Sometimes They Call Me Super

by KorenCZ11

Persona XVI: The Prodigal Daughter (part 2)

After everypony had taken a seat in the… less than ‘modern’ living room, dad brought us all a cup of water and then sat down and waited. For something. He was just… silent. Didn’t say a word to anypony, and it was beginning to drive me crazy.

“So… you must be Pinkie’s father. It’s nice to meet you.” Goose said, leaning across the two tiered wooden coffee table in the center of the room to shake my dad’s hoof.

“I am.” Dad responded and then shook his hoof. And then leaned back in his seat to stare nondescriptly at the wall above everypony and drink his water. You’re not even going to tell him your name!? Why are you like this? Well… he was always kinda like this, wasn’t he? But he would usually introduce himself when talking to strangers, wouldn’t he? Then again, last I remember, he was sick and we weren’t sure he was going to make it… What happened?

“Has business been good lately?” Goose asked.

“As well as usual.” Dad replied.

Minutes pass.

Silence.

The ponies other than dad fidget in their seats.

You can hear every sound anypony makes.

Heart beats, soft breathing, shifting of weight.

“What exactly do you do for a living?” Goose asks.

“Haul, cut, and sell stone, ore, and gems.” Dad replies.

More minutes pass.

The silence is deafening.

Time creeps slowly by.

It’s almost as if we’re being dragged along with it.

Can you not just… make normal conversation? Why are you doing this?

“Dad, are you okay?” I finally asked. I could swear we had less than a word passbetween us for each minute we’d been sitting inside.

“Me? Why, I’m fine Pinkie. What makes you ask?” He said in quite possibly the most tone variation I’ve ever heard from him.

“Well… you’re acting kinda weird… aren’t you? I know I haven’t been around but… do… is this normal?” I asked. Dad furrowed his brows and frowned, sitting up straight now.

“No, I don’t believe I’m acting unusually. Though, I do find it odd to see you home again for the first time in a decade and with a group of strange individuals. You have yet to introduced me to anypony you brought here or told me why you’ve returned. I suppose I’m simply not quite sure what to say.” Dad said. Oh. Right.

“Um… well… These are my friends and coworkers. We um… I uh…” I started, then trailed off.

“Take a breath and try again.” Dad coached. Without even thinking, I followed his directions.

“These are my friends. We all work together and lately we’ve been visiting our families to… to apologize. Those of us with living parents… didn’t leave home on good terms so… we wanted to try and… m-make amends. Sir.” I managed to explain underneath dad’s gaze. It was like trying to talk with an impossibly heavy weight over my head. Tapping my hooves together and looking at the floor was all I could do to keep going, and even then, I couldn’t look at him.

“I see.” He said as he nodded slowly with a hoof on his lips. “It sounds like you’ve made some good friends.” I bit deep in my lower lip and kept my eyes trained on the floor. I’m biting myself. I’m in pain. That’s why I feel this way. Because I’m biting myself.

“Are… Is anypony else home?” I asked. I keep trying to say things I want to say, but I lose courage and just can’t. Why am I like this?

“Maud and Marble are still in the mine, probably haven’t even realized that it’s already past supper time. Cloudy was out brokering a deal for a contract we’ve been trying to obtain for a while now, so I don’t know when she might be home, but she’s never been out later than nine. I figure we’ll see all of them in the next hour or so.” He explained. An hour!? I can’t survive in this silence for an hour! I’m gonna break down and cry any minute now if this keeps up the way it is! I started to feel panic set in when he stopped talking again and time started to erode away.

Just say something, anything damn it! Come on! Show some emotion! Be angry with me, yell at me, tell me I didn’t deserve to survive after what I did! Tell me I’m worthless and shouldn’t be here! Berate me and make me feel worse! Treat me like trash and kick me out! I shouldn’t be here, why won’t you just… why won’t you just be my dad again? I was a second away from starting to yell in my hysteria when I heard the door click. Oh no. Who is it now? The knob turned and once that old wooden slab swung inside, I saw my sisters for the first time in ten years.

Maud was in front, her violet mane and tail just as straight as it had always been, her gray coat covered in dirt and dust, presumably from being in the mine all day. Ten years would put her in her mid twenties, and with muscle like that, she could probably rival Applejack for the ‘body builder mare’ position. She took a step inside, probably about to ask where dinner was when those pale blue eyes locked on me. I shivered in place like I’d been hit with a bucket full of ice water. More silence. More frozen time as the still nothingness is only disturbed by my pounding heart. I could feel my pulse rising, the beating in my chest a mile a minute. I couldn’t look away from that piercing gaze and that was all I could wish for right now. I managed to blink and then suddenly she’d wrapped herself around me.

“Thank the goddess, you’re alive...” She said as she held me tightly. I swallowed hard and bit into my lip again. Come on, don’t you do it, damn it! She broke the hug and put her hooves on my shoulders, locking me in that stare again. “Pinkie, what happened?” She asked, getting straight to the point. Blunt like a hammer. I let my head fall and chomped down harder on my inner lip.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have done it. I never should have gotten so angry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” I covered my eyes and hid my face in my hooves, repeating that line over and over again. I’m so sorry. I hurt you all. I’m so sorry. I’d repeated myself so many times that I wouldn’t be able to say how long I did it before I finally felt movement from my sister. She pressed me into her chest and started to rub my back.

“It’s… okay, Pinkie. That was… a long time ago. I’m just glad I only lost one sister instead of two.” She said as she tried to console me. Stop being so nice, I don’t deserve this! I started to taste iron between my teeth and curled myself in even harder. It’s all my fault… Why can’t they see that? After a while, I felt her pat my back twice and step away. “Have you asked her anything yet? How long has she been here?” Maud asked.

“No, I haven’t. It’s been about ten minutes by my watch.” Dad said, pulling on his sleeve to reveal a black strapped analogue watch on his wrist. Ten minutes!? There’s no way it’s only been ten minutes! We’ve been here for at least half an hour. I looked up and swallowed the blood that had pooled in mouth. Everypony else was just as confused as I was it seemed, so how it’d only been ten minutes is beyond me. Maud rolled her eyes.

“Uh-huh. Come inside Marble, we need to talk.” I looked back to the front door, where I’d seen a second body when Maud opened it, but never got a good look. Geez, is she cold or something? Hiding behind the door frame and practically shivering in place was my fraternal twin, Marble. She was several tones of gray from her coat to her mane, and her eyes were a dark red-violet just like our grandmother’s. Her mane was always long, but now she looked more like her head was used as a mop, and if Fluttershy weren’t here, she’d definitely have the longest hair in the house. Very slowly, she walked inside, her eyes darting from one pony to the next like she was deathly afraid of each and every one of us.

She took a seat on the old couch next to Dad’s rocking chair, and just like that, almost every seat in the living room was full. Dad in one of the two rocking chairs, Marble and Maud in the love seat, Scootaloo, Rainbow, Fluttershy and I on the large couch, and Applejack and Goose in single seat chairs next to each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many ponies in the house at one point and time.

“I’d like to apologize to you all for my family. The three of us were never very social, my mother and my younger sisters were always the more… outgoing ones, and she’s still out right now.” Maud said to everypony. Oh, don’t do that. You don’t have to apologize to us, we’re the ones who just showed up out of nowhere…

“Oh, no need ta worry yerself none. We probably should’ve had Pinkie call ahead, but it’s been real busy these past few days and uh… that might’ve been difficult fer her ta accomplish. Ah’m Applejack. Ya could say that Ah’m their boss.” She said, echoing my thoughts as she moved from her chair to shake my family’s hooves. She managed to get a shake out of Maud and Dad, but when it came to Marble, I think she barely touched Applejack’s hoof before she pulled it away like she got zapped by something. “Oh, geez, did Ah shock ya?” Applejack asked. Marble very quickly shook her head, making that giant mane sway back and forth like a blanket in the wind.

“Marble has… a strange power that makes coming into contact with ponies difficult for her. I can’t quite explain it though. One day when we were children, we gained extraordinary abilities that none of us really understand.” She said. Ah… so it was everypony, and not just me… “On a basic level, time seems to be distorted around Father. It just sort of moves faster or slower depending on how he feels. Mother seems to have a reserve of strength that could shame any stallion, and I inherited that from her I think.” Maud explained. Applejack brought her hoof to her mouth and nodded.

“Hmm… That’s… really useful information. Uh, do y’all mind if Ah get a good description of yer powers from all of ya fer my boss? Everypony here has powers, so y’all are in good company. Gills over there would be the easiest example if ya need proof.” Applejack said as she pointed to Goose. My family collectively leaned their heads in to look at him. Goose rolled his eyes and pulled the collar of his shirt a little lower to reveal that he, in fact, has a column of gills along his neck. The fleshy pink slots sort of breathed along with him and almost everypony reared back because of it. I’ve spent so much time around this guy. How in the world have I never noticed that?

“Eww. That’s kinda gross.” Scootaloo spoke to life probably everypony’s thoughts. Goose frowned and let out a heavy sigh.

“Wow, really? I had no idea! It’s almost as if I wear clothes to hide them or something. Thanks for giving me new information, Scoots. Really brightens my day. Also, we have the mare with the floating blood. Was I really the easiest candidate for that?” He asked in his ‘upset’ tone. Applejack turned and gave him a big smile.

“Ah love you♥” She sang, then turned back to my sisters. “Anyways, how about it?” Maud, Dad, and Marble looked to each other, and eventually nodded.

“Sure. Mother is… possibly stronger than I am, though we’ve never thought to test it. The most we’ve ever lifted was… How much do you think that granite boulder weighed? The one from a few weeks ago.” Maud asked dad. He raised a brow and tapped at his snout.

“Three, three and a half tonnes?” He replied. Maud nodded.

“We can lift likely somewhere around half of that for each of us. It was… very difficult, and we had to stop for the day afterward.” Maud said. Hmm. I wonder how much Applejack can lift. Also, what in the hell were they doing trying to lift a boulder the size of a truck? Applejack nodded and took her phone out of that red bandanna she wears. She typed something down and then looked at the number for a bit.

“Sweet goddess. Three and a half thousand pounds… Ah’ll have ta get ya ta hoof wrestle with Goose and Ah later. Remind me ta have Twilight make us some weights tomorrow. This is somethin’ we should figure out in general, and fer every pony at that.” She marveled, then said to Goose, who nodded in response. “Alright, and what about you sir?” Dad nodded and shifted in his chair.

“As she says, time no longer flows correctly around me. Seems to have been that way for the last twenty five or so years, I think. For all we can tell, time moves faster or slower depending on my emotional state. I try to be neutral minded to keep this in check, though I can manipulate it intentionally to a small degree. It is… difficult to control in situations like this though. The day may drag on until I can settle myself. My apologies.” He said letting his eyes drift to me. Oh… right. That would… explain that. Applejack nodded and wrote something down.

“Would ya say that it slows or speeds up dependin’ on whether or not the emotion ya feel is positive?” She asked. Dad shifted in his seat again and furrowed his brow.

“I can never be sure of that. At times it feels as though a day will never end when I’m enjoying myself, and sometimes it’s the other way around. I’m not sure if there’s a rhyme or reason for it, but we know it happens when I’m emotionally unsound. I’ve taken to wearing watches because of it.” He explained. A never ending day, huh? I wonder how long the day was… when you buried her.

“When would ya say ya got this ability? Did ya have it before yer first daughter was born?” She pressed further. Dad shook his head.

“Hmm… No, I don’t think so, actually. Time only began to change during a trip to my wife’s parent’s home shortly after Maud was born.” Applejack added more to her device and then moved on.

“Thanks a bunch. Ah think my boss might want ta talk ta y’all personally… Now then, how about you?” She asked Marble.

“M-my powers…” She stuttered and then continued on until her voice was completely inaudible. Applejack blinked and leaned in.

“Ah’m sorry?” she said.

“M-my powers let me…” she started again, managing a few more words this time.

“Uh… if talkin’ ain’t yer speed, then maybe y’all could just-” Applejack started, but then stopped and froze in place as soon as Marble put a hoof on her. They stayed like that for… however long it was, maybe a minute if time was normal right now, and then Applejack took a gaping breath after Marble let go.

“Oh-kay, how about we don’t do that again, huh? Thanks, Ah’ll… Ah’ll get all that down.” She said as she shook herself. “Ah can see why it might be difficult fer ya ta go out if ya get inside somepony’s head every time ya touch em. Uh… ya may have seen some thin’s that ya shouldn’t have, so try ta keep whatever was there in yer own head, okay?” Applejack asked.

“Mmhmm.” Marble made a noise of affirmation and nodded. Applejack woozily took a step away from the loveseat and nearly tripped over the coffee table on her way back to her chair.

“Causes dizziness and nausea upon endin’ contact…” She mumbled after she sat down and started typing again. “Anyways, thanks fer that. Ah’m positive that the Princess will show her gratitude ta y’all in the near future.” Applejack said in a bright tone. Maud blinked.

“The princess? Do you… work for the government?” She asked, specifically with her eyes on me again. I could feel sweat start to roll down my head. What do I say? Should I tell them that I go out there and play super hero now? Would that make me look better or worse? Do they even have computers or TVs here? Do they know what’s going on in the outside world?

“In a roundabout way, Ah suppose. But uh… how about you tell them about that Pinkie? You’ve had lots of jobs, haven’t ya?” Applejack asked, covering for me then putting me on the spot. Gee thanks. I started to scratch at the back of my head, my mane threatening to tangle up my hoof as I did. Well, here goes nothing.

“Well, I’ve had more jobs than I can remember, I’ve been working all my life. Er, that’s not what you asked though, so uh…Yes, I- we, do work for the government. Ya see, the princesses… well, there’s this place… I was going to…” Nope, can’t say that. Or that. Have I even told my friends that one? Probably not. I was… sad, let’s just… not reopen unrelated wounds. “Uh… do you guys know about what’s been going on recently? With the monster attacks in Manehattan?” I asked, trying to find a way to ease into, ‘I’m a super hero and sometimes help my friends here do their jobs while failing spectacularly at my own.’ Marble and Maud shook their heads but dad nodded slowly.

“I’ve heard about that on the radio recently. The past few Sundays, some kook has been taking over every station at noon to talk about it like some kind of sports caster. Your mother has been telling me it’s all she ever sees on TV when she goes out, though I still have trouble believing it. Why do you ask?” Dad explained. Note to self; buy parents a TV. Or a few, really. I have more money than I know what to do with right now.

“Uh, well… we live in Manehattan, and we’re the ones who uh… fight the monsters.” I said focusing on my hooves and tapping them together. Oh yes, your far removed from the world, devout to the goddess family is going to know what’s going on on the opposite side of the country. I doubt they ever even leave the house together save to go to church. Who knows when the last time your sisters saw a TV was?

“S-so… is that what I saw?” Marble stuttered, barely audible, but loud enough to be heard. I felt my ears move toward the sound.

“Wait, really? What did you see?” I asked. Did she see Applejack’s memories? Did Applejack see hers? Is that what her powers do?

“W-well… there was light… and a diamond in the sky… and fire… burning… s-so much burning… like my hooves were melting… then there was… a dark room and… love.” She muttered as a warm smile crept up her face while she tapped her hooves together. Is she blushing? Suddenly, Applejack looked more nervous than Marble did.

“S-so uh, she’s kinda like what the sharin’ spell does in that she sees and experiences yer most vivid memories in however far back it goes, and it’s a two way street. Like uh, y’all found a real big, strange piece of gold not too long ago in the deepest part of yer mine, right?” Applejack explained. Dad nodded.

“This is true. Though, that thing was… evil. We thought it best to turn it over to the princesses. That was no mere piece of gold. It was shaped almost like…” Dad started.

“A lion’s paw, right?” Applejack finished. He nodded.

“Yes…” He muttered as he brought his hoof to his face again.

“So… if that corroborates your story as true since there’s really no other way you could have known about the gold, then that means you…” Maud started then brought her hooves together like she was trying to come to terms with the things she was saying. “you fight… monsters?” She asked, me specifically.

“That’s uh… that’s the jist of it. I uh… haven’t been doing that the entire time I’ve been working for the princess, but that’s been it for like, the past couple months I guess.” Maud shook her head and started to rub her temples.

“Pinkie…” She said after a sigh. “I’m just… How did you end up here? I know it’s been ten years, but you were… you were never very strong, and you were usually very happy-go-lucky back in the day. I’m still not even sure how Limestone fell into the quarry back then. Who took care of you? How… how did an eight year old survive on her own for ten years? I don’t think you’re dumb, but you didn’t know much of anything that would have kept you alive back then… I don’t even think I would have survived had I ran off, and I was sixteen. I…” She sighed again. “Pinkie, what happened? Did you really… did you really do it?” She asked, almost like it hurt her to say it. This is it. This is the thing I’ve been dreading ever since I came up with this stupid idea. I took a deep breath.

“I… I…” It was stuck in my throat. Good goddess, just say it, damn it! “I did it! I was tired of her being mean to me, and I pushed her! I wanted her to go away, I wanted her to stop and I could finally do something about it after I got my powers! I am the jealous brother! It was fratricide! I… I did it. It was me…” I started out yelling like I was screaming to the wind. Each word was like a knife in my chest, and the more I said the more it hurt to speak. By the time I’d finished, I was curled up in a ball with my hooves on my head and my knees on my ears. “As soon as I saw her at the edge I knew I’d made a mistake. She asked for my help, she pleaded with me and I hesitated. Her hooves slipped and there she went.

I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t even think straight, so I just… ran. I went through the mountains because I thought if I went that way, no pony would ever find me... I guess I ended up being right. I ran for days, and one day I woke up and I was in San Casco. I said I would never come back, but here I am…” I admitted until I trailed off again. I kept my ears folded back against my head, waiting for the rebuke I was meant to receive, but in the end, it never came. I felt a hoof rub at my back gently, and when I looked up, the rest of my family was looking down too. I looked to my left, to my supporter, and Rainbow urged me on when we caught eyes. “Guys?” I asked. Dad shook his head and let out an angry sigh.

“Blasted filly! How many times did I tell her!? Treat your sisters better, be nice to your little sister, why did she never listen!? If I hadn’t gotten sick-” Dad blew up, but then Maud stopped him.

“Father. There was nothing we could do about it. Everypony was busy, and we thought you were on your deathbed. Nopony could’ve known… things would… go so poorly.” Maud said, her voice wobbling like she was desperately struggling to keep her composure.

“I-I should’ve said something… I saw it all and… did nothing…” Marble admitted, her face completely hidden under that mane of hers.

“If I had been a better father…” dad mumbled as he squarely ground his teeth on his hoof. They all… they’re all in anguish over this. This is what the other’s parents were like too, wasn’t it? ‘Where did I go wrong? What did I do wrong in raising you?’ Damn it, why am I so selfish? It’s always about what happens to me, it’s never about how anypony else feels. Maybe… maybe that’s what I’ve been missing all this time.

“It’s… none of your faults. I… I did it. It was my decision. I knew she would get hurt, even if I didn’t quite understand death yet. I did it because I wanted to fight back and… well, that’s what happened.” I said, feeling like I’d taken one of Applejack’s punches to the stomach. Maud shook her head.

“No, everypony has some degree of blame to share. I’m your older sister, and I should’ve protected you both. I’m sure father feels the same way. He was sick, I had to take over excavation, and mom was busy trying to keep him alive and keep us fed. Every pony had their work to do, and we all just… fell short when it came to you. I’m sorry Pinkie. We should’ve been there for you both.” Maud sighed.

Once again, the room fell silent and for however long it was, nopony made a move. I came here to apologize, yet here I am being apologized to. What even is this? It’s like, between the three of our families, Rainbow’s dad was the only pony with an appropriate reaction. It’s my fault this happened, but they all think it’s their fault, and everypony is trying to claim ownership of the blame. Is this… is this how it’s supposed to feel? I did something awful why is it that they think-

Amid the silence and breaking my train of thought, the sound of a stomach rumbling broke the stagnant air. I tried my hardest, but I couldn’t help but let out a little snort. I immediately covered my mouth with my hooves, but almost as if a window had been shattered, somepony else started to giggle. With every new noise, another pony started to laugh, and eventually the whole house was caught up in it.

“I-I’m so sorry… W-we haven’t eaten anything since this afternoon…” Marble said after we’d all managed to breathe again. Even under all that hair, you could see that her face was almost beet red.

“Oh yeah, dad said something about you guys being late in earlier, huh?” I said, trying to keep myself from giggling again. I don’t even know why that was so funny. It was so… unexpected, and from Marble of all ponies. She doesn’t even speak as loud as that was.

“Hey, why don’t I grab us a few pizzas? I don’t think anypony in our group has eaten anything either, and we’d hate to hold you guys from your dinner after putting up with us at such short notice.” Goose offered. Dad frowned and scratched at his cheeks.

“No, you’re no imposition on us, you’ve brought me my daughter back, I couldn’t-” He started but Goose stopped him.

“Nope. Stop right there. Don’t pull your dad card on me, I’ve got it covered. Give me a few minutes, we’ll be back.” Goose said, then quickly grabbed Applejack’s hoof.

“Wait, we?” She managed before the two of them blinked out of existence. My family collectively blinked and each of them reexamined the spot they’d left behind.

“Did they just?” Maud started. I nodded.

“Yeah he can do that.” I affirmed. Maud blinked again.

“That must be… very convenient.” she said, in an ‘awed’ tone for somepony with a mostly monotone voice.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll say. We’re not dead right now in a big part thanks to that power of his. You guys will have to see the fights we’ve been apart of, Goose’s quick jumps with Applejack’s directions are something to marvel at, really.” Rainbow said. Dad nodded.

“I see. He must be the ‘knight’ character that that caster refers to. As much as I found it a nuisance at first, It was quite entertaining to listen to. Heroes battling monsters with sounds and effects you might find in a cinema, all narrated by one of the most enthusiastic ponies I’ve ever heard. It… makes me very uneasy to know that those things I hear are real though. Do you… er,” Dad trailed off. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I still don’t know any of your names.”

“Oh, right. Um, this is Rainbow, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy. The two that just left were Goose and Applejack.” I explained. Dad nodded.

“I see. Name’s a little on the nose I suppose, but some ponies just are. My question, Rainbow, was… how do you all get through these fights of yours? I just can’t imagine getting hit by something like that and still managing on without some kind of… debilitating wound. If I heard correctly, it sounded like your Marevelous Red had shattered her front legs not but a few weeks ago, and another of you had a wing crushed under rubble. Unless neither of them are here, how can you all seem fine? Even last Sunday, one of the heroes had their suits melted by some kind of spear, there’s no way somepony could recover from damage like that in a mere few days.” Dad reasoned. Well, I mean, you’re right about that.

“Oh, that would be me. My powers let me repair things in a kinda ‘magic-y’ way. As long as it’s not completely destroyed, I can put it back together. Most of the time. There was a weird one a few days ago, but I think I fixed most of it.” Scootaloo explained.

“W-while we’re on the subject, our m-major is also very reckless. S-she has destructive tendencies o-outside of work, s-sometimes doing things s-she knows she shouldn’t anyways. A-as much as we trust her, I-I wish she had a little m-more self restraint.” Fluttershy sighed.

“H-how are you not dead? Er… I mean… if she’s so reckless, how… um…” Marble started, then faltered and fell off. “I-I felt it… the burning, and I saw the lasers. She was in so much pain, I just…” Marble tried again. Rainbow shrugged.

“Luck, probably. The first two were definitely well planned counter measures, and Applejack really knows what she’s doing when she’s in the middle of a fight. Her ability to trust in us and herself I think is part of what makes her good at her job. But the last one though? We should definitely be dead right now after that. She’s also like, super crazy. Like, you guys felt what holding those spears were like, and we were only on the receiving end. They were almost too hot to touch after we took a beam, and those shields just kinda… fried like eggs underneath that laser. She fired like, what was it, four of them?” She explained.

“Uh… three I think. Not counting the last time, since nopony was really ‘touching’ them that time. She also had one in her mouth when you guys took the third to last beam, so I can only imagine.” Scootaloo clarified. Rainbow huffed and threw a hoof in the air.

“Well, there you go. Those things were like holding a curling iron with your hooves after they gained a charge. She had one in her mouth. When she fired those to two to stop a laser, it literally melted her suit. She says her powers just make her body stronger, but there’s no way in hell she could do all the things she does without some kinda insane pain tolerance too.” Rainbow ranted on. She leaned back in the couch like she was done, but then raised a hoof and started back up.

“Oh, and that’s another thing! If we had had the time to practice, like, if she wasn’t gone for half of last week, I think we could’ve gotten away with that fight without losing Twilight for the foreseeable future. It was pretty clear to me that she knows how to direct after that thing with Israfel, but then trying to do it myself was just… I hate to say it, but I couldn’t do what she does. When I had my idea to stop Israfel back then, I was just going to get everypony to attack either side at once with Rairty’s ability. That’s as far as I’d gotten. Not only did she come up with a similar and better idea than that at the same time, she also had everything planned so that we couldn’t screw it up. What kinda pony can just… do that? If she didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, I think I’d be afraid of her.” Rainbow sighed.

“Yeah, she’s… pretty amazing. If her dad was even a little like that, I can see why so many ponies tried to become heroes. When you see somepony like her at work, it just makes you think… ‘could I be like that?’ And then you go out and try, and fail, and you can’t take it. You’re not cut from the same cloth, you can’t do what she does, you could never be a hero like that. You cause more problems than you solve, you get ponies killed more than you save, you… get sad and contemplate suicide. It’s rough, chasing a shadow.” I said.

If I hadn’t met that purple mare in the hoodie that day… would I have gone through with it? Sin after sin after sin, and it had all just piled up. That blood curdling sound of bones crunching on the ground was like an echo that never left my head. Hearing it once was too much, hearing it three more times was more than I could take. I finally took a deep breath to shake the thought out of my head, only to realize the room had gone deathly silent once more, and everypony was staring at me.

“Uh…” Then, in the middle of the room returned to existence Goose and Applejack, him with a long receipt in hoof, and her with a mountain of Pizza boxes on her back.

“Okay, so I wasn’t quite sure what everypony likes, so I got a few of everything. Olive, mushroom, four cheese, supreme, Miyako style for all of you sick ponies that like pineapple on your pizza, etcetera, etcetera.” Goose said, once again destroying the silence.

“Ah can’t believe ya brought me along ta be yer pack mule.” Applejack grumbled. Goose looked around and seemed to take notice of the thing he just did.

“Oh. Uh, did I interrupt something?” He asked.

“Nope! I’m so glad you’re back with food, why don’t we take a minute to eat? I’ll just…” I turned my powers on and started to grab plates from the cabinets in the kitchen and set them all on the coffee table. Before anypony could turn their heads to follow me, I moved up to Applejack and started sorting through the pizza boxes. I think I counted sixteen boxes with eight different flavors, so I just piled every other box on the coffee table. I stopped for a second to breathe, then went back to work in making sure everything was set up. I grabbed and refilled everypony’s water cups, and then based on what I knew about whose tastes, I passed out pizza. Once there were enough confused looks and everypony had a full plate in their laps, I quickly remembered where I was and who I was with and said a prayer. “Dear heavenly goddess, thank you for the food we are about to receive, amen. Eat ponies, eat!”

---

“So. What did you guys talk about while we were gone?” Goose asked as everypony had about a mouthful of pizza.

“Oh, you know. Stuff and things.” I replied quickly. Applejack sniffed and wiped her mouth.

“That sounds like deflect-y talk ta me.” She said, the first to be finished eating. Damn, girl can put away food.

“W-well, that’s because it is. S-she was saying something about c-chasing shadows and contemplating suicide.” Fluttershy said, tearing into her pizza like it was a chunk of meat. I’ve lived with you for half a year. Now that I know you’re hiding a monster in there, so many of your weird little habits make sense now. Also, why are you so on my ass?

“Ah’m sorry, what? Is that what she was talkin’ about a while back? Y’all were tryin’ ta kill yerself?” Applejack asked, astounded.

“She who? Did I miss something? As a side note, you guys need to chill out with the suicide thing. That’s like, what, three of six that made an attempt?” Goose advised.

“Uh, probably Twilight if I had to guess, and maybe? Because I don’t know what they’re talking about either. Who are the three? I know I felt bad, but I never thought offing myself was the answer.” Rainbow asked.

“Well, Bonehead, Blockhead, and Pinhead of course.” Goose explained pointing to Fluttershy, Applejack, and me. “What… when did you do that? Er, provided it wasn’t during that thing that happened between you three.” He asked, motioning to us on the couch. I shook my head.

“No, that was just something dumb that with an even dumber result. I never made an attempt, okay? I was thinking about it, that’s all. It’s not like it was the first time, it was just… the one time that I might’ve actually gone through with it. I’d left the family I’d been staying with, I’d spent a month trying to be Marevelous Red and failing spectacularly, I couldn’t afford to pay my rent so I was kicked out of my apartment, and all I had to my name was a small bag of stuff I’d picked up over the years and that cheap nylon track suit I bought at a thrift store. I’ve had a lot of low points and that one… that one could’ve pushed me over the edge if I hadn’t stumbled into Twilight, literally. Clumsy fool was reading a book and muttering to herself when she ran into me.” I scoffed. I was so mad that she knocked me over. Probably saved my life and I chewed her out for it. Funny, how things work like that.

“I’m sorry, can we back up a bit? Who is this ‘Twilight’ you speak of? When did you start staying with another family? How did you manage to get an apartment in the first place? How old were you when this happened?” Dad asked.

“Well…” Thinking of what to say, another interruption walked in the door. Her coat was pale gray, near identical to Marble’s, her eyes were a bright cerulean like mine, and her mane was dark gray and tied up in a bun. She was wearing a plaid shawl with a blue gray gem in the center of a silver brooch at her neck with a small pair of round glasses on her snout, just like she always did. She pulled off whatever was restraining her mane and let out a groan.

“It has been such a long day. Talking to these idiots is almost like speaking with a brick wall, may the goddess help me. It smells wonderful in here, what did you make Igneous? Is that-” Mom began, till she opened her eyes. She stood still, very quickly taking note and then dead staring me in the eyes like a tracking laser pointed at my forehead. “What are you doing here?” She demanded. Another bead of sweat rolled down my head and I swallowed.

“H-hi m-mom-” I started, then she cut me off.

“How dare you. My daughter’s killer does not get to call me that! Answer the question before I call the authorities.” She ordered. I wasn’t very big in the first place, but right now, underneath my mother’s heavy gaze, I felt very, very small.

“I-I c-came to apologize!” I said, practically cowering in front of her. She huffed and stomped a hoof on the floor, making a noise so loud that it sounded as if a boulder had fell from a cliff.

“Good, now you can leave. Your apology won’t bring my daughter back, you… you murderer! Get out of my house!” Mom yelled.

“Y-yes ma’am…” I gave in and started to get up. I knew somepony would do it. I knew somepony would call me that. I just… never really figured out who.

“Pinkie, sit back down.” Dad said as he got out of his chair. Instinctively, I then followed that order. Mom looked at him aghast.

“Excuse me? She will leave right this instant!” Mom shot back at him. Dad stood nearly face to face with her, his expression not quite angry, but closer to it than neutral, and hers furious, looking up at him.

“No she won’t. You should sit down and breathe for a moment my dear.” Dad said, calm but stern.

“I will not! That is our daughter’s killer you’ve let into our home! You expect me to stand idly by while this… this murderer just sits there?” She fired.

“Cloudy, that’s not fair. You don’t know that for a fact.” Dad argued.

“There is no way Limestone simply fell of her own accord! There were hoof prints on the ground that showed somepony losing balance next to somepony else. Why else would she have ran off? She had to have done it!” Mom argued back.

“Okay, so why don’t you let her tell her own side of the story? Pinkie is the only witness after all.” Dad offered.

“I don’t need to, and I don’t want to. I know she did it.” Mom scoffed. Dad sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Are you not curious as to how she’s even here with us now?” Dad asked. Mom turned away from him.

“No. I don’t care and I don’t want to know.” She huffed. Dad circled around her so the she looked him in the eyes again.

“Really? You don’t want to know how an eight year old managed to survive on her own for ten years?” Dad asked. Mom narrowed her eyes at him, glanced at me, then looked away again.

“No. I don’t.” She said.

“Just think about it. How did she feed herself? We barely left the mine, she likely never knew how to engage in commerce. Somepony had to teach her how to use money. But if she managed that, where did she get it in the first place? There’s no way she could’ve survived just by stealing all this time.” Dad pondered.

“She probably was taken by an orphanage or a church. Even in this degrading culture there is goodness in some ponies.” Mom answered. I was going to interject, but dad shook his head.

“But is that actually the case? Earlier, she said she’d been working all her life. Said that she ended up in San Casco after she first ran away. Of all the horrible things that go on in that hive of scum and villainy, she managed to make a living, at eight of all things.” With an eyebrow raised and one eye open, she turned her head back to him.

“No, that’s simply not possible… how would she have… I don’t care, and I do not want to know! Make her leave!” Mom stomped and turned away again. Dad moved around her once more, this time rubbing up against her. Mom kinda stiffened up and dad caught her eyes again.

“I don’t know… she said she’s one of those hero ponies that fights the monsters up in the big city. What did you say your name was again?” Dad asked, giving me a queue. Mom didn’t look at me, but her ears turned toward me. Is she… falling for this?

“Uh… I’m Blur, the speed hero. I’ve never met anypony faster than me… in real time, anyways, and I use knives when I fight. I’m the one who cut the hole in the monster’s mask during the first fight.” If mom has seen the fight, then maybe… She finally turned her head toward me and stared me down again. Less anger was there, and now she was… interested.

“A hero are you? Laughable. You have no right to be called that. You could have simply seen the same spectacle that I did on some sort of screen somewhere. Every single one, everywhere you go for almost a half hour. It would have been impossible to miss unless you were away from technology at the same time every Sunday for the past three weeks.” She shot, but… it was almost like she was challenging me.

“I-it’s true though… mother. I saw it… in their memories.” Marble spoke up. Finally, Mom’s curiosity had been piqued. She tilted her head at Marble, then returned to staring at me. She frowned, then let out a sigh.

“Fine. Marble isn’t one to lie, so I suppose your story checks out. I will listen, but after this, you will leave and never return, you understand me?” Mom said, in a much less harsh tone than earlier.

“Y-yes ma’am…” I managed. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and took a minute to let my heart slow down. And Dad married that. If she didn’t live here, she would be a nun teaching in a private school or something, I swear. She took a seat in her own rocking chair next to dad’s and continued to stare at me intently. I couldn’t look away, and she was making it very hard to think.

“Well? What are you waiting for? I didn’t sit down so you could stare at me.” Mom pressured. Dad put a hoof on her back and drew her attention away from me.

“Now that young Stallion over there bought us dinner as a gesture of goodwill. Why don’t you indulge in the generosity offered to us before you point your lawyer glasses at your own daughter, hmm?” Dad said. As if a curtain had been lifted, Mom finally realized that there were other ponies with me.

“Oh! Good heavens, I didn’t even realize… you brought a whole troupe of ponies with you. I am so very sorry for my… outburst. I have a bad habit of narrowing in on things with a little too much vigor…” Mom apologized to everypony else, her face about as red as Marble’s was earlier. Most of them were mid pizza, so the only one who wasn’t responded.

“O-oh, don’t worry about it. W-we’ve already been through t-this and worse this week. Y-your reaction was a bit of f-fresh air in comparison to my parents. A-at least you didn’t pull a gun on us.” Mom tilted her head.

“I’m sorry?” she asked. Applejack finished her fourth or fifth slice, I hadn’t been keeping track, and got up to greet my Mom.

“Howdy, I’m Applejack, and this here is my unit. Odd circumstances lead ta us comin’ together ta meet y’all and help Pinkie try ta patch thin’s up. But uh, before that, can Ah get ya ta tell me about yer powers? My boss is very interested the genetics of power ponies like y’all and there are a few questions Ah’d like ta have ya answer.” Applejack gave her pitch. Mom looked a little frazzled, especially with her hair down like it was, and she sort of nodded.

“Um… sure?” She looked to dad for help.

“It seems as if Pinkie works for the government. Just tell her about your powers.” Dad offered. Mom blinked a few times, and then very quickly tied her mane back up in a bun. She took a deep breath and recomposed herself, then nodded.

“Of course, please, go ahead.” Mom said.

“Okay then. First off, Ah was told that yer strong enough ta lift at least three and a half tonnes. Is that right?” Applejack asked.

“No, four is more likely. A family had been trapped underneath a rock slide not too long ago while I was on one of my commutes. A sizeable slab of earth had slid off the cliff side and nearly crushed them, though the car they were in managed to keep them alive. It was much heavier than the granite that Maud and I would move later, so I can only assume it is more than that as I was alone then. The boulder we lifted had to be at least seven tonnes, so this other one couldn’t have been that heavy, though it was just as large. Partially dirt, so it was certainly not as heavy as solid granite anyways.” Mom responded matter-of-fact-ly. Applejack typed on her phone with an impressed look on her face, then moved on.

“Wow. Ah definitely need ta get a hoof wrestle with you. Second, how long have ya had yer powers? The initial outbreak happened around the turn of the millennium if that helps.” Applejack asked. Mom put her hoof to her chin.

“Hmm… There was a time in our lives where Igneous was the stronger of the two of us, though that was over three decades ago now. I was still in school even. When did we get married?” She asked.

“Ninety eight? Pinkie, what’s your birthday?” Dad asked.

“Uh, March fourteenth, twenty twelve.” I responded.

“April fourteenth, nineteen ninety eight.” Dad said affirmatively. Mom clapped her hooves together.

“Oh, that’s right. Two years into my undergraduate studies and after we’d been married. I think I was on a trip to Canterlot to visit the university for a debate, and when we returned here our bus got a flat tire. I was feeling particularly energized for no reason at all, and thought to see if I could lift it. Needless to say, we were all very surprised when I could. Our team won the championship that year, how could I forget?” Okay. I knew she handled all the selling, but I didn’t know she was a freaking lawyer!

“Ah see. Y’all must have some kinda patience. Uh, on ta my third question, yer husband has said that his powers started ta act up around the time ya had yer first born. He never showed any signs of his time dilation before that did he?” Applejack asked. Mom stared at dad for a minute and then nodded.

“While I can’t say for certain, I do remember a particularly long day during my pregnancy with Maud. You and your brother were having that argument, and it felt like the clock had fallen behind. For as much as you yelled at each other, not even an hour had passed before you finished. I highly doubt you would have noticed it though.” She stated. Dad frowned.

“I can’t argue with that.” Dad said. I have an uncle on that side? Geez, now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about my parents.

“Well now… that gives me a theory. Thank y’all very much. This is gonna be real helpful. Alright Pinkie, all yours.” Applejack thanked my parents then turned every single spotlight in the room on me. Gee, thanks again.

“Oh, geez. I don’t even know where to begin…” I mumbled to myself.

“Well, I would first like to know for a fact whether or not you killed Limestone. Then, I want a chronological list of events that brought you to your current position. While I cannot fathom you, the filly who was afraid of shadows, of all ponies being a part of those monster fights, something must have changed you in the last ten years and I think we are at least owed that.” Mom said. Isn’t hearing supposed to get worse as you get older? Why is hers better than I remember? I rubbed at my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“I guess… I’ll start from there then…”

Comments

[melodic_harmony]

“Ninety eight? Pinkie, what’s your birthday?” Dad asked.

How does pinkies dad not know his own daughters birthday??

[sykko]

9348866
I know quite a few parents who forget their kid's birthdays, especially if they have a bunch.