Family Tree

by miss-cyan


The Truth

It was a different kind of happy, Pinkie realized.

She had never been friends with somepony like Bluey. Or Lottie.

Pinkie still thought it was a funny name. Pretty, she liked it, but still funny. The more she looked at her friend the more things she noticed to like.

All of her friends had things about them that made Pinkie smile. Different things, special things. Rarity always took the time to make herself look fancy, even when she was overworked and stressed out, she still looked like a million bits. Applejack put one hundred percent into everything she did, apple bucking or baking, or helping other ponies. Dashie seemed like a simple pony, all about fast flying and adventure, but every time she loosened up and let herself try something new, she had her own brand of passion about it. Fluttershy could appreciate the things that nopony else even noticed. Like how the teashop pony set out new, hoofmade doilies under the display sets every day, or the special qualities some of her animal friends had that any other pony would walk right past. And Twilight, in her own way, made things a little neater wherever she went. Without even looking up from a book she would pick up things ponies had dropped and return them or align the books on her shelves so all the spines lined up just right. Sometimes she even arranged things by color without even looking, leaving a pretty sight where a mess had been.

And Lottie.

Lottie didn’t talk as much as her, but she would always listen and not get impatient when Pinkie excitedly talked on and on about nothing in particular. She gave compliments with her whole heart. She had been a nice, pretty blue before but now her furless coat was a warm, light brown that Pinkie thought suited her. Her hair was still filled with curls, not as wild as Pinkie’s own, but still nice to look at. Pinkie wanted to muss them up, just a little. Her limbs were longer now, and her hugs benefitted from the change. When she stepped into the hospital room, she didn’t know what would happen, except that she would try her best to be the same friend that Bluey needed.

When Pinkie had first seen this new version of her friend, it was almost instant.

She could see her friend’s face, her sadness, her worry, her glimmer of hope that somepony would be nice to her that she didn’t even notice she had. She didn’t doubt for a second that this was her Bluey.

And ever since they started talking again, Lottie’s smile was getting easier and easier. Not a single fake smile had shown itself, and Pinkie could barely contain herself. She wanted to make more of those real smiles.

She talked to her about anything that popped into here head, and Lottie listened, and Pinkie was happy.



Pinkie had settled on the bed with me, just lying on the end and chatting away. My whole body felt lighter, I suppose, with her back. And she’d looked at me pretty much the same as when I was Cornflower Blue. Though I guessed that all the compliments she’d been throwing my way were to compensate for how sensitive she guessed I’d be. It was still comforting.

“You’re so tall!” she laughed.

“You already said that.” I smirked, watching her as she reached a hoof to my head, ruffling my hair.

“Cause it’s true!” she scooted closer, getting even more in my personal bubble. Some things don’t change, even if I did. “It’s funny, you’re not a pony any more, but I can still see Bluey you, just a teensy bit.”

“Yeah?” I lifted a hand slowly, watching for any discomfort on Pinkie’s end. When she didn’t react badly, I touched one of her ears. I had seen how soft my own had looked but sadly had no hands to confirm. It was velvety and soft, and warm to the touch. She laughed, her other ear twitching slightly.

“Yeah! Like…” More hair touching. “When I saw you, I still recognized you! Not your mane, or your eyes, but…” she looked like she was thinking hard.

“Like…like this you was just different-looking, on the outside.” She nodded sagely. “I saw the you mixed with this you, you know?”

I did, more or less.

“I get it.” I went for her mane as she had mine, running a hand over it and down the back of her neck without thinking. It was odd, petting…someone who only looked like an animal. I thought twice about it and moved my hand away, and to my surprise she looked…almost disappointed? I tentatively put my hand back on her head and she leaned into it, giggling. I guess pets were just universally good.

“I think I was only…pony-shaped, you know?” I told her, mulling it over before going for a scratch behind the ear. She leaned into that too. “That’s why I didn’t have a cutie mark.”

“Huh. I guess that makes sense.” She tilted her head from one side to the other, thinking again. “So, you don’t get letters jumbled?”

The lying…I was kind of hoping this part would get glossed over. But I intended to be as straight-forward as I could with her, and the rest of them.

“No, sorry. I thought it would be a giveaway if ponies knew I couldn’t read their language.” I shrank down a bit, ready for judgment. “And, I was never staying in that hotel out in Neighton. I just heard about it and knew it was on the way I came to town from the woods.” Not the worst lie, but I was having trouble recalling everything I’d told her the last few days.

“Do you really make toys?” she asked. “My present kind of went with that so I can take it back if you-”

“No, no. I really do make toys and I really do like your present.” I cut her off, not wanting her to think that badly of me. She sighed with relief, thinking again. A sad look crossed her face and I started to worry about what she could ask next.

“Do you…do you really have no friends back home?” she asked, with a look on her face that said she wished that this was, in fact, a lie. I half-laughed, rubbing one of her ears in between my fingers.

“…No, that one was the truth. Like…” I thought about it, trying to be kind with my choice of words. “…I’m glad I met you, and I’m glad we’re friends, but…people. People are hard, for me. I don’t know. But really, don’t worry about it. I still have people who care about me, I get by.”

I could tell she wanted to say more. But she didn’t. She shifted in her place on the bed, tapping her front hooves together and batting her big blue eyes up at me.

“Do you…Do you really like my baking?”

I snorted, hunched over with quiet laughter at how she asked. I heard her protest my lack of answer and my laughing before I sat up, cupping her own pony face in my hands and squishing her cheeks, getting back at ponies for doing the same to me.

“Pinkie Pie, I don’t lie about great food, and I don’t just give out compliments.” I released her face, patting the top of her head. “Your cakes, cupcakes, pancakes, all of it. They’re the best.”

Pinkie lit up, positively beaming at the praise. She covered her mouth with her hooves, muffling her excited giggling. It was a good moment, being able to be so nice to her despite everything I’d pulled lately. I knew she already forgave me, but I’d more or less promised myself that if she still wanted to be my friend after everything, I’d do a better job at it. No more lies and no acting like such a sourpuss all the damn time.

There was a knock at the door, and Pinkie leapt up to answer it. When she opened the door, I saw a lot of familiar faces. All of Pinkie’s friends and…some sort of little lizard?

“Everypony’s here!” Pinkie announced to me, hopping back over and sitting on the bed again. The small crowd of ponies shuffled in, with a variety of reactions, save for Twilight. She looked like she’d gotten her morning routine in and was much more sorted out.

“Hello again. Did everything go smoothly with Doctor Horse?” she asked, trotting over to my chart.

“He seemed to think I was more or less healthy.” I shrugged. I eyed the ponies in the room, trying to feel out their emotions.

Rainbow Dash looked a little annoyed, but if her bedhead was any indicator, I could at least hope that wasn’t directed at me. She did glance my way and I didn’t feel any overwhelming hostility.

Applejack looked a little hesitant about everything, but not nervous or afraid. She made eye contact, tilting her head a bit but not saying anything.

Fluttershy was still as reserved as when I first met her, minus the opening up she’d done when I interacted with her animals. It was like I was back to square one with her. Rarity, on the other hand, almost seemed to be scrutinizing me. Her eyes never left me, and I could see the wheels in her head turning. About what, I couldn’t say. Her eyes just kept roaming and it almost made me sweat. I wasn’t sure how good of a sign it was, but she had brought me a little vase with flowers in it. She floated them over to the bedside table, adjusting them slightly with her magic.

The new face in the room was currently staring, in that way kids do when they don’t know it’s rude. They were small and round in their features, with purple and green coloring. I could recall Pinkie saying something about a baby dragon living in town but seeing them in person was another experience entirely. They were almost…cute? Not what I’d expect when I heard the word dragon.

“Your vitals are noted, everything seems to be in order.” Twilight noted finally, still taking notes on what she read. “I trust he was professional?”

“Yeah, he was nice.” I told her, and she smiled, nodding like she knew he would be. “He’s letting me borrow some stuff while I’m here, but he hasn’t been back yet. He said he’d get me something to eat while I’m here.”

“Well, of course if you need anything all you have to do is ask.” She assured me. “Pinkie, you seem like you’re enjoying yourself.” She said, still smiling.

“Yeah! Me and Lottie were just catching up!” she told the room, to be met with confused looks.

“Ah, hi.” I got their attention. “That’s uh…my name. My real name. Well, actually it’s Charlotte but Lottie’s a nickname but uh, that’s not important…” I trailed off, not enjoying my ten seconds of undivided attention. Never was the public speaking type.

“Oh! I never asked you your name!” Twilight groaned, effectively face-palming with a hoof. “I was so out of it, I’m sorry…Charlotte, was it?”

“Uh, yeah. But Lottie’s kind of better.” I shrugged. “Only my dad calls me Charlotte.”

“Of course. Lottie.” She tried it out, nodding to herself. “Lottie, my friends came to see you, I hope you don’t mind all the visitors.”

“Uh, no. It’s fine.” I had only been prepared for what to say to Pinkie, I knew I’d probably see the rest of them before this was over, but the specifics were far from my mind. I looked out into the small crowd of otherworldly beings and decided to just approach it with the same honesty as Pinkie.

“I, uh…” I cleared my throat, hoping to get all this out clearly and in one go. “I’d like to start by saying…I’m sorry.”

A few heads perked up at that, but none of them said anything.

“I did lie and hide who…and what I am, because I was afraid. I know none of you…um…know me very well, in fact I’ve never met you, in the front?” I gestured to the dragon.

“Oh! I’m Spike.” The dragon said, sheepish, a young but boyish voice confirming that this could be a male baby dragon. He stepped forward slowly, offering an actual hand for a handshake. Though I minded the claws.

“Hi Spike.” I smiled, shaking it, and I saw a reaction on his face.

“Oh, weird.” He laughed, looking at his hand once we stopped. “I don’t do it like that very often.”

“I know, right?” I half-laughed. “I was so confused about how ponies did that without these.” I wiggled my fingers and he snickered behind his claws.

“Anyway, none of you know me very well, so you’ve got no reason to like…feel the need to trust me, but I’d like you to know that I’m not…bad, I guess.”

“Lottie!” Pinkie nudged my shoulder, looking up with sad eyes. “Nopony thinks you’re bad!”

“No, I mean…” I ran my fingers through my hair, sweeping my bangs out of my face. “I just…I’m the unknown here. So, I’d understand if they were a little…hesitant. And I’ll just get it out of the way by saying that…you know…there’s no hard feelings if they don’t…want to be here.”

Their faces looked surprised at that. Wide eyes on every pony, and Applejack was the first to speak up.

“Now hang on there uh…Lottie. That’s awfully…understandin’ of you. But believe me when I say that if’n I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t have come.” Her tone turned firm. “Now, I appreciate that you’re trying to be courteous in all of this, but there’s a line between humblin’ yourself and just rollin’ over and expectin’ the worst.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash nodded, an eyebrow raised. “If I thought you were some kind of threat, I wouldn’t sit here, talking.”

“Rainbow…” Twilight muttered under her breath, near-glaring at her friend.

“No, I meant-!” She groaned, ruffling her colorful hair and shaking herself off. “Sorry, I’m still waking up. I didn’t mean that I’d do anything to you, I…didn’t mean to threaten you, back at the party. I wouldn’t hurt somepony just for looking different. I just meant that I came today because… well there’s a lot going on, and I…don’t really think you’re a monster.”

I looked away from the group, feeling a little remorseful. I hadn’t realized how self-defeating I’d sounded a minute ago. Like I expected them to reject me. I mean, I had in a broad sense, but it was making me sound like I just thought they were terrible people.

“Sorry.” I looked back to them. “I didn’t mean to assume the worst of you.”

Fluttershy stepped up, trying her best to look me in the eye.

“I…um…I’m a little guilty of that too…” she was trying her best to project and be heard, and I didn’t interrupt. “I liked you, back at my cottage. And the animals liked you. Once I found out you weren’t really Cornflower Blue, I thought everything I liked about you wasn’t real. Like you were somepony else entirely…” She scuffed a hoof gently on the tile floor. “I was ready to assume I wouldn’t like this new you, and I’m sorry.”

“No, I get it.” I assured her. “But I’m pretty much the same, for what it’s worth.”

Pinkie smiled at everything going on, and I guessed that she was glad that nobody was upset with one another.

But the party wasn’t over yet.

“Well, I have to say that this new form of yours is rather…eye-catching in its own way.” Rarity spoke up, walking over to my bedside. Everyone’s eyes followed her, and I shrank a bit from her scrutiny. I couldn’t tell by her tone what she was thought about me, good or bad.

“Looking closer now, the seams on your jacket are much better suited for a creature that stands upright. I’m almost embarrassed I missed that particular detail.” She furrowed her brow, eyes narrowed. “Tell me, Miss Charlotte…” she properly enunciated my real name, and I sat up a little straighter. “Pinkie Pie and yourself, you’ve…made up, from what I understand?”

Pinkie Pie glanced up at me, looking like she knew as much as me about what was going on. I nodded to Rarity, feeling a chill when she raised a brow in response.

“Y-yes, we have.”

“Wonderful.” She perked up, but just as quickly she went back to serious mode. “And can I trust you to continue to be agreeable?”

I wondered if this was her way of being protective of Pinkie, like Applejack. I was, in a weird way, kind of glad that Pinkie had so many ponies looking out for her. I’d make sure to stay on their good sides, if I could help it.

“I…I like Pinkie.” I told this vaguely intimidating pony. “She’s been good to me. I…well, from now on I’m gonna do my best to do right by her.” I looked out into the small crowd of faces. “By all of you.”

This seemed to be what Rarity needed to hear. She smiled for the first time since she’d walked in and untensed, from what I could tell.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that.” She glanced up to my hair, a look quickly passing over her features. I reached up with a slight grimace.

“I know, I asked the doctor to get me a comb.” I half-laughed. “It’s usually pretty manageable.”

“I’ll help you make quick work of it when he comes.” She told me. I started to tell her not to worry when I was cut off. “It won’t be hard, given your short mane. I rather liked it when I first saw it, and I will admit, even with the new coloring you’re sporting it’s still very striking.”

“Uh…thanks.” I didn’t know how to react to the genuine compliment. I looked back to Rarity and I could see her eyes on my neck, but she seemed too polite to comment on it. I looked away, hoping they’d all grant me the same kindness.

“Well, now that we’re all here, maybe we can get the particulars out of the way.” Twilight seemed eager, but a lot more reserved about it than in the early hours. “I said I’d save the personal questions for now. So, tell us about yourself, as long as your still comfortable with that?”

“Uh, sure.” I shrugged. I’m sure twenty questions with this group wouldn’t get too uncomfortable. “What, uh…what do you guys wanna know?”

I saw Twilight raise her hoof before Rainbow Dash cut her off with her own question.

“You’re pretty big. Are all of you big, whatever you are?” she asked, eyeing how my legs stretched out beneath the sheet.

“I’m…a bit shy of average height. Not too short but still kind of short, at least compared to like…my dad, I guess.”

“Would you mind if I brought Apple Bloom here later?” Applejack asked, and I could see Twilight getting frustrated at the lack of order to the questions. “She’s still in a tizzy about your pony self not having a cutie mark, and I haven’t told her anything yet but I got a feelin’ she won’t believe this without meetin’ you for herself.”

“I don’t mind, if she’s up for it.” I said, wondering how the little pony would react to me now.

“Are you supposed to be all…furless?” Rainbow flew in closer, touching a hoof to my bare face. “I don’t want to make you feel bad if it’s normal for you but you look-”

Girls!” Twilight shouted, and all eyes were on her. She realized her outburst and shrunk a bit, laughing nervously. “Sorry, I’m just…There are things about Lottie I really need to know, and I would really like the chance to-”

“It’s okay Twilight.” Fluttershy comforted her frazzled friend. “We know how excited you are about all of this, and I’m sure that you’ve got a lot to report back to the Princesses.”

“Yes, thank you.” She sighed, readying her scroll and quill. “So, Lottie, I’ll get these out of the way if that’s alright: What is the name of your species?”

“We’re called humans.” I told her, watching her scribble away.

“What is the name of your home, where you come from?”

“Uh, well my planet is called Earth, I’m guessing that’s not…this planet. I wouldn’t be that lucky…”

“No, I’m sorry.” She looked genuinely sympathetic, still writing away. “Is it…well can I assume that you’re…you know, a female of your species? I don’t know how your species defines sex and gender but I-”

“I’m a girl. That stayed the same when I transformed.” I laughed a little, seeing why that question could get dicey on her part.

“Right, right. I mean, I saw your body closely and I noticed certain features, but I wasn’t sure how that translated to your species. I shouldn’t assume the specifics of every creature with a-”

“Whoa, hey now!” I cut her off, my face burning with shame. I’d almost let myself forget that little detail of the purple pony princess scoping me out naked. It didn’t mean anything to her and I don’t think she fully grasped how uncomfortable it made me. “No more talk about naked me, please and thank you!”

She looked up from the scroll, suddenly aware of what she’d said, looking very frazzled.

“Oh, right, my apologies.” Her face was stiff and she avoided my eyes. “Not very professional of me-Be more considerate Sparkle, this is important…”

“Do you not like being naked, Lottie?” Pinkie asked from her spot on the bed, her wide blue eyes the picture of innocence. “Is it because you lost your fur?”

“Look, it’s complicated.” My face was still burning. “But more or less, I wear clothes pretty much all the time.” All this talk had made me horribly aware of just how little clothing I was wearing. Luckily these guys didn’t seem to hold the same shame about it.

“I understand completely, Charlotte.” Rarity nodded solemnly. “Sometimes clothes can mean more to some ponies than others. Or humans, as it were.”

“…Thanks Rarity.” I sighed, still thinking my point wasn’t understood. But it wasn’t a priority for now.

“Okay, if I could please go again?” Twilight asked, getting a hesitant nod from me, which I don’t think she really noticed. “What other species do you share your environment with?”

“Uh…You mean like…the plants and animals? They seem pretty similar to here from what I’ve seen so far but-”

“Ah, no sorry.” Twilight cut me off, holding up a tentative hoof. “What I meant by that was, what other sapient creatures inhabit your world? If they’re anything like your species, I’d love to know more about them.”

“…None then, I guess.” I shrugged, and Twilight stopped writing. “Humans are the only species on the planet that are completely sapient.”

She was writing again, her eyes wide and curious.

“It’s only humans?” Pinkie asked me, looking up with a different kind of curiosity than the princess. “So everypony where you live looks like you, Lottie? Or, are there different kinds of humans?”

“Oh, there’s some different kinds, but not so drastic as you guys.” I told her, gesturing to the various kinds of ponies in the room. “We come from different places and have different coloring, but humans are pretty much the same by design.”

“Coloring, you say?” Rarity piped up, looking me over again. “I’d imagine somepony with your physique could look very striking in more of a Burgundy or a Maroon. Perhaps even a Chartreuse.”

“I meant more of…well, It pretty much stays in the tones of a very pale white all the way to darkest browns, in that spectrum. It’s a lot more muted than ponies. And dragons, by the looks of it.” I noted Spike’s colors too, wondering if all the creatures of this world were so colorful. “With hair, uh…manes, you can throw in some reds, yellows, browns and blacks. But no bright, flowery colors like you guys, unless you dye it.”

“Is your tail the same brown now too?” Pinkie asked, eyeing the sheet. I pushed a hand to her muzzle to stop any more eyeballing of my naked body.

“Don’t have a tail anymore, Pinkie.” I told her bluntly, patting her gently on the head.

“It’s true.” Twilight added, not paying attention. I wanted to glare at her, but I was pretty sure at this point she really meant no harm by it. “I guess what I have to ask now is-”

Another knock. Applejack looked around for any objections before calling out.

“It’s open!”

Doctor Horse was back, with a nurse trailing steadily behind him pushing a small cart. She looked decidedly more nervous than him but kept her head from the looks of it.

“Here we are.” He announced, gesturing to the cart. “I neglected to ask about any food allergies, my apologies, and I wasn’t sure how much a creature your size would eat in one meal. Feel free to eat or not eat whatever you please from the cart.”

“Thanks Doctor.” I sighed, relieved that I would finally get something to eat. He dipped his head to the pocket of his white coat and pulled out a compact and comb, setting them in the flat of his hoof.

“Oh, thank you so much Doctor!” Rarity magicked away the offering and trotted to my side, ready to help me out. “Now don’t you fret Charlotte, I’ll have you looking just how you like in a moment.”

I was about to argue how she knew what I liked to look like before coming off of it, realizing that my hair really only had two styles to it: combed and not. I felt the comb pass through the first few times, surrounded by the hum of magic, before turning my attention to the food. Everything looked really good, and I was starving.

“Not allergic to anything, and I don’t know how much I’ll end up finishing…” I looked to Pinkie who was eyeing the food with just as much ravenous hunger as I was. “I’m sure I’ll get help if it comes to that.”

“Right!” he seemed pleased with that, and the nurse was already on her way out. If I had to guess, I might think that was the same nurse I’d spooked while still unconscious. “I haven’t found a safety pin yet, but I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Thanks again.” I told him.

“What do you need a safety pin for?” Spike asked, scratching his scaley head.

“To keep this sheet around my waist in place.” I told him. “For when I’m up and about.”

“Is that another naked thing?” Rainbow Dash asked, and I was starting to pick up that she was kind of blunt. I nodded.

“If your need for clothing is that desperate, I could at least sew you something proper to cover yourself.” She saw my hesitance and held a hoof up, the comb still moving in her magic. “At the very least I don’t think a lady should be running about in a slept-in bedsheet. Nothing too fancy, just something to cover up and keep warm. I could have it done in an hour or so.”

It was more or less a temporary measure I needed to get home not naked from the waist down. But it would save me the trouble of walking around in a bedsheet like a lunatic. A naked lunatic. It raised some other concerns though.

“I only have like…fifteen bits on me.” I still had Pinkie on the bed, kind of trapping me. The little dragon was closest. “Spike, would you please get my bag off the counter there?”

He sprang to action as Rarity clicked her tongue at me.

“Now Charlotte, dear. I wouldn’t charge a friend of mine or a friend of Pinkie’s.” she seemed actually put off by my offer. “Besides, I’m literally just sewing a nicer bit of fabric into the same thing your bedsheet would have been. If I charged you for an emergency job that small I’d feel as though I were taking advantage of your situation.”

I was a bit put off being her charity case, but it felt as thought she really wanted to help me. Never mind that I wasn’t really a skirt person in the first place but I would take what I could get.

“Thank you then Rarity.” I smiled at her, still feeling nervous at the attention. Spike looked torn, realizing I didn’t need my bag anymore but unsure if he should put it back out of my reach. I patted the side of the bed where no one was standing so he could put it down without any fuss. He nodded, putting it on the floor next to the bed. I turned to Doctor Horse, and he got the message that the pin wouldn’t be necessary.

“I am starving though.’ I admitted, looking at the cart. “So, if you don’t mind me talking with my mouthful a bit we can still keep going.”

“No, we can take a quick break.” Twilight grimaced at the thought of bad table manners. I guess she was a princess after all. “It’ll be a good opportunity for notes on your diet so I’ll stay.”

“There!” Rarity announced with triumph, floating the mirror to my face. “I tidied up and did my best, take a look.”

It was as neat as my hair liked to get, and when I reached up, I could feel how much softer it felt to the touch. There was almost a shine to it, was that what a magic combing could do?

“Looks great Rarity. Thanks.” I smiled, grabbing the compact from her glowy magic and checking out some things. I did indeed have faint bruising on my neck, but my collar was obscuring most of it. I closed the compact with a click, handing it back to the doctor.

“I’ll be returning this, if anypony needs me just let me know.” He nodded to the crowd of visitors and stepped out, Rarity following suit.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” She announced, backing out of the room. “Any request for color?”

I looked at Pinkie, and it was obvious by her expression what she wanted me to choose.

“I’m…currently partial to blue.” I half-laughed, and Pinkie laughed behind her hooves.

“Ah, yes. Of course.” Rarity laughed back. “No objections here.”

And with that she closed the door behind her, and I turned back to the food. My stomach felt like it was turning on itself. I pulled a tray from one of the slots, finding a normal-looking sandwich and a carton of what looked to be apple juice.

“If anybody wants something, go ahead and dig in.” I told them, seeing peanut butter between the slices of white bread. “I’ll be lucky to eat half of all of it.”

Pinkie and Rainbow went for a tray with no hesitation. Applejack and Fluttershy searched the rows for something they’d like, while Twilight plucked a single cup of apple slices from the cart, mentioning she had just had breakfast not too long ago. Spike found himself a pudding cup.

“Ooh, I got a cheese and lettuce one with baby carrots.” Pinkie held her sandwich aloft, marveling at it before devouring half in one bite.

“I got cheese and egg!” Rainbow Dash seemed happy with that. “It’s like they knew I skipped breakfast!”

“You mean you slept through breakfast.” Applejack snarked at her jokingly, enjoying her own apple slices.

I was glad they all got something good. I couldn’t ignore my hunger pangs anymore, going in for a bite of the wonderful-smelling peanut butter sandwich.

Instant regret.

I held my mouth closed, unwilling to spit up the unpleasant bite like a fussy toddler, but my discomfort was obvious and they noticed my disgust. Twilight sprung into action, plucking a tissue from a box across the room in her magic, floating it towards me. I grabbed it out of the air, spitting out the unpleasant bite. It was bitter and the texture was off on my teeth. I took a long sip of the apple juice, trying to wash away the taste.

“Oh, you got the peanut butter and dandelion sandwich.” Fluttershy noted. “Your species doesn’t eat flowers?” I crushed the drained juice box in my hand, shaking my head.

“Aw, poor Lottie!” Pinkie searched the cart and presented her findings. “Have a cookie!”

I gladly reached for it, stopping short of taking it from her.

“What’s in it?” I asked suspiciously. She turned it over in her hoof, inspecting it for me.

“Looks like plain chocolate chip!” she beamed. I sighed with relief, taking the sweet treat, glad to eat something normal. “Since you don’t eat flowers, can I nibble on the peonies Rarity brought you?”

“She expected me to eat those?” I asked in-between bites.

“Some ponies eat them, if’n they like the kind of flower they get. Some ponies just like lookin’ at somethin’ pretty.” Applejack explained.

“Anything on the cart that doesn’t have flowers in it?” I sighed, still wanting a whole meal. Pinkie scooted closer to the cart, looking through the rows of trays.

“We got…A couple salads, some hay biscuits, pimento cheese sandwich, tomato sandwich, peanut butter-pear and cream cheese sandwich, mushroom sandwich, another breakfast sandwich, a classic PB&J-”

“Yes, good.” I sighed, glad for something simple. “PB&J please.”

“Great choice.” Pinkie sounded like a waitress there. “Ooh! This one comes with hay biscuits and a chocolate milk.”

“Hay biscuits are all yours.” I told her to her delight. “Pretty sure I can’t digest hay.”

Twilight was writing away again, surely fascinated by my eating habits. I cautiously took a bite of my new sandwich before realizing it was okay. Better than okay. I was still delighted how good everything from this world tasted.

I watched everyone chowing down on their food. I noticed Fluttershy eyeing me in-between bites. She noticed me noticing her and looked nervous.

“Something up?” I asked, trying to sound gentle as not to spook her. The others looked to her and she fretted a little.

“Um…well, I didn’t mean to stare but…I thought about you not eating flowers or hay and I was looking at your teeth and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable…But um…”

She shuffled a little closer, unsure of her movements but leaned in, maybe hoping not to embarrass me with her question.

“Do you…” she started to say quietly. “…are humans by any chance an omnivorous species?”

I hoped I wouldn’t upset them with my answer, but she was the one that brought it up.

“Uh, yeah.” I told her, and I was relieved when her only reaction was an understanding nod.

“I thought so.” To my surprise, she smiled softly. “That explains why you didn’t mind meeting my carnivorous friends. They were so happy to have somepony to socialize with.”

“Huh? What’s an omni…thing you just said?” Rainbow asked, eating another sandwich. Twilight had been writing everything down and popped her head up to answer.

“It means her diet is varied. You eat plants and meat, I assume?”

“Yeah. Humans can eat most anything, except the stuff that’s toxic and stuff we can’t digest like grass.” I thought about my words. “Some of us have food sensitivities that mean we can’t eat like…wheat or dairy and stuff, and some choose not to eat specific foods for a lot of reasons, but that’s about it.”

“And you haven’t reacted negatively to any foods from Equestria yet?” Twilight asked. “Besides the flowers I mean?”

“No, although I had a much bigger appetite as a pony. I never ate so much food before I changed.”

“Well, I can’t say for certain why that was, but some ponies can consume mass amounts of food in one sitting depending on how much energy they regularly output.” Twilight said knowingly. “Ponies like Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash eat bigger meals because they’re always more or less in motion, doing things. I know for a fact that Rarity can eat almost as much, given how she uses her magic constantly throughout her work. Though she wouldn’t admit it. And I’ve been known to…binge eat after a lot of consecutive spells.” She sounded almost embarrassed.

I ended up still eating quite a bit, not anywhere near as much as pony-me, but I was making up for a few days of meals. They all enjoyed the meals they had, and nearly all the food was eaten. Pinkie ended up sharing most of the sweets she found, and I was glad for anything I could actually eat.

The door opened suddenly, and I flinched in surprise. Rarity had returned with a box in tow. Pinkie put a hoof on my arm, smiling at me, and I silently assured her that I was fine.

“It was a quicker job than I thought it would be, though I only guessed at your measurements. Though hopefully my usually correct approximations hold true even under these unique circumstances.” She held the box out in her magic.

“That was quick.” I took it from her, Pinkie scooched back so I could set it in my lap. “Thanks again Rarity, I’m glad I won’t be running around in a bedsheet now.”

“You’re welcome, Charlotte.” She smiled, eyeing the cart and searching for a treat for herself. I opened the package to see what she’d done for me.

It was the same blue as I was before, with sturdy yet delicate-looking stitching to it. The material was soft but not sheer, and it looked like it would stand against a cool breeze. Eyeballing it, It seemed like it would go down to just above my ankles. Maybe she thought my nudity-aversion went to my legs too, not that I was looking to wear a short skirt here, for a few reasons.

“It’s cute.” And I meant it. Rarity beamed around a mouthful of grapes. I kind of wanted to be less naked as soon as possible.

“I’m gonna change.” I told them. “Could somebody with magic pull the privacy screen?”

Most of them stepped back and Twilight did the honors, leaving a crack so the last straggler could get out. But Pinkie looked unaware of what she was meant to do.

“Pinkie.” I sighed. She looked up, genuinely not knowing why I was addressing her. “Privacy means from everyone.”

“Aw…” she hopped off the bed. “I wanted to see what you look like without a tail…” She looked back hopefully.

“Go on now, git!” I was a little annoyed, but I couldn’t stop a laugh from how dumb the whole situation was. She saw that I wasn’t really that mad and stepped out, the curtain closing the rest of the way.

I finally was free from the bed, stepping to the cool tile and happy to notice a lack of a wobble in my legs. Not even pins and needles.

I slipped the skirt over my legs, securing the waist with the three vertical buttons on my side. The buttons were bright pink, and it reminded me of Pinkie’s pink and blue decorations. Rarity, probably on purpose, had put a bit of that same sentiment into this skirt. It was a nice thought, I supposed.

The skirt itself fit pretty good, it didn’t pinch anywhere, and the length made me feel much less naked. Just what I was going for. It was long and flowy, hitting just above my ankles like I thought it might. The dark grey of my jacket matched the color better than I thought it would, although I guessed that I had worn it to look good with the blue of my fur, so it would stand to reason that it would match now.

“Okay, I’m changed.” I called out, and the privacy screen glowed the same as Twilight’s magic again and Rarity was dancing on her hooves.

“Oh, it turned out so well!” she was very pleased. “Although I knew it would. Not to sing my own praises.”

“It looks good!” Pinkie agreed, coming up and bouncing around me before retaking her seat on the bed.

“It’s a lot of fabric.” Rainbow tilted her head, scanning the long skirt. “Your legs are wrapped up all the way around. If it’s good for you though…You’d probably move a lot easier with no skirt, just sayin’.”

“Oh, I accounted for range of movement.” Rarity assured her and I both. “It’s very non-restrictive.”

I moved one leg out to test it, it was flowy like one of those long ballet dresses. Rainbow seemed satisfied, shrugging.

“Good, I’m glad you’re feeling more comfortable.” Twilight seemed to be writing down my height, looking up at me but still being genuinely happy for me. “I don’t mean to be direct but, are you ready for more questions? I swear I’m getting to the important stuff and then we’ll be done.”

“Yeah, no problem.” I went back to my seat, surprised that the skirt let me sit cross-legged. Pinkie scooted in beside me, touching a hoof to the fabric with an excited “Ooo!”

“Okay…What I was going to ask before we stopped was…Ah ha, here!” she looked up from her scroll. “What led you to Equestria? I know you said you were made to come the second time but what brought you here when you encountered Roseluck?”

I went stiff for a second, still not fond of that day. I wasn’t sure how much to include in my story, but I just started before I lost my nerve.

“…I was led to those woods behind my house…by a note. I was told that there was a box I needed to find buried out there. I dug it up, but then…I felt that…. weird stuff. Did you feel it too, when you were out there in the woods? It’s kind of hard to explain.”

“Everything got real quiet out there.” Applejack recalled, her ears down and looking a little spooked.

“And there was a chill the closer we got.” Twilight’s wings fluffed as she spoke. “It was an odd phenomenon out in those woods…”

“I felt like I was in danger, then something touched me…I think it might have been those vines, but I didn’t see them at the time. I just ran, thinking I’d be safe if I got away in any direction…Then I fell and got really scared…”

I thought back to that day, trying to remember the shift between the two worlds.

“No no no no…please stop please stop.” I pleaded, shutting my eyes tight and hiding my face in my hands. “I don’t wanna be here!”

“I think…” I thought about my words, trying to get this across. “I think it was just like after, but I didn’t notice then…I asked to go somewhere and whatever it was out there…opened the portal. Then, I was here. When I got scared by Roseluck and ran back…”

“Ha! Okay! Alright!” I laughed, panicking again. I squeezed my eyes shut tight, hitting the heel of my palm into the side of my head a few times. “This is INSANE! God I wanna go home! Anywhere but here! I wanna go home I wanna go home I wanna go-”

“I did the same thing.” I realized. “I asked to go home without meaning to and it let me back through."

“…I don’t know what to make of that yet…” Twilight was still writing, looking frustrated that she couldn’t explain it to me. “After all that, how did you get involved with the missing twins?”

“You said they were friends of the family.” Pinkie recalled, looking embarrassed for bringing it up. “Was…um, was that not true? It’s okay if it wasn’t!” she added quickly.

I thought back to everything I’d found out, I was still pretty much in the dark. Anything I told them would just be a theory, but I figured it was better than nothing.

“I…” I pulled my bag from the floor, reaching inside. “The box I was told to find had…all this inside.” I pulled out the twins’ stuff one thing at a time, setting them on the bed in front of me. The brush, the bit purse, the photo and the diary. “I think it belonged to them.”

Twilight used her magic to float the photo to herself.

“Pinkie showed us this. Said it was what brought you to town.” She eyed the other objects. “We didn’t get these out though.”

“I found the other brushes from the set that one came from their old house.” I told them. “And…In my dreams…Silver Maple held onto the brush, and the photo. If the dreams really mean something like you said…They might be hers.”

“Did Sugar Maple react to anything?” Twilight asked, putting the picture back on the bed.

“Yeah, the book.” I remembered it as best I could. “…She was really insistent about it too. But there’s no way to get it open.”

Rarity was the one to pick up the book, to Twilight’s surprise. After inspecting it for a couple of seconds, her face lit up.

“Oh! Because this is a magic lock diary, dear.” She pointed a hoof to the bar that wrapped around the front. “It’s enchanted so that you can only open it with the correct, similarly enchanted key! I had one when I was younger, right after Sweetie Belle, my sister, learned how to read…”

I didn’t get it, but I remembered the key. I went back to the bag for the music box, opening it to get what was needed from the inside. I held the little key out to her and she took it in her magic.

The closer the key got, the diary started to change. In front of my eyes, the metal bar shifted from a solid bit of metal into a more traditional lock.

“It keeps nosey little sisters, or anypony else for that matter from picking, breaking or using a spell on the lock. They’re difficult to make so you don’t find them very often.”

I remembered how adamant Sugar had insisted that the key in the music box would work. I guessed it really was a vision, if I still had any doubts.

“I don’t feel quite right about all of us reading a young filly’s diary, but it’s for the good of the mission, I suppose.” She floated it over to Twilight. “Care to do the honors?”

“Well? What does it say!? I’m dyin’ over here!” Rainbow huffed, impatient.

All the ponies in the room settled in their places, ready to hear what this book had to offer to help solve this mystery. I was on edge, not knowing what to expect but hoping this could offer something. If it didn’t we’d be right back where we started. Pinkie scooted even closer to me, sensing my nerves maybe? Spike even clambered up onto the bed too, getting comfy.

Twilight flipped the pages with her magic, starting from the beginning.

“Property of Sugar Maple. Just like your vision, Lottie.” She opened to the first page, and my stomach was in knots.

Please…Let this help.

"Dear Diary..."


It's me and Silver’s birthday! Since my old diary was getting full and a little shabby, Silver got me a new one today. It’s magic! It’s got a super good magic lock on it so nopony can steal it and read it, like back in Manehattan. I hope she likes my present for her too!

There's a seamstress living in town up on the Apple family orchard, so I got my bits together and asked her to make Silver a new fancy umbrella parasol. I told her about how Silver lost her old one in the move and she only stays outside for very long on cloudy days. She said she felt sorry for a little filly being cooped up inside all the time. She said she’d make it but that I should keep my money. Instead, she said that I can help her collect eggs for a week and we’ll call it even. And I saved up for Silver’s present too! Grown-ups sure are funny.


Dear Diary,

The schoolhouse is finished, and I hope having a parasol again will make Silver want to start school here. It's smaller than our school back home, but she'll still be the smartest filly there.

Silver's been getting really good with her magic lately, and Momma is so proud. She keeps saying she could use a tutor, but it might be hard, what with most of the ponies in town being Earth ponies. If I were a unicorn I wonder if I'd be good at magic too?

Ponies are always so surprised to find out we're sisters, and twins to boot. I know we look different, but Momma says that sometimes twins are like that, they're born at the same time but they don't look alike. She used a big word I can't remember but I pretended I understood.

But Silver used to get teased something awful back home for being “delicate”. Always shut in from the bad air, our schoolmates used to tease that she was a ghost, haunting our house. But I hope ponies here in Ponyville will be kinder to her, so I don't get in trouble for scrappin here too.


Dear Diary,

Silver loved her parasol! Momma says it was a very thoughtful gift, and Silver is excited to go out again. I asked her to have a picnic with me and she actually seems happy. She's always so mopey so I like it when she smiles a real smile.

Momma says that Dad is mopey too, Silver is like the spitting image of him, from the picture she has. He’s a tall, skinny unicorn with a silver mane, just like hers. Momma says I look like her mother, and we have the same smile. Silver always asks about Dad, like what he’s like and if we can ever visit him. Mom said that she doesn’t know where he’s living now, but she could find out and we can write him letters! Silver asked Momma why he doesn’t live in Ponyville with us, and why they didn’t get married. She laughed and said that she loves Dad very much, but they never wanted to be “tied down” like that and that they were best friends when we were born, and they still are. Dad wanted to research magic stuff all over Equestria, and Momma didn’t want to run around the world, never settling in one place. She said it was the Earth Pony way, putting down roots.

I can remember Dad, just a little bit. When we were really little, I remember him visiting the old house, laughing with Momma and then he sat us on his back and we went on a walk through a big garden. I don’t remember if I knew who he was, but I remember his laugh. Silver says she doesn’t remember it, but I know it was real.


Dear Diary,

Silver’s doing a lot better since we’ve been here in the new house. The air is so much cleaner, and it isn’t so noisy as the big city. She doesn’t get her headaches anymore and she’s been much less grouchy. I guess I’d be grouchy too if I was sick all the time.

But now, she can run around with me and I can sit out by the lake and read with her, we’re better friends here. I still don’t understand some things about her, especially when she talks about magic stuff, but I’m glad to have such a smart sister. And she’s funny, in her own way. Some ponies our age don’t understand her the way me and Momma do. I hope she makes good friends in school. I hope I do too.

She loves sitting under trees and in flower patches. She says it’s different from back in the big city, there are plants everywhere and she loves it. Momma says she gets that from Dad, he loves plants too. But Silver says it’s different. It’s one of those things that I can’t tell if she’s being serious about or not, or if it’s a Silver thing and I’ll never really get it.

Momma calls it commoon communing with nature. We lived our whole lives in the city so she’s just getting a feel for it, but she listens to plants like some Earth Ponies do. She says that everything has magic, and plants have a special magic of their own. I’ve seen the Apple clan daughter talk to apple trees before, even read them bedtime stories, so I guess it’s not so silly for Silver to do what she does.

She says plants don’t talk like ponies do, not exactly. They do feel things though. They want to grow and be beautiful, and the plants that ponies grow have feelings about ponies sometimes. She says houseplants and gardens want to make ponies happy, and that they grow attached to them, in their own way.

I don’t really understand it, but Silver’s a smart pony, and a unicorn. There are ponies out there who learn to talk to animals, and some Earth Ponies even learn to talk to rocks, in a way. So I don’t see why my super-smart sister couldn’t learn to talk to plants.


I got my cutie mark today! We were meeting the new neighbors and they talked about how they had all their stuff set up, and the missus of the house said she loved baking her own bread and she’d be happy to share anytime. I asked her if I could see her kitchen, and she was happy to! Silver didn’t seem as interested as I was, but it was such a nice kitchen! She has a big wood stove, and she just bakes every day!

She offered to show me how she did it, and Momma said I could! I came over bright and early and we spent the whole morning just making delicious fresh bread. She let me make some myself to bring home! I did everything just right, I mixed everything, kneaded the dough, and everything was extra delicious and smelled super yummy. I put in some things that weren’t in the recipe, and the missus said “why not?” so it was a special batch. Brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and a few other things I thought would make it extra tasty.

I shared it with Momma and Silver and they loved it! Momma said she was really impressed and I felt so happy that my bread that I made myself made the two of them happy and poof! My cutie mark showed up! It’s a bright red maple leaf with little sparkles around it.

I always thought Silver would get hers first because she acts more grown-up than me but life’s full of surprises, that’s what Momma says anyway.


Dear Diary,

Silver has a crush! If she saw me writing this she’d toss you out the window, diary. But it’s true! A little Pegasus colt named Nimbus moved to town and he’s real sweet on her! He saw that she’s sensitive to the sun so he brought down a little cloud and uses it to shade her, he even rides on it when we walk home from school and they talk and talk, I’ve never seen her so chatty! I tease her about him and you should see how red she gets! I started calling her Red when that happens, and she hates it so much!


It was sad, hearing the stories of these little girls who were gone. They were just normal little kids who lived a life here in Ponyville.

Twilight read more entries, and although a lot of them were just normal diary entries, no one asked her to skip ahead. We were listening to the life of Sugar Maple as she told us about her hopes and dreams, her family and friends, little things she did every day. Every entry was a piece of her, and of Silver too.

We listened to tales of schoolyard troubles and making friends, of holidays spent in Ponyville for the first time and their new lives after moving from Manehattan.


Dear Diary,

Momma’s been acting funny lately. She keeps hugging us and saying how much she loves us but she looks sad, even when she’s smiling. Silver is worried, she wakes me up in the middle of the night to talk about it when Momma’s asleep.

Momma waits for the mailmare everyday by the window. I asked her if she was waiting for something important, but she told me it was grown-up stuff and that a little filly shouldn’t worry about it.

...

I think Momma got the letter she was waiting for. She didn’t mention it at dinner but Silver woke me up again earlier tonight. She could hear Momma crying, really quiet in her room. Silver’s too scared to do anything but she’s too scared to go back to bed too. I’m gonna be a good sister and stay up with her tonight, maybe that’ll calm her down.


Momma’s sending us away!

It’s not fair!

She won’t tell us why! Silver’s so mad! It’s not fair!

I have to go live with our great-aunt Lilac, back in Manehattan. But she’s only taking me and Silver has to go live with Dad! I don’t wanna leave! Silver’s so mad, at Momma, at Dad, and she actually likes our new home! She likes our school, our house, the woods and fields!

And I don’t wanna leave either! Momma and Silver, I don’t want to leave either of them!

Momma won’t tell us why! Silver heard her talking to the neighbors too and she says she might have to sell the house after we’re gone!

I just

I can’t

I don’t wanna go. I’ve never met our great-aunt Lilac! And even Silver doesn’t want to go with Dad! She’s so mad. Momma says one day we’ll understand, but I don’t! We have to take the train to Phillydelphia in three days, and then me and Silver’ll split up.

I don’t wanna go.


Diary,

It’s a good thing you’re magic because if anypony read this, Silver and me’d be in a whole lotta trouble.

She came up with a plan, so that we can stay together, and whoever’s making Momma send us away can’t say nothing about it!

Silver says that the night before we’re supposed to take the train, we’re gonna sneak out and hide from anypony that comes lookin’ for us. She says the woods along the trail are good for hiding, she goes there a lot to practice her magic where she can’t accidentally break any of our things. She likes the trees out there, and she think she can ask them to hide us until the coast is clear.

After everything’s settled down, we’ll go up to Neighton and jump the train to Canterlot. There, Silver says young ponies are grown-up enough to take care of themselves but not old enough to get paid from the Equestrian Treasure, they can ask Princess Celestia to get “emancipated” and legally be considered adults. I already know what I want to do for work, and Silver can do anything, being as smart as she is. I told her she should try to get into Celestia’s school, but she just wants to be allowed to live wherever she wants.

I don’t think I could do this without Silver. She’s so grown-up and sure of herself. She says to act normal the next couple of days, and not mention our plan to anypony. I’m nervous, but Sliver is more sure than I’ve ever seen. Silver says that she won’t let us be separated, and when we get the Princess’ permission, we can set up a nice house in Ponyville and live together. This means a lot to her, so I’ll do my best to make this plan work.

I’m worried.

I’m worried that once Momma finds out what we did, she’ll think we hate her and won’t live with us ever again. I think we could do fine, together, but I’d miss her so much. Even if I hate that she’s sending us away, I could never stop loving her.

But I won’t leave anypony behind. Not ever.


“That must’ve been when Scarlet Maple got sick…” Applejack took off her hat, tucking it to her chest. “She tried to send them off so they’d be taken care of after she was gone. But…”

“They tried to run away…and the forest got them…” I clenched my fists tight.

“Poor fillies…” Spike muttered, wiping his eyes discretely. “They just wanted to stay together…” Fluttershy was crying quietly to herself, and Rarity dabbed at her eyes with a fancy-looking kerchief. Rainbow Dash wouldn’t look anypony in the eye, but you could tell she was trying to fight her own feelings on this.

“They never made it to Canterlot!!” Pinkie drooped over my lap. “Poor little fillies!” She blew her nose pretty loudly into a polka-dotted hankie that of course appeared out of nowhere. Her ears drooped, and I ran a hand over her slightly less poofy mane.

“Hang on everypony.” Twilight looked very intense, staring at the diary pages. “I think…there might be more to this than we know…”

“Huh?” I said, not knowing what to hope for from that statement.

“There’s more writing.” She said, flipping through the next few pages. “It’s odd though…the hoofwriting is severely degraded and almost illegible. But…almost the rest of the diary pages are filled.”

My heart skipped a beat. What did this mean? Did somebody else write in it? Did they somehow survive the forest after all?

“Can…can you read it? At all?” I asked, holding my breath without meaning to.

“I can give it my best shot…” Twilight out her hoof on the page, dragging it slowly across and furrowing her brow in concentration.

“I can make out a few words in the first few pages…looks like…forest…hospital…colts…Name. Name, it keeps saying name but the writing here is so messy I wouldn’t know where to begin…”

“Forest, that one’s obvious. Hospital…could they have ended up in a hospital outside of Ponyville? But then why didn’t anyone ever see them again? And colts…I just…I don’t know where to go with this…” I scratched at my hair, frustrated.

“I think I can make out something here…”

“I…I call this place…- This! This isn’t even a word!” she floofed up a little, looking frustrated. “This hoofwriting is horrendous!! I’m trying to find out what happened to those fillies and I can’t even tell if this is still Sugar writing! If they survived the forest, how are all the foals still missing! GAHH!”

She shoved the diary in Rarity’s face suddenly, spooking the white pony a little. They seemed to be taking the Princess freak-out fairly well, all things considered.

“Here! Can you make out this disgraceful chicken scratch!?”

Rarity took it in her own magic, squinting at the page.

“Oh, I’m afraid not…here Pinkie.” She floated it towards the bed, letting it float in the air. “You’re good with various ponies hoofwriting. Can you make heads or tails of it?”

As Pinkie stared at the page, I caught a glimpse of the writing that was sending her into a tizzy.

I felt a chill through my body.

“Huh. Nope, not really.” Pinkie shrugged. “Maybe Applejack could-”

“W-…wait!” I grabbed the book before it could be floated away. I cradled it close, staring down at the page trying to find…there!

“Lottie, I’m glad you’re trying to help, but I thought you couldn’t read Ponish?” Twilight asked, tired. But I just turned the diary around, jabbing a finger at one word on the page.

“Home!” I shouted, feeling thoroughly shook. “That’s…that’s English! That’s my language!”

The room was filled with confusion and ponies talking over one another when Twilight let out the loudest gasp, hushing them all up.

“LOTTIE!!! You did it! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before this!!” She trotted in place, her eyes wide. She giggled madly to herself, jumping up and down in an absolute fit. I was right there with her, in shock but not enthusiasm.

“They didn’t die.” I said, confusing the room minus Twilight. She nodded vigorously, still giggling.

“The forest changed them! And sent them to your world, just like it did with you!”



It was all too much.

On the one hand I was so relieved that no defenseless little pony children had died horrible, lonely deaths in the forest. Very grateful for that load off my mind. Didn’t explain why the forest tried to kill me, but still good news.

On the other hand, this did fill in a few gaps. But created so many new ones.

Twilight was in much better shape knowing that the likelihood that little ponies had died out there was getting slimmer, but that still left the question of why this was all happening, and how to keep it from happening in the future.

“We have to keep reading! We have to know what happened to them!” she shouted. “I need your help to get through this diary Lottie! And then…I can figure out how to get the portal working the way a portal should and get you home! Please!”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I said dumbly. I had a bunch of questions of my own, none of which could be answered without further reading. Plus, if it meant getting home I was pretty much willing to do anything at this point. I needed to get home soon.

Twilight took the last spot on the bed, seated so we could both look at the book. She flipped to a new page and seemed to be able to read more of this one. Everyone got settled again, but we were all a little bit on edge now.

“Hmm…I think I can…Ah, here’s a good place. Just…chime in when you see and…English word, if you would?” I nodded, not knowing what in the world to expect next.

“Dear Diary…”


I’m getting better writing now, at least so I can read my diary like I used to. I still read the old entries and feel sad. I miss home, even though I’m better now.

The colts have been really good to me. They visited me when I was stuck in the hospital and they believed me once I got my memory back. For months I was lying there, my body in pain, with no clue of who I used to be.

They gave me a name while I was confused, and I don’t hate it but I’m not crazy about it either. The colts tell me that nopony is named Sugar here, and I don’t see what makes it such a bad name. Their names are….hard to write, there’s no Ponish for the words that make up their names. They only taught me to write a few words, but I’m getting better at it. They can’t read Ponish either, so I say we’re even.


Dear Diary,

One of the colts’ parents wants me to stay with them, until I can get a new place to stay. I keep telling them I’m old enough to live on my own, but they insist that I’m too little. They are very nice, even if they think I’m helpless.

I stopped trying to tell the adults a while ago about who I am. They are some kinda convinced that I made the whole thing up, that I must’ve come from someplace so awful that I need to hide it with make-believe. I don’t blame them. It must’ve looked pretty bad when they first saw me, naked and crying out in those woods. I could barely walk too. And they were so sad when they realized I couldn’t read or write.

But the colts believe me. My two truest friends in this strange world. They love hearing my stories about when I was a pony. And they believe every word.


Dear Diary,

I have to hide you, along with my other things, here in my new room. If any adult found you, I don’t know what they’d do. I used to think if they saw the magic on their own, they’d believe in it, but the colts tell me that grownups here are pretty scared of things they don’t understand. Plus, even with everything I have, I wouldn’t be able to prove anything. I can’t go back home, I’ve snuck out to those woods so many times and nothing happens…

I still don’t know exactly what happened…

I feel so awful about everything. I remember being out in those woods with Silver, then…

Nothing. I woke up in the hospital here, none of my things with me and no memories. Even when I remembered everything else, my last day with Silver is still a blur. If she came through, they didn’t find her with me, and if she’s still in Equestria…

Then I abandoned her. I don’t think I meant to, but I abandoned my little sister. Did she make it to Canterlot and get emancipated without me? Did she go back home and hug Momma for me? Is she mad at me for leaving her behind?

I’m sorry Silver.


Dear Diary,

I’m getting the hang of this new language. I practice on spare paper after breakfast and before bed, and I couldn’t write a book or anything, but the missus of the house says I’ll be ready to go to school with the colts soon. There, I’ll have to catch up with the other fillies and colts, but I can have something to do besides sit around while the colts are at school.

Sid and Charlie can’t wait for me to start so they can show me around.


“Wait…” I stopped Twilight from moving on. “Charlie…that’s my grandpa’s name!”

“Your…grandfather?” she tilted her head. “How does he fit into this?”

“He’s the one who left me the letter, told me where to find the box!” I put a few more pieces into place. “I knew he must’ve known them, he knew Sugar! Keep going.”


The missus of the house lets me call her mom, sometimes when I don’t even mean to. But Janice is very kind to me. Her husband Paul is a quiet stallion, but very kind too. Mr. Petrou says that he got all the important people to let me stay with them until I’m grown.


“You’re Lottie Petrou, right?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah. Paul and Janice were my great-grandparents on Mom’s side.” I put the pieces together in my head. “They took her in?”

“Your Grandfather and Sugar weren’t just friends; they were raised together in the same house.” Twilight was on the same page as I was. She continued jotting things down as we went.

Grandpa had two siblings, both of which I knew were blood-related to him. Aside from them I’d never heard of another sibling. Why hadn’t I heard of her before now?


Mr. Petrou went to a courthouse and got all the papers I’d need to be say I lived here now. And to make it so my last name was Petrou too. I’ll still be Sugar Maple inside, always, but if I really can never make it home, I’m glad such a nice family took me in, and I guess I really don’t mind being Millie Petrou.


It finally clicked. I almost slapped myself for not figuring it out sooner.

“It’s…I didn’t know her maiden name, but Mrs. Russo’s first name is Camilla. Millie Petrou is Mrs. Russo! Mrs. Russo is Sugar Maple!”

“What…who?” Twilight looked extra confused, and the tables turned so I was the one who knew what was going on for once.

“She’s a friend of my Grandpa! She…oh my god she owns a bakery in town! I’m such an idiot!” I thought about it a little harder, trying to recall long-forgotten info. “Sid…Sid…Mrs. Russo’s late husband had a really Italian name. Sid was a nickname for…something…I think that could be him.”

“You know her?!” Twilight was ecstatic, getting in my face a little before backing off, embarrassed. “Is she okay? Is she safe?”

“Yeah, yeah I’ve known Mrs. Russo like my whole life, she’s a nice lady.” I was still reeling from the realization. Someone I’d known my whole life had been a pony the whole time. “And my Grandpa knew her, and he knew she was a pony…”

Grandpa’s letter did say I wouldn’t believe him. But…why tell me at all?

As I sat, trying to sort everything out in my head, I tried to put myself in his shoes. He has a childhood friend, who marries his other friend, and then her husband dies. He’s possibly the only person who…

“I…I think I get it now.”

“What?” Pinkie asked, seeing how deep in my head I was.

“I think…I think my Grandpa wanted me to know all this…because someone had to.” I looked up at them all. “My Grandpa was the last human who knew about what Mrs. Russo really is, and he…he didn’t want her to be alone. She’s a widow who lives alone and being an alien in a strange world is…pretty upsetting from my experience. I like her, I always have…Grandpa always took me to visit her, even when he knew it would get on my Dad’s nerves. He always thought she was a weird old lady. Grandpa was making sure she’d have someone there for her who knew the truth.”

“That was…very noble of him.” Twilight bit her lip, still worried. “And…you never knew anypony that could’ve been Silver Maple?”

“Do you think she…” Spike gulped, not wanting to finish that thought.

“It’s possible Spike.” Twilight admitted, pulling him in for a gentle hug. “It’s a sad thought but little fillies alone in a forest, they weren’t safe there. And you’re sure Silver didn’t go through the portal too Lottie?”

“I…Mrs. Russo never mentioned having a sister. Not once. And If this hadn’t told me, I never would have known she wasn’t a human.” I thought about it. “None of the other foals either. They…could be humans but it would just be a guess. If I’ve ever met them I wouldn’t know.”

They looked sad at that, and I wondered what could have possibly happened to them. The thought of all these ponies wandering around my world undetected was a strange thought. Mrs. Russo never gave off a weird vibe, or slipped up in any way that made me think she was different from myself. She was just a normal old lady. I liked her a lot, but she never tried to let me know what she really was. Though, the big skeptic I was, I probably wouldn’t have believed her.

“A pony fell in love with a completely alien creature…” Twilight thought out loud. “Do you know if they had any children?”

“Uh yeah, I’m pretty sure they had a kid. I’ve never met them…I think they’re kind of estranged. Grandpa seemed none too fond of them, but I never even heard a name. She doesn’t have pictures of family in her house either, just photos of her and her husband.”

“Golly…” Pinkie sighed.

“But this means that the spell that changed her was so thorough that she was able to reproduce as a human. Not a lot of magic can pull that off…” Twilight mulled it over for a few seconds, jotting something down in her notes. “We might be looking at old, powerful magic here…”

“No foolin’?” I knew so little about magic that I had no clue as to what she might be thinking.

“We should keep reading, maybe there’s more we can go on.” Twilight stopped her note taking, getting back into it.


Dear Diary,

I’m getting my own room soon. Janice says that soon I’ll be getting to that age where girls need their own space. Their oldest son moved out before I got here, and his room has been the den since then. She said that with some fresh paint and some new curtains, it’s be a lovely bedroom for a growing girl.

Charlie says he doesn’t mind sharing his room, but his parents insist. I’ll miss being in that room with him, but I’ve never had my own room before. Silver and I always shared one before.

The Mr. and Mrs. want me to see some kind of doctor, for my head? They still think I’m some kind of traumatized from before they met me. I can see why they’d be convinced of that, but I can’t go telling some doctor everything from back home, they’ll think I’m too weird to have around.

As hard as it is, missing Momma and Silver, I still like the Petrous. I think I could call them my family, and they seem to really like having me around.

Though, it’s been hard, in other ways. Ways I didn’t know would be hard. It’s not exactly like being a pony.


Dear Diary

We always celebrate my birthday today, even though I’m not sure if it’s exactly the same day as back home. But I’m grateful that they like me enough to throw me a party at all.

It was a nice party, even if it was just us, Sid and his mother Caroline. Janice tells me I’ll make more friends when I start going to school for real, instead of getting homeschooled. It’s a bit of work, since I don’t have a “birth certificate” or a “real name”, but Mr. Petrou is friends with the law in town and they’re gonna get him all the right papers to fill out so I can be a “citizen”, or something close. It’s all too complicated for my understanding.

It’s her birthday too. The colts see that I’m sad. They tell me that wherever Silver is, she probably misses me too.

But she must hate me. I left her alone. She must be back home. Wondering where I went.

I still wonder if she made it to Canterlot? Did Celestia help her like we wanted? Did she go back to Ponyville and make up with Momma?

I couldn’t have done it without her, but she’s so smart. She could’ve done it without me.


Dear Diary,

School is bigger than in Ponyville, more like the old school in Manehattan. But my teacher is nice. And her name is Rose! That’s a pony name if I ever heard one!

She doesn’t mind that I read slower than everypony else and I fumble with things in my hands sometimes. Some of the other kids aren’t as nice, but the colts stand up for me. Charlie even called me his sister! One of the colts in class poked fun saying I wasn’t his “real” sister, and I didn’t think much of it but Charlie bopped him right in the chin and got in big trouble. Mr. Petrou gave him a talking to after school and he got grounded for a week, but I don’t think they’re really that upset with him. I’m proud of him. I used to get into it just as bad over foals treating Silver bad.

But I don’t really look like them, and that means a lot to people around here. Me and my pony family are all different colors but most families I see around town are really similar. The Petrous all have light coloring and freckles everywhere. Janice has got long, beautiful golden hair. But me? I lost all my bright, lovely colors. I’m mostly brown now. Brown skin, brown mane, brown eyes. It’s not a bad color but when you just change like that it makes you miss what you had. But there are lots of other folks in town like me, so I must not be too odd-looking.

I wonder if Silver would have stayed silvery? That would be pretty odd over here but it would sure shake things up. Her horn too!


Dear Diary,

I keep telling the Mr. and Mrs. that I’m more than happy to start working and help pitch in with a paying job. But they insist that I’m too young to start a career. If I were back home, I would have got an apprentice job in a bakery by now and be working to get certified. But they do things different here, too slowly for my tastes, but I’ll behave.

I do still bake whenever I can, but I need supervision supposedly. “Too young to be using an oven by myself.” It’s like they think I’m a teensy little foal who can’t look after herself. But I follow the rules and I don’t bake without permission. But they are very impressed by how good I am. What must they think, a filly my age who didn’t know how to read or write, but can make delicious biscuits for breakfast from scratch?

And all the things they want me to learn in school! I’m glad the math looks the same as I’m used to but I’m still as okay as I was at it as a pony. But what is a baker supposed to do with Geography or P.E.? I hate P.E. so much. I’m too wobbly when I get running, stupid two legs.


The colts asked me a pony question today and I got real upset. I feel bad about worrying them, but it hurts to remember sometimes. They said they could stop calling me Sugar in private if I’d feel better, but I told them it was okay. I’m still Sugar Maple, Earth Pony and citizen of Equestria under her majesty Princess Celestia. But it’s hard I can’t

I’m too sad when I think about home. It’s so different here. Unicorns and Pegasus Ponies and everything else from home just…don’t exist here. Nopony sings in public for fun. I’m not supposed to talk to strangers because they’re not “safe”. You Absolutely MUST wear clothes all the time, even if you don’t want to.

And the animals. I saw a horse at the fair last summer and I almost cried. Partly because I missed home and partly because I knew she couldn’t talk to me. She didn’t have dreams or a life of her own. She’s just a horse. Even the squirrels and birds aren’t too bright here.

And I can never go home. I don’t even know how I got here, let alone how to get back. There’s no magic. No Princess. No way back.

Maybe I should take a break from all this. I’m getting too old for my little filly diary, especially if reading it just makes me sad. I won’t throw it out or lose it, I’ll just keep it with my things until I can handle it again.

Goodbye for now,

Sugar Maple.


“That’s the last page in Ponish.” Twilight sighed. The room was kind of heavy after stopping on a downbeat like that, but I learned so many things about Sugar Maple and Mrs. Russo as the separate people I thought they were, and the single person they became.

“She doesn’t know how she got through the forest to your world. But I might have a theory on that…” Twilight scanned her notes, making little additions here and there.

“You do?”

“Nothing for sure until I do a little research, I might have to get some outside help on this…” She seemed a million miles away, making plans and schedules in her head already.

“All that stuff in the diary, Sugar must’ve been pretty lonely…” Pinkie sighed.

“Well, when I get home, I’m gonna make sure she knows that I’m there for her.” I nodded, scratching behind Pinkie’s ear. “Maybe we can bond over being transformed into different bodies.”

Everyone looked a little drained, listening to all that. Eyes were wet, manes were a little disheveled, and food had gone untouched for most of the reading. I couldn’t blame them, Finally putting these pieces together was a lot, and hopefully Twilight’s theory would pan out and get me back home.

“And who knows?” I shrugged. “If Twilight can get the portal up and working properly, I can even bring Mrs. Russo home, if she wants. And I can look for all the other foals that might’ve come through. Everyone will get to be where they want to be again.”

“We’re almost done here, so you can get some rest.” Twilight finished writing in her scroll. “The last page with writing is all in your language, Sugar must have gotten very well-versed in it to write all that. Any little detail would help us figure all of this out.”

I agreed, pulling the book to myself and settling in for one last diary entry.


I can’t live like this anymore. Alienating everyone around me, everyone I love. I might never get back home and be a pony again.

Sometimes I almost forget what it was like. I can’t remember what it’s like to gallop down the streets to school. I have sharp teeth I’ll never use because meat still turns my stomach. I’ll never see a gentle, Pegasus-made winter again or feel the Princess’ sun on my fur.

And worst of all, I’ll never see Silver or my mother again. It’s been thirty years…I can only hope they found each other again after I disappeared. Silver was so angry about being sent away, she just didn’t want our family to get separated. But I guess I kind of ruined that.

As much as I might miss it all, I’ve made a mess of things holding onto the past. Sometimes I wish I’d never told anyone about it, so I wouldn’t have to think that they were humoring me when I told them about my memories.

So, I write this as a farewell to my former self, to bury everything that made me a pony, so that one day I can be a part of my son’s life again. But only if he’ll have me.

I can’t be in his life right now because he’s being protective. He doesn’t want to go through it all again, living with someone who “lies” and has no real past to her, a “delusional” old woman who’s just going to confuse another child.

And my poor baby. I still have nightmares of Ewan, lying there in the hospital, telling me he’s scared. I never knew the kind of pain one pony, or human could feel until I was a mother who had lost her child. He was so little, and I was inconsolable. Siddy ran the bakery alone for almost a year, and I…I could’ve been a better mother to my other son, but how could I love him with my whole heart when it had been broken into pieces? By the time I got better, he learned how to live without me.

So now, I am no longer the filly I once was. I can’t ever be Sugar Maple again. I am Camilla Russo, wife of Silvano Russo, and I bury this today so that one day my son will let me back into his life.

I hope you can forgive me someday, and we can be a real family again-



Pinkie looked up at Lottie, tears in both of their eyes. Had she gotten too sad to finish?

But there was something else just behind Lottie’s sad brown eyes. She was upset, but confused, and angry too, like just after Pinkie’s accidental prank. Lottie slammed the diary shut, shoving it to Twilight before jumping out of the bed, pushing Pinkie aside just a little.

“Lottie Dottie, what’s wrong?” she asked, knowing it couldn’t be good. “What did it say?”

“That piece of shit.”

Everypony in the room stiffened at her tone, and Twilight covered Spike’s side spines with her hooves.

“Whoa, hey now.” Applejack took a step to Lottie, trying to gauge what was going through her head. “No need to get quite so blue.”

“That damn robot went on and on my whole life about how she was a crazy old bat, how she was a bad influence on me!!” her eyes were wide and angry now, and she was scratching at her jacket’s sleeve. “He never wanted me to spend any time with her! He got so mad when he found out about Grandpa taking me to visit!”

She put her face in her hands, sliding them down looking so upset.

“And Grandpa! He hates Dad! He tries to tiptoe around it, but he hates his guts! And now I know why! And-”

She stopped, still as a statue, as if she was thinking about something so hard she dared not take a single step and lose her train of thought.

“Oh my god.”

She whirled around to the rest the creatures in the room, backing away slowly. Her back hit the wall and she slid down, and Pinkie jumped off the bed to try and help her very distressed friend.

“Lottie?” she approached carefully, sensing her newest friend was in a lot of pain. She reached out a hoof to touch her shoulder. “Are…are you okay? C’mon Bluey, it’s-”

“Don’t!!” she smacked the hoof away in a fit of fear and tears started rolling down her cheeks. “DON’T CALL ME THAT!

Rainbow Dash could tell something was going down, so she put herself between Pinkie and Lottie. As she pushed her friend back slowly, Pinkie’s voice cracked, and she started to tear up too.

“But…but you said I c-could and-”

“Pinkie.” Twilight was at her side now, and shook her head. “Something’s wrong, don’t take it to heart. Just…maybe somepony should go get the doctor, tell him we need to settle her down.”

Pinkie didn’t want to leave, but Rarity made her way to the door, followed swiftly by Fluttershy. Though the Pegasus seemed eager to get away from the uncomfortable situation. Pinkie stood there, helplessly watching her friend crying, tucked into herself.

Doctor Horse came rushing in with a nurse, followed by the returning ponies. As soon as Lottie saw him, she ducked away further.

“No! I can’t…I can’t be here!!” she cried. She looked to Twilight with pleading, teary eyes. “I…I h-have to go home! Twilight! Please, Princess! Now, I can’t stay here!!”

“I’m…sorry Lottie, but I need more time.” She told her, pity in her voice. “Please understand-”

But Lottie just cried, her face buried in her hands. She shocked all the creatures in the room when she started hitting her head against the wall behind her in her frustration, more forceful with every slam.

Doctor Horse rushed into action, asking for help restraining the patient. Twilight, although not wanting to hurt the trust she’d established, didn’t want Lottie to hurt herself either. She surround Lottie’s middle and arms with her magic, rolling up a sleeve for the Doctor.

“No!” she cried out. “What are you doing!?” she eyed a needle that the nurse had, her eyes going wide. “No no no, you stay away from me with that thing!! Let me go!” she struggled against the magic holding her down, and Twilight actually had to struggle against her. Pinkie was crying openly now, not being able to watch. The rest of her friends were at Pinkie’s side, comforting her and telling her it was alright.

But Twilight didn’t feel alright.

As the plunger was pushed down and Lottie’s cries got quieter, her limbs ceased their straining against the magic, everypony sighed. Some were relieved, some felt newly burdened, some were heartbroken by what had transpired.

As Twilight helped return the patient to her hospital bed, Pinkie Pie voiced what every creature in the room had to have been thinking.

“What was that?” she sniffled. “Why was Lottie so upset?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight hated to admit it, but she had no clue what in Equestria was on one diary page that reduced this human to such a state. “We’ll find out soon enough, I guess.”

Everypony comforted one another and tried their best to settle back into the deafening silence of the hospital room. There was work to do for Twilight, and she sighed, wondering how it had all gone south so quickly.



I felt them stick me with that needle, and I was freaking out. Whatever they gave me must’ve been the good stuff cause in seconds I couldn’t even hold my head up.

As I drifted off, the tears stopped flowing and one thought rang in my head, over and over, until I was alone in nothingness once again.

I’m not a pony.