Inside the shiny golden swirl, the fiery anticipation was burning inside Pinkie and Maud like blue fire, as expected. Will we meet our biological parents? Who are they? Why couldn't they keep us?
The golden portal was larger in size, taller and wider, than all the other ones they went through, and it also seems to be longer. Extra length to get them reeling from the anticipation more than otherwise. They just couldn't wait.
Fortunately, as Pinkie was about to explode from it, the portal spit them out, shifting her attention to their landing spot. Portal journey complete, and now, they were finally about to see where this mysterious voice had been directing them to through all of that.
The landscape of this world was very brown, with the color on the ground as well as in the sky. Imagine Mars, but with a darker brown, trees, lots of water, and most importantly, life.
Pinkie and Maud could see multiple creatures belonging to the species Draconeqqus floating and gliding around in the sky, as well as walking on the ground, snapping items into appearance and disappearance.
This could only mean one thing.
"So Discord isn't the only one!", Pinkie exclaims.
"Yep.", Maud replies. "This looks to be a draconeqqus world."
"You two are right about that.", a familiar female voice says. This was the voice Pinkie and Maud had been hearing in the temple. The one that gave them all those steps.
Except this time, there was no echo, and the voice was getting closer and closer as a shadow appeared from the hazy view. The shadow moved further and further out from the haze, and at last, the creature with the voice, the voice that brought them through all the portals, was visible to the sisters.
It was a female draconeqqus, with a white head, orange lower body, red eyes, and yellow horns. She looked very... fiery.
"Hello.", she says. "Yes, I am the voice. That voice that directed you through all those portals. The mysterious voice you were scared of when you first arrived there."
Pinkie and Maud smiled at each other. Now they know who it was!
However, they weren't quite ready to ask the burning question, and they might never be. They decide to drop hints.
"So I see. It is you.", Maud says to the draconeqqus. "Now what I wonder is, why were you speaking to us in the first place, and what compelled you to put us on this adventure?"
"She's been saying it's to find what we're looking for.", Pinkie says. "And what were we looking for?", she says, grinning and squeeing.
The draconeqqus leapt into the air and started twirling across her own body as she becomes the one to close out this case.
"Yes. It is me. I am your original mother.", she says.
Pinkie and Maud looked at each other with the accomplishment and sister love brewing inside, with Pinkie's eyes watering a bit and them pulling each other into a short hug. They met her, mates. They met her.
Oh yeah, and in only two days. The day they first set off for the adventure and stopped at the Kirin village hotel was yesterday.
Their mother then continues the story everypony's been waiting to hear.
"My name is Fire Jewel. This world that I live in is a planet dominated by draconequi, located in a completely logic-less universe. Nothing makes sense here, because it isn't supposed to make sense."
Pinkie and Maud look over and they see nothing they weren't used to from Discord. This world featured things like floating objects, unexplained knowledge, and teleportation. It was just... a lot more widespread.
Fire Jewel's words then clicking with them, though, they look at each other and find a potential problem.
"Wait a minute... if this is a logic-less universe, then is there no specific reason for why you didn't keep us?", Pinkie asks. "Then, is there also no particular reason for why we are ponies? Not the same species as you?"
"Oh... no, there is.", Fire Jewel assures them. "The logic-less aspect does not apply to family matters like that. Only physical things. At least... not as far as you might think."
"Here, come to my house. I'll tell you everything you need to know."
Everything they need to know; sounds pretty good to the sisters. They follow Fire Jewel, whom they now know as their original mother, over to where she lives.
Despite the chaos that was this world, Fire Jewel's house looked... pretty normal. It was a wooden brown structure, furnished with ordinary things like couches, tables, chairs, cabinets, etc. that were not floating or upside-down.
"Huh. This is not at all what I expected your house to be like.", Pinkie says.
"Heh. I do have quite the casual home taste for a draconeqqus.", she responds.
"But anyway... here we go.", she says, sitting down on a chair in front of two chairs for her daughters.
"So... (deep sigh), the reason I could not keep you, is that, to put it simply, this world was too dangerous for you two to live in."
"Explanation: You two were ponies from birth. The reason why... well, he'll be opening the front door in a few seconds."
Pinkie and Maud's heads jerk over to their left, where that front door is, right away. Does this mean their biological father is coming?
The door pops open, and into the house comes a stallion with a bright golden coat, straight gray mane, and golden archery arrow for a cutie mark.
"Hey daughters!", he says. "Long time no see; over 20 years! I haven't seen you since you were foals!"
"Hi, original dad!", Pinkie says, waving and giggling. "So great to meet you, and her! We went through a lot to get here!"
"And you accomplished it, girls.", he says.
"Anyway, my name is Golden Arrow. Husband to Fire Jewel here, professional and championship-winning archer who lives in this world despite being a pony. And why you two are ponies, well... now you know."
They do know... somewhat.
"But then, with one of you a draconeqqus and the other a pony, why are we not hybrids?", Pinkie asks.
"I was wondering the same thing.", Maud adds.
"Well, this is where the logicless aspect of this universe does kind of come into play here... maybe.", Fire Jewel answers. "For some reason, you took more DNA from your father than you did from me. And part of that was being all-pony on the outside."
"On the inside, however, you two wanted to know why it is that you can do all these random things, right?"
"Yes!", Pinkie and Maud exclaimed in unison, nodding their heads rapidly and jumping onto their hooves as this came back to them. This question is what started their whole adventure in the first place! That Pinkie Says session with Limestone and Marble!
Fire Jewel becomes the one to solve another burning mystery. "Well, in the temple, Maud, you had suspected that the voice you were hearing was that of a draconeqqus, because of all these crazy powers that were being used around you."
"And then, Pinkie, you once labeled these abilities as 'draconeqqus-like.'"
"Could that apply to another thing?"
Pinkie and Maud do connect Fire Jewel's dots. They think they know where this is going.
"What she means is, you two are hybrids.", their father Golden Arrow says. "You are mostly pony, from me, but you took enough DNA from your mother, to do draconeqqus things!"
And there it was. The answer to the question from that Pinkie Says session that caused their lives to explode into all of this. Pinkie and Maud are indeed, part draconeequs. One of their parents is one.
"Wow! Now I know!", Pinkie says. "I... can tell my friends where my Pinkie sense comes from! Or why I can play so many instruments at once! Or... anything!"
"Like... I'm not a mystery anymore!"
Maud nods. "It is a big change, sis. It really is."
They looked up to see both of their parents smiling at them. Happy for them that they cracked the mystery.
"As for why you two don't look like hybrids, why you're all pony on the outside, well, we don't know.", Fire Jewel says. "That's just how it worked out. Many have attributed it to the logic-less nature of this universe, but these kinds of things have been known to happen in other worlds. I don't agree with that theory."
"Oh, yeah.", Pinkie says. "Where I come from, my two roommates whom I also work for gave birth to one pegasus and one unicorn while both of them are Earth ponies. It can't be just a thing here."
For sure! That was a more extreme example than this family's case. Like, it is weird that Pinkie and Maud are entirely pony on the outside, but at least there was one pony in the equation! Whereas, the fact that Pumpkin Cake is a unicorn is apparently because of Mr. Cake's... great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
"So, back to why we could not keep you," Fire Jewel continues. "...yes, it was simply too dangerous for you two to live here while being 65% pony and only 35% draconeqqus. Of course, it was enough to give you some of the powers we have, but it was not enough to make you safe in this world. You would have been killed very quickly."
"So... I had to face it. Believe me, I was crippled with grief.", Fire Jewel reveals. "I was devastated that I had to give you two away. I was so excited when I learned that I was pregnant, and even more when I got the ultrasound. I daydreamed every day about raising you. How Golden and I's lives would be with you."
"But alas, it was not safe. There was no dispute; you two needed to be in a pony world."
"I took a long trip around the temple of portals, checking out a bunch of pony-based societies to decide where I was to put you. I eventually chose the Standard Equestria, where I had to find adoptive parents."
"And through my powers, I was able to quickly detect that Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock were the ones."
"While I cannot read other creatures' internal thoughts, I am able to detect what somebody wants, and how well-fit they are for a certain think. And I was being told that Cloudy and Igneous not only wanted more children, but would do great at raising you."
"So, through the flood of tears I was crying, I placed you two in baskets right above their front door, with that letter attached."
"The reason I did not stay to meet your adoptive parents and talk things over, like fill out adoption forums and such, was because I was simply too overwhelmed by the grief of having to give you away. I just had to fly away immediately and go cry it out here, in my house."
Golden Arrow walks over and pats his wife on the back for comfort.
"It was very hard.", the father says. "I've been married to Fire here since before you girls were born; while I was not involved in the placement of you at Cloudy and Igneous' house, it was a long journey for the two of us to continue after that loss."
Hearing their own origin story absolutely tore Pinkie and Maud up to shreds. Imagine wanting to raise a child but not being able to. That must have been shattering for their mother.
"Oh... we're sorry, mom and dad.", Pinkie says. "That should never be something any parent has to go through."
Maud nodded in agreement.
"It was awful.", Fire Jewel says, wiping away a tear.
"But I feel good knowing that Cloudy and Igneous did you well.", she continues. "And it's a wonderful experience that you two are here now. I may not have been able to raise you, but now... you're finally with me again."
"Aww.", Pinkie says, wrapping Fire into a hug. "I also feel like this is a reunion, even though I have no memory of you!"
"That's how family works.", Maud says.
Pinkie and her original mother continued to hug, for the "what a moment" day.
The amazing reunion continued on, with the family having dinner as it had drawn close to that time. They continued to engage in conversation, getting to know each other better.
Pinkie did feel like she was with her family, despite having never met her original parents before. And she still had Maud by her side, somepony she knew very well, which was a bonus.
Given that it was near the end of the day, big plans, like going out into their parents' native world, was not in Pinkie and Maud's cards right now. They had to work on getting things like sleeping arrangements set up; they would be staying in their parents' house.
As for going out... will tomorrow be a different story?