• Published 9th Apr 2017
  • 4,267 Views, 625 Comments

Returning Home - ferret



With their quest complete, every adventurer longs to return home, to be reunited with their friends and family, and this “human” mare should be no exception. So why won’t she leave?!

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Fine! Don’t Listen to Me, I’m Just a Title!

Applejack was selling at the market one day, when Twilight Sparkle came up to her again.

“What can ah do you for, Twi?” she asked all friendly-like, but it was clear her friend wasn’t doing so well.

Twilight’s mane was all jiggery from lack of combing and sleep, and her eyes had bags under them. Applejack cursed herself inwardly for letting it get this bad. Twilight needed her, so Applejack was supposed to step up to the plate. Simple as that. But she didn’t want to... betray Rosy like that again. She didn’t want to do what Twilight made them do. Applejack had earned Rosy’s trust, had befriended her and accepted help from her on the farm, and how did Applejack repay that kindness?

But... Twilight needed Applejack’s help.

So, there were reasons Applejack hadn’t come forward to help her friend so eagerly this time, but she still felt awful about standing idly by. What Twilight was doing was the right thing, but it felt so wrong, and Applejack didn’t really know how to deal with that.

“Applejack,” Twilight said pleadingly, “I know you don’t want to talk about Rosy, or about her world, but this research is very important, and...”

“It’s all right, Twilight,” Applejack said with a resigned sigh. “Ah might not want to talk about her, but you do, an’ ah want you to know I’m always here to listen, if’n you need somepony to turn an ear.”

Twilight peered at Applejack disbelievingly. “Really?” she asked in surprise.

“I been puttin’ it off, but yeah, it’s high time we caught up again, maybe the one’n’two of us cain get together some time...” Applejack said unsurely.

“Oh, if you would, I would really, really appreciate it!” Twilight said with a pained whimper. “I don’t know how to tell them, and nopony is talking to me any more, and I just don’t know what went wrong.”

“If ah would what? What?” Applejack said in surprise, taking a step back from the beseeching princess. “Nopony is talking to you?”

“Well, Spike is, but I meant the 12 of us,” Twilight said wistfully. “I don’t know how to—”

“Even Pinkie Pie?” Applejack said incredulously.

“She’s even more obsessed about Rosy than I am!” Twilight protested in return. “I can’t get through to her, after we... after Rosy hurt Pinkie so badly back at that rift.”

“...Rarity?” Applejack tried desperately.

“Oh we talked the other day,” Twilight stated blandly. “I asked how she was doing, and she said she was quite busy.”

Applejack stared at Twilight. “...and?” she asked.

“And that’s it, she didn’t speak to me then,” Twilight replied, ears down. “And Fluttershy keeps shutting down whenever I try to talk to her—”

“Naw, she’s doing that to me too,” Applejack said comfortingly. “Ah don’t know why Fluttershy’s so pee—miffed at all of us. She may be shy, but she ain’t that shy!”

“I-if you could help me, I’d really appreciate it,” Twilight said hopefully. “I know you can get the others together.”

“Well ah could ask Rarity, an’ she’s good with Fluttershy, and—yeah, basically,” Applejack said. “But why are we getting together for?”

“Do we need a reason? ” Twilight whimpered.

“No we don’t,” Applejack said disapprovingly, “But something’s botherin’ you mighty fierce, and ah get the feeling it ain’t just a hankering for a group of friends chattering about various and sundry.”

Twilight relaxed with an apologetic smile, saying, “Oh, right. Yes. I have something very important to show you in the research I’ve been reviewing. I’d really like all the girls here for it, as it concerns every one of you. And it’s really eating me up inside because I don’t want to research further until you’ve all had a chance to look at it.”

“It’s fine really Twi, but you should’ve come forward sooner,” Applejack said sadly, “Ah may be stubborn, but you don’t need to lose sleep over it. I always felt like there was something the research ponies were missing about all this, with all their bluff and bluster. If’n you have a clue what that is...”

“Oh, I have better than a clue,” Twilight said smugly, “I have Rosy’s show.”


Applejack was mighty embarassed by matters that had fallen into her hooves. She didn’t know they all had been avoiding each other, and she really should have expected it. But once Twilight got it through Applejack’s thick skull, it was a simple matter for Applejack to arrange things. For Rainbow Dash, all Applejack had to do was suggest that Twilight was gonna show them the truth behind Rosy’s predictions. Rarity was as concerned as Applejack about mending their friendship. Fluttershy came along with some gentle encouragement from Rarity. Pinkie came when Rainbow Dash beat it into Pinkie Pie that she was letting her guilt consume her. Real dramatic moment, that. Sort of story you’d tell your foals years later. And Twilight was the one running this thing, so she didn’t need convincing.

The Element Bearers were joined together in Twilight’s projector room, where Twilight had, through some form of arcane wizardry, managed to translate the human recordings into a film projection. So along with Twilight, her friends all learned why the librarian princess had been so reluctant to watch the films alone.

“Was that me? ” Rainbow Dash cut in abruptly, before quieting down as she saw all of them were represented, each with a catch phrase.

“Oh, I’m glad Angel Bunny isn’t here to see this,” Fluttershy said nervously. “He already eats far too many apple slices to be healthy.”

“Okay, calm down everypony,” Twilight told the two of them. “This is just some sort of scripted introduction.”

“How do they do that?” Rarity asked incredulously. “She looks just like me!”

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Twilight said to Rarity, who peered back questioningly for a moment, then her face dawned in recognition.

“Oh, by ‘we’ you mean that Trottingdale crew, of course,” she said.

“Under much stricter supervision, of course,” Twilight stated righteously. “Anyway, we have no answer yet, other than pure, blind coincidence. But somehow... the humans knew of... well, just watch.”

They watched.

“...why would we send Princess Celestia a photograph of us?” somepony asked.

Twilight could only shake her head and answer “I don’t know...”


The show commenced, and almost immediately, Rainbow Dash drawled, “Real smooth, Twilight.”

“I was under a lot of pressure at the time!” the princess protested. “It was just bad timing. What are the chances that everypony would be throwing little celebrations and get-togethers right around the time of—”

“The Summer Sun Celebration?” Rarity asked dryly.

“...fine, I was a wet blanket,” Twilight grumbled.

Applejack found her own introduction at the beginning downright hilarious. “You were packed fuller than a hog fulla plums!” she said to Twilight with a laugh. “Guess the old Apple hospitality got the best of you.”

“That, and certain little fillies who are very good at making it hard to say no,” Twilight said disaffectedly.

They watched and—

And everypony’s mouth dropped open in shock.

“That never happened!” Rainbow Dash shouted in outrage as Pinkie Pie outright collapsed in laughter. “How was I supposed to know you—that was just a mud puddle! It wasn’t... that!

Twilight managed to get the projector paused, and said nervously to the others, “Ha ha, these humans and their weird sense of humor. They are supposedly related to apes, so I suppose that kind of humor would just be... normal to them!”

Pinkie Pie was about dying of laughter over this entire explanation of course.

“Could somepony calm Pinkie Pie down before she pulls a muscle?” Twilight said through gritted teeth.

Once they were all... calm again, Twilight stood before the projector and admitted, “I haven’t actually... watched these in advance. I didn’t feel it was right to do so by myself, after I saw that you all were in it. So, there might be some objectionable content, maybe even really upsetting.”

“Oh how bad could it possibly be,” Rarity tittered, the second most amused by this particular frozen moment on film. “I can handle a little bathroom humor, now and again.”

“Maybe Twilight’s too...” Pinkie Pie said weakly from the floor, “Pooped to continue!”

Aaaand cue everypony else except Twilight Sparkle to start laughing.

Still, Twilight was in good spirits when she restarted the projector. She’d worried that this would be much more serious, or invasive than it was, but so far it was basically depicting events that anypony could have seen in plain sight. It all seemed pretty innocuous actually, and honestly a bit sugar-coated. It glossed over Rainbow Dash’s weather performance for instance. There were no vulgar insults from the Canterlot students, over Twilight’s insistence on studying above celebrating. And on that note, in the show, all Pinkie Pie did on meeting Twilight was wordlessly gasp!

The show went on, and the rest of her friends were in good spirits too. Almost immediately after resuming, Pinkie Pie laughed again saying, “Hahaha, now you are a wet blanket!”

“Keep watching, Pinkie, you’re gonna love the next part,” Rainbow Dash said with an eager grin.

Twilight just groaned, and gave a sympathetic look towards Rarity, who watched the scenario unfold with dawning horror. “Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snapped, glaring at the unrepentant looking pegasus lazily hovering there above her seat. “It was you who—”

“Yeah, yeah, I messed up Twilight’s hair,” Dash said, shrugging, “Big deal.”

“Big deal?!” Rarity retorted with a stomp, “A mare’s mane is her most important form of self expression!”

“But you fixed it,” Rainbow Dash protested, “So what’s the problem?”

As Rarity’s scene unfolded, Rarity had very little reason to contest that, since Twilight’s mane disaster had been a good opportunity to break the ice with the fashion designer. There was also the fact that everypony’s ears were down for most of Rarity’s scene, and Rainbow Dash was blushing and looking aside, because of the little bombshell of Spike’s open affection for Rarity. Had he really caught it that bad the very first time he saw her? Twilight felt guilty for not bringing Spike in to watch this too.

But that moment passed quickly, as the show-Twilight escaped Rarity’s obsession with fashion, and then it was on to Fluttershy. Fluttershy continued watching with her usual trepidation, and then with surprise.

“Oh, um... I don’t recall being that quick to warm to Spike,” she replied uncertainly.

“This ‘show’ as Rosy called it seems to be something of a summary, or an exaggeration of the actual events that occurred,” Twilight informed them. “It looks like us, uncannily so, but some things have to be an approximation. I am pretty confident that a few things depicted here never happened at all. Rarity did nothing more than give my mane a good brushing on that day, for instance, and I only met you the next morning, remember? When the birds wake up?”

“Yes Fluttershy dear,” Rarity said with a calming nuzzle, “Do recall my little preoccupation with Twilight’s Canterlot chic breezed by here in seconds rather than days. This is clearly a vast dramatization.”

“Ah dunno, the food spread seemed about accurate,” Applejack said thoughtfully, “Once ah managed to drag you out of this here library that is, long enough to enjoy a home cooked meal with the entire Apple family. I grant you it didn’t happen all in one day.

“Pff, yeah and you don’t clear the entire sky with just one pony,” Rainbow Dash quipped, “I may be awesome but I’m not that awesome.”

“Hold on we’re almost to the best part,” Pinkie said excitedly, eyes glued to the wall. Figuratively glued. One had to specify with that pony.

“Oh, you know what’s going to happen next?” Rarity asked in surprise.

Pinkie nodded eagerly saying, “Yup! A party!

That was impressive enough, even more so that she timed it perfectly when her projected double said the same words, despite never having possibly watched this film before.

And then her giggles abruptly died.

“Oh no!” Pinkie Pie whimpered in alarm. “You didn’t—that’s why Spike asked about the hot sauce?”

“It’s okay, Pinkie,” Twilight said soothingly, “I was looking for an excuse to leave anyway. I poured my own punch, and it’s my responsibility. I was there for the end anyway, right?”

Thumping tunes, some odd wasplike resonance, and the voice of an aggrivated unicorn continued to emit from the shimmering crystal wired to the thingy on the projector. As the ponies watched, the mare vanished from the face of the moon.

“Oh... I don’t know if I want to finish this...” Fluttershy said, shrinking to her belly.

“Indeed, perhaps we could skip the part about...” Rarity said distastefully, “You know, her.

“I highly doubt it’ll be as bad as all that,” Twilight said practically. “This ‘show’ really pulls its punches, it seems. Besides, we already know it works out okay, in the end, right?”

“We... we should watch it,” Fluttershy said in cautious agreement. “We might learn something about how the princess... felt under her power.”

The scene began to unfold and the ponies watching were quickly drawn in, the memories rising up in them from that terrible, incredible, never-ending night.

After it was over, the ponies remained silent, looking at each other warily, hopefully.

Rarity was the first to break the silence, asking, “How... long was that?”

“The er, episode is minutes BS long,” Twilight Sparkle said, looking at the quiescent projector.

“That felt a lot longer than BS,” Fluttershy said distantly.

“It’s only one of many...” Twilight said cautiously. “There are four seasons, and supposedly a fifth planned. You can thank a pegasus by the name of Resonance for deciphering the signals they’d been sending through electrical wires, but all episodes are available to us, if we want to watch them.”

“This explains how Rosy knew us...” Applejack said in wonderment.

“I don’t know if I want to watch much more of this,” Fluttershy said worriedly.

“We gotta at least watch until that big final battle!” Rainbow Dash declared emphatically. “I wanna see if we kick Nightmare Moon’s butt!”

“You were there, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity replied flatly.

“Yeah, but I wanna see if the humans get it right,” Dash replied in a sarcastic drawl. She added in a squeaky voice, “Maybe they’ll be like, oh hey Nightmare Moon wow, zoom, poof, now let’s have a tea party!”

Rarity rolled her eyes.

“She sure sounded right,” Fluttershy said in a haunted tone. “And looked right. With that dark, black fur, and those dragon like eyes, and that deep scary voice...”

“Indeed,” said Rarity in a haunted tone.

“I wonder what the next episode’s gonna be about,” Pinkie wondered. “Is it gonna be about me messing up her nightmares by teaching ponies when to laugh? Or maybe it’ll be about when Rainbow Dash joined her, and got right up under her black snootie, so she could find out where the Elements were hidden. Or maybe—”

“Whatever it is, ah think I’ve seen enough for now,” Applejack said tensely. “Ah need some time to think about all this... not sure ah wanna see my whole life flash before mah eyes.”

“I have to agree,” Rarity said. “To think that poor Spikie Wikey’s deepest secrets may be known to a whole world... I’m not sure we have the right to watch these, even if we are the main subject of them.”

“M...maybe we could watch later... (preferably much later)” Fluttershy squeaked.

“You’re seriously going to pass up a chance like this?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed to her, “What if something happened that we don’t even know about? It might not be exact, but there could be clues to stuff we missed!”

“Plus you want to see us kick Nightmare Moon’s butt,” Pinkie clarified.

Dash nodded smugly.

“Well, I wanna see it too,” Pinkie Pie agreed. “It sounds like it’d be really exciting, and a lot of fun! And it’s been really funny so far! We can always stop if it gets not fun. Plus we’ll be better ponies if we know more about ourselves!”

“That’s... surprisingly insightful,” Twilight said, making Pinkie beam happily. “And I do want to watch these, not just for our sake, but to better understand the rift, and the creature who came through it. If we see the same ‘episodes’, then the traveller won’t have an unfair advantage when we try to reason with it!”

“Her,” Fluttershy said audibly.

“Hm?” Twilight asked, looking to Fluttershy uncertainly.

“She is a ‘her’ not an ‘it’,” Fluttershy stated. “I’m pretty sure, at least, you know if you don’t want to treat her poorly, I mean, um...”

“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight sighed. “I shouldn’t resent her just for making bad decisions. I just wish she would listen to reason. The longer that rift stays open, the greater danger all of Equestria is in.”

Fluttershy nodded slightly from behind her hair.

“Sounds like we’re tied, then,” Applejack said, giving a jaunty tilt to her hat as she added, “But ah’m leanin’ towards watchin’ ‘em. Just gotta check with mah family, and let y’all do the same.”

“If we do watch it, I think we can solemnly swear not to reveal other ponies’ secrets,” Twilight offered. “I can even have it legally formalized if you like.”

“Eh, Pinkily formalized is good enough for me,” Rainbow Dash said, with a hoof bump and a wink to Pinkie Pie.


Their weekly picnic was a lively one, that first week. The Bearers were out on the green hilly fields beneath the partial shade of Rainbow Dash’s house, sharing snacks and sandwiches, and listening to Rainbow Dash recall with irritation, fluttering up into the air,

“Disappointing? That episode was a total ripoff! I thought they’d spend all the episodes on our epic battle with the Nightmare, and they just zoomed on through it!”

“Too fast for you?” Rarity asked coyly, to which Rainbow Dash blushed, and said,

“N-n-no I was just surprised. What about the time I... and you... you know, all that stuff!”

“This show seems to take snapshots of our lives,” Twilight speculated, “What puzzles me is how they stitch them together with things that didn’t happen. Like how would they get footage of Rainbow Dash crashing into me with a full belly from all that pie? Perhaps they altered it somehow?”

“Or maybe they just drew on it,” Rainbow Dash said, “But I did like what was there. Rarity bucked that manticore like a pro!”

“Yes, the manticore who was only attacking because of the Nightmare,” Rarity said dryly, “I feel so proud of roughing up innocent beasts.”

“Um, I’m excited about the show as well,” Fluttershy said tentatively, “But I wonder if we could talk about something... else.”

“That’s probably a good idea. I don’t know if I could take one more jibe about the Element of Loyalty,” Twilight said with a glare at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash just snickered in response. Looking at Fluttershy kindly, Twilight asked, “Was there anything you wanted to talk about?”

“Um... yes I wanted to talk about... us,” Fluttershy replied. Rainbow Dash landed, and Twilight settled back, looking at Fluttershy self consciously, as the butter yellow pegasus said, “Twilight, I don’t know if... we’ve been... the best ponies lately.”

“Rosy seems to bring out the worst in us, yes,” Rarity said staring at the back a hoof, “But you can’t blame yourself for that.”

“Look, I’m... doing it the right way this time, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “I’m learning about Rosy’s world, and her life. Once I find out who’s scared her so much that she doesn’t want to return home, then Rosy will want to return home!”

“That sounds...” Fluttershy said uncertainly.

“All ah wanna know,” Applejack cut in irritably, “Is why she’s refusin’ to have nothin’ to do with me!”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said, her eyes widening in surprise at Applejack, “You haven’t been the one avoiding her?”

“Not in the slightest!” Applejack said, “She won’t even give me the time of day no more.”

“Oh good,” Fluttershy said with a relieved smile, “I was worried you weren’t being... nice to her.”

“We’re being nothing to her,” Rarity said reluctantly, “And she’s being nothing to us, and all things considered I cannot imagine anything improving further than that.”

“Some ponies just don’t like each other, Flutters,” Rainbow Dash said, “You gotta know when to let ‘em go live their own lives.”

“Well it’s just I...” Fluttershy didn’t want anypony letting her go, but how could she find the words for it, and who was she to think that she knew what Rosy was going through? “I really... think these sandwiches are delicious,” she said to Rarity, with a lame smile.

“Thank you darling. I do love a good cheddar and cucumber on rye, and I’m most happy to share it with you all,” Rarity said with a grateful smile. It was a great picnic, and Fluttershy dodged any further questions regarding her feelings towards them.

The 12 left to each go their own ways after that. And for a period of time, Rosy lived her life almost entirely uncontested. There were occasional loud noises coming from the projector room of the library after hours, but for the most part, life continued on just as usual in Ponyville.


“Diamond Tiara?”

Diamond didn’t let it show that she was startled as all heck, turning to face the other filly, then just turning her nose up and saying, “What is it, hayseed?

“Ah’m Apple Bloom, actually,” the filly said uncertainly, “Hayseed’s mah cousin.”

“I—that’s not—ugh!”

Diamond was standing outside of school waiting for Silver to talk with the teacher, because that insufferable filly got caught like a little foal, again. And to make matters worse, now an Apple was trying to bother Diamond Tiara, worse still the Apple known as Apple Bloom. She was about the last pony Diamond Tiara wanted to see right now. Diamond didn’t even have any insults prepared! She’d have to think them up on the spot!

Apple Bloom scraped the ground, telling the irascible pink pony, “Ah know we don’t... get along too well, and our families don’t get along too well, so ah’ll be quick. I just wanted to apologize.”

“Well, it’s good you’re willing to finally own up to it,” Diamond Tiara said with a sly smile to Apple Bloom.

The clueless filly’s mouth dropped in surprise and she said, “How did y’ know?”

“Anypony would have to apologize for having a face like yours,” Diamond snickered. It didn’t have the same effect as when Silver was around though. Dammit why couldn’t Apple Bloom approach her when she was ready for it?

“Oh yeah well your—” Apple Bloom snorted herself to angry silence, trying again, saying, “Ah’m talkin’ about your cuteciñera, not mah face!”

“What about my cuteciñera?” Diamond asked snidely. “Which you like, totally ruined by the way.”

“I know, that’s what ah’m apologizin’ for,” Apple Bloom said softly. “Ah saw somethin’ that... got me to thinking, an’ it was your special celebration that was real important to you. We didn’t mean ta steal the spotlight, but we sorta did. Ah didn’t even mean to attend though; knew you didn’t want me there. So, when we um got everypony talkin’ about how cool it was to be a blank flank, ah don’t know if you knew that was an accident, and I wanted to say ah’m sorry. So... sorry.”

Squeezing her eyes shut, Apple Bloom turned and galloped away as fast as her blank butt could carry her.

After a while, a silver pony with a spoon on her butt walked up to Diamond saying, “Was that like, Apple Bloom?”

Snapping out of her trance, Diamond said smoothly, “Oh you know, just reminding her of her place in the pecking order. I wouldn’t be surprised if she cries herself to sleep tonight!” The two friends shared a good laugh at that. Diamond Tiara stopped laughing first, though.

Yup, just as usual.

The ponies almost made it through season 1 before everything went to hell.


It all came crashing to an end, thanks to the Story Mark Seekers. Of course.

“It’s not your fault!” Rainbow Dash flying at speed shouted to Scootaloo.

The filly continued to scoot away shouting tearfully, “It always is! We always ruin everything!

“There was no way you could’ve known!” Dash hollered back, “It was that stupid show!”

“I’m gonna get my story mark in failure!”

“Scootaloo, calm down!”

“Never!”

Those were what ponies heard around east Ponyville, and then around west Ponyville, and then east Ponyville again. While Scootaloo dealt with it her way, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were trying not to cry, and generally whimpering and dragging the mood down while Applejack and Rarity respectively tried to comfort them. And the one crying the most loudly and bitterly was a little pink filly in a big mare’s body by the name of Pinkie Pie.


Earlier that afternoon, Pinkie Pie bounced into the library along with the rest of them, in a super chipper mood because of the last episode they saw. Pinkie hadn’t seen anything funnier than Twilight and Fluttershy’s antics last week, not since 22 whole episodes ago, which was a really long time because Twilight was only showing 1 episode a week! Now that Pinkie thought of it, just like last week’s episode, Winter Wrapup had also been about Twilight’s silly antics, and Pinkie had also missed the entire thing. Who would have thought that Twilight Sparkle could be so funny only when Pinkie Pie wasn’t watching?

Certainly not Pinkie Pie!

So Pinkie was really excited about this episode. And she got even more excited after Twilight stood in front of them and said, “Attention everypony, I would like to tell you all that this is a very special episode. It reveals a lot about our past, each of us 12, but I have carefully reviewed the episode, and I can guarantee that there are no dirty secrets being exposed, only tales that warmed my heart to hear them. I’m almost disappointed I have to watch these beforehoof, to make sure they’re safe to show to everypony. But I don’t want a repeat of the Sleepover incident, where we learned more about Applejack and Rarity than they were comfortable with sharing with us.”

“I can’t believe we missed that one,” Sweetie Belle pouted.

“It was nothing you would have been impressed with, dear,” Rarity told her. “Just some embarassing moments, really.”

“You saw our embarassing moments,” Sweetie protested petulantly. “So why can’t we see yours?”

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said, regarding the candy white filly resting on her belly with her legs folded compactly alongside her, sitting right against her older sister, who was resting the same. The filly was watching with them today, along with her two friends who’d had a surprisingly large role in the show. Rarity wasn’t sure how to put this tactfully, so she said, “Every pony in Ponyville saw your embarassing moments, when you performed them before a live audience.”

“Yeah, but... still...” Sweetie mumbled, quieting down. She didn’t protest further, though no doubt she was cooking up a scheme to conspire with Apple Bloom to review the offensive episode regarding marshallows and topiary. Rarity would have to distract her with ice cream or something of the sort. Her and Apple Bloom, who was sitting together with her sister, and perhaps Scootaloo, who was standing proudly beside Rainbow Dash, who was hovering excitedly in mid-air, as one does.

“Well I’m ready,” Rainbow Dash said fiercely. “Are they gonna talk about the Institute? Old news! Been there, done that! Are they gonna talk about how I ran away? Quit school and had to earn my GED while working? That’s just how I roll. Around you gals, I’m an open book! No secrets for me!”

“You quit school, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo said in sudden worry, looking up at Rainbow Dash with big, limpid eyes.

“Oh... right, you three uh... you’re here too heh heh...” Rainbow Dash said nervously, glancing at Scootaloo and fluttering to the earth with a blush, “Yeah, I didn’t want to, but you can’t stay in school and keep a job. I didn’t quit quit. I still studied on my own and passed um... all the tests, on my own. It was kind of lame actually. It really isn’t something you have to worry about, kid. Your orphanage is way better than my um... thing.”

“Oh, well that’s not as bad,” Scootaloo said, sounding relieved.

“Yeah I probably could have been even more awesome if I’d stayed in Cloudsdale Academy,” Rainbow Dash pondered, “But I still turned out pretty awesome, I think.”

“Super rad!” Scootaloo agreed.

You quit school, Rainbow Dash?! ” came Twilight’s belated but strident surprised utteration, as the former unicorn finally snapped out of her utter, dumbfounded paralysis.

“Yeah, didn’t I... tell you?” Rainbow Dash said hesitantly to the fish-mouthing Twilight. “I might’ve glossed over that part a little, because I did technically graduate, so um... yeah.”

“I have so many questions,” Twilight said, shaking her head, “But no, this episode does not expose your involvement with the Institute, the PPP, nor any academic... troubles. Nothing bad about any of you at all, and in fact some very good things, which is why I don’t want to spoil the surprise just yet. I will say that the SMS will recognize these stories, so it’s mostly a treat for us grown mares, but it’ll be nice for all of us to see these stories as if we were really there.”

“Well, what’re we waitin’ for?” Applejack said heartily. “Get ‘er done!”


When the episode started, Rainbow Dash immediately exclaimed,

Pony ziplining?! That is awesome!”

“Not that awesome,” Scootaloo grumbled, as their ill-fated attempt to teach an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus what it feels like to fly ended up snapping, dropping, flopping, and getting them all completely covered in tree sap.

“Okay, so your design could use a little work,” Dash admitted leerily.

Fluttershy immediately perked up when she heard the subject matter. “Oh, I remember this!” she said. “It was quite a while ago, wasn’t it?”

“You never forget the day you get your story mark,” Applejack said in satisfaction, not noticing the envious look Apple Bloom gave her.

“Oh, I meant I remember the day we told the story,” Fluttershy clarified. “These fillies were so —”

“Sssh!” Pinkie Pie said, munching idly on the bag of popcorn she brought with her. “It’s about to start on Applejack.”

One heartwarming tale later, and Applejack had her hat held on her breast, saying warmly, “Now wasn’t that somethin’”

“You were so adorable as a filly!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Well, ah was smaller, at any rate,” Applejack replied, reapplying her hat.

“And you had so many freckles!” Sweetie persisted, undaunted.

Applejack had to laugh at that, if a little nervously. “I ain’t exactly dappled, but ah did have some faun freckles.”

One half of a tale of a pegasus foal later, and Rainbow Dash absolutely panicked, shouting,

“Fluttershy! No!”

“It’s...” Fluttershy mumbled.

“Oh Celestia no, Fluttershy’s gonna hit the ground! Spread your wings, Fluttershy! Pull up, pull up!”

“It’s okay Rainbow Dash...” Fluttershy reassured her friend, putting a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder as the other mare continued pressing herself against the projector screen on the wall.

“I think this’s gone far enough,” Twilight said firmly, her magic hooking Rainbow Dash’s tail and gently pulling the pegasus back to her seat. Dash didn’t struggle however, because of something happening on the projection. As if suddenly paralyzed, Rainbow Dash stopped fighting and just stared as she was returned to her seat. The others looked at her, alarmed by what they saw on the show, but not quite that alarmed.

“She’s right here, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said reassuringly. “She cain’t have gotten hurt if she’s right here with you.”

“Oh Fluttershy, did you get hurt?” Rarity asked the butter yellow pony in concern. “Oh I don’t know if I could bear the thought that your friend in protecting your honor...”

“No, um, it...” Fluttershy mumbled.

Pinkie Pie continued to pass the popcorn to the other three fillies.

“Butterflies...?” was all that could be heard coming faintly from Rainbow Dash.

One pegasus’s tale later, and everypony was smiling again. Even Fluttershy. “Do I really sound like that?” she asked, in a glow of appreciation and fond memories.

“Oh no, darling, you don’t sound like that at all,” Rarity said cooly, and before Fluttershy could even droop her ears, the unicorn added, “Your voice is much more mature, and full now. I’m so glad that you’ve finally warmed to us enough that we have the pleasure to hear you sing now and then.”

“Oh that’s...” Fluttershy ducked under her hair, blushing madly “...” but smiling.

“I think we can all be glad to hear that the rest aren’t as hair raising as falling from cloud level,” Twilight stated to everypony’s relief. “Rarity’s might seem relatively uneventful, but I really like the big reveal at the end. Oops don’t mind me.”

“We already know she—” Scootaloo started, before Pinkie Pie heavily shushed her. “You seriously never told each other your mark stories before?” Scoots grumbled, eyeing the attentive pink pony.

“We have, to a degree, except...” Twilight eyed Fluttershy, who looked down self consciously.

“Yes,” Fluttershy admitted quietly. “I didn’t tell Rainbow Dash, because I worried she would blame herself for my clumsiness.”

“I am just so glad you didn’t get hurt,” Rainbow Dash said in relief. “Did butterflies really save you?”

“They didn’t save me persay, but they were migrating at the time,” Fluttershy stated. “I probably wouldn’t have gotten hurt too badly, because I at least managed to reduce my weight to the point that I wouldn’t hurt any of them upon falling. Really, a flock of migrating butterflies is not unlike a cloud in structure.”

“I’ll stick with clouds of water, I think,” Rainbow Dash said frankly. “Way high above the ground.”

“Aw shucks, but you gotta come down and visit sometime,” Applejack said to the pegasus with a teasing eye flutter. Dash just rolled her eyes. And so with a twinkle of magenta magic, the projector resumed, and the show commenced.

“Oh, that was such a delightful play!” Rarity declared after having seen her own mark story. “They only showed a few seconds of the concluding song, but those costumes were just dazzling!”

“Yeah, shiniest food groups in Equestria,” Rainbow Dash grumbled under her breath.

“I heard that,” Rarity said with a disapproving sniff.

“So, I was curious though, your special talent is finding gems?” Sweetie Belle asked uncertainly, “But you’re a fashion designer!”

“And I design my fashion with the gems I find myself,” Rarity gently corrected the filly. “But my special talent isn’t finding gems.”

“It’s not?” the filly replied, confused.

Rarity smiled down at Sweetie Belle and said, “Let me ask you, why had nopony already harvested those gems I found, there?”

“Because they were hidden inside a rock?” Sweetie attempted.

Rarity nodded. “Precisely, darling. My special talent, my modus operandi so to speak, is finding the hidden beauty in things. My story mark symbolizes the gems inside a rock, but what it means is that I wish to devote my life to taking a plain, unassuming pony, and making her beautiful, by helping her express her inner beauty. That, I believe, is the essence of fashion, not clothing persay, nor gems.”

“Wow,” Sweetie said with big, starry eyes. Rarity had to cover up a nervous titter with a hoof at that.

“Alright, admittedly my story mark is a little more mundane than that,” Twilight said with a sheepish look at her oneun starred star, “I wanted to be good at magic, I’m good at magic. What’s interesting is how my horn surge is... well I’ll let you see the story.”

Twilight was fighting mightily to keep from imitating her double on film; the story of her being chosen to be the personal protegè of the princess never failed to warm her heart. “So, you see Dash, and I think this might actually be accurate, but your Sonic Rainboom may have actually supercharged my horn!” Twilight said in amazement, pausing the projection in the middle of her double’s leaping about, “It does have that effect on certain magical antennas, and it’s my theory that there was more going on than just a nervous filly getting startled by a loud noise.”

“Should I... not do those anymore?” Rainbow Dash asked uneasily. “I don’t want to uh... do that to any other unicorns or fillies or whatever. It looked kinda... scary.”

“Considering that you’ve only done a Sonic Rainboom twice in your life, I think we can weather its effects,” Twilight said with a wry grin.

“Eh, what can I say. I’m not a one trick pony!” Rainbow said, waving her hoof lazily. “It’s still the top of my impossible moves list. Can’t believe I managed to do it as a filly!”

“And defending me from bullies too,” Fluttershy said gratefully. “I really do appreciate your kindness in stepping in like that.”

“Huh,” Twilight said thoughtfully.

“Huh?” Rarity asked her warily.

“Come on, come on, do me next! Do me! Do me!” Pinkie Pie started cheering gleefully, “I wanna see this!”

For no explicable reason, the three Seekers rolled their little filly eyes at Pinkie Pie’s enthusiasm.

“Alright,” Twilight said, skillfully preparing to resume the projection. “Now this next one is particularly interesting, because I don’t recall you talking much about your foalhood, Pinkie Pie.”

“That’s because I didn’t~ ” Pinkie said with a sly smile.

“She’s tellin’ th’ truth,” Apple Bloom mumbled around a mouthful of popcorn.

“Yup,” Sweetie Belle agreed passively.

“Pinkie...” Rainbow Dash said worriedly, “Are you sure about this?”

“Pfff, don’t you worry Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said smugly, “I remember exactly how this turns out, and there’s nothing upsetting about it whatsoever.”

“Right, then I agree but... right then, rolling,” Twilight said with a slightly confused grimace.

The scene with a smiling Pinkie Pie in the wagon faded, as the speakers cheerfully broadcast out, “My sisters and I were raised on a rock farm, outside of Ponyville,” before Pinkie Pie started screaming, ”Shut it off! Shut it off!”

The pink pony physically threw herself at the projection, much like Rainbow Dash, but she seemed to be trying to block it from view with her body. “We spent our days working the fields,” the speakers continued to broadcast, “There was no talking. There was no smiling. (sigh) There was only rocks,” as the projection continued to play across Pinkie’s spreadeagled form.

“For the love of Celestia, shut it off! ” Pinkie Pie moaned.

That seemed to snap Twilight Sparkle out of her shock, and her magic fumbled with the projector, the speakers hissing static before going silent, and the multi-hued sonic rainboom playing across Pinkie Pie’s back fading to nothing, as the projector light dimmed and darkened.

There was a silence in the room broken only by the pink pony’s breathing. Only hers, because everypony else was afraid to.

Everypony except none other than Rainbow Dash that is, who shouted, “Pinkie Pie, what gives?! You said there was nothing upsetting about it!”

Pinkie turned over her shoulder, with the most haunted look anypony had ever seen in anypony, saying in a shaking voice, “Y-you weren’t supposed to see that. That wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to I never meant to that’s not how it—”

“Calm down, Pinkie,” Twilight said, abandoning the projector and walking towards her friend, with a look of concern.

“No!” Pinkie shrieked in panic, bucking hard enough in Twilight’s direction that the princess stopped in her tracks “Don’t touch me!” the pink pony said, cringing away from all of them still backed up against the wall as she was.

Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight’s withers, giving a gentle headshake at the former unicorn. With an anxious relief, Twilight backed up a step while Fluttershy said to Pinkie Pie, “I’m sorry if that upset you, but could you please tell us what was so upsetting? We’ve met your family before, and they seem like lovely ponies.”

A corner of Pinkie Pie’s mouth turned upward as she said disbelievingly, “M-my family. You think you’ve met my... my family.”

“I’m sorry,” Fluttershy wilted, “If we didn’t, that’s okay. I only want to know what upset you about this.”

“I... I never told anypony before,” Pinkie said in a narrow pupiled daze. “I don’t have to tell anypony, because the princess said so. The princess said I never had to tell anypony, and I don’t want to tell you!”

“So don’t tell us!” Rainbow Dash declared anxiously. “That’s what I said the last time anypony found you like this!”

“Like this?” Pinkie asked in confusion, “What do...” her hoof came up to touch her mane, whose strands lay across it unfrizzed straight and limp. She looked at the others again. All looking at her. All seeing it.

“I h-have to tell you,” she whimpered, “You’ve seen it. You’ve seen them I—I can’t go on like this. You saw them. They were right here. They were,” Pinkie turned again, and touched the wall where the projection had appeared as if she could pass through it onto the other side. “They were right here...” she whispered.

“What’s going on? ” Scootaloo whined. “This isn’t the story you told us at all! You never told us the story about how you got your story mark!”

While everypony except Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo incredulously, Pinkie Pie turned to look behind her, with a nerve wracked smile made worse by her decidedly flat mane. “I didn’t,” she replied evenly. “I never told anypony my mark story before. I-it was supposed to be the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve. I couldn’t tell you because it b-because it hurt too much.”

“You don’t have to tell us, Pinkie,” Fluttershy urged, “You are hurt, we can see that. You can wait to tell us why, after you calm down, and take care of yourself.”

“Hurt,” Pinkie vaguely acknowledged, putting a hoof to her own chest. “I’m hurt.” She laughed nervously, looking around the room saying, “You wanna know why I’m hurt? F-funny story really. You wanna know why I’m hurt? Because I hurt them.”

Her voice grew louder, and angrier as she faced off against the rest of the terrified room, saying, “Because I hurt them so bad that they left me forever and I can never see them again. Every one of them! Every pony you saw! They left me! They gave me my story mark and left me! My whole family. They’re gone forever and they hate me and it’s all my fault!!”

“That’s a load of bull!” Applejack shouted, interrupting Pinkie Pie’s increasingly panicked words. With Pinkie staring at Applejack, the farm pony said angrily, “What sorta game are you playin’, Pinkie Pie? You think we’d all just forget about Maud? We met your—”

Applejack found herself subject to the mouth zipper spell, as Twilight stated distantly, “There was no filly there with purple hair.”

When Pinkie didn’t answer, Twilight continued, saying, “There was no filly there with purple hair. I’ve already seen the episode, the entire episode. I don’t miss these things. Pinkie, who were those ponies?”

“My family,” Pinkie Pie said, having trouble saying it for some reason. Her voice was just all over the place and her cheek fur was wet. “My first...” she said, crumpling to the ground, and barely managing to whisper out “family...” before dissolving into shaking sobs.


Dear Princess Celestia,

I cannot express how grateful I am that you would consider me your friend. Though you may wish us to be equals, I have barely begun my life in Equestria, and I still feel like a mere foal next to you. You’ve always been a source of inspiration to me, and as I’ve gotten to know you better, a source of great counsel.

I’m buttering you up for a reason, of course. Attached to this letter are the film reels which remain the only recordings (I desperately hope) of the show from beyond the rift. What came through the rift this time was not a shadow or a monster, but the worst of things: an idea. Somehow the realm on the other side has an uncanny insight into our lives, specifically that of me and many of my close friends. Seemingly by chance, these creatures have replicated to picture perfection films that star... us. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia, these are the characters of this film, ponies that these creatures have never seen or heard from before. They draw with sophisticated doodle machines, that seemingly just happen to produce chillingly accurate representations of our lives.

I didn’t take the danger of this magic seriously enough, and at least one of my friends has already been hurt terribly by it. I’m sending you these reels because I feel there is no safe way to view them. Even the most innocuous scenes have provoked... severe reactions, and dug up old demons in our pasts that many of us would rather stayed buried. Even so, the temptation to view them is terribly strong. So many of them give such incredible insight into my personal life, and that of my friends.

Thus, I’m sending them to you, with the formal request to have them sealed away, and only unsealed posthumously. As long as the rift remains open, there is a chance that somepony else will decipher the human’s communication network, and risk exposing my friends to a sorrow that I can only pretend to understand. But by sealing away these recordings, at least I can say that I didn’t help.

I’m sorry to be bearer of bad news, princess. If you do view these to try and find their involvement with your own life, thankfully you’ll mostly be disappointed. You could try episodes P, V, Z, or episode BQ, but you and Luna seem to have a satellite role in the entertainment of these apes. If you view episode BD, keep in mind that my friend Pinkie Pie is more troubled than I had known. She says you comforted her in her dreams, so I’m fairly sure you’ll understand the significance when I say that particular episode depicts Pinkie Pie’s first family.

I wish I’d known about it before I showed it to her. She’s doing alright, as well as somepony can in such circumstances, I suppose. She has her friends together with her, and we’ll do whatever we can to bring laughter back into her heart. Except for zombies. Spike wants me to mention that there will be no zombies involved.

Your Faithful and Apologetic student friend,

Twilight Sparkle

Author's Note:

Yeah, I went there.