“Rarity!”
No sooner do we reach the cottage than does the door burst open. I let out a small squeak of shock and duck behind my unicorn companion as my vision is suddenly filled with a bright light. I’m terrified, but Rarity doesn’t seem the least bit nervous.
“Hi, Nana Lily,” she says as the light engulfs her.
“Where have you been?” the light asks, its voice strained with worry. “Your teacher stopped by to check up on you! She said that you missed class this morning! I’ve been worried sick!”
This is Rarity's relative? I ponder, still shielding my eyes. That’s a pony? What’s with the light? I can barely see!
“I missed you too, Nana,” Rarity responds. “But, erm, your horn’s doing the thing again.”
The voice behind the light begins sniffling. “I know. I know. I’m sorry, I just— I thought… I got a little overwhelmed.”
“I know, Nana,” comes Rarity’s voice. She drops her typical theatrical tone as I hear her fight back tears of her own. “Don’t worry… I’m here. I’m not gonna leave.”
After a few seconds of silence the light begins to die down, lessening in intensity until it’s left at a dull glow. Rubbing my eyes I slowly peek my head around Rarity’s legs.
She’s being hugged tightly by another pony— Another unicorn… I’m gonna have to get used to that.— one much older than the two of us probably would be combined. With her well-trimmed purple coat, and styled mane of pinks and purples, she doesn’t really give off the impression of a pony who would live out near the wilderness like she does. Even the flower depicted in her cutie mark seems to be mismatched with this place. Too fancy-looking.
Eventually she lifts her head, horn still glowing with a soft pink light, and releases Rarity from her hug. “Where have you been, dear?” she asks the younger unicorn.
“It’s a bit of a long story…” Rarity responds. She steps out of the way and picks me up onto my hooves. “Can we go inside and get cleaned up first?”
I smile sheepishly as the older unicorn notices me for the first time. Her eyes open wide in shock as she looks me over, and open even wider when she looks back towards Rarity. It seems she hadn’t even noticed the state the younger unicorn was in until now. The glow from her horn intensifies slightly.
“Oh my goodness…” she gasps. “Yes, of course! Come inside, the both of you!”
She ushers us both inside the cottage, and I find myself standing in a cozy living space. I have the quick realization that this is the first time I’ve ever been inside of a building that wasn’t partially made out of clouds in some way. The floorboards creak when I take a step forward to look around.
Knick-knacks and framed photos dot the walls and rest atop shelves, surrounding chairs and a couch. Simple furnishings for simple living… or it would give that impression if there weren’t fabrics of all colors and sewing supplies of all kinds strewn about the room.
Before I can ponder the mess, Rarity grabs my hoof and sits me down on the couch.
“Stay right here, I’m going to get the first-aid kit,” she tells me before darting past the stairs and down the hallway. The older unicorn calls out to her, her concern apparent.
“Oh, sweetheart I can—”
“Don’t worry, Nana! I’ve got it!” comes the reply from further down the hallway.
Suddenly I’m left alone in the room with Rarity’s relative, whose sigh is accompanied with a brief flash from her horn. My eyes drift down towards the floor to avoid being blinded again.
I hear her settle into a chair across from me, and it doesn’t take long for the questions to come.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you at any of the school events before,” she begins. I instinctively tense up upon hearing her words. “Are you one of Rarity’s friends?” she asks.
I shake my head at that, but speak up after a few seconds once it becomes clear she’s waiting on a more detailed answer. “No ma’am, we only just met,” I tell her, truthfully.
She seems to think on that for a second before continuing her questioning. “I see. Would you mind telling me your name, dear?”
I nod and tell her my— Wait…
Should I… tell her my name? I think as I retreat back into my mind. It’s a simple request, and it would be a simple response, but for some reason I’m hesitating.
It’s just my name. It’s nothing special— plenty of ponies know what it is! But… what would she think of it? What would Rarity think of it? She told me she chose her own name. I don’t—
“Butterfly!”
My thoughts are interrupted by a shout from the hallway. Rarity rushes out of it carrying a first-aid kit with her magic.
“Bu-Butterfly?” I ask, startled and confused.
“Your name! At least, that’s what you told me it was when I had asked before. ‘Butterfly Wishes’, you said,” she states as she approaches, her look expectant.
I don’t really understand what’s happening, but I’m caught up in the moment and don’t want to disappoint her. I nod along with what she’s saying.
“Y-yeah… Yes. That’s right.” I say, this time directed at the older unicorn. I can’t see how she reacts to that as Rarity moves between us, but another question comes soon after.
“Do you live anywhere near—”
“Nana? Would you mind grabbing a wet washcloth for us? I think some of these cuts need cleaning,” Rarity interrupts as she pops open the first-aid kit.
“...Of course, dear,” she says after a few seconds. “I’ll fix up some drinks as well. I won’t be long.”
The older unicorn gets up out of her chair and heads into a separate room, likely the kitchen. I’m thankful for the reprieve from the questions, and let out a sigh of relief.
Rarity gives me an apologetic look as she sits down next to me. “I’m sorry for that. I promise my Nana Lily’s a nice pony… she just worries,” she whispers. I shake my head in reply.
“No, it’s OK. I understand,” I tell her. After all, if there’s any kind of situation for her relative to be worried over, this would probably be it.
She nods and begins treating my wounds, placing a bandage on my cheek.
I know that she’s trying to make sure I’m properly cared for, being older than me and all, but between Rarity and Rainbow Dash I’ve had a lot of physical contact today. More than I’m used to. The thought brings a blush to my face, and I’m thankful that Rarity doesn’t seem to notice my embarrassment in her focus.
A few seconds later and I’m compelled to break the silence.
“Butterfly Wishes?” I ask.
It seems it’s Rarity’s turn to sigh. “I knew it. Too tacky?” she replies. “I suppose it was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment choice in naming conventions, but I hope I wasn’t too far off the mark with it considering…”
“Considering…?” I question, prompting her to continue her thought.
“Considering… you know. The whole butterfly thing,” she tells me. I give her a confused look.
‘Butterfly thing?’ my thoughts echo, trying to work out what exactly she means. I don’t get it. What’s a butterfly? And what’s with the fake name in the first place?
“Well… OK. But why did you—”
“Here you are, dears,” Rarity’s relative interrupts, trotting back into the room with a washcloth and two glasses of water held in the pink aura of her magic.
“Oh! Thank you, Nana.” Rarity says with a smile as she takes the cloth and one of the glasses in her own magic.
Seeing the remaining glass float closer to my face, I swallow my nerves and reach up to grab it in my hooves. The pink aura tickles a bit, and I flinch at the unexpected sensation. After a few more seconds, I awkwardly manage to take the glass. “Um, yes… Thank you, Miss Rarity’s Nana…” I say.
Rarity giggles at that, and I feel my blush intensify. I take a long sip of water in an attempt to hide my shame.
That was weird… I chide myself. I keep doing this. What’s wrong with me?
I look back up as a hoof is placed on my shoulder. Rarity’s Nana is smiling softly at me— the first one I’ve seen her wear. The glow of her horn seems to have fully dissipated at this point.
“Please, dear. You can just call me Lily,” she says, her voice gentle. “I apologize if I made you feel uncomfortable earlier. You don’t need to tell me anything that you don’t want to.”
Hearing her words, I feel the unease that’s been clouding my mind since first meeting her suddenly lift. She’s a lot like Rarity in that sense.
“It’s alright, Miss Lily. Thank you for inviting me into your home,” I tell her, trying to match her smile.
“Of course, dear. Now let’s finish getting you two cleaned up.”
Both unicorns direct their focus onto cleaning and bandaging my various cuts and scrapes. It’s… odd. I don’t really know why, but it just feels weird having these ponies working so hard to help me. It felt weird when Rainbow Dash helped me out, too.
Would I go so far to help another pony I don’t even know? I wonder.
I helped my forest friends earlier… but that’s different. It feels different, at least. They aren’t ponies. They wouldn’t judge me for anything I say or how I act. They wouldn’t expect anything from me. They wouldn’t know what a real pegasus should be like…
I feel Lily place a hoof on my wing, and I gasp at the touch. I pull it tightly into my side.
Rarity’s eyes go wide and she quickly speaks up. “I think that’s about all we can do ourselves, Nana. Butterfly, do you think you can get your wings on your own?” she asks, all but pulling me up off the couch.
“Um… yes. I think so,” I say, reaching my head down into the first-aid kit and grabbing a mouthful of bandages. “Do you have a mirror anywhere I can use?” I ask, the question muffled.
Lily smiles again and points a hoof down the hallway that Rarity had run down earlier. “Feel free to use our bathroom. It’s the last door on the right,” she tells me.
I nod at her in thanks and make my way down the hallway. I can barely make out Rarity whispering something behind me about how “You can’t touch his wings”. I shake my head and try to ignore that comment as I open the door to the bathroom.
It’s a tight fit in here. Barely enough room to stand between the sink and the bathtub. My bathroom back up in Cloudsdale is a lot more spacious than this… but I’m also realizing something else that’s different. Something that’s giving me pause.
There’s personality here. Health and beauty products cover every open portion of the sink and edge of the bathtub. There’s even some needles and thread that have spilled into here from the living room. I only have the bare essentials back home— everything that my dad told me I’d need. It’s messier in here than I’m used to, but there’s clearly something to it.
These ponies care about themselves. They care about their health. They care about their appearances. Not just that, either. They care about each other, and…
…And they care about me…
This cramped bathroom suddenly feels like the perfect size. I place the bandages on the corner of the sink where I find an open space and take a look in the mirror to see what I’m working with.
…I’m not sure what I was expecting. It’s just me. Granted, my mane’s a lot messier and I’m covered in bandages, but it’s still me. Same pink mane. Same yellow coat. I try to swallow this strange sense of disappointment.
I stand up on my back legs and lean closer to the mirror until my nose is almost touching its surface. I turn my head from side-to-side and try to find any blemishes that the two unicorns might have missed before focusing on my wings. I ultimately can’t find anything, however, and resolve to thank them later for their help. I doubt I could’ve done as decent a job on my own.
I turn forward again and stare at my reflection.
It’s not something I’ve ever told another pony about— I get made fun of enough at school as it is— but I’ve always liked my eyes. They’re a very pretty shade of green. Dark, but not too dark. With the way my body’s growing, it’s also just nice to know that there’s a part of me that will stay the same. It’s… comforting.
I unfold my wings and stretch them out as far as I can manage, wincing as I do so. Only a couple of scratches— easily patched, so it must mostly be sore muscles.
Applying the bandages, I begrudgingly take note of the fact that my wings seem larger than when I last checked a few weeks ago.
“Ugh…” I grumble to myself.
In addition to height, pegasi also tend to measure wingspan. Wings too large can be cumbersome when flying, same with a larger body. I somehow lucked out and got both.
…
I try to imagine what I would look like if I was smaller like Rainbow Dash. A head shorter; wings perfectly shaped for flight. It would be… nice. I’m sure a pony like that wouldn’t have fallen all the way down to the surface. A pony like that would be playing with their friends up in Cloudsdale right now. A pony like that would have friends. More than one, at least.
…Rarity probably has lots of friends, I posit, my mind wandering. She’s pretty, and nice. She’s kind of the opposite of me.
I place a hoof across my mouth, trying to hide the square shape of my muzzle. It’s harder to picture what I would look like with Rarity’s softer features, but the thought of it sends a shiver down my spine.
“Woah,” I blanch, reacting to the unexpected sensation. I tap my hooves on the sink as I’m suddenly filled with jitters.
Looking like Rarity would be good— really good. I don’t know why!
I get an unbearable urge to fly around, but I can’t exactly do that in a room this small. I resort to bouncing up and down and giggling instead, my wings flapping as much as they’re able to.
A more reasonable part of me might want to work out exactly why that thought makes me feel this way, but who cares about reason? Today’s been nothing but unreasonable! Yet despite that I’m still around— I’m still here! I got to fly, I made a friend, I didn’t die, I got to see the surface, I met Rarity and her Nana Lily and lots of cute little animals!
“I even got my cutie mark!” I all but shout in my excitement, wheeling my flank around.
I stare at my reflection in the mirror, my thoughts going still while my body takes a few more seconds to get the last of my giggles out. Eventually I fall silent as I start to process exactly what I’m seeing. The smile drops from my lips.
There’s an image on my flank. Three to be exact. Three of those insects that saved my life earlier today, wings the same shade of pink as my mane. I try rubbing at them with a hoof, but they don’t come off. I spin around and see the same three insects mirrored on my other flank. I rub at them too, but they don’t even smudge.
I’ve been… ignoring it, I think. Subconsciously. Too much to deal with— to process.
Too much to realize that…
Before I can finish that thought, I find myself opening the bathroom door. I step back out into the living room and stand at the entrance to the hallway. The two unicorns interrupt their conversation to stare at me in confusion.
“Is everything alright, dear?” Lily asks.
“I…” my voice falters. I watch as the older unicorn’s face begins to blur. A now-familiar warmth trails down my cheeks, and I look down to see tears hit the floorboards.
“...I got my cutie mark.”
Silence follows as my flank drops down onto the floor.
A gasp— two. Hooves gallop across the room before they’re thrown around me. A larger set trot calmly after the first before embracing me just the same.
Too much…
“I-I got—!”
“You got your cutie mark!” Rarity exclaims, finishing my thought and squeezing me even tighter.
I can’t hold back the flood anymore, and I weep openly into the legs of these two ponies who welcomed me into their home. These two ponies who helped me.
My thoughts are spiraling, yet with each wave of sobs that wrack my body I grasp just a little bit more. I’m rapidly approaching a realization. An understanding of a single fact— one I’ve been avoiding ever since I made it down to the surface.
A single, wonderful, horrible truth.
I’m happy here. Oh, Celestia… I’m happy here.