Foaling With Reality

by Zubric

A puzzle with no solution.

Twilight’s vision flooded with a storm of sights, smells, tastes and sounds. At first they were all fuzzy, and felt so distant and bland. Trying to get a clearer picture, she focused her magic, much like a camera lens. Suddenly there was an explosion of light, as the first images came rushing at her.

“Surprise! Hi I'm Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you. Were you surprised, were you, were you? Huh huh huh? “ she hear a voice call out, herself in front of her current perspective.

“Wait! If i’m scanning PInkie’s mind, then...” I keep watching as the very familiar party from her first day in Ponyville played out before her eyes. PInkie kept bouncing talking nonstop, the constant motion giving Twilight an even stronger headache.

“That can’t be right, it was Cheese I met that day.” She kept watching from Pinkie point of view, as other scenes showed up.

More confusion soon followed, as she spotted Rainbow and Applejack as grown mares standing right next to Fluttershy and Rarity. Moments later, she watched herself burst into flame and run up the stairs. She gulped a bit at that memory: it was not the most pleasant experience to drink hot sauce.

Needing to take a break, she dropped the spell holding a hoof on her sweaty forehead “No this just does not make sense.”

Cheerilee and Fluttershy both look towards her, looking just as confused as she was.

“What? What did you see?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight looked up at the foals for a moment watching them smile wide at something. “I saw well my welcome party when I came to Ponyville, though…” She paused explaining the differences between it and reality.

Cheerilee looked very upset, her face frowning

“No, that is not what happened, I mean... they were not even born yet!” she pointed swiftly to the foals.

She nodded in reply ‘I know, it is like they have more memories than they should have…. like they were put in there.”

Twilight turned to look at PInkie, who was waving her hooves about agitated, and Applejack stomping her hoof and pouting, clearly showing lack of patience.

“Seems that the more we dig into this mystery, the more the plot thickens.” Twilight said stepping back for a second.

“I need a drink... I’ll be right back.” she turned heading off the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of cold water from the fridge. She took a breath and let the cool water quench her dry throat.

For a reason she couldn't explain this spell was more taxing than it should have been. It certainly wasn’t this hard to do when she had to reunite the Elements for purge Celestia’s sister.

Then again, the Elements were not foals that acted in a weird way, having memoires that dated before the foal’s birth.

Twilight returned, looking refreshed after a short break. Applejack was showing, once again, her writing skills, writing down a verse of Virginius’ “Bucolics” and thus amazing Cheerilee and Fluttershy yet again.

“Oh my, not only she can write, she is educated too!” Fluttershy exclaimed. At this compliment, Applejack rose her head and put her left hoof on her chest.

Trixie kept looking about the room, seemingly hesitant about something. Was there something we were finding out she didn’t want us to know about?

Twilight shook her head at this. Making speculations would only lead to more confusion than there already was.

“Are you ready to try that again?” Pumpkin asked keeping a close eye on her pink speed demon.

Pinkie, once again, took some leftover pieces of paper signed with letters, and wrote yet another sentence, this one about Pinkie’s supposed goal in life.

“Yeah, just give me a second.” Twilight replied back, fixing her slightly messy mane.

PInkie perked up, closing her eyes as Twilight leaned closer yet again. Her horn glowed sending her diving in the pool of memories inside the little foal’s head.

Smells where the first things to come to her. At first it was the smell of suger and various other baking goods. As colours and shapes came into being, the scent changed to the one of foal powder and night air.

“PInkie? Would you mind checking on the twins, I’m exhausted.” Mrs Cake’s voice broke through the ether.

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said, before bouncing up the stairs. Twilight kept watching as the host ascended up the stairs rather fast, opening a door down the hall to reveal the nursery.

The sigh made Twilight’s jaw fall down. the twins were foals, no older than five months. Yet again more questions to be asked but little answers to be found.

The twins look up at PInkie with joy and youthful energy not looking tired at all despite the darkness outside.

She kept watching as Pinkie tried to tuck them in but they refused babbling and kick their hooves about.

Twilight kept watching until, after a thunderous sound, the scene seemingly skipped to Pinkie sitting on the floor, narrating something… a story that was eerily familiar.

It talked about Cheese Sandwich, Nightmare Moon reborn and other details she was clearly making up on the spot. Then she started speaking about foals the very same ones that had lead her to do this spell in the first place.

Before she could process what it all meant, Pumpkin horn started to spark and light up. She knew what was happening all too well, a magic surge, and as quickly as it began it stopped a blinding explosion of magic violently pushing her out of the memories and back into reality.

Twilight collapsed to the floor, trying to make sense of what she was seeing, but failing to do so.

“She… they… what?”

“What is it?” The gang asked, Pumpkin looking especially curious.

“Pinkie… seem to be… your babysitter… in a reality where you are… just foals.” Twilight said, clearly struggling.

“Well now i’m really confused about all this. Is Pinkie babysitting me in her mind?” Pumpkin replied.

PInkie also looked rather dizzy as she fell on her back eyes rolling comically.

Fluttershy was about to speak up when the front door opened, revealing a little cyan shape with multicolored mane.

“Dashie!” Exclaimed Fluttershy, as she ran towards her newfound daughter “Where have you been?”

The foal, breathing heavily, blabbed something sounding like a curse, before trying to back pedel away.

“You had mommy worried sick” she said grabbing Dash in a bear hug that made the multi colored foal squirm around.

Dash keeps babbling trying to escape before seeing her other friends.

“Okay so somehow Dash got all the way her by herself... well, another piece to our puzzle” Twilight exclaimed.

“True, but… is she actually part of the same strange phenomena?” Cheerlie questioned, as she pet Applejack’s mane.

Fluttershy hugged an annoyed Dash closer “Well, she did run from her bottle, which she usually likes,” she paused for a moment ‘M-maybe she was just tired and cranky and not thinking straight.”

Twilight reclined her head “Problem is, foals of this age can barely grasp the concept of persistence, let alone the idea of going away from their main food source.”

Spike looked up from his parchment, having taken notes this whole time “Don’t forget Trixie sudden knowledge of potty training.”

Twilight sighed. “That would be actually more plausible, Spike, if not for the fact that I’ve never tried to teach her how to use the bathroom. Anyway, all these events make me think we may not have our true foals here…”

Cheerilee and Fluttershy both looked worried, holding their foals close as if they were goign to be taken away.

“B-but… if D-Dashie is not h-here… w-where is she?” Fluttershy asked fearfully, before freezing in shock and staring at the ceiling.

Twilight looked to Trixie, whom looked calmer than the other foals in the room. She herself wasn’t all that panicked over this, despite her past episodes of overthinking things to the extreme.

“Will you two calm down, panicking will get us nowhere.” she said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy shoulder.

Dash had long since walked over to the other foals, apparently idly chatting the time away.

“But what about our foals, are they imposters?” Cheerilee asked

‘Or replaced by Changelings!” Fluttershy eeps.

“Girls stop!” Twilight shouted sternly “They are none of those. If they were changelings, I would have felt it when scanning.” Besides changelings are trained to be as identical as possible to the replaced.” she stated in her usual nerd-like composure.

The foals facehoofed at the parents overreactions.

Fluttershy keeps having her usual panic attack ‘T-then what’s going on?”

“I dont know, okay!” Twilight groaned, her mane once more frizzled. “None of this is making any sense other than they are not the foals we know.”

“Then try to make them talk more!” Pumpkin exclaimed “Seriously, I thought you were the smart one here!”

“W-would you mind not yelling?” Fluttershy said.

“How do you think to accomplish that, Pumpkin? I’ve already tried to scan their minds, and you saw how well that went.” Twilight said very annoyed.

“W-well, they can write, so speech is... umm… well” Fluttershy tried to object.

“So, are you gonna do that, or are we waiting for the breezies to come home alone?”

That said, Pumpkin took even more paper, write some more letters, and gave them to Pinkie, asking.

“Ask to the others about the situation, then tell us.”

Pinkie wasted no time spelling out the explanation of what happened to each of them. Spike of course was doing the transcribing.

“Well that is...something..” Twilight said looking over the notes afterwards.

“Still nothing, however.” Cheerilee added ‘How did they end up waking up as our precious foals?”

“Let’s just take a break shall we?” Twilight said rubbing her forehead.

The group all look over towards the door as Rarity walks in, a lollipop-sucking Blueblood on her back.

“Sorry I’m late Twilight, I had to take Blueblood to the...oh gang’s all here, imagine that. Did something important happen?”

Comments

[TheFaceofMercy]

I expected more of this chapter, say, really, the previous chapters were more complete in a way a can't describe, this one just feels hollow.
I'm still waiting for more, because you're a very good writer, and I saw that in the past chapters, so keep going, I really like this story, so don't dissapoint a poor reader who believes in you...

[Frankie2]

Poor Twilight's brain got fried. Now, the foals are all here. I feel bad for Trixie though. She doesn't want to go back to a family that does nothing but point out her inabilities.

[AvidSeason]

Blueblood.... He was a sucker.

[Zubric]

4871093 Yeah ...have to agree not the best way to write the chapter though most of it was just me this time around. Really should have taken a few days to look it over a few times but for some reason wanted to publish it. Aslo thanks first time someone said i'm a good writer in a comment.

[TheFaceofMercy]

4873386 Of course you're a good writer, If you weren't,I would't be reading this story... so come on I'm sure the next chapter will be really good

[Autum Breeze]

oh no, rarity, we only learned that the foals you've all been caring for may not actually be the foals you've been caring for and that the whole reality around you all might not be the original. nothing's happened at all