"Mommy!"
Nyx got up from the table and shot towards the Twilight doppleganger
Mother and daughter embraced each other as Celestia, Luna, the Elements, and the guards looked on in wonder at the two.
"If everypony is present, let the witness take the stand" Celestia said, masking her shock.
Nyx's Twilight sat on the witness stand
"Hold on"
I snapped my fingers and a green bow appeared in Twilight's mane, distinguishing the two
"Really darling, green does not compliment her coat" I heard Rarity whisper to Fluttershy
"Oh, um, I think- it looks nice" she replied barely above a whisper
"Now, where to start..." Twilight said, putting a hoof to her muzzle
A short while later, the Twilight on the witness stand finished her explaination of what had happened to her and Nyx
(For the full story read Past Sins)
I looked around the room and saw that the princesses were conflicted in passing judgement, both of them obviously wanting to let the poor filly go, but appeared aprehensive about it because she was quote 'Nightmare Moon' unquote
"Jonas, you may continue your case" Celestia said after a short while
"Thank you your highness, I would like to call my next witness to the stand" I said
"Not another one..." One of the guards muttered
An alicorn about the same size as Cadence appeared in the room, her hair was almost like Luna's save for her dark-blue coat, rather than Luna's navy blue; her mane was a midnight blue with a few twinkling stars bringing out the light green- which contrasted with her light blue tail
"Hiya Nyx! Whatcha doin?" The alicorn asked, trotting up to the table
"I don't think I know..."
"Miss Unara, I hope I'm not intruding- but could you please come up here and speak on Nyx's behalf?" I asked, gesturing to the witness stand.
"Sure!"
She bounced up to the stand and sat down
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything you could tell us would suffice" Celestia said
"Oh, well um...let's see, we see each other alot...uh, she's really nice, I remember last Christmas she gave some of her allowance to ponies who needed a home; I know one time she shared some of her lunch with me when I foalsat her once... uh, that's all I can think of right now..."
"Thank you, you may leave now" Luna said
Unara gave her a confused look
"What's the matter mom? Don't you recognize me?" She asked, tilting her head
'Ah jeez, not again...' I facepalmed 'Please Luna, please please please just play along'
"Of course, We were...merely joking!"
'Whew, nice save'
"Since when did you start using that 'Royal We' thing again?" She asked
'So close'
"I am sure I don't know what thou means, We have always spoken this way"
"Huh?"
Unara turned to me
"You got any idea what's going on here?" she asked
"Yeah, your mother lives in OsTown, this isn't your mother, but still the same pony"
"Oh, well that makes alot of sense"
"Would you mind running that by Us again?" Luna asked
"Luna, I'd like you to meet your daughter Unara"
Everypony's jaws dropped, including the guards'
"Let's just get this over with..." Twilight sighed
(Several excrutiating hours later)
"Joyful Madness, Nyx, I am terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you like this" Celestia said
"S'okay Princess, I probably woulda done the same thing after all that happened" Nyx said as her ears fell against her head
"Well, if we're all finished, I'd like to get them home" I said, pointing to the foals
"Might We spend some time with Unara?" Luna asked, draping a wing over the alicorn filly
"Yes, just be sure to bring her back before dawn, lest I might need to protect you from yourself" I smirked
"Noted- Let us depart"
Luna and Unara left the throne room
"Such a sweet pony" Celestia said
"Who? Luna or Unara?" I asked
Celestia shot me a playful glare
"Kidding, kidding"
"Jonas, there has been something I've been meaning to ask you"
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Since your arrival, my sister and I have witnessed a hoofull of oddities, and I was hoping to investigate myself"
"I can see why Twilight takes after you, alright- let me know when you've got the time and I'll be happy to give you the tour"
"Thank you"
With that, the group of foals, Toxic, and I left the throne room- heading back into my world.
"I almosssst forgot how beautiful it isss here" Rattler said as we went
"Yeah, it is pretty nice, isn't it?" Joyful said, backstroking through the air "But it could use a lake of orange soda right about there..."
"Well I'm going home, ssssee you guyssss later"
Rattler slithered off towards her house, a few others following suit
"Hey Dad?" Toxic asked
"What's up sport?"
"I've been wondering- where do you get all your ideas from? For all of this, I mean"
He waved his hooves, indicating our location- which just happened to be a park near Mean Street
"Truth be told" I started "Most of this wasn't my idea, you see it all started with a man named Walt Disney..."
X X X X X X X
"So Mr. Disney did all that?"
"Well, some of it- his works are still shown around the world today"
"But what about all the forgotten and unused stuff you told me about?"
"That's the beauty of this place, old and new combined- all the forgotten Toons can live here with the more recent ones"
"Wait a minute, what about all the ponies around here? They don't seem like the kind in Ponyville or Canterlot"
"There's a few that're normal, but most are from 'What could have been' and 'What has been'"
"What do you mean?"
"Well take you and Red Gala for example"
"Okay"
"You're a Pegasus and she's an Earth Pony"
"Alright, go on"
"Now imagine Rattler or Joyful"
"Oh, I think I get it- the both of them are kind of different from me or any other pony out there"
"All of the ponies and non-ponies here are each different from each other"
"Oh..."
A few Bunny Children hopped across the sprawling grass as the sun was slowly setting
"Wow, it's that late already? We'd better get home"
Toxic and I waved goodbye to a few of the ponies in the park before leaving
As we went, I noticed a certain brown Earth Pony stallion staring intently at a flowerbed of tulips
"Havin' fun there Doctor?"
"Hmm? Oh, yes-"
I nodded and we soon reached the door to my house, I opened it and allowed Toxic to pass through
"Hey Jack, didn't expect to see you here" Toxic said, seeing the skeleton pony in the living room
"Yeah, I was visiting the Princesses up in Canterlot for a few days, though I can't wait to get back home"
"Oh, well goodnight then" he said as Jack passed through the door
I closed it and turned to Toxic
"Alright buddy, time for bed"
He yawned and slowly climbed the stairs
X
"Patchwork, would you mind looking after the shop while I put Sweetie to bed?" Rarity asked
The rather large, multi-color coated mare nodded and stood behind the check-out desk
As Rarity trotted up the stairs to tuck in her little sister, her thoughts kept getting drawn back to the peculiar mare
There were a few strange things about the mare, her odd coat notwithstanding
It looked as if somepony had stitched odds and ends of fabric into her coat, though the sight was something to behold- it still made her queasy to think about it.
"Goodnight Sweetie Belle" Rarity said, kissing her sister on the forehead
"'Night Rarity"
Rarity prepared to walk out of the room when she heard Sweetie call
"Rarity?"
"Yes?"
"Will Ms. Patchwork be staying with us?"
"If she agrees to it, come to think of it- she hasn't mentioned anywhere she has to live"
"D'ya think she's homeless?" She asked, sitting up in her bed
"I don't think so, but I don't want to hear you pestering her about it, now it's time for bed"
Sweetie nodded and laid back down as Rarity left her room
"Ms. Patchwork, would you mind coming in tomorrow?"
"N-no! I'd l-love t-t-to"
Bless her heart, large as she is- she's about as timid as Fluttershy
"Then you should have no qualms about staying here for the night"
"Wh-what? I-I couldn't!"
"Oh, but I absolutely insist! You may stay in the guestroom upstairs"
"W-well, if it's really important to you..."