14 – Amended Fate (v2)
Sweetchard's View
I shut the door on my way out, though I don't let it close completely – it'll be easier to get back in. Ambling through the corridor, my ears perk on their own as I recognize the faint but unmistakable theme song of the My Little Pony cartoon coming from the living room.
A slight smile manages to creep upon my lips, seeing two ponies and one little human sharing the same couch. Rafale's head hangs from the cushions' edge, looking quite resigned to serve as a backrest for the boy as he watches the cartoon on a tablet, while Bilberry sits beside them. The whole thing is pretty cute, but my smile falters when the young earth pony notices me. The disdain in her eyes isn't anything like it was yesterday, but...
Sighing, I hurry on my way out of the room. I understand that she doesn't want me anywhere close to either the boy or herself, after the way I helped Crispy, after how I... How I attacked her... And yet, I'm also surprised how quickly her resentment and disgust lessened to something more like pity-tinged wariness.
Guess I'll hate myself for the both of—
I freeze, as I arrive in the kitchen, and find it occupied. The teenage girl is seated on the table, oldish phone in hand, looking both bored and annoyed. When she glances at me, I can see that her own hatred hasn't abated in the slightest:
“I warn you dumbass, if you do anything I don't like, or if I see any of your two cows, the cops will be here before you know it..!”
Tensing at her tone, I bite my lip to stop myself from blurting out an angry retort. It leaves time for my brain to catch up with my heart, and my sudden anger deflates back to dejection. “I... I've just come to get some water, I don't want to bother you...”
“Too late for that, horsey.”, she mutters snidely, focusing back on her phone. “You're lucky I don't wanna make my brother cry...”
I guess we really are lucky that the young boy, Enzo, is so fond of us... Loves animals and wants to be a veterinarian when he grows up, from what I caught. It makes it all the more vexing that things degenerated like this... We could have made friends right away! We should have made friends..!
*sigh*
Let's get this water and be done with it.
I grab a plastic cup, holding the rim by my teeth, and put it just under the faucet. I'll have to ask Sassie to show me exactly how she combined the original valve with that folding handle; it really makes it easier to use the faucet with both mouth or hooves, and allows for a little finesse. Like right now, controlling the flow to not overfill the small cup.
Will we have to keep improvising with tools and stuff made for humans, or will we someday have directly access to pony-friendly ones? If the effects of Violette's trial snowball just as much as she hopes, and we're really as numerous as Sassie implies, how long would it take for businesses to see ponies as potential customers, and market specifically designed products for us? Though that'd mean getting money to buy them, and thus getting a real job... Would humans be ready to hire pony employees? It was already hard enough being Maghrebi...
I sigh, turning off the faucet and grabbing delicately the filled cup. Thinking about how I may update my résumé seems more than a little premature, with what happened yesterday. The girl acts as if she's focused on her phone, but I can feel that I'm being closely watched, and...
And I can't blame her.
Crispy and I have avoided the subject for now, but we will have to discuss what happened sooner or later. About the way she acted, her beliefs, but also... About how my dream ends.
A powerful shudder racks my body, some water splashing out of the cup, tickling at my nose. It'd be easier to keep trying to forget it altogether...
But avoiding things hasn't really done me any favors recently now, has it..?
I glance at the girl as I leave the kitchen. Is it avoiding the issue, to not try to make up with her? Or is it just choosing my battles? I wouldn't know where to begi—
“Oh it's her!!”, the boy exclaims while pointing at his tablet's screen, making me jump and spill even more water.
Did you have to do that right now, seriously?
He doesn't seem bothered by my annoyed glare though, still pointing excitedly. “She's really the same colors and mane and everything!” He turns to Bilberry: “Are you in it too?”
“Nope,” she answers, “according to Sassie, it's just Alex and herself.”
What are they talking about? I thought they were watching the show?
Confusion quickly shifts to curiosity, and I can't resist taking my own look to see what this is about. Going around the couch, despite Bilberry's slight frown, I peer at the tablet and the animated, colorful ponies it displays.
Ah, I remember this episode, the 'Winter Wrap Up'. It had a catchy song, but what does it have to do with Sassie? I watch as the mayor gives the event's instructions, and—
“Here again!”
My jaw goes slack, and my forehooves get all wet.
Did I...
Did I really see what I think I just saw!?
“Please can you rewind just a bit?”, I ask, eyes wide.
“But the song just started!”, the boy protests.
Fortunately I don't have to wait long before, once again, a very specific cartoon pony wearing a blue vest flits on the screen, this time guiding migratory birds with other pegasi.
A pony who looks like a carbon copy of Sassie – aside from cartoonish style of course.
Same coat, same mane, even the eye color is accurate...
The image only lasts an instant before switching to other ponies. I keep staring at the screen, at each successive shot of animated drawings, trying to spot the impossible pegasus again.
I do catch her a couple times in group shots, as well as lookalikes of varying colors, but it's only after several more scenes that I can get another good but fleeting look at her.
“Can– Can you put it on pause or something?”
The boy grumbles but does tap on the screen, freezing the image. I move closer, trying to see the symbol on the cartoon pony's flank...
It's covered in part by the vest and the wings, but the two pale yellow lighting bolts are still pretty obvious.
Oh gosh even her cutie mark is exactly the same..!
I draw back from the surreal image as the boy resumes watching, not sure what I'm supposed to think! We knew from the start that there was some kind of link with the show, but..!
Naaaah it must only be a coincidence, right? I mean, out of all the color and design combinations you can get, you're bound to have at least one that comes close to a real pony, it's just science! And the lookalikes with other mane colors would say the same thing – just random variations!
“Hey, you alright..?”, Bilberry asks, eyebrow raised.
“Oh, huh, yeah sorry,” I sputter, “it's just that, for a second, I thought there was this pony who looked a lot like Sassie.”
“Well, yes, that's her.”, she answers simply.
I chuckle. “Yeah but it's not 'her-her' you know, just a random pony who happens to look like her.”
“No, seriously, it's her, or her template at least.”, she retorts without any trace of humor. “Back when we met she wouldn't stop keeping on about how she's an 'official pony' and stuff. Say, Enzo, could you do a little search for us when this episode's done?”
“Yeah, sure.”
The episode can't finish soon enough. Fortunately we were already close to the end, and the boy pulls up a search engine. Bilberry spells Sassie's name for him; 'Sassaflash', with two 's' and 'sh' at the end.
Blood drains from my face as the results appear on the screen.
The only matches for 'Sassaflash' are more pictures of the cartoon pony, and links to wiki articles about the same pony.
Exact same design, it could just be a crazy coincidence. Exact same design and exact same name, though..?
Come on, Sassie's a fan of the show, maybe she just recognized the pony and named herself after her? But that's not how our names seem to work, they kind of come with the body one way or the other. Sébastien didn't find any matches for the three of us, we agreed that the change was probably random in large parts, so... What does it mean, if we do get a match..?
What does it mean, for us..?
All the pieces jostle chaotically in my mind, making me dizzy.
Names, that came from nowhere, in another language...
Dreams, that proved consistent between individuals...
Bodies, that sometimes seem to have a mind of their own...
And now cartoon ponies, that crossed into the real world..?
I stumble away from the couch, staggering out of the living room and through the corridor, to find myself in front of Alex and Sassie's room. They answer to my febrile knock, and I push the door open, to face Alex reading a book, and Sassie playing on her phone, both looking at me questioningly.
“Sassie, please,” I almost plead, somehow out of breath, “do you know what's happening to us? Why we changed? Why there's a pony just like you in that cartoon?” At her confused expression, I turn to her partner: “Can you translate, Alex?”
He does, and Sassie snorts mockingly, looking at me like I'm an idiot missing the most obvious thing in the world:
“Well duh, of course.”
Amber's View
I don't even know if I'm thankful for the clogged traffic or not. On the one hoof, it allows me to spend some time alone with Violette and discuss things. On the other hoof, I'm alone with Violette and neither of us has been able to say anything yet!
This is just a goof, in all likelihood; a big, laughable goof, right? I mean, where's the logic in that? Violette, Raphaël, my mom? That's absurd, especially as I already have one, as, er, absent as she's been these past four years. I wouldn't completely rule out my own mind improvising a joke of this kind, considering how Violette can be pushy, exigent, attentive, motherly...
Er...
Oh come on!! This doesn't make a lick of sense, one way or the other! She's my former best friend, not my mother! Anypony thinking otherwise would be delusional, plain and simple! It's so ridiculous, we should be laughing our flanks off!
... Then why are we both unable to even look the other in the face since I uttered this one, stupid word!?
Even with the most infinitesimal sliver of a chance that it may actually mean something... Well what would it even mean!?
Is it, I don't know, like a transference kind of thing? Between being back in Toulouse, thinking about my family, how much time Violette and I have spent together, the intense emotions, our personalities... I suppose that wouldn't be completely out of the question, maybe, potentially, but...
Okay, I admit, that could make some amount of sense, but could that kind of behavior develop so quickly? I had a very close relationship with Raphaël, but any and all emotions I could've had towards him had completely soured, and even now, knowing that he didn't directly cause my disgrace, I can't forget that he didn't do anything to help me either...
Some kind of mother that'd make him... Or her.
Who would want a mother like that..?
Could it have been, like, a simple reminiscence of times long past, when my mother would ask me to get up? That wouldn't be so surprising, with the circumstances so similar.
That gives us at least two serious hypotheses, that's good. Either transference, or reminiscence.
And yet...
If it were so simple...
Why didn't we just laugh it off?
Violette is always quick to the repartee. I'm used to self-deprecation. We should have laughed it off.
We didn't.
I could see it plainly in her eyes, mirrors of mine, how much that single measly word cut directly to her heart. How conflicted she still is.
Simple goofs don't do that.
Simple goofs are supposed to be funny and embarrassing.
Simple goofs aren't supposed to make you question the very nature of your relationship with somepony.
Urgh..! I squeeze my eyes shut and grit my teeth; this stupid conundrum is going to give me a headache!!
“Honey..?”, comes Violette's hesitant, concerned voice from the other seat.
“Don't say that!”, I hiss, the little term of endearment having gained a whole new layer of uncomfortable meaning and implications. The worst is I'm sure it's not even the first time she's called me that, even if I can't remember the context!
“Sorry, Amber...”, she mumbles. “But... We should talk about what happened.”
Or maybe we could not!? My brain already does a fine job at scrambling itself on its own, thank you very much; I just need more time to process it all! “Please, I don't want to talk about this right now..!”
“Because you think I do?”, she retorts, deadpan. “We can't beat around this particular bush. Or would you have us avoiding each other until we just forget about it? This sounds important, Amber.”
“I was just joking!”, I protest.
“We both know that's not true...”
“Oh, so what? So what!? What do you want me to say!? You're not–”
...
I can't get the next words out.
It should be easy to say! 'You're not my mother'; here, nice and simple!
... So why does it sound downright insulting? Too insulting to say out loud..?
Why does it sound like a lie!?
Violette certainly doesn't miss my reaction: “I think this proves my point...”, she remarks dryly.
I want to contest it, to... I don't know, anything!! Anything but... Anything but just..!
“It's all right Amber, don't cry...”
I'll cry if I want to, dang it..!
And stop it with that hug, I'm not a foal!
...
It's just not fair... Why does it feel so natural to hug her back..?
*sigh*
What should I do, then?
She's not wrong, we can't just act as if it were nothing, 'cause for some strange reason, it... It feels right. “So, what,” I begin, “is it because we look alike? For all we know it's just because we're both unicorns...”
“Well, we have three earth ponies and three pegasi at home.”, she notes. “In each case, I don't think the three look very much like each other... Except maybe Sassaflash and Alex, granted, but pony features don't appear to be less diversified than human ones – quite the contrary, even.”
We do look alike. Her face shares so much in common with the one I can see in a mirror. It didn't escape me of course, but until now I just explained it as being a unicorn thing. Now... What if it wasn't species or breed or tribe or whatever resemblance, but family resemblance..?
It could maybe also mesh with the fact that she looks older than I, and that I feel so young. Why I was drawn to her even before I learned of our shared past, or in spite of it now.
The pieces fit disturbingly well together...
“Let's assume, and I stress the 'assume' part, that... Gosh I'm not even sure how to describe it! That... That we're... Or that our pony bodies are, er, related..?”
Violette nods, even if she doesn't look much more sure than I am.
“Then what should we do..? Is there anything to do, really? I mean, it doesn't change much, right?”
“It does for me...”, she sighs. “What if it's true? Shouldn't I be here for you, more than any other pony?”
Oh the irony... Yes, yes Raphaël, you should have, but not just because of the strange whims of a magical transformation. “You don't have to, you know. It could just be the pony brain talking.”
“It certainly is,” she admits, “but I'm a pony. It's my brain. And right now, my brain tells me that I should look after you as much as I can.”
“And it didn't before..?”
She ponders the question for an instant. “Well... I think it did, but without this critical piece of information? It's just not the same anymore.”
“You know we don't have to follow these instincts, right?” It'd certainly help if things would stop growing even more complicated than they already have...
“We talked about how we had to deal with this kind of mental changes, Amber. It's probably healthier to roll with them, especially if they're not bad. I mean,” she chuckles, “I don't have the first idea about what it is to be a parent but, for you, I... I suppose I'm willing to try? I know the Violette of my dreams would never forgive me if I wasn't doing everything I could for her daughter, and... I think there's a connection, between you and me?”
More than you know... “I suppose so, yes, but still...”
“We don't have to start playing mother and daughter, we don't even have to tell the others, but... I know that, for my part, I won't be able to see you the same way from now on. I'm sorry...”
“You don't have to be... It's not like we had a choice in the matter anyway.”, I shrug. “Pony magic decided that we should be related, for one reason or another.” And seriously... Whoever put this whole magical shebang in motion definitely wanted to toy with my emotions!
“So...”
“So for now, we could... We could just see how it goes, like you said? And, er, learn who the other really is, if you know what I mean?”
“I think I do.”, she smiles softly.
It's far from a neat, conclusive resolution, sure, but it's still something. At least I won't feel like I have to run away from the issue if it crops up in the future, even if, to be honest, I still don't know how I should feel about this new development...
We'll see how it goes...
Maybe it's the diminishing stress that gives the impression that time passes quicker, because soon enough our driver drops us off at the old house.
Hard to realize that we left only... Wait, it's been more than two days, that's still quite substantial! No wonder it felt like forever, with the freaking emotional roller coaster this trip was! I'm eager to see the others, especially Laurence; there's so much we need to talk about!
As we close the door and leave the outside world behind us, we're greeted by the comforting potpourri of everypony's scents, though there's also faint odors I can't place. A pink-maned head peeks from the salon into the entryway, and Laurence smiles at seeing us. Sure, it's only a slight smile, but from her I know it's genuine and heartfelt, and I answer with a large grin: “We're back!”
“It's good to have you back.”, Laurence nods as she walks to us. “But please, next time refrain from slipping away when you're supposed to be out for a 'stroll',” she stares Violette down, before switching her stern gaze to me, “or from not at least notifying me of said slipping away...”
Violette smirks slyly, in contrast to my own sheepishness: “Then in the future I'll try to be more specific with regard to the distance and duration of said stroll, dear Ms. Ségaux.”
Laurence snorts, but more in amusement than anything else: “Oh, so I should expect both 'Exact Words' and 'Metaphorically True' from you? I'll keep that in mind, Ms. Inquimbert, be sure of it.”
The playful confrontation is interrupted by Sweetchard barging in, looking quite excited:
“Hey girls, welcome back!” He then zeroes in on me specifically: “Amber there's something huge, you have to see this!”
Sweetchard disappears back to the salon, clearly expecting me to follow him. A little taken aback, I glance at Laurence, and I get worried when I see that she has put her impassive face on. It's only because I'm beginning to know her pretty well that I can catch the minute ways her eyelid and her brow are crinkled, evoking seriousness but also resignation.
I gulp, but still go after the stallion. I find him sitting in front of one of the couches, a phone laid down on the cushion. He beckons me closer, tapping on the phone with a stylus held between his lips, and I raise an eyebrow when I see that his 'something huge' is just a picture of a character from that My Little Pony show. It looks familiar for some reason, but...
“So, whaddya think?”, he asks, looking quite proud of himself.
“Er... Well, it's a pegasus mare, but—”
“Yeah, and she doesn't remind you of anyone?”
I frown, until I see past the obvious stylization, and realize that this is simply a drawing of Sassie. Did he draw it himself, with just his mouth and a stylus? Well color me impressed! “It's very nice Chard! It's just like Sassie as if she were in the cartoon!”
“You're more right than you know!”, he quips, before using the stylus to scroll up what I only now realize is a website page. Just above the picture, I can see 'Sassaflash' written in bold black letters.
“Please don't tell me she commissioned an artist to do her portrait..?”, I groan. I know the mare can be a little full of herself at times, but still...
“Nope, she didn't have to!”, he replies smugly. “That picture is a screengrab from a real episode, and this is the wiki page of Sassaflash herself!”
...
“Excuse me Chard, but I don't follow. You mean that Sassie actually took her name from one of the cartoon's characters?”
He shakes his head, still enjoying my apparent ignorance. “Her name comes just as naturally as ours.”
What..?
But then...
“And before you ask, her cutie mark's exactly the same too.”, he adds.
My eyes go wide. “Sweetchard, are you insinuating what I think you're insinuating..?”
“If it's that some of us changed into ponies from the show, with perfect match for colors and name, yup, you'd be right!”
I stare at him as he snickers, and I jump when I hear Violette's voice just behind me: “I gather that you weren't abreast of this fact..?”
“Well no!”, I blurt out. “Sébastien said he looked and didn't find us!”
“And he didn't, Sassie confirmed it.”, Sweetchard nods. “It's only her and Alex, for now.”
“You never noticed her when you watched the cartoon?” He was glued to the thing, he should've recognized her when we met her!
He shrugs: “She's just a background pony, there's dozens of them and they're not always named in the show. But you know what that means, huh? If people changed into some of the ponies of the show, then this whole thing can't just be random!”
I fall on my haunches, dumbfounded. It's not random..!
We couldn't make head or tail of why we were transformed into who we are now, what could have determined that I'd be a unicorn, or younger, or that my eyes would be red, or my cutie mark golden... Or a mare... There wasn't any clear etiology behind these changes, apart from the fact they used the cartoon as a baseline, so it was logical to assume that randomness could very well be in play. Especially after I talked with Crispy...
Though now, thinking about her... About her relationship with Sweetchard... Their claim to have shared nightmares...
I completely overlooked that fact, I've been so stupid! It's the same thing between me and Mo– er, I mean Violette! Did I need to have it slapped against my nose to finally notice what it meant!?
And let's not forget the magic, either! I haven't dared to test the 'laser beam' spell yet, but I can feel how it's supposed to work, it's very real; that's not something I could've came up with on my own!
It's everything but random..!
That'd mean that our new physical and personality traits were not determined haphazardly... There must've been some sort of template! Maybe which specific template we were subjected to was randomly selected, but the templates themselves certainly weren't random!
Sassaflash is the final nail in the coffin: we have proof that her template existed before the transformation!
We didn't change into pony versions of ourselves, or into a random amalgam of traits: we must have been modeled, body and mind, after preexisting ponies! That explains why our personality changed, where the names came from, maybe even the nightmares, and how I could suddenly find myself with a new mother! Violette isn't my mother, she's Amber's! It all makes sense now!
“Told you it was huge..!”, Sweetchard smirks.
“So we've been transformed following specific templates, that's it..?”
“Yeah, that's the gist of it!”, he confirms.
I turn to Violette: “And you already knew that?”
She nods. “Yes, but I didn't think your group lacked that information.”
... Is it why she was so prompt at accepting me as her daughter? Because she understood that 'Violette' is supposed to be the mother of 'Amber', according to our templates? I'm surprised she was so surprised, in that case... Maybe she just wasn't expecting it. I certainly didn't!
“Then now the only real mystery is how this all happened in the first place...”, I muse. The real ponies making up our templates must have come from somewhere. Well, as 'real' as cartoon characters can be, I suppose, unless... Unless this isn't just an enormous magical joke, and there actually is a real Equestria somewhere..! But how would that work?
Chard's smirk grows even more, as if he could hear my thoughts: “Actually, Sassie and Alex have a pretty solid idea for the 'how'...”
I motion for him to spill the beans already, and he's happy to oblige:
“You remember, what happens at the end of our dreams? There's this monster, Discord, who attacks our ponies.”
I think we all grow a little pale, thinking about that... I nod weakly for him to continue.
“Now, Discord does something, like a kind of chant, right?”
That horrible chant... Night after night it's carving itself in my memory, to the point I could recite it by heart, even if I still don't know what all the words mean.
'For Five Score', whatever it means. A division by four, if 'four' is really 'four' in English like I think I remember from school... Something about memories, and confusion, and insolence; those at least sound almost French, but the rest... The rest feels like it's mean and cruel, which isn't surprising...
Ugh..! Even wide awake it makes me queasy. I swallow hard before replying to Sweetchard: “Yes, but I haven't been able to understand everything yet...”
“Me neither; it's just gibberish for all I know. But Alex thinks they have figured it out, and that's directly linked to how the show ends.” Sweetchard makes himself comfortable on the couch before resuming his grand lecture. “Back then, Sébastien told me that Discord wins at the end, but he didn't give me all the details, so I didn't make the link right away. I still haven't seen the last episode, to be honest, and for me the end of the dream's real fuzzy anyway – I just know it involves Discord.”
“So..?”
Chard turns somber. “Well according to what I understood while talking with Alex, at the end, Discord destroys all the ponies... That... That whiteness, right at the end..? That's our ponies being killed...”
He shudders, and we follow in kind. That sensation is one of the most horrible things I've ever experienced...
So that's what the real Amber felt, when she died..?
Poor thing... You didn't deserve that...
Sweetchard sighs. “So, then, what we hear him chant? That's like an incantation, like 'abracadabra', for the spell he uses. And it's the last thing the ponies took with them...”
We stay silent for a moment, before I dare to voice my conclusion: “If what you said is true, then... The ponies really existed once, in Equestria? Until they were attacked, and... And killed, they really existed, and somehow, we received what was left of them...”
“Basically, yeah. I'm not sure I understood all the details of that part, Alex talked about stuff like reincarnation, or ponies souls finding refuge in us, and so on... I think there's still a bit of them, right here,” he pats over his heart, “and that even if that monster got them, at least they can keep on living, with us... That's what I want to believe, anyway.”
Remnants of dead ponies... That's what we would be, then..? They took our bodies away, but maybe it was the only way to preserve what little was left of them? It may be selfish, but I hope the real Amber is not going to wake up and reclaim our body for herself, if her consciousness still exists in some form or another...
That was a whole lot of sobering thoughts, in any case. Gazing at my fellow former humans, the air of deep melancholy is thick. Laurence would be the exception, though; that's understandable, she never asked to become the equivalent of an alien's life raft, or its living tombstone... She just seems angry.
Oh, focused as I was on Chard, I didn't even notice when Bilberry joined us in the salon. She looks less joyful than usual, but from her expression I get the feeling that it's not solely because of Sweetchard's story.
My hunch is confirmed when she starts whispering something at Violette, while glaring in the stallion's direction.
Though I didn't expect to rear up in surprise when Violette almost explodes:
“They did WHAT!?”
Sweetchard's View
Well, trying to deal with Alex's limited vocabulary and getting Amber and Violette up to date were good distractions, as long as they lasted.
But the purple unicorn's wrath could only be delayed, rather than avoided altogether...
Okay, that's not totally true. Sassie flat-out refused, and barricaded herself in her room. I've no doubt that Violette could've smashed that door thrice over with her magic, but the unicorn must've knew that she'd have had to restrain the pegasus to get her to do what she wanted. It probably wasn't worth the effort.
Crispy was really hesitant, especially just after Violette chewed her off, but I convinced her to go along, and that I'd stay by her side.
I'm certainly not free of blame anyway.
Violette's arguments were sensible. Ponies are new, so we should first try to extend a friendly hoof, even if she also agrees with Crispy that this shouldn't stop us from preparing for the worst humans can do. It's just that, this time, we did the latter, when we should've done the former.
That's why the three of us are walking through the orchard, under the cloudy sky, towards the steel gate in the back, and the house on the other side of the wall.
That's why we're going to say sorry to those we unjustly wronged.
That's why Crispy's so anxious, and I give her an encouraging nuzzle.
“It's gonna be okay, honeybunch... We're just going to talk, we can do that, right..?”
She doesn't answer, not with any word, but at the way she bites her lip, how she raises her head a little bit more, I know she's pushing herself forward, she refuses to back down. I'm so proud of you, my Crispy... I was so afraid that you'd hole up after all that, that you'd refuse to try to see things differently... Granted, I doubt that your heart did an about-face in just one night, but you're trying, and that's something.
I won't say it out loud, but it's also quite brave to follow Violette, because there's legitimate cause for concern with our little endeavor. For all we know, we could be welcomed by rifle shots from angry parents. I can only hope that having called Enzo beforehoof will bear its fruits.
Violette insisted: now that we're beginning to have legal recognition as ponies, now that the path to living among humans is opened, we have to start acting like responsible citizens. We did something wrong, and we must show that we won't let it happen again.
It's risky, but our intrepid unicorn insists that it's how it should be done.
At least she's leading head-on; it's not just empty words with her. Maybe she also feels guilty in some way, considering it's her lack of discretion that first clued the children in?
Whatever happens now, I'll stay strong for you, Crispy. That's what I must learn to do more often; being strong, despite yourself, and despite myself...
*sigh*
It's still a long road ahead, I know... We, uh, we haven't talked about my dreams yet, but I can't take care of everything in just one day now, can I?
We arrive in front of the metal gate, and I can see how the children managed to get in so easily – it looks like it barely holds on its hinges. If I needed any confirmation, it almost falls down as Violette pulls it opens... We'll have to find someway to fix it, I guess.
The asphalt road is less than a meter from the gate, and on the other side is a low roughcast wall topped by a chain-link fence – the limits of the garden of the children's house, that we can easily see from here.
No wonder they spotted the unicorns... It was really rotten luck that, in the middle of the night, the boy found a reason to watch through a garden-side window just at the wrong time. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if our pony skins came loaded with bad karma or something...
In any case, right now it's almost noon, and even with a sky choke-full of clouds, three ponies crossing a road isn't really the definition of stealthy. Enzo should have unlocked the little wooden gate, like he promised, but one of us will have to cross to tr—
The gate pulls itself open with a spark of golden magic.
Unicorns are just a bunch of cheaters, I tell you!
Very convenient cheaters in this case, as we can get to the garden quickly and without issue, but still..!
Now that we're trotting closer to the house through the unmowed grass, I can see that, despite its respectable size, it clearly shows its age; I don't think it has really been freshened up in twenty or thirty years. In contrast, the veranda looks relatively new, and I smile as I see Enzo waving at us from behind the glass panels.
Well, let's get this show on the road..!
The boy leads us inside, clearly excited to finally see a unicorn up close, and I think he would have guided us directly to the living room and offered us homemade lemonade if we had let him. Unfortunately, Violette doesn't want to take advantage: “We will stay here, don't worry. We just want to talk to your mother, and say we are all sorry for what we did to you and your sister.”
“You're sure? She wouldn't mind, once she knows you're nice ponies!”
He's really too forgiving for his own good...
“Really, we're sure.”, Violette smiles. “It's kind of you, but we've already imposed enough on your family.”
The boy shrugs, and disappears into the house proper. For our part, we just sit on the large orange tiles, and we don't have to wait very long before we hear three sets of muffled steps coming back in our direction.
“Enzo how many times do I have to tell you, the animals stay outside...”, an adult woman grumbles.
“But these ones are really special!”
“... Oh please tell me you didn't let these freaks get inside, you dummy!?”, the girl yells.
“Don't call your brother like that Sarah, you know I don't like it.”
I tense despite myself. Her name is Sarah..? Not that it isn't a fairly common name, but... It's crazy how this name feels so far removed now, and yet still so naturally familiar...
No more time for this kind of wonderings – the three humans arrive in the veranda, and the dark-haired woman immediately freezes at seeing us.
Sarah certainly isn't fazed though: “Damn it you did!” She takes hold of a nearby broom and points it menacingly at us. “I told you to never bother us again, stupid horses!”
“Hey, don't hurt them! They came to say they're sorry!”
“Like I care if they're sorry! I want these things out of my sight!”
“Stop!”, their mother barks, hands outstretched. “What's happening here!? Enzo, what are these... These things, and what are they doing in our veranda?”
“They're ponies, Mom, but they can talk!”
The woman stares at her son, clearly not amused, before turning to her daughter: “What is he playing at? What are these things?”
“They're freaks, and they're dangerous! You can't trust them!”
“Not true!”, Enzo cries out, before dashing towards us and getting his arms around Violette's neck in a rough hug. “They're very nice if you take the time to speak with them!”
“Enzo, come back here immediately!”, his mother hisses. “You don't know these animals!”
Violette seems to have had enough for now, and once Enzo pulls back she coughs softly before addressing the woman directly: “Please excuse us for barging into your home unannounced madam, but I think we have some matters to discuss.”
Is it so surprising that the woman's face suddenly loses color, her eyes wide like saucers..?
“See? They're real talking ponies!”
“They're menaces, that's what they are!”
But their mother doesn't listen, all her concentration focused on pulling a chair and letting herself plop onto the seat. She needs a good half minute before finally getting back to us: “Quiet, both of you!”, she snaps at her children, before turning to Violette. “What the fuck are you..?”
I see the unicorn's eyelid twitching at the woman's language, but she otherwise keeps her cool: “Like your son said, we are ponies. Again, we're sorry for the inconvenience.”
Uncomfortable silence reigns for a moment, before the adult human appears to register Violette's words: “What do you want?”, she asks curtly, her fists clenched.
“Nothing more than just apologize, madam. My name is Vita Violette, and this is Sweetchard and Crispy.”
She grows suspicious. “Apologize for what..?”
“They kidnapped us, Mom!”, Sarah blurts out, of course.
“What!?”
“They were just afraid...”, Enzo mutters.
His mother shushes him, before glaring at us: “What did you do to my children!?”
“Two of us reacted a little too harshly when your children intruded on our property, Thursday evening. They feared that your children would attract undue attention on us.”
“They locked us in an old dusty room 'til mid-morning at least!”, Sarah snarls. “And they broke our phones!”
“Wait, you skipped school..? And you lost your phones?”
“Oh come on Mom, that's completely missing the point!”
Violette glances at me, a bit taken aback by the woman's reaction, before addressing the human again: “We all deeply regret what happened, madam, that's why we wanted to come apologize in person,” Violette pulls a checkbook and pen from the little handbag she came with, “and why I'm ready to pay for both the material and emotional damage we may have caused.”
I think the woman doesn't really know how to act in front of Violette's utter seriousness, to say nothing of the levitating checkbook, and she actually starts laughing. “This– this is a joke, right?” She turns to her children: “Is it some kind of prank, kids? I know I haven't been here often this week, but come on!”
“It's not a prank, madam, but I can understand that the situation may appear quite... unusual, to say the least.”
“Please, I...”, Crispy tries to say, but she falters, the words failing to come out of her mouth as her eyes get watery. I put my forehoof against hers, nuzzle her tenderly, and after another false start she manages to get it out: “Please, madam, I know I've made a mistake, and I'm so sorry for all the harm I may have caused to your children..! I promise it wasn't my intention!”
I can't be happy, seeing my mare so distressed, but at the same time it's good that she accepted to admit her faults, and in front of her 'victims'. I was already so relieved when she swore that she didn't hurt the girl on purpose, and that it was just an accident, contrary to what Bilberry thought... The fact that Sarah didn't contest Crispy directly on this point would confirm it, I hope.
The girl doesn't stop staring daggers at us though, just as Enzo sports a tentative smile, but their mother still seems to be a little out of it. I guess some people have a harder time expanding their conception of reality..? Before Violette can launch into the next part of her speech, I nudge her lightly and whisper: “Say, Vi, I'm not sure we're gonna get anywhere right now... We apologized, that was the most important, no..? Write your check if you really want to, and let's get out of here...”
I can see she doesn't like it. How could she? From sweet-talking stuffy judges to being barely acknowledged by a random neighbor, it must be a shock. And I'm not surprised she doesn't follow my advice:
“Madam, again we are truly sorry for what happened, and we will do everything to prevent any more issues. I hope that, despite this rough start, our two families could become friends? We're people just like you, only a little different...”
And as I feared, the woman is barely hearing what Violette's saying. It's like she's withdrawing, and even her children are beginning to look oddly at her.
Even then, our unicorn doesn't give up. She opens her checkbook, hesitates a long moment before writing down a quite hefty number, and then levitates the piece of paper towards the woman: “Please, even if we must each stay on our respective side of the barrier, you—”
“Don't touch me with that!!”, the woman screeches, batting at the check like it's a dangerous insect and jumping from her chair. “Get out of my house! Get out of my house!!”
She literally flees from the veranda into the house, Sarah forgetting all about us as she runs after her mother, leaving a poor Enzo on the verge of tears with us.
I can't help but walk up to the boy, and as I wonder if I should try to hold him with a foreleg or nuzzle him like I would a pony, he takes the initiative in hugging my neck, crying into my coat. Poor little guy... He only wanted to do good.
“I'm sorry...”, I mutter. “That didn't exactly went like we hoped...”
He sniffs, but doesn't answer. I hug him back for a little while, before I pull back.
“Well, I think it'd be better if we left for the moment... Your mom probably needs you, you know.”
I smile a bit at his shaking nod, and I wait for him to leave the veranda before turning back towards the garden and the two mares.
Gosh... That really didn't go like we hoped...
In a way... I'm relieved that Crispy had time to apologize, and that we didn't have time for Sarah or her mother to harp on her faults, real as they may be. Maybe that also helped me in getting off the hook, but that came at the expense of Enzo. He seemed so happy to have his mom meeting his new friends...
That relief has a really bitter taste, but, at least, I feel a little less bad about myself when I notice that despite the situation, Violette still kept her check for herself.
Laurence's View
“See, that's really simple!”, Sassie keeps pontificating to a befuddled Amber. “We're true fans, and that's why the two of us were granted the essence of true ponies, while you're just, well... You could just be a bunch of OCs really, no offense.”
Amber looks pleadingly at us, but the American mare has decided to make the most of her audience, reluctant as it may be. We all know that the young unicorn mustn't understand much more than half of what Sassie is saying, yet that little detail certainly doesn't deter her as she exposes her theories for the third time. I'm pretty sure she just revels in being the center of attention.
Quite ironic, considering Sassie was so averse to the idea of following Violette and our supercouple to see the neighbors...
I still think I should've gone with them. What they're doing is risky, even if it's the responsible thing to do on paper... But Vi thought that I wasn't needed, and insisted on her course of action despite my misgivings.
Let's hope she made a good call.
Meanwhile, Sassie's still not finished: “And is it so surprising that the two real ponies are also the two Americans? I don't think so! Mark my words, all the main characters are actually back home! What were the chances that both of us were granted ponies, huh? Though at least he got a pony with a true speaking part... Even if he's intent on hiding from his gift!”, she frowns, gesturing at Alex sitting next to me.
I share a quick glance with the stallion, his irritation barely hidden. We already agreed that it's best to just let her rant until she grows weary of her own voice. Eventually.
She clearly relishes her theories and how they would explain everything. How we would basically be some sort of saviors for the original ponies, sacrificing our bodies to preserve their 'essence', maybe for 'only' a quarter century, after that damn monster banished them. According to her, that'd even be close to the central conceit of a popular series of fanfics, 'ponies on Earth' or something like that – it's what gave her the idea in the first place.
I wish she were right.
It would make things easier...
Amber takes advantage of Sassie being distracted by Bilberry coming back from the kitchen, and babbles a hasty excuse of going to the toilet. As the unicorn passes in front of me on her way to the corridor, our eyes meet briefly, and I can't help but think that her gaze isn't neutral. I'm not completely sure, I've never had perfect accuracy for deciphering such brief visual interactions, especially when it doesn't deal with clear-cut emotions like anger or annoyance, but I can't shake the feeling that she's expecting something from me.
Worst comes to worst, I'll just have an opportunity to isolate myself peacefully, so I decide to take the risk, and trust my guts on this one.
Getting up thirty-five seconds later to avoid undue suspicion, I follow after Amber. My shoulder protests a bit, but I squash the feeling – I have better things to do than be mindful of my body right now. The door to our room is standing slightly ajar, and I push inside to find the unicorn seated on her cot, looking somewhat anxious if I am to believe the way she magically fiddles with her mane. As I enter and close the door behind me, she greets me with a small smile: “Hey... Thank you.”
I let out an inner sigh of relief – I didn't misread her! So, now we must act big-sisterly... How would Mél go about it?
Let's try direct and simple: “Is there something I can help you with?”
The issue doesn't look to be either direct or simple though, seeing how she hesitates and ponders how to answer. “Yes... No..?”, she finally ventures, frowning. “Honestly I'm not sure... Things are just getting... even more complicated, if you can believe it...”
“I, uh...” That doesn't give me much to work with, but there's one thing I'm already sure of: “I'm here for you, if you need to talk about it, or anything...” I sit on my own cot, waiting for her to begin... which takes some time, the words still eluding her it seems.
“Okay, so... Er... Oh gosh there's not two ways to go about it: Violette is Amber's mom!”, she blurts out.
“Uh, we're talking 'Amber', as in you, right..?”
“Well my pony template, you know what I mean!”
“Oh, yes, how silly of me.” I guess this kind of situation was to be expected, even if it defies probabilities... Though considering how Chard and Crispy found one another, maybe it was just inevitable? “And, uh... How are you taking it?”
She stomps in frustration: “That's the problem, I'm not sure how I should react, how I should feel! Is it good? Is it bad?”
Of course it's bad! Why would you even consider this curse trying to remold you into someone else, family and all, to be something good!? You already have a mother! Who disowned you... And wouldn't accept you even when you looked human... All right, I can sort of see the potential appeal of the situation, but... “Am I really the best person to answer that kind of question..?”
“I trust you to try to be impartial.”, she nods with complete confidence.
'Try' being the operative word here... “So, uh, we could take it through a pros and cons approach? What's the first con that comes to mind in this situation?”
“Well first off, it's just so sudden! And...” Her voice goes down to a whisper: “Can you keep a secret..?”
“Of course I can.”
Again she clearly struggles to organize her thoughts into words and sentences, and as she keeps mulling it over she shuffles closer to me, well into touching distance. My first instinct is to reestablish my usual comfort space, but then that wouldn't send the right message... So I let her sit so close to me, and focus my attention on her voice:
“It's... It's Violette, she's... She's Raphaël..!”
...
Uh...
“Who..?”
“My former best friend, the one I thought outed me to my parents..!”, she hisses.
“Oh!”
So she did meet someone she knew. One of those she feared the most to see again, and who came under the guise of a pony...
“I, uh, I see how that could affect your perception of the situation.”
“Yeah, no kidding..!”
“Does she know?”
“I don't think so... And I don't want her to...”
The anxiety of broaching such a sensitive subject is something I could relate to, but... “Why? Wouldn't it be easier to deal with her if you were both on the same page?”
She takes some time to ponder the question. “Well, that's the thing, I... I want to trust her, to learn how to trust her again, so... I want to see how she's going to act with me, without all this emotional baggage. See if we can salvage what we once had, even in a different form. I suppose that, in some way, I just wish it never happened in the first place...”
Vi would probably wish the same, if she knew... What could it feel like, to be responsible for your own daughter's misery..? Maybe, as grating as the general idea can be to me, Amber isn't in the wrong by choosing to let sleeping dogs lie – for both their sake. “I guess I can understand that point of view.”
The young unicorn leans against me, her head resting against my chest. I tense, but force myself to stay still.
“Thank you...”, she sighs. “I'm still not sure that's the right thing to do, but... I suppose I just need some time to sort things out, you know..? And if it works... If I can find my best friend again... Even if it's as a new mom...”
“It's worth a try.”, I nod a tad stiltedly.
“Maybe it's like a second chance, some kind of blessing brought about by the ponies to compensate for the rest... Or am I just overthinking all this..?”
“Honestly? I'm impressed that you're so calm and composed, considering the situation.” I know I wouldn't be... With any luck, that stupid pegasus didn't have any family and her last thoughts were just toward close friends or something...
That makes her chuckle: “Well I'm a little past the initial freak-out, just... wondering how to deal with it now.”
“I guess the 'wait and see' is still our go-to solution, huh?”
“Yeah... I...” She gently rubs her snout against my chest, which feels... Strange, but kind of nice too, somehow. “I'm still so afraid to trust her, you know. To accept rekindling my relationship with her, even if it's so different now, and risk being horribly burned again...”
“The two of you seemed to really click together though.” Which was thus unavoidable, in retrospect. “She also looks like a good person, from my interactions with her.”
Her snout rubs stop. “So I should just accept her..?”
“I just mean that it could be worth giving her a chance, that's all.”
“That's what I hope too, but... I...”
Feeling her respiration grow more erratic, I surprise myself by lowering my head, resting my jaw along her neck. “It's going to be all right, okay..?”, I susurrate. “You're already acting like you should, wary but hopeful. I'll keep an eye on her too, and I'll tell you if I catch anything that you should know about... Would that help?”
“Yes...”, she nods, cuddling closer. “Thank you...”
We stay like this for as long as she needs to calm down. It's funny, now that I think about it, it's not the first time I acted that way with her – even if the memories of our ride to Toulouse are still more than a little blurry, I remember holding her.
I'm usually far more cautious with my physical interactions. It doesn't feel unpleasant, though, except for the part that this probably comes for that cursed pony side...
Maybe...
Maybe I should try to extricate whatever good aspects can be found in this mess, too..?
... Or I could stop letting myself be lulled by these damn mental alterations!? I will not let them change who I am!!
So I draw away from Amber, without being too brusque either – it's not her fault after all. Fortunately, I think that was the right moment, and she gets back to her hooves:
“I'm still not sure how it'll go,” she muses, “but it felt good to talk about it... Just to get things out of my head, you know?”
My answer is a slightly forced smile, but it's sufficient for Amber, who saunters out of the room. As soon as her magic pushes the door closed, I let the deep frown take control of my face, and start clawing at the floor.
Can't ever catch a fucking break, huh..?
Well, looks like I'm the appointed unicorn therapist today... At least focusing on someone's else problems is good for my own mental well-being.
Violette cornered me soon after coming back – in one piece, but obviously preoccupied by something – while the others wanted to organize a little party to celebrate our reclaimed rights, though I'm not sure how they're planning to do that with our quite limited resources.
Anyway, that's how I find myself in Vi's room, watching her pace around until she judges appropriate to tell me what the hell is going on. Hard not to see the mother-daughter resemblance even in the way they skirt around the issue they want to discuss... I guess she too would want to talk about that new relationship? Though considering how overtly affectionate she was with Amber just a minute ago, I wouldn't think that she's as conflicted about it.
Not that I'm particularly busy today, but this is getting annoying... “So?”, I dare to ask.
“I'm frustrated, all right!?”, she snaps at me, not even pausing in her pacing.
“I can see that... Any specific reason, or is it just bitching time?”
My choicy words have the desired effect, stopping her right in her tracks as she stares at me in offense.
“You didn't drag me here just to have a silent spectator, Violette. What's the matter?”
She has the decency to look contrite, however flittingly: “Please excuse me, it's just... It didn't go as it should have!”
“That is to say..?”
“Why did she react like this!?”, she keeps on ranting. “Should I have gone alone? Or tried to break the ice with a phone call beforehand or something? Was it just too soon? Too late?”
This is becoming tedious... “And you're talking about..?”
“About the children's mother, of course!”
“Oh, I see...” Now, was is so hard to clarify? “I thought it went well?”
“It was terrible!”, she groans. “She acted irrationally, she barely listened to me!”
Let's not point out that she isn't exactly behaving in a very affable manner either right now... “Well not everyone is comfortable with the idea of talking ponies. What did you expect?”
“To have a normal, civil conversation! Was it so much to ask for!? It was like she didn't even see us, didn't even think we were real!”
I can't help but snort at her petulance. “Vi, you're asking of a random person to accept to have their whole view of reality upended, and to do it with a smile even..? You can hardly blame her for feeling overwhelmed, especially given the circumstances. Hell, I'm more surprised that so many people took it so well already! We were bound to be confronted to someone who failed to see the human behind the equine façade.”
“It's not a question of passing for humans Laurence! It was just showing common courtesy to a fellow sentient being!”
“Uh, Violette, are you serious..? I may be a cynic, but it's undeniable that many, if not most people have a hard time accepting their fellow humans when they're just a little different. We've been lucky until now, but it couldn't last...” And then, the silliness of my own statement hits me, and I laugh, pointing at my ruined eye: “This should be all the proof you need..!”
Like I expected, she looks slightly queasy at the mention of what happened to me, and this starts to erode her frustration. Better keep striking while the iron is hot:
“I mean, you yourself had to deal with this kind of attitude during the past few days, did you not? It's one thing to hope and be optimistic, it's another to delude yourself into thinking that everybody's a Care Bear as long as you chose your words well...”
Damn, I 'struck' too hard it seems – the frustration is coming back full-force: “So what, we should just stop trying? Just isolate ourselves and treat every human like an enemy!?”
“Of course not..!”, I grumble, rolling my eye. “There's lot of people who will gladly lend us a hand, we even know several, but just as much as there's also some who want to hurt us for some stupid reason. Though I guess that, for the majority, they don't know what to make of the situation. Isn't it what happened with that woman?” At her reluctant nod, I continue: “Violette, you're a formidable mare, I admire your resolve, and having lofty ideals is good and well, as long as your safety isn't in question – but that's not our case. We have to act with a degree of pragmatism.”
“You sound like Amber...”, she mutters, avoiding my gaze.
“Really? If anything I'd think I sound like Crispy... Because her core idea wasn't wrong, you know. How she went about it was extreme and disastrous, but it's still true that we can't take people's good will for granted. Today you took another big risk, but this one didn't just involve your own safety. We were all lucky it didn't end terribly – and someone not being polite does not count as 'terrible'...”
“I just... I just want to do good..!”, she tells me, almost pleadingly.
“And you do lots of good, but you also have to acknowledge that you can't change people with just some pretty words. I wish it were that easy, trust me, but it's not – I couldn't have talked down the bastards who almost killed me.”
“We can't base our assumptions on a fringe, marginal part of the population...”, she contests.
“Violette, it's not that everybody would react like them, it's just that we have to keep in mind that they still exist, and because they're so unhinged they're far more likely to act on their beliefs than other people. Yeah, it's only a tiny fraction, but it only needs one person, motivated enough... How would you feel, if this one person found us here just because we didn't take any kind of precaution, and hurt Amber?”
Her reaction is immediate, her ears folding back. I know it's a cheap shot, but I have to make my point unambiguously. I can't let her put us all at risk so readily just because she feels like she has to act like a saint.
“You told me you didn't need me when you went to see that woman. I accepted that, but only because I knew you weren't going alone, and even then I didn't think it was prudent.”
“So what, I shouldn't have done it, it was just too irresponsible, that's what you want me to say?”
“I just want you to admit that it was risky, and to promise me that from now on you will act with a little more caution!”
“All right, it was risky!”, she snarls, her emotions jumping again from calm to anger. “Happy now!?”
Oh how I want to facepalm so hard..! I try to talk more calmly, limiting the emotion in my voice: “Violette, my only concern is that none of us come to any kind of harm. I'm here to protect us, but I can't do it when the one pony most of the others see as a leader decides to act unilaterally. Like I said, you already did lots of good, and I think your heart is definitely in the right place, but please, before you try something like going on your own to the city without warning anyone, at least talk to me, that we may weight the pros and cons, and act with caution.”
“It's true that I'm looking at the face of caution...”, she comments snidely.
That earns her my sternest face: “Are you referring to my injuries? You think they came about because I took an unnecessary risk..? Or because I had to deal with the consequences of someone else's choices?”
Her sudden enmity dwindles, as she probably realizes that in her attempts to avoid questioning herself she crossed a line she shouldn't have.
I've had enough of her attitude now, and as I take a step in her direction, she starts to back down, but I won't let her escape: “I accepted to die if it helped the others get away unscathed. I would do it again, in a heartbeat. I'd just prefer if I didn't have to. That implies that ponies don't gallivant without caring about the consequences for others. Am I clear?”
She gulps instead of nodding, but that suits me fine.
“You're a smart mare, Violette, and I really like you. I want to work with you to ensure that all ponies are safe and have a future, whatever it may turn out to be. Would you please try to work with me?”
I don't know what's happening in her head, but she appears conflicted. What could refrain her from accepting my proposition? Is she just too full of herself to admit she's not perfect..?
She lets herself fall on her haunches, and sighs: “All right, Laurence, you've made your point... But I still think it was the right thing to do.”
“Didn't say it wasn't.” At her surprised look, I elaborate: “It was risky, but you chose to take responsibility for our collective actions, and that's good. That's what a leader should do. We could have improved the specifics, certainly, though the end result could still have been the same anyway.”
“So what was the point of all this spiel..?”
“To make you realize that, just as you took responsibility for what Crispy and Sassie did, I would have to take responsibility for what any of you do – and I'm not talking about a legal or moral responsibility... Because there's people out there who wish us harm, just as much as there's people who would help us. Crispy saw everything in black, but you try to paint everything white, Violette. No wonder you're so frustrated if everything doesn't unfold like you expect it to, even when you try your damnedest to be the whitest gal around... We have to be more gray and pragmatic than that, for our own sake. Do you understand?”
“Yes...”, she answers, though I can see it costs her. I guess she wasn't expecting that venting to me would backfire right in her face, but it was necessary.
“Okay then, let's talk business.”, I declare with a smile. “Do you think this woman or her family could become a security issue?”
Probably a bit taken aback by the conversation and attitude shift, she needs an instant to recollect herself: “Well, I suppose she wouldn't... It was like she just didn't want to deal with us in any way. She didn't even accept my check.”
“Let me guess, you tried to hand it to her via magic..? That's not something you should do so casually around most humans, you know.”
“I'm a unicorn, I will not hide that part of me!”
“Pragmatism Violette, pragmatism... But to get back to the point: did she make any kind of threat, or from her attitudes and her home, would she be tempted to talk to the Brigade or other unsavory bunches?”
“She didn't strike me as anything other than confused and afraid. She only asked that we leave her family and herself alone.”
“All right, then I guess it's a lesser risk. I'd also expect that her son could talk on our behalf, or even warn us if need be. I just hope that his sister will not do anything on her side... Next item: the people who tried to stop you from getting to the tribunal. Any news on that front?”
Now that we're in full-on work mode, it's pleasing to see Violette get her bearings back, and she answers quickly and efficiently: “Amber thinks that Brigade was somehow involved. Even the tribunal's vice-president could have been working with them. Fortunately, all charges have been dropped since then.”
So they are here too... And they clearly have a lot of influence. “Do you know if anybody could have followed you, when you came back here..?”
“I... I don't think so, we tried to be discreet in leaving the hotel.”
“These bastards aren't the kind to call it quits... I don't like this. If I remember well, you mentioned that the government is trying to set up some kind of covert quarantine zone for ponies?”
“I wouldn't describe it like that, but yes.”
“How soon do you think we could arrange transportation to this zone?”
“Antoine should know, I'll have to call him, but... Do we really have to leave?”
“Like I said, we need to act cautiously. I don't particularly like moving from one place to the other, trust me, but our situation here has been compromised. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time until word gets out, and the risks of being discovered increase drastically. It's doubtful that the Brigade would be deterred by us having official papers – if anything, on the basis of their rhetoric, they'd become even more motivated. So please, call your friend, and see if he can help us move as soon as possible.” She really doesn't look happy about this, but she still nods. “I understand it can be painful to leave your home... But for now, survival must be our priority, okay?”
“Okay...”
Amber's View
We're finally getting a bit of a clearer, warmer weather since yesterday.
It had to happen just as we're about to leave, of course...
I didn't think we'd be going to one of these 'pony reservations' so soon, but after Violette came back from that meeting with the human family Saturday morning, and had a talk with Laurence, she called Antoine to see how and when we would be traveling.
From what Sweetchard told me, and Laurence confirmed, the meeting didn't go so well. Violette tried to establish contact, but it didn't work. In his view, the human parent just wasn't ready for ponies. Is it what weighted her down so much? To have gone to all these efforts to obtain legal, official recognition for us, then to find that society itself isn't ready yet? I understand how it could be frustrating, and even disheartening...
That's why I tried to get her to talk about it, see if I could help, but instead it's like she's doing everything she can to talk about other subjects, especially if said subjects concern me. She said that she wasn't planning on 'playing the mother', but that resolution didn't last for very long... No surprise that everypony knows about it now! The only way it could've been more obvious is if we wore matching 'best mother'/'best daughter' shirts or something!
To be honest I'm more miffed by the fact Violette seems to use this to avoid talking about her problems than anything else. I mean, I wouldn't be ashamed of her being my mother, after all. The only little thing she let out was when she said that she had forgot to leave the check intended for the human family... But knowing Raphaël, she must've been too reluctant to give it away in the first place!
Speaking of Raphaël... His family has been visiting yesterday, since she announced our hasty departure. I must admit, it's heartwarming to see a human family still so close and supportive of their pony child. Violette suggested that I should meet her parents, but... I refused.
I'm afraid they would recognize me, as crazy as it sounds. Because...
Well...
As puerile and immature as it may be...
I missed having a Mom..!
Like I told Laurence, I paid close attention to how I was feeling around Violette. And now, almost two days later, I can safely admit that... That I like this new relationship.
At first I was afraid that if she knew who I was, she'd act like she had to gain back my trust, or something. But now, I fear that, if she discovered the truth, it'd change how she interacts with me, and I would lose this incredible thing I thought I'd lost forever..!
That's also why, as much as I'd want to, I can't confront her sister Sandrine yet, even if now I know it's her fault I was cast out. If I said anything to Sandrine, she would certainly know who I was, and if anything, this story proved how untrustworthy she can be. Violette would hear about it, inevitably. And my new 'Mom'... Would she change her mind..?
I can't risk it for now... But it's only a postponement!
Anyway...
My backpack is ready once again. The minibus that will bring us to the reservation is already here, ready to go. Violette is sad to leave 'her' city and her family, and that's maybe another reason she dotes so much on me. Sassie is frustrated that her plans to go back to the US will be even less likely to come to fruition, while Alex seems more upset to leave behind the house he's been renovating for the past two weeks than anything. Bilberry is ready to try living elsewhere, even if her roots stay firmly anchored here. As for Crispy and Sweetchard? Well, it's just a matter of getting back on the road, after our Toulousian stay.
Walking through the house, I catch Laurence and her sister Mélanie in the salon, chatting softly. They barely had the time to enjoy the perks of living practically right next door...
I was surprised that Laurence didn't really have much to say about our theory of how we came to be ponies. Maybe she wasn't too keen on the idea that, if we really were the unwitting repositories of these dead ponies, there may be no way to get our original bodies back...
Or maybe an exorcism would do the trick? I'll have to submit the idea, just in case.
I arrive on the terrace, where the others have already put most of their stuff. I can see that Chard and Crispy are quietly walking through the orchard as we wait for our imminent departure. It's too bad, we won't know if we could've had our own apples.
And now, for me it's saying goodbye to Toulouse, a second time... At least this time the circumstances are far less traumatic. Even if some of my initial fears proved real, in the most roundabout ways, it wasn't so bad to be back here.
It's funny, last time I left, I had been stripped of everything. I was alone in the world.
Now, I will get into a minibus alongside my new 'Mom' and my friends.
The first time, I was discarding my old skin, my former identity, becoming little more than a ghost of a person.
And now, I will leave the Pink City with a whole new identity, validated by the law.
Goodbye again, city of my birth. I wonder what will have changed, the day we'll meet again...
Well, only one way to know!
Backpack levitating at my side, I walk towards the minibus, and the new horizons it'll lead us to.
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Another section has come to an end. Moving out for safety after a single incident. Really curious to see how the mother/daughter role plays out.
I honestly was expecting the mother of the kids to be Amber's mother or to run into her somewhere at random.
Will they ever meet?As always another awesome chapter, Violette taking responsibility for the abduction is quite a powerful move. Can definitely see her moving towards the "Alpha" of the group. Biologically speaking alpha's are typically mothers and fathers of the group...so that's cleverly fitting.
Oh Amber...you can only hide your past for so long. They tend to slip out sometime or other and your mom's gonna realize you know things you shouldn't soon enough!
I'm quite pleased by the end of thispart! I'm wary of where their journey will lead them (I hope the reservation is nice and they meet lots of nice ponies). I'm so happy they've found family along the way. In more ways than one! Now they just have to finish finding themselves!
Ironically, Laurence is best pony.
As a whole, this part was even better than the last I think. It really touched on the deeper subjects of this scenario and Violette did what would seem like the impossible to me!
10581996
Well, you're not wrong – just don't let her hear you!
I'm glad you enjoyed this Part! I wish I'd taken the time to plan it a little better, but I'm still happy with how it came out in the end. Violette managed to make the first step of her dream a reality, but there's still a long road ahead of them all...
I hope you'll like the next Part just as much, despite the radical change of scenery!
Truly enjoying the story thus far having just finished Part 2. You’ve put an amazing amount of thought and detail into all of the characters and have done a wonderful job of juggling three different points of view which isn’t an easy thing for most authors to do. I’m just continually impressed!
I can’t help but wonder if SweetChard having eaten some of that grass might have some implications later down the line as it does in the main 5s/4 story. Also, it’s been pointed out before, but worth saying again, you’ve done a great job on focusing on unique psychological viewpoints for this story especially with Amber and Laurence.
10649627
Thanks!
Chard definitely got the short end of the stick when it comes to exploring the finer points of his character and psychology, at least in the first half of the fic. It's actually a limitation of my style of first-person perspective narration: he's not speaking to himself as much as the others do, therefore our insight into his mind is limited. In part this is because he's less prone to second-guessing himself, compared to Amber's self-analyzing and Laurence's constant grumbling; this wilful lack of self-reflection could cost him dearly, down the line...
You've wonderfully brought A Plot and B Plot together! And while things turned out well, they didn't end quite how everyone wanted them to: the humans might tolerate them at a distance, but they don't accept them yet... So many things up in the air! Uncertain, hopeful, but hesitant. There's an underlying feeling of not being accepted, not accepting others or accepting yourself...
They've reached the pony identity conclusion just about! As organically and slowly as possible with giving minimal hints! You have this different approach where they creep closer to the main story conclusion that, well, is it truly fair? Identity is a funny thing. Your slow ponder and focus on the major themes is why this story is such a must-read for every Five Score fan!
I got such a silly smile from the: "Ms. Segaux" "Ms. Inquimbert." lines.
And I felt such a pang of sadness with Amber's situation. I'm glad she has her Big
BossSister Laurence to help her but gawd I want her to have more. I still want to hug her.I know you rewrote this and I don't recall if I did read v.1 but I feel like this version was painfully realistic, assuming it was the part with the humans. If it was Sweetchard's parts in general, I can see how that's difficult. Leading Sweetchard to a conclusion while in his current state is difficult.
Hilarious how just being a quiet, logical and older pony puts you into this. Laurence does such a surprisingly good job, too! Definitely just from being neuro-atypical. Uh huh. No past experiences...
This whole part here, I'd quote all of it if this wasn't getting long. But suffice to say I'd follow this mare anywhere. ...would it be inappropriate to crush on your sergeant?
As subdued as this ending is, it's so strong and memorable. Just characters talking. Ironically, I like these kind of things even better than action scenes. Just locked, over the shoulder, camera shots where we just let them emote. And filly, do they deliver performances! There's such complex emotions going on so it's exactly what I wanted: just time to digest and feel these feelings with them.
Part 1 ended with a darkening sky. Interestingly, this one ends on a more ambiguous horizon... Part 3 ends with something akin a unique view? Part 4 definitely has a horizon though! Almost feels intentional, but maybe that's just a pretty way to end a part. <3
Also little bus for little ponies. Haha.11285582
You keep on being way too charitable with my scribbles!
It's kind of a slow burn, isn't it? For context (and because apparently I love crunching numbers), it takes about thrice the wordcount to reach this conclusion here compared to the original Five Score. In many sidefics this conclusion arrives even sooner, I think because after the core fic spilled the beans this ceased to be a leading question for readers, so why spend more time beating around the bush?
In Prench Tale's case, in part I felt that coming so late to the party I could afford to play around with the mystery again, to the benefit of readers unfamiliar with Five Score, but mostly it was because of how central this question ends up being for the characters and how they relate to each others. Right from the start I had in mind this one Laurence scene in Part 3, so it implied the characters wouldn't realize the truth too early; it meshed logically with the language issue, and there was already a full plate of plot to keep the characters busy until then.
But then Violette happened, with all that "Mom!?" baggage for Amber. Problematic, since how could that work without bringing up that oh-so essential conclusion? Answer: add another step in how they'd reach the conclusion, playing again with the language barrier. I even had the perfect vector in these bronies-turned-ponies who like to grumble about OCs, and would be perceived as authorities on the matter. So, problem solved! Hopefully it wasn't too frustrating for readers already in the know...
By the way, Sassie has a reason (a silly one, admittedly) for choosing to interpret the facts the way she does. I've put some clues in the next two Parts to figure it out (hint: it has to do with Hearts and Hooves Day...).
Believe it or not, this wasn't so much a rewrite as simply adding the Laurence PoV scenes I'd originally cut for time, almost everything else went unchanged. Would've been a shame to miss on some quality Big Boss content, right?
The meeting with the mother was indeed meant as a kind of reality check for the ponies. Like you said, true acceptance is still a long way away, and it was important to not make it seems like Violette's victory solved everything. As for Chard, yeah it's been difficult to pull him out of this purely passive/reactive state and give him a proper conclusion (or a proper arc, really). Not sure I succeeded (yet), but well.
I'll admit, I tend to rehash similar scenes a bit too often – but a calm, contemplative scene looking at what the next horizon will bring is always tempting to end things on! Part 1 did conclude that way, and Part 2, while more ambiguous, is more hopeful. Amusingly enough, though it isn't stated, there's little clues implying it could be set around dawn.
Boring details: Most of this chapter (Vi & Amber coming back, meeting the human mother, unicorn therapy) is set on a Saturday ("after Violette came back from that meeting with the human family Saturday morning"), while Amber's epilogue is set on a Monday (Amber talks about both a 'Saturday' and a 'yesterday' like they're different days). Next chapter they arrive at Coursac before lunch, and while in the minibus Vi asks Amber "You had a bad night?" and remarks about her dozing off that "One bright side is that the trip must feel all the shorter" suggesting the minibus trip doesn't last that long, potentially sandwiched between the aforementioned night and lunch. This you can't know, but there's about 120 miles between Toulouse and Coursac, or about two and a half to three hours by car, confirming this is indeed the case. So, all this to say, that the end of Part 2 ends up set in the early morning, a little after dawn.
We do shake things up a little bit more with Part 3, set in the morning, with the assembled ponies learning about the truth and destiny's call, but we do get back to the usual 'looking out at the horizon'!