The Peace
Across the sky in Ponyville, a long rainbow trail stretched all the way from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville General. It dissipated eventually, and brightened a few ponies’ day, but there was a bit of confusion minutes later when it was followed by the local captain of the weather team dragging a helpless Dr. Horse by his forelegs as he shouted at her.
“Ms. Dash, please!” he wailed, looking up at his unwitting ponynapper, trying desperately to hold onto his medical bag. “I agreed to go, I promised I’d run as fast as I could! Let me down!”
“Too slow, Doc!” she was still very panicked. “C’mon! You’re makin’ a house call!”
He suspected that she was too worried about the patient to be reasoned with, and sighed, resigned to his fate. This was not the first time he’d been flown to a house call by a patient against his will. Expecting Pegasi parents were notoriously assertive. One couple had “needed his help” in a similar manner when labor pains began, and the patient could not be moved.
In a blur of pink, Dr. Horse and Rainbow Dash were accompanied by another pony.
“Dashie!” she called up at her friend, galloping to keep up instead of her usual bouncy gait. “What happened!?”
“Lottie’s sick!” she called down. Pinkie gasped, putting a bit more power into her running and keeping up. “She’s got a fever or something, I went to get help! Applejack should have her now!”
Pinkie, with a determined look on her face, wound up her tail and zipped off ahead of the pair. Dr. Horse looked on, looking impressed.
“Oh sure…” Rainbow Dash grumped. “I could go that fast too, if I wasn’t carrying all this dead weight!”
He took as little offense as he could to that.
Applejack and Big Mac had gotten Lottie inside, as carefully as they could. When Apple Bloom had come running to them so fast, they thought it was just to come and tell them about her day. But the panic on her face was clear the closer she got, and she called their names, her voice breaking with fear.
They had one unconscious, sick human to deal with, and four frightened fillies waiting in Apple Bloom’s room after Applejack told them they shouldn’t crowd her in case she got worse. They got her some hoof towels and cool water in a tub to help bring the fever down and wipe away the sweat, but it didn’t seem to help much.
“Lottie?” Applejack asked her sleeping guest, not too loud. “I’m sorry I didn’t push it when I thought you looked tired. I should’ve questioned your appetite too.”
Lottie had shown a lot of different sides since she had arrived in Ponyville. She was the somber but polite pony. She was the scared and manic girl who’d panicked at the thought of losing who she thought she was. She was the lonely creature who’d cried when she reminisced about her family. Now, she was vulnerable and small and helpless and Applejack didn’t like it one bit.
“I was supposed to look out for you. I’m sorry…”
Lottie's eyes squeezed tighter and she took a long, deep breath, groaning quietly on the exhale.
“Lottie, can you hear me?” she called out to her, glad she hadn’t fallen into another magic coma.
“…S’hot…” she replied quietly, not opening her eyes.
“I know, sugarcube.” She dabbed at her forehead again. “The doctor’ll be here soon, just hang on.”
Lottie just kept breathing, and that was good enough for Applejack.
Pinkie showed up before Rainbow or the doctor, to her surprise.
“Pinkie?” she was surprised, even if it was bound to happen. “How’d you-”
“I saw Dashie flying by Sugarcube Corner…she said she’s sick.” She went to Lottie’s bedside, putting a hoof to her forehead. “Ouch Bluey…” she smiled weakly at her friend, holding the hoof to her muzzle and feeling the residual heat fade away. “And here I was, telling myself I didn’t have to visit you so soon…”
Lottie stirred again, her fingers weakly grabbing at the air with her arm sitting at her side. Pinkie put her hoof in the human’s hand, also grateful for the lack of a coma.
“Mmmn…Pinkie?” she asked, her eyes still closed.
“I’m here, just like I promised.” She laughed, still sad that her friend wasn’t feeling well.
Lottie’s eyes cracked open, just enough for them to see each other. She took another deep, long breath, with another soft groan.
“…Sorry.” She said, closing her eyes again.
“For what?” Pinkie smiled at her again. What could she have to feel sorry about?
“…cookies.” She reached up with weak arm to wipe the wetness from her hot, watery eyes. “…not hungry. Sorry…”
Pinkie laughed, despite the mood in the room.
“Aw shucks, Lottie Dottie.” She kept laughing through her words. “Just my luck you weren’t feeling good. I’ll just make you some more when you get better.”
Lottie smiled too, despite how cruddy she must’ve felt. She raised her weak arm up again, feeling for something.
She opened her eyes again and found her mark. Her fingers, with what little strength she had, touched Pinkie’s fluffy ear, scratching behind it.
“You’re nice...” Lottie said simply, giving Pinkie a real smile that reached her tired eyes. “Thanks.”
Pinkie smiled back, leaning into it. She’d missed this too.
There was a commotion downstairs, it sounded like the doctor and his escort had finally arrived. Rainbow shot up the stairs, hovering over Lottie a second later.
“Hey! I’m here!” she looked relieved, like a bunch of pent up stress had washed away. “You’re gonna be okay! Okay?”
“Rainbow look…” Lottie waved her fingers from behind Pinkie’s ear. “I did it…”
Rainbow stared for a moment, before snorting with laughter.
“Yeah bud, you sure did.”
Doctor Horse was up the stairs and peered into the room, seeing Lottie laid out and entered swiftly. Applejack noticed his mane looked a little windswept.
“Okay, let’s have a look here.” He said calmly, very professional as always. “What has anypony noticed?”
“She lost her big appetite.” Applejack told him. “And she’s been tired.”
“She was really chilly outside.” Rainbow added. “But then she started sweating a lot. And acting really…loopy.”
“Her head is hot.” Pinkie held her hoof, still remembering the unpleasant heat.
“Oh, I thought this might happen.” He muttered, tapping his hooves together near Lottie’s ear. “Miss Petrou, I know you’re not feeling well, but I need you to tell me something.”
She opened her eyes, they were still very heavy and burned behind her eyelids. She waved her hand a little at him, letting him know she was listening.
“Okay, very good. Now…you told me at one of your check-ups that ninety-eight point six degrees is the temperature you should be at.” He readied his mercury thermometer. “How high is too high?”
“…uh…” she groaned, holding her too hot head. “s’bout…one o’ three? One o’ four? ...That’s bad.”
He rested the thermometer under her tongue, and it gave him a reading of one hundred and one. High, but according to her, not dangerous. At least he hoped she was lucid enough to remember correctly.
“Alright…” he took the thermometer away, dabbing at her forehead with the cool towel. “I have something to bring the fever down, but I must warn you…” he smiled, full of guilt but a smidge of humor too. “It doesn’t taste entirely…pleasant.”
Her face contorted at the idea, but she took another deep breath through her nose.
“…bring it on.”
Lottie was medicated, left to rest, and the window to the guest room had been cracked slightly. Doctor Horse was in the living room of the Apple Family’s house, his forelegs still aching from being hoisted through town.
“You said you thought this could happen, right doc?” Applejack asked, her nervous energy finally all burned off. “She’s not just…got a cold from bein’ all furless I take it?”
“It couldn’t have helped…” he checked the contents of his medical bag. “But no. It’s not uncommon for young foals who get their first inoculations to run a fever afterwards. That can come with chills beforehoof, along with fatigue, loss of appetite, aching muscles, excessive sweating…and the fever itself can cause a kind of delirium, but it will pass when the fever does.”
He placed a glass bottle filled with a murky, red liquid on the side table.
“Give her a couple of teaspoons of that, one before bed and one in the morning, until the fever goes down. And makes sure she drinks plenty of liquids, she should get her appetite back soon.”
“Of course.” Applejack told him. Lottie was her guest, and she was still responsible for her health and well-being. "Thanks so much Doc."
The sense of dread and panic had passed, but all the ponies in the room were still feeling drained. Rainbow cleared her throat, turning to Pinkie and dropping the half-eaten order of cookies in her waiting hooves.
“I uh…” she tapped her front hooves together, avoiding eye contact. “…might’ve enjoyed a few more of these than I should have, and…Lottie didn’t even get one. Sorry Pinkie Pie.”
“Aww…” she hugged her friend out of the air down to the couch with her. “It’s okay Rainbow. I’m glad somepony liked them.”
Applejack went back upstairs to tell the fillies what was going on, and Rainbow and Pinkie sat on the couch, just the two of them.
“You said Lottie was acting all loopy?” Pinkie asked, wondering what her two friends could’ve talked about. “Was she okay?”
“Oh, yeah, pretty much.” Rainbow mulled over her next words. “I think…her bein’ all weird and fever-y made it easier for her to talk about something that was bugging her.”
“Really?” Pinkie seemed happy to hear that, bouncing in her seat. “Like what?”
It seemed like something really private, but it still had to do with Pinkie. Rainbow wasn’t sure if this was one of those times when she should keep her mouth shut or let the pink pony in on things, so that they could start to get better.
Maybe both?
“Okay…so.” She was getting frustrated. “Lottie’s different. From us, from ponies. So…she was having a hard time guessing…what was okay and not okay to do?” Was that too vague? “She was worried about doing the wrong things and making…certain ponies…think she was being weird. Like…bad weird.”
Pinkie nodded along, but Rainbow wasn’t sure how much of this was sinking in. She got up from the couch, flying a few inches above the furniture and her friend.
“When she gets better, you should ask her about it.” She shrugged, hoping that was just the right amount of info. “I’m gonna go tell Twilight what’s been going on, she’ll want to know. Rarity and Fluttershy too, I don’t want anypony complaining they didn’t know what was going on.”
She waved goodbye and took off out the front door. And then it was just Pinkie.
She was glad that it wasn’t worse. She was happy that Lottie was going to be okay. And the little voice in her head was feeling guilty for telling her she shouldn’t visit so soon.
She started a list.
I was in the bed, my eyelids still burning. It was too hot to go to sleep all the way, but my whole body was achy, and it felt like it was begging me to just…rest already.
How’d I get back in the house? I tried to remember, but things were just too hazy. I probably didn’t walk.
“Ugggghhhh…” I groaned quietly, my head was pounding. And hot. And sweaty.
There was a gentle knock on the door.
“Lottie?” Applejack whispered in. “Are you awake?”
“Well, how’s she supposed to even hear ya if she is?” she heard Apple Bloom complain, sounding grumpy. They were bickering softly, and I snorted at the ever-entertaining banter.
“C’mon in.” I said after shuffling my body enough to face the door comfortably. Applejack opened the door for the familiar fillies to step in. And one…also kind of familiar filly.
“They just came to check on you, see for themselves and all that.” Applejack sighed before her voice turned stern. “But they ain’t stayin’ for long, right?”
They agreed in a chorus of voices and approached the bed carefully. The older pony nodded to me, leaving the door open just a crack before leaving.
“Lottie…” Apple Bloom looked concerned. “Applejack said you were gonna be okay. You will, won’t you?”
“Yeah.” I smiled, tucked under the comforter. “Just…a fever.”
“That’s what she told us.” Sweetie Belle seemed glad that they hadn’t been lied to so they’d feel better.
“I said you weren’t scary…” Scootaloo laughed nervously. “But seeing you all out of it kinda was.”
“…Sorry.” And I meant it.
“We brought a friend from school.” Sweetie said, gently nudging the fourth filly toward me. Her eyes were wide but not scared. “She kind of already knows about you.”
“…Hi.” She waved a hoof gently. She stepped up, putting her front hooves on the bed and looking me over. “You’re really not scary. I knew my momma wouldn’t lie.”
I just stared, she was so familiar but it was on the tip of my fever-brained tongue.
“I think…I know you.” I finally got it out, smiling. “…at the café.”
She paused, tilting her head. Then suddenly, her eyes lit up and her jaw dropped.
“They said you’re Pinkie’s friend…and you were a pony?” she smiled, her whole body wiggling in her excitement. “You were the blue mare with the jacket! You were there when I got my cutie mark!”
“Eyyy…” I pointed both of my thumbs to my chest, but the gesture was lost on them. “…dat’s me.”
The filly, who I picked up to be Sweet Wheat, recounted the story of that day. All I’d done was sit and watch her sing and her cutie mark appeared, I’d been too stunned by it to even give her the ovation she deserved, but I smiled, still feeling very tired.
“Sweet Wheat…” I yawned, my body still aching but refusing sleep. She turned back to me and I snuggled under the covers even further. “I could use…mmm…magic sleep song.” Fully able-bodied me would never have asked for something so odd and slightly embarrassing, but I was looking for a way to feel even a little bit better.
“It…it’s not a-” but the other fillies were telling her to go for it. She nodded, putting her front hooves back up on the bed. I closed my eyes and wondered how susceptible I was to a magic lullaby.
“In the gloaming, oh my darling
Think not bitterly of me
Though I passed away in silence
Left you lonely, set you free”
If this wasn’t magic, then magic was still some abstract junk I didn’t get. My achy muscles were relaxing, and my body seemed far away.
“For my heart was tossed with longing
What had been could never be
It was best to leave you thus, dear,
Best for you, and best for me”
The fillies watched the human drift off, seeming more relaxed and comfortable. They slipped out of the guest room as quietly as they could, making it downstairs before talking again.
“Sorry about everything Sweet Wheat.” Scootaloo sighed, shrugging. “This wasn’t exactly what we brought you over for.”
“It wasn’t anypony’s fault.” She shrugged back. “And…I do feel better now. She seems…nice. But like…lonely too? I can’t imagine being so far from my mommas or Cream Puff.” She looked back to the stairs. “I hope she gets to go home soon.”
I was in that clearing of trees again, but I was flat on my back. I stared up at the floating orbs of light, and for once I wasn’t afraid.
It was peaceful. The air was calm, not even a breeze, and it wasn’t after sundown anymore, it wasn’t night either. It was just…dark. Dark and empty…but I wasn’t afraid.
home
I tilted my head up and saw them. The fillies were sitting on either side of me, they looked smaller now that I was back in my own body.
“Hey you two.” We blinked at each other when no one said anything else. I remembered something, sitting up, suddenly feeling light as a feather.
“Hey Sugar!” I picked up her tiny pony body, holding her up in the air like we were on Pride Rock. She just looked at me, head tilted. “You’re a grandma! My grandma!” I held her in front of my face, booping my nose against hers. “Also, I’m glad you’re not dead.”
Her eyes went wide, and she looked back to her sister. Silver Maple just sat, looking pensive and something was clouding her eyes.
“Oh! And Silver!” I hugged Grandma Sugar and set her on top of my head, picking Silver up under her forelegs. Her long silvery white mane swept around us and she looked up at me, her eyes still a little scared. “That makes you…my great aunt!” I hugged her close too, sighing happily. “I’ll find you too, I promise.”
She wriggled out of my arms, jumping back to the ground. Her body was shaking, and big fat tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Oh no!” I leaned down to her. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re gonna be okay! I promise.” I beckoned her back, and she slowly approached me, bopping her head gently against my arm. She was still crying.
“It’s okay, we’re family.” I smiled, brushing her long mane out of her face. “I won’t give up on you.”
My legs felt…stiff all of the sudden. I peered down to my ankles, seeing a horribly familiar sight.
Vines. They had wrapped around my legs and were steadily climbing up my body. I gasped, crying out as I struggled against them. But no matter how many I tore off, twice as many would take their place. They seemed even more determined to surround and choke me here than in reality.
I reached for Silver, trying to get her out of harm’s way with her sister. But the vines were locked around her legs too. She was still crying, but no panic or fear that I could see.
“C’mon kid!” I grit my teeth and shouted, struggling against the plants that I was still terrified over. “Don’t give up!”
She just stood there, looking me dead in the eye, her own telling me wordlessly “It’s too late.”
I reached up for Sugar, ready to get her someplace safe any way I could. But she was just gone. I looked around frantically, but the little blue pony I knew better than I thought had vanished.
“Where is she?” I begged to Silver, but she was just crying still. My heart was pounding out of my chest and I was feeling every awful sensation again. The vines were crushing my chest, and I could feel them start to wrap around my neck. There wasn’t even time to cry out for Silver, but before my eyes were covered, I could see her just…staring at me.
I felt the familiar pain; the pain of my body being broken down. It felt like I was collapsing into myself in a ball of white hot pain, and every inch of my body was being burned away. But this time I didn’t pass out in the middle of it. I was already asleep.
As the vines disappeared too, I was suddenly in another void. It looked like a great, endless forest, but the trees stretched on forever in all directions. I looked down to see massive, endless sprawling roots snaking out in every direction, they seemed to stretch on forever too. The orbs of light were still there, and my body was…still my body. But…also not? Like I wasn’t solid anymore, but I was still whole…intact.
Silver was there too. Her long mane and tail were floating in the void, her body looked as weightless as I felt. She was asleep, and I tried to reach out for her, to wake her up, to protect her, anything. But I was stuck in place like she was.
I tried to call out to her, but I had no voice. Just like them.
The only thing I could hear was a heartbeat. It was so loud in my ears, and all I could do was shut my eyes tight, trying to push it away.
It got louder, pulsating, almost angry. If I could hear my own breathing it would be pained and gasping with fear, but it was just louder and louder heart beats, ringing away in the void.
Lottie
I opened my eyes, and Silver was looking right at me, her eyes wide open pits, ghostly and glowing. Looking into them was like I was losing myself, every part of me was being siphoned away into the nothingness that was her.
Lottie.
I shut my eyes again, but I was still losing myself. I was crying. How long would it take?
How long would it take to lose myself entirely?
“LOTTIE!”
I sat bolt upright, gasping for air. My body was drenched in sweat, and every exhale was muddled with a whimper of fear and pain. Twilight and Spike were there, looking on with wide, frightened eyes.
“What…” I felt the dull ache in my limbs again, but not as bad, and my eyelids weren’t burning anymore. “What’s going…”
“You were crying in your sleep.” She told me, levitating me a cold glass of water. I drank it down, it was like heaven. “Then then you started twitching and whimpering like you were in pain. I think you were having a fever dream…”
I could remember everything that had happened. And according to Twilight herself, that meant something.
“I think…” I finished off the water feeling much better. “It was another vision.”
I told her about the events of the dream, and as much as I think she was taking everything in, she didn’t seem hopeful about what they may mean.
“If your vison is to be believed…” she sat on floor, her ears drooping. “Then…Silver might really be…lost. The only other thing I can think of is that maybe…” she stood up, pacing the room a little. Spike was sitting with me on the bed, and we exchanged a look.
“Maybe…the things you saw mean something. Something other than…the worst-case scenario.” She mumbled, the tapping of her hooves on the floor underlining her words. “Or they are more literal…but you have no frame of reference for what they could mean from a magical standpoint…Orbs…voids…nothing’s clicking, why isn’t it clicking?”
As she muttered on to herself, I turned to Spike again.
“It’s really nice of you two to come and check up on me, even though it was just a fever.” I told him. “I feel a lot better, it must not have been that bad if I’m better already. It’s not even night yet.”
“Uh, actually.” He pointed out, smiling. “This is our second visit. You’ve been out for like…a day and then some?”
“Oh great…” I grimaced. “Well, at least I feel kind of better. Why’d you two make so many trips out here? Was I looking worse for wear?”
“Yeah…about that.”
Twilight had been over to check up on Lottie the day before, and she was relieved to see that everything was under control. She’d appreciated the break from her research. It hadn’t been that long, but if she hadn’t been stopped by a visit from Rainbow Dash with the news, she might’ve started skipping meals again. All of her friends had made the trip out, if only to confirm that everything was fine like she had. Rainbow peered in once through the second story window, just to make sure things were still okay, but took off when she was spotted by Applejack, laughing nervously. Rarity had dropped off some more clothes for her that she’d finished and checked in on Lottie, and Fluttershy had popped in and immediately done little things to help out. She’s sat with her for a while, tending to her and helping to keep her cool.
Pinkie had only been over once, but it was a longer stay than anypony. She had helped the half-asleep Lottie take her medicine before bed and talked to her gently while she slept. It helped out Applejack who had to get back to work in the orchard, but the farmer had been popping in every now and then to make sure Lottie was still doing fine. Even the Crusaders had left nice hoofmade cards on her nightstand, telling her to get well soon, with somewhat crude but nice drawings of herself.
It had been a peaceful night. No worried friends rushing over to deliver any bad news, no restless dreams, and Twilight had even took the time to make Spike and herself a nice breakfast, an uncommon thing when research projects were in full swing.
Spike always brought in the morning paper, delivered bright and early by the early-rising paperpony youth. He interrupted her morning tea with a grim look on his face.
“Uh…Twilight?” he frowned, turning the front page to face her. “I think we might have a problem."
MONSTER SIGHTING CONFIRMED: NEW SPECIES UNLIKE ANY EQUSTRIA HAS EVER SEEN
Twilight hacked and sputtered into her tea, her warm hearty breakfast sitting in her stomach like lead. She took the paper in her magic, reading further and hoping they’d caught some kind of break.
Lottie, in full-color on the front page, in Sweet Apple Acres’ orchard, gesturing oddly to an off-put looking Rainbow Dash. To her it looked like what she knew, Lottie in the midst of a fever, talking to a concerned friend. But to the average reader, it might look like one of the town’s heroes trying to confront a creature Equestria had never seen. And the photo was only just clear enough to leave some things to the imagination, while still giving proof. Not taken by a professional by the looks of it.
“The stories floating around our little town of a creature just outside town limits have been on everypony’s minds as of late.” She read the article out loud, still hoping for some responsible journalism. “We received some shocking evidence to the reality of this story from a concerned citizen, anonymously. The creature, referred to by the locals of Ponyville only as “The Monster”, appears to have slipped into town under the muzzles of its citizens. One can only assume that the appearance of our local weather team captain and Element of Harmony Rainbow Dash means that the creature has been subdued, possibly under order of the Crown.”
“But, this reporter worries about the safety of this town, and given how there was no announcement of the creature’s capture, despite the town’s fears, it seems that it may be a different story. Could it be that this town’s sworn protectors aren’t as in control of this monster as they seem to be? Is there a possibility that the creature has evaded capture and stalks our very streets? Silence on the part of Princess Twilight suggests more is at hoof than first appears.”
“The rest of the Elements could not be reached for questioning??” she rolled the paper up, twisting it a bit in her magic. “Did they even try!?”
Everypony else had gotten the paper too, and as the rest of Ponyville rose to greet the day, Twilight and Spike flew their way to Sweet Apple Acres above the clouds to avoid any prying eyes.
“…oh.” I grimaced, looking down at the paper Spike had brought with them. “That…doesn’t sound good.”
Twilight had stopped her pacing partway through Spike’s recounting of events, looking guilty.
“We should have told ponies sooner…” she tapped her front hooves together nervously. “The whole point of wanting to tell them later was so that nopony jumped to conclusions about you! I’m so, so sorry Lottie…”
As much as I didn’t want to be out and about in Ponyville, it had seemed like I’d lost my choice in the matter. I was a well-known secret now, and my anonymity was gone. The monster was real.
“It could be worse…” I said, feeling surprisingly not scared out of my mind. Maybe I was still feeling a bit feverish. “They could…I don’t know…know where I...am…” I took another look at the photos, Apple trees going on forever. Not hard to do the math there.
“Hm.” I clicked my tongue, standing up.
“I am sweaty, and gross, and coming down from a bad fever.” I announced, my stomach gurgling. “Also I’m hungry. But first, I need a bath. If we’re gonna have company, I can’t be seen looking like a sweaty maniac.”
In reality, I could use some time to think about what was likely going to happen. If I had just tried to integrate into Ponyville, would things have gone better? That article sounded bad, but would ponies really show up at the door, demanding…proof? Safety? Justice? They were more or less under the impression that I tried to eat Roseluck.
I closed the bathroom door behind me, thankful that no one had changed my clothes while I was out, but also grateful to finally get out of the sweaty jumpsuit. A soak in a hot bath would calm my nerves. Only after that and some breakfast would I face reality.
Applejack peered out onto the front of the property, worried that any second, somepony would show up to see “The Monster”. She really hoped against everything that the ponies of this town would be better, act like they had some sense. But rumors and gossip were one thing, a vague story in the paper to stir things up was another. She wondered who could’ve snuck onto her property with a camera? Somepony who thought they were genuinely doing the right thing? Or a pony who saw a chance to cause some trouble and took it?
Twilight and Spike had came over early that morning, but the even earlier risers in her family had already seen the front-page news.
Lottie came down the stairs, a towel around her shoulders and wearing some of the clothes Rarity had brought over. She had on black trousers that clung down to her ankles, somehow making her look even taller, and a loose, pale blue shirt that could’ve been a dress on a pony.
“I thought I heard you up and about.” Applejack smiled, hoping she wasn’t too out of sorts. “You feelin’ better?”
“I’m not warm anymore, but I won’t push it today so the fever doesn’t come back.” She said, taking a mental inventory of how her body felt. “Still a tiny bit achy, but I’m hungry again.”
“Glad to hear it!” she took the cover off of the basket of biscuits she’d made, still warm. “Big Mac finished off the last of the apricot preserves, but we still got butter and strawberry jam. And I can cook you up some eggs too. And Granny got back from her knittin’ circle yesterday and baked you a pie for when you were feelin’ better.”
“That was nice of her. And eggs sound great, thank you.” she sat at the table, serving herself some of the biscuits. Applejack was glad to see her eating so enthusiastically again. When she was done cooking a heaping helping of scrambled eggs, she was pleasantly surprised to see Lottie get up from the table and save her the trip with a hot skillet.
“Here you are.” She slid the eggs onto the plate, but instead of making her way back to the table to eat, she just kind of…stood there.
“Somethin’ wrong?” Applejack asked, turning off the stove. She was afraid Lottie might not be feeling as well as she thought she was, bodily or elsewhere.
“I’m sorry.” She said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Applejack was worried where this could be coming from but decided to listen to her worries.
“I know nobody thought it was gonna go like this, but…” she looked deeply ashamed, her eyes to the floor. “If the whole…you “harboring a monster” thing ends up costing you and your family some business…I owe Rarity a lot from my stipend for the clothes, but I’ll give you and yours the rest. And…and the next month’s, a-as long as you need it. And…and-”
Applejack put a hoof on her guest’s arm, shaking her head gently. She led the human to the table and they had themselves a sit-down.
“Lottie, you might know I’m not a fan of the self-putdowns you’re so fond of…” she grinned to lighten the mood, but Lottie just looked guiltier. “But I still have faith in the ponies of this town. ‘sides…anypony who’d cut ties with my family for doing a new friend a good turn, well I wouldn’t wanna be associated with that kind of loathsome character in the first place.”
She seemed lighter, but she was still clenching her hands tight. It was a gesture she wasn’t that familiar with, but she could tell it wasn’t great.
“If’n push comes to shove?” she smiled, tilting her head to get in Lottie’s line of sight. “We’ve been in tighter spots before. Wouldn’t be right to take all the money you have in the world, even if we were poorer than dirt.”
She took a deep breath, forcing a smile.
“I’m sorry…” she met the pony’s eyes. “I know I’m…worrying and getting upset when there’s nothing I can do. I’m trying not to be such a downer about it, but…” she shrugged, smiling awkwardly. “…that’s kind of my shtick.”
Applejack laughed at that, with a sympathetic smile aimed at the strange mare. “Well, you can be as low as you feel…from time to time. So long as you let me or somepony else help you back up when you need it.”
That got a real smile out of Lottie, who grabbed another warm biscuit.
“Sounds good.” She sighed with a smile. “Just…don’t be afraid to knock some sense into me if I get too sad to remember my manners and mope around all day.”
“Can do.”
Twilight and Spike came down from the upstairs after a little while, but I had no clue what they’d been up to. If I had to guess, racking their brains about a plan for this mess.
“We’ve run a few scenarios and-” She stopped, eyeing me with a slight frown. “Are you eating pie for breakfast?”
“I am eating pie in addition to breakfast.” I corrected, taking another bite. Twilight had brought over some utensils since earth ponies aren’t much for cutlery, and I was grateful not to have to eat everything with my hands. Though I could get used to just dumping jam onto biscuits.
“Well, I’m glad you’re eating enough again, at any rate.” She went back to delivering news mode. “We’ve run a few scenarios and this is what we’ve come up with so far.”
“Plan A: We continue to hide you, moving you to another location so that the locals can’t do anything to rash.”
“Twilight.” Spike was out in the living room, and his voice sounded…strained.
“Plan B: We get ahead of the situation and call a town meeting, explain the forest and you to Ponyville in a controlled environment. This is the ideal outcome, aside from everypony not panicking about you and doing anything rash.”
“Twilight. It’s-”
“Plan C: And I hate to bring this option up at all, and it has a dual outcome so hear me out.”
“Seriously Twilight, you need to see-”
“Plan C: We get you out of town and up to Canterlot under the cover of night. Plan Ca involves you under royal protection until I can figure out how to return you home.” She looked at me with sad eyes, and I was nervous about Plan Cb. Also, Spike was still trying to get her attention. I opened my mouth to let her know when she continued on anyway. “Plan Cb…Celestia transforms you back into a pony until this all blows over, and when I figure out how to return you home she changes you back. I know it took so much to turn you back to normal, but…the thought of something happening to you…It’s just…”
“Twilight.” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder and pointing to the little dragon with the other. “Spike requires your attention.”
She whirled around, spotting Spike at the front window and out onto the Apple property.
“Oh…Spike, why didn’t you-”
“Say anything, yeah I know.” The young dragon sighed, pointing out the window. “There’s ponies outside, and Big Mac and Apple Bloom are out there by themselves.”
Applejack sprung up from the table, running out the door past Twilight. She was fretting now, running after her too.
I got up from the table slowly, my legs feeling like lead. I got on my knees, peering out the window with Spike while trying not to get spotted. There were ponies outside alright, but not as many as I thought there would be, and no torches and pitchforks. So that was a start, I hoped.
“Who’s out there Spike?” I asked him, not immediately recognizing any faces.
“Uh…okay, let’s see…” he pointed to the ponies as he went. “That’s Featherweight’s dad…actually, a few parents out there from the school. That’s Filthy Rich and…Diamond Tiara tagged along too? Huh. Those are the florist ponies, minus Roseluck.”
I recognized them from the party. I went tense at Roseluck’s name, even if she wasn’t out there. He rattled off a few more names, none of them helped me out. About a dozen ponies out there, and it was only so early in the morning. How many more would show up? And what for?
There were some shouts outside, and I shrunk down, not knowing what to do.
“They sure seem upset.” Spike looked out again. “Oh boy, somepony’s shouting at Twilight. The crowd’s getting riled up…”
My hands were shaking. Twilight had thrown out so many plans to me, but I went through too much to turn back into a pony again. Cornflower Blue showing up again didn’t erase the fact that “The Monster” was still "at large". And I couldn’t hide forever, here in town or with the Princesses.
I remembered a promise made to me. As the shouting continued outside, I made a decision.
“Spike, I’ve got a plan.” I asked the little dragon, standing up holding out my hand. “I’m gonna need your help.”
Applejack and Twilight rushed out to meet the crowd, hoping things wouldn’t get out of hoof. Apple Bloom and Big Mac’s faces lit up at the arrival of their sister, who stepped to the crowd. Her face was stern, but calm.
“Alright now!” she spoke over them, catching their attentions. “Anypony want to explain what they think they’re doing here?”
“Don’t play dumb!” a pony from the crowd said. “Do you have that thing under control or don’t you?”
“If our foals are in any danger, we have a right to know!” a parent from Cheerilee’s current class shouted, and there was a chorus of agreement from the other parents.
“If that monster is in town now…” Lily called out, looking frightened. Daisy took over, holding onto her friend. “If it’s here we have to keep the ponies we care about safe!”
“Please, everypony!” Twilight called out, spreading her wings to draw their attention. “I swear to you that you are not in any danger!”
“So you’re just gonna deny everything!” another voice heckled.
“No, that’s not what I meant!” she told them, sterner this time. “If you’ll let me explain. Now, first of all! This “monster” you’re all here about? You’ll find that she’s really very-”
She was overpowered by a collective gasp from the crowd.
“Oh dear, sweet Celestia!” somepony cried out. “It IS real! This isn’t happening!!”
Twilight stopped with a scowl, trying to order her next words in her head so that they couldn’t be misinterpreted.
“Now hold on one applebuckin’ minute!” Applejack spied into the small crowd. “Filthy Rich! Now I know that you of all ponies have more sense in your head than to be a part of some mob!”
“Of course!” he announced to her, a hoof to his chest. “I recognized your orchard in the paper and I thought I’d come and ask you about it, pony to pony. I didn’t expect there to be a crowd, let alone a mob.”
“So…” she made sure everypony was listening with a brutal glance over the crowd. “What’s your opinion, as a respected member of this here community?”
“Well, Applejack.” He picked up on her power move and spoke up for the crowd to hear. “Your family and mine have done business for a long time, and yours is one of the most respected and trustworthy families I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. So if I asked you now if there was any danger to me or mine…” he looked her right in the eye, smiling. “I know that your answer would be truthful.”
“Filthy Rich, sir.” She took off her Stetson and held it to her chest. “I swear to you, on my land, my livelihood, and every member of the Apple Clan, living and passed on…” her eyes narrowed to the crowd, daring them to challenge her. “That you, and every pony in Ponyville, are in no danger from any creature whatsoever.”
There were some low murmurs at that, but there was none of the energy that it had before. Twilight smiled at Applejack, thankful for her quick thinking.
“Wait a minute!!” a shrill voice burst out from the crowd. Everypony looked down to Filthy Rich’s side to his daughter. Diamond Tiara was scowling, and her mane was bristling with anger.
“Now Diamond...” Filthy Rich tried to placate his enraged filly. “I told you we’d come ask Applejack about everything and we have.”
“But I saw it!” she shouted, her ears pinned down in her anger. There were more gasps from the crowd, egging her on. “I saw that horrible thing! It’s real! And it’s a monster!! Just because they think they have everything under control doesn’t mean they do!! Where is it!? Huh?”
“Diamond Tiara!” her father warned.
“No! She’s right!” somepony shouted. “If we’re so safe, and this monster is no threat, where is it?” The crowd was growing restless again.
They couldn’t bring Lottie out into this, it could set off a panic, or worse. Telling this crowd the truth wasn’t an option, and vague promises were only going to egg things on even further. And if they told the crowd something they wanted to hear to calm them down, the lie would settle things for now, but it could be worse for Lottie and themselves in the future.
“They don’t know where it is!”
“No, they’re stalling!”
“It could be anywhere!”
“What if it gets somepony? Oh please, no!”
Twilight was feeling so powerless. She’d never had to go against Ponyville like this before, and this wasn’t even the whole town! Even with her status as a princess, nopony trusted her word over their own fear. She knew they weren’t bad ponies, just afraid and falling into herd mentality.
She had to do something before some scared pony took things too far.
“Everypony…” she sucked in a breath, planting her hooves firmly and standing at her full height.
“STOP!!”
As her first public use of the Royal Canterlot Speaking Voice rippled out and the crowd was immediately silenced, Twilight looked out over them, trying not to let on her lack of a plan.
Okay… she thought, a bead of nervous sweat rolling down her temple. Now what?
A mass of crackling, blue magic appeared over everypony’s heads and nopony dared move a muscle, thinking it was Twilight’s doing. But she looked up in a mixture of surprise and relief. The energy swelled with terrifying, crackling energy and dispersed with a flash of light, revealing a dignified but imposing Princess Luna to the crowd.
She flew gently down to the ground, receiving bows and the like but paying them no attention.
“Ah! Princess Twilight, it has only been a few days, yet it feels like an eternity.” She smiled, not even turning to the crowd of awed ponies. “I am here to … “touch base”, as it were, about our guest.”
“Uh…” Twilight scanned the crowd, gauging their reactions. “Our guest! Yes, of course Princess. She…” Some apprehension, uncertainty. “She’s doing just fine!”
“I’m glad.” She blinked, seeming to notice the crowd for the first time. “Oh hello, dear subjects.” She smiled sweetly, but it did not reach her eyes. “What brings all of you out to the domain of the Apple Clan?”
Nopony said anything, and Luna looked as though she picked up on their intent.
“Oh yes! I received a copy of this morning’s Ponyville Chronicle.” It appeared next to her in a flash of magic, and she examined it in front of the crowd. “Goodness, I hope the pony that took these photos knows that illegal surveillance of a foreign ambassador is punishable by three years in the Canterlot dungeon.”
Diamond Tiara stood out from the crowd, as her body was shaking as she hid behind her father’s legs. Luna was looking directly at her but showed no visible sign of knowing anything.
“Ah! But, "no harm no foul", as they say these days.” She smiled, rolling the paper up tightly in her magic, almost angrily. “I shall have to issue a full pardon…if I remember. These things tend to slip my mind.”
She looked over the crowd again, feigning surprise.
“Why…don’t tell me that’s why you’ve all gathered?” she asked, knowing full well it was. “Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends are sworn to secrecy under royal oath not to reveal the location of the Crown’s guest. I wonder…”
She gave the crowd an expressionless glance, but waves of fury rolled off of her so thickly it was almost suffocating.
“I wonder…did any of you try to force royal secrets out into the open?”
She tutted at their grave silence, holding her head up high.
“Goodness. And from your newest Princess no less…” she sighed, implying but also not implying the possibility of treason. “It seems this could not have come soon enough.”
She stood to her full height, looking out into the crowd with a sharp eye.
“You there!” she pointed a hoof into the collection, and the stallion she singled out flinched. “If it is not too much trouble, would you please go inform Mayor Mare that the Crown has requested a town meeting for the citizens of Ponyville. And to all of those I see presently…”
She smiled at them, and a chill went up everypony’s spines.
“Do remember that it is mandatory.”
“Y-Yes Princess!” the stallion started running. “Right away Princess!”
“My, but he certainly is a fast runner!” she laughed, watching him disappear into the distance. “It seems that I have picked the right pony for the job.”
She looked out into the crowd one last time, losing her smile.
“Now then…” she tilted her head, blinking at them. “Don’t stay here on my account.”
The ponies scattered, and the rest of the ponies present all let out a collective held breath.
“Princess Luna!” Twilight was already so emotionally exhausted this early in the morning, but she still felt her heart swell with gratitude. “Thank you so much for coming. How did you know there was an issue?”
“I received the paper by dragonfire.” She smiled, unrolling at again. She pulled something else from between the pages. “As well as a dictated letter from Lottie explaining things. So my sister and I decided that we should move forward with certain plans before things got out of hoof.”
“I don’t know how I feel about all those white lies.” Applejack sighed. “But I know they were for Lottie’s safety.”
“Some lies were told, yes.” Luna nodded. “But there were some truths as well.”
The front door to the Apple Family home cracked open and Spike poked his head out.
“Is everything good out here?” he looked around for any stragglers, his head darting to-and-fro nervously.
“It’s fine Spike.” Twilight was so proud and grateful for his part in this. “Quick thinking there too.”
“Oh, well…” he shrugged, smiling. “I can’t take all the credit.”
He opened the door wider and behind him, also looking around nervously, was Lottie.
“It’s fine, they’re all gone.” He told her. She sighed in relief, stepping out to join them. “I was just the messenger.”
“Luna!” Lottie smiled, coming out to see her. She went in for an awkward touch to the princess’ shoulder, but stopped and shrugged, hugging her around the neck instead. Twilight was both ecstatic at the sight of a budding friendship in Lottie’s life and mortified at the lack of decorum towards the Alicorn.
“You sent for Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, glad for the help but still curious.
“I didn’t mean for her to rush right over like this, but yeah.” She shrugged. “It’s…kind of dumb but…” she looked embarrassed. “I remembered how she said she’d protect me, and I told her it was time to…meet the neighbors, more or less.” She smiled at Twilight. “Nice pipes by the way, I’m impressed.”
Luna remembered that promise. She had called it out to her in a moment of crisis, but her promise still stood.
“I’m glad to see you’re alright.” Luna smiled, returning the hug before looking her over. “Did you hear what was said from inside?”
“Most of it, yeah.” She let her go, shrugging. “You’ve got quite the public speaking voice.”
“Well…” she smiled, and in a flash, the paper was gone and something else was in its place. “I claimed that the ponies around you were sworn to secrecy about you. That was a lie, unfortunately. However, I also claimed you held the title of ambassador in order to validate your being here.”
She presented her with a large envelope. Lottie looked through the papers before smiling awkwardly.
“I can’t read Luna.” She snorted, inspecting some of the papers but shaking her head. ‘Thanks for the fancy papers though.”
“Give that here.” Luna scolded, smiling. She emptied the contents and shuffled through them with her magic. “We were going to mail these out soon, but under the circumstances it seemed better to deliver them myself.”
“This form states that legally, you have dual citizenship in Equestria by way of your ancestry.” She shuffled to another form. “And this form states that you are entitled to your monthly royal stipend of two hundred and fifty bits a month. It would be more, but some…strings had to be pulled for you to receive it at all without a permanent residence or your personal paperwork.”
“It sounds like plenty.” She shrugged. “You know, considering I have no idea how much anything is worth here.”
“This form bestows the position of ambassador to your people.” She told her. “It is mostly a formality, it will allow you to carry on in Equestria without fear from the common pony or members of nobility. Well…those of them with some sense at least. And technically, it allows you access to all government buildings in Equestria, should you find the need. Your official title for a formal address would be “Her Excellency, Madam Ambassador Charlotte Petrou of Earth.”
“Neat.”
“Indeed.” Luna nodded. “Although I must warn you...” She smiled wryly. “Should you find yourself in Canterlot, by law as an ambassador, you will be treated as a guest of royalty. It comes with the obvious... “perks”, as it were. But you will, also by law, find yourself accompanied by no less than one and no more than two members of the Royal Guard at all times.”
“Hm…” she tried to hide her discomfort but willed it away with a joking smile. “As nice as a visit would be, I’m gonna have to pass on that one.”
“And lastly.” She smiled at Lottie’s answer. “This document states that as a citizen of Equestria, you hold all the same rights as the average citizen who was born in this land. But, in order to appease any noble interest that will inevitably show itself, that means you are also beholden to its laws. I don’t expect this to be a problem whatsoever, but should you break the law of any land in Equestria, the leaders of that local government have the right to try you as they would one of their own people.”
“I’d hope they would, I don’t need any special exceptions if I do something bad.” She nodded, her mouth in a solemn flat line. “Here’s hoping I don’t accidentally break any laws then.”
“We haven’t had much luck tracking down living family members of yours quite just yet.” She told me. “They are a widespread collection of ponies who have put down roots with…an appalling disregard for the proper paperwork. But we will continue searching.”
“I’m grateful.” And I meant it. “I don’t know how they’ll feel about me…but family is family. If none of them want anything to do with me, then I’ve already got a crazy big family waiting back home.”
It really was a lot of work that they’d done for me. To make me feel safe and welcome in this world, especially in this…hopefully temporary awkward part of my stay. And...
I believed that Twilight would find a way to get me home…I had to believe it. I needed that hope.
But if things didn’t turn out that way, I had a chance here. This pile of paperwork would make sure I could be…comfortable here. Ponies I didn’t know personally might never be one hundred percent okay with me, but I’d never starve, I could probably get a place of my own one day if it came to that. And I’d…never be alone. I had ponies looking out for me.
“Thank you.” I told her, giving her another awkward hug. “Everybody.” Luna’s quiet laugh resounded in her chest, tucking her head on top of mine.
“T’was a pleasure.” She stepped back from me, looking me over again. “Imagine my sister and I hearing about your family of pony-human hybrids. It is…a bit complicated to explain but…being a ruler who watches over their subjects, I’ve come to regard them like…well, not like children but more like…Celestia described them as a pieces of herself. I agree, but for myself it’s more like I have an exceptionally large family. I don’t always agree with everything they do…” she narrowed her eyes, thinking of the ponies from before I’d bet. “But I want the Equestria my sister and I have come to make most certainly feel like home to them.”
“Lottie.” She looked at me, a bit sad. “I sincerely hope that you are able to return to your family, to your mother’s kind. But for now…”
She hugged me again, her wings surrounding the both of us.
“Welcome home.”
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Ah, so it was the vaccinations. I honestly thought that might be the case, but why not swing for the exotic problem if given the chance?
9643680
felt unnecessary *shrugs* not everything bad can be magic related/life-or-death. sometimes stuff goes just wrong enough, ha. :D
plus it serves a teeny tiny story purpose that won’t be revealed until near the end.
When Luna showed up, I assumed it was because Twilight just used the Royal Canterlot Voice and Luna had to come down and remind everyone who the real OG was.
Dragonfire mail works too, though.
I wonder if pinkie will somehow find away to be both in equestria and on earth to be with lottie
9643839
If anypony can, she could-- besides, those ear scritches are worth the trouble. On the other hand, Pinkie would be horrified at the garbage we call [prepackaged] sweet treats from the grocery store. All those preservatives, fillers, and pseudoscience ingredients... And then there's the global helium shortage. *Gasp!*
9644058
Is their a helium shortage?
9644064
For realsies! It stems from how Natural Gas is "mined". As the easy pockets are tapped out, they have to move on to more difficult fields and helium is a byproduct of NG harvesting from the easier method. I've forgotten the details but I believe the easy method is drilling like you would for oil except it's gas pockets. And the helium you find in party stores is the contaminated stuff not fit for scientific/industrial use. The global shortage started a few years back and since it's a progressive problem, it just gets worse over time.
9644448
weird
This is such a lovely well written story, I'm excited for more!
9662383
thank so much, glad you’re sticking around for more c:
It's not as anvilicious as other fics, but still, it ended with a Doctor Who-styled lecture from an outsider. Say what you want, but FiM was always better with lessons than Doctor Who.
All I could think of when I saw this was that Vine of “What’s up? I’m Jared, I’m 19, and I never learned how to read.”
Princess ex machina. Personally I would have used a cannon, but this works too.
ask xi jinping-senpai then