"We're ready when you are Mrs. Blessing," came the voice over the intercom.

Tonya stepped up to the front of the chapel stage. This place on the stage was not just where someone would speak, it was the focal point for charging the Chorus. A marvel of technological and magical engineering that she doubted anything in Equestria except the Crystal Heart could rival. Its design had even been inspired by the Crystal Heart. Like most things Sunset took the lead in this and was the result of combining independent work by independent researchers into something more than the parts. Sunset's pride in her accomplishment with this was only dampened by the fact it did fall short of the Crystal Heart.

All the crystals that were normally hidden within the walls of the chapel and the stage were now revealed from their hidden spots. Each would magnify and absorb her magic. Beneath her hooves was another Crystal that was hidden that acted as the focal point. It was here that her powers were strongest. Here, in this spot and this spot alone--surrounded by these crystals and with the power of the chorus behind her, she had more power than any pony on Earth. Even if she wasn't doing anything grander than acting as a charger for a battery.

Her audience wasn’t as big as it normally was but it was still a worthy one. Today her audience consisted of just her wife, some security, and the scientists and mages down below. The delegates had finally all departed, and the far too lengthy media questions for Sunset were at an end. All that remained to do at the Bastion for today was sing before she could take her wife home.

Sunset had collected herself again after another round of sobbing following the media circus outside. These rounds of sobbing and panic were likely to endure for some time. Hopefully they would go away after a few days, but in the pit of her stomach she knew that her wife might still find herself waking in a cold sweat and panic years from now. Why'd she have to be so stubborn?

"I'm dedicating this song to you, Sunset. It isn't religious, but it is from the heart," she said with a smile down to her wife.

She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to sing The Rose.

Despite whatever Sunset might be feeling she looked up at Tonya with a twinkle in her eye and a small, almost shy, grin. All around the chapel the crystals were already glowing with Tonya's magic, but it was time to give them their full feed. She lifted her voice and her magic higher as she went into the next part, and images passed before her eyes as she sang. Not only of Sunset, but of others. She didn't know why she received visions each time she did this. She'd asked Phobia about it since it seemed dream like; Phobia simply said to not put too much stock in visions because visions were unreliable things. They could trust in the past and present but the future was beyond their ability to know for sure.

"...of breaking..." An image of Wild Growth sitting in a bar passed before her eyes. Wild was looking on at stallions in the distance at first, but turned away back to her drink.l

"Afraid of waking..." An image image of Phobia staring at the sky passed before her eyes next. Rosetta sat next to her, and another night pony mare sat in the distance with her back turned to them. The other mare had much the same coloration as Rosetta, but was wearing military fatigues--and even her wings were tattooed with military insignias and slogans.

"...seem to give." A troubling image of Sunset appeared before her next, her wife sitting alone in a room of dull grey stone and iron bars. At her hooves was the Shimmerist insignia, being consumed in the fire of Sunset's magic as her wife glared at it with contempt. Tonya quickly reminded herself that these were only possibilities, and there wasn't any way of knowing if they were even likely ones.

"...never learns to live." Now, a yellow earth pony mare with a blue mane appeared. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew this was her niece, Jessie, fully grown. She was in a room full of whiteboards and on each of them were mechanical designs and equations. All around the room were wadded up papers with discarded diagrams and crossed out equations. Jessie had a frantic gleam in her eye as she scribbled out more designs.

"...too long." A great silver scaled dragon appeared next, sitting amongst starlit ruins. The dragon raised its head high and let off a great roar of deep mourning and sadness.

"...for the lucky..." Sha'am Maut appeared next. The Warden of Death was not in her typical skeletal form, but instead a frail old night pony. Clutched in her wings was a small human doll, worn with extreme age. She held it like it was an actual small child and pulled it close to her in embrace as she openly wept. Below her hooves sat her wooden bowl, overflowing with fruit and dripping blood.

An indistinct shape began forming in front of her in the hall itself. Its silhouette was like an angel, or a partially transformed human-pegasus draped in a white robe. Mostly human, but with great golden feathered wings. It looked directly at her and smiled, singing the final verse in harmony with her.

As she ended her song the visions departed, and she dismissed them as fictions as soon as they did. Her wife gave an enthusiastic clop of her hooves together, and even the security gave her a few respectful stomps of their own. The crystals retreated back to their hiding spots and were quickly covered again. She could feel almost as if her magic were deflating as they did, and like she was a little less alive without that extra power coursing through her.

"We're back to full charge, Mrs. Blessing," came the voice over the intercom. "Thank you for your time and cooperation today. We should be good for another month."

Tonya took that as a dismissal and immediately took to the air and towards her wife. Sunset actually flinched and braced herself as Tonya was almost upon her, but Tonya quickly brought herself into a gentle hover and lowered herself down next to her wife.

"So, are you ready to go home now?" Tonya asked as she gave her wife a nuzzle.

Sunset nuzzled back and nodded. "I think we're free to go. The mages were hard at work through the entire reception scanning the resonance for the griffins and that kirin. They won't have the detailed report ready until tomorrow or the day after though. Getting a head start figuring out how to give the griffins what they want can be held off another day or two."

"I get the griffins, but why'd you want the data on the kirin? He didn’t seem to be that interested in the magic," Tonya asked.

Sunset shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to know their resonance and have more data to compare. I don't think it would be a good idea to be turning anyone into a pony that sets themselves on fire when they get pissed off, but who knows what we can learn from just a type of tribal magic that the Equestrians haven't put much serious study into. I’m sure we'll find ways of making use of the information somewhere somehow." She paused and then looked at her security. "Maybe I should just go check on it."

Tonya lowered her ears. "Sunset, no! I'm putting my hoof down on this. You need to take a break and you’re supposed to be backing off from all this. Even just for tonight, come home, relax, let me cook you dinner, and we can cuddle for a while before bed."

“You're right, you're right,” the unicorn sighed. “I just have a hard time letting go of my work."

Who cannot seem to give. The words echoed in Tonya's head. There were lots of ways of interpreting those words, and one was not being able to quit. The vision that had accompanied it came to her as well, and again she worried that Sunset may yet destroy everything that she had put so much time into building. She wasn't going to mention the visions though. Voicing them might turn them into self-fulfilling prophecies. It was just a possibility, not a certainty that her vision would happen. If Sunset would just back down and step away from it all would be well.

There was still the matter of Poly Glot that needed addressing, but that could wait. He wasn't going anywhere, and more time was needed to gather evidence to connect him to this crime and possibly determine who his human identity had been. After that she could possibly just go to the government herself and see if they had suggestions on how to proceed with him. They definitely had no desire to see what he knew falling into the Chinese's grasp.

"I'll make arrangements of our escort home. How bad is it out there after my announcement?" Sunset asked.

Tonya let her wings drop down to where they were hanging limply and tucked her tail under her legs. "Bad is an understatement. Tensions were already high from the news of the genocide in Morocco hit. Now we have ponies who are out protesting the government is going to try to force them to rehumanize. We have humans that are protesting that the government is seemingly putting their stamp of approval on transformation magic. Humans and ponies both protesting that the government is backing a Shimmerist plan to transform the world. Word is there's going to be more protestors coming in. Melissa actually gave me a call to let me know that her office has been getting non stop calls for permits for new protests."

"So I take it I'm not the most popular pony out there right now," Sunset said dryly. "I expected as much. Perhaps we should take the tunnel to the army base and then get an escort from there back home."

"That sounds like a good idea. If they were getting violent this morning towards the delegates I don't want to know what they might be doing now," Tonya replied with a shiver. "Something needs to be done before they start going at one another. It isn't just a lot of angry people; it's a lot of different groups of angry people with very different things they are angry about."

The two of them left the chapel and then transversed the path to the basement and then onto the complex below. The path they needed to take to get to the tunnel thankfully didn't require them to pass by Poly Glot's cell. That didn't mean that it was a quick walk. Sunset was like a filly in a toy store as they walked through the halls, and Tonya had to frequently remind her that they weren't stopping to check on any projects. The unicorn was not normally this easily distracted from her goals, but she'd been rattled today and her most time honored reaction to being stressed was to try to bury herself in work. That was a habit that needed breaking.

They finally reached their destination on the far eastern side of the complex. After passing through a guarded door at the end of a long hall they exited out into a private subway system that ran underneath the town out to the military base just outside. The subway train was more than capable of carrying upwards to fifty soldiers in and out in one go, and a large car in the back of the train was available for hauling large or heavy cargo--and was the main reason such a system was even needed. The tunnel itself was a straight shot to the base and only had two maintenance rooms attached to it along the way--both of which were a considerable walk down the tunnel. This tunnel also was a major part of the ventilation system as it's end at the military base was open air. If for some reason the main ventilation system for the Bastion's basement failed this tunnel was the breathing lifeline.

Sunset walked over to the station overseer and discussed their transport. After a minute of discussion she returned. "We can go ahead and board. It won't be leaving for another fifteen minutes because they need to keep on schedule. They are informing the base we're going to be on our way and they'll have a helicopter ready and waiting for us."

Tonya grimaced as they moved to go board the train, stepping between two armed guards to get on it. "I hate helicopters, they're so noisy. I don't know how Wild stands traveling around in one so much. I'm not really fond of this thing either. I just don't like being encased in moving metal."

"You could always fly ahead once we arrive at the base," Sunset suggested.

It didn't take any consideration to make her shake her head. "I'm not leaving your side. You know I'm just not fond of any metal box. It just doesn't feel right sitting in one as I feel the air pressure shift and I'm not flapping my wings to adjust."

The inside of the train was very spartan. It consisted of just two long seating areas on either side that stretched the length of the car, and they were uncushioned metal. Why did the military have to make things so damn uncomfortable? Would it kill their budget to at least cushion the seats?

They sat down on the bench opposite the entrance towards the middle of the car. "I'm not to fond of being in these myself, but they serve their purpose. It's hard to imagine that I used to drive myself around in a car everywhere. Being human again for that few hours brought back a lot of memories I'd forgotten."

Tonya gave her wife a concerned look. "Are you sure you want to be talking about this right now? Talking about it is good, as it helps with the coping, but doing it too soon when you aren't ready can cause problems."

"I can talk about it," Sunset replied in a low voice. "Knowing that I was putting myself through hell I think I managed to brace myself against the worst of it. It felt as alien as described by the others. It was also all too familiar in a distorted nightmare way."

"You certainly had the form of your old self down to the tee from what I remember," Tonya said as she looked towards the floor.

Sunset snorted. "Having faced her in that damn shared time-crossed dream, and since Phobia restored my memories it was easy. Glad I didn't see a mirror through all that. Seeing that face once again in the mirror would have been too much."

"You talk like you were a completely different person," Tonya observed.

"Not by as much as I would like," Sunset said and looked like she wanted to spit. "You never talk about how you feel about you out old human self. You've psychoanalyzed me backwards and forwards on how I feel about my human self, but you've never once spoken about your old human self in our years together."

"I couldn't really tell you," Tonya replied earnestly. "It's been years since I really thought of it, and you know how those kinds of memories fade if they aren't nurtured. I know all the events of my human life, can see my family as they were, my friends, the old places I lived, my old jobs, but not myself. I might as well have always been a pony back then as far as my memory is concerned."

Sunset laid her head upon Tonya's shoulder and her voice trembled as she spoke "I remember mine all too well. I think about it too often. I also saw the way you reacted when you first saw me after I transformed. I'm sorry for that, I should have thought about how you would react to seeing her."

"Don't worry about it," Tonya replied quickly. She then wrapped a wing around Sunset. "You aren't her. It was just a body."

"But she is me. As much as I wish that wasn't so," Sunset said as she started crying again. "I embraced my life as a pony when I changed, but it took having my muzzle pushed into how wrong I was as a human. Having been transformed back into a human again was uncomfortable and distressing on its own, but the hardest part is that it brought all those memories back to the forefront again."

"It's old news, Sunset. Don't beat yourself up about it," Tonya soothed as she rubbed her head against her wife.

Sunset continued to cry. "How can you be so forgiving? I was so cruel to you and others."

"Because it's the past and you've changed," Tonya replied. "You were given the opportunity to start anew and you haven't squandered it in the least. That's part of why I want you to step back and relax. You've done more than enough these past six years. There’s nothing left for you to prove. So take some time to finally enjoy life...with me."

Several soldiers boarded the car as she finished speaking and Sunset pulled away when they did, putting on her blank face. Tonya scowled in annoyance at the interruption of their moment and Sunset's unwillingness to show any perceived weakness to anyone but her. It was endearing that her wife let her guard down to her, but not when any audience could cause it to go back up.

They sat in silence after that, with Sunset not risking a break in front of the soldiers. The silence continued on when the train lurched into movement, and on through its short journey to the military base outside of town. The silence was deafening and by the time they were finally escorted to their helicopter Tonya wanted to scream just to break it.

Sunset touched a hoof to hers and then wrapped her fetlock around it. "How about we go to Disney World for a week for Christmas, just you and me?" The red furred unicorn asked in a gentle voice. "Or Universal Orlando, or Six Flags, or wherever else you might want to go. Just somewhere fun and away from work."

She gave her wife a soft smile as she cupped there joined legs in her wings. "It doesn't have to be anywhere high energy and exciting for my sake. You know that right?"

Sunset raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you saying I'm too old for Disney World?"

She leaned in and gave her wife a kiss. "Maybe too young. How old are you again? Eighteen? Nineteen?"

That earned a chuckle from her wife. "You know how old I am, but I love that you never seem to care--and maybe I want to go to Disney World for me. Ever think of that?"

Tonya snuggled close to her wife, ignoring the disconcerting feeling of being in a moving helicopter. "As long as it is us together I'm fine with wherever. I love you."

"Love you too," Sunset echoed.

And hopefully going forward they could spend the time together that they deserved after all this time.

"When are you going to come take us home?" Jackie whined loudly to the image of her parents displayed on Phobia's computer.

"We'll come get you in a few days," Treasure Finder assured the filly for what was the fifth time by Jessie's count. Jessie was trying to adjust her identification of the earth pony mare to Treasure Finder in her head like Phobia Remedy asked her to and was starting to have some luck.

"Why not now?" Jordan asked once again. Jessie tried harder to block out the conversation and focus on drawing with her brother, but these repeated questions that had been repeatedly answered were really grating on her nerves.

"We can't really talk about it right now. I've asked your sister to sit down and explain it to the two of you though," Mr. Tom said calmly.

"Why can't you?" Jordan immediately followed up.

"We just can't, plum butter. It's too hard for us right now. Your sister is going to be helping us get better, and she'll make sure you're taken care of too," Treasure Finder said in a trembling voice. Jessie's ears sagged as she heard it. She felt bad for her friends since they missed their parents, but their parents sounded just as upset. She wished Jackie and Jordan would just accept the answers given them.

"Don't scowl like that. You know you're just as bad as them with demanding answers," her brother said.

She spit out her crayon as she turned to face him. "I'm not!"

"You are so. Worse maybe."

"You're my brother. You're not supposed to say things like that."

Robby turned a disapproving eye at her and she winced because he seemed like he was angry. "I’m your brother, of course I get to call you on your shit."

Her ears sagged as she looked at him. "Robby...did I do something to make you mad at me?"

He looked at her hard for a second then looked at the two crying sisters before shaking his head. "No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten nasty to you. It's just...just forget I said anything. Let's just draw."

Concern built up in her. "Something's wrong. What is it?"

"See what I mean about asking questions? Can't I just be a moody teenager for once?" Robby said with a sigh.

"You always talk to me," she reminded him, after which she held up a hoof as if swearing a pledge. "I don't keep secrets from you and you don't keep secrets from me. It's our sacred sibling oath."

Robby stared over at the sisters who now had Phobia next to them trying to comfort them as the call with their parents ended. "Listening to them just brings up bad memories. Back when you were born Mom and Dad sent me away and I didn't understand why. I was scared and didn't know what was going on so I was afraid I did something wrong. Then it got worse when I got sick and had to be taken to a cramped school building full of scared people and I was still without Mom and Dad. I wasn't able to go home until after I fully transformed and then everything was crazy when we moved and Dad left for a bit. So yeah, I understand a lot of what Jackie and Jordan are going through right now."

"Oh..." Jessie said as her gaze dropped down to Robby's drawing. It was of a bunch of partially transformed humans huddled around each other in a tight room. It was really good and detailed, like someone who had seen it. "Do you think that's why you're a night pony?"

Robby looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"That you were so scared at the time," she explained. "They said it in my textbook for psychology that one of the possible things that determined if someone turned into a night pony when having ETS was they had a lot of fear."

That got a shrug from her brother. "Maybe, who knows? It isn't like my tribe is going to change, so what does it matter?"

"I guess just for the sake of understanding things," Jessie conceded and turned her head to look at Ms. Rosetta coming over to them. She wondered what kinds of things Ms. Rosetta and Phobia Remedy feared when they were humans if fear was such a big factor. Thinking about that made her feel like she was seeing people again for the first time.

"Phobia wants to have some privacy with her little sisters," Ms. Rosetta said as she reached them. "Jessie, you have someone outside waiting to speak with you. Robby, you need to get some exercise in. We might not be like pegasi that need to fly for obscene amounts of hours every day, but that doesn't mean it's alright to ignore wing day. I want you to accompany me on my early evening flight."

Robby stood up. "Yes, ma'am."

Jessie stood up as well as she realized who would want to be talking to her, Layla. This could go really good or really bad.

Ms. Rosetta was perceptive of her mood. "Don't worry, that young mare is well aware that she needs to be on her best behavior. Crystal may have gone home for the day, but if anything untoward is said Phobia will hear about it and have Tempest deal with it promptly."

"Where is Ms. Tempest?" Jessie asked as she realized she hadn't seen her since the two night ponies had come downstairs.

Ms. Rosetta looked upwards. "Giving my foals a few lessons. Just because school is out till Tuesday doesn't mean they get to slack off."

"But...they're in kindergarten. They don't get homework," Jessie said in confusion. "And I didn't know Ms. Tempest was a teacher, what does she teach?"

"It is different sorts of lessons than what most would get," Ms. Rosetta replied in a subdued tone. "It's hard sometimes, but as Phobia's foals they need to learn things that schools wouldn't normally teach; self defense, how to tell if someone is lying to them, how to read someone's motivations, how to not let anyone take advantage of them. They can be harsh lessons, and it breaks my heart sometimes that I have to see them having to start learning these things at such a young age."

That still left her confused. "Why don't you teach them instead of Ms. Tempest? You're a teacher."

Ms. Rosetta shook her head. "I teach them how to enjoy life, that they are loved, and to always give everything their best effort whether it works out or not. Those are important lessons that make life worth living. I'm not qualified to teach them what Tempest and Phobia teach them though. I'm just an ancient history and language nerd who happened to fall in love with and marry a Dreamwarden."

"And you teach them Spanish too," Robby pointed out.

Rosetta laughed. "That I do, though they may be learning a very colorful vocabulary. I've even managed to teach Phobia enough Spanish so she isn't completely clueless when someone speaks to her in it. I may have married a Dreamwarden, but she married a proud Puerto Rican and our foals will keep that heritage going." She then gave Jessie a gentle nudge with her wing. "Anyway, come along. Let's give Phobia and her sisters some privacy."

Jessie got up and started walking towards the front door with Robby and Ms. Rosetta flanking her to either side. She looked up at the night pony mare as they walked. "Why is it important for them to speak Spanish and be connected to Puerto Rico?"

"It's more than just language; it is also traditions and history," Ms. Rosetta replied as she opened the front door with a wing. "People should know where they came from and keep their family heritage alive in order to honor everyone that came before and so that heritage doesn't die out. You'll hear a lot of people around here talk about their southern heritage, it's part of their identity that they are proud of. They keep their history being told, even the ugly parts, and those things are never forgotten. The same can be said for my family's Puerto Rican heritage and our human heritage in general. We aren't just night ponies, we have many things that shaped us."

"But Phobia Remedy's family didn't come from Puerto Rico," Jessie observed.

Ms. Rosetta nodded. "This is true. Her family name on her father's side is Gilmore, which shows a Scottish or Irish heritage. Her mother's last name is Portsmith, which is of English origin. Sadly, her family lost connection to their Scottish roots, and English heritage is very prevalently taught in schools already. I'd really like them to learn more about their Scottish roots as well, but neither I or Phobia would be very good at representing them properly."

As Jessie followed the mare outside she wondered about her own heritage. She'd never really given it much thought before. Didn’t she just have a general American human heritage? She knew Middleton was an English name, so she must have family history going there. She didn't know her mom's maiden name though. Maybe she should ask her mom or grandmare about it when she got the chance. She was an earth pony, but what else was she? Was she incomplete without knowing?

As they walked outside the sounds of conversation from the night pony mares became audible. It was hard to make out any particular string of talk because there were so many conversations. They weren't loud, but there was a lot of chatter going on.

Ms. Rosetta led her and Robby out to the grass and then turned and looked up at the house. Jessie looked up just in time to see Layla detach herself from the side of the house and come down in front of them.

"I'll leave you two to your business. Robby and I have a flight to do," Ms. Rosetta said in a voice that carried more authority than Jessie typically heard from her. "Four of you can trail me to keep watch. Just to respect the wishes of Robby's parents I want nothing but mares who've taken Yinyu's Blessing." There seemed to be some grumbling about the last part among the night ponies which Ms. Rosetta quickly silenced. "I don't agree with it either but I'm not going to violate their wishes when it comes to this. Hurry up and pick out which four of you are coming."

There was some short debate before four mares with tattooed wings came down from the roof to the edge of the yard and waited. Ms. Rosetta took to the air without another word and Robby took just a moment to give Layla a sour look before taking to the air behind Ms. Rosetta. The four mares quickly followed after the two of them. It was now just her and Layla with the remaining mares on the roof quieting down as they watched.

Layla had a plain brown saddlebag on and reached a wing into it to pull out a folded up sheet of paper. Jessie felt a little envious of night pony wings as the young mare used hers to unfold and hold the paper up to read. "Yesterday I accused you of not earning your grades and acted in a manner unbecoming of someone who has volunteered to defend the Warden of Fear. I insulted you, and the teachers who have taught me over the years who I insinuated were not doing their jobs. While I can make excuses for my behavior none of them are adequate. I’m here to apologize and ask for your forgiveness."

Jessie blinked at the long apology. "Um...I think you could have just said you're sorry and that would be good enough. That felt kind of...not right...maybe a little too formal?"

Layla's ears sagged as she crumpled the paper with her wings. "Yeah, I suck at speech writing on short notice. I asked my aunt to help, but she said I needed to do it on my own. I'm guessing that didn't sound very sincere."

"Not really," Jessie replied, uncertain what she was supposed to do at this point.

"Sorry, I'm not that great with dealing with day ponies or conversations in general," Layla confessed. She looked Jessie in the eyes. "I'm telling the truth that I'm sorry though. I don't know what came over me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and it just ate me up until it spilled out."

"So you really don't think I earned my grades?" Jessie asked as her ears laid back slightly and her tail flicked.

Layla winced as this clearly wasn't going as well as she hoped. "Try to see it from my perspective. I've busted my ass--"

"Don't cuss in front of a filly, Layla!" Rebeca cut in with a yell.

Layla turned her head upwards with her ears laid back. "Do you want me to talk to her like I would anyone else or not? She's in high school; she hears cussing all the time. If I'm supposed to treat her as my peer then I'm not going to watch my mouth more than I would with any other person I go to school with."

Rebecca looked like she wanted to say more, but she just laid down like an angry cat and glared at her niece instead. Layla gave a stiff flick of her tail then turned back to Jessie. "As I was saying, it is hard to believe that you're that smart that you can just blow through all those classes like they are nothing at your age. I believe you're smart, and I hate admitting it but probably smarter than me— but that's a lot of things to learn and master in a very short time. I have a cutie mark in math and I still have to put in a lot of work. You don't even have a mark. Can you blame me for being skeptical?"

"Can you try not being so snide?" Rebecca yelled down.

Layla turned and gave a snap of her wings. "Can you go somewhere? I'm trying my best here. I asked for your help and you said no, so back off!"

Rebecca got up with a hiss and took to the air. She didn't go that far, just flying to the opposite side of the house just out of sight.

Layla turned back and sighed. "Sorry about that. She takes care of me since both my parents are day ponies, but she's almost like my big sister since she's only eight years older than me. Sometimes we're best friends and sometimes we're snapping back and forth at one another."

"I'm sorry you don't get to be with your parents," Jessie said quietly, trying to find something to give an olive branch on.

Layla gave a brief winny that sounded like a half laugh. "Don't worry about it. They live in town so I get to see them all the time. They just wanted me to have a full time parent while I was growing up, and being on opposite sleep schedules made it so they needed to enlist my aunt for that. Now that I don't really need a guardian I could move back in with them if I wanted, but I'm just used to living with her now."

"Oh," Jessie replied. She guessed that wasn't too different than what went on with Robby and Ms. Rosetta except Robby kept his bed back home. It might even be easier if he didn't. She wondered if her parents had ever considered just letting him live full time here. She wasn't sure she'd like that; it took him away from her.

Suddenly she realized something that never occurred to her before. If she graduated and went off to college next year it would be somewhere far from Riverview. Would her whole family move with her? What if her parents decided to move wherever she was going to go to college and they had to decide what to do about Robby? They kind of depended on her grandmare and Ms. Rosetta for taking care of him. Would he just be left with one of them instead? Did her going to college mean she didn't get to see her brother anymore?

The thought of it was enough to make her eyes water and before she knew it she was crying like a little filly right in front of Layla and all the night ponies.

"Shit, what'd I do?" Layla asked in confusion and worry. "I'm sorry about whatever it is I said that came out that badly. I didn't mean to do anything to hurt your feelings. Tell me what I did and we can fix this...please. Crystal is going to kick me out if she finds out I made you cry."

"What's going on?" Phobia Remedy's voice called out from the porch. Jessie didn't look up and kept crying. Phobia was coming and that made her feel even more ashamed so she cried even more.

"Dreamwarden, I don't know what I did. Please don't dismiss me. I didn't mean for this to hap--"

"Hush," Phobia ordered. Jessie could hear the sound of the Dreamwarden's footsteps coming towards her. They came to a halt right beside her and the Warden lifted Jessie's head up with a wing and looked her in the eyes. "Jessica, I would like to put you to sleep for a minute. This requires me to use mind magic. Do I have your permission?"

"Why?" She asked through a sob.

Phobia Remedy kept her gaze locked on her. "So I can see what’s bothering you clearly. Layla's position is in the balance and I would not dismiss her without finding out all the facts. You could tell me in the waking world, but you could be lying to protect her."

She tried to cut back her crying. "But it wasn't her fault. I'm just being a stupid filly."

"Then allow me to verify that and this will be resolved quickly. Do I have your permission?"

She blinked a few times. She didn't want Layla to get in trouble. It really wasn't her fault. "Okay..."

"Then sleep," Phobia said and the world went black. It didn't last for long though before she found herself blinking on the ground with Phobia Remedy standing over her. "Thank you. We'll discuss your fears in a moment. Let me clear things up with Layla first." The Dreamwarden turned to Layla. "You're not responsible for making her cry. I'm sorry to make you worry you were going to be dismissed but I would be remiss if I didn't follow through with checking on this. But I do think it best if you two continue your discussion at a later date."

"Yes, Dreamwarden," Layla said hastily and then turned to Jessie. "I really didn't want to hurt you. Maybe we can talk in class when we get back to school."

"I'd like that," Jessie replied as she stood back up. Layla didn't give a goodbye as she left. Probably afraid she might be disobeying a Dreamwarden already.

Phobia Remedy looked down at her with a kindly gaze. "As for your fear. I don't have much to say that can make that go away, but I can help you understand it. There have already been talks with your parents about what happens when you go off to college. Specifically concerning your brother. Nothing is decided yet as we still haven't discussed it with him, but the option of him staying with us has been brought up."

"I don't want that," Jessie sobbed.

Phobia crooked her head. "Your choice to pursue college unfortunately will be the catalyst, but you don't always get to be the determining choice in what happens. You are so eager to grow up so soon, and to tell the truth the world needs you to. Growing up means change though. Sometimes it means changes we don't like. What is best for your brother might not be what you would want to happen, but it is what needs to happen."

"What if I took my time and stayed in high school all four years?" She asked as she considered her options.

"You buy some time with him here, but no matter what at some point the two of you will have to part ways. Your parents may choose to move before then as well just to be prepared to get you straight into college after you finish high school. Your time is short with him regardless. You set this path, and you need to accept what is involved."

Anger welled up in her. "And what about all the friends I'm making now? What's the point of friends if I have to just leave and abandon them? Why did everyone convince me to make friends if I'm just going to lose them?"

Phobia Remedy sat down beside her. "Friendships can be maintained over a distance. While you’re away you can call them and when you return as I’m sure you will you can see them. Perhaps if that is not enough, I can talk to your parents about letting you dreamwalk when it is time for you to move on. That way you can see them every night. The skills you're gaining now making friends will help you make new friends wherever you go as well."

"It won't be the same," she said as she dug at the grass.

"Nothing ever is," Phobia Remedy said in a quiet tone. "Change can be hard, but that's part of moving forward. You're going out into the adult world much sooner than most, and learning to deal with things you don’t like happening is part of that journey."

"I'm just a little filly," she whispered. "It's not fair."

"It's hard to accept now, but you'll come to understand in time that this is just opening new doors," the Dreamwarden replied. Phobia Remedy then wrapped a wing around her and pulled her into an embrace. "If I could make the world fair I would, but it doesn't work that way. No matter who you are, life is full of conflict and tension, fear and passion, anger and sorrow; it is about rising to the occasion over these things and growing for it. You've got a lot of growing left to do, and I hope you make the most of it."

She leaned into the comfort of the Dreamwarden's embrace. She could understand all that was being said to her in her head, but her heart couldn't accept it. Not for the first time she wished she were normal, and then she would have many more years for her heart to learn to accept this.

Wild stepped out of her bathroom and looked around her massive living room. Her papa was passed out on the couch with the television on. Trying to keep up with her mama had been far more activity than he was used to. One of the crystal ponies, the mare, was on a nearby couch watching news reports of riots in Colorado Springs. The other three ponies were at her bar with one of the unicorns acting as bartender. There was no sign of George, and more importantly, no sign of her mama.

She immediately walked over to the mare sitting on her couch. "Where is she? You're supposed to be keeping track of her."

The mare didn't seem particularly concerned and pointed a hoof up at the ceiling. "She's upstairs somewhere. We've got a good read on the spell's signature and we're keeping track of her with that. As long as she doesn't go any further than this building we know where she's at--at least as long as the spell lasts."

"And what if it comes to an end and she falls down?" Wild demanded with gritted teeth. "She'll be helpless when she reverts back to human form, and this place is big enough that it could take several minutes to track her down after that happens."

The mare waved her hoof dismissively. "That spell is still going strong. We'd know if it were weakening enough to worry about it. I'm not chasing your mother everywhere. If you haven't noticed she's more hyperactive than a night pony filly on coffee. Do you want us to be too tired to do our jobs when the time comes to do them?"

She snorted her annoyance and decided to drop it. Her mama wouldn't stay up there for long. It was only a matter of time before she wanted her magic fix. This was a good enough time to relax after a long day and a few minutes where she didn't have her mama hanging off her like a leech. She loved her mama, and was happy this seemed to be working out, but the constant feeding off her was getting grating.

Her papa stirred from his sleep after she jostled him by hopping up to sit next to him. He gave a big stretching yawn and looked around. "Where's your mother?"

"Exploring upstairs I guess. There shouldn't be anything she can get into that can hurt her," she replied as she tried to focus on the television.

Her papa started to stand up. "Maybe I should go find her."

"Sit down, Papa. Let her wander around," she ordered, contrary to what she wanted to do. "She could use a few minutes where she isn't right up in everyone's face. She has to learn how to lay off socializing a little bit."

Her papa sat back down. "I guess so. I just worry about her."

"Since I don't see George anywhere I'm guessing he's keeping an eye on her."

"Is that the stuffy human guy who was here?" The crystal mare asked. "If that's him he did go with her upstairs and she was talking his ear off."

"See, she's fine. George will watch her," she said, feeling more confident about it herself. She turned to the ponies at her bar. "Hey! If you three are just going to raid my stuff without asking or paying for it will you at least take the time to pour me a mug of orange juice and bring it here? Plain orange juice, not spiked."

The unicorn promptly followed through with her request and she thanked him as she grabbed the mug with both forehooves and took a drink. She then turned her attention back to the television and tried to zone out as the hour was getting late. Her attention was legitimately caught as she spotted them interviewing a pair of ponies and she recognized the earth pony.

"This talk about rioting is completely overblown. It was just some teenagers being teenagers," Theresa Perkins said into reporter's microphone. A much younger pegasus mare--one at that age young ponies went through where she'd reached her adult height but her body was thin and stretched out like she was emaciated--was hovering in the air behind her looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. The younger mare was wearing what looked like a numbered flight suit marked with colors that matched the banners in the background.

"As a witness to what happened how about you tell our viewers about it," the reporter said.

"There's not much to say. My daughter's flight team was performing for everypony and then a bunch of young stallions got out on the field and started yelling about how the government was out to get ponies. The police, who weren't all humans mind you, went out to try to get them off the field and there was a little scuffle."

"And how do you feel about human and pony relations after this? Do you feel this has escalated tensions?"

Thersea's eyes narrowed and her teeth grit. "Honestly, every time anything happens around here we have reporters swarming in here flashing cameras. This town doesn't have any problems with humans and ponies getting along. We've got a lot of mixed families here, like mine, and everything is fine. Stop looking for trouble where there is none. We're all sick of you coming to Colorado Springs and treating us like we're some powder keg waiting to blow."

"You tell them Theresa. Don't let them try to turn something small into something bigger than what it is," Wild said proudly.

"You know her?" Her papa asked.

Wild flicked an ear. "Not really, but I met her and remember her. Sunset sent me out there to deliver a check to her family once. Her husband is a human and he got caught in some Shimmerist violence and hurt. It was a publicity stunt on Sunset's part, but it was still good to be helping pay for his rehab costs and helping get them back on their hooves and feet. I got the chance to talk to them a little bit. They're good people."

"If her husband is human maybe he would be interested in this kind of spell," her papa suggested.

Wild scrunched up her muzzle. "That I'm not sure about. We're still a long way from this going public. As Mama has shown we've still got a lot of bugs to work out. Maybe in the fu--" she stopped talking the moment a pair of forelegs grabbed onto her neck from behind, her first reaction was to try to subdue whoever it was, but thankfully she got a whiff of the person in time and stopped herself. "Mama! Don't sneak up on me like that! I almost hurt you."

She turned around to see her mama hanging over the back of the couch with a crestfallen look on her face. There was orange juice spilled all over the couch because Wild had dropped her mug in her shock. "Mama, I didn't mean to yell at you, but you can't be doing that. I'm too tense about that kind of thing and even though you might be the strongest you've ever been right now I'm still strong enough to easily hurt you by accident."

George came running up looking out of breath. "I apologize, ma'am. She got away from me. She's just so fast on her hooves. One minute she was right beside me and the next she is galloping down the stairs."

That her mama moved that fast without being heard was impressive. It brought up another concern though. "Galloping down the stairs? As in actually galloping down the stairs? Mama, please be careful. You're going to get yourself hurt."

"I'm not a little foal. You don't need to scold me like one," her mama said ruefully as she let herself slide off the back of the couch. She then walked around the couch, still shining brightly despite her hurt expression. "I just wanted to give you a hug."

You just wanted to leech more magic off me. Wild thought but decided not to say. "Mama, just try to be careful. We've got you healthy and able to move around on your own again. Please, don't do something that's going to end with you getting hurt."

The older mare looked like she was going to argue again, but the fight seemed to go out of her a second later. "Okay, you're right. I probably need to have somepony talk sense to me while I'm busy being excited."

Wild sighed. "We're going to have to break you of those pony pronouns. You sound like a western pony. It's getting late and we've all had a long day. How about I show everyone to their rooms and we can start fresh tomorrow, okay?"

"Getting some sleep does sound like a good idea, hun," her papa said as he stood up from the couch just to crouch down next to his wife. "You're not used to being this active. You may be wearing yourself out and not realizing it. I'd like to have some personal time with you myself. I know you've been eager to talk to all the people you normally don't get to, but I want time with you too."

Her mama looked stricken by her papa's comment. "Oh Roger, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you. I just...well--you already explained it for me. The rest of the night can be just you and me."

"Maybe we can do something a bit more personal..." Her papa suggested in a mischievous voice. "...we haven't been able to in a long time."

Her mama's expression turned to a coy one. "Roger, I never knew you were a furry."

"Only for you."

"Well, I guess I could be into humans, just for you."

Wild waved a hoof. "NOPE! I didn't need to hear all that, and just so I don't end up hearing anything else I'd rather not, you two are going to room at the end of the hall away from me." She turned to the ponies freeloading at her bar. "Come on, let me show you to your rooms before you all drink my bar dry."

The ponies of the bar grumbled, but did as instructed. In a short amount of time she was upstairs and directing each person to their rooms. As she said she would she put her mama and papa in the room farthest from her on the floor, with the other ponies placed in rooms close by. She had no intention of listening to their late night activities through the walls. She was surprised to learn Number was actually here sound asleep in her customary guest room. She'd been here all day apparently. George confirmed that the unicorn was just exhausted and drunk, this wasn't the first time this had ever happened so she wasn't that concerned about it. Number did more than enough to be allowed to freeload unannounced.

It was just as well she placed her parents where she had; she'd originally planned to put them in the room right next to her but had forgotten she'd already ordered the staff to start converting that to a nursery. They moved fast on their instructions, and the room had already been stripped of everything inside it and whitewashed in preparation of whatever design choices she might have for it. Before going to bed she briefly stepped into the nursery to be and could still smell the paint fumes from the flurry of activity that had gone on here while she was away. She tried to picture the finished product; placing a cradle and crib in one area with her imagination, a rocking chair for her to sit in another spot, and going through various themes of wallpapers without anything really standing out as the best choice. In some ways this was still like a dream that this was happening. It was reality though, and now that her mama had been helped this was going to become more a priority...at least once the bugs with her mama had been worked out.

With a last glance she turned the light out and went into her own room. Glad that she was home and not dressed in a suit that she needed to carefully undress from she simply climbed into her oversized bed--which would have been huge even for a human couple--and curled up with a pillow clutched in her hooves. In no time at all she was asleep.

Her dreams were a mass of conflicting concepts and ideas. Sunset Blessing was doing her best Victor Frankenstein impression. Her mama was running through a dark castle drinking blood and blah blahing like Dracula. Her foal was bursting through her torso like an alien from the Aliens movie. People were running through the streets with torches and pitchforks. Poly Glot being wheeled into a cell bound up like Hanibal Lector.

To say the least her dreams weren't pleasant and she woke in a cold sweat part way through the night. When she did she jumped again, blinded by the glittering pony form of her mama asleep beside her, with a hoof pressed up against her flank.

There will be one more chapter sometime before BronyCon. Next chapter after that might be as much as two weeks after Bronycon though as I'll be attending that and not likely doing much writing that week.