Pan began to stir in his hospital bed as he woke up. His vision blurred as he tried to look about the room, but all he saw were shadows. He then began to focus on himself; he was sore all over and he felt different, namely smaller. “Ugh, what happened?” said he, covering his mouth with a hoof as he heard his own voice. “My.. my voice!” His voice was lighter, higher, and all around more feminine than he remembered.
“That’s not the least of it,” informed Doctor Stitch, relief in his baritone voice. His eyes clearly showed a lack of sleep. He then drew a sigh as he added, “we’re just glad you’re alive.” The other two doctors voiced their agreement at the statement.
“We are, too,” said Midnight Blue as she approached her friend. She put a hoof on Pan’s shoulder as she sincerely stated, “and, congratulations, Pan.”
Pan raised a brow at the congratulation. “Congratulations? Why?”
“Post-Operative Amnesia,” informed one of the doctors. “We expected that much. Just give her time; it’ll come to her.”
Midnight nodded. “Take your time, Sweetie,” said she as she stepped back to Berry Punch and Daisy Dreamer’s sides.
Pan slowly began to slide out of the bed and onto his hooves. He looked to his three friends, and a small makeup kit encased in a royal blue glow floated over to him. “Thanks.” Looking through the mirror, Pan saw his own face. However, his face was different; not only more feminine, but entirely female.
“Now do you understand the congrats, Pan?” asked the cyan mare, smugness in her tone.
Pan gasped. “I.. I.. I,” stuttered she, “I’m a mare?!” When everypony in the room nodded with smiles, the new mare fell to her haunches, tears welling in her eyes. She glanced downwards, and then returned her view to everypony else. “I.. I really am a mare.”
The six ponies trotted to Pan, and Berry Punch spoke. “A beautiful one, at that,” said she tenderly, embracing her friend tightly.
“Ow!” exclaimed Pan as she softly pushed Berry away. She felt a pain in her chest from the hug, and a quick glance at her chest revealed three grotesque, raised scars. She poked at them with her hoof, and they were painful to touch. “What are these?”
“Those are the scars from where you were previously stabbed,” informed Doctor Stitch, defeat in his tone as he added, “we did what we could, but when your body shrank slightly, the scars didn’t. We’re terribly sorry.”
Pan shrugged, wiping a couple tears from her face. “It’s okay,” assured she. “I can’t be too picky now, can I?”
Midnight sat down beside the green mare. “You know,” mused she, “I don’t think it’s all that bad; it makes you look tough, like me.” She then flexed her foreleg to punctuate her statement.
With a light giggle, Pan replied, “you’re right, Blue; scars are cool, anyway.”
“That’s the spirit, Pan!” said Daisy Dreamer as she entered the conversation. “And do you know what the perfect inauguration for a mare would be?” When Pan shrugged and bade the lavender unicorn continue, she answered, “being a bridesmaid!” She then produced an envelope from her saddlebag and gave it to Pan. “Midnight and Berry already got theirs.”
Pan nodded happily. “I’d love to, Daisy,” said she as she gave her lavender friend a hug, taking care not to cause herself pain. She then felt her stomach churn from hunger. “Say, said she to her friends, “what say you that we go get something to eat; I’m famished.”
The three doctors looked to each other to silently exchange thoughts, and Doctor Stitch gave a shrug as he answered, “if you’re good enough to walk, then you should be more than ready to have a quick bite. We honestly thought you’d be a lot weaker physically upon waking up.”
With the doctors’ permission, the four mares exited the room and headed for a restaurant to have lunch. “You know,” mused Pan, “I’ve been thinking; what about my name?”
“I don’t know,” replied Berry with a shrug, “what about your name?”
“Well,” answered the green mare, “I’ve been considering changing it.” When her three friends asked why, she clarified, “well, you see, a pony is permitted to change their name when they earn their Cutie Mark, and it doesn’t match their name.”
The mares nodded. “So, what does that have to do with you?”
“I’m getting to that,” said Pan with a wave of her hoof. “Well, if something as big as this changes about a pony, don’t you think they’d be entitled to a name change?”
“I think that’s a capital idea, My Little Pony,” answered Princess Celestia’s voice from behind the mares. They stopped in their tracks and turned to see the Princess herself, standing right with them. When they bowed, she rolled her eyes and said playfully, “why does everypony do that? I came here to check up on Pan, not issue a decree.”
“Terribly sorry, Your Majesty,” apologised Daisy as the ponies rose to their hooves.
The Princess shrugged. “Forgiven,” said she nonchalantly. “Anyway, what is it you’d like your name changed to, Pan?”
Pan leaned against a wall as she thought. “Well, I’m a cook; I sear fish and other foods for a living.” She visualised her work environment: the aroma of the kitchen, the sizzling sound of the grill, and how she cooked. “I’ve sautéed everything from albacore to zucchini.” She hissed as she pronounced the words, “Sauté Sizzle” repeatedly. “Yeah, I like Sauté Sizzle.”
Unanimously, the green mare’s friends agreed that they were fond of the chosen name. “Right, then,” answered the Princess, “I will see to it that everypony refers to you by your new name, Miss Sauté Sizzle.”
“You will?” questioned the green mare, cocking her head. “Really?”
The Princess smiled smugly and nodded her head. “Indeed, I will,” said she. “I do have a little bit of pull in the government; I think I could get the records changed.” With a wink, the Princess went on her way.
A week passed, and Pan, having legally changed her name to Sauté Sizzle, entered her apartment for the first time in weeks. Berry Punch had since returned to her home in Ponyville, so the green mare was by herself. “Oh, finally!” shouted she in triumph, “I didn’t think I’d miss this place so much!” She fell back on her sofa joyously and drew a heavy sigh of relief. She fell asleep on her sofa, and slept through the rest of the day and night.
When Sauté woke up, she took a survey of her surroundings, and herself. “Yep,” said she to herself, “it wasn’t a dream.” She stretched as she stood on her hooves. She then trotted to her record player and looked over her collection. “I wonder,” thought she aloud as she grabbed a record sleeve from the stack, placed it on her player, and dropped the needle.
Before the first track of the older, heavy metal record ended, Sauté began to sing along joyously and shamelessly. “I’ve been living on the edge of a broken heart! I don’t want to fall; I don’t want to crawl!” She pulled her hooves to her scarred chest as she matched the long, final note of the song to the best of her ability. She nearly jumped, however, when she heard applause from behind her.
“Bravo, Sweetie,” commended Daisy Dreamer as she slowly walked into her friend’s apartment. “You’ve got exceptional pipes.”
Sauté dug at the floor with her hoof, a heavy blush on her green face. “Oh, you heard that?” questioned she, certain of the answer. “Sorry.”
The lavender mare held up a hoof. “Don’t be sorry, Sizzly,” insisted she, “you sing wonderfully.”
“Thanks,” said Sauté sincerely as she shut off her record player. “What can I help you with, anyway, Daisy?”
With a shrug, Daisy replied, “not much; just thought I’d check on you before I head to work. By the way, Captain Salt will be expecting you at work at the normal time tomorrow.”
Sauté nodded. “I’ll be there. Have a nice day, Daisy.”
As the lavender unicorn departed, the green mare started to feel her stomach show signs of hunger. In response, she decided to cook herself breakfast. As she prepared her meal, a knock at the door interrupted her focus. “Who can it be now?” wondered she as she answered the knock. Her magenta eyes went wide as she saw her guest.
Over Cast’s red eyes were just as wide as Sauté’s when she looked over the mare before her. “P.. Pan?” stuttered she, aghast at the sight.
“Hello, Mom,” greeted Sauté, her tone somber.
Cast started to feel her eyes well with tears. “I.. I heard the rumours,” stammered she, stepping to her new daughter and wrapping her in a loving embrace. “But, I never thought I’d ever have such a beautiful daughter!”
The green mare couldn’t contain herself any longer; she sobbed with joy at her mother’s innate kindness. “Thanks, Mom,” thanked she sincerely. “That means more than you could imagine.”
When the pair ended the embrace, silence ensued for a few seconds, until Sauté nervously asked her mother. “So, is Dad on his way here?”
Over Cast shook her head. “He doesn’t even know I’m here. It’s for the best.” Both mares nodded in agreement. “Well, I guess I should get going.”
Sauté held up a hoof. “I wouldn’t dare send my own mother away without at least offering her a bite for breakfast.”
“No, thanks,” declined the faded blue pegasus humbly. “You enjoy your day, Pan.”
Sauté nodded. “You too, Mom,” replied she. As an afterthought, she told her mother, “by the way, I changed my name; It’s now Sauté Sizzle.”
As Over Cast exited the apartment, she smiled warmly and commented, “that’s a beautiful name for my beautiful daughter, Sauté.” With that, she left.
The next day, at a couple hours past midday, Sauté and Daisy Dreamer sat in the latter’s living space. “So,” began the lavender unicorn, “the wedding’s only a week away; have you got a dress for the occasion?”
The green mare nodded. “I stopped by a store in Canterlot and picked up some slippers to match my dress.”
“And,” nervously began Daisy, “is said dress right for a wedding? You are a bridesmaid, after all.”
“Yeah; it’s pretty basic, but formal. As long as you don’t care if it’s blue.”
Daisy shrugged. “What kind of blue, exactly?”
Sauté pointed a hoof to her long, cyan mane. “This kind.”
The lavender mare’s eyes brightened as she beamed a large grin. “That’s perfect!” She then gave her friend a hug and informed her, “you should be fine, then. I’ll see you, Berry, and Midnight then, Sweetie!”
“Indeed,” agreed Sauté. “I have to get to work now. I’ll see you then.”
As the green mare entered her workplace, she was greeted by Captain Salt. “Pan ho!” shouted he across the restaurant. He trotted over to his employee and gave her a hug. “Oi, it’s good to see you, Pan! You’re looking great!”
“Thank you, Captain,” replied the chef. “By the way, the name’s Sauté Sizzle now; I had it legally changed.”
The grey stallion nodded. “Aye, I’ll change the paperwork, then. In the meantime, turn to, Chef Sizzle!” When he gave the order, he retired to his office, and Sauté went to ready up in the locker room.
The green mare’s apron covered most of her scars, and so she confidently trotted into her kitchen to meet her crew.
Cutting Board, Fish Fry, and Stove Top stared at the mare in varying levels of awe. Cutting Board was the first to break the silence. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, but her eyes were still wide as she viewed Sauté. “Pan,” said she in astonishment, “you’re a mare? You’re really, for real a mare?”
When Sauté nodded to confirm, Stove Top also spoke. “That’s amazing!” remarked he. “I mean, it’s awesome; congratulations, Pan.” With that, the two cooks began to applaud.
Fish Fry rolled his eyes and interrupted the congratulations. “That’s it,” barked he, “I’m through with this. Everypony in this restaurant is crazy!” He then removed his apron and tossed it at the mare. “Find a new cook, Pan; I’m out of here!”
As the stallion angrily walked out of the kitchen, and subsequently the diner, Stove Top gave a nonchalant shrug. “I didn’t like him anyway,” remarked he.
“Nor did I,” agreed Cutting Board. “But, will we last this Dinner Rush without him?”
Sauté looked to the other two cooks, a brow raised. “You tell me. It’s only one day; plus, I can take his place for today.” She then gave a rallying shout. “Can we beat the Dinner Rush?!”
“Yeah! Let’s do it!” shouted Stove Top and Cutting Board. Almost on cue, the Dinner Rush began. The trio successfully worked through the rush, though they were all exhausted by the time it had subsided.
Another week passed, and Sauté Sizzle stood with Berry Punch and Midnight Blue, among two other bridesmaids in Fillydelphia Central Park for Daisy Dreamer’s and Citrus Sweet’s wedding.
Citrus stood, in formal military dress, to one side of an altar, looking towards the crowd. Several other ponies, including Captain Salt, stood in the crowd in their military dress uniforms, as well as six stallions in similar dress to Sweet’s, holding sabres to their sides.
After a few seconds, Daisy Dreamer slowly trotted down the aisle towards the altar, escorted by her father, a rugged-faced Unicorn Stallion in contrastingly formal dress. When her father took his place in the crowd, Daisy trotted to her groom’s side.
The aged stallion before the pair wore an exceptionally decorated military uniform, and three stars adorned either shoulder. “Dear family and friends,” announced he in a monotone that couldn’t be ignored, “we are gathered here today in the sight of Princesses Celestia and Luna, and the Department of the Equestrian Army, to witness this exchange of vows, and see the love that these two dedicated, loving ponies have for one another.” He went through the procedure as he had many times before, and just as flawlessly as the many times before.
The pair took the vows, and, at announcement from the General, Daisy Dreamer and Corporal Citrus Sweet were married. They trotted happily through the arch of sabres created by the six soldiers lining the aisle, and the reception began shortly after.
After the cutting of the cake, a few minutes of dancing, and an orchestral performance of the Equestrian army March, the five bridesmaids were gathered in a small group before the carriage that was going to ferry the newly wedded couple away.
Sauté Sizzle stood next to Midnight Blue, who wore a similar dress to that of the green mare. “There’s no way I’m catching that thing,” marked the blue unicorn, looking at Daisy, who held a ceremonial bouquet.
“I second that,” agreed Sauté. The two mares shared a laugh and proceeded to bump their forehooves together.
As the pair’s hooves connected, the bouquet came between them, and was held in place by their hooves. Midnight Blue’s eyes widened as she barely noticed a faint blue glow dissipate from around the small bunch of flowers.
Sauté shared her friend’s awestruck look. They shared a glance, and retracted their forelegs as their faces shifted to a deep scarlet. The bouquet fell to the ground, and both mares nervously glanced about, not saying a word.