Reconnaissance
Pinkie Pie helped Mrs. Cake with their guest, an unremarkable looking mare possibly from another world, who needed now to dry herself off from the shower. Mrs. Cake was right there with a towel herself, and very interested in the mysterious pink haired pony. “Oh my, that does sound like quite an ordeal!” the soft blue Mrs. told their guest, using the towel in her hooves to scrub the worst of the water out of the mare’s pink mane and creamy white neck. “You spent days outside, in the middle of this winter weather?”
“Well, it was the closest I’ve ever come to dying,” the mare admitted, her soft pink hair still drooping over her eyes despite scrubbling it fluffy with the towel. “But that’s just because I haven’t done anything really daring before then. I’m sure other ponies go through stuff like this all the time. I made it to Ponyville okay, and I’m here now, so... so I’m okay with getting lost in the woods for a while.”
“Still, you shouldn’t be getting into those situations,” Mrs. Cake fussed, pulling the pink haired mare to lay on her belly in front of the dryer. The mare stared under her hair at the hot air vent in fascination, as Pinkie and Mrs. Cake fluffed out the moisture from her fur. “I hope you’re not planning to do anything like this ever again,” the cake matron said warningly.
“Oh,” their guest said, turning her attention to Mrs. Cake, or what of Mrs. Cake that could be seen of her through those pink bangs, at least. “Oh I definitely agree,” the mare said emphatically. “I won’t ever do anything like that again.”
She lifted her bangs with a hoof to peer at Mrs. Cake, but the industrious mare had already gotten a few hairpins in her mouth, and leaned forward, pinning the mane up to stay out of this mare’s eyes, without looking too artificial.
“Say, you’re good at this,” the mare said, looking appreciatively at herself in the mirror. “You can’t even see the pins! Is that how you get your hair to...” she looked at Mrs. Cake, swirling her hoof uncertainly.
Mrs. Cake chuckled at that, saying, “Not entirely, dearie. I do use a bit of mousse, and glitter on occasion, but I’ll let you in on the secret...”
Pulling a previously unseen hair stick out from her mane, Mrs. Cake revealed the very funny fact that she grew her bangs out, in order to fold them a few times, and pin it in place. It made her mane look like piped frosting, and now it just flooped down over her eyes even worse than their guest. Both the guest and Pinkie Pie giggled at that, though Pinkie had already seen Mrs. Cake’s undone mane before. But Mrs. Cake was just so funny!
Taking a moment on her haunches to pin her mane back into its folded frosting appearance, Mrs. Cake beamed in satisfaction, while their guest said to her, “That’s so neat! I didn’t even know you could do that with a mane!”
“Oh ask around,” Mrs. Cake suggested pleasantly, “You’ll find a lot of mares have their own tricks to a well behaved mane. You can’t always keep your mane in top shape from a positive attitude alone!”
Pinkie Pie leaned veeeeery close to Mrs. Cake, who looking at her, grudgingly admitted, “Well, unless you’re Pinkie Pie.”
The mare found that incredibly amusing for some reason, which was great as far as Pinkie was concerned. Free laughs! It made Pinkie feel like sunshine inside.
“Some ponies even dye their manes different colors,” Mrs. Cake continued to explain, “Or have them permed!”
“Like the mayor dyes her hair grey?” the mare asked.
Mrs. Cake blushed at that, saying in a subdued manner, “Oh, well, we... try not to talk about that anymore. It’s the mayor’s private business, but between you and me, I think she does it to look more dignified. There was a bit of a scandal about the mayor’s mane a while ago, involving some scamps you might see around town, the Story Mark Seekers?”
The mare stared, stunned.
“...something I said?” Mrs. Cake asked uneasily, lifting a hoof as she tilted her head at the mare in confusion.
The mare shook her head, breaking her frozen stare. “No, no it’s just... so... um... so, story marks, huh?” she asked emphatically, peering down at Mrs. Cup Cake’s cupcakes.
“Yep!” Mrs. Cake said brightly, turning her flank the mare’s way a little more so she could see the trio of cherry frosted cupcakes with a cherry on top, “I’ve been a baker since I was a filly. That’s how I met Carrot, in fact. Not a terribly interesting story, really. My parents and I were baking up a storm, and I just thought how great it is that I can do this for ponies. Carrot and I had a bake sale, and bam, story mark! He had his mark later, when we were working at a pastry shop in north Ponyville... well, it used to be there, until we opened our own store closer to to downtown, opening up Sugarcube Corner!”
“That’s a more interesting story than I have!” the mare said, gesturing with a forehoof at her blank hindquarters laid flat on the floor.
“Oh, well you’re young yet...” Mrs. Cake said with an unconvincing smile of appeasement, “I’m sure you’ll find your mark any... uh... time now!”
“Even if I don’t ever get a story mark,” the mare replied, continuing to look at her blank rump without the slightest bit of insecurity or remorse, “Just being here in Equestria is enough for me.”
Then she tried to stand up.
Her limbs quivering, the mare groaned and sunk all the way down to her belly. “Maybe not being sore absolutely everywhere would be good, too,” she mumbled against the floor grumpily.
One chilly, overcast day, in search of their mysterious, possibly otherworldly visitor, Twilight Sparkle found the pink and cream mare just sitting on a park bench, chatting with a blue haired pony who bore twin dolphins as a story mark. This young mare may have been terribly dangerous, but in fact she looked completely innocuous. She was just sitting there like any pony in Ponyville, having a conversation with a Ponyville born unicorn (rather than one of the more recent unicorn transplants from Canterlot)
Twilight didn’t exactly know the name of the unicorn with the blue mane. As for the cream colored earth pony mare, with her light pink mane more well combed now, curling merrily around her ears? Twilight didn’t even know if she had a name.
So while Blue-hair gaped at Twilight, Pink-hair attracted Blue’s attention. Facing forward, the pink haired mare calmly told the blue haired one, “I was sort of... Twilight helped me out yesterday, so she probably wants to talk to me.”
Turning her head in a full half circle to look over her back at Twilight, the pink-haired mare looked dizzy as she said, “Woah...”
...but recovered quickly from her inexplicable disorientation, and said to Twilight, “I–I’m really sorry about this morning, Twilight. I know you didn’t mean any harm, I’m just a little... out of sorts lately.”
“Yes, I’m really sorry about that—wait, you’re sorry?” Twilight said, blinking in surprise.
“I think we both got off on a bad foot,” the mare answered amiably to the purple princess standing just beside the bench these two were sitting at. “I do feel much better, now that I’ve had a chance to eat something... and Mrs. Cake let me borrow her coat. I’m not sure how you do um... payments in Ponyville. I... really don’t know what to do about getting a job.”
“You and me both, sister,” the blue haired pony laughed, “The lake is iced over until—” She looked at Twilight wide eyed again then, and stuttered, “O-oh, I mean, I-I’m sorry, Princess.”
“No, it’s fine, really,” Twilight said uneasily, in response to the blue haired mare’s nervous staring at her. She wasn’t sure what to do to calm—
“I’m pretty sure she’s the princess of Friendship,” the pink-haired mare said to the blue-haired one in an admonishing tone. Whose name was... something. Rrrgh, some princess of Friendship Twilight was, couldn’t even recall a mare’s name who’s been in town longer than she has. At least with the pink-haired mare, Twilight had an excuse for not knowing her name!
“What is she going to do to you,” Pink-hair joked to Blue-hair, “befriend you to death?”
Blue-hair blinked and gaped at the other mare, then whispered loudly, “Are you insane?! This is the princess! You can’t just—” and then she seemed to notice she was whispering loudly in front of Twilight, and clammed up again, an absolutely fake smile plastered on her face.
“Look, please, just...” Twilight exclaimed, trying to hold her wings tight to her sides. “Just pretend I’m not a princess, okay? Just—I moved here a dozen years ago, as a graduate student and a new librarian. And I just—just think of that, not what happened to me. Now can we have a normal conversation? I’m Twilight Sparkle. And who might you be?”
Twilight couldn’t help but notice both mares were not staring at her in surprise, but were instead staring in surprise at something slightly over and beyond her right side.
“And... Pinkie’s pantomiming behind me again, isn’t she,” Twilight said, turning her head behind herself to greet the enthusiastic pink pony, who was right behind Twilight Sparkle.
Pinkie Pie said, “Hi, Twilight! I was just checking on noname here and I just wanted to make sure you weren’t scaring her or anything, you know with your super princessy scariness because ponies are a bunch of big—”
“Okay, Pinkie, I get it,” Twilight interrupted tactfully, saying, “I’m much more well rested now, and I’m just asking her if I can—”
“Thiis is Sea Swirl,” came Pinkie’s voice behind Twilight. Twilight turned forward to face the bench again, and Pinkie was suddenly there, holding up the forequarters of a very anxious looking blue haired pony with deep pink fur. “She’s the Ponyville swim coach, and she takes ponies to the beach, for parties!”
“Aheh heh,” Sea Swirl apparantly said, trying to look confident and brave as she weakly waved a hoof. Then Pinkie bounced beside Twilight, and heaved under her chest, to lift Twilight partially into the air, saying,
“And this is Twilight Sparkle, my best friend! Did you know she’s a princess? ”
“Everypony knows that, Pinkie Pie,” Sea Swirl said in a wry drawl, then glancing nervously at Twilight again. Should Twilight what, do something silly to defuse her tension? Or would that just make ponies think she was crazy? In the end, Twilight just couldn’t think of what to do, to stop Sea Swirl’s assumptions about her, but at least Pinkie had given her one of the pony’s names.
Twilight turned to the mystery mare again, addressing her, while trying to ignore any “super princessy” stares she was getting from Sea Swirl, saying, “I just wanted to ask, if you would join me for dinner this evening, with my friend, Applejack.”
The pink haired mare turned her head to look at Twilight just a little bit sideways. She looked terribly excited, but at the same time terribly scared, and in general terribly conflicted about something. Worried about that look of alarm, Twilight hastily added, “I do want to talk with you about things, I admit, but she’ll um—she’ll be there to um... mediate?”
“Twilight wants you to meet her friend,” Pinkie whispered loudly in the mare’s ear. Wait, when did Pinkie get back over to the bench? Ugh.
“Yes,” Twilight confirmed happily to Pinkie and the mare. “I think you’ll love Applejack, and especially her cooking. So, I mean I didn’t expect you’d be busy or anything, but—”
“Do I really have to meet her?” the mare asked in a disappointed whinny. “I know I’m gonna have to meet you all, but I wanted to make it last at least a little longer than this.”
“What? You don’t have to meet Applejack,” Pinkie Pie blurted out, totally flabbergasted. “But she’s our friend! Why don’t you want to meet her?”
“Look, I just... I can meet her,” the mare sighed in conflict between the two mares, “I can, I guess. I mean there’s nothing wrong with it. I mean... fine we’ll go meet Applejack sometime.” She sighed resignedly.
“It should be okay,” the mare concluded, “I feel much better from yesterday. Still really sore, heh... actually I kind of barely made it out this far. I’ll probably be back at Pinkie’s after this, if... that’s okay with her and the Cakes.”
“Oh, I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you as much as Pinkie is,” Twilight said confidently. “They might seem businesslike on the surface, but the Cakes have a heart of gold between them. You just focus on recovering as much as you can. Listen, I’m sorry to try and... press you for meeting with Applejack. Really it’s for my sake more than yours. I just think she’d be good at... um...”
“Telling if I’m trying to swindle you or not?” the mare prompted thoughtfully.
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but yes she is good at... measuring a pony’s character,” Twilight replied, rocking on her hooves a bit cagily. “But I’m sure we both know that genuity is always the best policy, and you don’t need Applejack there to display basic pony courtesy.”
“Right, sure,” the mare said, not sounding as if she believed it herself.
“Great!” Pinkie announced between them, “Then it’s settled.” She pointed at the mare saying, “You take as long as you need, and don’t worry I didn’t need to sleep in my bed, anyway,” and then she pointed at Twilight and said, “And you don’t worry if the mare is gonna like your friends or not. Because she’s totally going to like Applejack!”
“I’m sure I will,” the mare said giving Pinkie Pie a guilty wince. “ I’ll be feeling better tomorrow, too. I didn’t get hurt I think. Just worn out, and a bit scared for a while there.”
“Well, no need to be scared any longer,” Twilight said, “You just focus on getting better, and I’m sure you’ll be reunited with your family before you know it.”
“Oh, right... that, ” the mare said glumly, suddenly refusing to look at her. “No hurry there, just... I will focus on getting better.”
“Did... I say something wrong?” Twilight asked, as the mare looked away. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Oh, no it’s fine, really!” the mare said, forcing herself to look at Twilight. “I’m really... grateful for all your help. I’d be in a lot of trouble if you hadn’t... talked to me.”
“Think nothing of it,” said Twilight Sparkle with a modest blush. “Now, I’ll leave you with your—”
Twilight noticed the blue haired, lavender pony was gone, along with Pinkie Pie, but that was no surprise.
“Oh, um... I may have scared your friend away, sorry,” Twilight winced. “These wings, you see,” she ruffled them for demonstration, “Mark me as a sort of... head of state. It’s honestly just a formality, but ponies still think that I might... you know, turn them into a toad for disobeying, or whatever Princesses are supposed to do to ponies.”
“That sounds more like a witch than a princess,” the cream colored mare mused.
Twilight blinked. Nopony ever even came close to implying that before! “Did you just call me a witch?” she asked in honest intrigue.
“Not if you aren’t going to change me into a toad, uh, princess,” the mare replied, irises narrowing.
That got a chuckle out of Twilight, who said, “You know, even if you are far from home, it’s nice sometimes to have someone here who isn’t all worried about my princessness. B-but I assure you I’ll do everything in my power to get you home, don’t worry.”
At that, the cream colored pony looked at her impassively, then just said, “Yeah, you will, won’t you.” But not in an excited way? It was kind of awkward.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you or anything,” Twilight said with a grimace of a smile, “Say how about I pick you up instead? Then you won’t have to walk to Sweet Apple Acres!”
“Pick me up?” the mare said in confusion.
“Yes, I can bring a cart, and you won’t have to exert yourself,” Twilight said pleasantly, staring into space just a sec as she figured out the things she’d have to prepare for this to go over smoothly.
“But... why?” the mare asked in a frustrated tone. “Are you just in a hurry to get me to meet all your friends?”
“Something wrong with that?” Twilight queried. The mare shook her head at that, but...
“I just don’t see why I have to meet with her right away,” the mare said a bit irritably. “Can’t I at least have a few days, or something? I feel terrible!”
Twilight’s face fell at the mare’s strange callousness. “I... suppose so...” Twilight said unhappily, “But what’s wrong with meeting her? I’m sure Applejack would love you!”
“Yeah,” the mare said almost sounding... bitter about it? “And then you’ll...” she just trailed off then, really looking at Twilight now. “I’m really sorry,” the mare told Twilight with a sudden worried expression on her face. “I didn’t mean to upset you I’m just... kind of really sore, and I just wanted to sit for a while and stay... here. Can I just take a... raincheck for now? I really would love to meet her.”
“When do you think you’ll be feeling better?” Twilight asked hopefully. “You did have a bit of an ordeal there, but you’ve got that strong earth pony heritage, so I’m sure you’ll bounce right back. Er, I mean your biology, because obviously your heritage is of a human alien.”
The mare blinked at her with a blank expression, and then looked down at herself, saying with confident poise, “I have no idea how my biology works now.”
“Oh wow, you wouldn’t believe how interesting it is!” Twilight said with an eager smile, “I know of this great introduction to pony physiology. I’m quite eager to learn how your new pony anatomy differentiates from your true form, and perhaps what stallions are like in your world, too! I can also get you a book on comparative tribal anatomy. I think you’ll find it quite a fascinating read...”
The mare didn’t seem enthusiastic about any of that though? She seemed downright glum! Oh, of course. Twilight had to remind herself that not every pony knew the value of a good book as much as Twilight Sparkle. Still, it would have been nice if the mare was a bit of a bookworm... so hard to find ponies like that, this far downhill from Canterlot. But... this mare was probably into more mundane concrete things other than studying, like baking, or construction. It was really hard to say, as this mare’s rump was entirely devoid of a story mark.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to impose on you,” Twilight said blushing ashamedly, “I can get kind of overexcited about studying sometimes. But we all have our faults, right? You just recover at your own pace, and let me worry about the speed of your recovery.”
“Okay,” the mare said in a small voice. Her ears were still down though, and she seemed to not want to look Twilight in the eye.
“How about this,” Twilight offered, “When you feel up to walking to my library, go ahead and come to it. Then you and I can take a trot to Sweet Apple Acres, meet Applejack, and get some of that appletastic food in you!”
The mare choked back a chuckle at that. “Sure, that’d be great Twilight,” she said less anxiously, her ears turning up again. Then her eyes widened in surprise and she blurted out, “You still have your library?!”
Twilight blinked.
“I thought it was destroyed!” the mare said right back into her highly agitated state. “Oh no, he hasn’t attacked yet. You... you haven’t defeated a monster called Tirek recently, have you? Oh no I came at the worst time...”
“Calm down, mare!” Twilight declared to her, in one of the rare instances that it wasn’t the other mare yelling that phrase at Twilight Sparkle. “Tirek is gone! We defeated him. He’s gone forever! You don’t have to worry anymore.”
The mare didn’t seem mollified by that though, trembling as she said, “B-b-but your library was destroyed!”
Twilight’s ears went down.
“Yes... so much precious literature was lost,” Twilight said sadly. “I still only have half a copy of Predictions and Prophecies... and that copy had such sentimental value for me! But... our Rainbow helped me, remember? It’s pretty common knowledge that it gave me a home again, using the quintessence crystalline... the magic of crystals.”
“Oh, so... it did build it then,” the mare said distantly, looking around at the treetops for some reason. “And you just have a library inside your home.”
“Well... yes,” Twilight said uncertainly. That was technically true, but it was definitely an odd way to phrase it. “I didn’t stop being a librarian, just because everypony lent me their hopes and dreams for a moment,” she said, unable to stop a soft smile at what had happened back there.
“Sorry, I just...” the mare focused on her again, saying, “I was just scared that Tirek was going to come and... make me like that. It... it really looked like the worst feeling in the whole world.”
Looked like? Hmm, curious. The mare could have been from another world, but if she saw the battle between ponykind and Tirek, it would have to mean she somehow broke into this world without detection for (Twilight took a moment to calculate) one year and days DV. But again, Twilight wasn’t sure this mare even was from another world. She could also have been maintaining the ruse, because the mare wanted to pretend she was never caught in the terrible maelstrom of hopeless emptiness that monster had left in his wake.
Twilight wouldn’t blame anypony if they desperately wanted to pretend that it never happened to them.
This was clearly going to take a more delicate touch than Twilight was currently applying. “Great,” she said stepping back from the mare, “Just come by, once you feel better. I’d really appreciate it. Just don’t be surprised if you see Applejack around town on your own, eventually. She’s kind of a big deal around here.
“Anyway I’ll leave you to your um... sitting, and we’ll just take a rain check on that dinner date,” Twilight said reluctantly. “I still really want to spend some time to talk with you, see if we can help you out somehow.”
“Sure, if you like,” the mare said modestly, “I’ll take whatever help I can get, at this point. Hopefully I can repay your generosity someday.”
It warmed Twilight’s heart to think that she was not only appreciated, but part of the fundamental forces binding the universe together. “It’ll be payment enough, to see you reunited with your friends and family,” Twilight said warmly, prompting a shudder from the mare. Wait, shudder?
“Are you... okay?” Twilight asked as the mare worked her forelegs out from under her.
“I’m fine,” the mare assured her tensely, “I’m just worn out, from this little walk, and I really just want to get back at this point, and maybe eat something more.”
“Well, good, but let me know if you’re not, because I’d hate to think I’ve offended you,” Twilight fretted.
“It’s... fine,” the mare stated resignedly, looking down off the bench she was sitting on and stretching out a leg, and,
“Oh...” she groaned as she put weight on it. “Walking for days was not good to me.”
“You need any help?” Twilight offered, looking at the mare with concern.
The mare grimaced, and said, “Thanks, but...” as she put the other forehoof down, “Best thing for sore muscles is to move them now and then. I’ll just be going back to the bakery, anyway.”
She sort of walked her forehooves forward then, her back hoof slipping on the bench as she tried to plant it. Sort of not quite falling off, the mare pivoted around one rear leg, and then another, rising wobbly on her four hooves.
“Are you sure? ” Twilight said hovering over the somewhat splay hooved mare. “Don’t try to be brave. You’re barely standing on your hooves!”
“No, I’m not hurt too bad. I’m just not used to walking like this,” the mare said, taking a shaky step, and then another slightly more confident one.
“How do you normally walk?” Twilight asked curiously, following along as the mare’s steps reached would be generous to call a stately pace.
“I um—” the mare stumbled to a halt, then frowned. She appeared to be trying to rear up on her hind legs, but she wasn’t balanced enough to stay in the air, and came down solidly on her four hooves again. She stared down at her forehooves in consternation.
The pink haired mare then just started walking again, saying, “It’s about the other world, kind of a long story.”
“Oh,” Twilight said, remembering what Applejack warned her about. “I’ll just um... catch you later then, okay?”
“Sure thing, Twilight,” the mare said, “Or I don’t know if you prefer Princess Twilight now? It’s okay if you do.”
“I... honestly don’t , but it’s to be expected,” Twilight said, quite resigned to her situation. “And there is nothing wrong with acknowledging somepony’s accomplishments, so call me whatever you like” Twilight said accomodatingly, thinking a moment, before adding, “Though, we’ve talked so long, and I don’t think I have caught your name?”
Actually, the truth was that this mare had been maddeningly frustrating with her lack of revealing her name in any number of normal social opportunities to do so. But Twilight hadn’t tried just asking, directly. So she might as well shoot for the moon at this point!
The mare halted in her forward progress again at Twilight’s words. Twilight smiled at the mare hopefully. Staring forward at nothing for far too long, the mare looked at Twilight and with an edge to her smile, said, “Um, you know, I don’t... really... have one.”
“You don’t have one?” Twilight repeated incredulously.
“Yup, I don’t have one,” the mare said confidently.
“You don’t have a name,” Twilight clarified, just to be sure.
“Fraid not,” the mare replied insistently, again forcing herself to look at Twilight. Why was this mare forcing herself to look at ponies so much?
“Well, okay then... long story, I presume?” Twilight stated.
The mare looked like she wanted to say more, but sighed and nodded, saying anxiously, “Yes, it’s... complicated.”
“Don’t feel like you have to tell me,” Twilight cautioned her, “But we ponies use names a lot. You might run into problems if you can’t tell ponies your name.”
“Which I don’t have,” the mare insisted.
“...right,” Twilight agreed suspiciously. “Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
“Sure thing, Twilight,” the mare said unenthusiastically. She apparantly decided to just concentrate on her walking, then, and spoke no more. The mare made her way with Twilight over to Sugarcube corner, standing all on her own as she walked. She thanked Twilight again then, before plodding inside. Mr. Cake came trotting up to her, the door swung closed, and Twilight was alone.
Not hesitating, Twilight made herself scarce, and trotted down the cobbles in a slightly different direction from her library, needing a talk with a friend right now. She was feeling pretty ambivalent about that encounter, since she deliberately intended to restrain herself until the mare was feeling less threatened. Yet, Twilight still had no more hints as to whether the mare was a dark sorceress or a dimension travelling alien. That was gonna bother her.
The mare didn’t seem all that comfortable with Twilight Sparkle, but neither had the pony who actually belonged here. Were they both part of the cult that created that incredible magical phenomenon? Was Sea Swirl guilty of something that might constitute creepy cult worship again? Or... was Twilight Sparkle just not a very good friend?
Twilight was starting to hope that Equestria really was in peril, instead of the unhappy alternative.
“...and so, I need you to help get that mare set up with a tab,” concluded Pinkie Pie’s book-loving unicorn friend. Pinkie Pie listened patiently, while Twilight Sparkle addressed her party loving hot pink friend. (That means Pinkie Pie, by the way!)
Pinkie was away from Sugarcube corner at the moment, hosting Peachy Pie’s birthday party, when Twilight approached them to speak with the party pony. The princess acted like she didn’t appreciate Pinkie blowing the party horn so that its end tickled the tip of her snout, but Pinkie knew Twilight was laughing on the inside. Then Pinkie said, “Hi, Twilight!” and Twilight said hi.
Twilight talked about the mare, and how she might not be up for returning home for a while, which made Pinkie a little droopy, but Twilight then said she needed help getting the mare more settled in Ponyville, and that made Pinkie perk right up again. Then, Twilight told Pinkie that she needs her to help get that mare set up with a tab. Then Pinkie listened patiently, while wait no we already did that.
“I’ll do better than set her up with a tab,” Pinkie said eagerly. “I’ll give her a party! ” Several foals cheered at that, all of Peachy Pie’s friends gathered here. Ponies were both gathered here because it was a Peachy Pie, and because it was a Pinkie Pie party. But Pinkie wasn’t Peachy, and it’d make Peachy sad, if her own birthday got hogged by Pinkie, so Pinkie shooed them away saying, “Go play with your friends, sillies!” The foals cantered off giggling to play with the birthday foal, still no doubt anticipating the amazing party Pinkie Pie was gonna throw for this new mare.
“A party would be... fine, I guess,” Twilight told Pinkie, with a hint of frustration to her voice. “But she really does need some kind of record around here. I don’t even know what to call the mare, besides ‘the mare’ and she isn’t telling me anything!”
Pinkie pursed her lips thoughtfully, and said, “Okay... why would she tell town hall anything, then?”
Twilight gave a crafty grin at that, and declared, “Because she’ll have forms to fill out!”
Pinkie... was pretty sure Twilight believed that actually would work.
Nevertheless, mare needed a name. What else would Pinkie Pie write on the cake? “Hey you?” There was a golden opportunity in that, too. A party opportunity, for the mare with no name. And for that opportunity, Pinkie chose to ask her friend Applejack for some help. Applejack was really good at that town hall politicky stuff, and plus, with her taking the mare’s attention, that would be a perfect time for Pinkie Pie to set up her party! It was the perfect plan!
The morning dawned bright and grey-y, and Pinkie got a sore elbow from sleeping on the ground, but that was okay because her friend was feeling much better than she did the day before.
“Oh, I feel so much better!” she said in that sweet high voice of hers, standing in Pinkie’s room and looking at her own hooves in wonderment. “I can’t believe I’m here! I thought for a minute...”
The mare lifted her head and looked at Pinkie nervously, saying, “N-never mind it’s silly.”
“Don’t be silly, silly,” Pinkie said teasingly at her new friend without a name, “Being silly is silly, and that’s great!”
“You are the expert on being silly, I suppose,” the mare said with a twinkle in her eye and a smile hidden in the corner of her mouth.
Pinkie nodded enthusiastically, saying, “You betcha. I’m always silly, all the time!”
“Yeah, except when you start talking to rocks,” the mare said jokingly.
Pinkie Pie blinked at that, and then winced inwardly. “Oh, you saw that, huh...” she said with an unhappy wariness slipping out.
The mare stumbled forward, holding up an off white hoof reaching for Pinkie, saying, “Oh, I’m so sorry, it’s just—”
“No, no it’s alright,” Pinkie said a little unsurely. “You didn’t pick what the movies were going to show about us. And Rainbow Dash ...knows, so it’s okay. Let’s just get downstairs and get something to eat.”
With her eyes practically bugging out, the mare declared, “Oh my god, Pinkie I am so hungry. If you can give me anything I would be so grateful.”
“Looks like your appetite’s coming back,” Pinkie teased the mare, dancing over to the stairs down from her room. “We can set you up juuust fine, don’t you worry.
“Just um d-day olds or whatever,” the mare stammered, blushing crimson. “I promise I won’t need anything for long, just until I get a job or... however that works around here.”
“Got a plan for that too!” Pinkie declared, “Now, follow me!” and charged down the stairs.
Some moments later, Pinkie Pie walked back up the stairs, to help the mare come down them again.
The two were standing at a table in Sugarcube Corner, as if they were already friends together. The Cakes were busy with the twins and with baking, and stuff Pinkie really should have been helping with. But Pinkie Pie had to get some important information from this mare, before putting her plan into motion.
Pinkie was smiling more and more as the mare eagerly but clumsily ate her danish, and elderberry turnover, and carrot tart, and jelly toast, and she only splashed herself a little with the glass of milk, and she made it halfway through a bunch of kale before pausing, and looking up at Pinkie Pie.
“So... are you here for a reason, or do you just like watching me fail at eating?” said the messy muzzled mare.
“Oh!” Pinkie blinked, “No, it is a lot of fun watching you eat, because you’re so hungry it looks like everything tastes amazing!”
“It does taste amazing,” the mare admitted, “But it’s because your baking is amazing.
“Even the toast,” the mare said, leaning forward and taking another bite of it. “Ith crisp on the outside,” she said chewing it thoughtfully, “Moith on the inside...” a pause to swallow, “And doesn’t get all gummy when I chew it. Did you make this bread?”
“Oh, no actually,” Pinkie said with a little blush. “Golden Loaf makes most of the bread in Ponyville. She has a whole bakery for it, on the other side of town.”
“Everything else is amazing too,” replied the mare. “Did you make the...?”
“I made the turnovers, and the tarts and cake are by the Cakes,” Pinkie replied confidently. “But you don’t have to like it just because I made it.”
“It’s all so new to me honestly,” the mare said, “Your food is so different, and I’m ... different.” She leaned forward to take another bite out of a broad, dark green leaf. “Mmm, so good though,” she said savoring the taste.
The mare was enjoying herself so much, that it was making Pinkie Pie hungry, herself. Time to get this show on the road. Eager to move forward, Pinkie stepped next to the mare the mare and, carefully looking the other way, whispered, “So... what kind of cake do you like?”
The mare looked at her, then paused to clear her mouth.
“Is this about the party?” she asked.
Pinkie gasped! “You know about the party?” she declared in shock.
“Er, uh, yeah the um... Twilight warned me about you, that’s all,” the mare said nervously, “I don’t know know about the party, only that there might be a party.”
“Ohh. Well good, because there clearly is no party,” Pinkie Pie said leaning slyly against the mare, “I was just saying it for theoretical party sake. And in theoretical partiness, I just wanted to ask in theory what your favorite flavor of cake was.”
The mare couldn’t resist a laugh at that. Pure joy! She had such a sweet voice, it was a joy to hear her laugh. Pinkie thought it was a joy to hear anypony laugh though, except maybe Nightmare Moon.
“You know,” the mare said bemusedly. “I’m not sure I know what my favorite flavor of cake is.”
“What?? How could you not know that!” Pinkie hissed harshly to her, with eyes wide in shock. The mare’s own blue eyes looked back into Pinkie’s with an innocent curiosity, not offended at all by the question, which shouldn’t even really have been a question. Did she not have cake in her old verse?!
“My tastes are so different coming here,” the mare explained. “I ate hay, yesterday. Hay! Do you have hay cake?”
“All cake is hay cake!” Pinkie replied.
“Really?” the mare asked incredulously, forgetting the plate of delicious foods assembled before her.
Pinkie smiled knowingly and said, “Hay is absolutely essential to cake making.”
The mare blinked at her. “...how?” the mare asked, as if not wanting to hear the answer, but then why did she ask?
“It keeps the cake full bodied and gives it structure,” Pinkie explained, “And unlike fresh grass, it doesn’t taste hardly at all, so it’s really easy to add flavor to.”
“Do you have grass cake?” the mare asked curiously.
“No, but that’s a good idea,” Pinkie said thoughtfully, “Maybe if you used sweet grass, or lemongrass and sweetened it. But most grass isn’t sweet, so ponies don’t make cakes out of it.”
The mare continued to regard her a moment, before going to polish off another tart. Once she was done, she said in an admiring tone, “You really do know a lot about baking, Pinkie Pie.”
“Yeah... it’s kind of a jobby of mine,” Pinkie admitted, squirming shyly.
“It’s still pretty impressive,” the mare said, as she fiddled with the last bit of turnover. “You’re good at your job.”
“I pick up a few things here and there,” Pinkie said embarassedly, “But really what I do best is not just the cake, but the whole party! And I want to give you a super special one so that you can go home feeling great, when you return to your world!”
The mare didn’t respond to that at first, and not just because she was having trouble clearing out her mouth. But she said to Pinkie Pie after a worrisome delay, “Why are you... spending time with me, anyway? Aren’t there other ponies in town, who need your attention?”
“Hmm... not really?” Pinkie said tilting her head. “I can’t help everypony of course, but you looked like somepony I could help, and I just wanted to hear how you were doing just in case.”
“And what my favorite flavor of cake is,” the mare returned amusedly.
“That too, yeah,” Pinkie blushed out.
“Aren’t there other ponies who need help?” the mare persisted. “I don’t know them, but—”
“Exactly!” Pinkie said triumphantly. “Don’t worry about them so much. They all have friends who can help each other out when they’re in trouble. But you just came out of nowhere, and you don’t have any friends! So you just need some extra special help.”
“So why can’t any other pony help me, then?” she asked. “Why you?”
“I dunno,” Pinkie pondered. “Have you asked them?”
“They didn’t spend the night sleeping with me,” the mare said sounding mollified, and a bit disgruntled.
“Exactly,” Pinkie concluded again. “So there’s your answer. Now, what flavor of cake?”
“I... uh... raspberry...” the mare admitted quietly, a blush tinting her cheeks.
“Alrighty,” Pinkie chirped, “And what’s your favorite color?”
“Teal,” she said without hesitation. Well, at least some things this mare didn’t hesitate on!
“Alright, I think you’re all set!” Pinkie said cheerfully, “That’s all I need to know. I’m gonna go do some... things, and Applejack should be here pretty soon to help you get set up with town hall. So finish whenever you like, and she’ll show you where to go. Applejack’s an orange pony with—oh, you know her already, right?”
“Y-yeah,” the mare said almost guiltily. “Guess I’m meeting with her too.”
Pinkie blinked at that. “Yes?” she tried. “I just said Applejack should be here pretty soon to—”
“No, no I heard you Pinkie,” the mare replied with a tired, but grateful smile. “Go, get on to your... not partying, and I’ll go with her.”
Applejack wondered if she was working herself too hard again. It was so easy to just dote on her orchard, even with the trees all sleeping like they do in the wintertime. But once again, she found herself just a mite bit out of the loop.
So apparantly all this week, her friends had gotten all worked up over some mysterious, unnamed mare, who showed up under suspicious circumstances. Applejack managed to miss all the hubbub and hullabaloo of her return, which suited her just fine, but she felt a little guilty for not being there to help out until they called on her some days later.
It was a mighty curious mare that her friends came across. No past, no name, no origin outside of some portal out in the middle of the woods somewhere. Barely able to even walk like a foal, because she wasn’t originally a pony? But now the mare needed to live in the town for a while, so if she didn’t have a name now, she was gonna get one pretty soon.
Pinkie came to Applejack for help there, and good thing she did, because Applejack knew exactly what to do for a mare who was down on her luck, and looking to cut corners to get by. So Applejack would have been ready and willing to pick her up, and help her out. She would have done it without any compunctions, worries or doubts, but for one little thing that Twilight talked to her about.
Wouldn’t you know it, but apparantly this mare objected when Twilight offered to introduce her to Applejack! Takes some nerve to do that for a pony you haven’t even met! Applejack would have been totally willing to get some fat on that mare’s skin and bones that evening, but AJ just ended up just eating with her family as usual, when the mare declined the dinner date.
So Applejack was a little less than comfortable with the mare, when Pinkie asked for help with her again, but, well... Pinkie asked for help. Applejack wasn’t going to turn down a friend in need.
Rainbow Dash was cutting through the chilly winter air, her wings like blades that sliced through it and buoyed Rainbow Dash to great heights. Down, down on the earth, the beautiful landscape of Ponyville spread before her, with all the ponies getting about their business, going to and fro amid the straw roofed cottages. Something caught her eye, and Dash turned and saw that pink haired mare, the one Twilight said was from another world!
Maybe it was her curiosity, or her pride, but Rainbow Dash was curious about this otherworldly visitor. She’d kind of missed out on the whole thing where her friends found her and took her in, and Rainbow wanted to see what this mare was like, herself.
Flipping in the air, and flapping her wings powerfully, Rainbow Dash decellerated smoothly, descending with a practiced precision. Landing with a rush of adrenalin, the earth struck firmly against Rainbow Dash’s hooves, and as she turned to trot over to the mare, Rainbow Dash could see that she had stopped in her travels, and was openly staring Rainbow Dash’s way.
“So,” Dash said cockily, trotting up to the mare, “I hear you’re from another world!”
“I am I—w-wow,” the mare said with a giddy smile, “I’m really talking to Rainbow Dash! P-pleased to meet you.”
“You heard of me, huh?” Rainbow said with surprise, and a little delight. “Do I smell a fan?” she asked slyly.
“Not yet, actually,” the mare replied simply.
Dash nodded, strutting her stuff and saying, “Well look no fur—wait, you aren’t a fan?” She stumbled to a halt. Right, it was probably stupid of her to assume that ponies even knew about her, on a whole nother world.
“Because I’ve only heard of a few of your stunt moves!” the mare said excitedly, immediately making Rainbow Dash perk up. “If I could see some of your tricks for real I bet I would be a huge fan!” she gushed.
Dash beamed at that in relief, saying, “Now that I can understand. Hey maybe I could show you a few tricks. What have you heard of? The corked double whirl? The triple cloud buster?”
“No, those sound totally new to me,” the mare said. “All I can remember see—er, hearing of is the Sonic Rainboom, and that... thing you did to beat Trixie. And um... something where you turn a cloud into a trampoline, to save your friends?”
“Alright, so I just wanna get this out right away, the Rainboom is sort of a you gotta be there thing, not even I know when I can do it,” Rainbow Dash said testily, “The conditions have to be perfect, and nopony really knows what they are, yet.”
“It takes two Elements of Harmony to do it,” the mare explained. “Like you did something incredibly kind, standing up to those bullies for Fluttershy, and you were so generous, you forgot all about winning to save Rarity from falling.”
“Y—no, that’s—wait...” Rainbow’s brain stuttered to a halt at the mare’s simple explanation.
“If Pinkie Pie was ever really sad because you couldn’t do a rainboom, I bet it’d happen like... um...” the mare looked at her hoof perturbed. “I bet it’d happen easy... peasy,” she corrected herself in a squirrelish tone, continuing, “And if Applejack started telling everypony that you were going to do it, you totally would.”
Rainbow Dash just stared at her, speechless.
A second or two later, Dash backed up and stammered, “So uh, catch you uh, later uh... you. I have to... to go think about some things.” Then she blasted off into the sky, away from the surprised mare, Rainbow Dash’s head spinning with the possibilities. Was that really the missing factor? Helping her friends with their Element? It made such a strange sort of sense!
What was Rainbow Dash supposed to do with that information though? Did it mean that everypony was wrong about her? That she was wrong about herself? Was it Fluttershy’s, or Rarity’s power making it happen? Rainbow really couldn’t... she couldn’t really do a sonic rainboom, after all?
Somewhere down on the ground, a pink haired earth pony stared blinking after the fleeing rainbow trail in the sky. Her look of surprise turned into a giggle, and she said quietly to herself, “Totally worth it,” before turning and continuing on her way.
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Got to admit, I'm still just as puzzled and curious as Twilight about X's past, her behavior and her attitude.
If she doesn't want to return home, why be so cagey about it? Why not just say outright: "The place I came from is awful, I don't want to go back!" Surely Twilight would accept that. Equestria doesn't seem like the sort of place that would turn away a refugee.
Why is she so awkward and glum around Twilight anyhow? I mean, I get that Twilight verbally attacked her when they first met, but I sense there's something else going on here.
Why didn't she want to meet Applejack? Does she really think AJ is some sort of living lie-detector? (In spite of all evidence to the contrary, I mean.)
Why hasn't she at least come up with a nickname? I'm sure Pinkie Pie would have lots of helpful suggestions.
And. . . Story Marks? What's up with that? And if that's different, what other surprises might crop up?
As for myself. . . If I were in this situation, I would probably be all grumpy because I am basically Quibble Pants. I'd be raging inside: "Princess Twilicorn, what?! Reformed Discord, what?!? Crystal ponies? Starlight Glimmer?? Hideous crystal castle in Ponyville?? Send me back to season two when things still made sense!"
'totally worth it' LOL... wow- you little imp!!
8111979
It's not.
Would you believe she didn't even think about it, until Twilight asked directly? She actually isn't all that great at planning ahead.
I can personally guarantee that this universe will be 100% poni for some definition of poni.
Yes, she's a real saint, this human.
8112019
A REAL SAINT
"closer to to downtown"
Extra "to"?
"I moved here a dozen years ago"
So... this bring my confusion about last chapter's author's note back. I'd have read this as 12, 6 in base 10, but--
Oh. The slang translations were in base 4 too. :)
So twelve years base ten, right. Carry on!
(Though, also, interesting that it's been that long.)
"so much precious literature were lost"
"was"?
"battle between"
Extra space?
"and days DV"
Ought that to be "DV days"? Or is this more evidence about how the numbers work?
And alas, for the chapter comes to an end...
8111979
"If she doesn't want to return home, why be so cagey about it? Why not just say outright: "The place I came from is awful, I don't want to go back!" Surely Twilight would accept that. Equestria doesn't seem like the sort of place that would turn away a refugee.
Why is she so awkward and glum around Twilight anyhow? I mean, I get that Twilight verbally attacked her when they first met, but I sense there's something else going on here."
My guess is that the latter is strongly connected with the former; Twilight would likely be integral to sending her back, after all, and, from what I recall, has talked the most and most forcefully about it. Oh, also, Twilight keeps reminding her of things she doesn't like about her time as a human, perhaps?
As for the reason for not talking about it... my best current hypothesis is that she doesn't want to go against how obvious a fact it's being taken as. That seems a bit shaky, though.
"Why didn't she want to meet Applejack? Does she really think AJ is some sort of living lie-detector? (In spite of all evidence to the contrary, I mean.)"
Leading hypothesis: she thinks that there's some narrative logic involved.
Key line: "I know I’m gonna have to meet you all, but I wanted to make it last at least a little longer than this."
It's not that she doesn't want to meet Applejack, it's that she thinks a meeting with all of the Mane 6 is inevitable... along the progression her her being "sent home" (kicked out). The longer it takes to meet all of them, therefore, the more time she has in Equestria.
"Why hasn't she at least come up with a nickname? I'm sure Pinkie Pie would have lots of helpful suggestions."
I don't think she thought of it before Twilight asked, and then she decided that she didn't want her old name or to pick a new one for herself. As for Pinkie helping, I think that that's now in progress.
"And. . . Story Marks? What's up with that? And if that's different, what other surprises might crop up?"
That was mentioned earlier, actually, though in passing. And I think that Twilight's library is probably a more significant difference on that score; the cutie/story marks could just be a linguistic thing, but the continued presence of the library and absence of the castle are major changes in events.
8112075
"It's not."
Oh. Now... that's interesting...
"I can personally guarantee that this universe will be 100% poni for some definition of poni."
:)
8112146
..."was"or "many"?
I probably could have made that clearer... no need to translate when you're using actual numerals like 12 right?
How did you see that...
Well, it's technically grammatical to say "Answer me these riddles three" just that's not how people usually say it. I guess there's no reason to be weird about that though.
8112391
"
"..."was"or "many"?
At least in the usage I'm familiar with, "was", "literature" being used with the structures of a singular word.
"I probably could have made that clearer... no need to translate when you're using actual numerals like 12 right?"
:)
So that's twelve years since Nightmare Moon and one year and... some days since Tirek. Interesting.
"How did you see that...
"
Heh, I remember wondering that about Icy Shake. :)
Just happened to spot it here.
"Well, it's technically grammatical to say "Answer me these riddles three" just that's not how people usually say it."
Ah, point.
"I guess there's no reason to be weird about that though."
[shrugs]
8112678
"An Equestrian Mathematician could eventually realise that a decimal system is much easier to use than any other without any external input or suggestion."
How is it much easier to use than any other?
8112678
Minotaurs have four fingers on each hand.
Four claws, etc.
Except in the first chapter it's established that humans aren't a myth, or ancient, just a really obscure creature native to Zebrica. Kind of like Aye-ayes.
If I was going that route, I'd have them use base 6, because it's divisible by the first 2 prime factors, so fractions of thirds, and halves have a precise real number representation. Or maybe add 5 to those factors, to make it base 30. Crazy random numbering schemes ahoy!
Except it's not.
8113705
"Except in the first chapter it's established that humans aren't a myth, or ancient, just a really obscure creature native to Zebrica. Kind of like Aye-ayes."
Well, the second chapter. Also, very interesting! I'd misunderstood that and thought that they were a myth; I suppose that that's what the "Made Manifest" meant.
"If I was going that route, I'd have them use base 6, because it's divisible by the first 2 prime factors, so fractions of thirds, and halves have a precise real number representation."
It might also have religious significance.
"Or maybe add 5 to those factors, to make it base 30. Crazy random numbering schemes ahoy!"
Why not twelve? Four hooves and a tail positioned left, right, or center? :)
...Hm. As a thought, were the great mathematicians of antiquity in the common number system mostly or all pegasi? Easier to count on your hooves if you don't have to stand on them at the same time, and maybe things could have developed from there. If we want to bring out-of-universe stuff into it, there's also the whole Greek thing.
8113846
...I'm not completely clueless about my own story, honest.
Hmm, I wonder why the book used that as a title...
Base twelve has a superfluous factor of 2, forcing innocent foals to memorize twice as many numerals as base 6, and 300 more squares in their multiplication table, for little to no advantage!
*that number is written in base 6, of course.
That is an incredibly fascinating idea that I totally thought of already and I'm not just stealing it from you if I use it in my story.
...but base 4 works for earth ponies, because they can lift one of 4 hooves. Pegasi could lift more than one hoof, giving them the capability to count to 16 on one pony's hooves alone. Only trouble is pegasi are barbaric morons who used literal roman numerals until the other tribes beat the stupid out of them.
8114337
"...I'm not completely clueless about my own story, honest."
:)
"Hmm, I wonder why the book used that as a title...
"
...Well, great, now you've got my curiosity going. I can think of things from "they were thought mythical until a cryptozoologist/<whatever ought to be in place of "anthrop">ologist discovered them" to "the title and winking Rarity are hints that the creatures in the book were conjured up with dark magic".
"Base twelve has a superfluous factor of 2, forcing innocent foals to memorize twice as many numerals as base 6, and 300 more squares in their multiplication table, for little to no advantage!
"
:)
"*that number is written in base 6, of course."
Of course. :D
"That is an incredibly fascinating idea that I totally thought of already and I'm not just stealing it from you if I use it in my story."
Oh, I'm glad
Iyou thought of it, then. :)"...but base 4 works for earth ponies, because they can lift one of 4 hooves. Pegasi could lift more than one hoof, giving them the capability to count to 16 on one pony's hooves alone."
Ah, yes, good points.
"Only trouble is pegasi are barbaric morons who used literal roman numerals until the other tribes beat the stupid out of them."
Well, two thoughts:
One: They could still have a few particularly bright people, though I'm not sure just how to work the idea out for best story purposes.
Oh, or this could potentially be after the beating. Some pegasus realizes that there's actually a lot more that could be done with the numbers than is being done, and that that would allow the pegasi to beat the other tribes (or at least the earth ponies) at their own numerical game.
Two: Thus preventing Equestria from having a third number system in circulation. :)
...Wait, three: Wait, if they were fully literal roman numerals, does that mean pegasi were using base ten?
8115297
Roman numerals aren't really base-10. They're not even a numeric system, as much as they are a tallying system. 9 is IX for instance, not VIIII. Pony Rome could have totally different definitions for V and X too, such as 8 and 16 or 6 and 12. Also I'm just talking out of my ass here. I wildly speculate that pony writing and numerology have to precede the tribal unification, thus why they're such a clusterfuck. No evidence for this to be true.
8115994
"Roman numerals aren't really base-10. They're not even a numeric system, as much as they are a tallying system. 9 is IX for instance, not VIIII. Pony Rome could have totally different definitions for V and X too, such as 8 and 16 or 6 and 12"
Ah, okay; I'd just have not counted numerals with different values for the letters as literal roman numerals.
"Also I'm just talking out of my ass here. I wildly speculate that pony writing and numerology have to precede the tribal unification, thus why they're such a clusterfuck. No evidence for this to be true."
:)
That was mean…