They sighed and knelt down to my level. “If things are really as bad you say they are, the ponies on the surface may not have time to stay another day.”
I shot up, sweat coating my fur, my breath coming in ragged gasps. “It was just a dream.” I muttered. “Just a dream.” The dream had too much dust. Way too much dust. There was some walking, and it was…. cold. Very cold.
I remember striking down someone.
Shaking, I got out of bed, vaguely remembering I was in Mom’s house. A slice of pie sat on the floor, and my previous question before I went to bed came to mind. What flavor is it? I kneeled down, and took a quick nibble.
Oh…
My…
Celestia…
The flavors in my mouth were heaven, and I was an angel. It had been so long since I had tasted something sweet, and this pie was like magic. With no further ado, I faceplanted into the delicious concoction and began eating it extremely messily.
I must have made a lot of noise, because Mom came in. The look on her face was priceless. I think her eyes popped out of her skull from the size of the mess. “Frisk?”
“Mmph- Hi Mom.” I swallowed my bite of pie, trying to get every piece of deliciousness into my mouth.
“Honey, you have a little something…” She gestured to my general being.
“You just pointed to all of me.”
Mom nodded, and took a look around the room. “Who knew one slice of pie could create such a mess.”
I wiped a bit of pie from my mane. “Sorry.”
She giggled slightly. “Come on, Frisk, let’s get you cleaned up.”
I walked out of Mom’s bathroom, freshly washed and feeling great. The nightmare still persisted in my mind, but Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie made it easy to forget. I stretched my legs and headed towards the west wing of her home. A soft chair that was currently occupied by my Mom sat next to a merrily crackling fire. Two Froggits and a Whimsum sat on her table, and it looked like they were healing from an injury of some sort. The Froggits waved while the Whimsum used the Froggits as shelter. Mom finally realized I was awake, putting down the book that had taken her attention.
“Finally out of the shower I see.” She got a silly glare in response. “Okay, okay, I understand. Cleaning pie from your mane is not the easiest of tasks.” I looked up into her eyes. “I want you to know how happy I am to have someone else here. No offense to you three.” She nodded to the monsters sitting on the table.
“None taken.”
“You know, I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.” Her personality flipped again. “I haven’t.” She put a paw to her head. “He wasn’t talking to you!”
“Um, Mo-”
“He might’ve been.”
“Mo-”
“I was the one talking!”
“M-”
“St-”
“Mom!” Frisk shouted, stopping the strange tirade that was happening.
A guilty look crossed her face. “Uh, y-yes Frisk?”
“Remember what you asked me last night?” I asked, determined to get an answer.
“W-why you thought I say what I do…”
“Exactly.” I stared deeply at her. “I think… that you aren’t one monster. I think that you are two. And I think that the other one isn’t a monster at all.”
Mom seemed surprised, then put a paw to her chest and laughed deeply. “Oh Frisk, you are so smart.” She grinned. “You are correct my child. Or should I say, our child.” I stayed silent as she explained. “The monster part of us, in other words the goat part, is a creature called Toriel. The other part is a pony who fell down long, long ago. Her name is Fluttershy.”
At this I gasped. I was right! It was one of the great heroes who disappeared! “F-fluttershy!”
“Yes?” Mom- well, I wasn’t really sure what to call her then. I guessed I would call her Flutoriel when I wanted to address both of them, and their respective names when I wanted to talk to that specific person.
“Yo-you’re THE Fluttershy?” I’m fairly certain that my jaw had fallen off at some point.
“U-um I think so, unless there is any other Fluttershy.” She thought for a second. “Please let there be another Fluttershy!”
“S-s-so, if you’re down here, the-then…” A brilliant idea came to me. “What about the others?”
“The others?”
“The other Elements of Harmony!” I placed my hooves on her lap, trying to make me seem bigger.
I had said the wrong thing. Fluttershy looked down. “Oh. Yes. The others.” She looked deep into my eyes. “I-I think… I…” An unspoken agreement happened. Toriel took over.
“Fluttershy doesn’t think they are… alive.”
My brain began whirring a million miles a minute. “But-But they can’t be!”
Toriel looked at me curiously. “Why not?”
“Because… because they just can’t! In fact…” I bit my lip. “In fact I’m going to find them!”
Flutoriel seemed to be taken aback. “But why?” They asked. “Why do you need to find them? Can’t you just stay here with us? Have we not been a good enough mother?”
“You’ve been a brilliant mother.” I spoke. “Just… Equestria is now depending on me. I’m a colt on a mission, and I’m determined to stop Sombra!”
“Sombra?” Flutoriel stared at me.”Has something happened to Equestria?”
So I recapped. I told them about the war. I told them about how the princesses fell. I told them about the endless night and day. I told them about… I told them about the death of my biological mom. I told them about my desperate flight. I told them “that I have to do this.”
Their eyes were watering when I finished my story. “Frisk... “ They began, then faltered. “Frisk, we… we understand now. We won’t stop you.”
“Can’t you, I dunno, come with me?” As much bravado I had put on, I was still uncertain about traipsing through a giant cave with tons of monsters by myself.
“We can’t.” They said. “We need to stay here, and take care of the Ruins. And if any other ponies fall down, who will be there to help them?”
“I guess I understand. I still wish you could come with me though.”
Flutoriel rubbed my mane soothingly, then stood up suddenly. They made for their bedroom, and when they came out again, they had saddlebags with what I could only assume was Fluttershy’s cutie-mark on it. They began bustling around their home, grabbing knick-knacks, a few pieces of gold, a slice of Butterscotch-Cinnamon Pie, a ribbon, and a band-aid. “What are you doing?” I asked as they continued grabbing the afore-mentioned items.
“We may not be able to come with you, but we will not send our child out into the world unprepared.” Finally finished with collecting the many items, they plopped the saddle-bags on my back, and gave me a hug. “Go now, before I change my mind.” I could tell Toriel was speaking.
“Can’t I stay another day?” I practically begged. I loved Flutoriel. They were the closest thing I’ve had for a mother for six months. I didn’t want to leave.
They sighed and knelt down to my level. “If things are really as bad you say they are, the ponies on the surface may not have time to stay another day.”
“O-okay.” I turned, but right before I figured out I didn’t know where to go, they stopped me with some parting advice.
“Listen, Frisk. Watch out for Asgore, King of the Monsters. He is looking for seven pony souls to open the barrier. You are the ninth pony to fall down here, but… for all we know, he is still collecting.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I headed out into the hallway. “Love you.”
“I love you too, Frisk. Head down the stairs in the main hallway. It should be fairly straight-forward from there." They paused, and when I was half-way down the stairs, I heard their voice wafting down.
“Be careful, our child.”