//------------------------------//
// Mio Padre 
// Story: Broken Blossom 
// by BronyWriter 
//------------------------------//

Baltimare.

He was in Baltimare. 

Blossom had to do more than a little digging to figure that one out and it had depleted even more of her funds, but eventually she had an address. She didn't know what kind of neighborhood his house was in, but she rather hoped that it was one of the upper-end ones. She had heard that in Baltimare one was either upper class, or scraping by on three bits a day. It was surely an exaggeration, but all rumors had a little basis in fact. 

Even the ones that she wished would stay buried. 

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She couldn't let that distract her when she was a three hour train ride away from her father. She had to focus on finding him, even if he had potentially heard rumors that his daughter was a murderer. Blossom sighed and opened her saddlebag one more time to check on the address. Fourteen Twenty-Eight Elm Street in Baltimare. She had promptly sent the address to the Apples to let them know where she'd be staying in case things worked out. Blossom checked the contents of her coin purse. She hoped that five bits would be enough to get a taxi there, otherwise she might be walking a long way around Baltimare trying to find her way. 

Blossom looked out the window and watched Manehattan zoom by. It had served her well but she was glad to see the back of it. She disliked big cities, preferring the charm of Ponyville and even the simplicity of Appleloosa the seven or eight times she had visited over the past ten years. Of course the irony in that is that she was now going to Baltimare, one of Equestria's largest cities after Manehattan and Canterlot. She mused to herself that if she did stay with her father in Baltimare then it would be something that she would need to get used to. 

She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to get a nap in before she had to face Baltimare. If there was one thing that he learned in Manehattan it was that big cities tired her out. Even on those nights where she had gotten nine hours of sleep after going to bed at a reasonable hour she was still exhausted by the energy it took to keep going in the city. 

She was about to drift off to dreamland when she heard a voice beside her. "Hi, what's your name?" 

Blossom's eyes opened and she saw a pair of mares, both earth ponies, who seemed to be about her age sitting in the seat across from her. Blossom let out a small yawn. "My name's Joyous Blossom but most ponies just call me Blossom," she responded. 

The two mares across from her smiled widely at her. "That's cool!" said the one on the left, a yellow mare with darker yellow hair. 

"Yeah!" said the other, an orange mare with a mane of a darker shade of orange I'm Orange Peel and this is my buddy Lemon Seed." Lemon Seed waved in greeting and Blossom returned it. 

"Pleased to meet the both of you," she said. 

"So, Baltimare, huh?" said Orange Peel. 

Blossom nodded. "Yep, I'm... visiting family." 

"That's cool," said Lemon Seed, "We're going to see some new show that's supposedly in Baltimare next."

"What show is that?" Blossom asked. 

"I think her name is The Amazing Dixie if I remember right." said Orange Peel. The orange mare suddenly leaned in conspiratorially. "I heard that her sister was one of The Ponyville Butcher's victims. Trixie I think her name was. As a matter of fact, I think that the Butcher got her parents too."

Blossom flinched but neither mare noticed. Lemon Seed frowned at her friend and hit her on the shoulder. "It isn't polite to talk about those things!" she reprimanded. 

Orange Peel flinched back herself. "What? I'm just making conversation," she insisted. "Besides, it's been almost thirty years, I think we can start to talk about it like civilized ponies."

Lemon Seed glared at her companion. "Not when that thing just happened with her sister!"

Orange Peel snorted. "'Just happened'? Puh-leeze, that was a good ten years ago. I think we can also move on from that. It doesn't have much to do with The Ponyville Butcher at any rate. That mare has been in the ground a loooong time."

Blossom had to resist whimpering and she desperately wanted to move away from this conversation or even change seats if she had to. With the way that they were bickering, she wondered if the mares would notice until they were in Baltimare already. 

Speaking of which, they were still going at it. "I'm just saying it's disrespectful to the ponies who tragically lost their lives!" Lemon Seed pointed out. 

Orange Peel rolled her eyes. "It's not like we still talk that way about The Canterlot Killer," she pointed out. 

"The difference being that The Canterlot Killer has been gone for five-hundred years, not thirty. I still think it's a little raw is all."

Orange Peel snorted and to Blossom's horror she turned her attention to her. "What do you think, Blossom?" she asked. 

Caught off guard, Blossom had to think for a moment before she could even begin to stutter out an answer. "Uh..." She blinked once or twice. "I... think that..."

Lemon Seed cocked her head. "Are you okay? You seem..." Her eyes widened as comprehension dawned on her. "Oh," she said quietly. "You lost somepony to The Ponyville Butcher."

Orange Peel cocked her head. "But you're what, seventeen, eighteen? The Butcher died thirty years ago so that's long before you!" 

Orange Peel's remarks earned her another punch on the shoulder from Lemon Seed. "Just because she's not that old doesn't mean that she didn't lose family." 

Orange Peel flattened her ears and she looked over at Blossom. "Sorry," she muttered. "Who did you lose?" 

"She was my aunt," Blossom mumbled. Instantly she regretted the words as these two mares were complete strangers but the deed was done. 

However, the comment thankfully seemed to fly completely over their heads. "The Butcher killed your aunt, huh?" said Lemon Seed. "I'm sorry, that must be tough, you never getting to know her, I mean."

Blossom's eyes trailed to the floor and she gave a slight nod. "'s'alright," she muttered. 

Orange Peel for her part was relatively quiet for a second. Blossom glanced up at her and she saw the orange mare examining her suspiciously. The realization hit her without warning. "Whoa... The Ponyville Butcher didn't kill you aunt... your aunt was The Butcher."

Blossom squeaked and began looking around to see if she could find the nearest exit but her legs failed her and she couldn't stand up. This conversation was a mistake. 

Despite the information, Lemon Seed put up a hoof in a comforting gesture. "Hey, it's okay," she said soothingly. "We aren't going to run away in fear because we think that you're going to murder us." She glared at her friend. "We shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, right?"

Orange Peel gulped and chuckled weakly. "N-No of course not. I guess it was a little tactless." She leaned in. "But seriously, how was I supposed to know?" she whispered. 

"Well we shouldn't have been talking about it at all!" Lemon Seed reprimanded. 

"It's okay," Blossom mumbled.

Lemon Seed looked back at Blossom. "You might say that but I'm sure you're really tired of ponies talking about it."

Orange Peel nodded in agreement. "Yeah I'm sorry about that. It must be especially tough, what with what happened with your mo..." Orange Peel's ears flattened as she realized what she was saying. "Oops," she mumbled. 

Blossom's head slowly retreated into her mane for the first time in years and she had to hold back the first traces of tears. Lemon Seed cuffed her friend over the back of the head before looking back to Blossom. "My friend here isn't usually so blatantly tactless. I apologize for her."

"You don't have to do that," Blossom mumbled. 

"Well no," said Lemon Seed, "But I'm sure that you really hate hearing about it so much."

"Well yeah," said Blossom softly. 

"Well then let's not talk about it," said Orange Peel. "Let's talk about... uh, your cutie mark. It looks pretty cool."

Blossom shrugged. "Yeah I guess it is."

"Well what does it mean?" Orange Peel asked. 

"It represents my talent for changing the appearance of stuff." 

Lemon Seed cocked her head. "So what does that mean exactly? Like you can make an apple look like an orange?" Blossom nodded and the two ponies let out impressed murmurs. "Can you show us?" 

Blossom came out of her mane slightly and looked up at the two earth ponies in front of her. Her eyes landed on Orange Peel and she took a deep breath, firing up her horn. In an instant she had changed her appearance to that of the orange mare with a horn.

The duo in front of her let out loud gasps. "You look just like me!" cried Orange Peel. 

"It's my special talent," said Blossom.

Orange Peel shook her head vigorously. "No, no there's 'special talent' and then there's that. I've seen unicorns that can make stuff look a lot different, but not that." Orange Peel suddenly leaned in next to Blossom's neck and tilted her head slightly. "You even have the scar that I got from an accident on the farm. I didn't even show that to you!"

"How do you do that?" asked Lemon Seed in awe. 

"Lots of practice," Blossom admitted. 

"It must have taken a ton of practice for you to get that good," said Orange Peel. "That's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen!" 

Blossom smirked and felt herself become a little more at ease now that the conversation was not on her aunt and mother.  'It's just one of those spells that I've always liked doing and I took it to the next level," she explained. She powered up her horn again and the spell slowly melted away. 

To her surprise she heard another gasp of surprise to her left and she turned her head to see a mother and her filly looking at her with wide eyes. "Mommy, did you see what that mare did?" asked the filly excitedly. "That was amazing!"

The mother blinked in surprise. "W...Why yes it was."

Eventually the impressed noises coming from the four ponies watching her was enough to draw a crowd and within ten minutes she was changing her appearance in front of a train car wall to wall with ponies. Some of them even tossed a few bits into her saddlebag, something that delighted her to no end as now she would definitely have enough money for a taxi ride to her father's house. 

She grinned as the ponies in front of her gasped in wonder as she changed into a slightly smaller, wingless Princess Celestia. 


*  *  *  *


When Blossom finally exited the train, she did so to uproarious applause and almost two-hundred and fifty bits richer. If her dad told her to get out of his sight the second he discovered who she was, she'd have enough cash to get her back to Ponyville easy. In fact, she even wondered if she could make more money out of it, traveling around Equestria and doing shows. Her horn had started to ache a bit after three hours of changing her appearance, but if she did it professionally then she could dictate how long the shows would be. It was certainly something to think about. 

Blossom levitated her saddlebag on her back after checking one last time to see if her papers were in there. Her dad would not believe her that she was his daughter if she didn't have the proper identification with her. 

After exiting the Baltimare Train Station, she flagged down a passing taxi and hopped inside. "Where to, miss?" asked the driver. 

"Can you take me to Fourteen Twenty-Eight Elm Street, please?" Blossom asked. "Do you know where that is?"

The driver nodded. "Sure, miss. It's a ways away but I can get you there if you need me to." 

Blossom smiled. "Then that's where I'd like to go."

The driver returned her smile and gave her a little bow. "As you wish, madam. I'll have you there in about an hour and a half." 


*  *  *  *


The ride was a pretty silent one for the most part. Blossom used a bit of it to take a quick nap to recharge her magic and when she woke up she felt refreshed, despite the fact that she had only been out for about twenty minutes according to the driver. She tried to instigate some small talk but the stallion pulling the taxi asked that she not as he would become quite winded during such a long journey if he had to participate in a conversation. Blossom had understood but it did mean that her journey was rather boring. She took to talking the papers out of her saddlebag and reading them over, just to make sure that there was no mistake and she was going to meet the right stallion. 

Eventually, though, the taxi came to a halt in front of a rather charming little suburban house in a well maintained neighborhood. The house of her dad looked a lot like the houses surrounding it. It was a simple two-story house with a white picket fence and a light blue paint job and a red door. 

Blossom took a deep breath and hopped out of the taxi. She was here. 

"How much?" she asked the driver. 

"For that journey? Forty bits." Blossom nodded and pulled the proper amount out of her saddlebag plus a fifteen bit tip. The driver nodded in thanks and took off, leaving a small cloud of dust behind him. 

Blossom slowly turned back to the house. She hoped that he was home, that would be unfortunate for her if she had caught him at a time where he was on vacation for a week starting yesterday. If he wasn't home then she could ask a neighbor or two if they knew where he was. 

Slowly and carefully she trotted up to the white picket fence and opened the gate. She followed the stone path up to the red door and uneasily raised a hoof. When her hoof refused to go forward to knock on the door, she growled to herself. "Come on, Blossom, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Your mom is in a mental ward and your aunt was the deadliest serial killer in history," she mumbled to herself. "A lot can go wrong." 

"What, is he going to call the cops on you?"

"No, but I just want you to be sure that you're ready to handle rejection from him, even a cruel one."

She sighed. "Blossom, I've been mentally preparing for that for weeks. I know it's a possibility."

She shook her head and slowly lowered her hoof. She had begun the habit of talking out loud to herself when nervous or if she needed to work something through. She didn't know where she had picked it up. 

Finally she shook her head. "You're being dumb, Blossom." 

With that, she raised her hoof once more and knocked on the door three times. She instantly heard a voice on the other side of the door. "Coming!" 

Blossom inhaled sharply and almost began running away. That was definitely the voice of an adult stallion. "Don't run, Blossom," she whispered. "It might not even be him." 

Within ten seconds it was too late. The red door in front of her opened up revealing a cheerful pegasus stallion with a light purple mane, the same shade as Blossom's, and a very light gray body. He smiled warmly at Blossom when he saw her. "Oh, hello there. How can I help you?"

Blossom merely stared dumbly at him. All of the carefully chosen words she had spent months preparing died in her throat. Her mouth moved up and down in an empty imitation of speech. The pegasus' smile faded and he raised an eyebrow. "Uh... are you okay, miss?" 

Blossom somehow managed to snap out of her shock and decided to force herself to say something. "Are you... are you Rolling Thunder?"

"Yeah, that's me," said the stallion. "May I ask your name?" 

Blossom blinked a few times and cleared her throat weakly. "My name is Joyous Blossom but most ponies call me Blossom. I..." She took a deep breath. "I think I'm your daughter."

Rolling Thunder's eyes widened and he took a small step backwards as his jaw dropped ever so slightly. His eyes alternated between Blossom and the door as if he was unsure if he should slam it in her face or not. His wings fluttered nervously and he took a deep breath. "Well, Blossom, may I ask why you think that?"

Blossom nodded and opened her saddlebag. She levitated the papers out. "I've never known my dad and so I went to a clinic in Manehattan where they do tests about that kind of thing. The results said that you're my dad." 

Blossom moved the papers over so Rolling Thunder could scan them. He leaned in and his eyes traveled over the paper. Each line made his eyes grow wider and he almost took another step back. Eventually he nodded and Blossom took the paper away. "Who is your mother?" he asked quietly. 

"Her name is Sweetie Belle," said Blossom, her volume matching Rolling Thunder's, "and I know for a fact that she only slept with one stallion: my father."

Rolling Thunder closed his eyes. "Oh Celestia," he whispered. 

"Are you my dad?" Blossom asked. 

Rolling Thunder sighed and opened his eyes. He tried to manage a weak smile but failed so he settled for a neutral expression. "Yeah... I suppose I am."

Before Blossom could respond, she heard two sets of hoofsteps coming from inside the house. “Thunder? Who’s at the door?” asked the voice of a mare inside the house. 

“Yeah, we’re still at dinner, daddy. I was just about to tell you about how far I flewed today!” said the voice of a filly.

Blossom’s eyes widened and she considered bolting right then and there. Her dad already had another family?! Of course he did, if he was a normal stallion and her mother’s age then it would be likely; especially with a house like this. She had been foolish not to consider it. 

Rolling Thunder stuttered something unintelligible for a second before turning around. “There’s somepony here that… uh, stopped by to visit me.”

The mare who had been talking, a dull pink unicorn mare, came to the door and saw Blossom standing on the porch. She cocked her head. “Who is this?” she asked. “Is this a relative of yours that I don’t know about?”

Rolling Thunder nodded. “Yeah, she’s closely related to me. It would be best to explain later,” he said. “I was just about to invite her in. Do we have an extra spot open for dinner?” 

The mare uneasily nodded. “Yes I suppose we do. I’ll go set another place.”

“Um… you don’t need to do that for me,” Blossom said quietly. 

She half considered leaving right then and there but her father waved a hoof. “Nonsense. You’re… you’re family so you are welcome in my house.” Rolling Thunder stepped aside. “Please, do come in.”

Blossom slowly nodded and stepped inside the house. She looked around the entryway which was rather sparsely decorated. A desk of some sort was placed against the opposite wall and it was decorated with two or three pictures of the family, including a wedding photo of her dad and… well, she’d be her step-mom wouldn’t she?

“I’ll take your saddlebag,” said Rolling Thunder. Blossom levitated it off of her back and her dad took it in his mouth and placed it underneath the desk. “If you’ll follow me, the dining room is this way.” 

Blossom tore her attention away from the wedding photo and followed her father towards the dining room. The dining room had a large table in the middle as well as a smaller table with a phonograph playing quiet classical music. The table was laden with a few different bowls and plates, each holding a few types of food. Thankfully Blossom saw that she liked everything being served. It wouldn’t do well to be a picky eater now, it would leave a poor first impression. 

Rolling Thunder pulled a chair out for her. Blossom thanked him and sat down. She looked to the opposite end of the table where a young pegasus filly with a bright green body and an electric blue mane was staring at her with wide eyes. “Uh daddy, who is she?” 

Rolling Thunder managed a smile. “She’s one of daddy’s relatives who has come by for a visit. Her name is Joyous Blossom.”

Blossom cleared her throat. “Most ponies just call me ‘Blossom’, though.”

The filly examined her curiously for a second but slowly shook her head. “Okay.” She looked over at her father. “How is she related to you?”

“Yes I’m quite curious of that myself,” said the mare. “How do you know Blossom and why haven’t I heard about her? She seems to know you well enough if she’s dropping by for visits.”

Rolling Thunder shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “It’s… complicated,” he said. “I’d rather wait until later to discuss it and I promise you that we will talk about it. I also promise that it’s not… that.”

Blossom blushed and looked down at the floor. In hindsight she could guess why the mare thought that. The two of them were being rather secretive about the whole thing. The mare seemed mollified for the moment, though. “Well if you say so,” she said. She looked over at Blossom. “My name is Blooming Lilly, but I prefer to just go by Lilly.”

Blossom nodded. “How do you do,” she said quietly. 

“And my name is Comet Blitz!” said the filly happily. “I’m gonna be in the Wonderbolts someday!”

Blossom managed a small smile. “I have two aunts in the Wonderbolts.”

Comet’s eyes quadrupled in size. “You do?!” she said, awe filling her voice. “Who?”

Despite how awkward she felt here, she did manage a smile at the filly’s glee. “Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash.”

Comet’s eyes somehow widened even more and she clapped her hooves over her mouth with a loud gasp. She put her hooves down and sputtered in a frankly adorable manner that left all three adults chuckling slightly. “No. Way,” she whispered. “Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash…” The filly placed her left foreleg on the table and rested her head on it in a ‘thinker’ pose. “I’m not sure what to say about this.”

Blossom’s smile widened. If this was her half-sister then she’d actually enjoy getting to know her. At any rate, the filly seemed to want to know everything about Blossom as she pestered her the entire dinner about what Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were like. 


*  *  *  *


The dinner went very well all things considering. Lilly and Thunder were fairly quiet but Comet more than made up for that with her persistent questions, all of which Blossom was more than happy to answer. They were mostly about Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash anyway. Comet had nearly keeled over when Blossom had told her that Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had both been there when she was born. 

Finally the last plate was cleaned off and Lilly excused herself from the table to begin the dishes. Comet was by Blossom’s side almost instantly. “If you want to, I can show you my room. I have lotsa Wonderbolts stuff but probably not as much as you do.”

“Actually, me and your mom need to have a talk with Blossom before you show her your room. It won’t take too long,” said Rolling Thunder. 

Comet raised her eyebrow and cocked her head for a brief moment but her smile soon returned full force. “Okay!” she said happily. She began bouncing towards a nearby staircase. “I’ll be in my room when you want to see it.”

Blossom smiled and waved goodbye to the filly. “Okay.”

When Comet was upstairs, Rolling Thunder beckoned Blossom towards the kitchen. Blossom nodded and followed her father. They walked through the connecting doorway and saw Lilly standing in front of the sink, staring directly at them with a slight glower on her face. “So, Blossom, is it?”

Blossom almost took an uneasy step backwards. Were it not for Rolling Thunder standing next to her she’s almost certainly be thrown out on her plot in a second. “Yeah, that’s what I prefer being called.”

Lilly nodded curtly. “Good, now would you mind explaining how you are ‘related’ to my husband?”

At this Rolling Thunder stepped forward. “Lilly, I promise you we are related and I have never met this mare before in my life. She’s my daughter.”

Lilly didn’t take the news quite as well as Rolling Thunder had. She turned to Blossom with a look of pure fury. 

“Get. Out.”