Chapter 85

Twilight’s news was quite the shocker.

Noticing the dumbfounded expression on the faces of the other girls, I responded in the only way the average dude knows how.

“Well it was nice knowing you ladies, but think it’s about time I hit the old dusty trail,” I announced nonchalantly as I stood from my chair, only to be engulfed in a lavender-coloured aura and hoisted from the ground.

Rendered immobile, I sighed and looked down at my feet, watching them wiggle helplessly above the grass. “OK, like…I was just kidding,” I explained, looking at Twilight, whose hand was outstretched, emitting a dull glow of its own.

“But…I-I simply cannot understand how this could have happened,” Rarity said, her voice rising in pitch as the reality of the situation began to set in.

Twilight raised her other hand suddenly, stopping the conversation. “Just…OK, you guys need to slow down and relax.”

“Relax?” I replied, feeling a twinge of frustration generated by her apparent lack of concern. “Do you not understand the significance here? This has NEVER happened before, so, uh...it’s kind of a big deal, no?”

“I said reLAX!” Twilight repeated firmly. “This is all irrelevant anyway.”

“I’m sorry, irrelevant?” I said, shaking my head in confusion. “In what possible way is this irrelevant?”

Twilight sat back in the chair and lowered her hand.

Without warning, the aura subsided and I dropped to the ground. Once my feet landed in the grass and I caught my balance, I looked at the lavender girl again, waiting for her response.

“Don’t worry, Golds. I’m not having a baby.”

A combination of relief and befuddlement came over me and I paused, raising an eyebrow.

Sunset sighed, closing her eyes as she sat back in her seat. “OK, I am officially confused.”

I glanced at Futtershy next. Her expression was also one of relief, however it was obvious that she too was puzzled by Twilight’s contradiction.

“I agree, darling,” Rarity said, rubbing her brow as I sat in my chair again. “You’re sort of…not making very much sense, I’m afraid.”

Twilight sighed, steepling her fingers in front of her chin as she considered how to go about explaining herself.

At last, she glanced around at the other girls. “When did I turn?” she asked. “Sometime in mid-August, right?”

“Yeah,” Sunset nodded. “Just before you attended that summer course.”

“Right, which would put me at about ten weeks, that is, if I was actually gestating,” —Twilight chuckled nervously— “and since most expecting mothers start to show around twelve weeks, it’s still too early for me to prove that I’m not actually growing a fetus from that alone. I did, however, visit the OB/GYN at the University Hospital for an ultrasound, which, as I predicted, showed nothing.”

Sunset rubbed her chin, ruminating on Twilight’s explanation when Rarity interjected.

“Perhaps you’ve miscarried, darling?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight replied, shaking her head. “For that to happen, the fetus would have to be mortal, which I seriously doubt would have been the case, given the parents. That’s only a hypothesis though; we are, after all, traveling unto undiscovered country here.”

“So what do you think happened?” Sunset asked.

Twilight cleared her throat, straightening up in the chair. “Well, let me ask you,” she offered, looking around at the three girls. “Have any of you taken a pregnancy test since you became immortal?”

Rarity, Fluttershy and Sunset took a moment to exchange glances, then shook their heads as they faced Twilight again.

“Well, when was it that you were turned? Sometime in May?” Twilight asked, to which Fluttershy and Rarity nodded. She pointed at Sunset next. “And Sunset, you were in June, correct?”

Sunset nodded.

“Alright, so I think we can all agree that IF any or all of you were also pregnant, you would definitely be showing by now, right?”

“Yeah, for sure.” Sunset nodded.

“Well,” Twilight said as she reached into her satchel again and produced a new pregnancy test, “this is your chance to prove your theory correct, Sunset.”

“My theory?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. The hypothesis that you came up with the day you found out about Fluttershy’s turn; wherein you stated that she must have conceived with Golds after their sexual activity that week, and that her Equestrian magic somehow ‘used’ the event to spread the immortality to her.”

Sunset put her hand out. “Hang on, Twi; that was just a theory that happened to fit the facts. I have no idea whether it was right or not.”

“Well, like I said: this is your chance —right now— to provide the evidence needed to prove your theory correct.” Twilight held the pregnancy test out, offering it to whomever would take it. “Any volunteers?” she asked, looking enthusiastically from one friend to the next.

Finally, after a moment of silent hesitation, it was Rarity who stood slowly and, without a word, took the package from Twilight and headed quietly into the house.

We sat for a short period in the fashionista’s absence, unsure of what to say to each other. I wasn’t sure how to feel at that point, and it was obvious by the looks on Fluttershy and Sunset’s faces that they didn’t either. Deep down, I knew it really didn’t matter; nothing was different after all, but the simple knowledge of what might have happened between me and these women made everything feel strange.

Sighing, I looked across the circle at Fluttershy. She seemed to sense that I was watching her and brought her eyes up, returning a nervous gaze to me. I gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned after a short hesitation, just as Sunset started talking.

“So,” she said, rubbing her hands together nervously. “Let’s say Rare comes out and tells us she’s pregnant, what does that mean?”

“Well,” Twilight said, scratching the back of her neck, “for starters, it probably means that you and Fluttershy are also ‘pregnant,’” she replied while doing air-quotes, “but in terms of the immortality, I believe it proves your hypothesis correct: that fertilization took place, but rather than creating a new life in the form of a fetus, the Equestrian magic took Golds’ power when his sperm cell fertilized her egg and used it to create a life of eternity, emulating his indestructibility and anti-aging properties.

“I believe...” Twilight continued, taking a short, thoughtful pause to rub her chin before starting over. “I believe that the exact moment of change happens when the fertilized egg implants itself in the uterus wall, which is why the pregnancy test shows positive since that is when the hormone ’human chorionic gonadotrophin’ becomes present in the urine, which is what the test is designed to detect. Once embedded in the womb, the cell becomes a part of us, and boom!” —she slammed her right fist into her left palm— “we become immortal, just like Golds.”

“Wait wait,” Sunset replied, waving Twilight down as she shook her head. “Two things; one: why doesn’t anything happen with people who don’t have Equestrian magic, and two: why does the fetus stop growing?”

“Hmm,” Twilight looked down at the ground as she considered the questions. It was interesting to see her mind in action; she was indeed very brilliant, and it was staggering to think about how much knowledge she would possess centuries later, given how much she knew already.

What will she know in 500 years?

“As for regular women not being affected: I don’t know. Obviously, the presence of our magic is the key to making it work; perhaps without it, the egg simply dies, or…” —she shook her head and shrugged— “There could be any number of reasons for it, but at this point, it’s only speculation.”

“Fair enough,” Sunset nodded. “Now what about the fetus? Why does it stop growing?”

Twilight turned to face me. “Well, when you look at Golds’ face, what do you see?”

Sunset snorted. “Depends on my mood.”

Twilight let out a playful giggle, covering her mouth with the backs of her fingers when she saw me narrow my eyes at the red-head. “Hehehe!…no seriously,” she chuckled, “What do you see, guys?”

I sat in silence as Sunset and Fluttershy looked me over, rubbing my chin patiently with my thumbnail as I waited, which in turn created a scraping sound against my stubble.

As the raspy sound travelled across the dormant fire pit toward the girls, Fluttershy’s eyes lit up suddenly and she pointed a slender, yellow finger in my direction. “Oh! His whiskers!”

“That’s right, Fluttershy,” Twilight replied, “Golds’ five o’clock shadow. It’s always there; he can’t shave it off, and it never grows. It’s just there, and it has been for thousands of years.”

Sunset shrugged. “I just thought that's cuz he’s a slob,” she teased, giving me a playful wink.

“Hey, why don’t you go fuck yourself, Sunny?” I fired back, returning the wink.

She folded her arms. “I would, but I don’t feel like getting yelled at.”

“Oooh,” I shook my head slowly, looking down at the grass. “There’s another one who‘s not getting any breakfast.”

After another round of quiet laughter, Twilight cut in to continue her explanation. “OK you two, that’s enough,” she chuckled. “So anyway, I believe that explains why the fetus stops growing. Once the immortality takes effect, we no longer grow new cells, nor do we shed dead ones. We just stop, and this is exactly how we stay. Forever.”

“So, we’re basically gonna be stuck at the exact moment of conception for all time?” Sunset asked.

“Yeah. That’s one way of putting it.”

“Hmm…” Sunset raised an eyebrow. “You know, that actually works out in our favour with the suits.”

“I’m sorry?” Twilight replied, furrowing her brow.

“Well,” Sunset looked upward, scratching her earlobe, “I mean, once we start going out and fighting crime and doing regular patrols, it will make it a lot easier to keep our identities hidden if there’s no chance of leaving hairs or any other type of DNA behind. From a forensics standpoint, that puts anyone looking for us at a serious disadvantage if the police —or any potential enemies— are trying to figure out who we are.”

“Ah, you’re right, Sunset,” Twilight agreed. “That’s actually incredibly convenient for us.”

A moment later, we heard crisp footsteps coming from the side of the house; a distinct sound, created by smooth and elegant strides that only the fashionista could pull off. The four of us turned to see her approaching with an expressionless face. She stopped between Fluttershy and Twilight and paused, glancing silently at each of us.

“Well…” said the indigo-haired girl, finally.

“Uh…well, what?” Sunset replied, raising an eyebrow.

Rarity looked at the girls rather sternly. “Why are you all just sitting around? Shouldn’t you be planning my baby shower?”

Fluttershy gasped deeply, covering her mouth with both hands as Twilight clapped excitedly.

“Yes! I KNEW it!” she cheered as a smirking Rarity handed her the positive test for inspection.

Sunset shook her head in disbelief. “So, that means me and Flutters are probably pregnant too, right?”

Twilight looked up from the test and nodded. “Well...you would test positive for it, but yes, I can pretty much guarantee it. Unfortunately, I only brought one test, so we’ll have to have you guys confirm it some other time.”

“I’m afraid I don’t quite understand, Twilight,” Rarity confessed as she stepped past the lavender-skinned girl to return to her chair.

Twilight then proceeded to explain the entire concept that she’d just presented to us during Rarity’s absence. I was thankful actually; hearing it second time gave me the chance to re-absorb some of the finer details, and with a better understanding of the theory, I had to admit that what Twilight was saying made perfect sense and was more than likely one hundred percent correct.

“…so you see,” Twilight concluded, “once the fertilized cell became embedded, you ceased to be the old, mortal Rarity and are now —and will always be— immortal Rarity.”

“Hmm,” the fashionista rubbed her chin. “So, would you say I’m not really me anymore?”

“Well, you’re you,” Twilight replied, “just not the same you. Technically, you are no longer human; you are something different. Something new.” She gestured to the other girls before continuing. “We all are, and it all started with Fluttershy. She was the first.”

“What about me?” I asked. “I was technically first. Waaaaaay first, actually.”

“True, but you aren’t exactly like us,” Twilight replied. “You don’t have Equestrian magic. Plus, the means through which you were created are still unknown to us, as well as your actual age.”

I paused, then nodded in agreement. “Right.”

“However,” Twilight continued, “in a way, you have fathered the creation of our immortal selves,” —she stopped to think for a moment— “and I guess that would make our mortal selves our mothers...kind of.”

Rarity looked at me suddenly, her eyes lighting up as she placed her fingertips in front of her mouth. “Ooh! So does that make you, in a sense, my father?”

I shook my head quickly, scowling. “No, no it does not.”

She pushed her bottom lip out and left her seat, gazing at me with a pair of big, blue puppy dog eyes as she came over to my chair and sat her purple-skirted fanny on my lap. “Tell me Golds, is it OK if I call you Daddy?”

“Hey, whoa! No no, don’t start that. That is just…just…no.” I shook my head, cringing furiously.

The other girls snickered quietly as the fashionista snuggled closer to me. She wrapped her arm around the back of my neck for a hug, mashing her soft, warm breast against my cheek. “Ohh, please Daddy!” she whined.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “What was wrong with ‘darling?’ I liked darling just fine.”

“I think ‘Daddy’ is cute,” Fluttershy giggled, prompting me to lean over to glare past Rarity at her.

“Don’t encourage her, you!”

“Awww,” Rarity cooed, leaning down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “Not to worry, you’ll get used to it,” she giggled.

“God dammit,” I whispered to myself, shaking my head as Rarity stood and headed back to her own seat. Instinctively, my eyes were drawn to her rear-end as she sauntered away, hypnotizing me with that violet skirt as it swung from her hips with each elegant, yet suggestive stride. Before she was out of reach, however, I decided she needed some fatherly discipline, so I leaned over and swung an open hand, giving her a firm spank on the ass.

“OOH!” Rarity squealed as she cupped her hands over her backside, jumping nearly a foot into the air. “DADDY!”

An exasperated groan began to emanate from the open bedroom window, followed by Rainbow Dash’s groggy voice. “Aargh…will you fucking weirdos keep it down out there?”

The five of us bit our lips and ducked our heads as we laughed silently at the outburst, hoping that by morning she’d have forgotten about what she heard and wouldn’t ask any questions.

It took a few moments to compose ourselves before we could continue the conversation.

Sunset, wiping a tear from her eye, was the first to speak. “So Twi, haha…are you excited about training with Golds?”

Twilight nodded; a smirk remained on her face as she answered. “Oh absolutely, I can’t wait! I believe I’ve done an adequate job on the assignment that Rarity gave me,” —she turned to face me— “and I think I’m ready to begin whenever you are, Golds.”

“One question:” I replied, “how’s this going to work with you being away at school?”

Twilight rubbed her chin, staring thoughtfully at the ground. “Umm…well, for now, it’ll just have to be on the weekends. It’s too far to make the trip out here every night of the week.”

I nodded. “That’s fine. It’ll take a little longer that way, but we’ll just have to work around it,” I said. “So what kind of homework did Rare give you?”

“Well,” Twilight replied, sitting up in her chair and resting her hands on her knees, looking quite studious. “She said I needed to improve my presence and learn to have a more confident stance, but most importantly...“

As Twilight spoke, Sunset looked to the ground on her right and spied a fairly large twig; roughly a foot long and about an inch thick, with a surprising straightness that made it an ideal throwing weapon. With a mischievous smirk, she leaned down and plucked the stick from the grass, then wound her arm up, ready to launch it at her friend.

A test, if you will.

“Twi!” the red-head shouted, throwing the stick simultaneously.

Twilight, without breaking her sentence, glanced at Sunset as the stick rocketed towards her. With a level of casualness that was almost comical, she raised her index and middle fingers, engulfing the projectile in a lavender aura, stopping it less than a foot from her face as she continued speaking. “...most importantly, she told me I had to let go of my fear of pain so I could learn to avoid flinching,” she finished, waving her fingers in a circle.

The stick spun around in response, and then quickly fired back towards Sunset.

With a smirk —and without even blinking— Sunset quickly swung her hand and swatted the stick to the ground beside her chair. “Not bad,” she complimented, raising her brows and nodding as she faced Fluttershy, who was looking back at her with an impressed smile of her own.

“Yes, good on you, darling. Bravo!” Rarity added, with a golf clap.

“How did you do that on your own, though?” I asked. “You didn’t have any help, did you?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. Given the trouble that Fluttershy was going through, I made sure to keep these endeavors to myself.”

I nodded. “Good idea. So how did you teach yourself not to flinch? I mean, you need to be attacked unexpectedly, and you obviously can’t do that yourself.”

“Actually, you can,” she replied, “with the right equipment, that is.”

“Equipment?”

“I built an apparatus,” she explained, “consisting of a stand, a heavy torsion spring, a release mechanism…and a two-by-four.”

I let out a chuckle, shaking my head as I glanced at Sunset. “I think I see where this is going.”

Twilight giggled in reply. “A simple concept, really. It stands next to my reading desk, and the two-by-four is attached to a swing arm, which is loaded with the tension from the spring —which I have to reset manually every time, but it works fine, I guess— and finally, the release mechanism triggers the attack. The nice thing about it is I can kill two birds with one stone;” —I glanced at Fluttershy when Twilight said this, noting the look of disapproval on her face after hearing the analogy as the lavender-skinned girl continued, blissfully unaware of her foible— “I can still spend most of my time reading, AND re-train my instincts at the same time.”

“Hang on,” I said, scratching my head, “how does the release mechanism work? It needs to be automatic so you don’t expect it, right?”

“Yes, I realise that,” she nodded. “It does attack by itself, and at random intervals.”

“How’d you accomplish that?”

“Well, the release mechanism is a large twelve volt solenoid, powered by an automotive battery that sits at the base to help anchor it —cuz it does rock quite a bit when the two-by-four swings— but anyway, the solenoid is triggered by a programmable control module that I set to go off at random times. For example: after I reset it, it might go off again in two minutes or it might go off in two hours; that way it keeps me on my toes.”

“Hm,” I said, chewing my lip. “So…what, you just sit at your desk and read, and this thing just randomly cracks you in the head?”

“Yup,” she giggled. “Pretty much.”

“Hm.” I gave a nod of approval. “Very clever. Unorthodox, but clever.”

I could just see Twilight’s cheeks flushing in the moonlight. She smiled bashfully, looking down as her hands fidgeted in her lap.

“It obviously worked; I mean, the way you countered Sunny’s attack just now proves it,” I continued. “That was pretty impressive.”

“Do you wanna see it?” Twilight asked, pulling her phone from her shoulder bag. “The device, I mean.”

“Sure,” I replied, leaving my seat to squat down beside hers while she brought the images up on her phone.

“Just a sec,” she said as she searched through her library, pausing to look around at the other girls. “Come see, you guys.”

Fluttershy stood and carried her chair closer, plopping it down next to her lavender friend as Sunset walked behind to look over Twilight’s shoulder. Rarity shifted her chair towards us and leaned against me, resting her head on my shoulder as the image loaded on the small, bright screen.

Right away, I noticed a play button in the middle of the shot. “Oh, this is a video?”

“Yes it is,” Twilight replied. “I recorded the majority of them so I could review the footage later for data collection.”

Sunset snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Because we’re best friends, Sunset. You know how I am; we’ve known each other for years, and now, will continue to do so for centuries,” Twilight replied very matter-of-factly as she hit the play button.

The video started. All it consisted of was a fairly close side-view shot of Twilight, sitting at her desk, reading a book. There was a laptop in front of her, which was closed, along with a desk lamp not far beyond that, giving her just enough light to read by. I could see the machine’s stand in the background; however, the majority of it was out of the shot.

We all watched the video in silence, waiting for the contraption to do its thing.

A few moments went by, and nothing happened, other than Twilight turning the page—or rather, the page turned itself, leavening a faint lavender trail in its wake.

“Sorry guys,” she sighed. “I still have to cut some of these clips down so it’s not so hard to locate the event.”

“Are you sure this isn’t some fetish video you made?” Sunset asked, nudging Twilight’s shoulder. “You know, so you can touch yourself to videos of you reading?”

“No Sunset,” Twilight huffed, “I told you before, I don’t touch myself to videos of me reading!”

Sunset laughed. “Yeah you do, Twi,” —she put her fingers between her legs to pretend she was masturbating— "you watch them and you’re all like: ’aww yeah, that's right; read that book, you bitch!’"

“Shh!" Twilight replied dismissively, "I think this is it; watch closely, guys.”

All of us leaned in as Sunset continued to snicker to herself, watching intently to see the machine in action.

And see it, we did.

There was a sudden click, followed by the stand rattling noisily as the length of wood swung into view so fast it was hardly visible. It connected at full speed with Twilight’s forehead, who was still looking down at the book, having had no time to react.

CRACK!

“AAAH!”

She was knocked clean off the chair and quickly disappeared from sight, followed by a thump as she hit the floor out of the camera’s view.

All of us, except for Twilight, recoiled in horror and then cringed.

“OH!” I shouted, shocked by the ruthless force her machine had dealt.

“Goodness!” Fluttershy added, hands over her mouth.

“That thing’s got some serious fuckin gusto,” I said, looking at Twilight, who raised her eyebrows in response.

“Tell me about it. In fact, I am fairly certain it would be lethal to an ordinary human, or at least capable of inflicting serious trauma. In retrospect, I probably would have been fine with a lighter torsion spring, but it’s built now, so I guess it is what it is.”

I brought my attention back to the video. Just before it ended, I heard a voice in the background.

”Twilight! Are you OK?”

“Hey!” I said quickly, looking at the lavender girl. “Who was that? I thought you said no one else knew about this?”

“Oh, that’s just Spike,” she replied nonchalantly. “You don’t need to worry about him.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow. “What, is he a friend, or….?”

“Uh, you could say that,” she answered, somewhat evasively.

“Oh, I miss Spike,” Fluttershy interjected, softly. “How is he?”

“Uhh,” Twilight paused, looking unsure of how to answer. “He’s...OK, I guess. I can’t really take him out much anymore though; he’s gotten a bit…antisocial in his old age.”

“And perverted,” Rarity added dryly.

Twilight huffed suddenly, letting her head drop to cup her palms over her forehead. “Look Rarity, I don’t know how many more times I can apologise for that!”

“I’m actually gonna back Rare up on this one,” Sunset cut in. “I’ve had to stop wearing skirts around him altogether lately.”

“I told you guys before, he can’t help it,” Twilight defended, shaking her head. “Just…nevermind. Let’s move on to the high-speed footage.”

Raising an eyebrow, I gave an admiring smirk to the young scientist. “You took high-speed footage too?”

“I did!” she replied enthusiastically. ”I was able to convince my professor to let me borrow a Phantom VEO-410 for ‘research purposes’” —she did air quotes while saying this— “and I set it up alongside the regular camera so I could more accurately observe my reaction times.”

“Huh, this outta be interesting,” I chuckled.

Twilight’s eyebrows jumped up. “Oh…it certainly is,” she replied as she loaded the next video. “Now, these videos are cut down to isolate the events themselves; because they were filmed at fifty-eight hundred frames per second, watching a five second clip actually takes about twenty minutes, so cutting it down to the event only is a must.”

“Cool. Let’s see it,” I said.

She pressed play.

“Um, this was about a week after the clip we just saw,” she explained. “Now, in the first one, even at regular speed, it was obvious that I hadn’t reacted at all before the two-by-four hit me, however, in this one, I…well, just watch and see.”

After watching her for a second, enjoying her enthusiasm, I shifted my eyes to her phone to watch the video.

At first, there was only stillness. Like before, a side-view of Twilight could be seen, sitting and reading at her desk. The machine was in the background, as before.

“Are you sure it’s playi-“ I started to say, but stopped when I heard a deep, echoing clang; a slowed down version of the solenoid releasing the lock pin, followed by a deep creak as the stand slowly flexed in the background. The two-by-four came into view soon after, looking more like a wet noodle as it hovered slowly-but-surely towards the reading girl from the right side of the screen.

“Holy shit,” Sunset exclaimed, “you can actually see the wood flexing!”

When the board was about two-thirds of the way through its sweep, Twilight’s eyes crept up to meet it, after which they slowly closed and her head began to turn. Her face transitioned into a grimace as she moved to avoid the impact, but it was clear that her reaction was far too late.

The five of us watched in silence as the two-by-four slowly collided with the lavender girl’s temple, jarring her head rather violently to the side. A shockwave of lavender skin began to ripple across her face, causing her features —her nose, cheeks and lips— to wobble like jelly under the impact, sending them around the side of her head to a degree that I didn’t think was possible.

In all honesty, it looked bizarre and quite comical, and I found myself having to bite my lips to keep myself from snickering. When that didn’t work, I covered my mouth and turned away for a second to have a quiet laugh.

Twilight heard it, and she turned to look at me.

I could see her out the corner of my eye. Knowing I was caught, I turned back to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh, it’s just-“

“It’s OK,” she cut in, giggling. “I had quite a few chuckles over it myself when I reviewed the footage for the first time.”

“I can’t believe how much a person’s face can move,” Sunset snorted as I brought my focus back to the screen, only to be shocked by what I saw.

A jagged crack had divided the two-by-four in half, and it was now surrounded by a myriad of tiny wooden splinters that floated though the air in all directions; spinning, twirling and colliding with one another, all suspended in the frame by the camera's manipulation of time.

“Whoa, you broke the two-by-four?” I chuckled in amazement, glancing at Twilight again.

“Oh, yeah,” she replied, with a casual air that made the other girls snicker. “I’ve broken a few of them. I think I’m currently on board number…five, is it?”

“Wow,” I chuckled as Twilight exited the video before it was done.

“Well, you get the idea,” she said, scrolling through the menu in search of another. “So, in the first video, you noticed that I didn’t react at all before the board hit me, and in the second one, I started to react, but was obviously still too slow. If fact, it hit me right in the temple because I had my head turned, which would be even worse for a mortal person; pretty much a guaranteed instant death.”

The mention of death caught my attention. “Hey, do you have roommates?” I asked.

“Yes I do,” she replied quickly, then put her finger up. “And I know what you’re thinking; and yes, I disassembled the machine and put it away before I left.” She sent a quick glance my way before continuing. “The last thing I need is to hear that someone got clobbered while I was away,” she said as she scrolled through some more videos. “Ah! Here…”

As she tapped another video thumbnail and waited for it to load, Twilight turned to me again to explain the next piece of footage. “OK,” she said, letting out a long exhale before continuing, “this footage was taken only two days ago; one day before you guys came home with Fluttershy.”

Once again, she tapped the play button and the video began, very much the same as the others: with Twilight sitting at her desk, reading. As before, the pin released and the two-by-four swung into view —clearly a new two-by-four as mentioned by her a moment ago, evidenced by a distinctly different grain— this time, however, when the wood was only a third of the way through its swing, she had already begun to duck her head to the side, leaning towards the camera; her face scrunched up, her teeth gritted, her eyes squeezed shut as her hair floated around her face, held in place by the prolonged effect of the camera.

This time, she was successful.

The board passed just above her head, barely grazing her hair as she continued to spill slowly out of the chair, after which she presumably stumbled towards the camera.

“Nice,” I said, giving an impressed nod as she stopped the video.

“Heh, thanks. It’s nice, actually; not having to hear the impact of wood ringing through my skull,” she chuckled. “It may not hurt, but it’s still quite jarring and unpleasant being hit like that.”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. After her recent experiences, she knew exactly what Twilight was talking about.

“So,” Twilight continued. “With this footage, I was able to precisely gauge the difference in my reflexes before and after the therapy.”

“Therapy?” I laughed.

Twilight replied with a giggle. “You know what I mean,” she replied, elbowing my shoulder. “Anyway, from the time of the first clip I showed you to the one we just watched, I’ve concluded that my reaction time has been consistently reduced by approximately two hundred and eighty-seven percent.”

“That’s amazing, Twilight!” Fluttershy softly congratulated her friend, giving her knee a light squeeze and a shake.

“Yeah, that’s awesome, Twi,” Sunset agreed.

I looked down at Rarity, whose temple was still on my shoulder. “And thank you,” I said softly.

She tilted her face up, locking those big sapphire eyes onto mine. “Me?”

“Yeah, you got Twi started, and she figured out a way —brilliantly, I might add— to complete her own no-flinch training,” I explained. “That is a HUGE time saver for me.”

Rarity closed her eyes and smiled contently as I leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. “Awww, thank-you darli-…I mean, Daddy.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, followed by a roll of my eyes as I turned back to face Twilight, drawing a playful giggle from the fashionista.

Twilight was watching us with a smirk on her face when I met eyes with her, after which she looked down at her phone again. “Did you wanna see that last one in real time?”

“Sure.”

She opened another video, and was about to tap the play button when she stopped and raised her finger. “OK, just bear in mind, the time between this attack and the previous one was about an hour and fifty-seven minutes, and I was fully engrossed in this report that I was reading, which detailed the establishment and long-term culture of cell lines derived from gonad tissues of Siberian sturgeon. Quite fascinating, really; did you know that-“

“Twi! Focus!” Sunset cut her off, knowing full well of her friend’s tendency to get sidetracked.

Twilight turned to her right to glance up at the red-head, then returned her attention to the phone. “Right. Sorry,” she said, tapping the play button. “OK, just remember: this is after nearly two hours of reading.”

The video began in real time, and at a slightly different angle, due to being filmed with the other camera. She was at the desk, reading as before when suddenly, the machine clicked and the length of wood whipped across the screen.

Seeing her avoid it in slow motion was one thing, but in real time, it was a whole different experience, and already knowing she succeeded made it no less breathtaking to watch. The sheer instantaneousness of it, the unmatched precision; it was truly staggering to see her sitting and reading contently one second and then ducking her head to the right the next, missing the wood by mere millimeters as she stumbled from the chair and turned to look at the desk afterward, her back blocking the view of the camera.

Her shaky breathing could be heard over the camera’s microphone as she stood and stared quietly at the deadly object that bisected her reading space, where her head had been only seconds earlier.

”W-whoa,” she said in a shaky voice. Then she turned and bent down, leaning on her knees as she looked directly into the camera. “Another successful avoidance…” She let her head hang down for a second to give it a quick shake; then, after a short pause, looked into the camera again and held her hand up with her fingers splayed. ”That’s five in a row now,” she said, followed by a quiet chortle.

“Wow,” I said as she ended the video. “You managed to dodge it five times?”

She nodded.

“Heh...I won’t lie, that’s pretty fuckin impressive,” I said, holding my hand out for a five.

Twilight giggled as she swung her hand down to strike mine, after which she put her phone away. “I didn’t even think it was humanly possible to have reflexes that fast, and yet there it is.”

I pointed past Twilight at the shy girl. “She’s the one to beat; right there.”

Twilight glanced at Fluttershy briefly and then back at me, surprised. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded, “Flutters’ reaction times are absolutely ridiculous.”

Fluttershy, being her typical self, ducked her head and hid behind her hair; the dark redness on her cheeks barely visible in the dim light.

“You say it’s not humanly possible,” Rarity interjected, lifting her head from my shoulder. “But you’re forgetting something, darling: we’re no longer human. You said so yourself.”

Twilight looked at the fashionista. “You’re absolutely right, Rarity. We need to be careful not to think of ourselves simply as humans who cannot be destroyed. There’s no telling what sort of abilities and thought processes we’re capable of now, given that many of our survival instincts are now obsolete, as well as god-knows what else…” Twilight paused for a second, then cleared her throat before continuing. “Like our sexual habits, for example.”

Rarity suddenly looked nervous, as did Fluttershy, whose eyes were wide and darting around the yard.

“I uh…er…” Rarity began as her fingers began to fidget, but was cut off by Twilight.

“It’s OK, you guys. I’m not judging,” she said with a comforting smile. “Sunset told me about your little soirée last night, which, by the way, Rarity,” —Twilight pointed a finger at the fashionista— “if I could make a suggestion: if you intend to continue such activities, you may want to consider having your bed Scotchgarded.”

“Oh,” Rarity stuck her nose up gave her bangs a proud flick. “Not to worry, I’ve already made the appointment, darling.”

Sunset scowled. “Wait a minute, Rare; you’re having someone come in to…Scotchgard your bed?”

“Yes, and?”

Sunset shrugged, giving Rarity a sideways glare. “Uh…you know, it’s not gonna be too hard for them to figure out what it’s for.”

Rarity drew a breath to respond, but then paused for a moment to rub her chin. “Hmm, you may be right,” she said, looking back at the red-head. “Perhaps I should look into a ‘do it yourself’ kit.”

“You mean like the spray cans you can buy pretty much anywhere? Probably a good idea.” Sunset replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.

“OK, so anyway,” Twilight continued, “back to what I was saying before: I believe it is irresponsible to assume that our transformations haven’t changed us in more ways than we’ve realised. We’ve already observed several differences in our behaviour; a killer instinct, heightened awareness and reflexes, a higher propensity for violence, heightened sexuality and freedom from insecurity—and who knows what else.”

“I agree one hundred percent, darling. I have noticed that the more time I spend in this form, the more differences I’ve seen in my behaviour,” Rarity said, straightening up in her chair with a giggle. “Especially last night!”

“Yeah, last night was…different, that’s for sure,” Sunset agreed, scratching her earlobe.

“I think it’s wonderful!” Fluttershy interjected, out of nowhere.

“What d’you mean, darling?”

“Oh, like…us not being jealous anymore; wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could fall in love with each other and just be happy? I think it’s beautiful,” the shy girl explained, folding her hands and nuzzling them to her cheek.

“Hm...it’s a nice thought, Flutters,” Sunset replied, “but I don’t think all of us are gonna end up falling in love with each other if we all turn. I mean…not everyone clicks, you know? That's just how it is.”

“I agree,” Rarity added. “I simply cannot picture myself being romantic with, say…Rainbow Dash, for example. Don’t get me wrong; she’s a wonderful friend, and I couldn’t picture my life without her, but that’s just…” —the fashionista shook her head, eyes closed— “No. Certainly not.”

“Ohh,” Fluttershy let her head droop, looking slightly dejected.

Noticing the reaction, Rarity gave her girlfriend a reassuring smile. “It really is a lovely thought, Fluttershy, and you are a sweetheart for thinking it; that’s one of the reasons I love you so much.”

The shy girl returned the smile to Rarity. “Aww, thanks Rare.”

“We really can’t say anything for sure right now, guys,” Twilight concluded, “like I said before: we’re traveling into unknown territory here. Who knows the things we’ll learn and feel once our survival and reproductive instincts become truly superfluous; for all we know, we could be on the cusp of a major evolutionary leap forward.”

Rarity nodded her agreement, shaking her finger at Twilight. “Absolutely, darling. I truly believe that we are the future, and perhaps one day the eight of us will be the watchers of this entire world.”

I stood and chuckled, giving the fashionista’s hand a squeeze before heading back to my chair.

“What’s so funny, Daddy?” she asked, raising a brow.

“It’s a nice thought,” I replied as I flopped into my chair and faced the indigo-haired beauty. “But the world will never be perfect. It doesn’t matter how powerful you are; you can’t control the masses, and you can’t stop people from doing or saying what they want. I’ve been there, and trust me,” —I shook my head— “it doesn’t work.”

“I didn’t mean we should rule them, I was only saying-“

“Guys,” Sunset cut in as she returned to her seat. “We don’t need to worry about the world right now. We’re not even all turned yet. Let’s just focus on training and looking after Canterlot for now.”

“Hm,” Rarity hummed. “I suppose I was jumping the gun a bit there.”

Sunset sat forward, leaning on her thighs with her elbows. “I, for one, can’t wait to suit-up and go out and make a difference. Even if it’s a small one, every little bit helps.”

“Agreed,” Rarity replied enthusiastically. “Even if you only help one person, the look of gratitude on their face makes it all worthwhile. I’ve seen it myself, and I simply cannot turn my back now that I know what goes on in that city every night.”

“We should go out this week,” Sunset suggested. “You show us the ropes, Rare, and then we can take shifts after that; you, then me, then Flutters, and-“

Unexpectedly, Fluttershy cut in.

“No!”

Sunset stopped and looked at the shy girl, wide-eyed with shock. “Huh? What do you mean, ‘no’?”

“I don’t wanna do it,” Fluttershy said as she rubbed her forearm, hiding behind her hair.

“Why not, darling?”

“I…I don’t wanna live a life of violence anymore. I’ve had more than my share already, and I just w-want to go back to the way things were; taking care of the animals at the shelter and, um…spending time with you guys.”

There was a long silence, during which everyone exchanged surprised glances.

Sunset was the first to speak. “But Flutters, we could use someone like you. You’ve got some serious skills and-“

“I-I’m sorry, Sunset,” the shy girl cut in, “but I just don’t want it. I’m really sorry.”

After another pause, Rarity let out a sigh. “Oh darling, you needn’t be sorry,” she said, giving her girlfriend a reassuring smile. “If you don’t want to do it, then who are we to force you? Above all else, all I want is for you to be happy.”

Fluttershy, with a flattered expression, gave a loving smile to Rarity. “Aw, thank-you Rare. You’re so good to me.”

“Always,” Rarity said. “While I had been looking forward to roaming the streets at night with you, I shall find a way to manage. And if you ever change your mind, your suit will be waiting for you.”

Fluttershy nodded and smiled.

“Well,” Sunset sighed, “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, Flutters, but I guess I can’t blame you after all the shit you’ve been through.” She then gestured to Rarity and me. “The three of us will manage until Twi is ready to join us.”

“Whoa,” Twilight replied quickly. “I can’t come?”

“Not until you’re ready, darling,” Rarity replied, reaching out to pat the lavender arm of her friend. “While it’s true that you’ve been out once already, it certainly wasn’t without it’s…*ahem*…booboos?”

Twilight paused, then let out a disappointed sigh.

“I’m truly sorry, Twilight,” Rarity continued, “but the only reason I brought you with me that night was because I was desperate for some company.”

Twilight gave a sombre nod. “It’s OK,” she said, following up with a smirk. “It’s not like we’re short on time anyway, right?”

“Precisely, my dear,” Rarity smirked, turning to me. “I suppose I should get your measurements so I can start coming up with a suit for you, right Daddy?”

I shook my head. “Stop calling me Daddy, first off; and second off,” —I pointed at Fluttershy— “I’m with Flutters on this one. I don’t wanna do it either.”

“WHAT?” Sunset shouted, scowling fiercely. “You’re fucking bailing on us?”

“I’m not bailing, Sunny,” I defended. “I’m still gonna be here. I’ll keep training you guys, and you can always come to me for advice and support, or if you need help with some strategies; and if you ever get into trouble that you can’t handle on your own, don’t think I won’t come and help, cuz I will.”

“But darling, you’re the best of us! You simply must be a part of the team.”

I shook my head. “I’ve seen plenty on violence over the centuries, and I don’t really want to invite more onto myself if I don’t need to.”

“But,” Sunset put her hand out in protest, “the mission, all of the-“

“I did that because I had to, Sunny. Not because I wanted to,” I interrupted. “To be honest, I hated it. I mean, hanging out with you was cool and all, but having to deal with all of their technology —fuckin cameras n’ shit everywhere, having to sneak around and ask for help— that’s not me, and that’s not how I like to do things. I like to attack my problems head-on, and it bugged the hell out of me that I couldn’t.”

“But you still did it, and you did it well,” Sunset countered, “I mean, you played those guys right into our hands like a…a…” —she shook her head in frustration— “I don’t know, but it was friggin brilliant. I can’t believe you don’t wanna do this with us!”

Rarity interjected next. “I’m afraid I must disagree with you, Daddy,” she said. “I think this mission did you well. Ever since you’ve returned home, I’ve noticed a difference in your presence. You seem to be giving off some sort of…energy, perhaps? I don’t know what it is, but I’m certain it’s there, and I rather enjoy it.”

I waved her off. “It’s just your imagination, Rare. You’re just excited that we’re home, which is totally understandable. And for the love of god, stop…calling…me…DADDY!”

Rarity huffed and folded her arms as Fluttershy spoke up.

“Um, you guys shouldn’t make him feel bad. He’s had a long life and he’s been through enough; more than we can imagine.”

Sunset tipped her head back and sighed in frustration. She knew that Fluttershy was right, having seen many of my past events firsthand through her magic. “Fine. Looks like it’s just me and you for now, Rare.”

“Hm.” Rarity shook her head, looking disappointed. “Well, I suppose it’s better than doing it alone,” she replied, flashing Sunset a smile. “I look forward to working with you, darling.”

We spent the next several minutes sitting in silence, listening to the sounds of the surrounding forest. It was awkward, knowing that Sunset an Rarity were clearly disappointed by Fluttershy and me not wanting to join them in their adventures, but like Fluttershy, I’d had enough running around and all I wanted was to spend quality time with her in peace.

It was Sunset who finally broke the silence with a chuckle. “Hey, you guys remember going to bed at night?”

This statement elicited a giggle from the others.

“Indeed I do, darling,” Rarity replied with a limp-wristed wave and a roll of her eyes. “But sleep has become SO passé these days!”

“You don’t miss it?” Sunset replied. “You know, after a long day and you were just beat and you could hardly keep your eyes open, but when you finally got to crawl into that warm, cozy bed and finally let yourself doze off…” —she paused to let her eyes roll back— “Oooh…that was such a great feeling.”

“And let’s not forget that big stretch when you wake up,” Twilight added. “That was always such a great way to start the morning; feeling so fresh and loose, ready to take on another day.”

Rarity stroked her chin gently, reminiscing on the days of being a mortal, and the ups and downs that came with it. “You two raise a good point. I for one, do miss going to the spa.”

“You don’t go anymore?” Sunset asked.

“I can’t,” Rarity shook her head. “They will sense something is amiss when they are unable to cut my nails or file my heels; and to be honest, I really don’t feel the need because I don’t get tense or sore anymore.”

“Hm, I never thought of that,” Sunset replied.

Listening to their conversation, I began to stare vacantly at the ground as a strange epiphany came over me: even after all my years here, all the things I’ve seen, done, learned, experienced, I can’t even fathom something as simple as a stretch.

What was so great about it? What did it feel like?

As the conversation continued, I began to feel a weight pressing on my chest.

Guilt.

These things that the girls were talking about, things that they had once enjoyed were now gone, and I was the one who took it from them. What else could they be missing out on? Could they harbour resentment about it one day?

As these thoughts filled my mind, I became so distracted that I didn’t even notice Fluttershy standing before me; not until I felt her weight come to rest on my lap.

Caught off-guard, I brought my eyes up to look at her. “Oh, hey Flutters.”

She smiled back and leaned closer to wrap her arm around my shoulders, letting the side of her breast press against my cheek. “Are you OK?” she asked. “You look sad.”

Surprised by her observance, I didn’t respond immediately. It struck me how she was able to pick up on my mood like this, and it suddenly dawned on me that I’d forgotten how much time she and I had spent together. Being alone with Sunset for a month had caused me to forget that Fluttershy and I were like two peas in a pod.

She knew me better than anyone.

A soft giggle sounded from the shy girl’s chest, resonating through her jiggling breast and into my head as her warmth began to soak into my cheek. “Hello?” she said, dipping her head to look into my eyes. “Are you home?”

“Uh, yeah,” I smirked, snapping myself out of the daze. “Sorry, I uh…spaced a little.”

“You look like you’re feeling left out,” she continued.

She was right.

“Uh, maybe a little.” I rested my hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You guys are talking about stuff that I don’t really know much about.”

“I’m sorry, Goldie,” she replied. “We didn’t mean to-“

“It’s OK,” I said. “You don’t have to apologise.”

She took a moment to glance around at the other girls as they talked, then turned back to me with a smile. “Um, do you want to go for a walk with me?”

Her request surprised me and I stared back at her, somewhat stupidly.

“I mean,” she continued, “those guys are talking about that stuff, and I want you to have a good time too, so I thought maybe-“

“OK,” I nodded, not letting her finish. “Sounds nice. Let’s go.”

She smiled and we both stood. Fluttershy took my hand and led me across the yard toward the forest. “So, um…you really don’t want to go out with Sunset and Rare?” she asked softly.

I shook my head. “Nah, at least not right now. All I really want is to relax and spend time with you.”

She looked up at me with her brows raised, followed by a smile as she buried her head against my shoulder. “Aww…me too.”

Just as we were about to step into the tree line, we were stopped by the sound of Rarity’s voice.

“Oh Fluttershy, darling! I had a few questions about your wings: I was just thinking I should make some alterations to your suit to accommodate them, just in case they decide to 'pop' up again, and since you don’t plan on using it right away, I suppose now is the best time to do it.”

Fluttershy sighed and looked back at me, unsure of what to do.

“It’s OK,” I said, giving her hand a squeeze. “Go ahead, I’ll be fine.”

A small grimace appeared on her face, one that told me that she was reluctant to leave my side.

“Am I interrupting you two?” Rarity asked, looking concerned.

“No Rare, it’s fine,” I replied, letting go of Fluttershy’s hand to pat her on the shoulder. “Go,” I whispered.

She nodded, and then folded her hands as she turned to head for her girlfriend, but on her way, she stopped next to Sunset’s chair and bent down to speak.

“Um, Sunset?”

“Yeah?” Sunset replied, turning to face the shy girl.

“W-would you mind taking Goldie for a walk?”

Sunset stared at Fluttershy for a few seconds, unprepared for the request. She glanced at me next, then back at the shy girl with a smirk on her face. “Sure.”

“Oh thank-you, Sunset!” Fluttershy cooed, clasping her hands in front of her chest as Sunset rose from the chair. “You’re the best. Um, have fun, OK?”

“Will do,” Sunset replied as she approached me. “So where are we going, Golds?”

I pointed into the trees.

“Alright then. Let’s go,” she said.

Author's Notes:

Fun fact: most of this chapter was written in Ottawa—the capital of Canada, of course—in a hotel less than a mile from the parliament buildings.

Also, this was some of my inspiration for this chapter: (Twilight's high-speed camera footage)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjwO9InuFJk&list=PLbIZ6k-SE9SiqtYyL0wdTnjc4ZHhnSx4q&index=6