonnie!” Lyra called out to her marefriend. "Rose and Lily are here!"

Her eyes widened as she stopped in her tracks. Her pupils darted between Lily and I before she darted forward and threw her hooves around me.

“H-Hey, BonBon. Long time no see?”

“Are you kidding me?” BonBon pulled away from our hug with a teary scowl on her face. "After all this time? You got some explaining to do."

“Well, I couldn't exactly keep in touch.”

“You should have tried harder.” A blush intertwined with her scowl. “I’m… Oh gosh, Rose, I'm so happy you're back!” she jumped forward again, hugging me tightly with both hooves.

“I'm happy to see you too, Bonbon."

She pulled from the hug and smiled up at me.

“Rose… I can't describe it. This is so unreal! You're alive, Rose, you're…” Tears began to form in her eyes and she scrunched them tightly before shaking her head and smiling. “I'm not letting you get away from us that easily." She added warmly.

“Bonbon, check out Rose’s belly!"

BonBon raised an eyebrow and looked down at my stomach before raising the other in shock.

“Oh my gosh! Your belly! It's so big! You must be… how many months along now?”

“Almost five months. We decided on the name Brisk Breeze."

“Brisk Breeze! So adorable! I can tell she'll get along with Sweetie Star so well!”

“Uh, pardon me?”

“Sweetie Star, you know, my and Lyra’s foal.”

“You two have a foal!?” Lily shouted.

“Well not yet, Lyra was supposed to tell… Lyra, did you not tell them? Ugh, that mare sometimes. Yes, we're having a foal. Lyra is carrying since I… can not.”

“This is so amazing!” I squeed, grabbing ahold of a shy looking Lyra's hoof as I bounced up and down on the spot. “How far along are you?"

“Uh, about a month now. Had my naming dream a while ago and Sweetie Star was what we decided on."

“We are so happy for you two!" Lily added, smiling widely.

“Looks like you're next, Luna!” Bonbon joked and laughed softly.

“M-Me? I don't even have a marefriend!”

“I think Luna has been around lesbians too long that she forgot you need a stallion to get pregnant." Lyra said with a cheeky grin.

“Wh-what? I… I… Oh, nevermind.” Luna relaxed and smiled, content to go along with the joke.

“Oh yeah, Luna, you should tell Lyra and Bonnie the big news, since you'll probably be seeing a lot more of them.” I suggested.

“News? Oh, yes, um, I have decided to stay in Ponyville! I’ll be living in my own home once I acquire a job and will be spending a lot of time with Lily and Rose. I would love it if you would be my friends too.” Luna said, nervously blushing.

“Of course! Being friends with a princess? That's rad as heck, having a princess as a friend. I mean, we’re kinda friends with Twilight already, but we're not really close. I’d love to be your friend.” Lyra said with an ecstatic smile on her face.

“I agree. We'd be happy to be your friends!” Bonbon added with a nod.

“Thank you two very much.” Luna said with a soft smile before she turned to Lily and I. “Oh, I just remembered, Twilight said we should go back to the castle once we had met up with Lyra and Bonbon. Would you like to go there now?”

“Sure. Do you have any idea what for?” I answered.

“Not really. She was being very strange when she asked us to meet there, so I’m not sure what it could be for.”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out.”

------

The door to the castle opened slowly with a creak and we stepped into the dark room. I was about to ask why the lights were off when they suddenly switched on and I jumped back, hundreds of ponies lept from behind every possible hiding spot in the room.

“SURPRIIIIIISE!”

“Gah!” I gasped and found myself clinging to Lily.

“Wh-what? What’s going on?” Lily stuttered in shock.

“Uh, Duh!” A colourful pink pony rushed toward us and stopped just before my face. “It’s a surprise party! You’re new here! Or I guess, new again? You were here before, but then you weren’t, now you are again! It’s a re-welcome party! SURPRISE!”

“Gah, okay, okay!” I sputtered out. The room was absolutely filled with smiling faces, some of which I recognized, like Twilight and Celestia, but a large majority of the ponies were new faces to me. At least, they were kinda new? A few faces in the crowd I could match to a name, like Berry Punch and her daughter, Golden Harvest, even Derpy Hooves.

“You’re all here… for us?” Lily asked.

“Well, and Luna! She’s gonna be living here, so this is a welcome party for her too!” She motioned to a large banner hanging above the entrance that read “WELCOME BACK TO PONYVILLE, ROSELUCK AND LILY VALLEY!” with “And Luna” scribbled at the bottom.

“It’s a party, fillies! Go and have some fun!” The pink pony said before bouncing off to a snack table and eating a hoof full of candy in one bite.

“Well, I guess we should try our hardest?” Lily said to me with a nervous grin.

“I’ll try.” I nodded. “As much as I can with all these ponies around.” I looked down and away from my partner.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just… Uh… There’s lot’s of people-- Uh, ponies around here. I haven’t always been the best in social situations, and especially not around so many ponies.”

“Well you just do what you’re comfortable with, okay? I’ll be with you no matter what.”

“Th-thanks.” I took her hoof as she offered it out to me and we walked together into the party.

There were so many ponies around that I felt myself shrinking into myself and pressing up against Lily. I felt as if every eye was on me, and they probably were, given that this party was for us.

“You doing okay?” Lily said and nuzzled against my neck. I reveled in the small amount of comfort, but it was short lived.

“I-I’m fine.”

“No you’re not.”

“I’m… as good as I can be. I’m sorry, Lily.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, just know that you can trust me with everything.”

“I do trust you, it’s just… k-kinda complicated.” I half buried myself in Lily’s fur.

“Promise we’ll talk later?”

“I promise.”

“Roseluck, howdy!” An orange coated mare wearing a cowboy hat that I recognized as Applejack walked up to Lily and I. “So glad to see y’all back in Ponyville! How was the “Hoo-man” world?”

“I, uh… it was… uh…” I stumbled over my words.

“It was a long time that we were there for, so it’s a bit hard to explain, but it definitely doesn’t compare to Ponyville. Everyone here is so much more welcoming than Earth.” Lily finished for me and I silently thanked her with another nuzzle.

“Eeyup, sounds about right. No place is more accepting than Ponyville. Anyway, I’ll let y’all get out there and chat with some other ponies, ‘right?”

“Th-thanks.” I mumbled as Applejack walked off.

“You okay?” Lily asked again.

“...No.” I shivered and pressed up closer to her.

“Oh, Rose…”

“I-It’s fine, let’s just… get this over with.”

Chapter Twenty One

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I've been so slow to produce chapters for my stories as of late. I've been hit with another huge bout of depression that has been very hard to shake off. I've been even unable to properly progress with the game project I'm being paid to work on because of how hard a hit my motivation has taken. Thank you all for sticking with this story despite my inability to regularly update it.

Lily lead me through the crowd with a confident smile on her face. Or at least, it was far more confident than my smile. My smile was shaky, nervous, and most definitely not sincere. I shut my eyes tightly and let Lily lead me through the party slowly. A quiet whimper escaped my mouth as I brushed lightly against one of the ponies in the crowd.

I didn't know how much of this I could take. Being around all these ponies was causing a memory from my past to surface, but every time, I pushed it away. I didn't want to think of my human life at all right now, not while I was already stressed enough.

Ponies were staring. They knew what had happened to me and they still showed up. To mock us? To see the freaks? Were their smiles nothing but masks hiding their disgust?

There were so many faces all around us. They were all looking at me. Even when looking at Lily, their gaze was burning into me. What were they thinking? About driving us out of town?

Or were they here to tease? To make fun of? To ostracize us for being who we were? They were. They were all laughing at me.

I pulled myself closer to Lily and shut my eyes, trying to forget the ponies around me and focus on the mare I loved. I focused on her warmth, her touch, the feeling of her coat against-

“Rose?”

And her voice brought me back to reality. I looked up at my marefriend, who had an extremely worried expression on her face.

“Are you okay?”

“N-no.” I said, still shaking slightly.

“Okay, we need to get you out of here.” She took me by the hoof and led me back through the crowd and toward the door of the castle. “Excuse me. Pardon. Sorry, excuse me.” Lily said to random ponies as we brushed by them.

Before I knew it, I heard the swing of the doors and a fresh breeze on my face. The smell of the town brought a calming feeling that washed over me as Lily and I came to a stop.

“Honey?” Lily lightly placed her hoof under my jaw and lifted my view up to her face. “Are you okay?”

I nodded silently, averting my gaze as to not look her in the eyes.

“I’m sorry Rose, I didn’t want to have to pull you away, but I could sense a panic attack coming from you. Please, Rose, tell me what I can do to help.”

“I… I don’t know if you can help me.” I said dejectedly.

“There has to be something I can do.”

“Well, you’re here, I guess…”

“Rose…”

“I’m… I’m sorry, I’m just unnatural. I’m a weirdo.”

“No you’re not. You’re my beautiful marefriend and I love you. Rose, I know it’s hard, but you have to tell me. You have to tell me what’s wrong. This isn’t like you, I’ve been to parties with you before, at least I’ve been to parties in Equestria with you before, and you were never this… Afraid.”

I pulled my gaze from her again and gulped, a feeling of fear and guilt rising quickly in my throat.

“It’s… It’s dumb, I’m just… stupid.”

“No you’re not, Rose. You’re an incredible mare, you just don’t see it in yourself. You can trust me to never judge you or look down on you, okay?”

“O-Okay…” I sniffed, my eyes now starting to water and my nose blocked. “It was… Back when I was Alex. It’s stupid, but… I always hated crowds. I was used to them from being in school, but this one time, a group of friends invited me to a metal concert…”

“C’mon guys, we gotta get right up at the front!” Joel called out to me and a few other of my school friends. I said nothing as our group followed behind our “leader” as we made our way through the crowd. There were so many people here and I could feel my heart racing as a slight panic rose in my chest.

“Oh man, I am so psyched for this shit! It’s been years since these guys have been here, I can’t believe we got tickets.”

“Yeah, only because Alex managed to snag them up before they got sold out. They all went in a day!”

“Thanks, dude!” A friend of mine slapped my back playfully and I shot him a nervous grin. I continued on in silence as my panic slowly rose, getting closer and closer to front of the stage. I wasn’t even a huge fan of the band performing, I just knew that all my friends were into them, and had gotten them all tickets. It had cost me a bit, but if it meant they wouldn’t abandon me, I didn’t care.

As we finally reached the front, my panic had started to lower. Hey, this wasn’t too bad! Sure, there were a lot of people around, but it’s not like I had to worry about being embarrassed. I would very likely see none of these people again, besides my friends.

Suddenly, my eardrums were assaulted by an immense sound as a spotlight shone down on the band's drummer. Immediately, the crowd began to shift and sway, pulling me along with it. I tried to pull away, but the way behind me was blocked completely by jumping fans. I swung my head around, looking for any of the friends I had entered the crowd with, but they were nowhere to be seen.

The sound was deafening as more instruments began to join in and the band started their set. The panicked feeling rose in my throat once more and I knew that I had to get out of there. I tried to move backwards again, still with no success as the crowd began to push and shove each other around. Bodies pressed up against me, crushing the air out of my already hyperventilating lungs and I felt a wave of numbness and nausea hit me. My vision darkened for a moment and I felt like I had almost passed out.

By the time my sight had returned to me, I was on the floor, feet stomping all around me. I shouted in pain as my leg was stepped on by someone in the crowd. I struggled to push myself to my feet when another booted foot slammed into the back of my head. I fell forward, scraping my face on the grass beneath me as another foot hit me, and another. I screamed at the top of my lungs, covering my head to protect it from the barrage of shoes.

All of a sudden, I felt a hand loop under my arm and rip me up off the ground. I turned to thank whoever had helped me up when the crowd surged forward once again. I gasped for air, the heat and the mass of the crowd around me bringing even more panic up in me. I couldn’t take it anymore.

I turned around and shoved my way through as hard as I could, very few people parting willingly to let me escape. After what seemed like half an hour, I reached the edge of the crowd and sprinted as hard as I could away from it. I came to an eventual stop next to a drink stand and collapsed against it, panting hard and fast.

I covered my face with my hands and let myself cry, the shock of what had happened finally wearing off. I rubbed my eyes and looked up, trying to catch a glance of any familiar face I could, but there was no-one but complete strangers giving me weird looks. I planted my face back into my hands and cried again.

No-one was coming to help me. No-one cared.

“Rose…”

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” She placed a hoof on my cheek and wiped away the tear rolling down.

“I told you it was s-stupid. I’m stupid.” I shook my head away from her hoof and she lowered it apprehensively.

“No, you’re not stupid. If I had known about this, I never would have made you go into that party.”

“I am stupid. I let something that happened years ago affect me so much! Why can’t I just… get over myself?” I shouted a little louder than I had intended, more tears pouring down my cheeks.

“Because it was traumatic. Because you felt abandoned when you needed a friend.” Lily said, pulling me into a tight hug.

“Why does nopony care about me!?” I wailed loudly, my tears soaking into Lily’s coat as they had done countless times before.

“You do have ponies who care about you, Rose. I care about you. Lyra cares about you. Bon Bon cares. Heck, this entire party was made for us! Well, us and Luna, but you know what I mean. They came here for you.”

I sniffled as I squinted my eyes, squeezing more tears out of them.

“No they didn’t… They came here to laugh at me. The freaky zombie.”

“They did not.” Lily pulled from the hug slightly and placed her forehead to mine, the tips of our muzzles touching. “All of the ponies in there care. They care about you. This party is to celebrate you coming back into all of their lives after they thought you were dead! How great is that? An entire town of ponies that care.”

“A-Are you sure? Sure that they’re not here to m-make fun of me?”

“I’m sure. Did you see the smiles on all of their faces as we entered the castle?”

“N-No… I was kinda… Closing my eyes.”

Lily giggled and placed a soft kiss on my muzzle before pulling away and looking directly into my eyes.

“Then you’ll have to take my word for it. They care about you, they’re not here to laugh at you.”

“Th-Thank you.”

“It’s fine. I do it because I love you, Rose.”

“I l-love you too, Lily.”

“Are you ready to go back in? Or do you need a few more minutes.”

“J-Just a few minutes.” I took a deep breath in and out.

“Or if you’d like, we don’t have to go back in at all. I can just tell them that the pregnancy is stressing you out a little and you needed to rest.”

“No, it’s… It’s fine. I can do this. I just need to calm myself down a little before we go back in.”

“Only if you’re sure.” Lily said as she lead me toward a nearby bench. We sat down together and held our hooves together softly. I rested my head on my marefriend’s shoulder and sighed deeply.

The night air was cool, despite the days being hotter in Equestria than it was on earth currently. Was it one of the warmer seasons? The days in Equestria didn’t seem to coincide exactly with earth, so it was definitely possible that it was summer rather than winter. A strong breeze brushed past me and I shivered slightly, instinctively pulling myself closer to Lily.

“You okay, honey?”

“Yeah, j-just nervous still.”

“Just take as long as you need, beautiful.”

“Th-Thanks.”

I felt more calm wash over me as Lily’s body heat began to warm me up a little. Her soft fur pressing against me, the rise and fall of her barrel, everything about her just calmed my nerves.

“I-I think I’m ready to go back in now.” I said to Lily, slowly lifting my head from her shoulder.

“Are you sure? We can go in whenever you feel ready.”

“I’m ready.” I nodded as confidently as possible. “I know that this isn’t like back then, and the ponies here do actually care about me, but it’s… Still scary.”

“I know. I’ll be with you the whole time, okay? I’ll never leave your side, my love. Never.”

“Th-Thank you.” I smiled weakly at her and she beamed a bright grin back. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but widen my own smile a little.

The castle doors swung open again and I stepped inside with Lily next to me. I breathed in deeply and slowly again, trying to calm my racing heart. I was beginning to have second thoughts when Lily placed a kiss on my cheek. I looked at her appreciatively and returned her kiss.

This time, Lily didn’t lead me, we walked side by side through the crowd. A few ponies waved at me or said “Hi” as I passed and I nervously waved back. Maybe… Maybe Lily was right. These ponies weren’t laughing or jeering at me, and any pony that was laughing was clearly just having a good time with their friends. I recognized even more ponies in the crowd than I had before and even muttered a soft hello to those I remembered the names of.

“Rose! Lily! Over here!” I heard a familiar voice called from across the room and I turned my head to see Lyra bouncing up and down with a huge smile on her face. We walked over toward our friend together just as Bon Bon also returned to her marefriend.

“Lyra, will you stop jumping up and down like that? You’ve got a foal in there with you now.” Bon Bon said, placing a hoof on her withers, causing her to stop. She turned to us with a smile. “Ah, the party mares finally show their faces.”

“S-Sorry, I was just…” I started, trailing off as I tried to think of an excuse.

“She was just feeling a little ill and we went outside to take a breather.”

“Y-Yeah, that.” I smiled sheepishly and silently thanked Lily with a nuzzle. “So, uh… You two having a good time?”

“I would be having a better time if I could have something boozey to drink, but the punch isn’t too bad either.” Lyra smiled widely. “And parties are always better with friends, so I’m happy you’re here.”

“I’m also happy to see you, girls. I’m glad you’re feeling better now, Rose.” Bon Bon offered a similar, yet much less exaggerated smile than her marefriend had. “I hope the party is to your liking. Pinkie and Daisy have been planning this for weeks.”

“I-It’s good.” I nodded in acknowledgement. “S-Sorry I haven’t been around for all of it.”

“No, it’s completely fine, Rose. Lyra keeps on exhausting herself by being way too active, even though she’s- Lyra! Stop bouncing!”

“But Bonnie, I can see Luna chatting up Twilight!”

“Wait, what?” I spun around and caught a glance of Luna laughing at something with Twilight standing right next to her.

“She is not chatting her up, Lyra.” Bon Bon said, placing a hoof on her forehead and shaking her head. “Two single mares can have a conversation without it being “Chatting up”.”

“Did you not hear Luna’s Freudian slip before? She’s clearly looking for another mare in her life, and Twilight’s the perfect match! They both love the stars, they both are princesses, they’re both night owls, it’s a match made in heaven!”

“We are not doing this again. Last time, you had a board covered in interconnecting wires with the entire villages “Perfect matches”.”

“I promised I wouldn’t do that again! Regardless, those two are made for eachother. C’mon, Rose, you know Luna better than we do. What do you say?”

“U-Uh, I’m not sure I’m the best pony to be asking about that kind of stuff, but I guess Luna has been feeling a little lonely recently. She may very well be looking for a partner.”

“See!? I told you so!” Lyra stuck her tongue out playfully at a very unimpressed looking Bon Bon. “Let’s take a bet! Fifty bits says that Luna falls for Twilight!”

“I am not making a bet with you.”

“Then it’s settled! If Luna woos Princess Twi, then you have to give me fifty bits!”

“I am not doing this. I am making an active decision to refuse that bet, Lyra.”

“Awww, you’re no fun.”

“I’ll bet on that.” Lily piped up.

“Please, don’t encourage her.” Bon Bon said with a defeated tone.

“Too late!” Lily smiled and held her hoof out to Lyra. “Fifty bits says that it’s Twilight that woos Luna, not the other way around.”

Lyra took her hoof and shook it.

“You gotta a deal, little missy!”

Bon Bon said nothing but laid her face in her hoof once more.

After Bon Bon and Lyra had excused themselves to talk with a few other ponies, Lily and I wandered the party a bit. I felt a genuine smile spread across my face as the proper realization hit me that these ponies did in fact have no problem with me. My horrid dreams a while back of the entire town chasing us with pitchforks was nowhere near what the reception we got was like.

I still didn’t take charge in any conversations, leaving it mostly to Lily and the ponies we were talking to, but I didn’t feel the overwhelming sense of fear and dread I had before when talking to ponies. Most ponies were just interested in how I had been, how the foal was coming along, what I had been doing while I was on earth. None of them started screaming at my presence, and there wasn’t a single pitchfork to be seen.

Eventually, we had made our way across the room to where Luna and Twilight were still happily chatting away, seemingly blissfully unaware of the rest of the party going on around them. As we approached, Luna turned and saw us, offering a friendly smile.

“Lily, Rose! I’m so glad you’re here. I was just telling Twilight what a wonderful help you’ve been in helping me get to where I am now!”

“I-I’m sure you could done it without me…” I scratched the back of my neck with a nervous smile.

“Well, from what I’ve heard, you’ve been a massive help to Princess Luna!” Twilight said as she walked closer to us. “Ever since Luna came back from the moon, she’s been quite reclusive, but you two have brought out a side of Luna I thought I’d never see! It’s so nice having another princess to be able to talk to. Celestia still talks with me every once in awhile, but we’re both so busy with our duties that we hardly ever have the time.”

“Twilight speaks the truth. I was quite reclusive before you two helped me.”

“And I must agree, her mane looks very flattering like that.” Twilight nodded assuredly, ushering a small blush from Luna. I looked to Lily, who was now smiling a little wider than usual, most likely because of the bet she had just made. I shook my head before turning back to Luna.

“You two seem to be getting along well.”

“When Luna said that she was moving to Ponyville, I knew I wanted to be one of the first friends she made.” Twilight said with a nod.

“Twilight was the one who saved me from the Nightmare. I almost feel as if I would be doing her a disservice if I didn’t try to reach out to her.” Luna said, turning to Twilight and blushing once more.

“So, now that we’re here, Luna, what are your plans?” I asked her.

“Now that we’re in Ponyville? Hmmm, well getting a job would be the first step. I’d rather not have a pony chose me over others simply because I am a princess, but I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter. I considered using a disguise to pretend I was a normal pony, but lying like that would be impossible for me to uphold.”

“Well, I believe the cakes are looking for another kitchen hand. Pinkie’s been inexplicably absent again, so they’re looking for another pony to pick up the slack. What do you say?”

“Hmmm…” The princess hummed contemplatively, bringing an idle hoof to her jaw. “I can’t say I ever imagined myself doing that before, but I’d be happy to try my hoof and see if it’s right for me.” She nodded, satisfied with her answer.

“Perfect! I’ll let the cakes know you’re interested, just don’t be surprised if they instantly accept your application. Anyone would love the publicity of having a princess work at their store.”

“Thank you for your help, Twilight. I really do appreciate you taking the effort to help me.”

“It’s my pleasure!” Twilight beamed at the now blushing princess.

I glanced over at Lily, who was smiling just as wide as Twilight was.

“So, my love, how was the party?” Lily playfully nudged me as we walked together back home. We had decided to leave a little earlier than most of the other party goers, and were now trotting side by side through the moonlit town. I breathed in and out and smiled up at my marefriend.

“It was nice. I’m really sorry for how I was before, I didn’t mean to freak out and panic like that.”

“Hey, don’t worry. Really, it’s not your fault you felt like that. Everyone has their fears, I guess I just need to understand you better.”

“Understand me better? You know me more than anyone else does. It’s not your fault that I try to avoid my problems rather than talking about them.” I said, rolling my eyes at my own stupidity. “I’m the one with the problem.”

“It’s not a “Problem”, it’s just a part of who you are. I’m hardly perfect, but I don’t view all my flaws as downsides. They’re just parts of what makes me who I am.”

“Yeah, you can say that when your flaws are “panics easily” and “beautiful beyond reason”.” I joked, nuzzling Lily’s side as we turned the corner. Off in the distance, I could see the familiar sight of our new house approaching. Or, I guess, our old house.

As we approached the door, I felt a calm spread over me. I knew that I had ended up having a good time at the party, but I wasn’t afraid to admit to myself that I was an introvert. I pushed the door open and we walked in together, flicking a switch to turn on the lights in the room. I breathed out a relieved sigh as we walked over to our couch and sat down together.

“Gotta say, it’s a lot easier to move around when you’re regular sized for the world you live in. I’ll miss a lot about earth, but I am not gonna miss having to struggle to get up on the couch.” Lily laughed, nuzzling up to me as we settled onto the couch.

“I think I’m gonna miss having a massive bed the most. You know firsthand how much I can writhe around in my sleep.”

“Waking up to a mouthful of hoof is just what I’ve grown to love from being with you.”

I laughed before we settled into a comfortable silence, just enjoying each other's presence. I sighed softly, looking around our home from the relaxation of the couch. It was extremely barebones right now, a box on the floor seemingly where all of our photo’s and decorations had been stored.

“Hey, do you think tomorrow we can-” I started looking up at my now snoring marefriend. I giggled softly, resting my head against her slowly rising chest before I let my own eyes flutter shut.