Chapter 73: Going Home Part 5

Bright Moon, Etheria, December 30th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"So, how's it going?" Jack O'Neill asked when he took his usual seat, with his team following suit. The fact that he had a usual seat in the meeting chamber of an alliance of monarchs still felt weird. Even more so because they treated him like an equal. Absolute monarchs weren't supposed to do that - they were supposed to huff and puff about upstart or uppity American peasants.

He suppressed a snort at his weird thoughts and focused on the people present. Glimmer was sitting with her elbows on the table, hands folded, looking directly at him. Adora was sitting straight and tense as if she were a junior officer in a meeting with generals and not the most powerful individual in the room. Catra was sitting slightly slumped over and turned to the side - where Adora was sitting. Jack almost expected her to put her leg over the armrest. Bow was sitting like a straight-A student in class, Netossa like any general from the Pentagon Jack had met under similar circumstances, a contrast to the more relaxed Spinnerella. Mermista was propping up her head with one hand, seemingly bored… Yeah, he had meetings like that before.

"So, you wanted to talk to us?" Glimmer spoke up before he could finish assessing everyone else.

"Yep." He nodded. "Although I have to state beforehand that I'm not speaking for the Air Force, the United States, Earth etc." He saw Daniel relax a bit and had to suppress another snort - as if his friend had any right to complain about potential diplomatic misunderstandings given his own history!

"You're just here as a friend, yes." Glimmer nodded.

"Yes." Jack smiled. "And as a friend, I am a bit concerned about the whole horse business."

"So are we," Glimmer said.

Adora looked guilty, Jack noticed. And Catra was glaring at him as if that was his fault. Well, it wasn't. Whatever the problem was was on the Etherians. But he better got straight to the point. "Yeah, I bet. Anyway, I - we - were wondering what you were doing about it, if you were planning to do anything about it, seeing as Earth also has horses." He smiled. "And a lot of them. Some people on Earth even eat horses." That made everyone wince, Jack noticed. "I guess you didn't know that."

"I think we heard something about it but forgot," Catra said, sighing. She was sitting straight, now. No more posturing.

"That… complicates matters," Glimmer said while she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You eat horses?" Perfuma asked.

"So did the Horde," Catra said. "When we could catch them, remember?" She looked at Scorpia.

"Right." Scorpia nodded. "Force Captains always got their cut, yes, if anyone caught an animal."

"What's wrong with eating animals?" Frosta asked with a frown. "First, you've got something against hunting seals for their pelts; now we shouldn't eat game and fish either?"

"No one's saying not to eat animals," Glimmer spoke up. "But horses are a special case since Swift Wind used to be a horse."

"I think he still qualifies as a horse," Bow said. "Just a… magical variant?"

"I think the wings and horn kind of contradict that," Jack retorted.

"Many animals of the same species have drastically different appearances. Just think how many different breeds of dogs exist," Daniel cut in. "I would say his sapience is more important. And his ability to talk."

"Well, yes, but those are magical changes," Bow said. "We don't actually know how extensive those changes are."

"He might not be a new species - we would need to test his DNA for that," Entrapta added. "And then we would have to compare it to the data from Alpha."

Ah, the research base they had discovered on one of the moons. Where the Ancients had been playing God. Jack pressed his lips together at the thought. And he wasn't thinking about being related to them. Not at all!

"Ah. So, you don't know if he can have fertile offspring with horses," Daniel said, nodding.

That triggered another row of grimaces.

"Daniel!" Jack hissed, as Glimmer pointedly said: "No, we haven't asked if he's, ah, trying."

His friend actually blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry - I'm really sorry. I didn't think…"

Jack swallowed the 'no, you really didn't' he had on the tip of his tongue and shook his head. "Anyway, does it matter if he actually is a horse, as long as he thinks he is?"

"Well, if he's operating from faulty data, he might change his plans once he knows the truth," Entrapta said. "Provided he is a different species, of course."

"I don't think he, ah, thinks like that," Adora spoke up. "Besides, his parents were horses. And he might have siblings he never met. That they aren't as smart as he is doesn't matter to him."

"Indeed," Teal'c commented with a nod. "I doubt he will stray from his chosen course of action whether or not his species changed."

"Yep." Jack thought so as well. It would have been a neat solution, but things rarely worked out like that. "So, what are you going to do about the whole horse slavery and cannibalism thing? And I know it technically isn't cannibalism," he added before Daniel or Entrapta could say something.

"We're still trying to figure that out," Bow replied. "Oh, by the way, do you know how many horses are on Earth?"

Jack looked at Carter, but she shook her head. Daniel looked lost as well, and he knew better than to expect Teal'c to know such a thing. "I'll have to ask Stargate Command next time they dial in," he said. "That should be… in half an hour." Nice timing. But they would wonder why he was asking such a thing.

He wasn't looking forward to explaining the reason.

"...and so, if Swift Wind managed to convince everyone on Earth to free all horses, you'd be stuck with over fifty million horses to deal with - and many of them rely on human caretakers."

Adora was trying to listen to Daniel's explanation, but it was difficult. She still had trouble imagining so many horses. That was more than Etheria's population! There was no way, not even if everyone pitched in, that they could put them all to pasture in Bright Moon. Or anywhere else.

"What do you mean, they rely on human caretakers?" Scorpia asked.

"Ah…" Daniel shifted his notes around. "Over the centuries - millennia - of domestication, many horses were bred for specialised purposes, which means that for them, adapting to living in the wilderness without humans to feed, protect and nurse them is difficult or even impossible. And, of course, some horses of a breed that could survive in the wilderness might have difficulties adapting to a life without human contact, though that remains to be seen - there are multiple examples of wild populations developing from horses that escaped their owners, the most famous probably being the mustangs of North America. But the odds of those horses bred to race, or for pulling heavy loads, or the miniature breeds, doing well in the wild are not very good."

Oh. So, it was even worse than Adora had thought. Even if everyone agreed to set the horses free - and she was aware that was not likely - many horses would die as a result.

"But enough - more than enough, I think - would survive to cause an ecological catastrophe in the areas they populated," Perfuma said, shaking her head and leaning against Scorpia, who had her arm wrapped around her. "I can create areas suited for horses by changing the plantlife in the region, but the sheer scale of it… and, of course, I can't change the local climate, so, even with adaptive plants, there are limits - not to mention that changing plants like that can cause an ecological catastrophe by themselves if they start displacing other plants, so…" She trailed off with an unhappy expression.

"...so, even if your friend managed the impossible and got all horses freed, he'd end up dooming millions of them," Jack finished for her with a wry smile.

"And keeping those horses that couldn't survive without humans in human hands… well, I don't think that too many people would want to take care of horses for free if they couldn't ride them or put them to work," Glimmer said. "And paying them would cost a lot of money."

"Well, some activists would volunteer, but I'm not sure there would be enough," Daniel said. "Unless they can ride the horses in exchange. I think more would agree to such a deal."

Would Swift Wind agree to that? Or would he still see it as enslavement?

Before Adora could say anything, Teal'c spoke up: "If they have been altered so they cannot live free any more, would not taking care of them be the duty of those who have owned them and profited from them?"

"We're still talking about animals, Teal'c," Jack said with a slight frown. "They aren't people."

Teal'c nodded slowly. "They are not - but neither is Swift Wind."

"But he's intelligent. Horses aren't," Jack retorted.

"Sapient," Daniel said.

"Whatever. In any case, horses aren't people, and we can't expect everyone to treat them like people," Jack said.

"You don't have to treat them like people in order to not, ah, own or eat them," Daniel said. "Many Indians consider cows sacred, for example, and would not eat them. I think stopping the butchering and eating of horses might not be impossible."

"Just nearly so. If the French decide that eating horses is, like eating frogs, a core part of their culture…" Jack scoffed.

"Jack!" Daniel frowned. "That's a stereotype! Besides, I think many would have second thoughts about eating horses if they knew that there is a sapient horse."

"In his presence, sure, kind of awkward, but he can't be everywhere - there's only one of him," Jack pointed out.

It was a little weird to see them argue about Swift Wind and horses when this was all her fault. But Adora didn't know how to solve this. Not without hurting Swift Wind.

"Well, here's one of him now - but could there be more?" Daniel asked.

"We don't know if he can have kids with normal horses. Or wants to," Catra said. "Do you want to ask him?" She looked at Daniel, who grimaced in return.

And then everyone was looking at her, Adora realised.

"If Swift Wind can breed with normal horses, that would certainly change the situation, I think. Right?" Entrapta asked, cocking her head.

"How so?" Mermista asked,

"Well, with the advantages sapience, flight and magic grant them, they could replace horses. Eventually. Although it would take a very long time," Entrapta replied. "But more importantly, they were the same species, just with different levels of intelligence."

"The horses would still be animals," Jack insisted.

"But we don't treat humans as animals even if they aren't smarter than, say, a smart ape," Daniel pointed out.

Jack opened his mouth, then closed it again. "But he wasn't born that way - he was made that way!" he said after a moment.

"So were half the people on Etheria." Catra shrugged. "Just saying - I won't start a crusade to free cats any time soon, don't worry," she added with a grin aimed at Adora.

But it wasn't funny. Adora would have to ask Swift Wind about his… well, his biology. And family matters. She'd rather deal with a Goa'uld or Horde attack.

But this was all her fault - sort of. Swift Wind wasn't a mistake or something. In any case, he was her responsibility. She wouldn't run from it. She nodded.

But, once again, before she could say something, someone else spoke up. Daniel, this time. And he was addressing her. "So, just, well, it's kind of related, so… since you created him, could you create more of him?"

Adora was at a loss for words again. Create more like Swift Wind? Alter more horses?

"Daniel, we shouldn't encourage people to play God," Jack said.

"It wouldn't be playing God!" Daniel protested. Then he frowned. "Well, not any more, in a sense, than what the Ancients did on Etheria."

And Adora was a First One. "Oh, no!" she blurted out. "I am acting like my ancestors!"

Samantha Carter winced when she saw Adora's face fall. That hadn't been…

"That's not true!" Glimmer snapped. "They experimented with people - and tried to destroy Etheria to take out Horde Prime - but you just wanted to activate your sword. You didn't want to experiment and create Swift Wind."

"Yes. So don't try to make it sound as if she did!" Catra sneered at Daniel. "That's not even remotely the same."

Daniel looked struck. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just… I just wanted to point out that it's not playing God." He set his jaw. "But I think we do need to know what exactly happened to Swift Wind. And, ah, what the potential consequences could be."

Meaning, whether or not he would have offspring, Sam translated in her mind.

"I can't really reproduce what I did since I didn't know what I was doing," Adora replied. "And I don't… I don't want to repeat it." She pressed her lips together.

She didn't elaborate on her reasons for the refusal, and Sam couldn't tell if Adora was refusing because she felt it had been a mistake or if she didn't want to risk something going wrong - or acting like the Ancients who had experimented on Etheria's people. Probably a mixture of all three.

"But what if Swift Wind feels lonely as the only one of his kind?" Perfuma asked. "What if he asks to have companions? An actual species?" She looked at Entrapta. "Assuming he isn't a member of the horse species any more."

Entrapta closed her mouth and cocked her head sideways, nose scrunched. "Uh… Experimenting with animals is fine, right?"

"That is somewhat controversial, with regard to horses at least," Sam told her.

"That complicates things," Entrapta said.

"I don't know if having more like Swift Wind around would make things easier," the Colonel commented.

"Well, he might be too busy dealing with others of his kind to bother with freeing all the horses?" Daniel suggested.

"That's not how it works." Adora shook her head. "You don't stop doing what you think is right because there are more people and things to do."

Catra looked like she disagreed, but the catwoman didn't say anything - although her frown had deepened, Sam noticed.

And Daniel was being stubborn. "Well, I still think we need to know if there will be more of his kind in the future."

"Yes." Adora nodded. "But that depends on what he wants - we can't decide things for him."

"But he is trying to decide for us how we should treat horses," Glimmer retorted.

"He's trying to do what he thinks is right," Adora told her. "And we haven't told him to stop, have we?"

King Micah grimaced. "Well… no."

"Quite the contrary," Glimmer commented dryly with a glance at her father.

"I'll talk to him," Adora said, sighing. "I'll explain our concerns, but…" She shrugged.

Entrapta nodded in obvious agreement. "Until we have more data, we can't make a sound decision. So we need more data!"

"Yes." Glimmer sighed. "Well, at least we decided how to handle the colonists." She turned her head to look at the Colonel. "Unless similar requests are coming up on Earth."

He smiled wryly. "I am sure a lot of people wish to set up colonies of their own, but as far as I know, there hasn't been anything beyond the proposal stage - and nothing that is even close to being approved."

"Not even the, what did you call it, the Alpha Site?" Bow asked. "Which I hope no one will confuse with Alpha here."

"Well, that was a sort of emergency project. Its fate is now a point of discussion between the United States, the United Nations and our allies on Earth," the Colonel deflected. "And above my pay grade," he added.

Sam winced again. It had been a logical response to their past situation, ensuring that there was a failsafe plan should the Goa'uld conquer Earth, to have a fall-back position from which they could rebuild. But the rest of the world saw it as the United States attempting to save their own culture and leaving the rest of the world to be destroyed. Which, if Sam was honest, was exactly how it would have worked out, due to the secrecy that had been maintained at the time.

"We'll have to talk about colonies with the Alliance as well. And with the United Nations," Glimmer said. "Before people make concrete plans - or go off on their own."

It was already too late for the former; Sam was aware of that. And the latter… what would Stargate Command do if the Russians or the Chinese wanted to set up a colony? Stop them? What if the United Nations voted for starting a colony?

She was very glad that she wouldn't have to make such decisions. She was just a scientist. And, she reminded herself as everyone was getting up, she had work to do at the Stargate - they were falling behind schedule because of this meeting. Well, behind the revised schedule; they were still ahead of the original schedule.

Still, it would be good to do some productive work instead of… meetings like this. Not that they weren't important, of course - quite the contrary. But Sam was a scientist, not a diplomat or politician.

Gate Area, Outside Bright Moon, Etheria, December 30th, 1998 (Earth Time)

The gate site really looked like a Horde base now. Catra had known it would, of course - she had been involved in the planning stage and had double-checked the layout. But to see it up close, finished, the familiar pre-fabricated walls and bunkers surrounding her… It didn't quite raise her hackles, but it brought back memories she'd rather forget. Between the bots and the fortifications, it felt like a Horde base, despite Bright Moon soldiers manning the walls and patrolling the perimeter.

"I feel like we should be sneaking around here," Bow commented near her. She turned her head to glance at him, and he winced a little. "Ah, sorry!"

Catra snorted. "Well, if you want to test the guards, feel free. We can find out if Bright Moon's best and brightest are better at guarding a site than the Horde."

She saw him blink before he laughed. For a moment, he hadn't been sure if she was joking. Good. She liked being a little unpredictable.

"Well, Glimmer picked them personally - they are usually guarding the palace - so…" He shrugged.

"So, they might actually stop a push by bandits." Catra snorted again. "But how well will they be doing if a princess attacks?" She had seen what happened to large numbers of Horde troops and bots under such attacks, and she didn't think Alliance forces were that much better at fighting princesses. If at all - Horde soldiers had been trained to fight the Princess Alliance, after all. At least nominally; actual combat performance hadn't been very impressive for their regular forces.

"Well, how likely is that?" Bow asked.

She shrugged. "You tell me. I wasn't at the meeting with Princess Bee."

"It's Sweet Bee," he corrected her. She cocked her head at him, raising her eyebrows, and he sighed. "Sweet Bee wants access to the gate, but she wouldn't attack us."

"And that's why we're here to check gate security, right." She snorted.

"It's not…" He sighed. "Well, there was some concern since she was once dating Prince Peakablue, who was a member of the first Princess Alliance."

"The scryer, yes. That's why Castaspella is here." Shadow Weaver had claimed that she had countered the prince's powers. And since the Alliance forces hadn't run rings around the Horde - well, not even more than they had done at times - Catra was pretty sure the woman hadn't been lying. But it remained to be seen if Glimmer's aunt could do the same.

"Yes." Bow shrugged. "Anyway, I don't think…"

"There she is," Catra interrupted him, pointing towards the main gate.

"Ah." Bow checked his pad. "A bit earlier than planned."

"Let's go say hello." Catra was already moving towards the small group entering the base, ears twitching as she tried to listen in to what they were saying.

"...and as you can see, the site is secure. There's no chance that this will be used to launch an invasion of Etheria," Glimmer was saying as Catra approached.

The other princess didn't look impressed, wrinkling her nose and brushing some blonde locks out of her face as she looked around. Her antennas twitched, but Catra didn't know if that was normal or a sign of tension for her species - the princess's butterfly wings didn't move, at least. "It looks as if we've been invaded already," she commented with a sniff. Then she spotted Catra and scowled deeply.

Catra grinned in return before turning to Glimmer. "Base's up to snuff," she told her.

"Noted."

"Seeing you working with former invaders is not exactly filling me with trust in your ability to safeguard the gate," Sweet Bee said.

Catra shrugged and made sure to smile as innocently as she could. "Ah! Of course, instead, you would trust people who haven't even had the guts to fight said invaders."

"Catra!" Bow hissed next to her.

She ignored him and watched as Sweet Bee glowered at her. That had been a solid hit. The closest the princess had come to fighting the Horde had been dating a former member of the Alliance, after all.

Instead of retorting, Sweet Bee turned to face Glimmer. "My concerns remain. And I am not convinced that this new threat is as dire as you claim. It is a bit too convenient."

"Convenient?" Glimmer scowled as well.

"You've finally defeated the Horde, but instead of dismantling your armies and embracing peace, you meet a new enemy that requires you to build up even more forces for another war. How convenient for you - especially since you've also just discovered a gate that connects Etheria to other planets and a First Ones research base that supposedly was the birthplace of our civilisation - on a moon you personally lay claim to and which can only be reached through ships you and your allies control." Sweet Bee sniffed again.

"What?" Glimmer glared at her. "Are you saying that we made this up to… to dominate Etheria?"

Sweet Bee showed her teeth in return. "All I am saying is that it is a very convenient excuse for keeping your armies ready to fight and taking control of artefacts that, by any right, should be the domain of all of Etheria. And I am not the only one who has made such an observation. Especially since we haven't seen even one soldier of your enemies."

Ah, that was their angle. Catra didn't think it would work out - the Princess Alliance was the supreme military power on Etheria and didn't have to bow to anyone - but it looked like more trouble was afoot on the diplomatic front. Right when they couldn't really afford such distractions and in the middle of the Swift Wind mess. And Adora would blame herself for this somehow and feel even guiltier now.

Catra had to suppress the sudden urge to unsheath her claws and hiss at the princess.

Bright Moon, Etheria, December 30th, 1998 (Earth Time)

Jack O'Neill knew this wasn't the best time. Glimmer seemed more than a little stressed, probably from having to deal with flying horses on crusades, bandit raiders and now queen bees all vying for her attention. Carter's report about the visit to the gate site had made it sound as if Catra had been the most diplomatic at the meeting, not counting Bow and the other tech heads, and that said enough about how cordial that visit had been.

But he wasn't sure whether there would be a better time any time soon or when he would be next on Etheria with some time to spare to address this particular little problem. Or not so little. Sure, if he asked Hammond and explained, he probably would get permission for a personal trip to Etheria, but if anything leaked… Jack could endure a lot, had endured a lot, for his country - or for Earth, now - but he could do without the endless jokes he knew this would spawn.

So it was time to bite the bullet. Taking a deep breath, he approached the door to Glimmer's office and nodded at the guards. "Hi. Is the queen free for a short talk before dinner?"

"We'll check," the female guard said before turning away and knocking on the door. After a moment, she opened the door and slipped inside. Jack hadn't heard any answer or command to enter, so the knocking was probably just to give Glimmer a few seconds to put down what she was doing.

The door closed behind the guard, leaving him waiting with the other guard, a male one, pretty young, who looked completely focused on his job. Which begged for some comments and questions, like how it felt to guard a queen who could probably wipe the floor with her entire army.

But Jack restrained himself. Pissing off the grunts of your allies was not a smart idea. Especially if you were the junior partner in the alliance.

And if you needed a favour. A personal favour. Sure, it would also benefit the Alliance, but it still felt like Jack was abusing his friendship and position for personal gains.

The door swung open again, and the female appeared. "The Queen will see you now."

Glimmer was at her desk - which, even if it was of a size that would give the worst Earth CEO a case of envy, looked small in the room and was covered with files and letters and whatnot - and as soon as the door closed, she sighed. "Hi, Jack. Don't tell me there's another crisis to deal with, please."

Yep, she was stressed - and expecting another crisis. Jack shook his head. "No crisis. None that I'd know of, at least. Just a small little personal request." Here goes nothing, he thought. Then, taking a deep breath and grimacing, he said: "I need some magic help."

Glimmer's eyebrows rose. "Oh?"

Sighing, Jack started to explain.

"...and that's about it," Jack O'Neill finished his explanation for the second time in ten minutes. "Glimmer said you might be able to help me." If anyone could.

Castaspella frowned a little as she put her elbows on her desk - which was half the size of Glimmer's and only half-covered in paper and what seemed to be parchment. "I see. You wish to prevent anyone from using your genetic material to create unwanted children."

"Yes. No children at all without my permission, basically," Jack said. It was best to make that clear in case someone might think as long as one parent wanted the child, it was OK.

"Yes." She nodded. "It is understandable, given your situation, though more than a little unusual for Etheria."

"It's also unusual for Earth." He grinned.

She smiled in return. "So I heard. Contraceptives and abortions are the usual means to deal with unwanted pregnancies, though that wouldn't help you with your problem. And cloning is a very new technology - we haven't had to deal with such issues before we encountered Horde Prime. But I can think of a few ways how this could be addressed. Maybe a modification of a sealing spell… though the side effects would need to be addressed, of course, or the results might turn out to be quite unpleasant." She tilted her head. "And that would be a shame."

Jack pressed his lips together. The woman sounded a little too flippant - and a little too interested, both in his problem and maybe in himself, though he could be mistaken about the later part. As anyone in Stargate Command knew, and Daniel loved to explain, alien cultures had different social cues, so you couldn't be sure you weren't misinterpreting the subtext of a conversation unless you asked. And 'hey, do you think I am attractive? I am just checking if I am reading you correctly; I am not interested in you, OK?' was the last thing he wanted to ask a witch. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all.

"But I'll have to discuss this with my colleagues in Mystacore. And I'll have to examine you, of course, in case your ancestry has a mythical part to it that might affect a spell." She smiled widely.

Definitely too eager, Jack thought. Maybe he should have gone to Entrapta instead. Even though that meant Carter would hear about it practically at once.

But the die was cast.

"So, if you would stand up? This won't take long." She gestured to the round carpet in the middle of her room.

'Don't make any jokes about undressing for the examination,' Jack told himself, very firmly, as he walked over. He really couldn't afford any misunderstandings.

"Swift Wind? Yes, I've seen him arrive. He's in the palace stables - well, former palace stables - I think."

"Thank you." Adora forced herself to smile at the guard before she turned away and started walking.

'Former stables'. She knew why there were no horses there any more. The palace horses had been the first herd Swift Wind had taken to pasture. And Bright Moon's people had let him do it because they thought Adora supported it. Which she didn't - well, not unconditionally. She could understand that Swift Wind wanted to free horses since he was a horse. Sort of. But horses weren't intelligent - not sapient. They were animals, not people. On the other hand, if a human got brain damage, did they stop being human and become an animal? Was there a line, a point where you'd stop being human because you were too dumb?

She didn't think that was how it worked. Of course, a horse was different - a horse had never been sapient. But what if a human was born with brain damage? They were still a human, weren't they? And while Swift Wind had been a normal horse, if he suffered brain damage, Adora would do what she could to heal him. Once sapient, always sapient, even if you were not any more? It seemed a bit unfair to treat humans like that.

And what if Adora could repeat what she had done to Swift Wind? Wouldn't all horses then have the potential to be sapient? And would it be right to keep them from becoming sapient? From becoming a person? It didn't seem fair to keep people - well, potential people - from 'achieving their potential'.

On the other hand, even if Adora managed to discover how to repeat what she had done to Swift Wind, she wouldn't have the time to do that to every horse. There were over fifty million horses on Earth. And the people on many planets occupied by the Goa'uld had horses as well because they weren't allowed more advanced technology and couldn't use magic. There was no way she could, ah, change all of them even if she did nothing but that.

But just because she couldn't help everyone didn't mean she shouldn't help anyone. That wasn't right either. You had to help those you could.

She bit her lower lip as she remembered Catra telling her that sacrificing her life for others wasn't right either.

This was so complicated! She had told the others she'd talk to Swift Wind, but she had no idea what to say! She was such a failure! She was…

"Hey, Adora!"

She gasped and turned. That hadn't been Catra, but Swift Wind. And there he was, smiling at her from the other end of the courtyard she was walking through. "Swift Wind." Once again, she forced herself to smile. "How are you?"

"I am doing great!" her friend pranced a little, wings flapping once. "You've returned! Horses are being set free! And we're about to fight to save the galaxy and free more slaves - a worthy cause indeed!"

Adora managed not to wince. She didn't want to dampen his spirit - and she had been away for months, so that was her fault as well - but… But she had to do this, and she would do this. "Speaking of horses…" she trailed off as she approached him.

"Yes?" He moved closer to her, turning to present his side so she could mount him.

Adora was tempted, but… this wasn't a talk they could have while flying. And she had to have this talk. If only… She sighed and shook her head. "We can fly later. There's something I need to… ask you."

"Oh? Ask away!" He was still beaming at her.

Oh, this was… embarrassing. And not just because she didn't know what she had done. She looked around. "Let's head outside." They would best talk about this where people couldn't stumble upon them.

"Alright." He looked a little confused but nodded, and they walked out of the courtyard and towards the closest gate.

The guards there nodded and let them through without being asked to. And they didn't ask why Swift Wind wasn't flying. But would they wonder? Adora didn't know.

Outside, she pointed at the closest field. "Let's go there."

"Oh, yes! The gardeners sowed the tastiest grass there!"

Ah. And didn't that sound… well, no, enjoying a tasty meal was perfectly normal for all people. Especially if you had been raised in the Horde. Why wouldn't a horse enjoy a special meal, either?

The short walk was really short. Shorter than Adora had expected. And now she had no excuses any more. It was time to talk.

"So…" She smiled at her friend. "It's a bit of a sensitive question, so if you don't want to answer, you don't have to. OK?"

"Of course! We're friends, after all."

"Yes." She took a deep breath. "So, ah, I was curious - well, it's not as if I thought long about it, but it came up in conversation, kinda, so…" She forced herself to keep smiling widely. "And it's a bit weird for me, since I was responsible, but I don't really know how it happened, so I don't know what happened exactly, so… Do you know if you can have children?"

Swift Wind blinked and didn't answer right away.

Adora didn't know if that was a good sign.

"Well…" Swift Wind sounded less like… less like himself than usual. Less sure, less… enthusiastic. "I don't know," he said.

"Oh." That… What did that mean, actually? That he had never… or that he had tried, but wasn't sure, or…

He turned to look away. "It's… Do you know the feeling when everyone's doing something, everyone wants to do it, and you don't understand why they want it so much?"

"Uh…" Adora actually didn't. Was that like food? Catra loved fish, but Adora understood that. She didn't love fish as much as her lover - she doubted anyone she knew did - but she had her own favourite food. A lot, actually.

Fortunately, Swift Wind continued, watching the horizon. "So, most horses, except for those who were mutilated, get those urges. The mares come up to the stallions, nuzzle them and… well, it might take some time, but the stallion generally wants it to, you know? And it's not just that; they nuzzle and cosy up and such. But it's all about that." He sighed, still looking at the horizon. "And I don't get that. I mean, it's nice to be close, cosy up, but… I don't really want to do the rest. Or, rather, It's not that I would hate to do it - I just don't feel the urge to do it or any… desire to do it. And it feels a little weird, you know?"

Adora didn't. But she nodded anyway. "Yes," she lied.

"Exactly! So, I usually just avoid the mares if they're like that. And the stallions, since they get weird and aggressive."

"Ah."

"But that's normal - I mean, you wouldn't like it if people watched you, ah, do it with Catra, right? You'd want some privacy." He was looking at her, but he still seemed a bit… less sure of himself. Or full of himself, a small voice in her mind added.

"Oh, yes," she agreed, nodding emphatically.

"And it's not as if I was mutilated," he went on. "I checked."

"Ah." She didn't have to know that. Well, she did, probably, but it was… how do you ask a friend if they still had, ah, all their parts? When it had happened, Adora hadn't known about geldings, and she hadn't really wanted to know if Swift Wind had been a stallion before her magic hit him or if she had healed him at the same time… although that might be important. Not important enough to ask now, though. Not when he seemed so vulnerable. "I see," she added.

"Yes. So, I don't know if I can have children."

And he didn't sound as if he wanted to find out. Adora nodded again.

"It's… I guess it would be nice to have more like me, but…" He sighed again. "I'm not sure I am ready. And having children is a huge commitment. We're about to fight a war, aren't we?"

"Yes."

"And there are so many horses left to free."

Adora suppressed a grimace. "About that…" She trailed off - this wasn't the moment - but it was too late.

He cocked his head and looked at her. "Yes?"

"There might be too many horses to have them run around free," she said. "And some might not be able to live free."

"What?"

She wanted to curse herself. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut? Swift Wind was talking about something incredibly sensitive, and she was… But she was committed now. "Some horse breeds are not suited for the wilderness. They can't find enough food on their own. Or they are too fragile to survive without, ah, medical assistance. They depend on humans."

"I know. But they're that way because humans made them so. So, they should take responsibility and care for them."

Ah. What could she say to that? "Like they were doing?"

He frowned. "They were only doing it because the horses were useful for them! And only as long as they could work! Forcing someone to work for you is slavery!"

"But many love horses," Adora said. "They don't need them for work - they just love to ride them." She had seen enough on Earth to know that.

"That's…" He frowned again. "I guess that's OK. But only if they want to be ridden."

"Well, you like me to ride you, don't you?"

"Well, I am your loyal steed:" He posed, one hoof raised, neck straight and head bent at an angle, with his wings flaring. "And we share a sacred bond."

"Yes, we do." She smiled.

"But will every horse find a worthy rider?" He frowned again. "You said there were too many to run free."

"Ah." She sighed. "There are more horses on Earth than there are people on Etheria."

He blinked. "Really? But…"

She nodded. "We checked." Sort of. Jack and his friends had checked.

"Wow. But there are also more people on Earth than on Etheria, right?"

"Yes. And the land available is limited." That was… well, kind of true. The land was being used for other things, mostly. As far as she knew.

"But if they can feed and keep so many horses, then there has to be enough land for them."

"Yes. But not enough land to just… roam and be free. Not enough good land." Adora shrugged with a forced smile, remembering the claims from the bandits. "Or so I've heard."

"I'll have to look into that." His vulnerability was gone - now he looked determined again. "Maybe when we attend the party. Do they have horses there?"

Oh… "It's underground," she said. "In a huge bunker. There are no horses nearby."

"Oh. Well, we can travel afterwards, can't we? Once the Stargate is repaired?"

"Well, yes, but the Stargate on Earth is also underground, and they're going to move it." This wasn't where she had wanted this conversation to go. Stargate Command wouldn't be happy. "And there's another thing."

"Yes?"

"Can you talk to horses? Like we talk?"

He snorted. "They can't talk like we talk."

She pouted a little. "You know what I mean."

"Yes." He looked at the field. "They're not… they aren't like me, you know."

"Yes."

"They're… simpler. But I remember what it was like, being like them. So I can understand them. And I know how to make them understand me."

"Ah." That was… well, it explained a few things.

But it didn't make things easier.