My Little World

by CrackedInkWell

4: Nature of Reality Over Pancakes

If there was one thing that at the very least Lauren was glad that the writers for My Little Pony episodes after she left that she could easily approve of – it was Celestia’s cooking skills. During the commotion of the Royal sisters being reunited with their mother, they also woke up a certain three-year-old wanting breakfast. Fifteen minutes later, she, her daughter, and a good chunk of her (and other) creations were waiting in the school’s cafeteria as the Sun Princess was making fresh batches of pancakes off of a griddle nearby.

Sitting down at a small bench that was clearly meant for creatures that were smaller than her, her daughter was on her lap playing with a cartoon orange. Letting it roll from one end of her outstretched arms to the next. Next to her, her creation and her students were taking down notes while Twilight’s friends and Princess Luna were trying to figure out what exactly to say. Lauren couldn’t exactly blame them if the situation were reversed.

“So…” The mother looked up to Princess Luna, holding a mug of coffee in her aura. At first, she trailed off, no doubt drowning in the seas of questions that swirled and created tidal waves in her mind. However, she did settle on one. “You look… different. Why the human look?”

Lauren looked down at her hand. “I don’t know… I didn’t have much of a choice. You’d think that I might have come here as an alicorn or something, but no, I’m still me.”

“Where have you been all this time?” Celestia inquired, flipping over a fluffy pancake. “The last time any of us have seen you was at Twilight’s coronation before you… disappeared again.”

“Twilight’s coronation?”

“Well, it’s rather hard to forget,” Twilight commented. “It isn’t every day that an alicorn with a red mane, white coat with a quill, and inkwell cutie mark suddenly appears out of nowhere.”

Lauren looked at her confused. “What are you talking about?” She asked. “This is my first time visiting Equestri… oh…”

Twilight turned a little pale at that. “Oh? What do you mean… ‘oh?’”

“I just remembered a little something.” She replied, catching the orange that rolled out of her daughter’s reach and giving it back to her. “When I heard that they turned you into an alicorn, I had this funny idea. Of what would happen if Celestia and Luna’s mother came back to Equestria just after they put a crown on you.” She giggled. “I somehow pictured you fainting, and I had her catch up with the princesses with what was going on while you were unconscious for a couple of hours… what?”

Everyone at the table, including Celestia who was still cooking was giving her odd looks.

“Mother, why are you talking like that?” Celestia asked.

“You make it sound as if we’re characters in a story,” Luna added. “As if talking about us as if it were a plot to one of your books.”

“It is a mysterious documented event.” Sandbar pointed out. “That there was a sighting of an unknown alicorn but nopony knew who it was. Honestly, I thought it was an urban myth or something. I didn’t think it was real.”

Lauren paused for a moment, pointing at Luna, “You said this actually happened?” She nodded. “This… is incredible.”

“How so?”

“Well… This might sound crazy, but… where I come from… I’ve written a small short story that I’ve never published. It was about you two and Twilight after she got her wings and… my character.”

She saw Ocellus putting down her quill and notebook. “Ms. Faust, you’re starting to scare me. What are you talking about?”

Lauren sighed. Her daughter looked up at her, orange in hand, reaching up to her mother to peel it for her. Taking the fruit in her hand, the mother said aloud. “The thing is… I’m not entirely sure how to explain it myself. I don’t know how exactly to tell you all the truth without freaking anyone out; because of how bizarre it sounds and how unbelievable it is. Especially when I don’t think I understand it myself.”

“It doesn’t hurt ta be honest,” Applejack said, “Take it from a mare like me that the truth is always better than a well-meant lie.”

‘Yep, definitely Applejack,’ Lauren thought. “And suppose the truth sounds like it’s a lie?”

“Then there ain’t no need ta memorize it.”

The mother chuckled at this. “Well… since you put it like that… I guess I could at least try. But please understand that what I’m going to say will sound too fantastical, but it is the truth.”

The students learned in closer, notes at the ready.

“I think it’s established by now that there are other dimensions, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh yeah, there are plenty of other worlds out there. There’re even portals that dot all over Equestria as well.”

“…. Somehow, that strangely makes sense to me. Because in case you haven’t caught on yet, my daughter and I are from a different world. Not the same human world that you went to, Twilight, but somewhat similar nonetheless.”

Celestia, at this point, has already stacked up pancakes on a plate and raised an eyebrow. “You know about the human world Twilight has gone to? How?”

“Well… That’s just it…” Lauren broke through the orange peel, broke the fruit into its slices, and handed them to Alice. “In the world that I come from… everything here and that human world is uh…” She shook her head. “I guess there’s no way of sugar-coating this but… this world is fictional, to us.”

The cafeteria went silent. Every one of them paused to try to process what was said. Surprisingly (at least to Lauren) the one who broke the silence was Fluttershy. “So… what you’re saying is… we’re not… real?”

“A-At least where we come from.” Lauren insisted. “In the world that I grew up in, there’s no such place as Equestria. Everything that you deem as common sense and reality just… doesn’t exactly happen over there, if at all. As far as people from my world know, Equestria is a work of fiction.”

“But that’s silly!” Silverstream interjected. “I mean… we’re real… aren’t we…?”

“I didn’t think any of you were until, well… now.” Lauren waved a hand. “As much as I want to convince myself that I’m still dreaming or having a hallucination, I can’t ignore the fact that what I’m seeing, hearing, touching, smelling…” she took a bit of the piece of the orange, “and tasting… is real. I didn’t think that an author like me would end up in her own Wonderland but, here we are.”

“So let me get my head around this, darling.” Rarity said, her hooves rubbing the temples of her forehead. “You’re telling us that to you, at least where you come from, we’re completely fictional?” Lauren told her that was pretty much it. “While personally, I don’t know what to make of that, except, you’re implying that if we’re fiction, does that mean that there’s some sort of… medium to convey everyone here?”

“Pony show.” Alice bluntly answered.

Everyone and every creature raised an eyebrow. “What can person mean?” Yona asked what was on their minds.

“Oh dear…” Lauren sighed, feeling a headache coming on. “Now there’s another can of worms in and of itself.”

“Why is that?” Celestia asked.

“You see… Where I come from, Equestria is just uh… well…” Lauren scratched her head, trying to come up with an explanation for them. “I guess a way to describe it is like… hold on… there are movies here? Aren’t there?” They nodded. “And there are cartoons here too? Right?”

“You mean like a short?” Pinkie Pie asked. “Those appear before they play the movie. They’ve been getting really funny lately.”

“Okay, good… Well, imagine that, but a whole series of shorts, each going about… oh… twenty or so minutes each; where they tell a story about Equestria. A series of stories that are made into cartoons. That is your world to me. I should know… I uh… was the one that created the show, to begin with.”

Sandbar, like everyone else, had their jaw hanging loose. “That… is… so cool!”

Lauren blinked. “Huh?”

“You’re saying that to you, this is all a cartoon?” She nodded. “So, are we in it?”

“…. You have no idea. But why aren’t you freaking out over that?”

Sandbar tilted his head. “Isn’t it obvious? If there are cartoons of us somewhere out there, that means that we have an audience, making them laugh or just be entertained by us, right?”

“I guess that explains why nopony asked me who I was talking to when I stared off into space,” Pinkie said, humming in thought and tapping her chin. “I’ve always felt deep down that I was never alone, just didn’t think there would be somepony to actually watch me.”

“If that’s true…” Fluttershy was shaking at the revelation. “Then that would mean that there have been others that have been watching us this whole time…” Her eyes shifted, darting about the cafeteria. “Does that mean that they’re watching us right now?”

Lauren looked around. She certainly didn’t see anything. Not a camera, not a portal, or anything to indicate that they were being watched. Getting up, she handed Alice over to Luna as she went around the table to wrap an arm around the timid pony. “Fluttershy, first of all, we don’t allow to show anything explicit like going to the bathroom or things like that. Second, and this is important, is that while from time to time there would be people watching you guys, there are so many that can relate to all of you in some way. They learned really important lessons, laugh at your jokes, feel pity whenever something goes wrong and cheer for you when things go right. Although I haven’t worked on the cartoon in a while, the people who have been in charge for the past nine years, they worked really hard to not only entertain but, in some ways, ponies like you give comfort and enlighten them too.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Well… it’s kind of hard to explain really, but every single one of you, including so many others like Spike or Starlight, you have indirectly been teaching so many ways of… well… what friendship could be and look at it in dozens of ways to help others understand it better. Through all of you, you taught them what kindness, laughter, honesty, generosity, loyalty, and the magic of friendship really means. Regardless of what is being thrown at you, so many can relate to your struggles and learn what they could do with it. Even when you don’t see that you have an impact on anyone, there are so many out there that you’ve changed their lives for the better.”

Celestia finished with the pancakes, and with her magic, she used whipped cream, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas to craft out a face for both her mother’s and Alice’s plates. “As partly creepy as the undertones of that is – to have someone watch you without you knowing – there’s something oddly comforting in the idea that all of us are teaching others about friendship. It is more effective to lead them by example than just tell them to be nice.” She sat the pancakes down before them.

Lauren sat back down and proceeded to cut up Alice’s food for her. As she did so, Luna asked, “So… if what you said was true… are you… really our mother?” For a moment, Lauren froze. “You resembled her in so many ways although you are in a different form. As much as I want to be glad for your return to us, after so many years… Yet, being from a different dimension, it’s hard to think that you might not be ours.”

Lauren finished up by cutting up Alice’s food, looking up at the dark alicorn guiltily. “I take it you haven’t seen her in a long time, have you?”

She shook her head. “It has been many moons since we last saw her face. For a long time, we thought she had forgotten about us.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I mean, if I were away from my Alice for even a week, I would miss her very much.”

“You would?” Alice asked, looking up with a forkful of pancakes.

“Ohh, of course, I would sweetie.” She kissed the top of her head. “Every mother misses their children if kept away too long. They may sometimes have to go away for a long time, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve forgotten about them. No. They think about them every day when they’re not with them. Do you know why? Because that’s how much they love them – they could be on the other side of the big wide world and all they want is to be with them. Don’t worry your little head about it, Mommy isn’t going to forget you anytime soon.”

“Okay, mom.” Her daughter returned to her breakfast.

Lauren also noticed Applejack suddenly getting up with a “Excuse me,” before leaving the cafeteria. Although many of them shared some confused looks, she instantly felt a pain of guilt because she knew exactly why. As much as she was giving reassurance to her daughter and the Princesses, she momentarily forgot about Applejack. ‘Oh crap, I really struck a nerve without thinking.’

As the Apple farmer exited, a purple dragon and a unicorn mare entered. Spike and Starlight came in, with the mare looking over her shoulder. “What’s gotten into her?”

“Something that I’ve said,” Lauren answered. “You must be Starlight and Spike.”

The unicorn blinked. “How did you know my-”

“It’s a long story, councilor,” Smolder interrupted. “But what you probably should know is that, in a nutshell, she’s the creator with a capital C.”

“Huh…” Starlight looked at Lauren with a weird look. “So… Just to be clear, she’s not here to cause chaos, take over Equestria, or get her sworn revenge?”

The royal sisters, including Lauren, laughed. “Oh, far from it,” Celestia said, “she is our most honored guest. It would appear that she’s going to leave very soon.”

“It’s such a shame really,” Luna commented, “here we hoped we’d try to at least show her how our Kingdom has advanced before we retire.”

“You want to show me around Equestria?” Lauren inquired. “I don’t know… I was hoping to get back home before-”

“But don’t you want to?” Sandbar asked, his eyes seemed to have grown three sizes as he gave his best puppy eyes. “If this is your creation of a place you thought was fictional, don’t you wanna take a look around?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie hopped up on the table. “You’re gonna leave without having me giving you a party? That’s not even fair! Sugar Cube Corner would be more than happy to whip up something big if the creator of the universe was at their doorstep!”

“Not to mention to have my record about the world you come from,” Twilight added, “You must hold a goldmine of information of a realm that is completely unknown to us.”

“We could put on a show just for you!” Rainbow Dash said, “I could get the Wonderbolts and give you the performance of a lifetime.”

“Of course,” Fluttershy told her meekly, “We can’t force you if you don’t want to. And I don’t think you would have to stay for very long either. Perhaps at least a day.”

“Please.” Lauren looked up to Celestia, her gaze pleading like her sister’s, “If not for them, then at least do it for us. A few hours at least is all we ask.”

For a very long moment, the human mother was conflicted. On the one hand, it should be around morning by now and Craig might be home at any time. Not only that, but she of all people knew that it probably wasn’t a good idea to stay in Equestria. A place where anything could happen and worst yet, Alice could get hurt. After all, for all she knows, if she did decide to stay, even for a few hours, who’s to say that they wouldn’t run into someone like Chrysalis or even Discord? Not only that but there would be wild, dangerous magical creatures that she knew perfectly well that she wasn’t exactly armed against.

On the other hand, she might as well be the very first in all of human history to go inside a world of her own creation. A world of real magic and the characters that she had spent hours with were right there in front of her. She was in a position that Bronies would kill to be in for at least a minute. Not only that, but the very alicorn Princesses are catering to her every whim. If she did decide to hang around, certainly they would do everything in their power to keep her and her daughter safe from harm, right?

But on the other hand, if she stayed for too long, her husband would get worried and probably find the portal to this world and wouldn’t know it. After all, even if she did stay and come back, how is she going to show any proof that she was there at all unless she had a camera…

Lauren pulled out her cell phone, but before she could unlock the screen, she froze. During this whole fiasco, she had neglected to check her phone for anything. However, she noticed something rather odd about her phone. There wasn’t any glitch (or so she thought), but what caught her off guard was the time.

2:47 AM

The clock hadn’t changed at all. It was still the same time, the same date as she left. She unlocked her phone, and it seemed that everything was working; except for being out of reach of a phone signal and the internet. Besides that, it seemed that everything was fine.

“Mom?” she heard Alice ask, “I wanna look at ponies.”

Lauren came to a realization. ‘It’s like Narnia in here, isn’t it?’ she thought. ‘That no matter how long I spend here, I can go back home where nothing’s changed at all. Like time itself has frozen until we go back. So maybe… This is the perfect opportunity. We can go anywhere as long as we want and still be back. Craig wouldn’t know a thing about it and I guess I could take a few pictures here too to prove that I’m not crazy.’

“You know what, Alice?” She said at last. “There’s a big world out there – shall we take a look?”

Comments

[Sudrian Engineer]

Why does it seem like they forgot Lauren's visit from when she was a child... or are they just trying to hide it due to the memory alternating spell that was cast on Lauren before she left the first time?

[CrackedInkWell]

9720749
The latter and they know it.

[Sudrian Engineer]

9720758
To be honest, never knew what latter means... so I am confused...

[CrackedInkWell]

9720770
In a nutshell, "the latter" is an old fashion term meaning that if there are two choices or scenarios, the latter means the second choice. Unlike the word "former" which means the first.

[Sudrian Engineer]

9720777
Thank you

[Venerable Ro]

“So… what you’re saying is… we’re not… real?”

Cogito, ergo sum. I think, therefore I am. If you are capable of worrying over the validity of your existence, then you exist.

[Xanderfox]

9752056
Equestria Exists because Lauren made the show, Lauren Made the show because Equestria Exists. It's a existential causality loop.