Chapter 5 - Like Glimmers in the Sky Part 1
“Hi, sis. I thought I’d come here to visit. Sorry if I haven’t been around much, but…” The young mare chuckled. “Becoming a singer songwriter does keep me occupied now and then. But I wouldn’t have it any other way, you know? It’s what I’ve always wanted...and you wanted it for me….”
Tears slowly trickled down her cheeks. “It still hurts, Rarity.”
She knelt down and removed a withering bouquet from her sister’s tombstone and replaced it with a fresh one. She gave a weak smile, brushing her tears away. “I love you, big sis...I have to go now…” Sweetie Belle stood up and glanced the five other tombstones placed side by side, rose petals blowing in the wind. “And...if you see Granny Smith...tell her we miss her too.”
“Porridge again?” Prism moaned, plopping into her chair. Pearl silently took a seat beside her.
“With peas!” Moonlight said indignantly.
“I thought you liked porridge,” Sapphire said from across the table, patting her bun.
“Yeah, but not five days in a row.”
“Now, Prism,” Starlight reprimanded, setting seven glasses of water on place holders. “Moonlight worked hard on your dinner, the least you can do is show your appreciation for it.” She paused as she silently counted the heads of her daughters. “Pearl, Prism, go and tell Buttercup that dinner is ready.”
Just then, Buttercup hovered in the dining room, her wings flapping awkwardly. “Oh, oh my goodness—oh no… I—oof!” she landed flat on her stomach in a less than graceful landing. “Ouch.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Prism and Pearl chorused.
“Good try, Buttercup,” Sunshine smiled as the latter sat beside her.
“But not good enough,” Buttercup sighed. “I just don’t think I’m cut out for flying.”
Starlight frowned. “Now don’t you say that, Buttercup. You are an average flyer, just like your sister.”
“But mom…I'm not sure I even like flying—"
“None of that now,” Starlight interrupted as she and Moonlight sat at the table. “You’ll keep practicing until you get it right. Prism will continue to help you.”
Prism nodded and put her elbows on the table. “You see, Buttercup,” she explained, her fore hooves slightly spread apart. “It’s like toilet training.”
Half the table groaned. “Disgusting,” Sapphire muttered, scooping up her porridge with a spoon.
“Why am I even related to her,” Moonlight whispered under her breath.
Starlight fixed the cyan pegasus with a warning glare. “There will be no toilet talk at the dinner table, understood?”
Pearl held in a giggle and picked up a bowl and held it out. “Here, Prism, want a pea or two?”
Prism smirked and accepted the bowl. “Sure, I’ll take a dump.”
Sunshine flew a hoof to her mouth to conceal her grin; the not-so-subtle puns went completely over their mother’s head.
Moonlight kicked Prism under the table. “Ow! What?”
The dinner carried on without incident. Pearl’s heart thumped inside her chest. The plates were almost completely empty. She briefly considered backing out, but then she remembered how free those birds were. She was dying to get the chance to see what the world was like, even if it was for a day. She tapped her hoof lightly on the table. It was now or never. She took a deep breath. “Mom?”
Starlight lifted her eyes to meet hers. “Yes?”
Pearl stole a brief glance at Prism who regarded her with wide eyes. “Well, uh, I was thinking…since we’re thirteen now…” She fidgeted in her seat. “Maybe we could…go with you outside the cave tomorrow?”
Everyone froze, spoons clattering onto the table. Buttercup even let out a gasp, but it was barely louder than a whisper. Pearl shrank under her sibling’s glares, ranging from ‘Are you out of your mind?’ to ‘You’re bucked’. And Starlight…if looks could kill.
The silence stretched on for what it felt like forever, and Pearl was beginning to think that it was a huge mistake when Starlight finally spoke.
“Pearl. I have fed you. Loved you. Gave birth to you, nursed you as a foal, and sheltered you from the harshness of the mountains. And still, it’s not enough. I’ve given up everything for you girls, and you can’t even grant me one simple request I ask for in return?”
“B-But—"
“I’m speaking,” Starlight hissed. Pearl closed her mouth. Starlight stepped off her chair and paced around the table. “I have said, time and time again that I will let you venture the world when I’m certain that you’re ready for it!”
“We’re never ready for it!” Pearl argued.
Moonlight gasped. “Pearl!”
“No, she’s right!” Prism cut in, her eyebrow furrowing. “I-I mean we’ve learned so much and—and we do our chores and follow all the rules—we should be allowed to go out, at least one time.”
Moonlight’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets and Starlight gave them the death glare. Buttercup sunk lower and lower in her chair while Sapphire took a sudden interest in the table cloth.
Sunshine swallowed nervously. “W-what they mean is, uh—you’ve taught us a whole lot and we appreciate it. Erm…but living in the mountain for so long…I admit that they’ve…we’ve… been feeling a little antsy lately.”
She broke into cold sweat when Starlight’s angry gaze shifted to her. She chuckled uneasily. “Maybe one outing wouldn’t hurt?”
Starlight inhaled sharply through her nose. The teenagers leaned back in their seats for the angry tirade that was sure to come. To their surprise, Starlight smiled. “Well then! If you all feel this way, I have just the thing to cure your antsiness!”
“Thanks a whoooole lot, guys,” Moonlight muttered, letting herself fall into bed, sighing in relief as she did so. “I really needed those five hours of cleaning the kitchen and dining room.”
“And Moonlight Sapphire and I didn’t even do anything,” Buttercup added in frustration. Strands of pink hair escaped her bun and clung to her face and neck in thick sweat.
Sapphire nodded in agreement. “It’s not fair!” She loosened her hair tie and let her long purple mane fall over her shoulders. “Ohh. That’s much better. I had to clean the bathrooms.” She shivered at the memory. “Ewwww!”
Prism snorted. “Oh yeah? Try wiping down all the furniture and washing all the windows! If I didn’t pass inspection, I had to start all over again! Besides, I still think that mom’s overreacting about the whole ‘outside’ thing.”
“Well, I hope you’re happy with yourselves.” Moonlight scowled at the ceiling. “Because now, she probably doesn’t trust us to do anything until we’re thirty!”
“Well maybe that makes her wrong,” Pearl said simply, her eyes transfixed by the sky once more. “She can’t keep us bottled up forever.”
Moonlight turned her head. “I’ve never seen you act like this, Pearl.” Said girl lowered her gaze towards the floor, eliciting a small smile from the purple unicorn. “Where’s our happy care free Pearlie that we know and love?”
“She’s tired of staying in one place all her life,” Pearl sighed. She turned to the others. “I want to be out there, with other ponies! No matter how big this place is, it always seems a lot smaller than it used to be.” She threw up her hooves. “If I spend another minute in this mountain, I’ll go crazy!” The frustrated earth pony threw herself face down onto Prism’s bed.
“So what would you have us do?” Sunshine said flatly. “Hold a protest and demand our rights?”
Pearl lifted her head and frowned. “No, that’ll never work. We don’t even have enough poster boards.” The sound of hooves slapping against faces filled the room. Pearl suddenly brightened. “But you know what we could do…”
“Forget it,” Sapphire mumbled, closing her eyes.
“We could sneak out while she’s grocery shopping!”
“Could somepony rub my back?” Sunshine asked.
“I’m serious! Mom would never know! As long as we get back in time—"
“Now hold on just a minute!” Sapphire interrupted. “There’s no way in tartarus are we going behind mother’s back!”
“Sapphire!” Buttercup gasped. “Language!”
“Well, we aren’t!”
“Oh, come on, guys!” Pearl whined. “I think I’m gonna do it. It’s now or never! Come with me, please! Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaaaaaaaase!”
Prism looked incredulous. “Are you crazy?! No, wait, let me rephrase that. You’re crazy!”
Peal smiled. “Am I?” She went over to her own bed and climbed in, pulling the covers over her body. “Goodnight~!” she sang.
The girls looked at one another, completely mystified. “Goodnight,” they replied uncertainly.
Sapphire turned off the lights, but the five girls lie awake in their beds not knowing if their sister was serious or not.
“And there’s bread cooking in the oven,” Starlight concluded, levitating her saddlebag onto her back. “I believe that’s it! Moonlight, this week, you are in charge. Please, be on your best behavior. Let’s not have a repeat of last time…”
The girls glanced at Buttercup, who blushed.
Starlight smiled and kissed each girl on the cheek. “I’ll return at five thirty. Be sure to review your lessons on the flashcards I left for you!” She turned to the enormous bolder that blocked the exit and moved it with her magic.
The girls waved goodbye as their mother stepped through the opening and sealed it shut. Afterwards, the girls dispersed throughout the house, intending to enjoy their free time. Prism hung back to watch Pearl, just to see what she would do.
The youngest sibling hummed a tune and went over to pick up a feather duster with her tail. Smiling, she sauntered her way to the living room and dusted the coffee table. Prism eyed her warily and followed her. “Hey Pearl,” she said casually. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Getting my chores done early so I have the rest of the day to explore the outside world,” Pearl replied cheerfully.
Prism blinked. "...I'll be right back." She turned and ran to the bedroom.
Moonlight sat in bed, reading through the flashcards that magically hung to her eye level. “The confines of a cutie mark can harm yourself and others…”
“Moonlight! Moonlight!” Prism yelled, jumping on the end of her sister’s bed. The unicorn rolled her eyes, not bothering to lower the cards.
“Yes, my hot tempered sibling?”
“She’s going through with it! I mean, she’s really going through with it!”
“There’s more than one ‘She’ in this house, Prism, you’ll have to clarify.”
Prism groaned in frustration. “Wake up, Moon! Pearl’s doing her chores early!”
This time, Moonlight lifted her eyes from the flash cards and laughed. “Oh, goodness! Pearl’s cleaning early? The horror!”
“Listen to me!” Prism pushed the flash cards with her hoof and pushed her nose against Moonlight’s. “Pearl’s doing her chores early so she has the rest of the day to go off and do who knows what! She told me herself!”
Moonlight leaned back and frowned. “But…she can’t. Even if she does go through the cave opening, she’ll just find more mountain. All those paths and turns…nopony knows the way but mom. Plus, she’s probably just bluffing…”
Prism raised an eyebrow. “Do you really wanna take that chance?”
Without a word, Moonlight got up and bounded into the hall with Prism at her heels. Half way through, they bumped into Sapphire. “Oh! I’m sorry… what’s wrong?” Sapphire asked, seeing their distraught expressions.
“Pearl,” Moonlight rasped.
They pushed forward, leaving Sapphire flabbergasted. She ran to catch up with them. “Wait! What did she do now?”
“It’s more what she’s about to do,” Prism replied without looking back.
As they entered the living room, Sapphire’s eyebrows shot up. “You mean she’s actually going outside!? B-But I thought she was joking!”
Sunshine poked her head out from the kitchen. “Pearl’s doing what?!”
“Pearl,” Moonlight said haltingly, causing the earth pony to look up from her couch dusting. The eldest levitated the feather duster out of Pearl’s tail and placed it on the coffee table. “We need to talk.”
“’Bout what?”
“You can’t go out there. Mom forbade us. It isn’t right, it—it …you can’t do this, Pearl! You’ll get lost in the mountain! This is but a small part of it. How do you expect to find the right path, huh?”
Pearl closed her eyes and turned her nose up. “I’ll find a way.”
“And even if you do find your way out, how will you get through all the snow?” Sapphire interjected. “You’ll freeze to death!”
“That’s why I’m bringing my cloak!” Pearl chirped.
“You’ll starve,” Sunshine tried.
“I’ll take my half of the bread with me.”
“You’ll get mauled by wild animals!” Prism threw out.
“No I won’t! Mom says that there are no wild animals on the mountain.”
“…You’ll get hurt.” Everypone turned to Buttercup, who had somehow snuck her way into the conversation. “Please don’t go, Pearl…we have no idea what’s out there. It’s too dangerous!”
Pearl smiled warmly. “I’ll be fine. If mom can come back in one piece, then so can I. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
She trotted to the girl’s bedroom to retrieve her cloak. Sunshine stood stuttering. “Then…then I’m going with you!” she called, running after her.
“Yeah, me too!” Prism said.
“Wait!” Moonlight shouted, watching helplessly as her sisters went to pack. “You can’t just—this is not—"
“Catch!” Moonlight flinched when Prism tossed her a cloak as she flew by.
“Get back here!” she yelled after her. Her sisters continued to scatter, throwing on their cloaks, and stuffing the pockets with food. Moonlight shook her head in utter bewilderment. “This is preposterous,” she whispered.
“Tough muffins, Moonlight,” Sunshine said. “Now are you coming, or aren’t you?”
Moonlight swallowed. “But…we’ll get into so much trouble if…”
Prism grinned. “Baaaaawk…”
“Baaaaaawwwk Bawk Bawk!” Pearl squawked.
Moonlight flushed red. “I am not chicken! I’m being rational! You know what? Fine! I’ll go with you but only because I’m still in charge and…I’m keeping you from doing…dumb things.”
After a few more minutes of packing the girls met up in front of the boulder that had been off limits to them their entire lives. Moonlight exhaled slowly to calm her pounding heart. “Sapphire, may I have your assistance?”
Sapphire nodded, and together, they latched on to the boulder with their magic combined. Both unicorns strained as the rock jiggled.
Moonlight already felt herself getting tired.
“Come on, guys, you can do it!” Pearl said.
“One last push, Saph,” Moonlight grunted. After a little more maneuvering, the boulder finally rolled aside. Sapphire sighed in exhaustion as she and Moonlight released their hold. They were only used to moving small objects, and it took a lot out of the unicorns.
“Nice!” Prism grinned. The girls peered into the dark void before them. The temperature dropped considerably as a blast of cold air washed over the Glimmers. Sunshine squinted her eyes. “I can’t see a thing.”
Pearl stepped through the opening, and her eyes widened into the size of golf balls. “Whoa! This isn’t regular darkness…this is…advanced darkness.” Buttercup shivered, not from the cold, but out of fear. The dark terrified her.
Sapphire smiled at her. “Here, Buttercup.” Her blue aura flooded the area with light.
The girls grinned now that they were able to see each other better. “Thank you,” Buttercup sighed. One by one, the siblings stepped into through the gaping hole, skin prickling with exhilaration. They looked back at their home with a whole new perspective; It was like leaving a womb.
“Should we leave it open?” Sunshine asked.
Moonlight gave a half hearted shrug and started walking. “Might as well. If we don’t get back in time, we’re dead anyway.”
The six teenagers ventured deeper into the mountain on the single path. The feel of it was very ominous, even with Sapphire lighting the way; the wind whistled softly, and the occasional drip drip drip could be heard here and there, bouncing off the walls. Buttercup flinched at each sound. She stayed very close to Prism, who stared straight ahead with a look of determination that she’d never seen before.
The trek came to a halt when they came to four separate tunnels. Sapphire turned to the others, eyebrow raised. “Now what?”
Prism thought for a moment. “Hey, Moonlight—remember that book you used to keep?”
Sunshine’s face broke into a grin. “Oh, yeah! I forgot all about that thing!”
Moonlight still remembered the book. It was her very first, after all. “Yeah? What about it?”
“Well, was there anything in there that could help us out?”
“Are you kidding? I was five years old! How do you expect me to remember everything in that book?”
“Because you’re you! You wouldn’t forget anything from a book…especially that one. C’mon, Moonlight, at least try.”
Relenting, Moonlight lifted a hoof to her head in order to think. “Well…if mom came this way, I could be able to highlight her hoof steps.If it works.” She lowered her hoof to the ground and closed her eyes in concentration. “Mind you, I haven’t tried this in years…”
Her horn lit up, her violet aura mixing with Sapphire’s bright blue. One by one, hoof prints appeared on the floor of the cave, and trailed all the way down the second tunnel to the left.
“Cool!”
“Nice one, Moon!”
“Knew you could do it!”
Sapphire smiled at Moonlight as they continued on. “You’ll have to teach me that sometime,” she said with a wink. “When mom’s not around, of course.”
“When mom’s not around,” Moonlight agreed.
Twenty minutes out of the tunnel, another opening crawled into view, but this time, it didn’t lead to another tunnel. Moonlight squinted. “Is—is that it?”
“It is!” Pearl squealed, rushing forward. “Daylight!” When she reached the end, she gasped at the new sensation that assaulted her hooves.
“Oh! Oh! Oh! Cold!”
She stumbled backward and slammed right into Sunshine. “Ow! Hey!”
“Sorry!”
Moonlight leaned down and sniffed the snow before stepping into it. “Oooh! Brrr!”
“Wow, this stuff is cold!” Sunshine exclaimed.
“Well it is snow,” Prism said as she pawed the white substance with her hoof. “It’s really crunchy though…”
“And wet,” Sapphire said with a frown. “I would have brought boots along…if we had boots.”
“But you have to admit, it’s really beautiful,” Buttercup smiled, tracing the letter ‘B’ in the snow. “You can even write in it.”
Pearl stood with a serious expression before dunking her face in the snow and scooping up a small pile in her mouth.
“Eww!”
“Gross!”
Pearl eyed them oddly as she chewed. “Wu? Isss gud!” She swallowed and shivered in delight. “Ooh, and it even turns into water! Try it!”
Sapphire held up a hoof. “I'll pass.” She looked up and gasped. “Oh…oh my!” The others followed her wonder-filled gaze. Open skies welcomed their sights; scores of ice capped mountains ranging from tall to small, bridges of all sizes connecting the gaps in between. The view itself moved half of them to tears.
“I never knew the world was this big,” Buttercup choked, wiping her eyes.
“Yeah,” Prism whispered. “Why would mom want to keep us from all this?”
Moonlight felt a small seed of resentment form inside her stomach. “I...don’t know.” She straightened up and gave a small cough. “We’d better keep moving. I have a feeling that there’s a lot more we need to see.”
Heads bobbing in agreement, the small group started down the mountain trail, the snow growing thicker as they went on. “The air smells so crisp,” Sapphire noted. As they got farther down the mountain, the snow slowly started to recede, and the atmosphere felt a bit warmer.
They crossed a bridge with as much caution as possible; it took twice as long since Buttercup almost fainted at the height of it. Eventually, they came to a ledge that had only one path down the mountain. This time, they could see trees—real trees—in the far horizon.
Buttercup pointed a hoof out to the right. “Look over there!” If they squinted, they could see an area filled with large buildings. It looked to be a large market place.
Sapphire shook her head. “That’s much too far.”
Moonlight nodded, reestablishing her spell. “Besides, that’s where mom’s headed. Running into her is the last thing we need.”
“Well, how about there?” Prism asked, pointing farther down. A forest lay at the foot of the mountain, and a few miles from there, they could spot a large clearing filled with booths and houses. They assumed that the tiny black specks moving around were ponies.
“That’s pretty far too,” Moonlight said doubtfully.
“C’mon, we can do it! We’ve come this far, haven’t we?” Prism started on the trail with a slight skip in her step. The girls looked at each other and shrugged, following suit. By the time they reached the forest, hooves were already feeling sore, but they pressed on. The forest was an odd place. Trees towered over them, almost completely blocking the sun with their leaves. Buttercup particularly loved the smell. There were all sorts of bushes and shrubs, sticks and logs. But above all, there was dirt, and lots of it, much to Sapphire’s dismay.
The girls huddled together at the sound of squawking birds. At one time, a spider landed on Pearl’s mane, causing her to shriek loudly and run around in circles, screaming “Getitoffgetitoffgetitoooooooff!”
After five minutes of sheer panic and eventual comforting, the girls continued until they came at the very end, and a grassy area came into view. Hooves shuffled in the grass. It had also become very hot, so the girls took off their cloaks and set them beside a nearby tree. Growing hungry, Moonlight declared a break, and they each sat on the cool grass and munched on pieces of bread as they enjoyed the beautiful day.
Sunshine sighed as she lay on her stomach, letting the warm sun hit her back. “This feels so nice…”
Pearl rolled around in the grass, giggling. “I love grass!”
Prism lay on her back and let out a sound of pure contentment while stretching all four hooves out. “We should do this more often.”
Moonlight smiled upon seeing her sisters having fun. “Maybe we should. The place is just down that way. We can leave our stuff here, I think.”
Leaving their cloaks behind, the girls descended the hill and arrived at the town. The buildings and houses looked to be built out of wood. Booths were lined up everywhere and carried a large variety of food and clothing that they had never seen before. But what shocked them the most were the ponies.
Mares and stallions alike all looked completely different; they came in different shapes and sizes, different colors, young and old. Some had mustaches, others had beards. A few had really long manes that almost touched the ground, and they saw at least a few stallions that didn’t have manes at all! Some wore glasses and jewelry and shirts and hats; others wore shoes and scarves and saddlebags.
It was a definite culture shock to the young teenagers. “And they all have…c…cutie marks,” Buttercup whispered. It was true. Everypony there had a different cutie mark; they saw a dolphin, a music note, some flowers, even articles of clothing. And they all seemed to be...getting along? The girls stood in awe at what they were seeing.
The large numbers of ponies were all going in different directions, brushing past one another, talking, shouting, and laughing. A group of mares strolled by, enjoying some sort of pastry, laughing like they didn't have a care in the world. And they had different looks about them, ranging from tall and thin to short and slightly curvy. One mare even had a beauty mark under her left eye! The sight of them completely mesmerized the Glimmers. “They’re so beautiful!” Sapphire gasped.
“Why aren’t their manes tied up?” Prism asked in confusion.
“I see some girls wearing braids,” Pearl said.
Sunshine rubbed her eyes. “Everything’s so colorful! It’s starting to hurt my eyes.”
Sapphire suddenly squealed. A pegasus, around their age, came into view, wandering aimlessly amongst the chaos.
He had a cream colored coat and a dark brown scruffy mane that was partly concealed by a blue and white colored hat. He also had wide, chocolate brown eyes that curiously scanned the town. Sapphire’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, her mouth hanging open. “He…He’s the most handsome boy I’ve ever seen,” she breathed.
Prism raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t he the only boy you’ve ever seen?”
Sapphire snapped out of her stupor and threw Prism an irritated glare. “Hmph. My point still stands!”
Just then, a unicorn in a blue sweater came up to the boy. They looked to be the same age; her long blonde mane was held up by a blue scrunchy and when her mouth moved, they could see that she had matching blue braces. The unicorn tugged on the colt’s arm while jumping up and down excitedly.
“And of course he has a marefriend,” Sapphire pouted.
Moonlight rolled her eyes. “Come on. We should introduce ourselves. It's only polite." She bit her lip. "But don't be too forward! We don't want to scare them off."
“I can’t believe we’re actually going to talk to other ponies!” Pearl squealed. As they neared closer, the boy and girl suddenly took notice of them.
The girl seemed a little confused while the boy smiled in a friendly way. “Hey there!”
“H-Hi,” Moonlight said rather shyly. “Nice to meet you.”
“You guys here for the carnival?”
The Glimmers glanced at one another. “Carnival?” Prism repeated, not knowing what that was.
The boy nodded. “Yep. So are we, except we never leave,” he joked. He gestured to the unicorn beside him. “This is my twin sister, Pumpkin.”
Sapphire’s ears perked up at that. “Your…sister?” she asked with a slow smile.
Pumpkin nodded with a wry grin, her blue eyes just as wide as her brother’s. “Yeah, we know. We get that a lot. We used to get made fun of a whole lot ‘cause our parents are earth ponies, yadda yadda.”
“Oh, we wouldn’t do that,” Pearl said brightly. “In fact, our mom’s a unicorn! And there’s nothing wrong with that is there?”
The siblings shared a surprised looks. “You mean you’re all sisters?” Pumpkin asked.
“Uh-huh!”
“T-That’s so cool!” the boy exclaimed. “So are you guys sextuplets?”
“I guess so,” Moonlight said a matter a factly, casting a smile towards her sisters.
“Cool.” Then he smacked his forehead. “Ah, I almost forgot. My name’s Pound. Y’know, like pound cake.” He rolled his eyes. “Our parents were super creative on the names.”
Sunshine grinned. “Hi. I’m Sunshine, and this is Moonlight, Pearl, Prism, Sapphire, and Buttercup. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Very much so,” Sapphire said dreamily.
Pumpkin looked the girls over. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
Moonlight's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
“Well, for instance, your cutie marks. They’re all the same… I’ve never seen anything like it!”
Pound stepped back and observed them. “Yeah…how’d you get those?”
The girls glanced at their marks. “Oh, these?” Moonlight said. “We’ve had them since the day we were born.”
The twins looked dumbfounded. Pumpkin’s brow furrowed. “I wonder how that’s possible. Where are you even from?”
“Uhh small town,” Prism answered quickly. “Far off from here. But not too far.”
“So are we!” Pound smiled. “Our folks sent us here to live with our great uncle to work for his bakery business. It’s a family thing.”
“And...where is here?” Moonlight asked.
Pumpkin extended her right foreleg with a large, brace-filled grin. “This is Cranberry Grove,” she stated proudly. “One of the best tourist towns in Equestria...at least that’s what the brochure says. But how ‘bout it, newbies? Want a grand tour?”
To. Be. Continued. They told me i could ship anyone, so....yeah, I don't know. This was out of the blue. 
I tried not to make it weird, since Rarity's...you know. Technically they are the same age, right? 
I'm sorry for the wait. Singing the college blues! (It's not that bad though). This chapter was supposed to be longer, but the chapter ended up being waaaaay too long, so I just threw up my hands and split it in half.
But, is there any inconsistencies, or are you guys good?
Anyways, thank you and to be continued!
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6359963
The same concept applies to everyone. We are all equal whether you like it or not and there's nothing you can do about it.
Man, Starlight's going to be livid.
This reminded me of a Littleshy video. "This isn't regular sadness, this is advanced sadness." to Applebloom in the background.
OMG is that the cake twins?!
6408630 Starlight will be so mad indeed.
6408630 Lol, it's a SpongeBob thing apparently
6409396
Really? I haven't watched that in ages. There have been alot of people referencing it about this though.
6409450 Yep, back when the show was spectacular
6409463
Kinda went into a downhill spiral a few years back. Its not the same anymore.
6409472 The show was originally supposed to end with the first SpongeBob movie, but someone wanted to keep it going.
It's better to end things on a high note, instead of dragging it into the ground.
6409211
I meant in regards to raising children.
6409486
Yeah. Now any episode's premise is usually utterly ridiculous.
6409517 It really is. What happened to the good old daaaaais?
6409524
They're gone. Like dust in the wind.
6409531
well starlight gonna be pissed after this, eventually she going to find out
I just remembered that Pound and Pumpkin wouldn't recognize Pinkie because they were so young.
It's almost worse than simply disappearing to the world.
6409882 yeah
6409542
Was this supposed to remind ,e of Gravity Falls?
6409940 W-What? Pffft, nooooo, I'd never do that!.......
6409669 Yeah, it's a plot hole, no mistake, but one that's necessary for the story to function. I like to imagine there is some ancient magical MacGuffin of shielding that can block any divinitory or scrying magic, even Discord's if he's far away and not actively looking in a specific place, and it just happened to get buried in the mountain above Starlight's hideout without her knowing about it.
Nice twist with the Cake twins. It's really cute to see the girls interacting with outsiders. One question: Isn't the Equals Mark supposed to prevent unicorn magic other than telekinesis? How did Twilight cast that spell on Starlight's hoofprints?
6410047 Twilight is a special case because she still has the element of magic buried deep inside her, weather she remembers or not. The element itself isn't fully awakened, but it's still flickering.
6409669 Discord can't recognize Twilight and Rarity's magic, because even though they are still elements of harmony, they haven't completely tapped into it yet. Just like back in season 1, they have to recognize, represent, and accept their elements before they can be restored. Therefore, Discord, the spirit of Disharmony, can't pick up on it yet. As for Starlight, she's very unknown, so her magic is considered irrelevant at this time; as far as Equestria is concerned, she's either a regular mare or an unknown face, rather than a villain on the rise.
6410072 I certain their magic must give of atleast a similar signal, one that may confuse Discord at first but one he may still follow if there was even a glint of hope they were still alive. He could believe their injured and their magic is weaken from said injures.
On one hand, I really like how this is going.
On the other hand, it breaks my poor heart thinking of their families dealing with losing them. Sweetie visiting Rarity's grave crushed me. But I suppose that was the point, so that still means you're doing great!
Can't wait for the next chapter. I forget if it was mentioned, though, but other than the cutie marks and altered mane and tails, do they look any different? Any different coat or mane colors? Surely the ponies in town would recognize them if they saw them. Though I figure you'll address that.
Also, the idea of Rarity developing a little crush on Pound now that they're the same age is pretty adorable.
6410202 Shhh, we wouldn't want to give anything away now, would we?
6411059 Um?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Does this mean we'll see the CMC's cutie marks?
Sweetie Belle, okay, I know that the hole inside you NEVER goes away. But I worry that there is such a thing as not letting go of the past.
“You’ll keep practicing until you get it right.
Since it's a basic pegasus skill, she ironically has a point. (Even if she's keeping Prism from realizing her full ability and thus her full contribution to the world).
“Why am I even related to her,” Moonlight whispered under her breath.
Ironically, blood sisters ask the same thing, so it's not that odd.
Moonlight kicked Prism under the table. “Ow! What?”
Welcome to trying to keep six teenagers in line.
Gave birth to you,
In a very warped sense she did.
and you can’t even grant me one simple request I ask for in return?”
Mother Gothel ... except without the constant emotional abuse.
Glimmer it seems is still trapped by the idea she can control everything.
“And Moonlight Sapphire and I didn’t even do anything,”
“And Moonlight, Sapphire, and I didn’t even do anything,”
Geeze Starlight, great way to keep your kids from bickering with each other. Isn't that the OPPOSITE of what yo wanted? -_-
“We could sneak out while she’s grocery shopping!”
That never works!
The eldest levitated the feather duster out of Pearl’s tail and placed it on the coffee table.
Ironically the youngest since she got zapped LAST.
The joke is that they all made perfectly logical arguments on WHY they can just leave, since the place IS a giant maze.
Kids and teenagers never know when to stop, Glimmer finding out was the only out come.
Moonlight rolled her eyes. “Come on. We should introduce ourselves. It's only polite."
Now that's just stupid.
At this point, they're just asking for trouble.
Children won't instantly abandon what they've known their own lives in the fact of contrary evidence. They'll ask their mother, who will then be able to put a spin on it that reinforces her point of view.
Would be IMMENSELY ironic if the girls naively zapped Discord to stone if he attacked Starlight (protecting family).
I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it. If the girls end up with exactly the same cutie marks in spite of a completely different life, then Starlight is ironically given a moral victory, since it means cutie marks ARE just predetermined shackles that bind a pony to a particular fate.
If they DON'T, and Starlight's scheme WORKS, and they truly become her daughters to where their former selves can be considered different people, then Starlight has ironically defeated her own argument, unwittingly proven that cutie marks ARE an expression of free will rather than something that enslaves ponies.
I totally started flipping out when I realised it was Pumpkin and Pound.
Like WOW!!!
DUDE!!!
What if they recognise Pinkie and like, shtuff happens and she remembers and just...
DUUUUDE!!
6438425 Oh my Celestia if that doesn't happen, I'll rage quit Fanfiction in total.
6411059 Any idea when the next chapter will release?
6496033 I'm working on it as we speak...it wasn't nearly supposed to take that long
Maybe next week, maybe this week if all goes well...
6496067 Good to hear, I'm hoping its soon.
6496067 Was browsing through some pics and found this
6534271
6409486 It really jumped the shark when they made SpongeBob an alicorn princess.
6427469 In short, she put herself into a Morton's Fork.
TNMT reference.
There isn't going to be shipping in this is there? God i hope not.
6427469 indeed
6558569
I know there are so many references. Like another SpongeBob reference where SpongeBob ran in circles yelling get it off over and over.
I totally didn't expect Pound and Pumpkin to be there. Why didn't they notice Pinkie at least a little.