theplaneswalkernarrator

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 11)

Sweetie Bell’s sentencing had been scheduled as soon as possible, that meant it was only three days after her last operation. She stared at herself in the mirror, the scars on her stomach. She'd be seeing Pipsqueak for the first time since this had all happened. She was excited for that, nervous, but excited. Though she knew Rarity wouldn't likely let her talk to him. It'd still be nice to see him, to know he was doing ok. Silver Spoon was there too, a show of moral support and their blossoming friendship. They'd tried a myriad of things on the quest to find her special talent, mostly around the boutique as Rarity wouldn't let her go outside until she was fully healed. Crochet, needle work, knitting, sewing, modeling, gem identification, plushie making. None of it seemed to stick. Sweetie had been thinking about what that silver spoon on her flank might mean. Maybe food related? Maybe silver work? She'd have to find ways to test it all, though she was confident in her abilities to do so. Twilight sat on a judge’s throne in against the back wall. Mayor Mare to her left and Rainbow Dash to her right. Rarity smiled and nodded at her. Sweetie heard the door open and saw Pipsqueak and his father enter. She waved, he smiled back at her, but Rarity glared daggers at them both. Sweetie Bell put her hoof down nervously. She looked up at Twilight as she cleared her throat.

“Sweetie Bell and Pipsqueak, you are accused of having an illegal pregnancy and attempting to flee with the apple road. How do you plead?” 

“Guilty.” Pipsqueak didn't hesitate. Sweetie Bell did.

She looked at the floor “Guilty…”

“Very well.” Twilight turned to Rainbow, who stood up to speak.

“You've already gone through the termination and sterilization process, and we're cooperative. With that in mind, you did contact the apple road.”

Pipsqueak held up a hoof “they contacted us.”

Rainbow glared daggers at him for interrupting her, but continued on “for these violations you'll be put in separate re-education facilities for the next four weeks.”

“No!” Rarity stood up “no, you can't do that! Sweetie has learned her lesson.”

Twilight sighed “Rarity, please try to be professional…” 

“But- Sweetie, tell her.”

“I… I have. I won't do it again.” Sweetie was still looking at the floor. She heard a small laugh but didn't know who it came from.

“You can't.”

“Twilight, Rainbow, please…” Rarity was trying to plead with them.

“Please understand, this is a lenient punishment. A normal sentencing would be for much longer.” 

Rarity sighed in defeat and sat back down. Twilight looked sternly at the two fillies, they both nodded in recognition of their punishment.

Sweetie looked back at Rarity “it's only four weeks. I'll be fine.” She tried to muster a reassuring smile.

They were taken in separate carriages. Sweetie was being sent to a facility in the crystal kingdom, it was a several hour ride. She simply sat in silence. When they arrived she was taken out and presented with a sparkling pastel building. She got out of the carriage herself, but the guard still pushed her. They walked into the facility. There was a cyan crystal pony. She smiled and shook Sweetie Bell's hoof. 

“I'm Hushed Words, I'm the facility manager. You're Sweetie Bell, right?” Sweetie nodded “wonderful. Please follow me.” she lead Sweetie down the hall. She was pleased to get away from the guard. “Here we have several public spaces. But: public spaces are a privilege. Access to them can be taken away.” Sweetie looked through one of the door windows into a dark room with a large projection screen on one wall and a rectangle of chairs that took up most of the room. “That's our theatre, we have weekly movie nights. Here is our lunch hall, group therapy room, study room,” and indicated down a long hallway “and these our the private rooms. Each one of our residents has their own.” She indicated for Sweetie to follow her down the hall. She went maybe seven doors down before pulling out a set of keys and opening the door. Sweetie noticed slots and the lack of windows which were unique to these doors. Hushed Words opened the door. Sweetie walked in. The room was sparse, only a bed and a bookshelf. “Group therapy starts in two hours.” She said it with a smile. Sweetie turned around, but was met with a closed door. She heard it lock.

There were a lot of Apple family ponies on the cooking team. Pinky figured that made sense. She wondered why the apple family in particular had made this small resistance. Maybe they were simply the only ones with enough members and loyalty to make it work. She was used to making friends easily, but it seemed like most ponies here weren't the biggest fans of her's. She had been part of the council that made this whole thing happen. She figured a few cupcakes could make it up to everyone. Quite a few, since there were more ponies here than she had first imagined. She knew she wasn't supposed to ask questions, and she understood why, but she couldn't help but wonder who made this place. Her best guess right now was Princess Luna. She had been in opposition from the program when it started. But the magical upkeep required, how could she keep it a secret? Pinkie did have a few friends. Apple Bloom and Applejack were happy to have her, but they were busy most days. So Pinky ended up spending most of her time with SpiritStar. She said she was an astronomer in canterlot, her cutie mark was a book with magical stars spiraling around it. The safe zone did have it's own fake day night cycle. She told Pinkie than she knew the entire thing was fake and not just a one way portal or projection of the real sky because the stars were in the same exact place every night. Pinkie was handing out cupcakes when she saw her exit the medical center and hopped over to say hello. She seemed caught off guard by the energy of the party pony. 

“Spirit! How's it going?”

She smiled quietly “it's alright.”

“How was the appointment?” Pinkie suddenly turned to concern “is something wrong?!”

SpiritStar shook her head “nope. Just learning the gender.”

Pinkie switch back to excitement very quickly, though slightly confused “I thought you were further along than that?”

“Well it's not like I could be checked by any doctor in Canterlot…”

Pinkie smiled “you should have a party!”

She seemed confused “a party?”

“Yeah! Like a gender reveal! It was super popular back in Ponyville. Basically just an excuse to throw a party about having a baby, but I think any excuse to throw a party is a good one!”

“Plus, throwing a party for everyone might be a way to make a good impression.” She knocked into Pinkie gently with her hip “for bolth of us.”

Pinkie smiled “so is that a yes?”

“Only if you'll plan it.”

Pinkie's smile grew to overtake her face “yes! Yes yes yes! I will not let you down!” She raised a hoof to her forehead in solute. Spiritstar laughed. She wanted to start on the party prep right away, but she had something else to do first. In the playground there was a group of foals and their parents celebrating having a cute-ceanera. According to Apple Bloom one of the kids had begged her to get Pinkie and Cheese to entertain. She showed up with cupcakes in hand and her array of party show supplies in her small pocket dimension. Cheese was already there. He smiled and waved when he saw Pinkie. One of the kids noticed and ran over to her excitedly. He was around twelve or thirteen, born long before the program went into place. 

“Is it true you guys are the ones who defeated Crystals? And evil Luna? And Discord?”

Pinkie smiled “yep”

He jumped with excitement “that's so cool! I'm so happy you guys are here.” 

Pinkie looked at that, a smile so genuine. Someday she'd see that on her own kids. But for some people, that'd never happen. Because of a program she supported… she shook it off, no bad thoughts allowed at the party. She looked at the colt’s flank. It was a simplified picture of a manticore. “That's a really nice Cutie Mark! What's your special talent?” 

“Monster fighting!” he made a pose like he was mid combat.

“How'd you discover that?” 

He looked down “uh- me and some friends snuck into the mines and we got jumped by a giant scorpion…”

Pinkie's eyes went wide “you fought a giant scorpion?” 

He smiled “I got it to sting itself in the head.”

“That's impressive.” Pinkie looked over at Cheese and saw him juggling. He looked to her and indicated for her to join. Their combo juggling performance was good… “we should head over to the party, yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Silver Spoon sat and watched as Rarity sewed. She wasn't working on any particular project, thankfully since she was making more mistakes than usual. She was nervous and trying to calm herself down. Silver Spoon was too, to be fair. She sat on the new couch cover looking through the donor list. She'd already decided she didn't want to meet them in person. Twilight said that was perfectly fine. The profiles they had filled out had a ton of information on them. Occupation, special talent and cutie mark, what age they got their cutie mark, family history of special talents, education level, age, whether they were married or had kids of their own, children’s cutie marks and special talents if the previous was true. All of them were earth ponies, that made sense. A lot of them had special talents in agriculture or gardening. Some in mining. She saw one that caught her eye, a light blue pony with a white mane and gold eyes. That could match well with her own colors… she wanted to make sure the kids actually looked like they were hers. He had a cutie mark of the blueprint to a castle, and it said he got it when he was 6. That's earlier than average. That's another thing she'd been looking for, she figured the experiment was more likely to be successful the younger the donor was when they got their cutie mark. His name was Golden Eye. a bit on the nose, but she couldn’t judge. 

“Rarity?” she called out. Rarity looked up from her sewing project and walked over.

“Yes dear?” 

“What do you think of this one?” she handed the profile over. Rarity picked it up with her magic and examined it. 

She smiled “I think he’s a good choice.”

“Really?” Silverspoon wasn’t so sure.

“Of course darling.” Rarity could tell SIlverspoon wasn’t convinced, and so sat down next to her “you know, it doesn’t really matter who you pick.”

“It feels like it does.”

“Oh I know dear.” she put her hoof on her shoulder “but these are your foals, you’re the one raising them. At the end of the day who they turn out to be is dependant on you, not their father.” father was said with extra air quotes. “Unless of course you’ve decided to set them out for adoption?”

Silver spoon shook her head “no. no, I- I think I’ll keep them.”

Rarity smiled “you’ll make a lovely mother.”

Silver spoon leaned into her comfort but didn’t reply. She wasn’t so sure about that.

Sweetie Bell woke up fairly early. The lights turned on at 6 A.M. and the best wasn’t particularly comfortable so nothing was keeping her in bed. She passed back and forth for those few hours, trying not to worry or speculate. There were five other ponies in the facility with her, all mares. One unicorn, one earth pony, and three pegasi. It could be noted that none of them were crystal ponies, and had likely all been sent here from outside of the empire. She assumed the geldings were kept at a separate facility. There were several facility staff members, but none of them talked much aside from Hushed Words. She acted as the director and the group therapist. Breakfast was at 8 A.M., then free time in public areas, followed by group therapy, lunch, study hour, more group therapy, and either movie night or “alone time” where you were permitted to take a book with you to your room as a reward for good behavior that day. Breakfast was oats with peanut butter and fruit juice. Sweetie Bell tended to stay alone during public time. She'd sit in the corner reading one of the “approved” books. Most of them were recent history talking about the breeding program, one was an analysis of cutie mark genetics, another was an autobiography from a rainbow factory worker. “The balance of magic between pony types.” That's what she was reading right now. It told the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve and how unity between the unicorns, Pegasi, and earth ponies drove away the Great winter. It talked about how each pony type has unique magics and strengths, how important it was to keep them separate. “Separate but equal” that's what the book said. It made sense, a little bit at least. She understood why Rarity was so upset about her relationship with Pipsqueak. Earth pony magic was present in physical strength and connection to nature. Unicorn magic was far more powerful and versatile. To mix unicorn and earth pony magic would be a waste. Public time was only a few hours long, she'd have to bring this book back to her room to finish it. She looked up at the other mares. Two were playing checkers, two doing word puzzles together, and one other sitting on her own. Sweetie Bell looked over at her. She was holding a book in her hooves, but didn't appear to be reading it. Instead just staring at it intently without moving her eyes to follow the words. She was a Pegasus, a bit younger than Sweetie Bell, with a videogame remote for a cutie mark, and a large scar on the side of her stomach. Her name was Game Over, Sweetie knew that much. She'd been here a pretty long time, that's what the other ponies said. Her sentence kept getting extended. She didn't talk much during the group therapy sessions. Sweetie Bell put down her book, she'd have plenty of time to finish it later. She walked up to Game Over and sat on the couch beside her. She looked up from her book, shocked. Sweetie held out a hoof.

“I'm Sweetie Bell.”

“I know.” Her response was short and to the point. 

Sweetie smiled nervously “y-yeah… but we hadn't been formally introduced.”

She shook Sweetie’s hoof “I'm Game Over.”

“So… whatcha reading about?”

“You probably shouldn't talk to me.”

Sweetie was taken aback “why?”

“Mares that talk to me tend to end up in isolation.” She saw Sweetie Bell’s face of confusion and sighed “you're here to be re-educated. I'm no good for that. Go talk to the other girls.”

Sweetie frowned “is that why you don't talk much during group therapy?”

“They don't like me to.”

Sweetie sat there in silence for a moment. Game Over had gone back to pretend reading. “why don't they want you talking?”

She sighed “it hasn't worked on me. All of…” she spun her hoof in the air “this. 

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn't matter. It should work on you. I hope it does, you'll be happier that way.”

Sweetie wanted to ask more questions but the conversation had been clearly cut. She went back over to her own seat and began reading again. She was caught off guard by the staff pony calling out time for group therapy. 

They sat in a circle of fold out chairs. Everyone did a check in where they said their names and ages. They'd also each answer a question. The question was different every time. This time it was “what is your special talent?”. They went around the room, talking about their talents. Eventually everyone had said there's and the conversation had landed back with Hushed Words. She smiled “now we're going to do an exercise. We'll go through everyone's talents one by one and vote as to wether or not they are beneficial to society. Let's start with Lunar Heart.” She indicated to the light green Pegasus on her left “who thinks moth migration is beneficial to society?”

A yellow pony with an apple slice for a cutie mark raised her hand. Hushed Words indicated for her to speak. “Well… it's like the natural world right? Keeping it in balance?”

Hushed Words smiled “Can anyone tell Sunny Day why she's wrong?” 

Game Over raised her hand and Hushed Words indicated towards her “moth’s aren't agriculturally or ecologically nessisary.”

Hushed Words smiled “very good. Now about about Sweetie Bell.” She felt a pit in her stomach “She said her talent is helping others find their cutie marks, can anyone tell me why that doesn't benefit society?”

Game Over raised her hoof again “because the program eliminates the need for searching. Cutie marks are predetermined by their parents.” Sweetie Bell felt her heart sink. She had heard it before from Rarity, but not so bluntly, not in front of so many people. Hushed Words seemed pleased and moved on to the next pony. She kept Game Over to talk for a moment after the session had ended and Sweetie couldn't help but overhear.

“You've shown incredible progress in the last few sessions.”

“Happy to hear it.” Game Over sounded thoroughly monotone. 

“You're so good at remembering and understanding the material. I just wish you'd take it to heart more.” Hushed Words put her hoof on Game Over’s shoulder.

She nudged it off “yeah.”

Hushed Words sighed “well, I'm glad you seem to be improving. I'd love it if you could continue.”

She ushered her away to the study group. 

Silver spoon moved around in her chair uncomfortably. Twilight had just finished the insemination and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to be feeling. Twilight looked over her notes happily. 

“Well, you will see one of the nurses for regular check ups and then I will see you in about 10 months.”

“Thankyou.” She stared at the floor.

I'm her way home she noticed a group of fillies playing. She sat down to watch them. They were young, most of them didn't have their cutie marks yet. The one that did had a cupcake with a blue sugar sphere on top. She was the clear leader of the group, but she wasn't coarse or demanding. A mother sat beside her, a purple and blue Pegasus.

“Wich one is yours?”

“Oh- uh,” she suddenly realized it wasn't the most normal thing to watch other people's fillies play. “N-none of them actually… I'm just, thinking.”

The mother pony smiled at her “that one's mine.” She pointed to a blue and orange pegasus. Silver Spoon must have made a face because the mother laughed “doesn't look much like me, does she?”

Silver Spoon looked at the ground “sorry…”

“There's nothing to apologize for dear, it's perfectly alright.” The mother sat, watching the kids play “she's not actually mine.” Silver Spoon looked up at her, shocked “the surrogate was a good friend of ours.” She looked back at Silver Spoon “it's ok, you know. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”

Silver Spoon realized what she was saying and shook her head “no- no I'm not, that's not-” she desperately wanted to change the subject “why did you say was?”

The mother sighed “she died during child birth.” Silver Spoon’s eyes went wide. She didn't even know that still happened “we named her after her.” The Pegasus pointed to her daughter “Sun Chaser.”

Silver Spoon smiled “that's a nice name.” 

She heard the bell ring as she went into the the boutique. Rarity looked up from her current prodject, but quickly returned her focus once she knew it was Silver Spoon and not a customer. 

“How did it go?”

“Good. I think.” Silver Spoon sat down on the couch. She thought about the blood stains under the new cover. 

Rarity made a face and walked over. She sat down on the couch beside her. “what’s wrong sugar cube?”

“Does it ever feel weird? Being around people who got sterilized? I feel… guilty. That I can have kids and they can't.”

“It does.” Rarity looked into the distance “but the system is the way it is for a reason.”

“What makes me better than someone who can't have kids? The fact I was born with my cutie mark? What does that matter?!”

Rarity sighed and put her hoof on Silver Spoon's shoulder “for you it's different. You were approved for this prodject, yes, but if not for that you likely wouldn't be.”

“So there is no difference. Just that I have something Princess Twilight wants to experiment with.” her face hardened.

Rarity looked down at her, then up again into the distance “the system is the way it is for a reason.”

Pinkie felt good. Good to be trusted with something. She happily bounced down the short safe zone street to the cooking crew area. Just like everything else, it was bigger on the inside, featuring a bakery, full kitchen, cider making station. Truly you could cook anything here. Today she was alone, it wasn't a cooking crew day. But she had some important baking to do. A multi-teared vanilla cake colored blue on the inside. She smiled down at it. She hadn't made a party cake since she got here, not by herself at least. It was fun, to get back into the rhythm of things. For a moment she could almost imagine herself back at sugarcube corner. She looked out the window at her good friend Twilight. She saw her talking to someone. They were crying. She shook her head. No bad thoughts, it would get into the cake. She smiled.

“Hope I'm not late!” She walked into SpiritStar's apartment, where Cheese had been decorating. A few guests had begun to arrive.

SpiritStar ran over to her with a smile. “Nope! Just on time.” She took the cake with her magic and levitated it onto the table. 

The guests included Applejack and Apple Bloom, who waved ecstatically at Pinkie. They'd become closer, her and Applejack, with the help of Apple Bloom. Mended old fences. Applejack told her about forming the road. Finding the red sand mining family and setting up the safe zone. She still hadn't told her where the magic came from, and Pinkie didn't ask. She just listened. Listened to all the stories of the people on the road. People were more than happy to tell her, once she stopped asking. Saddle Sword, the colt with the manticore cutie mark, his parents were pregnant with their second child when the program was announced. They were late into the pregnancy, but the program demanded they go through the tests anyways. They failed. They were required to get a termination, but they refused. Ran away together with Saddle Sword and stayed in the house of some family friends a few towns away. Those friends happened to be Apples. They were some of the first people on the road, and they'd lived here for four odd years. Saddle Sword had spent nearly half of his life here. His younger sister Leather Armor was born here. Aparently the safe zone wasn't as well crafted back then. It took years to perfect and build it. This wasn't the first safe zone either. Before the apples met the red sand miners they had holed up in an abandoned town on the west end of Equestria. It got raided by enforcers after just a few months. Then they lived on the move, those small encampments the enforcers advertised. Once they found the mines their “benefactor”, they didn't know who provided the magic either, began making small pocket dimensions for them to live in. Then they got bigger as the project grew. Expanded to grow and provide food, gave way for education once it was needed, and medical care. There were nearly six hundred ponies living here, maybe forty or so children born after the program went into place. Applejack said it wasn't much, that they were trying to expand to above Equestria so they could help more folks in the north, but Pinkie found it awe inspiring. 

Fluttershy rushed out of her office and into the waiting room when she heard the commotion. A younger fillie, maybe five or six, was crying loudly as she tried to escape. The nurses held her back.

“You're lieing! She's back there, I saw her go back there!” 

“Please calm down.” Teddy spoke gently, holding the small fillie back with all her might. 

“What's going on?” Fluttershy budge her way into the middle of this fight between her staff and the fillie. 

Teddy turned to her, appreciative of the help “her mother came in with a late stage accidental pregnancy. The termination didn't go well.”

“Let me see her!” The child begged.

Fluttershy grabbed her shoulders and spun her to look at her face. She was pastel yellow and orange with small, feathery wings. “Everything is going to be ok.” the screams settled into gentler cries. Fluttershy turned to Teddy. “Where is her mother?” Teddy looked down at the floor nervously and she instantly understood what had happened “who was the doctor?” 

“Cherry.” The blue pony spoke nervously, staring at the floor “she’s being questioned in a private office. The enforcers are on their way.”

“Ok.” Fluttershy sighed and looked back at the pastel phillie “do you have a dad? Or another mother maybe?” She shook her head “anyone that takes care of you?”

“Mom takes care of me. I want to see her, why won't they let me see her.”

Fluttershy sighed “do you know why your mom was here?” 

Another negative shake. “The enforcers took her while I was at school. My neighbors told me. Please let me see her.”

Her heart sank “I'm sorry, I can't do that.”

The childish sadness turned to anger “why not?! Why won't any of you let me see her?!”

Fluttershy kept her hoof on the fillie’s shoulder. “You're mom had to have an operation done. It was an emergency, they didn't have time to get you from school.”

“An emergency?”

“Yes. Very urgent.” 

“But she's ok now, right?” Their eyes met.

“No. I'm sorry.” The sobbing started up again. 

“I've been reading this book.” Sweetie Bell sat in the group therapy circle. “It talk about why different pony types can't cross breed.”

“And you have thoughts?” Hushed Words looked at her closely.

“I- I guess I just hadn't ever considered it like that before. Me and pipsqueak, we loved each other. And it felt like all we should need was love, but there's so much more than that.” Hushed Words smiled.

“Precisely. When we think about our relationships we need to consider not only how they effect us but how they effect future generations. Crossbreeding can be very dangerous and selfish.” The other ponies in the circle nervously nodded in agreement. Then it was time for lunch. Sweetie had made friends with Sunny Day and Lunar Heart. Sunny Day was an apple family member, though very loosely. Her family had been contacted by the road and were hiding a pregnant couple for them while they tried to get a chayote. Her, her mother, her sister, and her father had all been captured by enforcers. And all sent to different Red education facilities. Kept separate to make the process go smoother. 

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 10)

She got up to leave but Sweetie indicated for her to stay “why do you want to know your special talent so bad all of a sudden?*

“So I can pick suitable sperm donors. Don't want to end up with any surprises down the line.” She smiled awkwardly. 

Sweetie looked upset, but not as mad as she would be if she didn't know Silver Spoon was lying. That jealousy was building up in her again. Big breath in. Big breath out. She forced a smile “we can start tomorrow.”

Applebloom helped the pregnant unicorn into the elevator and up to her room. They had it well situated for any inevitable complications. Pregnancies, babies, it was all accounted for and accommodated. Her name was SpiritStar, the unicorn. She didn't talk much, that was ok by Applebloom. Lots of ponies didn't talk much when they first arrived. She headed down the elevator once more and to Apple Rhubarb, who was organizing the next food crew. They switched it out, so no pony was stuck doing a job they didn't like. Of course, if they found themselves enjoying one more than the others, then they could request to be assigned to it more permanently. Applebloom wasn't part of the food rotation, instead she was part of the education rotation. Most of the fillies born here were far too young to even think about their cutie marks, but at the beginning they had quite a few parents bring their children with them to the safe zone. She watched young colts and fillies play on the playground. She watched parents looking on happily. This was how this was supposed to be, she was sure of it. No tests, no breeders or failures, just people in love raising kids they loved. She spotted Pinkie Pie out of the corner of her eye. She was requesting permanent placement with the cooking crew. Not a difficult request, especially because they didn't really have any baker ponies right now… she walked over to them. Pinkie finished her conversation and looked over to see Applebloom, smiling and waving enthusiastically.

“To be honest I'm right surprised you're here.”

Pinkie and Cheese looked at each other “we are too.”

“I didn't mean it in a bad way! Just, now we've got half the main six with us, maybe we can actually make some change.”

“Half?” Pinkie tilted her head curiously “but it's only Applejack and me.”

“Right.” Applebloom shut herself up quickly “sorry, didn't realize you weren't in the loop on that. I'll keep quiet.”

Pinkie wanted to inquire more, but knew that would be rude considering she'd just gotten there “is Applejack around?”

She nodded her head “she should be around here somewhere… maybe in the bucking fields.”

Pinkie turned to look at the sprawling landscape of the apple orchard “that isn't all real is it?”

“Yep.” Applebloom seemed mighty proud of herself “planted most of em myself.”

“But… how did they grow so fast, without sunlight?” Pinkie looked up at the artificial sky.

“That's a secret.” Applebloom winked “maybe Applejack will tell you when you see her.”

Pinkie and Cheese followed Apllebloom’s instructions into the orchard. It was beautiful, it looked just like the orchard back in Ponyville, before the apple road that is… now, from lack of proper care, the orchard had overgrown, withered, and decayed all at once. 

“Applejack!” The party pony say her friend for the first time in five years and bounded over to her. 

“Pinkie,” Applejack seemed stunned “blood orange had told me you'd arrived, guess I should have expected a visit.”

“Is that the dark red chayote pony?” Applejack didn't respond. “this place is amazing.”

“Thanks. It's taken a lot of work.”

“And magic… who's running all this?”

Applejack sighed “look Pinkie, I'm mighty glad to see you again. But you should cool it with the questions, we tend not to tell new comers much for the first few weeks.”

“Right…” Pinkie hadn't thought of that, the idea of sending someone on the apple road to learn all their secrets and then report back to the enforcers. Applejack didn't think she could be a spy, did she? That thought hurt. 

“How bout a few questions of my own?” Applejack leaned against the nearby apple tree “what brings ya all the way down here?”

Pinkie nudged Cheese Sandwich “we didn't both get approved, but we didn't want to have kids with anyone else.”

Applejack smiled “nice to see some pony coming around, even if it took a few years…” she said that last part with a bit of venom.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing. Just, well, you didn't seem to have any problems with the program until it affected you.”

“Well… I-” she couldn't think of a response, because it was true. She really hadn't ever thought deeply about it before. Was that on purpose?

Applejack continued “it's hurt a lot of people. I wish it didn't need to hurt you for you to see that.”

Pinkie looked down “I'm sorry…”

Applejack stood up and walked over to her friend “I'm not faulting you sweet heart, I know what's in that brain. You make the best out of any situation, even when you shouldn't.”

Pinkie was happy Applejack was so forgiving. Up until now she hadn't really thought she needed AppleJack's forgiveness. But looking back, all those ponies she cheered up, how many of them had just been told they weren't good enough to be parents? How many of them had dealt with forced terminations and sterilization? Pinkie looked at the ground as she walked, thinking. She didn't see the pony in front of her, and so accidentally knocked into her. The unicorn has fully fallen over from the impact.

“Oh! I'm so sorry.” pinkie offered her hoof to help her up, and realized this was the same pregnant unicorn from the tour.

“It's ok…” she wiped off her dark blue coat.

“I'm Pinkie pie!” She cheerily offered her hoof again, this time to be shaken.

“I know.” The unicorn complied “I'm SpiritStar.”

Pinkie smiled “nice to meet you!”

SpiritStar’s smile was much less pronounced “nice to meet you too.”

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 9)

Pinkie must have fallen asleep again. Cheese Sandwich nudged her side to awaken her. They had arrived. She walked out onto the station walkway and looked over at the large red sand and stone mountain in front of her. There were several entrances, clearly the tunnels left over from mining operations. 

“Alright y'all.” Pinkie looked up, recognizing the voice, but found it belonging to a southern apple mare around AppleJack’s age. “You'll need to follow me through the caverns. Please keep up pace, it’s easy to get lost.” She looked over the crowd “is anyone here pregnant?” a younger unicorn in the back raised her hoof. She notiply didn't have anyone else here with her. The apple mare nodded her head “Apple Bloom, can you help her?” Pinkie turned at the name. There she saw Apple Bloom, her yellow coat had been stained around her hooves by the red dirt. Apple Bloom noticed her too, and smiled and waved, but walked over to the pregnant unicorn. It had been maybe five years since the apple family went missing. She looked so much older, so much more mature. Still very much a young mare, but an adult. She had lost her child-like glow and it had been replaced by a clear sense of purpose. Pinkie Pie didn't know how to feel about that… they were corraled into the mines. Following the apple mare, who's name was Apple Rhubarb, through the tunnels. Up and down, left and right, she was right about it being easy to get lost. Pinkie realized that that must have been by design, why they picked this place. No one would be able to get in unless they knew the way already. They continued down the various mineshafts for about half an hour before finally seeing light. Not sun light, not really, but an imitation created for the pocket dimension this cave had been made into. There was running water, an orchard of apple trees and a series of small buildings to the left, a schoolhouse and a playground to the right. It was definitely larger than the cave was. She stood there, in shock, looking at it. The safe zones had been described as nothing more than encampments on the outer borders, raided by dragons and wild animals regularly, with no access to healthcare or education. Pinkie felt a slight push behind her as Apple Bloom indicated for her to move forward, she was holding back the line behind her. “S-sorry.” She quickly went with Cheese Sandwich to continue the tour. Every building was bigger on the inside. The living quarters particularly so. It was designed like a Manehattan appartment building, with several stories and individual rooms for each family. How much magic did it take to make this place? It seemed like only an alicorn could do it, but no princess would be caught dead helping the apple road. 

“What are you doing?” Sweetie Bell walked into the room where Silver Spoon was trying desperately to sew a straight line. 

“Oh,” Silver Spoon turned around, removing her hoof from the petal in order to stop the machine from running “sorry, did I wake you?”

Sweetie Bell sighed and laid down on the couch. There were already bloodstains from when she first got home that night after the procedure, rarity said she'd just get a new cover once everything was squared away. “Don't worry about it, I was already awake.” She tilted her head quizzically “are you sewing?”

“Trying to” Silver Spoon held up her meeger attempt at a dress based on one of Rarity’s patterns.

“Why? Not like you'll need the money, pretty sure Twilight will keep her little experiment well take care of.”

Spoon winced at that, but shook it off. “I'm just trying to see if there's anything I'm good at.”

Sweetie Bell smiled “like a cutie mark crusader.”

Silver Spoon turned her head “what?”

“The cutie mark crusaders. That's what we called ourselves when we started looking for our cutie marks. Tried just about everything we could to get them.” She rolled over “you're pretty lucky to be born with it.”

“Yeah… lucky…” Silver Spoon looked back at the sewing project “at least you actually got to discover yours. You got to know your special talent. I don't even have one, all this stupid spoon means is that I was born rich.”

Sweetie Bell looked cross as she thought for a moment “you must have a special talent, everyone does.”

Spoon lowered her gaze to the floor and shrugged “I don't.”

“It's not fair.” Sweetie sat up “why do you get to have kids? Why do you get to be better than me? If you don't even have a talent then-” she stopped when she realized Silver Spoon had begun crying.

“I'm sorry. I really am.” She wiped away some of her tears with the dress “I don't know. I don't think I want this anymore.”

“You're… you can just tell Twilight that, she'll understand. Put the whole experiment on lock. You don't have to go through with it.”

Silver Spoon sighed “I think I do… I know everyone acts like the breeders are better than everyone else and get all this choice and freedom, but I don't think that's true. Not for me. And how many surrogates and sperm donors could there possibly be? I mean, really. There can't be that many people willing to have kids that aren't their own. They must be doing something to keep them in line, to keep the system running.”

“You've… really thought about this, haven't you?”

“Diamond Tiara left me without a second thought, the very moment I decided to disobey her. Imagine what a princess will do to me if I don't follow through.”

Sweetie was still thinking about that when she walked with Rarity to her next surgery. Being on that table again… she wasn't sure she could do that. Even if she would be under anesthesia, would she feel it? She felt it the first time, every second of it. Big breath in, big breath out. Rarity held her hoof when she laid down. Bright lights. She felt the mask go onto her face. One… two… and then she was gone.

“Sweetie Bell?” She heard Rarity's voice cut through the anesthetic as it began to wear off. She looked over at the sound, and in a few moments she was able to see more clearly. She wasn't on the operation table anymore, she was in a hospital bed. She looked around, Rarity was the only one there. She smiled “are you awake?” Sweetie could only nod her head “the operation went well. You'll be in recovery for a day or two, but that just means taking some pain meds and not being too active.” She used her hoof to move some of the hair out of Sweetie Bell's eyes “I'm proud of you.” Was she? Was she proud that her sister got pregnant by mistake? Was she proud she was forced to be terminated and sterilized? Was she proud of the nearly a week she spent in bed, bleeding, in pain, because Twilight couldn't be bothered to do her operation right the first time? Sweetie felt… mad. Now that she was feeling better, and done being sad and ashamed of herself, she was just angry. She moved Rarity's hoof away from her face and turned away. Rarity didn't say anything, just sat there in the silence for a few minutes before getting up and leaving. Sweetie Bell could feel tears beginning to form. 

Fluttershy held a light brown pony with a red mane in her arms. InkedQuil indicated for her to hand the baby over, which she did happily. She began to cry tears of joy at her new child. This was the reason Fluttershy did all this, to see how happy they were… some of them would never get to be this happy. She would never get to be this happy… she rushed to her next appointment, the unicorn couple. From them she went to another birthing mother, then another. Four in one day was a lot for Ponyville, though she knew some ponies traveled from outside of town to come to this clinic. With two elements of friendship working there, one of wich being a princess, there was no wonder people wanted to have their medical needs handled there. She sighed and sat down in the small lounge area for staff. She saw several charts on the walls, magically enchanted to change as new information arrived. The ratio of failures to breeders. The amount of babies born each month. The different pony types of each child. It was important to keep those things even. If one pony type became more dominant over the others, then it might cause problems down the line. There had already been talk amongst the mayors and representatives to ban earth pony breeding all together, but Twilight put an end to that. There had been more unicorn babies this year than normal. The balance was close to tipping. She was sure the recruiters, and the enforcers in some cases, could handle it. Those kids, the ones born to keep statistics up, most of them ended up orphans. Not for long though, there was a long line of parents deemed unfit to breed and looking to adopt. Last year, at the peak of it, she had three babies that she was taking care of in the cottage. That didn't last, but while it happened she was quite busy. She got up, break was over. When she wasn't helping active births then she was consulting with future parents, and their surrogates if that applied. This couple, she wasn't sure about them. Two Pegasi from Cloudsdale. Their surrogate was young, she'd likely come in as part of a recruitment program. It was important that they all be involved, that's what she reminded them of. This fillie couldn't do it on her own. The couple seemed excited for the baby but indifferent about the girl's health. Originally she was going to live with them during the pregnancy, convincing them to move her to a facility wasn't hard. Fluttershy reassured her that everything would be ok. She'd be taken care of. Her next appointment was with Silver Spoon. She recognized the name as one of scootaloo’s classmates, all those years ago. Her case was special, she was signed up to do multiple pregnancies with different fathers one after the other, with reasonable recovery time in between of course. Today they were going over the list of possible donors for the project. It made her uncomfortable when Twilight called them projects, but she knew she didn't mean anything by it. Fluttershy looked over the forms, special talent was left blank.

“So, what are you looking for?”

“Looking for?” She seemed confused.

“Well these will be your children, we want you to have as much say in the process as possible.”

“So you want me to choose the donors?”

“Just one for now, to make things easier.” She handed her the list. Earth ponies in that area who met the criteria. “There's lots of things to consider, do you want a specific coat or mane color? Or perhaps a specific special talent, you get more options with that than most people.”

She seemed intimidated by the list “do I have to decide right now.”

“Oh of course not!” Her voice raised slightly above a concerned whisper “take the list home, feel free to contact the donors. Meet up with some of them. There's no deadline on this, so take as much time as you need.” She smiled reassuringly.

Silver Spoon and Sweetie Bell actually got out of their appointments around the same time. Rarity had planned it like that, so they could all walk home together. Spoon had the list of possible donors in her saddle bag. She looked over at Sweetie. She seemed upset. To be fair she had seemed upset this entire time. She sat next to her on the couch when they got home.

“What did you and the crusaders do? To try and get your cutie marks?

“All sorts of stuff. We tried baking, zip lining, archery. Pretty much everything.”

“Do you think I could try some of that stuff too?”

Sweetie looked at her “I don't know, some of it would be dangerous while you're pregnant. But…” she thought about it “we could try.” 

Silver Spoon smiled “thankyou.”

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 8)

It was barely after midnight when Pinkie and Cheese arrived at the meeting spot. They stood there, on edge, waiting. What if this wasn't real? What if the only people coming for them were enforcers? If they got caught then they would both be sterilized. Pinkie Pie let out a shaky sigh and Cheese leaned against her for comfort. Eventually they saw someone come out from the brush. They were hard to recognize, the general darkness aided by the long cloak and hood they wore to obscure their face and cutie mark. They looked Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich up and down, before fully walking up to them.

“Password?” 

They looked at each other nervously before Cheese spoke up “we weren't given a password…” 

The mystery pony nodded “follow me. I won't turn back if you fall behind.” They began to walk alongside the river bed, before making a sharp turn to the right. Pinkie and Cheese followed them as they made their way passed town and through the wooded area that surrounded Ponyville. They'd be walking nearly 5 hours now. Pinkie would have lost track, but she saw the sun beginning to come up. Finally they stopped, right outside Equestria’s southwest border if she had to guess. Here was a small decommissioned train station, with the remains of a ghost town around it. Pinkie felt… creeped out. But she didn't say anything. The pony helped her and Cheese onto the train. “This leads to the old red sands mines. Feel free to rest once you're on the train, it’ll be a few hours before take off. Dispite her reservations about the train station, Pinkie was grateful for a moment off of her hooves. She drifted off to sleep on Cheese Sandwich’s shoulder, but was awoken as another small group of ponies headed onto the train. Different ages, different pony types. Some were in pairs, some were by themselves. The pony in the cloak, who Pinkie could now tell was a dark red color, knocked on the door to the controller’s room. “Northerners are here.” There was no response other than the engine starting up. 

Rainbow Dash flew above Ponyville with little regard. The air in her wings was all she needed. She did loops in the air, soaring through clouds. She noticed a small cottage underneath her in the woods below. She smiled and made her way down towards it. She landed on a patch of grass outside. Fluttershy was going over some sort of lesson with a group of rabbits. She turned when she heard Dash land.

“Oh, is it time to go already?”

“Nope.” Rainbow stretched her wings “just figured I'd stop by.”

Fluttershy smiled “would you like a cup of tea?” 

“Sure.” 

Out of all the main six Fluttershy was the one Rainbow Dash had bet on being against the program. But she was all for it. Twilight gave her some speech about how it was the same as not letting faulty animals breed, how cruel it was to create babies just to die. Rainbow ran the enforcers, Pinkie helped keep up morale, Twilight did nearly all the procedures in Ponyville, Rarity became a surrogate, and Fluttershy had contributed by acting as a doula. She had also taught a small army of woodland creatures how to help as well. She poured them both warm cups of tea. “Would you mind walking back to town with me? You know I'm not the best flyer.” 

“Of course.” She gave her a reassuring hit to the shoulder. Fluttershy actually volunteered to be sterilized in the early stages of the program. She knew she'd never pass the exams, and said she didn't want children anyways. Rainbow didn't exactly believe her, she was much too excited on the rare occasion she got to foster a foal. But she was willing to give up her body, to show others it was safe, and Rainbow respected her for it. They finished their tea before they set out. A few squirrels and rabbits followed them. 

“You've got that unicorn couple today, right?” She nodded. Unicorns were hard. If they came out the wrong way the horn could cause some serious damage. “Anything else?”

“I'm meeting with a surrogate.”

“Oh? Anyone exciting?”

She smiled and shook her head “no. Though I'm worried for the mother.”

“I mean… she passed didn't she?”

“Oh yes, I just mean…” she thought about it for a moment “pregnancy is hard on you. Not just physically. I know from taking care of Rarity. And frankly the couple she's being a surrogate for don't really seem to care.

“You don't think she should go through with it.”

Fluttershy sighed “it's not my choice.” Rainbow flew off to her own responsibilities once they reached the clinic. Fluttershy went in and waved to the nurse at the front desk. She stopped when she saw a younger mare in a heated discussion with one of the patients. She headed over. “Is something wrong?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but the two of them noticed her presence.

The younger pony spoke up, light blue with a cutie mark of a teddy bear. “The mother doesn't want him in the room.” Fluttershy turned to the upset stallion.

“I should be there, it's my kid just as much as it is hers.”

“I understand why you think that, but if she doesn't want you there-”

“I deserve to be there!”

Fluttershy sighed, she didn't like being serious “no you don't.” He looked at her, shocked at her tone “now I advice you to sit down quietly or leave before I call the enforcers.” He seemed highly insulted, but walked towards the waiting room and took a seat with a huff. The blue pony, Teddy, turned to her.

“Thankyou.”

“No problem. Who was he here for?”

“InkedQuil. Earth pony in room 4B. White with black splotches and a red mane.”

“Is he the biological father?” she looked over at him again. She couldn't find any obvious reason for him to have failed the exams… maybe he was a sperm donor that got too invested? That happened more frequently than she'd first thought. But biology didn't matter, donors and surrogates had no rights to their children.

“Yes. They came in for their first exam as a couple, but they broke up several months ago. Should I call someone?” 

Fluttershy shook her head “as long as he sits and stays quiet, he shouldn't cause any more trouble.” it was rare for couples to break up after they'd bolth been approved. Often times the breakup was because one was approved and not the other. But the whole process, the exams, it seemed a waste to go through all that just to separate. Fluttershy sighed and headed towards room 4B. She knocked on the door softly and heard a nurse on the inside tell her to come in.

“How long has she been in labor for?”

The nurse looked at her concerned “13 hours.”

Fluttershy leaned over to speak directly to the mother. She was clearly in pain. “You need to go in for a C section.”

“What?!” It has hard to read her expression through the groans. “No… no.”

Fluttershy sighed “you've been in labor for too long, at this point you are putting yourself and the baby at risk of you don't get one.”

Were those tears of pain or realization “I don't want to get cut open like I'm some criminal.”

“It's a completely different procedure. You'll be given pain medication and anesthesia.”

She stared at her, thinking. Finally the words came to her “ok, I'll do it.”

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 7)

Zecora lived in a hut right outside Ponyville in the ever free Forrest. Pinkie had gone there many, many times. Usually for tea and biscuits. She hopped up and knocked on the door. Zecora answered, happy to see her dispite the surprise. 

“I didn't realize we had something scheduled for today.”

“We didn't, but this is important.” She held up the basket in her hooves “I brought biscuits.” Zecora smiled and let her inside. She listened carefully as Pinkie Pie told her about the situation. “That's why I need the apple road, right away.”

Zecora simply sipped her tea “I understand your rush, but I can not help. I have no connection to the road.”

“Please.” Pinkie looked at her with pleading eyes. 

She remained stern “this has been a lovely visit Pinky. And I promise I will keep our conversation private from prying eyes. But I think you should go.” 

Pinky Pie was still smiling the entire way home. Because she knew what was going to happen. She was going to get a letter, they were going to meet a chayote, and her and Cheese could finally have the family they dreamed of. She kissed him on the cheek before bed and woke up with a newly found invigoration for the day. She looked over on her side table, empty. But that was ok. She did it again the next morning, and the morning after that, until finally there it was. The letter. 

“12:09 AM, the West end of the river.” That's all it said, but that's all she needed. Confirmation. 

“You both passed” Twilight smiled, she didn't often get to share good news like this. The unicorn couple in front of her seemed extatic. 

“You're sure?” One of them asked. Twilight nodded “oh my goodness! Thankyou so much.” She held out her front leg and they shook hoofs

“you’ll want to start scheduling appointments in the maternity wing, the nurse at the front counter can help you with that.” They smiled and excitedly walked out of the office. She looked down at her paperwork, they were so happy. She got to give someone good news. She was happy too. She was startled out of her thoughts by a tap on the door. “Yes?” 

She looked up and saw Rarity standing there “hi…” 

“I don't have anyone looking for a surrogate right now, you know I would call you.”

Rarity smiled bittersweet “thankyou, but that's not why I'm here.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, inviting her to continue “it's Sweetie Bell…”

“Oh.” She looked down and began to nervously mess with her papers “I trust you understand why we did what we did.”

“Of course.” Rarity nodded “Sweetie does too. She's having a hard time coming to it, but I know she will.”

“Well then, what's the problem?”

“Something must have gone wrong with her termination, she's still bleeding.”

“Oh.” Twilight's eyebrows raised, before returning back to her professional unsurprised expression “well the methods used on forced termination of illegal pregnancies can be more gruesome.”

“I understand that, I do, but it's been days. You expect her to go to her sentencing when she's still losing blood?”

“I don't do the follow up appointments. You'd have to schedule something with the nurse up front.”

“Please Twi. You did the procedure, you're the best person to see what went wrong.”

Twilight sighed “alright. You can bring her in, but I'm only doing this as your friend.”

The exam table was uncomfortable. She was basically in the same position as she was during the termination. Laying on her back on this hard metal table with her back legs open. She didn't like it. She felt… naked. Though that was kind of the point. She had to be, for Twilight to check inside her. She immediately rearranged herself to be more comfortable once the examination was over.

“I know what the problem is.” rarity looked at her, begging for her to continue “your uterine wall was punched during the procedure. The blood is loose tissue that has fallen off as it tries to recover.”

“What does that mean exactly?” Rarity looked concerned.

“she’ll need surgery to go in and patch it up.”

“Can you do that?” 

Twilight nodded “it's a simple procedure.”

“Will it hurt?” Sweetie Bell sat on the table nervously. 

“A bit, but you'll be under anesthesia.”

She smiled, it wouldn't be as bad. It wouldn't. Rarity put her hoof around her “when can we do the procedure?”

“I have an appointment in a few minutes, so not today. Go talk to the nurse at the front, she'll get you an time for tomorrow.”

“Thankyou.” Rarity smiled.

Sweetie Bell could feel Rarity's hoof on her. She looked at her, the social pressure mounting “th-thankyou.” She had to stare at the floor.

Silver Spoon was sitting at the sewing machine when she heard Sweetie Bell and Rarity come in. “How'd it go?”

Rarity looked over at Sweetie Bell, compelling her to answer. But she refused. Rarity sighed “it went alright. How are you dear?” 

“I'm good.” She smiled. 

Rarity walked over to her “thinking of sewing something?” 

Silver Spoon chuckled nervously “no-no. I mean, maybe- I've never… made… anything really.” She stared at the machine “I'd like to try.”

Rarity smiled, “I can teach you after I get Sweetie Bell to bed.”

A few minutes later Rarity returned. She grabbed a half finished practice piece from the closet and floated it over to Silver Spoon. 

“What is that?”

Rarity twirled the half finished dress around “a test dress. Trying to make sure the fit on the pattern worked before transferring it to the actually expensive fabric.” She lay it on the table in front of them “perfect for practicing.” Silver Spoon nodded and watched intently as Rarity showed her how to use the machine. It would be slightly different for her, she didn't have magic. But Rarity insisted that wasn't an issue. “Now you try.” She smiled at Silver Spoon and took a step back so she could reach the machine. She looked at her nervously, but what determined to make something, anything. By the end of the night she had sewn a wobbly seam across joining the skirt to the bodice. It didn't look very good, but Rarity reassured her that it was a good first try. 

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 6)

Silver Spoon didn't know how to respond, gratitude, pity, compassion? So she just stood there, in silence. Until it was broken by Rarity.

“Well you can help once you're all better, right now you need to go back to your room.”

“But-”

“Go to your room young lady.” she spoke with the sternness of an older sibling. Sweetie sighed before getting up and marching back to her room. She took one last look at Silver Spoon before closing the door. Was this jealousy? She didn't like it. It felt like a sting on her brain. But she couldn't shake it off. 

Pinkie Pie sat across from Cookie Dough on the outside of her favorite cafe. This felt like an awkward first date. Her first date with Cheese hadn't been awkward at all. They danced and sang and made a fool of themselves and it was instant love. She felt none of that now. Only the cold calculation of genetic compatibility. He'd been a perfect match for her, that's what Twilight said. She was so happy she found someone so quickly. He'd ridden here from Rainbow Falls, and she hated to waste his long trip. She rattled off questions, questions he'd already answered on the profile she was given. What was his special talent? How old was he when he got his cutie mark? How did he perform in the basic earth pony fitness exam? Then some more relevant questions. Did he like baking or parties? What was his family like? Did he want to have a role in the child’s life. That last one stumped him. He sat in silence for a moment, thinking.

“I guess that depends on what you want.”

Pinkie looked down “I can't decide what I want…” but she knew what she didn't want. She didn't want to have this man’s child. She didn't want to have anyone's child other than Cheese Sandwich. She got up with a sudden burst of determination “I don't think this is going to work out.”

Cookie Dough began to say something, but she didn't hear it. She walked away and left him alone, wondering what he did wrong. Did he do anything wrong? He sighed. This was her decision, not his. 

And she had made her decision. She walked to the bakery, not bothering to say hello to the flower ponies as she passed by. She opened the doors. Cheese was alone organizing cupcakes. She walked up to him.

“I don't want anyone's baby but yours.”

He looked up at her, surprised “Pinkie… we can't.”

“Why not? We're perfectly compatible, I don't care what some blood test says!” She grabbed his face with her hooves and kissed him. “I want to raise our child. Ours. Not just mine.”

He smiled at her “ok. If that's what you want.”

Rarity heard another knock on her door. She went to answer it and saw the cheery party pony on the other side. She was holding a tray of her signature cupcakes. Rarity smiled and let her in. 

“You seem awfully happy, though I suppose that's pretty usual for you.”

“It is! But this is a special happy. It's kind of nervous and excited at the same time.” Pinkie didn't mind sharing her feelings with one of her best friends, even if she knew she'd never understand them. “But this isn't about me. This is about Sweetie Bell! I heard what happened, I thought maybe some cupcakes and a laugh would help.”

Rarity's face fell “how did you hear?”

“Pipsqueak’s dad is a regular at the bakery.” She didn't mind sharing this either, though it seemed to upset Rarity.

“Well… I suppose a few cupcakes wouldn't hurt, she does need some cheering up.” Pinkie smiled “I'll bring you to her room.”

Her room was well lit and decorated. Sweetie slept in a pile of stuffed animals soundly. Clearly her sister, for all her disapproval, still cared deeply for her. 

“Sweetie!” Rarity called in a sing song voice. Sweetie rolled over in bed but didn't make a sound to acknowledge her sister “you have a visitor.”  

That seemed to get her attention, she opened her eyes and bolted up. “Pipsqueak!?” Her face fell when she didn't see him there.

“God no” rarity huffed “I wouldn't let him into this building if he had a million jewels.”

Sweetie Bell turned to see Pinky Pie. She wasn't as excited about this visitor, but she was still happy to see a friendly face. Pinky had known about her and Pipsqueak's relationship long before rarity found out. Something about her made you want to share everything. “Hi…” she waved groggily.

Pinky Pie sat down on the edge of the bed and offered her a cupcake, which she accepted happily. “I thought you could use some cheering up.”

Sweetie Bell smiled. Her sister has been caring and loving, but not approving. Not trying to cheer her up, constantly reminding her of her mistake. That she deserved what happened to her. But in Pinkie's eyes she could tell there was something else. “Thankyou.” 

The bell on the door chimed and Rarity ran to greet her next customer, leaving Pinkie and Sweetie in the room together alone. Pinkie fed her another cupcake, which she devoured. She was so hungry, Pinkie wondered why. “I have to admit, I kind of have an alterier motive for being here.” Sweetie Bell looked at her, puzzled, with cupcake in her mouth. “I heard you got caught trying to meet a chayote.” 

Sweetie Bell swallowed her bite “I did… I promise I didn't mean to really do it. We just didn't know what else to do-” 

Pinkie held up a hoof to stop her “I'm not looking to scold you, I'm looking for your help.” 

Sweetie Bell looked down at the cupcake in her hooves. “I told Twilight everything I knew. We never met with anyone, just started getting letters one day.”

“You hadn't told anyone about your pregnancy?” Sweetie Bell looked down nervously “please, this is important. Cheese has an appointment next week.”

“We did tell one person…” Pinkie looked at her with pleading, hopeful eyes “we went to Zecora. We thought maybe she could terminate the pregnancy early enough that we wouldn't get caught.”

“She couldn't?” Pinkie was surprised, Zecora could do amazing things with her magical herbs. 

Sweetie Bell shook her head. “She wouldn't. She said she'd only do it if we really didn't want the child, and we couldn't convince her. We got our first letter the next day.”

Pinkie smiled “thankyou Sweetie Bell, thankyou so much. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Sweetie Bell looked down “I have some idea…” 

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 5)

Rarity heard a knock at the door and rushed to get it. Clients of the boutique hardly ever knocked, so she knew it was important. Sweetie Bell had been hidden away in her bedroom, still recovering. It had been a few days since the termination, and she'd have to be ready for court soon. Rarity had invited Zecora over to try and speed up the healing process. She hoped that's who was at the door. But instead there stood a younger pony with a silver coat and mane. 

“Miss Rarity?” Silver Spoon subtly asked for entrance, which rarity provided. Standing aside so she could come into the main room of the boutique. Rarity knew Silver Spoon as an occasional returning client. She had designed both her and Tiara’s wedding dresses. She wondered where Tiara was, Silver Spoon was practically attached to her hip most of the time. “Do you mind if I sit?” She walked over to the couch timidly.

“Oh! Of course dear, make yourself comfortable.” Rarity smiled and pulled out a chair. Now they sat across from each other. “What brings you in?”

Silver Spoon looked down nervously “you've done a few surrogate pregnancies, right?” rarity nodded, so she continued “Dr. Sparkle wants me to do some test pregnancies, to see if the babies are born with cutie marks like I was. It's a sort of quid pro quo thing I think? I help her with her experiments and in exchange I get to keep the kids I want.” she sighed “I just… I came here to ask: how do you give up the kids?” Rarity just sat there, flabbergasted “I mean, not give up. But-”

Rarity held out a hoof “I know what you mean dear.” She sighed “it's hard at first, but it gets easier when you realize that they were never your children to begin with. You're just… incubating them. And the parents that will have them, will love them more than you could ever know.”

Silver Spoon began crying “but they are mine. If I give them up… they might not go to good homes.”

“You don't have to adopt them out if you don't want to dear. Seems to me like twilight is only interested in seeing how the baby is born, not who raises it. If you do this, you aren't being a surrogate, you're being your own person making your own choices for your body.”

“I can't take care of them all…”

“Oh of course you can dear!” Rarity waved a hoof in the air dismissively “you have a home, a wife, all the money in the world. I'm sure any child would be lucky to be raised by you.” She was trying to cheer her up, but Silver Spoon only sobbed harder. 

“I don't. I don't have any of that anymore.”

“Oh…” now Rarity saw it. This wasn't a young surrogate asking for advice, this was a desperate pony asking for help. 

“Tiara- she broke up with me. The paperwork isn't done yet, but it doesn't matter. She won't even look at me, let alone let me in the house. The prenup said everything was hers. My family wasn't actually as well off as we pretended, I was marrying up to keep us from falling further. But now…” she sobbed into her hooves. 

“You don't need all that fancy stuff to be a good mom.”

“But you said-”

She waved her hoof dismissively “forget what I said. Listen to what I'm saying now: if you decide you want the kids, then you should keep them. Don't worry about money or care, I'll have that handled. And if you decide to give them up, there is nothing wrong with that. You are giving your body to science, that is noble. You should wear it with pride, not shame.” 

Silver Spoon looked up at her and smiled through her tears “can I hug you?”

Rarity smiled back “of course dear.”

Sweetie Bell hadn't really interacted with Silver Spoon since they were foals. But she knew Rarity had made several dresses for her in the past. That's why she wasn't too surprised to see her standing and talking with Rarity when she got out of bed and into the main boutique. Rarity noticed her and rushed over.

“You shouldn't be walking.” She forced her down onto the couch despite her protests.

“I feel fine.” 

Silver Spoon saw the blood on her nightgown. “Did you… did you get a termination?”

She glared at her “that's none of your business.” they hadn't exactly been friends as fillies, and that resentment was still there.

“I'm sorry- I just…” Silver Spoon tried to think of an excuse for her invasive question, but it never came. 

“Play nice. Silver will be staying with us for awhile.” Rarity put her hooves gently on Sweetie Bell’s shoulders. 

Sweetie looked at her angrily. “Why?”

Rarity didn't know how to answer that question. She didn't know how much information Silver Spoon was comfortable sharing. So she left it up to her, looking over at Silver for an explanation.

“I'm going to be a surrogate for some special experiments Dr. Sparkle is doing.”

Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes “yeah right. No way you got through the cutie mark screening.” She said it with confidence. Confidence that soon faded when she saw Silver’s face and the clear recognition that she wasn't lieing. Sweetie Bell stood up from the couch, dispite Rarity's attempts to keep her contained. “You passed the cutie mark screening? You!? I couldn't pass, and I actually have a talent! You were just born with a silver spoon in your mouth! I can't believe this.” She crossed her front legs and allowed Rarity to sit her back on the couch. She looked away from Silver Spoon, who had been clearly hurt by her outburst. She remembered her being stronger than this… meaner. But maybe that was all Tiara, all that confidence. Where was she? “So I guess you and Tiara get to have kids.”

She looked down “um, no. Just me actually.” 

Sweetie Bell looked up at that. She saw the residual tears on Silver Spoon’s cheeks. “Well, I guess you have us to help you too.” She said it like the words tasted bad in her mouth. 

Silver Spoon looked up at her “really?”

Sweetie Bell scowled “helping you is the closest I'll ever come to being pregnant.”

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics program (part 4)

“So what exactly are your talents?” Twilight looked down at her papers and then up at the two earth ponies in front of her. Diamond Tiara, a pink pony with a purple mane, and Silver Spoon, a silver and grey pony. 

Tiara smiled, “being rich.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow “that’s not a tallent.”

Silver Spoon spoke up “she got it after commissioning her mother a special necklace.”

“So it’s jewelry related? Or perhaps gift giving?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tiara nodded.

“I’m not sure that will pass further investigation…” 

“Well, my father can just buy this place and force you to approve me.” she spoke with an unearned air of confidence.

“This is a government facility…” Twilight was neither impressed nor entertained.

“That doesn’t mean it can’t be bought, everything can, for a price.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and turned to Silver Spoon “am I to assume this is your special talent as well?” “special talent” was said with extra air quotes. Silver Spoon nodded nervously, seeming to understand her situation much better than Diamond Tiara.

“I was born with it…” 

“Oh?” she raised her eyebrows “now that is interesting…” she began reviewing her notes “is that common in your family?”

“Yes. My mother and grandfather were born with theirs too.” 

“Would you be open to further investigation, perhaps having multiple children to see if we can recreate the instant cutie mark effect?” she nodded her head “very good. In that case, I’ll be seeing you for blood testing in two days.” Silver Spoon smiled and looked over at Diamond Tiara. 

She seemed happy as well, as if this victory was one of her own “We’ll see you then.”

Twi raised an eyebrow “I don’t need both of you.”

Something shattered in Tiara’s mind “what?!”

“I’ll only need Silver Spoon. You have been deemed inferior.”

“Inferior? Inferior?!” Tiara stood angrily “my father owns this entire fucking town and you’re going to call me inferior?!”

“Only genetically.” Twilight looked back down at her notes as a deliberate disrespect to Tiara “your special talent is useless.”

“B-but…” she stood there in shock “but we have the same tallent…” she gestured between her and Silver Spoon.

“True. but Silver Spoon presents a genetic anomaly, being born with a cutie mark. That is worth investigating.”

“Well you won’t get to. We already decided, you sterilize one of us, you sterilize both of us. We’re a package deal.” She looked over at Silver Spoon for confirmation but she just looked down nervously. “Silver…?”

“If I can do it… then we can still have kids.”

“But we said-”

“I don’t want to get sterilized, I want to move forward with the investigations.” she turned to Twilight, determined. Twilight began to organize paperwork on her desk.

“No…” Tiara seemed broken “we said…”

“I know what I said, but I didn’t think I’d have to actually choose.” There were tears in Silver Spoon’s eyes.

“We were supposed to do it together. We’re supposed to do everything together!”

She looked down “I…” she couldn’t think of what to say, so Tiara found the words for her.

“I want a divorce.” she looked up at her, terrified and crying. But tiara had made up her mind, she turned and went to storm out of the room when Twilight locked the door. “Hey-”

“I’m sorry, your marital problems aside, we still need to finish this paperwork and set up your next appointments.”

“You mean my sterilization appointment…”

Twilight refused to look up from her papers “yes.” She had very little compassion for the spoiled rich school pony before her. She had given this same news to far better couples before.

“I don’t want to be here, I don’t want you to do it.” 

Twilight sighed “very well,” she unlocked the door “doctor Cherry is two doors to the left.” Diamond Tiara took in a deep breath before walking out with her head held high. Twilight turned to Silver Spoon. “Would you like to continue?”

“Um…” she stared out the door where Tiara had left “yes. Yes, I would.” 

Princess Twilight sighed as she walked into her next appointment. More bad news, this time for someone she actually cared about. Pinkie's ears perked up when she heard the door opening and she gave Twilight a nervous smile and wave. Twilight sat down across from her and Cheese Sandwich.

“pinky, you will be able to have children.” There was a rush of positive energy as Pinkie sprang to her feet. “Just not with Cheese Sandwich.” Pinkie looked at her, shocked, and sat back down.

Cheese shifted slightly in his seat “so… what now?”

“Now, you must be sterilized to prevent accidental breeding.” Cheese nodded “and Pinkie, if you wish to continue, I would give you a list of sperm donors. You would look through it, pick some you liked, maybe meet them, and then we'd bring them in to determine if their special talent is compatible.” 

Pinkie looked down, then back up at Cheese “do I… do I want to continue?”

Cheese seemed shocked by her sudden shyness “that's up to you.”

“I mean… would you be ok with it?”

“Pinkie…” Cheese sighed and put his hoof to her cheek “I will be ok with whatever you choose. Wether this baby is yours, or we adopt one, I will raise it like it is mine too.”

Pinkie smiled and turned back to Twi “I'd like to see that list please.” Twilight happily handed it over. 

Pinkie sat on her couch with Cheese Sandwich beside her as they looked through the list together. She had a hard time understanding how he could be so positive considering the circumstances. But that was also what she loved about him. She wished she could stay positive too, but the idea of having a child with anyone else felt wrong… Cheese pointed to one of the ponies on the list. 

“How about this guy?” 

Pinkie looked down at where his hoof was pointing. There was an earth pony named Cookie Dough. He was mostly white with flashes of brown and black. His cutie mark was an ice cream cone. “Are you really ok with this? Raising someone else's child?” 

He hugged her tight against his side “it's not someone else's child, it's your child. And I love you to the moon and back. If that kid ends up anything like you, then I'll love them too.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled and leaned into him. But she still wasn't sure…

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 3)

They stayed silent on the walk home.

“I'm sorry…” Sweetie Bell looked over at Rarity. Rarity sighed.

“I told you not to mess around with him.” 

“I know.”

“Then why?” 

“I just- I love him.”

“So you're still planning on being with him after this? How much more are you hoping to embarrass this family?” Sweetie Bell stayed silent. Rarity sighed and helped her up out of the chair. “Twilight will go easy on you, at the sentencing. Especially considering you two turned yourselves in.” Sweetie Bell looked at the floor. “You did turn yourselves in… right?”

“No…”

“Sweetie Bell!” Rarity could hardly handle the audacity “well I know I didn't turn you in. If it was up to me this would have all been handed much more privately.”

“We got caught waiting at a chayote pick up.”

Rarity stared at her “you were going to take the apple road… and have that child, just so you could be with him!?” Her voice got louder and angrier as she continued the sentence. Sweetie Bell winced. “No. That will not do. You are not seeing him again.”

“But-” 

“No buts.” Rarity put a blanket down on the couch for Sweetie Bell to lie on. Even in her anger she could still see that her sister was in pain. “We’re going to find you a nice unicorn boy.”

“It doesn't matter. I can't-” Sweetie Bell couldn't finish the sentence. Rarity’s heart broke, and she sat down on the couch beside her sister. Sweetie Bell rested her head on Rarity’s lap.

“Honey, you were never going to be able to. You knew that…”

Sweetie Bell began to cry “I didn't know for sure… the cutie mark policy could have changed…”

Rarity began to stroke Sweetie Bell’s hair in an attempt at comfort “it's the way it is for a reason.”

“So you, you think my special talent is useless too?”

“No! Oh no no no, darling. Your talent was very useful, you and the crusaders, you helped plenty of ponies. But we don't need that anymore.” She held her head up to look at her “isn't it a good thing? Knowing that no one else will have to go through that struggle to find their cutie mark?”

“I guess…” the mention of the crusaders seemed to worsen Sweetie Bell’s mood. Scootaloo had disappeared after she failed the flight exam, and her fate became clear after the reveal of the Pegasus device. Apple Bloom had been on the run since her sister started the apple road. No one had seen her in almost a year.

Rarity looked away “how did you… how did you find the chayote?”

Sweetie Bell sniffled “I don't know. Pipsqueak just got a letter one day, saying that they knew what we'd done and offering to help.” 

Rarity “So it wasn't Apple Bloom?”

“No! Why does everyone keep asking that?”

“Because sweetheart, Apple Bloom was your friend. What her sister and her are doing… that's wrong. But I understand them wanting to help you, even if it's not in the right way.”

“Applejack was your friend. Doesn't mean you've seen her.”

Rarity sighed, and thought about the last time her and Applejack had been in the same room. A council meeting, the princesses, various large city mayors, and the elements of friendship all together to discuss the new breeding program before it went across the kingdom. 

“This is all nonsense.” Applejack put her hoof down “restricting who can have kids, what could you possibly wish to accomplish?”

“Purifying the pony race.” Rainbow sat across from Apple Jack. The two had been at odds since the truth about the rainbow factory came out. 

“Purifying?! Who gets to decide what's pure!”

“We do.” Twilight was trying to calm her friend, for both their sakes “that's what we are here to do. There have been different breeding programs in different cities, different definitions of what is acceptable. We are here to streamline this process, come up with solid definitions and procedures.”

A unicorn across the table nodded his head “there's also the issue of termination and sterilization. In some of the more rural areas it seems they have resorted to gruesome methods.”

The representative from cloudsdale spoke up “we should reserve those methods for those who breed out of line. For law abiding ponies the process should be as painless as possible.” There was a murmur of agreement throughout the room. 

Applejack stood on her back legs, front hooves on the table “so you're suggesting we torture and mutilate people just for having kids we don't like?”

“If they're breaking the law, then punishments must be delivered.” The sound of Celestia’s voice echoes softly through the room. Everyone looked over at her. The one true ruler of Equestria. Her word was law. Applejack took her hooves off the table and backed down. She stayed silent for the rest of the meeting, only occasionally mumbling her disapproval to herself.

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

Chapters: 14/14 Fandom: Monster High (Cartoon 2010), Monster High (Toys) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Cleo de Nile/Deuce Gorgon, Draculaura/Clawd Wolf, Venus McFlytrap/Frankie Stein, Robecca Steam/Frankie Stein, Venus McFlytrap/Robecca Steam, original female character/jackson jekyll Characters: Cleo de Nile, Deuce Gorgon, Draculaura (Monster High), Frankie Stein, Venus McFlytrap, Robecca Steam, Jackson Jekyll, Holt Hyde, Clawdeen Wolf, Heath Burns, Clawd Wolf, Original Characters, Toralei Stripe Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements Summary:

Channel Buzz is a new student at Monster High and has her eyes set on Deuce Gorgon. there's only one problem: his relationship with Cleo.

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

Slash Valley

have you seen Aquaslash? A slasher movie about a water park. it is (in my opinion) bad. so I rewrote it. Some of the same characters and plot points, but to be honest, I went a little far from the source material. here's that script, if you are interested

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 2)

“How ya doin Twi?” Pinkie hopped to her side that next morning on the walk to the clinic.

Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes “your appointment isn't until tomorrow Pinkie. I can't tell you anything.”

“I know…” Pinkie’s hop slowed to a canter beside twilight “but, ya know, if you happened to have some news for me…” she leaned in close to twilight “I wouldn't tell anyone…”

Twilight's smile fell “Pinkie, I'm serious.”

“I know! I know! Big fancy doctor princess can't break the rules.” Pinkie saddled in even closer “but maybe you don't have to TELL me, maybe you could just, make an expression and I could guess from there?” Twilight looked at Pinkie, then down at the ground, and shook her head solemnly.

“Oh…” the party pony stopped her playful jaunt.

Twilight looked back at her “I can tell you more at the appointment, ok?” 

Pinkie nodded, but didn't respond. Twilight sighed. That wasn't the only bad news she had to deliver today. She walked to the clinic, through the voluntary patients wing, and into the back. She put on her lab coat and looked over at Rainbow Dash, who had been standing there, waiting for her. 

“You don't have to do it Twi, I can.”

“I appreciate the offer Rainbow. But, despite your role in all this, you aren't an actual doctor.” 

Rainbow Dash nodded and stepped aside. Twilight entered the room where two ponies sat, a white unicorn with a light purple and pink mane, and a white and brown earth pony. 

“Rarity would be disappointed in you Sweetie Bell.” The pink and purple unicorn looked up at her, ashamed, before returning her gaze to the floor. “You're lucky Rainbow took this to me before she found out.” Sweetie Bell was a young adult mare now, in the prime of her life. Around the age Twilight was when she discovered the elements of friendship actually…

“We didn't mean to, honest…” 

“And then trying to have a coyote sneak you out to a safe zone, that was a mistake too?” The younger ponies seemed to shake at Rainbow Dash’s sternness. Twilight held up a hoof for her to stop and give them time to respond. 

They looked between each other nervously, before the earth pony spoke up. “We didn't know what to do…” 

The earth pony was small for his age, he wouldn't pass the first exam for breeding. Sweetie Bell would probably get stopped at the cutie mark evaluation. Helping young ponies discover their cutie marks was less necessary in a society where they were decided genetically for them. Yes, Twilight could tell with certainty neither of them would qualify. Not to mention the cross breeding, that was one of the worse crimes being committed here. Their relationship in general was taboo, but having a child? Half earth pony, half unicorn, with those shotty genetics? Absolutely not. That could not be allowed to happen. “How did you come into contact with the apple road?” Twilight leaned in closer, watching the movements of the young ponies. “You can't convince me it wasn't through Applebloom.”

“It wasn't! I swear!” Now there was a new level of panic in Sweetie Bell’s eyes.

“Then who.” Silence. They looked at each other nervously. “Leading us to a conviction would do a lot to help your cause here Sweetie.”

“We- we don't know…” she looked down at the ground again. Twilight could sense Rainbow getting agitated behind her.

“Give us a name.”

“We don't know!” There were tears in her eyes now “everything was done through letters. We didn't see or speak to anyone directly.” Twilight looked over at Rainbow with skepticism. 

“And these letters, you'd be able to provide them?” 

She looked down again, the earth pony spoke now, more nervous than even she was “we… we destroyed them.”

“Why?”

“That's what they said to do!”

“So the apple road contacted you, you didn't tell anyone directly about your little…” she gestured her hoof towards Sweetie Bell’s stomach “problem.”

“No…”

“And you have no idea who your chayote would have been?’

They both shook their heads. Twilight sighed “that makes this much more difficult on you two, I hope you understand that.”

“We're telling the truth…”

“That's unfortunate.” Twilight signaled to Rainbow, who left to get a nurse. “Termination will begin immediately, then sterilization.” They looked at her, nodding their heads in understanding “there are several ways each can be done, some methods more painful than others. So I will ask you one more time: are you certain you don't know anyone associated with the apple road?” They looked at each other, then shook their heads “then I'm afraid we'll have to go with the less pleasant options.” She backed off from them and signaled for them to follow her into the next room. “you’ll need to have caretakers for the week or so between the operation and your sentencing. For you Sweetie Bell, that will be Rarity.”

“Is… is that necessary?”

Twilight nodded her head and Sweetie Bell looked down. She turned to the boy “who do you have to care for you?”

“My father.” He seemed to have some reserve here, like the whole thing had come into picture and he had chosen not to be afraid. Twilight admired that. After the paperwork was filled out Twilight directed the nurse Rainbow Dash had summoned to take the earth pony into his own operation room. That procedure was far simpler and thus didn't require the skill of a real doctor. Sweetie Bell followed her into her own operation room. There were gas canisters in the corner for anesthetic, which they wouldn't be using. Sweetie knew she had made a mistake, and was cooperative in the procedure. That made things much easier. Twilight had done this on less willing participants, and it often resulted in a more gruesome outcome. No, Sweetie Bell did not scream or thrash about. Only a small outcry, followed by the gentle sobbing of aching pain. When twilight was done she took Sweetie Bell by the hoof and helped her into a wheelchair. Rarity was outside waiting for her. Once she saw her older sister, that's when the real tears came. Rarity didn't have any children of her own, but her genetics were phenomenal. And she was one of the main proponents of the program, aside from Rainbow Dash and Twilight. She'd offered herself as a surrogate for other unicorn couples with less than ideal match ups. She looked at Sweetie Bell with scorn, and refused to say a word other than to acknowledge Twilight's presence before taking the chair’s handles with her magic and pushing her younger sister away. 

[theplaneswalkernarrator]

The Equestrian Eugenics Program (part 1)

“Please uncross your legs Pinkie.”

The chair Pinkie Pie was sitting in forced her torso upright and her back legs dangling down. It was an uncomfortable and unnatural position for her. One hoof was up on the chair’s armrest in front of her. Her friend twilight wrapped a medical garb around her arm to prevent too much blood flow as she gently poked the butterfly needle into the crux of her front leg. Pinkie winced. Twilight swapped the blood vials connected to the tube running to Pinkie. “I know it's uncomfortable, just one more second…” She waited until the vial was just as full as it needed to be before disconnecting it and freeing her friend’s front leg. This process has been streamlined to be as painless as possible, but the pink pony was still squeamish. She put a colorful bandaid on the small injection site. Pinkie smiled at the sight of it.

“Are these the ones I bought?” 

Princess twilight nodded “people seem to be enjoying them.”

“I'm glad.” Pinkie got up from the uncomfortable chair as soon as she was freed. She looked over at Cheese Sandwich, who had been watching her nervously. “It's not too bad, I promise.”

He sighed “I know, it just looks like a lot of blood…”

“I'm only taking what the tests require.” Twilight assured him.

After his turn they were sent out to the clinic waiting room, where a polite nurse pony set them up for a follow up appointment. Normally they would have to wait at least a week, but Twilight had moved up the timeline for her dear friend. 

The blood was separated into several vials and sent through an assortment of magical testing machines. Everything was recorded, from red cell count to cholesterol. Muscle mass calculated, and magic measured. Even earth ponies like Pinkie and Cheese had some level of magic in them. It's this magic that was used to determine genetic quality. Twilight smiled as she looked at Pinkie’s results. The pony was surprisingly healthy considering all the sweets she constantly ate. Must be the exercise from jumping around so much. Their cutie mark talents had already been evaluated and deemed worthwhile. That was the hardest part really, trying to justify how the more obscure talents could benefit society. But the element of laughter made a good case for her talent’s use. Twilight was hopeful she'd be able to share the good news, but then looked over at Cheese Sandwich’s results and frowned. He had not passed the tests with such flying colors. Maybe she could fudge the results? Just for her friend. But it was too late. The results were immediately sent to the database, easy to double check by any future doctors or enforcers. Twilight sighed. 

The night air was cold as she exited the clinic doors. She looked up at cloudsdale, clouds dark and storming for a scheduled rain. That had been the origin of it, this whole thing. The rainbow factory. After the Pegasus device had been reviewed, the factory investigated, the new spectra collection method was tested. It had been an ordeal, to say the least. And being so close to it, her friend…. It weighed heavily on Twilight's mind. But what was there to do about the flight test failures if not fed to the device? To kill children was, abominable, but Cloadsdale would not allow inferior Pegasi in its flock. Perhaps the real mercy was to prevent these failures from being born in the first place. That's where the first experiments were done, the first machines made, the first blood tested. Blood, strength, flight accuracy, it was all up to the tests. And if the tests were failed, the punishment was simple: sterilization. Eventually it was determined that only ponies actively looking to be parents should have to take the tests. Accidental or illegal pregnancies were to be terminated, with the responsible parties given re-education and/or jail time as was deemed necessary. After cloadsdale the idea spread. The prevention of unnecessary ponies, wasn't that just genius? First cloadsdale, then the crystal kingdom, and very quickly after that all of Equestria. If the kingdom of love was doing it, then clearly it had to make sense. Twilight nodded her head thinking about it. Yes, it did make sense. The kingdom’s resources had been wasted on inferior ponies for too long. This was a mercy, a public good, which she in her immortality would witness through the generations. Still, the bad news for Pinky stung at the back of her throat. She'd still be able to have kids, assuming she performed well in the following general fitness tests for an earth pony. But Cheese Sandwich… he'd still be able to raise them with her. A sperm donor, adoption, there were many many options for those deemed unfit to breed. Still, finding a compatible sperm donor could take months if not years. Compatible genetics and, more difficult in this case, a compatible special talent. Talents were genetic, that had been proven. Just look at the Apple family. They would take no risks in the future generation having an unfavorable talent. That's why she was so excited when Pinkie and Cheese decided to begin the process. Their talents were perfect matches. Still, the tests didn't lie.