She led them to the edge of the forest and into the young night. There was a cozy little hut near the foot of Foal Mountain. The distance between the hut and the mountain was covered by grass and specked with flowers here and there. The hut wasn’t too shabby; it had two floors and was surrounded by flowers and arts and crafts. Such beautiful pieces of art hung at the door, the windows, and even the walls. The ponies could only gaze and admire them.
Rose used her horn to magically open the door and ushered them in. Discord, still looking at the hut’s exterior, rammed his face into the top of the doorway. “Oops!” he cried out dizzily. “Excuse me!” Rose giggled as Discord leaned in and entered the hut.
She lit a candle and some lanterns to shed light into the hut. The newcomers looked at the room in amazement. There were many things and knick-knacks here. There were books, powders, magical items, and so many other wonderful things. Discord cried, “Wow! You must have the biggest collection in all of Equestria!”
Twilight skimmed the books’ titles and said, “This is amazing! You have books here that even I don’t have! How did you obtain such tomes?” Rainbow looked at Rose in confusion and asked, “Did you get that? Because I didn’t.” Rose chuckled, “Simple. She asked how I could’ve gotten books like that.”
Rainbow Dash said, “Oh, uh…thanks.” Rarity gasped at the many pieces of art displayed in the room. She ecstatically asked, “How ever did you come across such priceless treasures like these?!” Rose smiled, “I have been to many places before I came here. Some of them are from places you’ve never heard of.” Rarity asked hopefully, “Could you tell me where I can find pieces like these?” Rose hesitantly answered, “Err…that may take some time to clarify, but I could bring you back some more if I get the chance to travel again.”
Discord said, “All right, all right. Let’s not get too caught up with Rose’s collection. We’re here to find somepony.” Rose asked, “Really? And just who are you looking for?” He explained to her, “Well, she’s somepony who looks a lot like you, only she’s an alicorn.”
Her eyes widened with surprise as she exclaimed, “An alicorn? Are you sure she really is one?” Before Discord could tell her more, they all heard singing in the distance. He asked the ponies as he looked around, “Did you hear that?” The ponies all nodded. Discord turned his ear to where he heard the singing loudest. It was very familiar; so familiar that his heart began to race at the sound. Now he heard a voice he knew belonged to a particular pony.
He floated to the window where he heard the voice most distinctly. As he looked out, he gasped and thought, Could it be…? He saw birds and animals flocking around a pony. A pony with a horn and wings…
He almost cried out her name as he flew out the window in an excited rush. Before he came within a few feet of her, he ducked behind the bushes on the edge of the forest. He decided that he was going to surprise her while she was singing and flying in the air. He waited for the right moment and grabbed the animal she was dancing with when it was near the bushes. He told it, “Excuse me, but I believe this is my cue.” Right when Teardrop stopped twirling in the air, Discord flew right up behind her and placed his arms on her as if he was dancing with her. He began to sing with her before she noticed he was right there.
She turned around in shock and gasped, “Discord!” He smiled, “Hello, Teardrop. I’m so glad to have found you. I missed you so much.” Teardrop stammered, “H-h-how did you find me?” “I guess true love, that’s what!” he shrugged happily.
He turned towards the hut and the ponies now standing outside. He shouted, “It’s okay! We found her!” Pinkie Pie leaped up and cried, “Yay! We found her! Now we can take her back to Canterlot so Princess Celestia and everypony will know who she is!” The rest of the Mane Six face-hoofed.
Teardrop cried, “Wait, what?!” Rose stepped in front of the Mane Six and said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Nopony is going to be taking her to Canterlot without the consent of her mother!” Discord asked, “All right. And just who is her mother?” She answered, “I am.”
Discord and the Mane Six looked at her in shock. Rainbow Dash said, “Whoa! Mind blown right now! You’re Teardrop’s mom?” Rose nodded as Teardrop flew towards her. “Yes,” she answered, “and my daughter’s not going anywhere without my permission.
“If you like, you could stay with us to ask us questions. You seem like a trusting bunch. And perhaps, in time, I could let Teardrop go back with you to Canterlot. Make yourselves at home while I talk with Teardrop.” Rose and her daughter went back indoors as Discord and the Mane Six stood outside, still dumbfounded by what just happened.
“OK,” Applejack said slowly. “Did not see that coming.” Rarity panicked, “This is terrible! What are we going to do?! We can’t just return to Princess Celestia empty-hoofed! She’ll think we’re the laughingstocks in all of Equestria!”
Discord interrupted her, “Hold it, hold it. Relax; I think I know just what to do.” He flashed a mischievous grin, causing Twilight alarm. She warned, “If you’re thinking about using hypnosis on Teardrop…”
Discord retorted, “What? Why in the world would I ever do that to the pony I love? No; I’m just simply going to use my dashing charm and debonair wit to woo her to come with us. Or me, for that matter.” Rainbow Dash doubtfully remarked, “Yeah, um…about your charm and wit.” Discord glared at her, “Oh, what’s it matter to you? It’s Teardrop I need to win over.
“Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got a date with destiny.” He marched inside and the ponies, choosing to ignore his remark, followed him.
Rose made dinner and all the ponies and Discord ate. The Mane Six and Discord practically bombarded Rose and Teardrop with questions and while they answered some, they deflected others. Twilight asked Rose, “What were the spells you used to save us from the bears?” The cloaked pony answered, “I translated some words in Latin, a language not familiar in Equestria. Latin makes for powerful spells.” Twilight asked once more, “Did you learn Latin during your travels?” She shrugged, “Eh…more or less.”
Rainbow Dash soon noticed that Rose had never taken off her cloak since they met her. She asked, “Excuse me, Rose? Why do you wear that cloak even at the dinner table?” Rose glanced at the cloak and answered playfully, “I wear it because it makes me more mysterious. There’s more to me than meets the eye.” All the ponies and Discord chuckled at her answer.
It was Discord’s turn to ask a question. He asked, “Rose, how can your daughter be an alicorn? Did she do some heroic deed, create her own magic, or what?” Rose sighed, “In a way, she did create her own magic, but she was born an alicorn.” The Mane Six and draconequus looked at her in confusion and surprise as they said, “Huh?” Teardrop explained, “You see, my mom’s so powerful that she can create clones of herself, although with an independent personality.” Discord and the Mane Six cried, “What?!”
Discord asked her mother, “Rose, is this true? Is Teardrop actually a clone of you?!” She nodded, but this only brought more questions to Discord. He continued to ask, “But how? You may look the same, but you have different coats, eyes, and manes! And you have glasses, but she doesn’t!” He sat there as he tried to gather this new piece of information.
Rose answered calmly, “Yes, she is my clone, but she acts differently than I do. Besides, I treat her more like a daughter because I gave birth to her.” The Mane Six and Discord still looked at her and Teardrop in shock. Teardrop explained, “So, yeah, it’s also why I don’t have a dad.” Fluttershy cried, “Oh, you poor thing!” Teardrop smiled, “Don’t worry; I still have my mom. I spend a lot of time with her.”
Twilight exclaimed, “Wow! This is a lot to take in.” Rose said, “See? Now you know why I asked you to stay with us. There’s a lot you don’t know about us and it may be hard to understand. Trust me; some things will be easier to explain once you get to know us more.”
The purple alicorn gasped, “Oh! I almost forgot! We haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Twilight Sparkle. This is Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. You’ve probably already met Discord.”
Teardrop chuckled, “We’ve heard all about you through word-of-mouth and newspapers.” Pinkie Pie said, “See? I told you! We’re famous!” Rarity primed her mane and asked, “Ooh! Is it because of my extravagant line of fashion?”
Rainbow joined in, “Is it because of my awesome feats of heroism and flight?” Pinkie jumped up and down, “Or is it because of my super fabulous, super duper parties?” Rose smiled, “Actually, all of the above. And the news that Twilight became an alicorn princess.” This made Teardrop uneasy and she asked Twilight, “Now, that you all know I’m an alicorn and if I come back to Canterlot with you, will I have to train to become a princess?” She answered, “Tell you what? I’ll ask Princess Celestia for you when I report back to her.”
Both mother and daughter’s eyes widened and Rose asked, “Just what will you report back to the Princess? Are you going to reveal us to her or the rest of Equestria?” Twilight shook her head and smiled, “Oh, no, no. I wouldn’t do that. This will be just for the Princess alone. I’ll just tell her we found Teardrop and that she doesn’t want to leave her home yet. I’ll also ask if she’ll become a princess because she’s a natural alicorn.”
Rose and Teardrop both sighed in relief and the latter graciously thanked Twilight, “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”
As soon as dinner was finished, the Mane Six and Discord headed off to bed. When he saw that Teardrop wasn’t getting ready to go to bed, he asked Rose about it. Rose answered, “Oh, she’s a night owl. She hates missing out on all the beautiful things that happen only at night.” Discord suggested, “Well, if she’d like, maybe I can stay up with her.”
Teardrop hesitated, “Um…you did come a very long way just to find me. Why don’t you get some rest and we can spend tomorrow night hanging out. How about that?” Discord shrugged and yawned as he bade Teardrop and her mother a good night. When the visitors were all in bed, Teardrop sighed. Rose put her arm around her daughter as the latter asked, “Will they ever know the truth about me?”
Her mother consoled her, “They will, in time. Just have patience. They’ll know soon enough.” Teardrop sorrowfully asked, “But what if they don’t understand?” Rose shushed her, “They will. I have faith in them.”