Princess Celestia had specifically asked me to be present in court today. My school had been notified, apparently, because my efforts to tell them that I wouldn't be in were met with acknowledgment only, not queries—something the receptionist at the Canterlot's school of medicine would normally not let slide.

That's why I was flying up to the castle today instead of attending classes leading up to graduation. The air (as it was every day) was crisp and flowed wonderfully over my wings. I could never keep from doing a loop or two, nor a roll, when I had such a wonderful day greeting me.

I flew low over the guardhouse at the front gate to let them see it was me, and almost crashed into the ground in surprise at seeing over a dozen batponies standing before the doors leading into the castle.

How was I meant to handle this? Curiosity was eating me up inside, but I was Princess Celestia's assistant here. Adjusting my stance, I caught my legs under me and walked past the group toward the gates.

"Oh, uh, miss? We aren't invited in yet!" The voice spoke clear Thestralian and my rotating ears told me it came from the group.

I paused, turned, and looked at the speaker. He was a bat pony, of course, and looked like a handsome example thereof. But he sure as heck was no Tufts. Smiling, I bobbed my head. "You'll excuse me," I said in Thestralian, "My princess has requested my time."

He stared at me in obvious confusion.

I used the time to turn back to the doors and march right up. "Good morning, Lieutenant Shining Armor. How goes the day?" Shining was practically glowing. He had a grin a mile wide, and that was because he knew I knew. Two days had passed since my wedding, and without an ounce of warning he and Cadance had told Lyra, Sweetie, Tufts and I.

"Another great day in the Royal Guard, Joyce! Although we have significantly more bats than normal today. Know anything about it?" His eyes barely flicked to the waiting throng, but I knew exactly who he meant.

Sure Fire opened the door for me, and I nodded to him. "Thank you, Sure Fire. All I know, Shining, is that they're bats from Thestralia. I guess my answers await me within." I walked inside and ignored the look from Sure Fire. Stallions would be stallions.

"Joyce! Oh, thank Celestia you're here on time. The princess has been holding things up as much as she can, but it won't do to keep them waiting too long." Raven Inkwell almost looked disheveled, which for Raven Inkwell meant her glasses were slightly askew and her pencil was worn down to almost a nub.

Being told by Princess Celestia's personal assistant that you need to get a move-on typically meant you needed to. I picked up my hooves and trotted through the entry hall to the main doors leading into the throne room—the guards didn't so much as say a word before opening the doors with their magic.

Celestia was standing on ground level with a large, white stallion before her. He looked like Royal Guard material, but he didn't have the bearing that wearing armor would bring (something I'd seen not only in Shining Armor, but also Lyra and Sweetie).

"Joyce!" Princess Celestia had worn the slightest of frowns, but now it broke into a smile. "I'm so glad you made it. Joyce, this is my nephew, Prince Blue Blood. Blue, this is Joyce Mango. She's been advising me on the history of Thestralia and teaching Gretchen how to make the most amazing things."

"Aunt Celestia has slipped a few surprises into our communiques. I had started to wonder if she'd sent a second agent. It's a pleasure to meet somepony also devoted to resolving this situation to everypony's benefit." He held out his hoof toward me. I thought he meant to clop hooves, but when I stepped forward and held out my own hoof he cradled it and kissed the leading edge.

Well, he was a charmer, but if what I suspected about Blue was right, that was literally part of his job. Lowering my hoof carefully, I managed to nod to him. "My daughter mentioned something about you, Prince B—"

"Please, just Blue is fine. Auntie, as I saw saying, the Thestralian ambassador is a canny pony, and will attempt to ensure good value on all trades, but is fair at the same time. I have given you my list of technology we'd do well to acquire, and what we have they'd want." Blue Blood waited for Princess Celestia to nod. "How will we receive them?"

Princess Celestia looked directly at me. "Joyce? How would you suggest I meet a group of Thestralians who are here to secure trade and long-term peace?"

"Down here. You're already taller than them. Humans—bat ponies—are not used to other people who are consistently taller than them." I pointed up to Celestia's lone throne. "They can see your seat of power, and finally—they will take better to an ally coming to them as an equal."

"I concur. Airs and righteousness will earn you no points with these ponies, Auntie."

Princess Celestia seemed to think on her options before putting on her most radiant smile. "I'll have one of you on each side of me, please. Joyce, they saw you on the way in?" When I nodded, she turned to Blue Blood. "And you, Nephew, are well known to them. It would be good for them to see you both by my side."

I barely got in position before the sound of a spear-butt slamming on the floor echoed through the throne room. "Announcing Short Wing, Knight of Thestralia, and her ladyship, Duchess Robin Robertson."

Duchess?! Despite my shock, I watched my daughter and an older bat pony walk into the room, though in truth the "older" pony still looked no older than myself.

"Forgive any misunderstanding on my part," Princess Celestia said, "I have an incomplete understanding of your country's social system. Duchess Robin, congratulations on your title. Sir Short Wing, it is likewise a pleasure to meet you."

"Princess Celestia," Robin said as she dipped her foreleg just a little, "Prince Blue Blood…" My daughter turned to look at me with a huge grin on her snout. "Mum."

"Am I to understand this is the Joyce Robertson?" Sir Short Wing asked.

"Doctor Joyce Mango," Princess Celestia said. "I believe she's waiting for confirmation of her results for preliminary accreditation with our medical professionals. You have her to thank for the trade in medications already."

"Trade! Ha! You practically gave us those, which is partly why I'm here. Princess Screech has decided that with the rest of our world cutting us off from trade, we'd do best trading with the only nation we now share a land border with. We have each other, there's no sense in seeking out other trade partners when we are both so close." Short Wing seemed nothing if not enthusiastic. He'd given away a few facts here about what the state of Thestralia was with regard to international politics, but he'd also given a huge incentive for why we should become closer anyway.

"Close indeed. Our borders reside within both our nations—quite a startling discovery for both our nations." Princess Celestia had her mane flicked over her right eye, shielding Blue Blood from her vision. I could see that she was calm and relaxed, but I could also see she had a political mask in place. "Is there anything your nation needs in the short term?"

"We are stable for now. Our hunters are keeping pests to a minimum, though I believe I still have some requests for spears. I'm not quite sure what the advantage is to Equestrian spears, but our hunters want them. Particularly one Filthy Dreams."

Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow toward her Royal Guard.

"Your Highness. I believe Private Lyra Heartstrings gave a demonstration of what an enchanted spear can do." I recognized the speaker as Citron, a unicorn I'd met before.

"I won't simply hand you such weapons, but I will consider the trade of knowledge about them as being on the table—though it won't be cheap. I'd rather trade for goods and technology to help your people in other ways." Princess Celestia turned her head toward me. "Joyce, what other advantages do you think we could make available to our new allies?"

This was expected, and something Princess Celestia had had me planning for. "Agriculture is probably first and foremost. Good as a bat pony is at tending to fruit trees, earth ponies are better. Skilled labor in the field of agriculture will increase your yield from crops significantly. Weather is another aspect that could be handled with skilled labor trade. Pegasi skilled in weather manipulation could ensure much better farming and also protection against natural disasters."

"You mean to say your pegasi can manipulate the weather?!" Short Wing looked shocked. He turned to Princess Celestia. "Is this true?"

"It is. I believe you're going to want somewhere to arrange—What were they called again, Joyce?"

"Work Visas," I said.

Princess Celestia beamed in delight. "Yes. Work Visas. Paperwork and processing. In short, you need somewhere to process the orderly travel of ponies to and from our shared border, as well as a clearing house for goods that will be transported there and back. You may have noticed we already have a rail system in place, though one that's not quite close enough to Stonecrop to fulfill our needs."

In a flash of gold magic a rolled up map appeared. Princess Celestia's horn was aglow with the magic that moved the sun and moon, though at the moment it just unrolled the map.

"I was rather thinking here would be a good spot. We could run a rail line along the road from this station to Stonecrop and have goods be changed over there." Princess Celestia was gesturing to the spot where I remember the little rail platform we'd waited on was located.

"That would be most suitable. I don't believe it would be possible to actually join our rail networks—particularly since our country doesn't have a standardized rail network—but some stevedores could readily move goods from there. We'll have considerably more work reestablishing our own rail link to Cowwarr."

That's when I realized something—he was speaking Equish. Perfect Equish. While he and Princess Celestia spoke further, I maintained my facing on him, but scanned around the room for something shiny to—Ah ha! His cutie mark was a book! Was his special talent languages?

The conversation twisted through the intricate details of establishing a building near Ponyville that the Thestralians could use for managing trade and business, then passed on to products that could be traded.

Princess Celestia turned her head just slightly. "Joyce, you mentioned something once about technology and magic?"

"I think Short Wing would know more about it. I remember before I left that stuff there kinda stopped working—like my daughter's bass guitar amplifier. She ended up bypassing the circuits that had a problem with magic. You'd have to speak to her about it." The topic wasn't one I was well versed in, but I gave everything I knew.

"A very good point. I believe my class could do with a research assignment." Princess Celestia gave me a nod. "Perhaps if we could have some samples of otherwise useless equipment that will misbehave around magic, we could do some of your testing for you?"

"Your Highness, that would assist greatly, particularly if you could find some fixes for our own equipment. I won't lie, it's taking the combined effort of some of our very best dreamers to keep what services we have running. If your class could stabilize our technology to run even in a high-magic area, I'm sure sharing it would be a real possibility." He didn't just sound interested, Short Wing sounded excited. If I didn't know better, I'd have thought a giant mango had appeared behind me.

For a moment I wondered why he'd put inflection on "class", but it quickly hit me he probably doesn't know Princess Celestia teaches. "You'll excuse me for interrupting," I said, "But I think I can clear something up. Princess Celestia not only has a school named after her, but she teaches there. When she says class, she means students who are studying what is akin to post-graduate classes."

"You teach a class on top of your duties as a leader? Very commendable." Short Wing sounded duly impressed. His eyes flicked toward Blue Blood. "It's regrettable our Princess Screech is so caught up in her duties. She's an amazing pony, and I doubt any of us could conceive of any other leader now. It's—It's instinctive."

"Princess Screech impressed me with her drive. Our one meeting was quite an eye-opening experience. You do well to trust her." Princess Celestia's voice held a weight that was undeniable. Her voice was one that came from a thousand years of judging people and having her expectations borne out. If she said Princess Screech had impressed her, she meant it—there was no mask at that moment.

The meeting was adjourned for lunch, an event that would see Sir Short Wings return to his team to regroup and discuss things, while Celestia escorted Blue Blood and myself out into the maze garden.

The sun was bright overhead, but I'd long-since grown used to being a daytime bat. I walked along just behind Celestia, and it was a much lighter atmosphere—she didn't feel like the princess anymore. I knew the ritual—we'd had lunch here often enough that it was a ritual—and settled down before saying a word.

"That went to go well," Blue Blood said. "You'll have to forgive me, Joyce, but I had to keep up my act in there. They know me as a rather canny aristocrat, and it wouldn't have done to appear out of character." His tone was much warmer now—relaxed.

"Nephew, you do enjoy your little intrigues." Celestia used her magic to summon and pour tea into three cups. "Joyce has been indispensable in all this. I hated to pull her away from her study—and her new husband—but this was regrettably a little important. What were your thoughts, Joyce?"

"Firstly? He seemed hungry for anything and everything we could offer. Given what he said, the world has probably quarantined Thestralia. Nothing in, nothing out. My former nation was one of plenty, but relied on international trade." It was the first time I truly called Australia my former nation. Given the turn in my life, Equestria was my home now—it had almost everything I wanted.

With one wing-thumb, I carefully hooked a cup and lifted it to my lips to sip. A strong, dark brew with earthy tones. Having tea with Celestia had made me a bit of a tea snob, and I now spent far too much on it for home. "Secondly, he spoke Equish well."

Blue Blood added six sugar cubes to his tea. "You were right, Auntie, she doesn't miss anything. Short Wing's special talent, in fact. It was quite the surprise to be able to speak to a diplomat in any tongue. I tested him on Equish, Old Ponish, and even that horrible siren language you made me learn. It wasn't a case of him hearing enough, he could even use words I hadn't spoken yet."

"Anything else?" Celestia asked while failing to hide her smile behind her teacup.

I nodded. "He seemed a little surprised you'd met Princess Screech. I take it that wasn't announced?"

"Not announced and not talked about—on either side. Poor thing had been dumped squarely into the life of a princess with no training and no preparation. Her first question, when she realized I wasn't going to invade or take advantage of her, was to ask how to do what she's already doing." Carefully cutting the tea cake on the tray that she'd teleported out, Celestia lifted one slice up to her mouth. "Surprisingly, she was royalty before all this—a newly crowned prince."

Blue Blood's head shot up as if he were stung. It was the first time I'd noticed him show any reaction to a single word spoken before him.

I hadn't exactly kept track of the goings-on of the royal family when I'd been on Earth, but the story of how one of the young princesses had gone missing and been saved by the unimportant son some hundreds of people down the royal line had been in all the papers for a while. The first person to be made a prince in quite some time—but it had been an empty title. "So she's in charge?"

"It seems the desire to follow and look up to alicorns was implanted into the hearts and minds of the ponies of Thestralia, and found fertile soil. It would seem she's universally loved by the people. She mentioned there had been an existing government, but what with all the magic some members went missing, some—some met unfortunate ends, while most were happy to get on with the work of running the country with Princess Screech at the helm," Blue Blood said. "Honestly, it was almost like being at home."

Celestia stopped sipping her tea and raised an eyebrow. "Surely it couldn't have been that bad?" She paused for a moment before laughing along with Blue Blood.

Not knowing exactly what they were talking about—I'd only helped Celestia with foreign affairs—I retreated into the safest act of sipping tea and eating cake while they laughed.

There were times when I wondered if I was actually being helpful. My college psych class had called it impostor syndrome. Just knowing a bias was a bias didn't make me exempt from it.

"Now I'll have to arrange their equipment to be brought in. If Lyra's adjustments don't work, I'm sure one of my class will find a way around their problem." And then Celestia does that, and shows me that a casual idea of mine becomes national policy, again. "He seemed to imply that it would be a requirement, in fact. I think it will be rewarding for the girls to try to solve it."

"Try?" I asked.

"You're right, Joyce. I fully expect them to have whatever it is working in no time. I'll have to move some of them on soon. They need to get out into the world and live it."

This was something new. I wasn't aware of the process she used for moving her students on. "Lyra has made mention of moving to Ponyville. She wants to build something for Sweetie when she leaves the Guard."

"She's planning on leaving?" Celestia asked, her tone having slipped completely away from Princess Celestia now.

"From what I understand, she wants to spend a few more years protecting Equestria before she settles down. Lyra's just making sure she has something to settle down to." I sipped my tea and let my free wing droop and flatten out a little to soak up the warmth of the sun. "They were both quite impressed by how quiet and friendly Ponyville was."

There was something about Blue Blood's silence that made me aware he was listening to every word. It was almost as if nothing missed his notice, which was probably why he was the first sent in by Princess Celestia.

"I don't think any of them have more than another year in class. I can practically feel their buzz—their excitement to be out in the real world. Except Twilight." Celestia looked down into her teacup and let out a sigh. "I've tried everything. I've given her every avenue of exploration. She soaks up knowledge and expertise like a sponge, but that's just it—she doesn't seem ready or willing to stand on her own four hooves."

Having heard my fair share of Twilight Did X stories from Celestia, I was sure that she felt every bit of her role as personal tutor. I thought on the problem a moment.

"Have you tried talking to her mother and father?" I asked.

"However much I'm paying you, Joyce Mango, it's surely not enough. Talking to her parents should have been my first thought." Sipping away the last of the tea in her cup, Celestia let out a happy little neigh. "A fresh perspective on things is always a good idea, especially when you become so focused on needing to solve every problem yourself, as I have."

"Auntie! I'm away for a few years and you're already smiling so much more than when I last saw you." Blue Blood had a self-mocking tone thick in his voice. "If I didn't know better, I'd think my presence wasn't the most wonderful thing any mare could have."

I was a little lost, and must have looked it by the giggles both Celestia and Blue Blood made. "What?"

"My nephew's persona when he's home is that he's the most boorish and insufferably narcissistic pony in all Equestria. Mares swoon at his hooves, and he just steps over them—complaining that they're in his way," Celestia said. "You should see what he does when one continues to pursue him."

"In all honesty," Blue Blood said, "I'm just trying to catch up on that niece of yours, Auntie. There isn't a stallion alive in this city—and quite a few mares—who wouldn't swoon at a kind word from Cadance. How's your—" He cut off in the face of a big grin on Celestia's face. "She didn't?!"

"She has secrets now, Nephew. Real secrets. I have tried to worm it out of her, but she's not budging. She's actually taking it seriously now." Excitement rode on every word Celestia said. "You should have seen her at Joyce's wedding. She was covering for somepony she didn't want me to interrupt. I let her have her victory."

"Is he really your nephew?" I asked.

Celestia looked like she might laugh, but then sobered. "Forgive me for being so rude, Joyce. Prince Blue Blood is my nephew by dint of me raising him. He is a nephew of my family in every manner but the blood in his veins—though that is no less noble for its source. He is the last of the line of Platinum."

I gasped in surprise and almost spilled my tea. "Princess Platinum? One of the founders of—?"

"That Platinum, indeed. I keep meticulous track of such things. When his parents got a little carried away with their favorite pastime—"

"Who watches volcanoes?" Blue Blood asked out of nowhere. "I mean, honestly! Even if fire and flames were both their special talents, how could they be so—"

"Nephew, let's not speak ill of them. They passed doing what they loved." Celestia gave Blue Blood a firm look that caused him to close his mouth on the words he might have said.

Blue Blood snorted and rolled his eyes. "And now keeping Princess Platinum's line going is all up to me. Fat lot of good I am for that."

"I'd say you haven't found the right girl yet, but you aren't exactly looking." Celestia's banter sounded like a well-worn path for the two. "I still don't understand why you didn't press your suit on Cadance."

Waving a hoof dismissively, Blue Blood shook his head. "Cadance is a—a filly. I couldn't have done that. Besides, I have heard she and that Shining Armor chap have been seeing more of each—Why are you laughing?"

I couldn't help it. Hearing him talk about Shining and Cadance as just going on little dates was too much. Apparently Celestia thought so too.

"Because, Nephew, they are—privately—betrothed." The laughter underpinning Celestia's words kept me giggling more.

"Then why did you ask about her specifically?!"

"To tease you, Nephew, to tease you. Only mostly. You may consider asking her for advice. Love is her domain, after all. Perhaps she can find a mare with a mind and figure to match your own?"

"Auntie, what can she possibly do for me?"

"She helped both Joyce and myself with our personal hangups." I don't think Celestia could have said anything else that would have stopped Blue Blood quite so dead in his tracks.

When Blue Blood looked at me, as if this were some elaborate joke, I nodded to him just once. "You're not going to let me live this down, are you? I have to talk to her, don't I, Auntie?"

Celestia beamed. "I'm glad you see things my way."

I'd spent a year helping Princess Celestia get her job done, and I'd seen her talk ponies in circles to get them to do what was not just what she wanted, but was right. This was the first time I'd seen someone recognize they'd been outplayed. It was refreshing, but scary at the same time.

"Joyce, I think we have everything under control for now. Your input, as always, has been more valuable than words can express." Words might not, though Celestia would try. What she had started to do was boost my payment. I wasn't on subsistence living wage anymore—not even close. It was almost embarrassing to have to collect it, though thankfully collecting a wage was voluntary. "If you would like to leave us, you have my blessing."

That was important when you worked for an absolute monarch. Her blessing could see cities built and destroyed. "Thank you, Your Highness. If you need me again, don't hesitate to send somepony, or use my button." Celestia, I don't think, would flex her power if somepony really wanted to leave, but I didn't want to ever test that, and from what I understood she didn't want to test me testing that. It was at once very confusing and crystal clear.

With a bow I turned and headed back inside to find Robin.

The Royal Guard of Canterlot shared nods and smiles with me as I walked through the long corridors. The entry hall was only populated with Guardponies (and myself). When I reached the supplicant hall, however, all the Guardponies were in business mode and had their stern expressions on for the visiting bat ponies who were present. My daughter was not among them.

"Joyce Robertson?"

I could have ignored them and kept walking. If I didn't want to talk to these ponies, the Royal Guard would step in—reluctantly—and ensure I didn't have to.

Turning to the speaker I invested them with a good, disinterested look. "Yes?"

"How serious is—"

"Wait." I didn't want to call in the Guardponies, but if this was all they wanted to talk about I would. "I will not discuss the princess' business without her present. I will only give you my personal opinion of Princess Celestia." They waited on my words, each pair of slit eyes focused on me. "Princess Celestia has earned my trust over the relatively short time I've known her. You would do very well to ask her these questions."

I turned and looked at Shining Armor who was marching toward me. When he snapped his hooves down sharply as he stopped I raised an eyebrow.

"Joyce Mango! You will accompany me!" Shining had his business face on.

It was somewhat of a surprise, but I fell in behind him and let him lead the way outside and toward Cadance's tower. He didn't stop and didn't speak until we were inside and he used his magic to close the door. "What's this all about?"

"You," the sharp voice Shining had used in the hall was gone now, "looked like you could use an exit."

"Do you have a sign normally?" I asked.

"Tap your left-rear hoof twice while standing still. Raven came up with that one. Do that and somepony will suddenly need to escort you somewhere." Shining Armor made his way back over to the door. "How's married life?"

He didn't need to say another thing. My mood surged into the sky like a bat pony pumping their wings. I could feel my smile stretching my face, and I actually giggled. "I never thought I'd find anypony, but there he was. Has Princess Celestia given you a date you can announce it yet?"

Opening the door, Shining let out a sigh. "She said we can announce it after her thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. That's still over a year away." He almost deflated. His armor looked heavy and his body somehow weaker.

"Shining Armor?" I waited for him to turn around and look at me. "You're going to marry Cadance."

The effect my words had on him were practically instant, though I watched him stand taller, puff his chest out, and look twice the stallion he'd been. "I am!"

Following him out the door, I felt like I'd repaid him for saving me. "Have you…?"

Shining's head shook, and I saw a blush grow on his cheeks even as he faced away from me. "Sh-Should I talk to her about it?"

"Do you want to?" I asked. When he nodded, I added, "Then talk to her. Let her know how you feel. She might feel the same way."

"What? A mare would feel—" He'd spun around so fast I had to giggle.

"Shining Armor, mares can want the touch of their favored stallion every bit as much as that stallion wants it." I had to smile at needing to tell him that. It was obvious he loved Cadance greatly. Was she his first love? I'd have to ask Lyra. "Perhaps take her to dinner? Make a night of it?"

"A night?"

"Shining, I'm telling you to put Cadance into the mood. Show her how smooth her—" I cut my words short as a pair of Guardponies walked past. "Show her how smooth you can be."

"You've seen me outside of this armor, right? I'm a big klutz."

"And she still loves you more than anything. Trust me, Shining. Dinner, perhaps a massage, and you would be surprised where things might go." For a moment I considered the situation a little from another view. "You do know what can arise from—"

"I know about the birds, the bees, and the flowers in the trees, Joyce."

In truth I didn't know what Equestrian schools taught of such things. Lyra had been well versed on the repercussions of interpersonal fun. I hoped Candela had imparted that wisdom on Robin. That my little girl was getting to that age without me hurt. "I've got to go, Shining. Don't forget."

Spreading my wings, I only waited for him to give me enough room to take off before pumping them hard and jumping into the air. The joy of flight and the happiness of helping (and being helped by) Shining were all overshadowed by the sudden melancholy of missing Robin. I was barely above the walls of the castle before I aimed myself toward the house I shared with Tufts and began a quick, swooping flight home.

I moved—my wings and legs—on autopilot as I touched down in our front yard and rushed inside. Tufts wings wrapped around me before he even asked a question and the emotion hit with full force. Fear, worry, loss, and more burst upon me and I started to cry.

"Mum?" Robin's voice startled me. I jerked out of Tufts' embrace and stared at her. "Mum!"

She was too big—too grown up. I gasped and rushed to her to wrap her in my wings and hug her tight. "My little sky puppy. You're growing up so fast."

"One of Princess Celestia's guards told me she was going to dismiss you for the afternoon. I figured you'd come here. What's wrong? You're crying."

"I went looking for you in the castle after the princess dismissed me. I thought you'd gotten caught up in a meeting. What's all this duchess stuff?" My mind was racing in circles, chased by the thoughts I'd been working through all morning.

"It was Screech's idea. She said that if she's going to be a princess and rule Thestralia, she needs nobles to stand around and look like they know what they're doing. I think she was just a bit lonely. So she started handing out titles." Robin tilted her head back and to the side. "You changed your last name to Mango?"

"My fault." Tufts reminded me that he was there by dint of walking up beside me and rubbing my flank, side, and shoulder with his body—pressing close into me. "In all fairness, I'm her mango too."

"I still can't believe you two got married. I mean, Mum knows about everything, right?"

"I know, don't I—Tjinimin Mango?" I put weight on the words and watched Tufts' eyes widen for a fraction before his near-side wing wrapped over my back and pulled me snugly against him—a position I was quite happy to be in. "It took some work on both our part. My mind was a little set in its ways."

"But less so now." Tufts nibbled along my jawline with the small teeth between his front fangs. The scrape of the sharper teeth on my skin made the tips of my wings curl a little.

"Much less so," I said.

"So." Robin made her way to the couch and jumped up on it. "When're Lyra and me getting a little brother or sister?"

It wasn't that I hadn't thought of the consequences of pony canoodling—I'd just talked to Shining about it—but I hadn't thought for a second about it applying to Tufts and myself. In my head I ran through the symptoms of a pregnant mare. I had a few, but they were also symptoms of stress.

"Littlest mango, do not beset us with heavy thoughts." Tufts' wing squeezed me a little more as he spoke, though I noticed he did so over my shoulders. "If a new life comes of our union, it will be the happiest day of this old bat's life. Well, one of the happiest."

I nuzzled him back every bit as much as he nuzzled me. "If it happens, it happens. We are not so poor as we can't support a foal." The idea thrilled me. The previous men in my life hadn't exactly warmed my heart as warmed my bed, but Tufts was much more to me than they'd ever been.

Feeling a little like a wrung-out washcloth, I stood quietly beside him, cheek pressed to his neck, while he and Robin chatted about things of less consequence.

Was I pregnant? Would Tufts know? Would Cadance or Celestia? They may not intimidate me quite as much anymore, but I still worked and loved ponies that had magical power far beyond what I did. But that brought another powerful pony to mind, and her gift to me.

Had Nightmare Moon's gift lifted me somewhere closer to the ranks of those around me? I couldn't count on it, but she had given me a little something. It was food for thought.

Lyra: If you wanted foals would you ask your old human girlfriend turned stallion to be the sperm donor?

"I—" Lyra stared, stunned to silence. Her mouth worked a few times, as if she were going to say something, but no words came out. At last she breathed a sigh and shook her head. "Rose is not part of my life. She—he—has his own life now, and I don't think either of us were meant to be. As for Sweetie and me, I don't know. Maybe? I mean, if there was a spell it'd be easiest. Maybe we could adopt?"

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

Support me on Patreon or fuel my writing on Ko-Fi!

Join me on Discord. Please use your FimFic name as an alias. Warning, said chat may contain NSFW material and should be considered adult in nature.

Awesome ponies who are already helping to keep me in keyboards and rum:
A.P.O.N.I.
Canary in the Coal Mine
Daremo
Dio-Drogynous
Ender Voidwalker
KFS Crimson
Sirion123
Vi Watch
Wind of the Skies

And special thanks to the following, for careful eyes and friendly words:
Lab