The Other Surprise
It felt like my heart had stopped.
“Wh-…What do you mean nopony?” I demanded, starting to feel sick. “How did two fillies just…disappear?!”
“Well, things were a lot different when I was a young mare.” She hugged Apple Bloom to her side. “The land was harsh and unforgivin’. Little ponies who strayed too far from home sometimes didn’t come back. Big critters in the wilderness weren’t afraid to come close to town neither. Lots could go wrong.”
“That’s terrible!” Pinkie held my hoof tighter, looking to me with big sad eyes. “Oh Bluey, I’m sorry! I thought I could help you find them!”
I sat, feeling a great mix of things all at once. Disbelief that all of this had been for nothing. Anger at my circumstances. Sadness for the life I left behind. Hopelessness was the strongest.
What do I do now?
“Bluey? Are you okay?”
I looked up at her, not realizing I’d been staring at the floor for so long. I tried to smile, to hide how awful I felt.
“Um…Yeah I just…” I started, trying to keep myself under control. “There was always a chance. There was always a chance that they…weren’t around.” I told her, and also myself. “I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up.”
“But! But-”
“Pinkie, it’s…okay.” It’s not though, it really isn’t.
“I’m awfully sorry that I couldn’t help ya out, Miss Blue.” The grandmother said with sad eyes. “You seem like a nice pony.”
I’m not either of those things.
“Is there…any chance? That they’re still out there?” I begged, my voice quiet.
“Hey yeah!” Pinkie cried out, her eyes lighting up. “I thought about this yesterday when we were having milkshakes! What if they just changed their names? What if they are somewhere and they just aren’t Silver and Sugar anymore?”
“It’s not likely, Pinkie Pie. If’n a pony with their cutie mark got spotted anywhere in Equestria, if they ever got married, had foals, anything that required paperwork, we’d know where they’d ended up. Either they’re gone, or they don’t wanna be found for whatever reason. Either way they’re probably long gone. Again, I’m sorry.”
And she did sound sorry. I think she could tell how this was affecting me, despite how I was trying to hold it in.
“I uh…think I need to take a walk.” I stood, and Pinkie did too. “By myself, sorry.”
“Bluey…are you okay?” Pinkie asked, looking worried. Her hair was noticeably less poofy, hanging from her head in limp curls. Her eyes were sad too.
“I just need some time to…figure out what I’m gonna do next.” At her pleading face, I sighed. “I’ll be back in a little bit, I don’t really know my way back to town from here. I just need some air.”
And I walked out the front door, feeling empty. I didn’t want to run the risk of crying in front of these ponies. And despite how there was nothing waiting for me back home, I wanted to go back. But…I’d wait. Just a little while longer. I really did need some fresh air though.
I walked down the main path for a bit, my limbs feeling heavy.
What do I do now?
Pinkie watched Bluey go, trying really hard not to follow. She wanted to, boy did she want to! But Bluey would probably feel a little better when she got back, and Pinkie would be waiting with the biggest hug.
“She sure took that hard…” Applejack said, watching her go too. “Why did she want to find those ponies so bad? Were they her family?”
“She said that they were friends of the family, but she didn’t say anything else.” Pinkie sighed, turning to the three Apples. “I told her I’d help her find them…I told her I’d be there for her.”
“Aww, Pinkie.” Applejack sighed, hopping out of her chair to hug her sad friend. “I’m sure you did your best. But these two fillies have been gone for a long time. You helped out a friend, even if it didn’t work out in the end.”
Pinkie just sighed, her ears the droopiest the Apples had ever seen them.
“Tell you what? Why don’t we do somethin’ special for her, for the both of you? Cheer you both right up.”
“Well…” she started, her ears perking up a bit. “…I was gonna throw Bluey a party to celebrate us being friends…But she was only gonna be in Ponyville to figure out where the ponies were. I don’t know if I have enough time…”
“Now hang on there, Pinkie Pie!” Apple Bloom shouted from the couch. “That sounds like quitter talk!”
“Apple Bloom!” her older sister chastised her.
“Well it does…the Pinkie we know never shies away from throwin’ a party for ponies who really need it! If anypony in all of Equestria could put together a party for a sad friend in no time, it’s her!”
Pinkie took in the little pony’s speech. Her hair went back to full poofiness and she smiled bright again.
“You’re right Apple Bloom! I’m gonna get on down to Sugarcube Corner! I’m gonna get Rainbow Dash to send out the invitations I made lickity split! I’m gonna get a spread put out and wrap Bluey’s gift, and then we’re gonna throw my new friend the “Farewell/Feel Better” party she needs!” she raced to the door, stopping before she left. “When Bluey comes back, will you keep her busy until about…1 o’ clock?”
“That’s…really cuttin’ it close Pinkie.” She smiled, lovin’ her friend’s gumption. “You think you can handle all that?”
“If anypony can do it, it’s me!” she declared triumphantly, racing out the door.
“Heh, maybe you’ll get a cutie mark for givin’ inspirational speeches, lil’ sis.” Applejack smiled at her youngest sibling.
“You think so?” she gasped, looking at her flank before pouting as she was known to do.
“If not,” she hugged her, nuzzling her for good measure, “, yur still a good pony for cheerin’ her up like that.”
“Aww shucks.”
Twilight couldn’t believe her eyes, she had gone back decades more in the microfilms and it had paid off. It had taken all night and she could seriously use another cup of coffee and a bath, but what she’d found was of the utmost importance.
“Spike!”
“zzz….huh!? Wazzat?” he startled awake from his basket, rubbing his eyes. “Twilight…what’s goin’ on?”
“I’m gonna clean up, and then we have to go see the girls. If what I found is right…well, I don’t know for sure…but I have to make sure that the ponies of this town are safe.”
“Safe…safe from what?” he asked, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
“Come and see for yourself!”
She laid out her findings on the table for him to see.
“The forest the girls and I went to check out is still full of unknown magic, and there were signs that something had been coming or going from there in a magical way. And at first, I dismissed it. Forests can’t hold active magic and any creature that was seen there didn’t live in the forest itself.”
“Yeah…I remember that part.”
“So it got me thinking. If somepony were really in any danger, somepony before me would’ve noticed. So I went looking in the microfilms in the basement!”
“I was there for that too.”
“Right!” she seemed to be in her own head. Spike made a note to make her some decaf when all this calmed down a bit. “The Ponyville Chronicle has been in circulation since the town was founded. Back then it was a lot smaller, mostly used for weekly weather schedules and local news. But I looked! I looked over every headline and article from the last fifty and then some years since the paper and the town were founded. And do you know what I discovered?”
“I think I’m about to find out…”
“Spike. Five fillies and colts have gone missing over the last fifty years, and they were last seen somewhere near those woods!”
“Five…that’s…that’s awful!” he cried, the news waking him up considerably. “And nopony noticed? Until you?”
“They were spread so far out that nopony made the connection! And they all vanished without a trace!” she shouted, looking frazzled and upset. “And the woods look so normal, especially if you don’t know what you’re looking for! I was willing to leave this alone so long as nopony got hurt! But they were just foals, Spike!”
She spread out her research some more, and pictures taken from the microfilms showed headlines and pictures of the little ponies.
“The latest one was Poppy Seed, a little earth pony colt, that was about fifteen years ago. They found signs of him being chased by something, but nothing to say he’d been caught by it.” She pointed to the pictures accordingly, the headlines all eerily similar. “Then there was Breezy, a pegasus filly, she flew away after a family argument and they never saw her again. Her family said this wasn’t uncommon but that she always came home, every time.”
“Then there was Loopty Loop. She was a unicorn, but she had trouble with her magic. Her parents said she was “slow, didn’t have the sense to defend herself should something bad come along.” But they’d never seen any creatures in that forest, just like we didn’t. They never found any trace of her.”
Spike let all of it sink in. Little kids, all of them, scared and alone out there and then gone. It chilled him right down to the pit of his stomach.
“There’s only one more picture.” He said, finding his words again. “But…two more ponies?”
“This was the earliest one I could find.” She said, sounding worn down. “If anything happened before Ponyville was founded, I’d have no idea. But this time, whatever did this, it took two fillies at the same time.”
He read it out loud.
“Ponyville Fillies Gone in the Night. Twins Sugar Maple and Silver Maple, aged nine, disappeared from their beds the night before last and are still labeled missing. Local tracking dogs followed their scents to the forested area just beyond the town limits, but the scent was lost. Their mother, local herbalist Scarlet Maple, headed the search party but no sign has been found. Reports of the fillies in the meanwhile have been sent to neighboring cities but no word so far.”
“They never found them either.” Twilight plopped down, exhausted once everything was out in the open. “All those foals, all those families…If this is a big coincidence, it’d be the biggest coincidence I’ve ever seen.”
“So…what do we do now?” Spike asked, wringing his tail.
“I’m gonna take a bath really quick, I’m gonna tell my friends what I found, then we’re gonna make a report and send it to the princesses so they can launch a more detailed investigation. But if I’m right, that forest will have to be sectioned off so nopony is allowed to enter for their own safety. If the princesses find magic that I can’t detect there and decide the forest will still be a danger, they might have to burn it down.”
Spike nodded, collecting her papers and notes, putting them into a pile.
“I’ll make you something to even you out before you talk to anypony.” He offered, running off to the kitchen.
Twilight felt an enormous weight lifted from off her shoulders. She was glad he had taken her at her word. She had been so sure of herself, but in her enthusiasm to put all this together she was afraid that she had missed something or that she had let her hypothesis outweigh her findings. But even if this wasn’t quite as bad as she thought it might be, five foals were gone, and their families were never the same. She had to at least look into it.
“And nopony else is going to be lost to whatever’s going on. I’ll make sure of that.”
That’s it. I’m done.
I paced the clearing I’d found just off of the beaten path. It was quiet, and nobody was around so it would be the perfect place to evaluate my swiftly falling-apart life.
“I’m screwed…no, I’m beyond screwed.” I muttered, pacing in the grass. “Even if I found them they would’ve known what I was, maybe. And one of them is…was a unicorn. They might’ve done some dumb magic to change me back.”
But…what if it wasn’t even possible in the first place? I thought. What if this has all been one big wild goose chase? This whole thing is just…unbelievable.
I didn’t have anyone left here who could help me. Even the one pony who could stand to be around me wouldn’t want to be anywhere near me once she knew what I really was.
I imagined the pony from the woods transforming into Pinkie Pie, screaming at the sight of me and running away as fast as she could. It hurt, knowing that I would have no one who could bear to be around me, let alone help me. Why help the freaky monster? What’s to stop it from coming back and terrorizing everyone, even if we send it back where it came from?
And back on Earth, I couldn’t stay in that house forever. I’d already run through the worst possible scenarios in my head, discovery, scorn, experimentation, no thank you.
And what if my family was okay with it? What if the world was okay with what I was, even if I could never really be human again? I’d be a sideshow freak, the talking horse. And even then, my life as a person would be over. I could never do anything normal.
At the very least, I was ready to not have to be here anymore. Never have to worry about somebody seeing my lack of a cutie mark again. Not having to wander a world where I couldn’t read anything or not having any money. And no more lying to anybody.
Pinkie.
“I better get back and tell her I’m leaving…” I sighed, stretching my back legs out behind me. “The sooner I get going, the sooner I can go home.”
home
My whole body stiffened up. My ears stood up at full alert, swiveling and trying to figure out where the sound had come from.
What was that? I stayed quiet, to see if it would happen again. Is a pony out here?
It was quiet, but the faintest sounds were bleeding through. On the very edge of my senses, just faint enough that I couldn’t place it, even with the new ears. A voice? Voices?
“Um…hello? Is somepony there?” I called out, hoping one of them hadn’t snuck up on me. Last thing I needed was for one of them to hear me talking to myself and catch on. But no one responded. I couldn’t hear anything moving through the woods either. No rustling in the bushes or twigs snapping underfoot…I couldn’t hear any birds either.
“Oh…oh no.” I stepped back in fear, unsure what I was backing away from. “Not again.”
But these weren’t the same woods. I felt the same sense of unease as the world got quiet, just like it had back on that crazy, horrifying day. But here, I heard other things, things I could barely make out. The entire world was still but something was still there.
home
why
it’s quiet
“I don’t-“
home
wanna go home
please
“Who’s there?” I whispered, my legs shaking under me. It was a strange sensation, feeling all the fur on my body stand on end. My little horse heart was going a mile a minute.
where
home
i’m here
Something stepped out of the edge of my vision. A figure, a pony? They were small and I could barely make them out before they dashed farther into the woods.
“Hey, hold up!” I shouted, my voice ringing in the silence. “What’re you doing out here, huh? Wait!”
I trailed after them, my mind racing. Were they scared over all this, like I was? Were they the one talking? And if that was it, why could I hear them and nothing else? I ran through the brush, chasing echoing hoofbeats as my only clue to where they had gone. This area of the forest seemed denser with trees, it was getting harder to navigate through them.
I burst into a different clearing, a ring of tall trees on all sides of me. I tried to catch my breath, my eyes darted around for any sign of whoever it was I saw. I couldn’t hear the hoofbeats anymore, and the voice had gone silent.
“Hey!” I shouted, ears flat against my head with unease. “I just want to talk! Were you the one saying all that back there? Do you have something to do with…any of this?”
But there was no reply. The silence was still deeply unsettling, and I was starting to get uneasy again. I looked around, hoping to see something, but what? And the trees…were they shorter than the rest of the woods? The sun had gone down hours ago and fireflies were drifting lazily through the air. The warm summer air was-
“Wait…no. It’s fall. And it’s like…noon?” I shook my head, trying to clear away the haze settling over my brain. I blinked it away briefly, the scenery shifting back to the colorful autumn leaves and the bright sun in the sky. The trees were taller too? Or…I was?
home
As soon as I blinked the scene shifted again, the fireflies were back, and the sun was gone. I was alone.
A sudden overwhelming sense of isolation wracked my whole body. Fat tears rolled down my cheeks from my huge, colorful eyes. I folded into myself, laying on the grass.
“Oh…geez what’s happening to m-me?” I tried to rub away the tears with my foreleg, but they didn’t ease up.
home
please
help
The fireflies were lighting up the dark, the branches were swaying just barely in a breeze I couldn’t feel. I was all alone on the grass, scared out of my wits, wanting more than anything for somepony to find me. To keep me safe.
“Mom! D-dad!” I sobbed, fighting the part of me that burned with shame for calling out for them like a little kid. “Grandpa! Please, no more…I’m done! I wanna go home!”
home
home
home
home
I felt something. Heavy footfalls, from behind me.
A bear, an honest to god bear was looming over me, blocking the sun. It must’ve been ten feet tall and at my small height it seemed even bigger. Terror flooded my brain and my little horse muscles seized up, my whole body shaking. The bear cocked its head, dropping to all fours and sniffing at my hair. I put my forelegs over my head, my ears flat against my skull. I was too scared to do anything; I couldn’t run or scream, and I certainly didn’t have the sense to try to fight it off.
I felt its paws on my sides, lifting me off the ground. I shut my eyes, not wanting to look it in the eye.
Oh, dear god this is how I die. My mind was going a million miles an hour and I was crying again. Torn to pieces by a bear in a magic pony world. Never would have seen it coming.
And to my absolute horror, it started to-
“Oh! Oh my goodness, Harry, stop that!”
The bear, possibly named Harry, stopped licking my head and we both looked to see a face I recognized. It was Fluttershy, from yesterday. She was a bit away, surrounded by a lot of birds and squirrels and such. She gasped as she saw me in the bears arms, flying over with the other animals in pursuit.
“Cornflower Blue? Oh, I’m so sorry, Harry usually leaves ponies he doesn’t know alone…Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes big and full of worry. I think she could tell I’d been crying. She looked up at the bear with a sterner gaze. “Harry, put her down! What’s gotten into you?”
And Harry…answered her? It was just growls and bear huffs, but she kept eye contact and seemed to be following along.
“Harry, I understand. But everything’s fine now, she’s okay. You were just trying to protect her, weren’t you?”
Harry nodded, seeming very grateful for the understanding. He stroked the top of my head with his massive paw and made a very sad sound. And I was still just smooshed against his giant chest, feeling more and more confused. At least I felt less scared. I’d seen her chat with bunnies and birds, but a bear was a whole different kind of animal. The chances of being eaten seemed to be dwindling.
“Harry said he thought somepony might’ve been hurt so he wanted to help you. And I’m sorry he licked you, bears do that sometimes.”
And I just nodded, with what must’ve been a dumb look on my face. I wiped away any traces of tears into Harry’s fur and took a deep breath, not wanting my voice to sound like I’d been upset.
“Um, it’s okay…I just…I’d like to get down now, if that’s good with you two…”
“Oh, of course!”
Harry placed me gently down onto the grass and I took in where I’d run to. The ring of trees I’d seen was gone, replaced with an ordinary forest. I seemed to have been seeing things, but it only made everything more and more confusing.
“What were you doing out here?” Fluttershy asked, some of her animals coming up to me. I recognized some of them from yesterday.
“I was out for a walk and…I got…a little overwhelmed.” I sighed, deciding Pinkie would probably tell her anyway. “I got some bad news and I needed to clear my head.”
“Oh…” she looked to be thinking for a moment before coming back to the conversation. “Well…um, Pinkie said you didn’t know your way around, can I show you the way to anyplace…at all?”
“I was going to head back to Applejack’s place.” I slicked my hair, grossed out, just a bit. “I think I’ll need to wash my hair when I get there too.”
“Okay, I can do that. Just follow me.” She said, her soft voice actually very reassuring, maybe because I was so distraught not two minutes ago.
“Why were you out here?” I asked, trying to strike up a friendly chat.
“Oh, I was on my way to…someplace else, but I had to take Harry back to his summer den to get his winter den ready first.” She said, her wings fluttering at her sides a bit.
“Alright.”
It was a quiet walk back to Sweet Apple Acres, but not an uncomfortable one. Well, not because of present company. I kept picturing goodbyes to Pinkie, the reactions of my family, the isolation of Grandpa’s big, empty house.
My eyes were teary and I wiped them on my jacket sleeve as I walked. I...
I really couldn't remember why I'd be crying out here in the woods. My head felt a little fuzzy, how long had I been out here all alone? Maybe the portal and jumping between worlds was finally getting to me, messing with my head. Maybe all of this was a bit too much for me to handle. I had a lot to think about.
What am I gonna do?
Applejack was out front, waiting for me it seemed. Fluttershy explained my appearance before leaving, and Applejack was sympathetic. I think she could tell I’d been crying too.
“Well, Pinkie left a bit after you did.” She told me, leading me to the barn where they had a hose. “Somethin’ about needin’ to talk to the Cakes about somethin’.”
“Alright.” I hoped she wasn’t doing or saying anything about my day so far. There was a little area in the corner of the barn with a stone floor and a drain.
“You need any help gettin’ cleaned up?” she offered. My first reaction was to say no, but it was only my head that needed washing. I could keep my jacket on and this might be easier with someone helping me.
“Uh…sure, if you don’t mind.” It was weird, as soon as it came out of my mouth. But Applejack didn’t have a second thought about it, unhooking the hose from the wall and turning the water on.
“Now you just dip your head down, and I’ll get you cleaned up.”
She picked up a small towel in her mouth, draping over the back of my neck to keep me dry from the neck down. She turned on the water, and let it run for a moment.
“Just gotta let that go for a bit, so you’re not getting washed with ice water.” She laughed, walking over to the shelf on the wall. “Now let’s see…Our shampoos ain’t nothin’ fancy, but they wash you up good after a day of applebuckin’. You want the one that smells like soap or the one that smells like berries an’ such?”
“Uh…berries, I guess.”
“Alrighty then.”
She doused my bear-spit soaked hair and my ears too, before putting some of the stuff directly in my hair. That smells like…a lot of different berries. It wasn’t bad though. I closed my eyes to keep from getting any in them.
“So, you and Pinkie gettin’ along fine?” she asked, starting to lather it with her hooves. It was a weird sensation, but it seemed to be working.
“Yeah, she’s been really nice to me.” I told her, my eyes closed.
“And you been good to her?” she asked, sounding a little protective. “I know Pinkie’s not everypony’s cup of tea. Quiet ponies like yourself don’t usually take to her when she’s feelin’ chattier.”
“I…don’t really mind it.” I said, finding it to be true as I said it. She did talk pretty much the entire time we were together, but it only really annoyed me after her prank. “I don’t usually have anypony to talk to, so it’s kind of like…I can’t get sick of something I didn’t have before.”
“Huh. Guess that makes sense.” she said, stopping her lathering and going to wash off her hooves. “And Pinkie says this is all you were in town for?”
“Yeah.” I started feeling down again. “I got family waiting for me to come home. If I stay away too long they’ll get worried.”
“That makes sense.” she hummed, giving my head a quick rinse with the hose. “You’re real close to your family then?”
“Well…I like being on my own most of the time, but…I love my family.” We didn’t always get along, but even being away this long was getting to me, just a little. “And it’s a big family, and they can be a little much sometimes, but yeah. We’re close.”
“Oh, I know somethin’ about that.” She laughed, rinsing my head off once more. She took the towel from my neck with her teeth. “Go on now, give us a shake.”
It took me a second to pick up on what she meant. But I shook my head, picking up speed until I felt drier like a dog would. I guess ponies did it too.
“There you go, pretty as a picture.” She used the towel to dry where I’d gotten her in the spray.
“Heh…thanks.” I honestly had no idea what made one pony prettier than the other here. “So, did Pinkie say when she’d be back?”
“Actually, she might be stuck there for a bit. Tell you what, why don’t you, me and Apple Bloom go to Sugarcube Corner so you can catch up with her. My sis and I were looking to get some snacks anyways.”
“Uh, sure. Thanks Applejack. For the help.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Apple Bloom was really interested what Pinkie and I had been getting up to the past few days. I tried to give her the bare bones details, not wanting to slip up and say something that would make them suspicious.
“So Pinkie Pie did all that to make up for that prank?” she asked, recalling the day we spent together.
“Well, I only asked for help finding the Maples to forgive her, the day out was more I think she wanted to be friends.” I explained, her at my side and Applejack taking the lead. “But, between you and me, I pretty much got over it right away.”
“Really?” her eyes were wide. “Even though all those ponies laughed at you?”
Applejack looked at her with a silent warning, trying to keep her from making me upset. But I went with it.
“Nah. It really was an accident. And since then she’s been really nice to me. Plus I’m not really sore about those ponies anymore either.” She still looked a little off. “Hey, what’s up Apple Bloom?”
She looked at her sister, then leaned in really close, but I’m pretty sure Applejack could still hear us.
“Well, there’s a couple fillies at school who tease me and my friends. On account of us not havin’ our cutie marks.”
I thought about the last time I gave a kid advice on what to do with bullies. Mason got suspended for a while but damned if those bullies didn’t leave him alone after that. Though Applejack might not approve of me telling her sister to beat them up. Not that I was some kind of wannabe badass or anything, but when you have violent bullies your options get pretty limited.
“Well, you’ll get one eventually. Everypony does.” I shrugged, trying not to let the irony of my own bare coat seep into the conversation. “But teasing is hard…you just gotta fake it ‘til you make it. Give off the impression that you don’t even care what anypony thinks of you, and soon enough, you’ll believe it.”
“You think that’ll work?” she asked, sounding doubtful.
“Confidence is hard to get back when you lose it from stuff like that.” I said, recalling my own time in public school. “But just do whatever makes you happy, even if somepony picks on you for it… Doing something you love makes the rest of the stuff you have to go through a little better. It’s important to you and that’s what counts. A smart pony told me that.”
“Huh…I guess I could try that.”
I smiled at her, and I think Applejack was satisfied with my “advice”. Sugarcube Corner was in sight, and Apple Bloom ran up to her sister’s side, smiling at her before running ahead.
“Thanks.” Applejack said. “I tell her ponies get their cutie marks eventually all the time, but I think she needed to hear it from somepony who ain’t family. And the other stuff wasn’t half-bad advice neither.”
“No problem.” I shrugged. Though it’s easy to give out advice when you don’t have a clue about anything, ever. It’s all just theory.
Applejack went up the front steps into the place, and I wasn’t far behind. I hadn’t seen the front of the store since my first day here, but it was different.
It’s a lot dimmer than last time…And nobody’s here-
“SURPRISE!!!”
I yelped in shock as the lights came on, and a dozen ponies popped out from behind various furniture, confetti going everywhere. I was just standing there, blinking in confusion. There were blue and pink decorations everywhere, and snacks?
Wait a second…
“Bluey!!”
“Oh no-”
Pinkie had popped out from underneath a table, rushing at me with a big hug. She bounced in place, looking pretty pleased with herself.
“Did we surprise you?” she giggled, hugging me again. “I’m just so so so excited that everything was ready on time!”
“Pinkie…Is this all…for me?” I said in disbelief. I was split on how to feel about what was happening, but Pinkie apparently took it as a good sign.
“I said I was gonna throw you a party, and here it is! And it’s to…you know, say a lot of things…but mostly that your pal Pinkie Pie is sorry.”
Everyone was watching us, and I was kind of frozen in place. But I just took everything as it came.
“Sorry? What…why?” I put a hoof on her shoulder, kind of weirded out at seeing her sort of upset. She’d been deliriously happy like ninety percent of the time until now.
“I said I’d help you with your thing, but now I can’t.” she said, leaning her head against my hoof. “But when I saw how sad you got, somepony reminded me that cheering ponies up is what I do!” She looked to Apple Bloom, who smiled, also excited it seemed.
“So! This is your “Sorry/Have a Safe Trip Home” Party!” she said, gesturing to a banner in their language, obviously for everybody else’s benefit. I blinked, putting the pieces together finally. I had meant to leave this world for good before she could pull me into it, but she’d gotten the jump on me.
And…as much as I didn’t feel like partying at the moment (although this party was looking a little tame compared to the ones I used to go to, judging by the balloons and streamers), it was nice.
Pinkie was doing something nice for me, yet again, and my original plan had been to run back to Earth without so much as a “see you later”, and it was making me feel like a piece of work. I looked at this pink pony, probably the nicest person who wasn’t a person I’d ever met, and how excited she was just to see me off.
Lottie, you’re a real asshole sometimes.
I steadied myself on just my back hooves and gave her a hug, burying my face in her pink poofy hair to hide my expression. I heard a few of them “aww” at that but ignored them, not letting my self-consciousness get to me now.
“Thanks Pinkie Pie.” And I meant it. I heard her hum, sounding content and happy.
Pinkie had apparently set this up in a little over an hour, but she was quick to tell me she that she’d had help.
“Rainbow Dash here handed out the emergency invitations, nopony else could’ve gotten them out so quick!”
“It’s easy when you’re the fastest flier around!” she bragged, zipping over to the dessert table and back before I could blink. Well, at least she can back it up. I was pretty sure I recognized her as the pony here the first day who could barely contain herself at the sight of me covered in cake batter. But I just shrugged it off. She was Pinkie’s friend and I wasn’t really gonna hold it against anybody anymore.
“And the Cakes helped me get the snacks ready, they used my prepared ingredients and made everything tiny so it would cook faster!” She ate a mini-cupcake to illustrate her point. “And I just made the rest of this stuff yesterday, in case we got hungry while we were out.”
It was quite a spread. There were fudge and cookies, along with the cupcakes, and a big punch bowl that several ponies had already partaken of. The Cakes and their twins were here too, enjoying themselves and chatting with ponies I didn’t recognize.
“And Applejack kept you busy while I decorated!” Pinkie announced, gesturing to the room. Everything was pink and blue, the inspiration obvious.
“Well, she kind of took care of that on her own. Got herself mussed up Fluttershy’s bear friend.” Applejack laughed. “I was ready to give her a tour of the orchard or break out Apple Bloom’s baby pictures.”
“Nuh-uh!” Apple Bloom shouted, getting a laugh from the rest of them. Her big sister mussed up her hair affectionately, and she pouted. It was kind of cute. She huffed and ran off to the dessert table.
Seeing the sisters bonding made me miss Mason. He was always kind of a grump on top of his layers of “sweet kid” and “nosy little brother”. Would he still look at me like his big sister, if he ever saw me again?
“Oh, so I guess Fluttershy helped with that too!” Pinkie laughed, but Fluttershy looked embarrassed.
“It was a coincidence.” She assured me. I guess she didn’t want me to think she sent the bear to slobber all over my head on purpose. “But I’m glad you weren’t angry with him, he really seemed to like you.”
“No worries.” I waved a hoof. “He seemed like a…sweet bear.”
She seemed to like that answer, standing a little taller.
“And Rarity came right over!” Pinkie said, introducing the new pony. She was a white unicorn with very fancy-looking blue-violet hair and blue eyes. But what stood out more than that was her outfit. She was wearing a cerulean, lacey dress that fit more from draping over the back. So I guess that’s how a pony wears a dress. I thought. It had fancy but not gaudy frills, and a ring of very shiny beads around the waist with a matching necklace. This might be the fanciest pony I’ve met.
“I’m very excited to meet you, miss Cornflower Blue!” she said, in a very sophisticated voice. “I saw you wearing a particularly stylish jacket yesterday and knew Pinkie must have made a new friend with good taste.”
If by good taste you mean I wear the same kind of outfit every day because it’s comfy and I can’t be bothered to try wearing something else. I guess “stylish” here just means “wears clothes”.
And she had the same smile that Applejack had earlier, and for the life of me I couldn’t guess what she was thinking. It wasn’t a bad smile, like they were poking fun at me, but I must not have been as good at pony expressions as I thought.
“Uh, nice to meet you too, Rarity.” I said, smiling. ‘That’s a nice dress you’re wearing too.”
“Why, thank you! I made it myself!” she laughed. “It’s tulle, and the diamonds were courtesy of my usual supplier up in Canterlot, so the quality can be assured.”
“Wait, don’t tell me.” This was a little unexpected, but diamonds from Canterlot…and on a dress was surprising too. “Might your supplier be Rare Find?”
“Why yes!” she looked surprised, but still in a good mood. “How did you know?”
“I met him just the other day, on my way into town.” I told her, leaving out the obvious details. “He gave me a lift in his cart when I got turned around. He seemed very nice.”
“He is a gentlepony, isn’t he?” she smiled, admiring the diamonds again. “I always make it a point to offer him tea for his service. If I’d known he’d done a good deed for a future friend, I’d have offered him tea cakes too!”
Everybody got a laugh out of that, and I was kind of stuck on the future friend bit. Was I friends with Rarity now too? Just because Pinkie was my friend?
Was Pinkie even really my friend?
I think she is. I thought, finally coming around to it. She’s throwing you a party and everything. She seems to actually want to be around you, and even though it didn’t work out, she helped you find out about the Maples.
But none of it mattered. I still had to go home. I still had to leave and never come back. But…what if it was different?
It’s weird here but it’s close enough to home, minus some of the tech and no humans. And the weird sun. But it’s not so bad here.
It could be nice…being here.
I shook the idea off as soon as I had it, but it crept back into my head. I could go home and either live in isolation or be a pariah. But here, I was just a pony. A pony with no cutie mark but I’d hid that pretty well so far. Even if I did have a “cutie mark” I would still talk just a bit differently and not know anything about wherever the hell I was. I was only a pony on the outside, and how that had happened was still a huge mystery…But given the circumstances, I was glad for the “disguise”, if you could call it that. With this body I got along with them, even if we were different species from different worlds.
I could do just the opposite of my original plan. I could tell my folks I got a job someplace and just leave. Come here. Get a non-specific job that didn’t draw any attention, stay in a hotel for real, buy food, hang out with Pinkie. It would be hard, and I’d still have to hide a bit, but not as much as if I were back on Earth.
I could go outside here. I could buy things here without ordering them off the internet like a hermit. I could just live here, and hell, I could sneak back to my world to call my folks, tell them how I’m doing in Alaska, maybe farther so they wouldn’t want to visit. I could keep in touch with them and live a normal life here.
As far-fetched as it seemed, I could make it work.
I looked at Pinkie, who looked at me too and smiled.
And I wouldn’t have to say goodbye forever.
“Oh, I almost forgot! I invited the Scones too, since they helped us, but they haven’t shown up yet.” Pinkie explained. “And Prim from Town Hall is here, at the punch bowl.” And sure enough the pink unicorn was chatting away with two ponies I didn’t recognize. “And I invited my friend Twilight, but she hasn’t shown up yet either!”
“I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that one, Pinkie.” Rainbow Dash shrugged, still flying just above us. Doesn’t she get tired doing that for so long? “Twilight’s been cooped up in the library for days!”
“Well, she said she was going to do some research on the forest, it must’ve been a lot of work.” Rarity told the group.
“Well, I’m glad somepony can do somethin’ about all this.” Applejack said, looking very stern suddenly. “If’n that creature comes back, at least we might know what to do.”
And I froze. No, it couldn’t be…
“Um…Creature?” I asked, before I could think.
“Well, I suppose it’s for the best if you knew.” Rarity sighed. “It’s not exactly a secret, the story spread fast enough. It seems as if all of Ponyville has heard it.”
“Hey yeah!” Pinkie chimed in. “You’re staying at a hotel in Neighton! That’s on the way! I should’ve told you yesterday! I’m sorry Bluey!” She leaned against my side, looking apologetic. But my head was somewhere else.
“Well, Pinkie and me heard a pony named Roseluck run into town the other day, and she was cryin’ and everything! Some monster out in the woods scared her half to death!”
Oh no.
“Yep, and we went lookin’ for it too, but there was no sign of anythin’.” Applejack added, seeming frustrated.
“Good thing too! ‘Cause I woulda knocked it into next week!” Rainbow snorted, punching the air with her hooves. I was feeling tense now, my fears coming true.
“And Twilight seemed particularly put off by the whole thing.” Rarity added, also seeming frustrated. “If her research is this involved, she must think it’s a bigger danger than we thought.”
“I just hope nopony gets hurt…” Fluttershy muttered, her ears flat. No, I would never!
“I heard some ponies saying they were gonna make Nightmare Night costumes out of the story.” Applejack said, frowning. “Sure they’ll be scary, but it’s kinda bad taste, Roseluck n' all.”
“Aww, Bluey, don’t be scared!” I didn’t even notice I was shaking. “I invited Roseluck and her friends too, to cheer them up! But she hasn’t shown up yet either! But she got away! Nothing bad happened to her, you’ll see!”
“What?” I asked, not realizing I’d said it out loud. “I mean, she’s…doing okay?”
“She’s still scared out of her wits but-” Applejack looked behind my side of the group at the door. “Well, look who it is.” She grinned.
I almost didn’t want to turn around. But it was like I couldn’t stop myself. Looking very out of sorts, at least compared to before, was the pony from the woods.
“You made it!” Pinkie cheered as she approached. The pony smiled weakly. She had dark rings around her eyes.
“Well, Daisy and Lily came. And…I figured I couldn’t stay cooped up at home forever…” she gave a half-smile, looking at her hooves. “Plus, nopony’s seen it, right?” all the ponies present save for me assured her. “Well, I guess I’ll be okay. It’s not like it could come into town without somepony noticing, right?”
“I assure you, if any foul creature like the one you described comes here, we’d be right here!” Rarity declared. The rest of the group gave similar sentiments, Rainbow Dash and Applejack being the most vocal and enthusiastic. I was quiet, on the other hand.
Something was wrong. My body was shaking, and I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. This pony body knew I was scared, my fears of being a monster and a boogeyman coming true. I was screaming in my head that They don’t know! You’re okay! They don’t know it’s you! But my legs started to shake too.
“Bluey? What’s wrong?” Pinkie asked, and then all eyes were on me. My stupid horse brain was taking over.
Oh god, they know! They’re all staring now, say something! NO, don’t!! You can’t keep this up! You’re different, they'll notice if you don’t get out of this world! They'll find you out and they’ll take you down!! Go! GO!!
And, against my better judgment, I slowly started backing away from the group. Every muscle in my body was tensed, and my ears were up and alert, my heartbeat was so loud.
“Bluey? Are you okay?” Pinkie asked, and the rest of them looked concerned too. I should’ve just laughed it off, I should’ve just acted normal, but my senses were overwhelming me.
“I…I uh-”
“Hey Applejack! Can I-”
I felt Apple Bloom behind me, but my wobbly legs fell out from under me and I lost my balance. I stumbled over the small filly, and we both went down.
I landed on my face, my rear end in the air, and I heard her groan from under my front legs. I was about to apologize when I heard a few gasps.
Then it hit me. Apple Bloom was looking up at me with horrified eyes, and the hem of my jacket was hanging on my shoulders. I looked out into the sea of pony faces, and everyone was looking.
Pinkie and her friends were looking. All slack-jawed and confused.
My heart was going crazy.
I made a break for the door.
I heard ponies talking all at once, but I couldn’t be bothered to pick out what they were saying. Before I could make it through the doorway, another pony appeared. But this one was different, she was a hybrid.
“Girls! There you are, I-” and I collided with her. We both went tumbling out onto the entryway steps, but as soon as we stopped I got up again and I ran and didn’t look back.
I ran as fast as my wobbly legs would take me, and I almost made it to the edge of town before I heard ponies coming.
“Hold on!” Rainbow Dash was flying next to me. I panicked, forgetting that she had shown off her speed just minutes ago. She tried to say something, but I made a break for the trees, hoping it would slow her down. The portal was still some ways away, but if I could make it there I’d be okay.
“Stop running!” she called, still behind me, but I couldn’t see her through the dense trees. I heard Applejack with her, and she was gaining on me. I heard something, looking back to see her getting closer, with a lasso of all things.
“Leave me alone!”
She tossed it, but somehow it completely missed me, hooking on a stray branch and knocking her off her hooves. I kept running. I could be there any minute now, if I just picked up the pace.
There was a flash of light and color, and suddenly the hybrid was running alongside me.
“Wait!” she yelled, and I didn’t listen. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you can’t go this way! It’s dangerous!”
“Get away from me!!” I shouted, and out of nowhere, a tree root ripped out of the dirt and tripped her, leaving her in my dust.
I couldn’t believe what I just saw. But things were falling into place. The vines, the stray branch, the roots; the forest was moving around, alive. And it was trying to help me get away! It was listening to me!
I had to be close to the portal.
“Please! Show me the way!” And ahead of me, flecks of light floated in the air, forming a trail to what I hoped to be the portal.
I still heard them behind me, and I could hear Pinkie too. It made my chest tight, I never said goodbye. But she knew now, they all did. I couldn’t stay, not anymore.
I burst into a clearing, panting hard, sweat dripping from my forehead. I felt the chill and heard no sound. I saw the path of trampled plants that lead to home, the lights floating above it too. I ran down it, stopping where it stopped. The lights vanished and I could hear them close behind.
“Please!” I begged, panting and coughing a little from the run. “Please! Send me home! I need to go back, I can’t stay here! I can’t stay here one more second!”
But nothing happened.
“Please!! If I stay they’ll catch me! I’ll leave and never come back, I promise!!”
And to my shock, the ivy vines were back. And as scared as I was by the sight of them, I didn’t run.
“Are you…gonna turn me back?”
The vines slipped over my legs, and I wasn’t afraid. I was dreading the pain but this is what I wanted. I could go home, I could see my family again!
But something was different.
Instead of covering me, the vines just surrounded my legs, and tree roots split the ground. I started to panic, frantically trying to figure out what was happening, what I should do.
As the ponies burst into view, the roots started dragging me into the ground. I was full-on panicking now, and the vines crawled up me again and headed for my face.
“No, nonononono!! STOP!!!” the ponies were staring, too afraid to move. Pinkie was there. I reached out a hoof before the vines covered it too. “Help!! PLEASE!!”
Pinkie tried to run towards me, but the hybrid stopped her. I thought for a desperate second that she might be leaving me to my fate, before her horn was surrounded by a magical glow. A bolt of light shot out at the vines surrounding me, and they slowed but didn’t stop. Then another, different sizes, different colors, but nothing stopped them. As I sank deeper into the ground and started to hyperventilate, the vines covered my eyes. All my muscles went limp, and I was so tired. The last thing I felt before losing consciousness was the ground shaking, and Pinkie calling out for her friend.
I’m sorry.
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well this keeps getting better
Yay, new Chapter!
Huorns. I'm calling it now, the forest's infested with huorns. And chaos buggery, because Everything is Discord's Fault.
9192043
what are hurons?
1. Apple Bloom is two words.
2. What point in the series does this take place in? The CMC have had their cutie marks for the better part of three seasons.
I am loving this even more.
9192139
Something out of LOTR, Huorns are Trees. Waking trees.
In Tolkien's world, the ancient forests are quite awake, and very aware of how much they have lost over the millennia.
They want it back.
They will often torment travelers on the road, rearranging themselves to block and redirect travel. The old "Weeping Angel stick" is a favorite of theirs. You'll be walking along, and decide you want to go back and try another way. But when you turn around there's a tree right behind you, and no sign of the road.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/deadliestfiction/images/2/28/Huorn1.png/revision/latest?cb=20130206054214
It sounds silly yes? "Oh no! the tree is mad at me!" But think about what tree roots do to stone absentmindedly, imagine that strength put to active use, quick as a viper and bent on violence. And there's thousands, tens of thousands of them.
9192260
that explains so many things... the Everfree for a major one.
Ohh, suspense.
I liked it that the cakes could alredy guess that Pinkie is in love or interessted in her, but I hope that the moment she couldn't guess what their smiles meant, doesn't mean that all of them already know more than Pinkie and Cornflower themself.
I don't really think that everyone should think of them as being together before they know it/decite it for themself.
I don't think it's so obvious all the time.
Well I guess so far it's more Pinkie herself why they give her that probably knowing look again.
I think Applejack with her lasso is taking it a step to far again.
What hybrid? I don't like it because I have the weird OC alarm going off at the moment. Or a daugther OC from a shipping I don't like alarm.
That or Discord.
Otherwise I loved the chapter.
Please NO! Not a cliffhanger! Plz come with next chapter soon!
9192746
Btw “the hybrid” is referring to Twilight. Because she has both wings and a horn and Cornflower Blue has only seen one or the other or neither.(Pegasus or unicorn or earth pony)
9192802
Ah yes I forgot that, I think he mentioned it somewhere already.
9192183
Huh, don't know why I didn't know that
This takes place right after Twilight turned into an alicorn, I've been planning this story since then, ha.
9192218
glad to see one of my original commenters is still liking how the story's progressed c:
I am really enjoying this story. Let me put that in perspective. I generally do not like human turned pony ( or whatever). Out of the 76 stories I have in my favorites, only two are transformation stories.
Just Pinkie promise to finish it.
PINKIE PROMISE
9196389
I second this. Pinkie promise!
9196389
i have been planning this story since season 3
if i don't finish it assume i am dead
i will do my best to stave off the appearance of death (i have a few chapters in the unpublished bank while i type the new ones) and i don't plan on stopping any time soon
For some reason I can't help but to hear a Music box version of "Bad Apple" in the background of the last five minutes of reading this... =P
I thought I had a rough idea of what was going on in this story. I have been thoroughly disabused of that notion.
9331675
That’s a good thing, though. So many things are just... completely predictable. And that’s okay some of the time, but all the time? Surprises, pls!
so this celestia only managed to bring true peace to her nation only last century.
nightmare moon would be pround.