Rarity hums as she finished drying up Toriel's robe. Toriel hums as well. She hums a happy little tune as she carefully walks down the stairs. Downstairs, the other five ponies had been browsing Rarity's current inventory. As Toriel steps off the last step, she looks at the ponies and notices a peculiar pink pony stare at her with a wide smile. The pink pony waves with a smile so wide, Toriel was scared if she smiled any further, her jaw would snap. Toriel waves back. The others began to notice her and waved as well. Rainbow walked over.
"H-Hey..." She said nervously. Toriel looks at Rainbow.
"Hello." She said. Toriel could see that Rainbow is blushing and rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.
"So uh...how are things?" Rainbow asked. Toriel smiles.
"Things are just fine, thanks for asking." She said.
"I feel really bad I hit you...I thought you hurt my friend and my instincts just triggered and I guess I lost control..." Rainbow said.
"You know, Rainbow was it, you remind me of Undyne." Toriel said.
"Undyne?" Rainbow asked. Toriel nods.
"Yes Undyne. She is one of the royal guards where I came from, a bit of a hothead if you asked me. Always wearing that big bulky armor." She said. Rainbow giggles slightly.
"Her armor is kind of like my ego! Which can be a bad things at times..." She said. Toriel smiles and looks around. She sees Rarity look over her robe, which is clean, as if think of something.
"So Twilight told us you came from underground?" Rainbow asked. Rarity notices Toriel looking at her, and waves with a sweet smile.
"I'm almost done, darling." She said. Toriel waves back at Rarity and looks back at Rainbow. She nods.
"I did come from underground. I lived in a house in some ruins." Toriel said.
"Where from?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, we didn't have any names for where we're from." Toriel said. A orange yellow pony wearing a hat walks up to Toriel.
"So Twi also told us you came here from some message attached to a tiara like hers?" The pony asked. Toriel looks at the pony and nods.
"Yes." She said.
"H-how did you get supplies to even surive?" A yellow shy pegasus asked.
"Yeah, and why were you there in the first place? I assume somepony forced you to live there since nopony decides to live underground." Rainbow said.
"Well, I lived with monsters where I'm from. They made a pretty good living, opening up shops, restaurants, and even a bake sale that is owned by Mrs. Muffet. As for being forced to live down there. I wasn't forced to live down there. I lived down there my entire life." Toriel said.
"And I'm gonna guess there was a war between monsters and the humans in which the humans won the war, and exiled the others to the confinement of the ruins in which you lived till you came here because of a magical message!?" The pink pony yelled. Toriel was quite shocked at the pink pony.
"Yes, how did you know?" She asked. The hat wearing pony chuckles with a small roll of her eyes, giving a soft punch to he pink pony's right foreleg.
"Pinkie Pie here can guess things on a whime without knowing a thing!" She said. Toriel shakes her head.
"Anyway, everyone was happy where I lived." She said.
"What about Frisk?" Pinkie pie asked. Toriel suddenly gasps and starts to panic.
"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" She yelled. She runs towards the front door, only to trip and fall on her face halfway there. Pinkie pie looks confused.
"What's wrong with her?" She asked.
"Don't know." The hat wearing pony said. She wakes up to Toriel and helps her up. "Is...Frisk somepony you know?" She asked.
"I... I nearly forgot about her! She is a human who stayed the longest when she stayed with me before she left to get out of the underground. I... I'm worried, she may be hurt, or injured, or worse!" Toriel yelled, panicking again. The pony that helped her up put a hoof on her shoulder.
"Hey, hey, don't go panicing on us. I'm sure she'll be okay." She told Toriel. Toriel looks at the hat wearing pony with a sad look.
"Thank you, Miss um..." She said.
"Applejack." The hat pony said, smiling at Toriel. Toriel slightly smiles back.
"Thank you." She said.
"No problem." Applejack said, patting Toriel's back. "Was this frisk like a daughter to you?" She asked.
"Well, yes and no. She did feel like a daughter to me when she stayed with me before she left." Toriel said.
"I hope she's okay." Applejack said. Toriel nods.
"I hope so too, she did prove herself worthy of taking care of herself." She said. Rarity trots over to the small group of ponies with a smile, carrying Toriel's rob in her magic.
"Here's your robe, dear!" She said happily. Toriel looks at the robe and smiles. She takes it with her magic.
"Thank you, Rarity." Toriel thanked. Rarity nods.
"No problem." She said, smiling up at Toriel. Toriel slips the robe on and sighs in happiness, then she remembers.
"Oh, I need to pay you for this Rarity. But..... I don't have any money." She said, looking down slightly.
"Dear, Your robe was an absoelut mess! you're lucky it didn't get stained. I just couldn't bear to allow you to wear such filthy garments!" Rarity said with disgust, smiling sweetly. "You needn't worry about your budget, or the lack of it really. But, there are MANY jobs in Ponyville you could try to get into, or start your own!" She said. Toriel puts a hoof to her chin and thinks.
"Well, I always wanted to be a teacher." She said.
"Oh! Mrs. cheerilee could possibly hire you as a substitue for when she can't work!" Rarity said. Toriel puts her hoof down and smiles.
"I could do that." She said. As she looks around, she noticed that a certain purple alicorn was missing. "Huh? Where's Twilight?" She asked.
"Oh, she had to leave in a hurry for some reason. She spoke so fast all I heard was letter and Celestia." Rarity said. Toriel tilts her head in confusion.
"Celestia?" She asked.
"Oh! The lead princess of Equestria." Rarity said.
"Ahh, ok." Toriel said. She was about to speak again, when the door suddenly opens and Twilight walks in alongside what looks like a lizard.
"Hi! I'm back I just had to send a letter to Celestia about our new friend!" Twilight yelled, smiling at Toriel.
"That was quick." Toriel said.
"Just like how she lead us to defeat Nightmare Moon in no time at all." Applejack said. Toriel looks down at the lizard.
"And who might this be?" She asked.
"Oh, this is Spike! I've had him since he hatched! I was just a filly. I hatched him actually." Twilight said, hugging spike.
"So technically, you'll be his mother, since you hatched him." Toriel stated. Twilight's eyes widen.
"Oh no, no, no, no! He didn't come from me! I just used a magical spell to make his egg hatch! But he is like a son to me." She said, nuzzling spike.
"Awe, come on Twilight, you know I don't like all this mushy lovey dovey stuff!" Spike complained. Toriel smiles slightly.
"That's cute." She said.
"Please, mom." Spike said." Twilight giggles and let's him go.
"You called me mom." She said.
"I...I didn't mean it." Spike said. He crosses his arms and looks away.
"Awww." Toriel said. Spike looks down. Twilight kisses him on the head. Spike turns to look at Twilight.
"You...you kissed me..." He said.
"Kind of hard to when you don't like all the mushy stuff." Twilight said, smirking at him. Spike rolls his eyes. Toriel smiles at the sight. Suddenly, Spike burps and fire shoots out of his mouth, forming a scroll.
"Oooh! I wonder what it says!" Twilight said happily. She takes it in her purple magic and began reading.
"Well? What's it say?" Rainbow asked after a few moments. Toriel walks closer slightly, intrigued at what she saw.
"It says that the princesses would like to see you, and they have dispatched a chariot to pick us up." Twilight said. Toriel shakes her head.
"Wait, princesses, as in more then one?" She asked.
"Yeah. There's me, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Priness Cadence." Twilight said.
"Oof, must be hard to be a princess." Toriel said.
"Yeah, it can be hard." Twilight said.
"I wonder what Asgore is doing." Toriel muttered.
"Who is he?" Twilight asked. Toriel looks at Twilight.
"Hmm?" She asked.
"Who is this Asgore?" Twilight asked.
"I thought I told you about him before I took a shower. But if not, then he's the king of the underground." Toriel said.
"Heh heh, oh yeah..." Twilight said in embarrassment, blushing slightly. Toriel smiles slightly. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over the building.
"Huh? What was that?" She asked.
"Probably Discord with his tricks." Twilight said in a bemused manner. She goes back outside, but only to return with two guards wearing golden armor. "Nevermind! It's just our ride! Come on Toriel!" She said. She goes back out to the chariot. The two guards stay to wait for Toriel.
"This way, your highness." They said, noticing that Toriel is a alicorn. Toriel walks out of the store and outside. The guards lead her to the chariot and helped her in before going back to the front, getting ready to take off.
"You'll love the castle!" Twilight said happily. Toriel looks at Twilight.
"You'll think so?" She asked. She looks around and sees other ponies look at the chariot. "And if I may ask, how will we get there?" She asked again.
"They fly us. Now let's go!" Twilight said. The guards noded and took off into the air.
"Woaaaaaaah!" Toriel screamed as the wind whipped around her.
"Faster!" Twilight commanded and the guards obeyed as they turned towards a large castle in the distance. Toriel grips the side of the chariot with a strong grip and breaths heavily.
"You okay? We're hardly even moving!" Twilight said. Toriel let's go and takes deep breaths.
"Sorry, it just surprised me, that's all." She said.
"It happens to everypony on their first time who hasn't flown." Twilight stated. She tilts her head at Toriel.
"Have you never flown before? You DO have wings you know." She said. Toriel shakes her head.
"I've never flown before." She said.
"How come?" Twilight asked.
"I lived underground and hardly left my house, except to save those humans." Toriel said.
"That would explain it." Twilight said. "But I'm sure Rainbow Dash wouldn't have a problem helping you learn to fly." She said. Toriel smiles.
"I wouldn't mind that at all." She said.
"And since I'm the second most powerful being in Equestria when it comes to magic, I can teach you all I can how to use your magic!" Twilight said happily.
"Thank you, Twilight." Toriel said.
"And I'm sure the princesses will try to find where you came from and try to send you back." Twilight said. Toriel smiles at the thought.
"I would like to go back." She said.
"I'm sure you must miss Firsk, huh?" Twilight asked. Toriel nods.
"I do." She said.
"I'm sure you'll see her soon." Twilight said, patting Toriel's back. Toriel smiles.
"Thank you again, Twilight." She said.
"That's what friends are for." Twilight said. Toriel nods and notices that they were nearing a castle that seems to be built on the side of a mountain.
"Oooh! We're almost there!" Twilight said happily. Toriel stares at the castle with amazement.
"Wow." She said.
"Yeah, the biggest highlight in all of Equestria. To think thre are only four ponies to rule over billions!" Twilight said.
"That's... That's quite impressive." Toriel said.
"It is!" Twilight said. She giggled as they came to land in front of the castle, where there were four more guards, being unicorns, were waiting for them.
"This way." The guards said in unison, with emotionless expressions. Toriel steps off the chariot and follows the guards. Twilight walks alongside Toriel, with two guards to either side of the pair.
"I'm gonna miss you when you leave, Toriel. But I hope your stay here with us. Down in ponyville to be exact." She said. Toriel looks at Twilight. She was about to say something, when she tripped over something and fell. Twilight screeches slightly.
"Toriel! Are you alright? Darn over turned tile!" She yelled. She glared at one of the white bricks on the side walk as one end of it stuck up out of the rest. "Here, let me help you." She said. she lit her horn and lifted Toriel with her magic. Toriel shakes her head.
"Thank you." She said. Twilight nods with a smile.
"Let's continue shall we?" She asked. Toriel nods.
"Yes." She said. Twilight smiles and resumes walking. Toriel follows behind Twilight. Twilight slows so she walks alongside Toriel. Toriel looks around, amazed with the details of the castle.
"I'm sure the princesses will like you. Celestia is the open type of pony who is willing to be friends with anypony! Luna is more skeptical, and can be hard to get to if you don't make a good first impression. Now Cadence is a very sincere, and caring pony. I'm sure she'll like you." Twilight said. Toriel looks at Twilight.
"Seems like Celestia sounds just like me." She said.
"Great! I'm sure you two will get along just fine! but, if you get on her bad side...you don't wanna know..." Twilight said, shuddering a little bit. Toriel laughs slightly.
"Yep, sounds just like me." She said.
"Eh, you two must be related then!" Twilight laughed. Twilight laughs hysterically as the guards lead them down many halls and up several flights of steps. Toriel looks at Twilight with a confused look.
"I'm kidding! That can't be possible! Faust only had two children! Celestia and Luna!" Twilight yelled. Toriel raises a eyebrow.
"Faust?" She asked.
"What?" Twilight asked, shocked.
"Nothing, nothing." Toriel said.
"Okay. This conversation got a little weird, didn't it?" She asked as they came to a large door, which the guards opened for them.
"Right through her your highness." They ordered. Twilight rolls her eyes.
"I think I know my way around the place." She said, smiling at Toriel as she walked in. Toriel follows Twilight into a vast room. Toriel could see two alicorns sitting on thrones. She could see a white alicorn with a slightly rainbow like mane. Toriel knew that this must be Celestia. Princess Celestia smiled from her throne on the other side of the room as she stood and slowly approached.
"Ah, Twilight! Is this the friend you told me about? Toriel was it?" She asked, looking at Toriel, her voice was kind, yet powerful. Toriel nods.
"I am. And are you Princess Celestia?" She asked. Celestia nods and looks back to a slightly shorter, dark blue alicorn.
"Lulu! Come meet our guest!" She said.
"Oh...yeah." The dark blue alicorn said, approaching shyishly. "Hi there. I'm Princess Luna. Celestia's sister." She said. Toriel bows.
"Its an honor." She said.
"You're an alicorn. How can that be?" Celestia asked.
"Before, I didn't look like this." Toriel said. Celestia was a little taken back from the statement.
"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked. Toriel tells them about what she looked like before, where she lived and how she lived there all her life, about the underground, about King Asgore, about Frisk and how she took care of her before she left, about the six human souls that Asgore kept to break a barrier that held the monsters back from entering the surface, and ending it where she found the tiara that Twilight said was a duplicate and ended up here. Celestia nodded her head now and again to Toriel's several points.
"I'd assume you miss your home?" She asked. Toriel looks down with sadness.
"I do. But, I've never been this happy before, except when I was taking care of Frisk." She said. Celestia sighs.
"I would send you back if I could." She said. Toriel tilts her head in confusion.
"What do you mean "if I could?"" She asked.
"By what you tell me I an only assume you aren't from Equstria." Celestia said. Toriel nods. "Well, It was magic that sent you here, so maybe I can try to sniff out the trace and see if I can pinpoint where you came from." Celestia said. Toriel smiles.
"Thank you." She said happily. Celestia smiles. Toriel looks around and sees stained glass windows. She walks towards them and sees that they are pictures.
"These aren't just windows." Celestia said.
"They tell stories of the past." Luna said. Toriel looks back at Celestia and Luna.
"The past?" She asked. Celestia nods.
"Hundreds of years." She said. Toriel looks back at the Windows with amazement.
"Wooow." She said.
"Most of the windows in the castle tell a story. Hardships we've overcome, joys we've had, special ponies to remember." Twilight said.
"Anything you can think of." Celestia said, smiling. Luna looks at one of the windows and looks down with a sad expression. Toriel sees a window with a alicorn that looks like Luna but different looking. She looks at Luna.
"Hey Luna, that looks..." She stopped when she sees Luna's expression. "I'll... just skip that one." She said.
"Yeah let's skip that one..." Celestia said.
"No...she deserves to know. It's the whole point of these windows, is to tell their stories." Luna said. She looks at Toriel. "You see, I wasn't always a kind mare...I tried to overthrow Clestia. Over a thouand years ago. Nopony liked my night, being the princess of it, and I became angered, and turned into...that. " She said, pointing at the window. "Nightmare Moon." She said. Toriel was quite shocked.
"It was hard for everypony." Celestia said sadly.
"Especially Tia." Luna sniffed.
"I had to banish her to the moon. For a thousand years sadly. Being my only close relative, and only pony to talk to...it was very depressing." Celestia sniffed.
"All because I was so selfish..." Luna said. She looks down as a tear slips from her eye. Toriel places a hoof of Luna. Luna looks at Toriel. "You are a kind pony, Toriel. Please don't make the same mistake I once did..." She sniffed. Toriel looks at Luna with kindness, then pulls her into a hug. Luna is shocked, but hugs back.
"Thank you, kind Toriel. Your generosity shall not be forgotten." She said, smiling. Toriel looks at her.
"No one should go through the pain that you went through." She said.
"It wasn't me. It was Tia who suffered the most..." Luna said.
"It must have been hard for both of you." Toriel said. Celestia nods. Toriel smiles as well. Suddenly, her stomach growled.
"Hungry?" Celestia asked. Toriel slightly blushes and nods.
"Twilight, take out friend to the dinning hall would you?" Celestia asked.
"Yes, ma'am!" Twilight anwered cheerily with a determined face.
"Lead the way Twilight." Toriel said. Twilight nods with a smile and trots out of the throne room. Toriel follows behind her. Twilight motions for Toriel to trot at her side rather than behind her.
"I can't talk to you when you're back there!" She said. Toriel nods and picks up the pace, walking beside Twilight. Twilight slows down a bit for her as well. "So, how do you like the castle?" She asked.
"It's very impressive, as impressive as King Asgore's castle." Toriel said.
"Hm. I shall hope to see this Asgore's castle!" Twilight said with glee.
"Minus the room with the human souls, you just might." Toriel said.
"Souls?" Twilight asked.
"The five human souls that he collected, that I told you about." Toriel said.
"Oh, yeah..." Twilight said in embarrassment. Toriel slightly laughs, when something caught her eye. She looks and sees a door that it open. She walks towards the door curiously. Twilight doesn't seem to notice and keeps going. Toriel walks inside and looks around in amazement.
"It looks like a library." She said. She looks around and sees all sorts of books. But a certain piece confused her. It was a mirror with tubes and coils coming out of it and a book with a red and yellow sun on it above it. "A mirror?" She asked. after a minute she finally realizes Toriel is no longer at her side.
"Toriel?" She asked. She seemed confused as she began to back track in search of the foriegn alicorn. Toriel walks up to the mirror and sees her reflection. She raises a hoof and touches the mirror. She expected her hoof to touch glass but instead it went through and instead of a hoof, a hand was in its place. It looked like her hand before she came to equestria. She backs up, slightly scared, only for he legs to slip off the edge of the stairs and fall backwards away from the mirror. She screams as she fell. Toriel lands on her back on the ground with a thud.
"Ow." She moaned. Twilight hears the scream.
"Toriel!?" She yelled. She got worried and runs off in the direction in which she heard the scream come from. She came to the library where the door stood wide open. Twilight hears a thud and goes to investigate.
"Toriel?" She asked. Toriel stands back up and sees Twilight standing in the doorway. Twilight peers in. "Toriel? What are you doing in here?" She asked. She goes to help her up. "You fall a lot, did you know that?" She said.
"Sorry, Twilight, it's just that I saw this door open and I was curious. But if I may, what's up with this mirror?" Toriel asked as she walked back up to it, starring at her reflection.
"Oh, that mirror leads to a world parallel to ours!" Twilight said. Toriel noticed that Twilight was standing next to her. Her eyes widen.
"Wait, this mirror leads to the human world?" She asked.
"I don't know if its the same world, though." Twilight said.
"That's... that's quite interesting." Toriel said in amazement.
"I only go through there if my Canterlot High friends are in trouble. Lately there's been nothing." Twilight said. Toriel looks at her.
"Wait, you have friends over there?" She asked. Twilight nods.
"Human counter parts of my pony friends here. Like Luna and Celestia! Only Celestia is the principle of a school, not the world leader." She said. Toriel was about to say something, when there was a flash of light and something heavy slammed into both of them, sending them into the mirror.
"AGHH!!" Twilight screamed.
"YAAAAH!!!!!" Toriel screamed.
"AAAAAAAAH!!!!" A third voice yelled. Twilight lands outisde of the portal with a thud on the sidewalk. Toriel lands outside of the portal with a thud on the sidewalk as well.
"Ooof!" She said. A voice very familiar to Toriel moaned. Twilight rubs her head with her hand.
"Ugh...what happened?" She asked. Toriel moans.
"Ugh, something is on top of me." She moaned. Twilight looks to see a large form with a cape and a helmet with horns opun his head. The form moans again. The form rolls off Toriel. Toriel stands up and looks at her self. She could see that she looks like herself. She then looks at the form that was on top of her and gasps. Twilight tries to use her magic to push the being off Toriel, but comes to the sudden epiphany her horn is gone.
"Oh, yeah..." She said, facepalming. Toriel stares at the form. Twilight stands up.
"What is it?" She asked. The form moans and opens eyes. It turns it's head and looks at Toriel.
"T-Toriel?" The form asked.
"A-Asgore?" Toriel asked.
TO BE CONTINUED