Our roles in this story were basically split. Switch Swap came up with most of the ideas and I did most of the writing. Story is on this account by Switch's choice.
Ever wondered why Pinkie Pie has all these crazy abilities, like "Pinkie sense", being able to physically break apart and stay alive, and tie her neck into a knot, etc.? And isn't it a bit bothersome that she won't tell you?
Well, truth be told, the reason she won't reveal it is because she herself doesn't know. For real. She's always just brushed it off as "something she has."
But one day, while visiting her family, a fun sister moment turns into possibly the deepest conversation the Pie family has ever had, where the big icebreaker answers the blue-fire-burning question, but also leads to the reveal of a fact that Pinkie and Maud are deeply hit smack-dab in the heart by.
Pinkie Pie is laying on her bed. Draped on her back across that sleepy space, on top of that famous checkered balloon blanket. Looking up at the surroundings in front of her; the surroundings of her bedroom.
Is it bedtime?
...Uh, actually, no, believe it or not. As Pinkie lays nearly motionless on the soft mattresses and blankets, the room is coated in blue-sky afternoon light. So, what gives?
What gives is that a rare event has decided to make an appearance today. The event of Pinkie Pie being bored.
"Pinkie Pie being bored?" Those words don't even seem to go together!
Since when does this ever happen? I always have something to do! I have throughout my whole life! I can't remember what was the last day to have an empty spot! Why does today have one?
Pinkie Pie did try to bake up a new activity, but no matter how far she turned up the heat, success did not come. All of her primary Pinkie activities did not have availability right now. Baking; nope. Sugarcube Corner was having a quiet day, and the Cakes were getting along with it just fine by themselves. Babysitting; nope. The twins are asleep.
The Cakes told Pinkie "Looks like you get a day off today!", and Pinkie liked the sound of that at first. But... look how it turned out! The number of non-work activities Pinkie found to do in this bakery displayed a big "0".
What about something beyond the boundaries of Sugarcube Corner, then? The Pinkie special of making other ponies happy, with a fruit-smoothie case-by-case blend of Pinkie techniques? Well, she tried for that. She did go hopping around town earlier in search for frowny faces in need of being turned upside down. But she found none. The entirety of Ponyville was having a happy day, it seemed.
How ironic is this? Ponyville having a happy day renders the happiness pony's services useless!
What about one of her side hobbies? Music, maybe? Well, that one had an unlucky alignment with regards to the position of Pinkie's mood today. She'd rather not play music alone; a solo activity she knew was not in the cards. And a Ponyville song-break was nowhere in sight. Not the greatest idea to wait for external factors to hand you out something, but Pinkie's brain disagreed.
Ugh! There's nothing to do!
Pinkie flops herself back to her original position, laying backside on her bed in frustration, after having sat up for a while during brainstorming of potential activities.
But after taking a deep breath, she is successful at getting that outburst where it needed to go. Flushing out the fire and regaining her normal-temperature thinking, Pinkie decides to not give up yet.
Okay, so every "present-day" activity is out of the cards. So how about something she hasn't done in a while?
What could that be?
Well, I could go prank Rainbow Dash! I haven't done that in a while! I could go to the lake! I could go to a dance club! I could visit my family!
!
That last one, my mates. As soon as that #4 idea finds itself in Pinkie's head, suddenly the cloud hovering over this day appears to have been blown away at Wonderbolt speed.
Yes! I must go see my family! Goodness, why haven't I been back there in so long? They have to be missing me!
Pinkie dashes downstairs to inform the Cakes, who graciously accept, noting the time frame and the fact that they have bakery operations under control right now. With nothing obstructing the way, Pinkie sets out for Rockville, in a time period of less than five minutes since she first got the idea.
Pinkie does absolutely wield enough power and enough energy to hoof-bounce herself to her family's home, but she decides on taking the train, thinking it would get her to her destination faster.
Little did she know today would be the first day in over a year that she'd return to her old home, but on her way to the train station, Pinkie can feel today becoming one of the most special in this modern era.
Pinkie is so darn ready to see her family again that she couldn't keep her body still at the train station. She also lacked the ability to resist announcing to the ponies around her what she was about to do, especially after they had been asking questions about why she was hopping around so much.
When the train to Rockville finally arrives, Pinkie kicks back at a solo seat and, through Rockville being a ways away, receives a good deal of time to think about how this trip would go. She, in her mind, jotted down plans for specific games to play with her sisters, life topics to bring up with her dad, chowing on an old family dinner she used to eat, etc.
Yep, today should be perfect.
Pinkie, with her smiling face having been active the whole time she was on the train, finally has the Rockville station in her sights. Here it is; her cue to step off.
Eee! Here comes the best day ever!
For as much as the culture in Rockville considered it stare-able, Pinkie had no care about hopping her way off the train. For her, the joy of seeing her family was immune to social awkwardness.
Pinkie's family home is one of the closest Rockville homes to the train station, if not the closest, so she can bounce over there in about two minutes.
The interesting thing is, Pinkie never informed her sisters and parents that she would be visiting today. There was no time for it; sending a letter would take far too long for Pinkie's ready mood.
So they're getting a surprise!
The surprise comes to them as her beloved childhood home appears closer and closer in her sights, and vice versa for a sister who is currently in the front yard.
Limestone, while sorting out piles of rocks based on color, becomes the first to notice Pinkie. She moves her head up to the distance in front, and upon seeing that hopping pack of pink and immediately recognizing the living treasure whom it was, Limestone breaks out into an uncharacteristic giggly attitude. That's what seeing your long-gone sister will do!
"Pinkie?! Is that you?!"
"It is me! The one and only Pinkie Pie, your dear sister who is finally back here!", Pinkie says, jumping out at Limestone and giving her a big hug. Limestone isn't a hugger, but a moment like this creates an exception. She reciprocates the greeting.
To add to the loveliness, right during the embrace, Marble shows up to join it.
"We have been waiting for you!", she says, gripping into the sister-love moment and making it a three-way group hug.
"I love you girls!", Pinkie says.
That statement only increases the tightness of the hug.
Inside the house, Cloudy and Igneous, the parents, who had no notice of what was going on at first, took a periodic look out the window to check on how Limestone and Marble were doing with the rock work. But rock work, they did not see. Rather, they were gifted with the most beautiful sight.
Cloudy and Igneous let out a gasp and sprint over to the front door.
"Pinkie?! You came to visit?!", Cloudy says loudly.
"I thought I'd never see the day!", Igneous exclaims.
"I did come to visit! The day has come, mom and dad!", Pinkie says. She goes up to her beloved parents and hugs them too, rather tightly.
"A visit from Pinkie is our rare sunbeam that finally got a chance to come out.", Limestone says.
"Yes! Absolutely!", Marble exclaims.
Not too much later, Maud joins the party. Despite being far away in her Rockville home when this sunny event began, here she was.
"My Maud sense always lets me know when Pinkie Pie is back in town.", she says.
"You can always count on the Pie sense!", Pinkie says, trotting up to Maud and continuing the hug routine.
Inside her old house, Pinkie explains that her visit came about because she had been hit with boredom and wanted to try filling the space with an activity she hadn't done in a while. What could be the better option for that than going to see her family again?
"Well, we are so honored, Pinkie.", Cloudy says.
"If there's a best thing to get surprised by, it's a visit from your precious daughter!", Igneous says, rubbing Pinkie on the head.
The sisters then chime in.
"So, what are you going to do while you're here?", Marble asks.
Thanks to the travel time, Pinkie needs no delay in answering that question.
"I already know the entire schedule, and the first thing I say we do is bring back an old game!", Pinkie exclaims. "Let's play Pinkie Says!"
The other sisters agree and they head back out into the front yard. Memories, here we come.
So here they are, having sister time in a session of the classic known as Pinkie Says.
"Pinkie says... jump all at the same time!"
On such a short notice, Maud and Marble were able to carry out the task, but Pinkie did not fail to catch that Limestone was late.
"You were late! You didn't jump all at the same time", Pinkie says to Limestone.
Limestone only smiles.
"Pinkie says... give each other hoof-bumps!"
Maud, on the left, performs a hoof-bump with Limestone in the middle, who then gives one to Marble on the right.
"Good! You all accomplished that one, perfectly!", Pinkie exclaims.
"Pinkie says... break into 10 pieces!" She demonstrates this action herself.
Breaking herself into pieces was a comedic act that Maud, being the pony she is, found rather embarrassing to do. But today was sister day. It had been far too long since she had seen Pinkie; this was the day for her to let her inner silliness go. Maud takes the plunge and snaps herself into exactly 10 pieces, per her sister's challenge.
Limestone and Marble, though... not a single broken-up piece to be found. They remain standing with their bodies in full form.
"We can't do that.", Marble says in response to the challenge.
"Right. You and I... we can't. I'm trying right now. It won't happen.", Limestone responds.
Pinkie's mouth hangs open, and both of Maud's eyelids refuse to make herself look normal. The two mares come to the notice that today may have brought them a shocking family discovery. Sure, they had never directly seen Limestone and Marble do these kinds of things, but they always assumed that they must have the abilities, since it's supposed to stretch across all the branches of the family tree.
Pinkie goes for a double-check on this with Limestone and Marble. "But we can!", she says, performing the action again. "So, why can't you?"
"I don't know. We just can't.", Marble says. "No idea why you two can."
"Huh. That's odd.", Pinkie says, highly confused. "I thought it was a Pie family specialty to do these weird things!"
"Me too. Just like she has Pinkie sense, I have Maud sense.", Maud responds. "You two don't have Limestone sense and Marble sense?"
"No. I've never had my tail randomly twitch or my ears suddenly flop, much less have those things tell me something is about to fall or you're about to need a bath.", Limestone says.
"Neither have I.", Marble adds.
Pinkie and Maud look at each other in silent but understandable communication. Something's not right here. If it is true that these powers run in the Pie family, which they appear to, then why can only two out of the four sisters perform them?
"I could have sworn I said this runs in the family!", Pinkie says.
"You did, and it should.", Maud responds. "I have it too, so that's the only explanation. But know we need explanation on why only we can do them, and not these girls."
"Our parents would probably be a good source.", Marble suggests.
"Oh yeah!", Pinkie says, loving her sister's idea. "Let's go in there!"
All four of them retreat to the family house, where an impromptu meeting with their parents comes along.
"Mom and Dad, we just found out something really weird while playing Pinkie Says. So I challenged the girls to break up their bodies into pieces, like this, and while Maud and I were able to do it, Limestone and Marble apparently can't. They said they don't have the ability. But I thought this was a Pie family thing; why would it only get to two of us?"
Cloudy and Igneous' eyes instantly shoot wide, wide open at the asking of this question. Even blinking could be tough. This was the question they had been desperately trying to swat away like a fly since the beginning of Pinkie and Maud's lives, and had successfully done so... until this fateful moment.
All throughout their lives, Pinkie and Maud have never dedicated more than a tiny bit of thought as to why they can do things like break into pieces, or twist their necks around, or know when something is falling based on a tail twitch. They just did them. Never bothered to try and go on a hunt for the source. And it hadn't been until today that the inability of Limestone and Marble to do them would put itself on display.
But today... things just so happened to align in a way where their daughters are asking this terrifying question.
Desperate to continue the swatting-away pattern, Cloudy and Igneous go into whispering mode and try to come up with a way of getting around this. But to no avail at all. Every possible method, no matter how good at surface level, always showed a gaping hole. Cloudy and Igneous have no choice but to cross off the entirety of all they could think of.
Welp. Today was it. It had to be the day they would break this news. The news that would almost certainly ruin today's planned fun family schedule and change Pinkie and Maud's outlook on their lives forever.
Comprehending the magnitude of this, they try to avoid it again, but still to no avail.
"What's the matter, Mom and Dad? Why the frowny faces?", Pinkie Pie asks.
Looks like the time has now come. The clock hands took over 20 years to reach this point, but now is when they have finished their journey. Cloudy Quartz takes a deep breath, slow inhale and exhale, and begins to roll out what will become the staple of this fateful day.
"All four of you, but Pinkie and Maud especially, we have to tell you something. It's something that separates you two, Pinkie and Maud, from Limestone and Marble, and that we've been regretfully hiding from you your whole lives."
News that separates two sisters from the other two, and it's been swept under the rug their whole lives? Goodness, what kind of news was this?
"Say it.", Pinkie requests. "There's no use turning back now."
Both Cloudy and Igneous sigh. She's right; the time is now. They had already traveled too far down the road with the statement about separation. Their daughters were ready to hear it. No matter how hard it is, they're going to have to push the words out of their mouths.
After a spell of silence that did not include any talk of this decision, Igneous becomes the one to break the giant ice.
"Pinkie and Maud, you..."
He had to say it.
"...you are not our biological children."
...
The viewpoint goes to a mode where the background would be burning red and feature a sea of gasping faces plus screams, which, the latter, it already does.
"What?!", all four Pie sisters exclaim simultaneously and loudly.
The ever-so-predictable pattern continues to manifest.
"What?", Pinkie yelps out again.
They clearly were desperate for an explanation; the parents had to go for it. Igneous goes in for another big breath, and lets the full story be read.
"Yep. As much as it hurts so, so deeply to tell you this, yes, it is true. You were given to us.", he says.
"You were.", Cloudy continues the explanation with. "Unlike Limestone and Marble, you two were not born from us. Your biological mother delivered you to our doorstep in blanketed baskets, leaving a note saying she couldn't keep you. She never explained the reason for that, but we didn't think much of it. We also never saw your original mother, so we have no idea who she is. She just knocked on the door and left. By the time we could answer, she was long out of sight. We have also never seen your original father."
"The reason we didn't think much of it is because we were too caught up in the excitement of getting more children; we had already been trying to give Limestone and Marble siblings for a while.", Igneous says, "and that extended to telling you about this. We didn't want you treat you as outsiders, much less make you feel as such. We just wanted to roll with the gift and treat you like any other children. So we filled out all the adoption paperwork and stuff when you were still foals, and completely disregarded it from that point on."
Pinkie has her mouth hanging open and her lungs inhaling and exhaling heavily. This info that should be part of a comedy show, not applicable to her actual life. This info that rips away part of her identity. This stunning, sick-and-twisted bombshell.
"But... but, Mom and Dad, you raised us! You did everything for us! We developed such a close bond with you! And now... you're not really our parents?", Pinkie says, starting to have tears bubble up.
Hearing her daughter speak this clear representation of her betrayed state brought out the tears in Cloudy too.
Pinkie is right. We were wrong in this. We should have told them. Now they're adults and have known us as their parents for so long... all for it to be a lie.
Cloudy hangs her head down in shame, which Igneous replicates, in front of the dark-pink mane that is starting to grow in size a bit, in preparation for a potential appearance of the dreaded deflate.
Maud does not have a visible reaction, but that didn't mean her brain isn't reacting the same way as Pinkie's.
"I think you should have told us.", Maud says.
Both Cloudy and Igneous look at each other with two-fold shame; they can't help but agree fully with both daughters. Or, "daughters", as Pinkie now sees it. They hang their heads in sadness even further, with tears beginning to hit the ground.
Limestone and Marble, who had known about the adoption and went along with their parents in not telling Pinkie and Maud, hold the same agreement in regret.
Pinkie and Maud themselves... betrayal is the emotion in the drivers' seat.
The house falls silent for a moment, with everypony having to weather the meteor strike of this info that hit their world far too late.
And the silence of a room featuring all six of them ends up being something Pinkie requests they not do.
"Nopony's saying anything... because we don't want to say anything.", Pinkie says. "I think it might be best if we don't talk to each other right now. We need some time to cool down and think of what... we should do next."
"I agree. Let's not get things too heated.", Maud says.
A string of luck does roll out there. That "I agree" from Maud is the sentence typing itself in everypony else's mind, so this protocol will be used.
"Okay. Let's take a break for now.", Cloudy says.
Cloudy and Igneous, Limestone and Marble, and Pinkie and Maud walk in separate directions to split off to separate areas in those exact pairs.
Outside the front door, Pinkie Pie, beside her fellow adoptive sister, is laying down on the rock ground with the fall of tears set to "consistent flow."
"I just... I can't! My whole life is a lie, Maud! Mom and Dad aren't my real mom and dad! But... but, I want them to be my real mom and dad! They're who I love and know as my parents! But there's a disconnect! A disconnect that shouldn't be there!"
Maud, normally always there for Pinkie, is totally at a loss for words. Despite the lack of tears or change of facial expression in Maud, she feels unable to help Pinkie by virtue of having the exact same reactions.
My Mom and Dad... the ones who introduced me to rocks. The ones who supported that solo expedition I took when I was a teenager. The ones who helped get me into that college. Everything they've done for my life... was done under the cover-up of them not being my natural parents.
Maud sighs and says all that she can say at the moment.
"The best I feel we can do is take it from here. Let yourself feel your feelings, then we have another family talk, then we decide what to do tomorrow."
Further towards the southwest corner of the yard, Limestone and Marble, who had known about the adoption and had followed along with Cloudy and Igneous in keeping it a secret, harbor worries about the future.
"I don't know.", Marble says. "Will Pinkie and Maud still see us and this family the same way from here on out? I mean, of course they still love us and DNA doesn't determine your family, but the fact that we hid this from them all the way until their 20s, I know is a breeding ground for betrayal, and that did happen! Look at Pinkie over there."
Limestone responds in green thumbs-up agreement.
"I always grew up thinking what we were doing was right.", she says. "I thought that telling them they were different from us would ruin our bond. But... now I know it's worse to tell them in adulthood."
"Yep. We screwed up. And now, I feel that... our family might never be the same again.", Marble responds.
Limestone and Marble share falls of tears and a hug.
Needless to say, the happy Pie family activities planned for this should-have-been fun reunion day did not come, or, if they did come, were severely compromised.
The best that could be mustered up was a family dinner together with low-energy discussion. They wanted to talk more about this adoption situation in a cleared-out, no-hard-feelings way, but the lightning shock wouldn't allow that. It held way too much power to have subsided already.
"It seems like you understand why we decided not to tell you two, but... it's not us. That was wrong. We should have told you.", Limestone says to Pinkie and Maud.
"Yeah, I do understand, and I still love you all; I don't want to mad, but I just... I feel betrayed.", Pinkie says.
"You have every right to feel that way.", Cloudy says. "We did betray you, and we don't deserve kindness."
"But you do, Mom! You're not a bad pony!", Pinkie responds.
Yeah, this discussion didn't really go anywhere. The members of this family, feeling they have no way to properly communicate if all six of them are involved, let the three-pair split-up of before dinnertime return, and let it stand for the entire rest of this bad, sad day.
Pinkie, who chose to stay the night at Rockville despite the low-quality emotional environment this house was currently burning in, can't sleep. She doesn't feel it has anything to do with the environment, but sleep will not reach her.
My whole life... is a lie! A big lie!, she thinks to herself.
All that time I spent with them. All the "parent and child" activities we did together. How much time I was raised by them. How much time I knew them as my parents! And they're not my real parents!
Pinkie rolls on her stomach and cries into her pillow. The potential of waking her sisters up refused to gloss over her mind. All she could possibly think about tonight was how devastating this news was.
All three of the other sisters were continuing to be awake, but the crying wasn't audible enough to them, sadly preventing a potential comfort zone from happening. Had they heard, Pinkie could have received some affectionate support from her loved ones.
So she's left to deal with this tragedy on her own... at nighttime.
Bad piled on top of bad, Pinkie has no choice but to cry herself to sleep.
After that plunge into darkness, both with regards to Pinkie's vision + mind and the sky's color, Pinkie Pie awakens into the 03:00 night with her crying process finished. A visual memory of that bunch of brutality is present, however, with Pinkie's pillow being drenched in tears. The wetness could be felt even if the pillow was flipped over.
But that is somewhat escaping her right now. Having correctly cleared out the emotions of yesterday by letting them flow out in her tears, Pinkie's mind shifts, as her night awakeness session, dedicated to thinking, begins.
What is she thinking about? She's now thinking extensively about her biological parents, in a change from the previous day.
Who is my original mom? Where does she live? Why couldn't she keep us?, Pinkie thinks to herself, looking up at the white ceiling from her top bunk.
Who is my original dad? Is he still together with my original mom, or not? Did he have a say in our mom's decision to get rid of us?
Oh shoot. That last part "get rid of us" sets off Pinkie's mind back into sadness in a flash. There were no tears; she had run out of those, but here's a layer of betrayal on top of the already-existing one! Yikes!
Pinkie lets out a soft wimper at this thought, and would cry again if her supply of tears was not empty. As painful as it was to straight-up not be told by her adoptive family the important knowledge that she and Maud were adoptive, Pinkie couldn't help but also feel betrayed at the fact that her original parents removed her from their lives, even if she didn't know the reason.
That sack of sadness even starts spilling over into a desire of Pinkie's. Goodness, can't she catch a break?
I should go and meet my real parents. I want to do that.
But... if my bio parents had to send Maud and I off, would they even want us to meet them? Did they not love us? Why did they send us off?
During this minute, Pinkie cannot build up comprehension of a reason she and Maud would get shipped off for adoption besides their bio parents not wanting them around, so she believes the possibility that they wouldn't welcome a visit stands tall in her perceived reasonable sense.
But... that's the activity she wants to use as a sunbeam during this dark time.
I want to go look for my real parents. And take Maud with me. Yeah, I want to go on an adventure to meet the other parents! What are they like? Will we like them? And most importantly, why didn't they keep us?
But again... if the reason they gave us away was because they didn't want us, then would they even want us to visit?
Pinkie's desire to meet her biological parents held enough strength to get that question really put into... question. It wasn't going to let her give in and say "they wouldn't want us to come." Pinkie's mind puts itself to work, despite the sky being black and showing no signs of a color change anytime soon. Sleep can wait, apparently.
Well, you do have to think about the fact that it's been a long time. Maybe our original mom has had enough time passed that she would want to see us again! Maybe she regrets her decision and wants us back!
Here's the power of not giving into the first thoughts right away! Pinkie does strongly consider the regret possibility, and despite the negative things continuing to try and reignite their flames, she solidifies her decision to ask Maud to go on this adventure. Whatever the attitude, Pinkie really wanted to meet her original parents, and she feels it's worth it to go and see for herself whether the parents will accept meeting them or not.
With a crucial process beautifully completed, Pinkie is able to splash back into the dream waters, lit up by the anticipation of a possible exciting entailment starting in the morning.
When the long, cold, dark night finally puts itself away, Pinkie sun-rises into the second day (first full day) of this adoption saga that she knows she must go through. There is no way around, or out, or anywhere but through.
It's too late to change anything. They told me, I know they are not my real parents.
What I want to do now, is find out who my real parents are. And I will invite Maud to come with me. Everything else, like how we'll feel about this down the line, will show itself later.
Good planning by Pinkie. She has paved herself a path, with milestone signs she will keep track of. The task given by sign #1 is asking Maud if she will tag along.
Pinkie hops down the stairs to her sister, who is by herself on the breakfast table, eating green rock soup. None of the other Pies were anywhere to be seen across this main downstairs area, so it seems that the family's conflict-controlling protocol of not speaking to each other outside of each designated pair was still in effect.
"Hey, sis.", Pinkie says. "Got time to talk?"
Maud looks at Pinkie, then back at her bowl, and takes an eyes-closed sip, which symbolizes her mood.
"I'm trying to just enjoy my food and not think about what's happening, but... sure.", Maud responds.
"Good.", Pinkie says. "So I'm here to ask you about going on a trip to find our real parents. Last night, I found out that I really want to know who they are, and meet them, to see who we should be calling our family, whether it's Cloudy and Igneous, our original parents, or both."
Maud's facial expression changes to smiling, as the two sisters' desires have luckily clicked into mutuality.
"You know what Pinkie, that's I was thinking too. So yes, let's go do it. But how exactly do we find them? We have no idea who they are or where they live."
Pinkie's excitement drops to low levels quickly at the speaking of that last sentence, as she realizes Maud is totally correct. "Oh, right. Shoot sis, this is going to be hard.", she says.
Maud hops off from her table chair and goes in for the comfort. "It will, Pinkie. But I'm sure we'll find a way. Let's think for a bit, and we'll come up with something."
Maud initiates a hug with Pinkie as she says this, letting in the best technique of flushing out build-ups of worry and bringing careful thinking to a return. As always, it worked wonders, as Pinkie makes a suggestion right after their forelegs unwrap.
"Ooh, I know what we could do! Let's go ask Twilight! She knows so much stuff about so many different subjects, including family history! I'm sure she can find out some stuff about us!"
Maud, who did want to meet the bio parents, but had been refusing to let this topic into her mind, begins to see an open path to a good event in Pinkie's suggestion. "That sounds great, Pinkie.", she says.
"Let's do it!", Pinkie responds.
And there's the theme of Day 2 successfully uncovered.
It's amazing what a small hug can accomplish, isn't it?
Pinkie and Maud know there's a myriad of shots that could be fired at them in this attempt to find their biological parents, it will be a task, but what's important right now is that they have one part of the path clear. They know where they're going in the present. Asking Twilight; good. Good choice; let's focus on that.
There's another patch of mud before they can get to that point, though.
"Uh, I guess we have to tell everyone we're doing this.", Pinkie says.
"Yep. Can't sugarcoat it or anything; Mom and Dad must know our true desires and emotions. We made it clear to them we felt betrayed, we can't stop.", Maud responds.
"But I'm afraid we'll hurt their feelings!", Pinkie says. "I mean, we probably already did that; I don't want to do it more!"
Maud again uses the trusty method of touch, planting her front hoof on Pinkie's. A common display in Equestria.
"I'm sure they'll understand, Pinkie. They're already upset with themselves for not telling us. Maybe you are right to be concerned about causing more damage to them, but we can say in our announcement that we love them."
"If we are going to go on this adventure, it is important for them to know."
That last sentence sets things off in Pinkie's mind. "You're right, sis. We have to do this. Let's ask them if they can talk."
Maud nods.
The two adopted sisters retreat back up to the bedroom, allowing Cloudy and Igneous time to clear their sleep-foggy minds and fuel them with breakfast before breaking out this meteor of emotional news to them.
When the time comes, Pinkie and Maud have to usurp the title that Cloudy and Igneous held yesterday. The title "news-breakers."
Pinkie peeks around the corner of the hallway leading into the same livingroom that this whole thing started in, where their adoptive parents are just sitting there, hardly doing anything. Looks like the perfect environment for a heavy discussion.
"I think it's time, Maud, but... I don't want to do this! This is going to hurt them!", Pinkie says.
Maud's work isn't done. She must give Pinkie another reason why this is the right thing to do.
"We're adults, Pinkie.", she says. "We make our own decisions, and sometimes our parents need to know about it."
That was all it took.
"Alright. Let's do it.", Pinkie says.
The two sisters walk up to their parents and begin the process.
"Mom and Dad, we need to tell you something."
Cloudy and Igneous didn't like the sound of this. With what's been going on, a sentence like would naturally be one of the last things you'd like to hear. But they must accept.
"Sure, our daughters. What's going on?"
Pinkie and Maud sit down on the nearby chairs, and Pinkie has to do the same thing as her adoptive father from yesterday.
"Mom and Dad, we have decided to try and meet our biological family."
"It's what we know we should do.", Maud adds.
"But please, don't think that we don't still love you.", Pinkie responds. "We do, a lot..."
As Pinkie speaks that sentence, she can't help but go up and hug her adoptive parents while shedding tears in the process.
"Aww, we love you too, Pinkie.", Cloudy says. "Adoption will never change that."
"DNA doesn't determine your family.", Igneous says.
"And we respect your decision.", Cloudy says. "We understand if you want to meet your other parents. It's perfectly natural."
Pinkie continues to hug, and Maud smiles in her chair.
"Things don't turn out as bad as they seem when the emotions are still fresh.", Maud says. "Day 2 was bound to be different from Day 1."
That is true.
It's also the passage of time that has assisted the sisters in clearing out the fog on the path. Had the plan for this trip been made yesterday, they may not have thought to look for Twilight as a source for the info they're after.
Only thing is... now there's another pony who will require the news-break to be delivered to her. This adoption thing had only been discussed between the Pies themselves at their isolated Rockville home, so now there's another piece of this, which Pinkie notices the presence of as she seemingly gives the green light to this trip.
"Alright! Let's go and see Twilight!", Pinkie says, pointing to the door with grinning teeth... and then planting it back down with a frown.
Yep. There's the unplanned red light.
"But... but Twilight is one of my friends!", Pinkie says. "She doesn't know about this yet, and I think it will break her heart too!"
For the nth consecutive time, Maud knows what to do.
"It is hard, Pinkie. But we've already done this. We can do it again.", she says.
"Let's just go and do it. We'll have to wait and see what happens."
And Pinkie does.
"Thanks sis. You're always my trusted helper."
They both set out and hop on the morning train from Rockville to Ponyville, moving themselves to a long session with Twilight involving another round of questions, emotions, etc; the harsh likeness of late-discovery adoption.
But then, while they were focusing on this topic on the train... something weird happens.
Pinkie's cutie mark turns on its glow, and for her, there's zero need to wonder what's going on. That is, until what should be going on gets impeded.
"Oh, The Cutie Map is calling me! I have a task to do, which means..."
...Yep.
Her mouth hangs down, then her head follows suit. This particular Cutie Map call is an anamoly in that it leads Pinkie to believe she won't be moving forward with her plans today. As if that weren't enough, she has to let the pony tagging along with those plans down.
"Maud, I have something bad to tell you. I'm being called by The Cutie Map, which means we can't go find our biological mother tod..."
Maud isn't listening.
That's because she's staring down at her flank and holding her clothing up. Why? Because... her cutie mark is also glowing!
"Wha-wha-what?", Pinkie Pie yelps as she looks down in direction with Maud. "You're being called by The Cutie Map? But... but you're not one of us who hold the Elements of Harmony!"
"I know.", Maud says, with her tone of voice seeing a rare turn-up to higher volume. "I'm as shocked as you."
"Well! I guess this gives us more reason to see Twilight then!", Pinkie says.
Totally. Good thing they were already on the train headed towards the correct city. In any case, though, both sisters had the seemingly inevitable done to them; another jaw-dropper event. This saga's status should be updated from "crazy" to "insane."
They arrive at Twilight's castle, and just go in for it. They're tired of delaying the inevitable.
Or, seemingly inevitable, as that pre-labeled status gets ripped away.
"Pinkie! Maud! Awesome to see you came!", Twilight squeals, sprinting out of the castle doors. "Yes, I know, it makes no sense that Maud, someone who isn't registered to the Cutie Map, is being called to it! But don't worry; I found something in a book about it!"
...Wow! Now that's a lift off the shoulders!
"Oh, you did? Eee! That's so awesome, Twilight!", Pinkie exclaims, hopping up and down "What does it say?"
"It says that ponies outside of the primary group can be called to the map if there is a presence of magic strong enough. It's really rare, but it does happen."
"So Maud, what's happening with you is that there is something going on that's far too important for you not be called. It's so impactful on your life that it overrides the restrictions."
Wow. What could that be?
Could it be...
!
At this point, Pinkie and Maud completely forget to even tell Twilight what they had come for. All that's on their mind now is the possibility that what the map was calling them for was to direct them to the location of their biological parents!
"Alright, so where do we go?", Pinkie asks, fully believing in this.
"The map says you should go to this place called the "Temple of Portals.", Twilight responds. "Apparently, what you're looking for is in an alternate universe."
"But here's the thing; unlike in most cases, I can't tell what exactly the map is calling you towards. For some reason I can't find anything about, the purpose of the trip is blocked off. You'll just have to see when you get there."
That's enough for the sisters. They think it's more likely than not that the map is directing them towards their desired location.
"Thanks so much, Twilight!", Pinkie says. "Off we go!"
Off they go indeed. They take their trip to this temple, ready to take the chance.
It's a long journey. They have to hike across valleys, climb across mountains, and hike through the forest, exposing their muscles to an absolutely grinding haul.
At least they're able to stray their minds away from the physical roughness by conversing about what kinds of things they should do when they meet their bio parents. Exciting distraction.
That word "distraction", though; it's about to become relevant for a second time... negatively.
At sunset time, when the sisters have reached a dark forest, Pinkie is so physically tuckered out that she lets her legs collapse, laying on the grass.
"I can't go any further, Maud. We have to stop and sleep.", Pinkie says.
Maud would normally be one to say "But we have no choice but to keep going. We can't sleep in the middle of a forest. We don't even know where we are. It could be dangerous.", and she is preparing this sentence in her mind for a speak, in fact.
However, upon looking to her right, she can reciprocate a common Pinkie technique on Pinkie herself.
"I agree, and it turns out there's a hotel right around the corner. Look at this sign."
The prospect of having a hotel right over there when she's laying on the grass, to be that fortunate, is a possibility wielding enough power for Pinkie to walk on her feet seemingly like normal. She looks at the sign Maud point to, and indeed, the word "hotel" followed by a left arrow and the text "2-minute walk" is there. This perks Pinkie up all right, a lot.
"Let's go!", she says.
Only for that "let's go" to be stopped by another red light.
"Wait a minute, Maud... where is this place?", Pinkie Pie says, concerned. I don't think the map told us to go through a forest."
Maud's eyes snap into an uncharacteristic wide-shoot, as she takes a look around and realizes that no, this place was not in the cards.
"You're right. We veered off the path.", Maud says.
"But let's figure that out tomorrow. There's a hotel nearby, and we're tired."
Pinkie can't help but agree. She's frustrated that they did this to themselves; that they let themselves get so distracted that they'd wander off, and that the temple of portals might now be a further distance away, but she accepts Maud's declaration that the tasks of this day had been accomplished, That dealing with the wander-off was for later.
They're a little scared of entering this hotel due to not knowing where in Equestria they are, but a hotel is a hotel and they desperately need one, so they take the dive.
And, after a very short walk, their location reveals itself, thanks to the reception desk worker greeting them as they walk into the hotel.
"Welcome!", a creature who looks like a pony, but slightly different, says. The front desk worker is a pony with a mane binding itself together under her chin, and some sort of tall red spike where a unicorn's horn would be.
They were in the Kirin village.
Well, good! They had, by random chance, ended up in a place full of friendly creatures! Since they had strayed from their path, the possibility of them walking right into the heart of a timberwolf territory or something like that kept itself in their minds. But it didn't come true.
Although, their Pinkie sense and Maud sense could have easily given them a warning if they had been entering a high-risk area. It has that ability, as Pinkie realizes.
"You know what, I think our Pie-sense bodies would have told us if we were going somewhere dangerous. We were fine all along.", she says to Maud.
In any case, with luck on their side for this part, Pinkie and Maud check into the hotel and make their way into the third-floor room, out of the building that has four floors. The room is coated in a wall of orange paint, then the bedspreads are crimson, then the chairs are constructed and colored by natural wood.
They finally get a chance to wash off all that grime they picked up from their nature adventure, and give their muscles a relief.
As the sky returns to blackness and Pinkie and Maud's bodies and minds finally reap the benefits of not being on that both physical and emotional hike that was today, Pinkie's mind lightbulbs one of, in her view, one of the most awesome ways to unwind, especially on a day like this.
No matter how much her mind was swirling with the adoption, physical exhaustion from today, or even the added stress of having wandered off the path, she knows this technique has proven itself in putting all worries on hold. She's used it for such before and had it work.
"Hey Maud, I think I know what we should do tonight after this long day. We should cuddle."
Maud's face changes from her usual to a smile, indicating she's made her decision, which is somewhat uncharacteristic of Maud. She welcomed hugs from her sister, but overall wasn't touchy-feely, much like Limestone and Marble.
However, the absolute craziness that has been this whole thing so far continues to unfold exceptions.
"That sounds great, Pinkie."
"Eeee!", Pinkie responds. "Cuddle time with my sis!"
Maud climbs under the dark crimson bedspread and invites Pinkie in to get as close to her as physically possible.
Pinkie hops into the right side of the bed, rolls herself under the covers as well, and shuffles her way over to the location of her sister's soft gray fur. Maud then wraps her warm forelegs around Pinkie, hugging her to the point of dissolving away cold (it was currently winter in Equestria) and replacing it with warmth, topped off by helping her relax from the revolving door of strong emotions caused by this saga.
Pinkie feels her body go dreary at the sensation of a tight hug and soft warm fur on her. But before she can sleep, she must reciprocate the action. She slides her left foreleg under Maud and drapes her right foreleg above her side, completing the honeymoon hug position.
Maud feels her eyes widen at the shock of her sister's hug tightness level, but soon finds herself uncharacteristically relaxing from the sensation too. She, like Pinkie, is finding herself loving bathing in the warmth, softness, and love.
"You know what Pinkie, cuddling is better than I thought.", she says.
"Aww, glad you like it!", Pinkie responds. "I figured it was a great thing to do between us tonight!"
"And you were right about that, Pinkie.", Maud says.
Powered by the magic of cuddles, they drift off to sleep. Much better ending to the day than before.
Pinkie and Maud's cuddly night was so. The full night through, they laid in the honeymoon hug position, spending deep sleep in embrace with each other. Upon waking up and realizing this, Pinkie mutters out, in tiredness but not enough to suppress this thought, "That felt soooo good..."
Maud, for her part, was being attacked by embarrassment and the "uncharacteristic" label, but in reality, she finds herself thinking the same thing. She doesn't want to tell Pinkie yet, but now she's interested in doing more cuddling. Possibly with ponies other than Pinkie.
Pinkie jumps out of bed, partially because of excitement about hopefully finding their biological parents today, but also for a hotel special.
"You know what's a good thing about being in hotels? Free breakfast!", she exclaims to her sister.
Maud smiles. "That sounds wonderful, Pinkie. Let's go ahead down there."
They open their door from the room to the beautiful hotel halls; this place sure knew how to be a good hotel. At the bottom floor, as opposed to in the night, the place was vibrant with Kirin and some other species too, including one of Pinkie and Maud's kind.
"Huh. Based on what we saw last night, I thought we were like the only ones here.", Pinkie says.
"The nights do portray that", the same front desk worker of yesterday chimed in with. "This village goes to bed early, so the hotel always looks empty in the early night."
Fun fact learned!
The breakfast was as great as it could be, and perfectly accommodating for both ponies. Pinkie was able to dive into her Sugarcube Corner-style breakfast habits of frosted waffles, pastries, and colored cereals all she wanted, whereas Maud was able to keep her contentment with the basics.
As a thank you, the two ponies wanted to tip all the Kirin who worked in this buffet, but wait... the Kirin village uses a different currency than Ponyville! Where are they going to find it?
"I don't think we can tip them. We don't have the money they use.", Maud says.
"Hmm. Well, let's see.", Pinkie says as she runs her hoof through her mane.
"Ah! There we go!" Pinkie finds the perfect amount right there and hands the Kirin the tip.
Yep, Pinkie being Pinkie again. Suddenly, she just has it.
Today though, it was more than that, with everything that's going on. Maud, who, along with Pinkie, had just finished breakfast, remembered what they were abroad for in the first place.
"Neither of us know why you can do such things with your mane.", Maud says. "Would you say we're on a mission to discover that as well?"
Pinkie's thinking of this topic, having been interrupted by the parents thing, finally gets to jump out.
"Oh, you're right! Yeah, why can I do all this crazy stuff? I don't know! Sure would be nice to find out!", she says.
Maud catches herself possibly drifting into a new, shocking topic.
"I could be wrong, but I'm wondering if it's because of our biological parents. They have these powers and passed them down onto us."
"Ooh, you might be right!", Pinkie says. "Well, another reason to go on this adventure more!"
Maud nods.
After their daily showers, Pinkie and Maud set back off into the outlands, following their map-powered cutie marks to this "temple of portals" place.
So another topic has taken up reigns in Pinkie's mind. She does seriously consider the possibility that she and Maud's abilities come from one or both of their biological parents. So then, who could they be?
Well, I know someone who has these abilities too. Discord.
Are my parents... the same species as Discord, maybe?
But we've never seen evidence of any other draconeqqus.
Well, this place is called the temple of portals, so maybe behind one of those portals are other draconequi?
We shall see...
This walking journey wasn't nearly as long as the last one; Pinkie and Maud don't feel tired. Still with much energy in the ponies, their glowing cutie marks rise from their flanks and circle around their destination. That means this is the temple of portals.
It's a somewhat pyramid-shaped temple made out of bricks, and all black in color. And it was large. Very large. There were quite a few rows of windows stacked on top; how many portals did this place have?
Heading inside, this place really was a temple of portals. The first sight to be seen upon entering the doors is a dark black hallway, lined with multi-colored swirling spirals on the sides. In fact, every single portal is a different color. Look around and around, and you will find no repeats.
Pinkie and Maud, having realized that the encirclement is where the Cutie Map guide ceases, and now wondering which portal they must go into, have those thoughts interrupted by a sudden, loud slam-shut of the temple's front doors that made them jump, even Maud. Then, a double-scare happens.
"Hello?", an echoing female voice calls.
Pinkie and Maud have no idea who this is, but the fairly tales their adoptive parents would read to them as children are bringing back their old fears of spirits, and they sure didn't want to upset a potential spirit, so Pinkie responds.
"Um... hi?"
"Hi there.", the voice says. "I am here to tell you what to do in order to get to your destination. I know what you are here for."
What? She knows? This random being they can't see and have never heard of before... has access to their lives, desires, everything?
Pinkie wants to sprint out of this terrifying temple, but it's no use. The doors are firmly sealed. All she can ask, in perpetual fear, is "Ho-o-ow?"
The voice tries to reassure. "Don't be scared. I promise you I am friendly. I am the leading member of our city's new friendship project. And there is a very good reason for me knowing who you are. But I want to wait to tell you until you complete the task I have laid out. Again, I am directing you to your destination."
"First, look on the ground in front of you."
Knowing the personality behind someone who runs a friendship project, and them really, really wanting to accomplish the goal of finding their biological parents, they decide to oblige the voice's instructions, looking down by their front hooves.
Step 1 Go through the ocean blue portal. Location; door #5 on the left of this floor.
"To find the other steps, you will have to go to the location of the current one. I have left all the pages containing the steps in their appropriate places. There are five in total, and once you have collected them all, you will unlock the portal that will transport you to your destination."
They're still wary of this being, whoever it is, but again, the thing about the friendship project, and they really want to see their bio parents. Pinkie and Maud believe the benefits outweigh the risks.
Pinkie stores the first journal page in her mane and walks with her sister to the correct portal. Following the numbers on top of the colored areas, they reach the ocean-colored spiral under the number 5.
Pinkie takes a deep breath. "I guess we're going in, Maud."
Maud lets the sight of this portal, this crazy whirl she's about to jump right into, fully cement its status in her mind. But again, it's part of their goal.
"Yep. Let's do it.", Maud says.
The sisters bring out their bravery and take the leap of faith right into that portal. The anticipation of finding out where the heck they're going runs through their minds as they ride through the blue area.
The ponies reach to the other side of the sea of blue, and the portal spits them out... literally spits. It doesn't slide them onto the ground, but throws them in the air. Which they didn't expect.
"Ouch. I think we need to practice our landings.", Pinkie says after she smacks into a hard surface.
This hard surface Pinkie speaks of, her and Maud's landing point, is solid ground covered in grass; nowhere near removed from what they're used to.
But little did they know, they had gotten lucky in that regard.
As soon as they stir from the portal dizziness and look up... it would be an understatement to say they cannot believe their eyes. Their minds take well over a literal minute to register the nature of this sight and the real reality of it.
What stands before them is an endless sea of blue, with a barrage ponies rowing boats across it, and buildings whose first floor windows are only half visible, their front doors useless.
At a further glance reveals grocery store ponies struggling to keep their food dry thanks to boat-generated waves shoving splashes at their stands, and the customers on those bloats floating away while trying to hand the cashier the money.
It looks like something you'd see in a horror sci-fi movie.
"Goodness! What in the universe is this place? Living here doesn't look fun at all!", Pinkie exclaims in sympathetic sadness for the town's residents.
For Maud's part, what came to her notice is that it looked... a lot like Ponyville! A very flooded Ponyville, of course, but the building architecture is definitely identical, just for one thing! The ponies come in a much smaller color range, displaying mostly shades of blue, brown, and gray, and even the more colorful ones look much more washed out, but they appeared to be the same species.
"This seems to be a different universe; a universe where Ponyville has been utterly washed out. Both literally and metaphorically.", Maud says.
"...Yeah.", Pinkie says, continuing her mood.
As Pinkie vocalizes her mix of shock and sympathy, a town local happens to overhear her while rowing close to the elevated island of ground Pinkie and Maud are remaining dry on, and here comes possibly an explanation.
"Yeah is right. I can't believe this had to happen to us.", a gray stallion with a black mane says, rowing his boat.
"Well... what did happen?", Pinkie asks.
The local had a mountain of things to be confused about; he had zero idea who these two mares in front of him were or how they could be of no knowledge about the atrocity that has plagued his world, but he cuts them a piece of slack and just answers the question.
"So you see... this world got hit hard by climate change.", he says. "The star this planet orbits around kept getting hotter and hotter... to the point that the sea levels rose. A lot. We could not find a way to stop them, and before we knew it, we now live in a permanent flood."
Permanent flood. If that wasn't ever horror movie material. And it's right here, in front of Pinkie and Maud's actual eyes.
"All of what you're seeing here; we've had better days. There used to be a visible ground right below us... that we walked on. You didn't have to enter a building by climbing into a window. You didn't have to worry about your freshly-baked bread getting soaked."
"I advise any creature still having access to the ground... please, do not take it for granted. You won't know what you've lost until you've already lost it. I would know."
Hearing this story, Pinkie was close to adding more fluid to the flood with tears. The pain in this stallion's voice... unbearable. His world really has been ruined. All because of a natural astronomical phenomenon. They had this happen to them by sheer unluckiness of being placed in the orbit of the wrong star, at the wrong time, in the wrong place. Three pieces of dumb bad luck.
There's a multitude of things Pinkie wants to do for this world. She wants to tag along with this hurt stallion on his boat and try to happy-talk to him some. She's Pinkie, after all; a big, long mission to help the residents of the flooded world find happiness in their situation is calling out to her.
But she can't jump in... she's already on another big mission.
(sigh) As if this whole saga in Pinkie's life wasn't sad enough.
"I appreciate your sympathy for me.", the stallion says. "I am assuming you two are not from here?"
"We aren't.", Maud says. "In fact, my sense is telling me this is an alternate universe from where we come from. Our city looks just like here, except not flooded and with much more color."
Suddenly, after Maud simply offers her observations, it's like the stallion's mood flips all the way on its head.
"Wait... what? An alternate universe? My word, ladies, that's something I've been studying and looking for my whole life! I am the head of a science group that dedicates to looking for alternate universes, as well as other strange, not-yet-proven galactic phenomena. We check for seemingly impossible things that might actually be possible."
"Based on many, upon many things, such as occasional appearances of unusually-colored stars, mysterious magic popping up, and random bursts of happiness here on this world, I've always been highly inclined to believe that somewhere out there, there is at least one Equestria more prosperous than this."
"Wait... this is Equestria?", Pinkie says.
"That's what we call it here!", the stallion responds. "And I don't see any way you two are not the same species as me."
"I would agree with that.", Maud says. "We look very much alike."
"Do you two, by any chance, also come from an "Equestria?", the stallion asks.
"We do!", Pinkie says. "Only... our Equestria is a lot more happy."
The stallion pumps up his hooves in a victory. "Ooh, yes! I think I have proof of my suspicions!", he says. "Would you two mind coming to my building so we can perform assessments on you and hopefully prove that alternate Equestrias exist?"
And here's where the sisters must break their own hearts.
Pinkie sure wouldn't mind being the subject of an experiment. Maud is a slightly different story, but that's not really important right now, as, relevant to what we previously discussed, they have different business to take care of.
"Well, we would, but... we're actually here because we were directed here by a mysterious voice that's telling us to pick up these notes and go through the portal it says.", Pinkie says.
"We came here from a 'temple of portals.'", Maud says. "So yes, I can say that alternate universes definitely exist."
"But, yep, like my sister said, we're on an adventure of our own. I'm sorry."
The stallion, shocked by disappointment, wanted to try and convince Pinkie and Maud to wander off from their adventure and go with him, but ultimately, he doesn't have the heart. He's gone through too much pain to risk putting others through it.
"Oh... okay. You do that.", he says. "But,", he starts to sense victory again, "would you mind coming back here when you get the chance? I mean, now that you've told me about this 'temple of portals', you must be able to come back, right?"
"Oh, absolutely we'll come back! It hurts to leave you guys; I want to help so bad!", Pinkie exclaims, struggling to keep herself from leaping over to the local's boat.
Maud smiles. "We know that the portals in the temple are permanent, so yes, we will come back. We will do all we can to help you in this drenched world."
"Oh, thank you so much!", the stallion says. "Man, a day like this doesn't come often, and it sure feels good in this world when you do finally hit the occasional burst of happiness!"
Pinkie lets out a squee at this. That's what she loves to hear!
"Before you go, can I get your names?", the stallion asks, bringing out a note and pen.
"I'm Pinkie Pie, and this is my sister Maud Pie.", Pinkie says.
"Pinkie Pie and Maud Pie... there we go.", the stallion says, storing the paper and pen into his boat. "Good thing the note didn't get splashed this time."
"Oh yeah, and I should give you my name too. I'm known as 'Galaxy Glitch.' Referring to how I look for glitches in and around galaxies."
"Well, I'll see you around. I will be waiting, and I hope the rest of this world can be improved by whatever you two have to offer. You seem like sweet little ponies who have goals to make others happy; that's just what we need here."
Even completely outside of her native universe, Pinkie's element never ceased to have effect.
"Good luck on your adventure!", Galaxy Glitch says, rowing away.
Now it's time for Pinkie and Maud to get back to business.
"Whew! That was sure an experience, wasn't it?", Pinkie says.
"Totally. I have to try and keep the other stuff out, or else I'll pass out from emotional overload.", Maud says.
Pinkie both giggles and starts to feel even more emotion; more of a relic from what she believes she is seeing from last night with the cuddles. Maud made a joke?! That sounds unpossible!
"Anyway though", she finally moves back to the track with, "There's a note hanging on this tree. It must be Step 2."
Maud picks off the note from the tree; indeed it is.
Step 2
After you release a note from its base, the portal you came from will reappear in 15 seconds. Go back through, and once you return to the temple, go through the red portal that is number 145, found on the second floor of the back room.
No more than a split-second after the sisters finish reading that, the ocean-blue portal spawned out right in front of them, exactly as they remembered it.
It hurt to leave the dystopian waterworld that desperately needs help, but Pinkie and Maud are dealing with their own emotional baggage, and that was where they were at first, so they jump backwards-bound into the blue.
They land their hooves back onto the ground they came from, and now it's time for them to undergo the second step of this mysterious voice's quest.
"So the note says we need to go to the back room, which, it must be right over there, since this has to be the front room.", Pinkie says, pointing down the hall to a seemingly completely black area of the temple behind a doorless, round-top entry way.
"Yep. And then we need to go upstairs, to temple number 145, which is red.", Maud continues.
"Let's go!", Pinkie says.
The room behind the starting point of their portal journey did not turn out to be pitch-black, but it was significantly darker than the previous room. The creepy change gave Pinkie a ghostly feeling that whatever alternate universes lie behind these back-room portals were even scarier. And that's not a good prospect for her to be faced with, when she was just exposed to a world destroyed by climate change.
Pinkie and Maud find a corner-placed, enclosed, circling staircase in the darker temple room, where they take themselves up to the rectangular loft along the wall that houses the higher row of portals. The portals are numbered by left-to-right, bottom-to-top, and the first room went up to 80. This room appeared to be the same size as the last, so portal 145 must be on the top right.
Looking over in that direction, the ponies can see a bright red light shining from that exact area, so they head over. And their eyes were correct. In front of them stood the red swirl with "#145" engraved on a gold plaque above.
"Alright, so this is the portal. Let's go in.", Maud says.
Maud and her sister now having prior experience with portals, they're not afraid to jump in this time, and they remember to optimally position their landing on their way out.
So, what's behind portal 145? Well, Pinkie and Maud are about to find out by the method of direct exposure to the world that awaits them.
After successfully landing on their hooves and giving each other a high-hoof for the accomplishment, they give their surroundings a first look, and notice they had landed by a large tree with dark-green leaves; a tree that, as they quickly found out, is just one of many.
They were in a forest.
But, upon suddenly hearing a noise that sounded like nothing short of a deep-throated growl, they knew this was not just any old forest.
This is further confirmed when, upon looking in front of them, they see ponies, but ponies that look... different. In a wide variety of different, but overall different from the ponies they know.
There's one pony who has long fangs. Another one has a mane and tail made of fire. One looks like a hybrid of pony and timberwolf.
Despite their scary appearance, though, Pinkie and Maud's senses didn't signal any danger, nor did they see any. None of the monsters were making an attempt to attack them or anything of the sort. They were just going about their days.
That is, until one local noticed the stand-out ponies and suddenly appeared in front of their eyes with a frightening-sounding greeting.
"Hello. Welcome to Monster Pony Equestria. Hiss...", a pony with a snake tongue and tail, but body of a pony, says.
That's what Pinkie and Maud thought this creature was. But what they didn't know is that Pinkie leaping into her sister's arms again wasn't necessary, which they can infer from the monster's calm behavior. He was wearing a smile, and standing there. Not charging at them in any way, shape or form.
"Uh... hi.", Pinkie says in un-Pinkie like fashion, landing back on the ground. "Why... why aren't you attacking us?"
If the snake pony wasn't ever used to this.
"Oh... We are not those kinds of monsters. We may look and ssound scary, and I will say that we engage in a lot of violent sportsss... but we are friendly. We even have our own Elements of Harmony in this universssse..."
Another Elements of Harmony? Well, that's another long-lasting theory confirmed. Pinkie would love to explore more of these alternate universes and see how many of them also have Elements of Harmony.
But, like helping the flooded Equestria, it would have to wait until later.
"Wow, that's awesome! We come from a place with Elements of Harmony as well.", Pinkie says. "Nice to meet you, too!" She shakes the snake pony's hoof.
"Same. You really are friendly.", Maud continues.
She then re-tells the relevant story.
"What we're here for is that we're on a big journey, and a mysterious voice from a temple of portals we just came from laid out steps for us, in that we have to go to one alternate universe to find a paper note that contains the next step, for which universe to go to next."
"Ooh, sssounds interesssting! Hiss...", the snake pony says. "Good luck on your journey."
"And I think I can help you. You say you are looking for a paper note; I just saw one close to that river over there."
The snake pony points to a vibrantly blue river under a sky-covering cluster of big trees located to the east of where Pinkie and Maud are standing; a river they hadn't noticed before.
"Oh, really? You saw one just over there? Thanks so much!", Pinkie exclaims. "Where do we find it?"
"It is in a glass bottle and floating on a raft. You can't see it right now as the river moved it away.", the snake pony responds. "But do not worry; it is a very short river that loops back around, so the note will soon be back for you to pick up. Hisss..."
Pinkie and Maud look at each other. A short river that doesn't connect to an ocean? Count them lucky on that!
"Alright! Let's go over there then! Thanks so much for the help!", Pinkie beams.
"Hiss... no problem, little ponies. You seem very nice, and you, the gray one, talked about this 'temple of portals', so if you want to come back here sometime, you would be welcome."
"I think we will come back someday! So long!", Pinkie says, as the snake pony slithers back into his burrow.
"Alright. Let's go to that river.", Maud says.
They walk over a few meters east of their starting tree through a pathway, where the very clean-looking creek can be found, very much under an even darker shade of trees than before. This place was a jungle if there ever was one.
"Now we just wait for the raft!", Pinkie says.
Not many minutes of waiting were necessary; the snake pony was right about the river being short in length and looping back around, as the brown wooden raft containing nothing on it except a clear glass bottle holding a paper note that perfectly resembles the previous notes; this has to be what they are looking for.
Pinkie grabs the bottle, and being Pinkie, needs hardly any effort to pop the cork off. She turns the bottle upside down to free the note, and unrolls it.
Step 3
Go through the door at the end of the room this red portal was in, take a left down that hall, then left again into a new room. Once in that room, go upstairs, and search for temple 235, which is yellow.
"Alright! Temple 235, yellow!", Pinkie says. "Back we go!"
With the red portal having been respawned by the magic of collecting the next note, they wave goodbye to Monster Pony Equestria and yet again return to the temple.
They're back, and this time, they've got a river of thoughts running through their mind.
"Maud, I'm really happy all these unfamiliar creatures in these unfamiliar universes we're encountering and had never heard of before are all so friendly!", Pinkie says.
"I know.", Maud says. "You would think that with all these alternates, there has to, somewhere in this temple, be an Equestria where everypony lives in disharmony."
"Yikes! I sure hope we don't have to go there!", Pinkie responds.
Maud has an idea of what's going on that may support the cautious optimism that led to them even deciding to go to these places at all.
"Maybe whoever was talking to us intentionally chose only nice universes. I mean, not nice as in it's a good place to live, we went to that flooded Equestria, but nice as in the creatures are peaceful."
"Oh yeah, maybe you're right!", Pinkie says. "And so far, it's only gotten better, even! Unlike the flooded Equestria, where we went to first, Monster Pony Equestria actually looks like a good place to live!"
"It sure does. Because they have a usable ground there.", Maud says.
Pinkie giggles at Maud's uncharacteristic humor again, but that session got quickly interrupted by the deep thinking that she now spearheaded out of Maud's comment.
I think Maud is right. If this mysterious voice is evil, why isn't she sending us to evil places? With these portals all leading to alternate universes and there being so many of them, well, as Maud said, there have to be portals here that lead to the worst Equestrias imaginable.
But we've been taken to two out of two places that have me wanting to go back and visit them again.
Pinkie's mind wanted to counter this with the idea that the creature behind the voice is tricking them; setting them up for a perfect chance to do something evil by making them think they're safe.
But she then quickly argued against that by the fact that the mystery creature's choice of universe to put that second note in led to Pinkie finding another place where she could use her element. (The flooded Equestria.)
And if this mysterious being knows who she and Maud are, as she told them when they first arrived here, she must know about what Pinkie's personality is. So if this mystery creature was evil, she'd be a fool to take Pinkie to a world that desperately needs help. So Pinkie feels confident that she and Maud are safe.
Pinkie and Maud walked in the temple following the directions during the process of those thoughts, and as a result, they have now made it to the yellow portal 235. Here's time for universe #3; off they go!
Behind the yellow portal, Pinkie and Maud are hit with a surprise when they don't have any need to time their landing right... at all.
They don't even get flung up or anything. They slid right out of the portal in a straight line, and... they're floating. Completely suspended in the air.
And when they look at their surroundings, it's nothing but sky.
A yellow pony, who looks no different in species from them, walks up to offer help, continuing the sweet pattern.
"Hi. You two new to our world? You look confused.", the yellow stallion says.
"Yeah. We totally are.", Pinkie responds. "We're used to... uh, having gravity and such. And... wait, how did you know we came from a different world?"
The stallion lightly giggles. "Good questions, ponies."
"I shall explain.", he continues. "First off, we are Equestria, but we are a zero-gravity Equestria. Everything in this world takes place in the air. Grocery stores, friend meet-ups, schools, jobs, everything.", he says, pointing to examples of each of those four air-suspended things he spoke of.
"As for how I know about all this alternate universe business, I have explored other Equestrias myself. We have a 'temple of portals' on this world, where you can, from one place, access about 250 of them!"
Pinkie and Maud snapped their heads to look at each other faster than you could say "Suspicions confirmed!"
"Temple of portals? We came from one of those places!", Pinkie exclaims. Maud nods, confirming Pinkie's statement.
"That's what I thought.", the zero-gravity stallion responds.
With Pinkie mentioning how they got to this universe that's unfamiliar to them, Maud now must give the backstory for a third time.
"The reason we're here is because we're on a journey, and we were assigned by a hidden voice to go to a couple of different universes of her choice to pick up notes, one in each universe, that will tell us where to go next."
"Ooh. So that must be why there's a paper note moving all by itself over there.", the stallion says, pointing east.
Pinkie and Maud look over; there is indeed a brown paper note there, completely on its own. It's not being manipulated by any visible creature, yet it's still behaving like a crazy bird, flying forward, backward, and sideways.
"I guess you'll have to catch it.", the stallion says.
Pinkie, with her randomness and craziness, doesn't take long to do so. It would also appear that she has zero-gravity movement totally figured out already. She zips over, snags the note, and unrolls it as she floats back to Maud.
Step 4
Simply go a few portals down where you already were, for portal 243. That portal is lime-green in color.
The yellow portal respawned, they say goodbye to Zero-Gravity Equestria, head back into the portal, and once back in the temple, just a few doors down to go straight into the next one.
On the other side of the lime-green portal was an Equestria covered in a vast global ocean, and with any and all land activity taking place on numerous small islands that don't stay in place. They constantly float around, sometimes bumping into each other.
But other than that, it seemed like a really cool, really fun place. It was a tropical world, bathed in sunny warmth, decorated in palm trees, and appropriately featuring a multitude of ponies wearing sunglasses while drinking out of lemon-decorated glasses. Said glasses have little umbrellas in them too, for a classic look.
What an eventful time going to all these universes! Most of them were really neat-looking places filled with friendly ponies; even the residents of the dystopian flooded Equestria were nice. And with Pinkie's efforts, that world could be given help in the not-so-distant future.
Pinkie and Maud especially wanted to stay in this floating-island world, much like how they didn't want to leave the flooded Equestria. This place was totally inviting them to take a tropical vacation. But now is not the time. A resident directs them back onto their path, by pointing at a brown note sitting at the top of a palm tree, and little did Pinkie and Maud know, this was the most notable note (pun intended) out of them all.
Step 5
Congratulations! You have collected all five notes!
Because you have done so, you have now unlocked a new portal. There are normally 250 portals in the entire temple, but now, I have created a portal 251. And for you to find the thing you went on this adventure for, you will need to enter portal 251.
To get there, return to the first room of the temple, stand in the center of the hall, and say this line:
"Temple of portals, temple of portals. Bring us to the gold."
You will then feel a tremor, then a part of the wall will sink into the ground. After the wall sinks, a large flash of golden light can then be seen from where are you standing. Simply follow the light, and behind the golden portal is where your destination lies.
Pinkie and Maud had a long look into each other's eyes, and then Pinkie squeed in accomplishment-generated excitement.
They couldn't compose words at this news. A hidden Portal 251? The portal that will lead to them to the giant thing they started this adventure for? And all they had to do for it to appear was recite a line?
They are off. All they could do was eagerly head back to the place to do so, saying nothing to the residents of Floating Islands Equestria except a classic goodbye.
The sisters run at a high speed back to the point in the temple where they can then give themselves access to their destination. Eee! We're finally gonna find out!, Pinkie thinks to herself.
She and Maud, in absolutely no wasted time, reach the familiar main room they started this portal journey in. They position themselves in the center, and, through high-energy shivering at the prospect of this mystery being solved, perform the command that will hopefully show them this golden portal.
"Temple of portals. Temple of portals. Bring us to the gold.", the sisters say in unison.
Sure enough, a tremor occurs. Pinkie knew it was going to happen, but it suddenly hit at such a strong magnitude that she jumped into Maud's arms anyway. Lol.
The temple shakes more and more, to the point of Pinkie and Maud hearing the loud, rumbling sound of a wall sinking. Exactly what they were looking for.
After the sinking noise reaches its end and the chaos dissipates, they can now see the shining side beams of a golden-colored light.
The mysterious voice was right.
Pinkie and Maud could sense gold behind that gold, just waiting for them to collect it. If the mysterious voice is further telling the truth with what they said in the last note, behind that portal is where Pinkie and Maud will have it revealed to them who their original parents are and where all their randomness and craziness comes from.
Here comes another thought that Pinkie was thinking pre-temple, and now believes she has evidence to support.
"Maud, I was thinking a while ago, do you think it's possible that one or both of our parents might be a draconeqqus, like Discord?", she says. "I mean, as far as we know, they're the only other creatures that can do things like we can, and we're the only ponies who can do them, so..."
"That does make sense.", Maud replies. "The problem with that theory being that all the evidence we have tells us that Discord is the only draconeqqus in existence."
"That's what I was thinking too, but, remember what all we just went through here.", Pinkie says. "The mysterious voice that knows who are are and why we're here, was also then able to just... put all of those notes in four different universes like that. And in case of the zero-gravity one, making them do weird things like flying around on their own."
"And then a creature who has some special kind of oversight over this temple and the places it leads to. I mean, they were able to just create a whole new portal."
"A draconeqqus seems to be the only species that could do such things."
Maud taps her hoof to her chin. Pinkie does have a compelling argument.
And while she's at it, there seems to be something else fishy about this whole thing.
Okay, well, assuming it is a draconeqqus that is behind this, well, we know that they can know about us and why we're here, but the question is... why?
Why exactly, is this creature helping Pinkie and I out? What's her motivation? It doesn't seem like the existence of this temple is very well-known, and I've never heard of anypony else using it, so we are very likely getting special attention somehow.
Maud connects the dots, and her brain leads her to a point where she could gasp as wide as Pinkie does sometimes.
Could the creature with this hidden voice be... our mother?, Maud thinks to herself.
She looks back at the shining golden light behind the darkness.
Well, there's only one way to find out.
Pinkie and Maud, still heavily trembling in anticipation for finally the solving of this deep, life-shaking mystery, walk forward, through the second room again and then back into the connecting hall from before, where that fateful golden light lives.
They arrive at the source of the light; the larger-than-average portal brightly shining in fine gold, where the end of this mystery lies on the other side.
The sisters take the biggest leap of faith they've ever taken, ever, in their lives.
Inside the shiny golden swirl, the fiery anticipation was burning inside Pinkie and Maud like blue fire, as expected. Will we meet our biological parents? Who are they? Why couldn't they keep us?
The golden portal was larger in size, taller and wider, than all the other ones they went through, and it also seems to be longer. Extra length to get them reeling from the anticipation more than otherwise. They just couldn't wait.
Fortunately, as Pinkie was about to explode from it, the portal spit them out, shifting her attention to their landing spot. Portal journey complete, and now, they were finally about to see where this mysterious voice had been directing them to through all of that.
The landscape of this world was very brown, with the color on the ground as well as in the sky. Imagine Mars, but with a darker brown, trees, lots of water, and most importantly, life.
Pinkie and Maud could see multiple creatures belonging to the species Draconeqqus floating and gliding around in the sky, as well as walking on the ground, snapping items into appearance and disappearance.
This could only mean one thing.
"So Discord isn't the only one!", Pinkie exclaims.
"Yep.", Maud replies. "This looks to be a draconeqqus world."
"You two are right about that.", a familiar female voice says. This was the voice Pinkie and Maud had been hearing in the temple. The one that gave them all those steps.
Except this time, there was no echo, and the voice was getting closer and closer as a shadow appeared from the hazy view. The shadow moved further and further out from the haze, and at last, the creature with the voice, the voice that brought them through all the portals, was visible to the sisters.
It was a female draconeqqus, with a white head, orange lower body, red eyes, and yellow horns. She looked very... fiery.
"Hello.", she says. "Yes, I am the voice. That voice that directed you through all those portals. The mysterious voice you were scared of when you first arrived there."
Pinkie and Maud smiled at each other. Now they know who it was!
However, they weren't quite ready to ask the burning question, and they might never be. They decide to drop hints.
"So I see. It is you.", Maud says to the draconeqqus. "Now what I wonder is, why were you speaking to us in the first place, and what compelled you to put us on this adventure?"
"She's been saying it's to find what we're looking for.", Pinkie says. "And what were we looking for?", she says, grinning and squeeing.
The draconeqqus leapt into the air and started twirling across her own body as she becomes the one to close out this case.
"Yes. It is me. I am your original mother.", she says.
Pinkie and Maud looked at each other with the accomplishment and sister love brewing inside, with Pinkie's eyes watering a bit and them pulling each other into a short hug. They met her, mates. They met her.
Oh yeah, and in only two days. The day they first set off for the adventure and stopped at the Kirin village hotel was yesterday.
Their mother then continues the story everypony's been waiting to hear.
"My name is Fire Jewel. This world that I live in is a planet dominated by draconequi, located in a completely logic-less universe. Nothing makes sense here, because it isn't supposed to make sense."
Pinkie and Maud look over and they see nothing they weren't used to from Discord. This world featured things like floating objects, unexplained knowledge, and teleportation. It was just... a lot more widespread.
Fire Jewel's words then clicking with them, though, they look at each other and find a potential problem.
"Wait a minute... if this is a logic-less universe, then is there no specific reason for why you didn't keep us?", Pinkie asks. "Then, is there also no particular reason for why we are ponies? Not the same species as you?"
"Oh... no, there is.", Fire Jewel assures them. "The logic-less aspect does not apply to family matters like that. Only physical things. At least... not as far as you might think."
"Here, come to my house. I'll tell you everything you need to know."
Everything they need to know; sounds pretty good to the sisters. They follow Fire Jewel, whom they now know as their original mother, over to where she lives.
Despite the chaos that was this world, Fire Jewel's house looked... pretty normal. It was a wooden brown structure, furnished with ordinary things like couches, tables, chairs, cabinets, etc. that were not floating or upside-down.
"Huh. This is not at all what I expected your house to be like.", Pinkie says.
"Heh. I do have quite the casual home taste for a draconeqqus.", she responds.
"But anyway... here we go.", she says, sitting down on a chair in front of two chairs for her daughters.
"So... (deep sigh), the reason I could not keep you, is that, to put it simply, this world was too dangerous for you two to live in."
"Explanation: You two were ponies from birth. The reason why... well, he'll be opening the front door in a few seconds."
Pinkie and Maud's heads jerk over to their left, where that front door is, right away. Does this mean their biological father is coming?
The door pops open, and into the house comes a stallion with a bright golden coat, straight gray mane, and golden archery arrow for a cutie mark.
"Hey daughters!", he says. "Long time no see; over 20 years! I haven't seen you since you were foals!"
"Hi, original dad!", Pinkie says, waving and giggling. "So great to meet you, and her! We went through a lot to get here!"
"And you accomplished it, girls.", he says.
"Anyway, my name is Golden Arrow. Husband to Fire Jewel here, professional and championship-winning archer who lives in this world despite being a pony. And why you two are ponies, well... now you know."
They do know... somewhat.
"But then, with one of you a draconeqqus and the other a pony, why are we not hybrids?", Pinkie asks.
"I was wondering the same thing.", Maud adds.
"Well, this is where the logicless aspect of this universe does kind of come into play here... maybe.", Fire Jewel answers. "For some reason, you took more DNA from your father than you did from me. And part of that was being all-pony on the outside."
"On the inside, however, you two wanted to know why it is that you can do all these random things, right?"
"Yes!", Pinkie and Maud exclaimed in unison, nodding their heads rapidly and jumping onto their hooves as this came back to them. This question is what started their whole adventure in the first place! That Pinkie Says session with Limestone and Marble!
Fire Jewel becomes the one to solve another burning mystery. "Well, in the temple, Maud, you had suspected that the voice you were hearing was that of a draconeqqus, because of all these crazy powers that were being used around you."
"And then, Pinkie, you once labeled these abilities as 'draconeqqus-like.'"
"Could that apply to another thing?"
Pinkie and Maud do connect Fire Jewel's dots. They think they know where this is going.
"What she means is, you two are hybrids.", their father Golden Arrow says. "You are mostly pony, from me, but you took enough DNA from your mother, to do draconeqqus things!"
And there it was. The answer to the question from that Pinkie Says session that caused their lives to explode into all of this. Pinkie and Maud are indeed, part draconeequs. One of their parents is one.
"Wow! Now I know!", Pinkie says. "I... can tell my friends where my Pinkie sense comes from! Or why I can play so many instruments at once! Or... anything!"
"Like... I'm not a mystery anymore!"
Maud nods. "It is a big change, sis. It really is."
They looked up to see both of their parents smiling at them. Happy for them that they cracked the mystery.
"As for why you two don't look like hybrids, why you're all pony on the outside, well, we don't know.", Fire Jewel says. "That's just how it worked out. Many have attributed it to the logic-less nature of this universe, but these kinds of things have been known to happen in other worlds. I don't agree with that theory."
"Oh, yeah.", Pinkie says. "Where I come from, my two roommates whom I also work for gave birth to one pegasus and one unicorn while both of them are Earth ponies. It can't be just a thing here."
For sure! That was a more extreme example than this family's case. Like, it is weird that Pinkie and Maud are entirely pony on the outside, but at least there was one pony in the equation! Whereas, the fact that Pumpkin Cake is a unicorn is apparently because of Mr. Cake's... great-great-great-great-great grandfather.
"So, back to why we could not keep you," Fire Jewel continues. "...yes, it was simply too dangerous for you two to live here while being 65% pony and only 35% draconeqqus. Of course, it was enough to give you some of the powers we have, but it was not enough to make you safe in this world. You would have been killed very quickly."
"So... I had to face it. Believe me, I was crippled with grief.", Fire Jewel reveals. "I was devastated that I had to give you two away. I was so excited when I learned that I was pregnant, and even more when I got the ultrasound. I daydreamed every day about raising you. How Golden and I's lives would be with you."
"But alas, it was not safe. There was no dispute; you two needed to be in a pony world."
"I took a long trip around the temple of portals, checking out a bunch of pony-based societies to decide where I was to put you. I eventually chose the Standard Equestria, where I had to find adoptive parents."
"And through my powers, I was able to quickly detect that Cloudy Quartz and Igneous Rock were the ones."
"While I cannot read other creatures' internal thoughts, I am able to detect what somebody wants, and how well-fit they are for a certain think. And I was being told that Cloudy and Igneous not only wanted more children, but would do great at raising you."
"So, through the flood of tears I was crying, I placed you two in baskets right above their front door, with that letter attached."
"The reason I did not stay to meet your adoptive parents and talk things over, like fill out adoption forums and such, was because I was simply too overwhelmed by the grief of having to give you away. I just had to fly away immediately and go cry it out here, in my house."
Golden Arrow walks over and pats his wife on the back for comfort.
"It was very hard.", the father says. "I've been married to Fire here since before you girls were born; while I was not involved in the placement of you at Cloudy and Igneous' house, it was a long journey for the two of us to continue after that loss."
Hearing their own origin story absolutely tore Pinkie and Maud up to shreds. Imagine wanting to raise a child but not being able to. That must have been shattering for their mother.
"Oh... we're sorry, mom and dad.", Pinkie says. "That should never be something any parent has to go through."
Maud nodded in agreement.
"It was awful.", Fire Jewel says, wiping away a tear.
"But I feel good knowing that Cloudy and Igneous did you well.", she continues. "And it's a wonderful experience that you two are here now. I may not have been able to raise you, but now... you're finally with me again."
"Aww.", Pinkie says, wrapping Fire into a hug. "I also feel like this is a reunion, even though I have no memory of you!"
"That's how family works.", Maud says.
Pinkie and her original mother continued to hug, for the "what a moment" day.
The amazing reunion continued on, with the family having dinner as it had drawn close to that time. They continued to engage in conversation, getting to know each other better.
Pinkie did feel like she was with her family, despite having never met her original parents before. And she still had Maud by her side, somepony she knew very well, which was a bonus.
Given that it was near the end of the day, big plans, like going out into their parents' native world, was not in Pinkie and Maud's cards right now. They had to work on getting things like sleeping arrangements set up; they would be staying in their parents' house.
As for going out... will tomorrow be a different story?
The next day was indeed a different story. Fire Jewel and Golden Arrow, Pinkie's original parents, took them on a trip outside into the draconeqqus world, for them to explore.
"I hatched it in my mind to transform you two back to your hybrid appearance, but then I remembered you never had one in the first place, heh.", Fire Jewel says.
Pinkie giggles back. "Yeah, it's still strange that we're all pony on the outside, aren't we? 35% of our DNA sounds like more than enough."
"Randomness at its work.", Golden Arrow says.
The family's first destination in their first outing together was an upside-down coffee shop. Upside-down in terms of everything. Floor on the top, ceiling on the bottom; when you walk in, you get immediately transported up top as the gravity is reversed.
Fire Jewel's powers were able to detect that Pinkie and Maud had enough draconeqqus in them to withstand the reverse gravity, so the coffee shop trip turned out to be nothing more than a nice, warm, tasty experience.
At the stools, Pinkie and Fire began to reveal details about each other, some of those reveals leading to giggling fits. Even Maud was on that train, and she mostly talked careers with Golden Arrow, her dad.
Pinkie and Maud didn't have as many strong, swirling emotions towards this experience as they thought. They could feel a instant connection to their biological parents, despite having never met them before to the extent of their memory. Maybe they didn't feel like their parents, per say; after all, they didn't raise them, but they sure seemed like good friends.
The strongest emotion they did feel was that of things finally making sense. Now that the origin of their randomness was known, and they were face-to-face with the creatures that brought them into this world... the disconnect has been connected. The severed rope and puddle of tears from Day 1 was now a distant memory.
For her part, Pinkie felt incredible satisfaction from that. It was like a gaping hole in her heart had been filled, and that she had reached the end of a long project. Whenever she took in this result of working through all of that adversity, her face locked into a smile.
The family's next stop was to a carnival, where the attraction they dedicated over half of their allotted time to was a game of who can disappear and reappear the most times in 10 seconds.
Pinkie and Maud can't teleport, but they did have their ways of playing the game. Both of them relied on zooming way out of sight, where nopony in the vicinity can find them, then showing up back in the ring like nothing had happened.
They then entered a fun house in the carnival, where the gimmick was that all gravity ceases only within the manually set boundaries. You could be walking normally, then suddenly float up, then be brought back down to walk again. A very logic-less world indeed.
Pretty good first day for the gang! They're having fun together, they're starting to feel a family bond; looks like this meetup of long-lost family members is one of the lucky ones!
At the end of the day, the family having finally returned to their house, Pinkie, while climbing into bed, had her mind gravitate to plans of introduce Fire and Golden to her friends. Bringing them to Ponyville for a meet-up.
It's only been one day, though. Will they be ready for that?, Pinkie thought.
Well, only one way to find out.
Pinkie, laying backside on her guest bed, was fond of her bedroom in this house. It wasn't as festive as her Sugarcube Corner crib, being surrounded by brown walls like the rest of the house, but Pinkie found the dark color of the room to be optimal for relaxation. Her party-colored room was sometimes difficult to fall asleep in.
The next day, Pinkie awoke to breakfast, and, in un-Pinkie-like fashion, didn't start chomping away right from the get-go. She engaged her parents in a sit-down conversation where she asked if they'd be ready to meet her friends.
"Uh... maybe not right now.", Fire Jewel responded. "I'd like to give it one more day to be with you two, at least."
Pinkie was disappointed, but she respected the decision.
"Okay. What do you have in store for us today, then?", she said, regaining her Pinkie-like excitement.
Answer: They basically continued with the pattern of yesterday, roaming around Fire and Golden's home city in the draconeqqus world, stopping at various attractions.
Pinkie's emotions continued twofold, with a new kind of downside. She liked Fire and Golden, was developing a satisfactory bond with them, and had been calling them "mom" and "dad" off-hoof, but, when she tries to imagine Fire cradling her in the newborn wrapping, it sounds odd. Pinkie couldn't let go of the association between her birth and Cloudy and Igneous; the configuration she believed was true for her entire life.
She took to asking Maud how she was feeling in that regard, to Maud's response "I'm just trying to grow a bond with Fire and Golden and not really think about the adoption part." Pinkie nodded in approval of this outlook.
As they traveled around the town, even when doing fun, Pinkie-suited things like going to the carnival (them doing so for the second time), she couldn't take her mind off the prospect of introducing her parents to the girls. That was what she wanted to be doing right there and then.
While on a ride featuring airborne seats flying around in circles, Pinkie gave herself a scare by letting herself know about a possibility of her parents' buffer delay in being comfortable with that meeting lasting for weeks or even months.
What about Sugarcube Corner? Are Mr. and Mrs. Cake getting overwhelmed with the tasks when I'm not there to help them? Goodness; I didn't even go to them before I left and suggest hiring a substitute!
And what about my friends? I'm sure they miss me, and I miss them too.
What about Ponyville, even? How well can that city thrive without the pony of happiness?
Thinking about Ponyville brought Pinkie to a state of looking around the brown landscape and feeling out of place. She was happy she got to meet her biological parents and is spending time with them. But this is not her home.
And she had no timeline for when she could return to Ponyville.
I don't even have a way of knowing, because I don't want to ask my parents when I can leave. That sounds disrespectful and ungrateful.
Pinkie, about to shed a tear, looks at the red plastic chair flying in front of her, where she gets reminded of the trusting pony she can talk to about anything.
Yep, you guessed it. Maud was riding this thing. Which turned Pinkie's mind over to another topic. A big one.
Y'know, Maud seems to be... changing. Like, I would never see her on an amusement park ride. I remember all those times I looked down at her spectating my experience.
And earlier on in this adventure, she cuddled with me.
And hinted at something changing for her.
Pinkie's eyes and brain had become locked on her sister to the point that she didn't even notice the ride slowing down and the chairs lowering.
I wonder... what's going on with her.
After the quartet returned to Fire and Jewel's house, and Pinkie was getting ready for bed, she stepped into the livingroom, where Maud was reading a book, to call her sister in for a talk.
"Hey Maud, can we meet in my bedroom for a bit? There's something I need your help with."
Maud nodded and set down the book, hopping upstairs (yes, hopping, not walking), and closing the door to Pinkie's bedroom.
"You'll always have my help. What's up, sis?"
Pinkie sighed. "It's pretty heavy. I realized today that as fun as this trip has been, I can't stay here forever. Ponyville is where I belong and I'm starting to want back. Not right now, but it's progressing."
"But I don't want to tell my parents that. It just sounds... not right. Like I'm not being grateful for what they've given to me."
Maud walked up and placed a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. "No creature will expect you to be on vacation forever, sis." Pinkie says. "Mom and Dad know this is not our home; they will let us go back."
Pinkie gets convinced here, but then remembers the other problem.
"But then... I really want them to meet my friends. And it might take a really long time for them to feel comfortable with that."
"If I want to go back home before they're ready, then that creates a confusing timeline of events. Like... my head spins."
Maud kept her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.
"Our mom is a draconeqqus. It wouldn't be hard for her to travel between universes, and she could bring Golden along too."
"Say, we go home, they come and meet our friends, then they go back home and we stay."
"But what if we want to go back with them?"
"Then we do. We can go back again."
"It's not worth it to stress over the future, sis. When it comes to that point, it will all look much more straightforward."
Pinkie did register Maud's words and gave her a hug. "You're the best, sis.", she says.
"Always happy to help."
The hug eased off, and Pinkie wanted to ask Maud if there was something changing about her, but she felt that question would be better suited for later. She wanted to wait for more signs of change to show.
"Well, I guess it's off to bed now. See you tomorrow, sis.", Pinkie says.
"See you then.", Maud responded, walking out the door.
Fire, after a train ride packed to the brim with emotional anticipation, and perfect length for dwelling on that anticipation, with embarrassing shivering involved, takes a step of her life onto the dock of the Ponyville Train Station, where the ones, the six multi-colored mares, behold. Standing and staring right at her and her husband.
"Hi, Fire Jewel and Golden Arrow! Nice to meet you!", Twilight says with a wave.
"You too, friend of Pinkie's!", Fire Jewel says, shaking a hoof with her. And you would be..."
"I'm Twilight, and this is Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.", she said as each friend performed a signature greeting as she sounded off their names. Fluttershy flapped, Rarity smiled, Applejack tipped her hat, and Rainbow Dash... was amused.
"Hah! I still can't believe Pinkie Pie was adopted!", Rainbow Dash says.
Twilight stares at Dash with a grunt, but Fire brushes it off and says "Well, I'm sure Pinkie couldn't believe it either."
Pinkie doesn't respond with any words. Fire decides to just move things along.
"So, Twilight and Co., where should we go?", she says, taking in sights of the grassy-green and blue-skied landscape. Much unlike the brown dirt look of her home.
"I reckon a meetin' at Twilight's house.", Applejack suggests. "That'd give us a place to ask questions and stuff without it gettin' too embarrassin' in public or bringin' the news frenzy out."
Fire was saying "Aww" inside. She loved Applejack's accent.
Twilight doesn't comment about the news frenzy thing, but agrees on her castle as the destination. "I mean, it is the Castle of Friendship.", she said.
Fire's heart warmed. "It's so good to know that this place is so caring about friendship that we literally have a princess and a castle for it."
"You don't have that on your world?", Twilight asks inquistively, her princess of friendship instincts activating.
"Sadly, we don't.", Fire Jewel responds. "Draconequi don't really see the beauty in friendship the way that you ponies do. I have been trying to change that; I'm the head of an organization in my town dedicated to teaching our species about the magic of friendship."
"And I bet you could help with that, Twilight.", Fire suggests, sensing a dream coming along. "If you want to go to my world and such."
"I would like to someday."
Fire loves the imagined scene. Her and the Princess of Friendship sitting down in one of her convention meetings for Twilight to give a lecture about friendship to her neighbors who don't really get it. How awesome would that be.
But for now, she made her way to Twilight's castle, along with her daughters Pinkie and Maud and their friends. She looked forward to getting to know them better and to explain the adoption situation.
...
"So, you're saying you gave away Pinkie and Maud because the world they were born in was too dangerous for them.", Rainbow Dash made sure.
"That is correct.", Fire responds, taking herself back to that moment. "I knew it was what was best for them, but oh boy, was it awful. I cried my eyes out that night."
"Well, why didn't you just move here along with them?", Rainbow asks.
"Draconequi were very not welcome in this world when Pinkie and Maud were born. Discord was trapped in his statue form and everypony was super wary of our species."
"I had to make it as quick as possible and go in the dead of night to drop Pinkie and Maud off at their adoptive house, so nopony would notice what creature I was."
"Plus, I didn't think it would be a very good idea for me to live here anyway. Draconequi feed off of chaos, and I didn't want to mess up your peaceful world. I mean, you went so far as to banish Discord into a stone for a reason."
The ponies remain completely silent, Fire thinking they don't know how to respond. She understands that; this was quite the heap of info to process, and she was reminding them of actions they took... that just so happened to play a major role in this life-shaking event for Fire.
"Well, I'm sorry that had to happen to you, Fire Jewel. And to you, Golden Arrow.", Twilight says sympathetically.
"Thank you.", Golden Arrow says. "You all seem so nice."
"And please let it be known that Maud and Pinkie Pie have turned out spectacular in this world.", Rarity adds. "They are happy here, they see Equestria as their home, and the parents you chose for them raised them well."
Fire smiled warmly at the hug. Rarity's words did strike her well.
Honestly, Fire really was happy for her daughters. She felt good that the giveaway ended up a success in terms of quality of life for them.
And now, with this meeting having taken place, she doesn't feel like she has to worry about how she could have made things work out somehow, or that maybe she didn't have to spend so much time away from her daughters. What's done is done, they've had a good life in Fire's chosen destination, and she did have them back now.
...
The eyes have opened.
Whoa! What was that dream?!, Fire thought excitedly, hoping she saw what she think she saw.
Yeah. I remember... I was with Pinkie and Maud's friends... in the castle home of one of them. I explained why I couldn't keep my daughters, and why I also didn't move to Equ...
Shoot!
Fire realizes she's forgotten an important detail. An easily ask-able question, when explaining everything to Pinkie and Maud. She never said why she didn't tag along with them to Equestria. Why she had to split back to the draconeqqus world.
I sure hope they're not wondering about that in their heads..., she thinks, as she tries to lay her head back down to finish out the night, with all this jittery motivation to do a certain something.
Pinkie had stuck the landing onto the below ground, and was waiting for Maud to join her.
"You ready, Maud? For the big, final jump?!", Pinkie shouts.
"I'm... ready!", Maud responds as she pairs the "ready" with the plunge from her last bounce into the inflatable pillow, featuring... wow, how many front flips can she do?!
Landing made perfectly on her hooves, and Maud was up for some more fun.
"Want to go to the hide-and-seek house of mirrors?"
"Yeah!", Pinkie exclaimed. "Let's go!"
Pinkie bounced up in the mirror house's direction, in her usual bouncy self, but later, says "Huh?" when she sees a moving patch of gray out the corner of her eye.
Turning her head to the right, she notices the smiling Maud running along with her, at full catch-up speed.
"Yep. You're seeing it, Pinkie. I'm running now. Race you to the house of mirrors!", Maud says as she speeds up and races in front of Pinkie.
Pinkie instantly had to kick into overdrive mode while she was already at confusion mode. Maud was racing her?
Pinkie uses her now-known-to-be draconeqqus powers and zips to the mirror house at the speed of Rainbow Dash, leaving a pegasus trail behind. She won the race, but not by much, with Maud's last runs being right in her view as Pinkie panted from the exercise.
"Good race. We should keep doing those.", Maud says, high-hoofing Pinkie.
Okay, there was no dispute. Something was really off about Maud here.
...
Pinkie, while in Maud's (Fire Jewel house) bedroom preparing for a cuddly night with her sister, finally musters up the courage to ask her what's going on, feeling like it was necessary before going into something so intimate.
"Maud, I've been thinking..." Pinkie was about to trail off, but snapped herself in and cut to the chase. "Have you been changing? By any chance? Like, you seem a lot more smiley... and energetic... and silly..."
Maud was still shameless. She walked right on over to Pinkie with a smile, looking into her eyes, and did the hoof-on-shoulder thing again.
"To be frank with you, Pinkie, I have changed!", Maud says. "I've decided to let loose and be shameless a little."
"You know what spawned it? This adventure with you. While the circumstances are stressful, the fact that I got to spend so much time with you, on an event that affects us so deeply... with an adventure, and uncertainty... that made me start to let go."
...Wow.
"So, you can start doing things like... playing with me?", Pinkie asks. "Doing silly, funny things with me?"
"That's just what we were doing today, Pinkie Pie!", Maud says, still looking into her eyes.
"You're the best, sis.", Pinkie says as she wraps Maud into a teary, warm hug.
"You're the best too.", Maud responds, petting Pinkie's shoulder. "Now, what do you say we take this hug into bed?"
"I say let's do it!",Pinkie says, as she dives onto the mattress while still holding Maud in her grasp.
Maud, in her newfounded fashion, giggled at Pinkie's random explosiveness. She then hugged her sister tighter, symbolizing the perfect result of this whole saga. Sibling love.
"I love you!", Pinkie said, starting to tear up again.
...
Pinkie wakes up feeling a patch of wetness at the bottom of her eyes, as she remembers the dream.
Whoa, did I actually cry there? Wow.
She did, and she sees no reason why not to have done so.
That moment..., her eyes start wetting again ...that was beautiful!
Maud told me that yes, she had changed, and then she cuddled with me, after I held her on my dive into bed... hehe.
And the thing is... she's displayed the same behavior in real life. Or at least, it seems like she's progressing to it.
Pinkie can sense the looming presence of, literally, a dream come true.
Fire and Pinkie both encounter each other as they stir from sleep mode and walk downstairs into the living room. They both have a jolt at who's in front of them, knowing what's on their plate right now.
Do I tell her?, Fire thinks. About the dream?
Well, she did say it's something she wants to do...
"Pinkie, I had a dream last night.", Fire begins with. "It was a dream that depicted me meeting your friends from Ponyville and having a great time."
Unsurprisingly, Pinkie bounces on her hooves in excitement, before Fire could say more. "Ooh! How did it go?!", she asks.
"Uh... it went very well, according to the dream. It depicted me having a lot of fun with the meeting, and, uh..." Fire couldn't understand why, but she was hesitant to reveal what the dream gave to her.
"What is it, mom?"
Fire sighs and goes in for the gusto again. "Now I'm interested in meeting your friends in real life."
Pinkie gasps, charges up with the tremors, then bounces around the room in squeals.
"Yippee! Oh, I sowant to tell everyone! But they might be asleep!", Pinkie says, holding Fire in her grasp and giving her a shake.
Fire giggles at her daughter's antics. "Well, they'll wake up eventually.", she says, sitting down in her chair.
Golden Arrow and Maud did wake up eventually, and after they got told about Fire's dream, they all agreed today would be the day. Maud was excited, Golden Arrow a little skeptical, but after being unable to think of many other ways they could continue doing things in this world, he agreed to the trip.
Pinkie got so deeply immersed into the excitement and packing for the trip that she totally forgot to inquire with Maud about the topic from her dream last night.
Hold up, how is this travel going to work? The family members are in a completely different universe from the Standard Equestria, where Pinkie's friends are located. Do they need to go all the way to this world's temple of portals? Does that temple even exist?
Well, yes and yes, but there is a catch.
"Don't worry everyone, this won't be a long, treacherous journey like you two had, Pinkie and Maud.", Fire assured. "I know of a train in this country that will drive to the temple of portals and drop anyone off there."
Pinkie and Maud high-hoof each other. Lucky!
"The thing is, the temple is quite a popular destination in this world.", Fire continues. "Us draconequi love exploring alternate universes. It's not like most worlds where the temple is a deserted, little-known place."
"That's exactly what it is in our world.", Maud says. "It's way, way, out in the middle of nowhere and there are almost no books about it."
"Well, you're in luck then.", Fire said as they stepped off the dock and boarded the train. The train that sounded off with the conductor's announcement: "Next stop, the temple of portals!"
They all smiled. Let's get this going!
Upon reaching the other side of the ride, Pinkie and Maud take sight of the draconeqqus-world temple that looks... exactly like the one they went to. Huh. Yep, it is the same tall, wide, block-y black pyramid.
Heading inside the door... same story. The exact sight from before, the same big, black hall lined with the same row of portals in the same colors, is where Pinkie and Maud are standing.
"Wow. It looks exactly like the one I know.", Pinkie says in disbelief.
"It should.", Fire noted. "The collection of gateways to other universes does share its appearance with every world it's connected to."
"Interesting! And does it also share the access points?", Pinkie asks.
"...For the most part.", Fire responds. "For every universe, there are some other universes that are blocked off from access. In fact, this world was blocked on your world until I unlocked it."
"However, the same may not be true for the other way around. Standard Equestria is easily accessible from this world. It's through portal 232."
Fire points forward as she says that, directing the group to where home, friends, and introductions awaited. They walk forward with her; portal 232 it is.
"Note what I said earlier about blocked-off universes in certain temples; because of that, portal 232 goes somewhere different on your world. Like, it's not always neatly arranged and connected, if that makes sense."
"Also, no temple can provide access to every universe out there, because scientifically, there are an infinite amount of them. These are just the ones that have been found by outsiders so far."
"Interesting! And how did those outsiders find other universes?", Pinkie asks. "I mean, they couldn't have created a portal without knowing it existed."
"Uh... that's a long explanation.", Fire says. "Something that I wouldn't want you two to get a headache over when we're still focusing on you and your friends."
"Okay.", Pinkie agrees. "Bu-ut, maybe one day, we can do a hangout where you teach us all about the portal stuff!"
Maud nods. "We really should do that. Once we're finished here, let's get on it."
Golden Arrow is all in on that idea too. A lecture from Fire about portals and universes and how they're discovered; heck yes. But okay, right now is right now.
The family had continued walking as they conversed, and as a result, they have now made it to the lime-green portal 232. Let's go.
Because the portal paths from a temple never connect to the corresponding entry in another temple, the family gets dumped into a very remote area, with nothing in sight except rocks and a river in front of them, and a long landscape of grass and trees. Which were green this time. Welcome home, Pinkie and Maud.
"Okay, so, how do we get to Ponyville now?", Pinkie asks, not outwardly displaying her heartwarming deja vu of being back home.
"There's a train station not far from here," Fire says, "but I would sure like to be able to surprise your friends in Ponyville. Remember, they are unaware that there are draconequi other than Discord."
"Ooh, yeah!", Pinkie says, bouncing. "That would be a great surprise!"
Fire nods. "So, how about I fly, really high up in the sky, where nopony will see us clearly, carrying the three of you on me as we fly to where your friends are?"
Pinkie wants to love the idea, but she senses a problem. "Yikes! Wouldn't that be dangerous?"
"Nah.", Fire assures, waving a hand. "You two can puff yourselves up and become living parachutes, and I can use my magic to hold you all in place as we fly."
Correct on the living parachutes thing, and Fire was a draconeqqus, after all. "Then yes!", Pinkie exclaims.
"The question is, though, how should I announce my return?", she stalls. "Like, what location, and what method of arrival? Heck, I haven't even told my friends I'm coming back today."
Fire is chill about decisions. "We'll figure that out on the fly.", she says, lowering her back for the other three to hop on. She uses her yellow-aura magic to buckle them on, safe and secure, and takes flight into the Equestrian atmosphere.
...
Buying the time, they did hatch up a plan on the... fly! The plan is for Pinkie to use the tool she uses to make quiet splashes when at a quietness-desiring pool; flying down at full, normal, speed and then abruptly slowing down for a safe landing. Followed by Maud peeking out from behind a building.
As for why Maud won't be floating down, it's because Pinkie's friends don't yet know that she can also do it, and the Pie family wants a full surprise. Not for anypony to get suspicious upon a new sight.
Not finding any holes in it and unable to think of an alternative, they all love the plan. They give it the thumbs-up, and good timing too, as Ponyville's skyline is in their sights. Here they go.
Pinkie and Fire's senses notified them that the rest of Pinkie's friend group was hosting a gathering around the outside of Sugarcube Corner, which was further confirmed when Pinkie saw them from above as they arrived at their destination, using her binocular vision. Wow, that's the perfect time and location for her to announce her return!
"I'm going to do my best to make sure everything goes great from the start, mom!", Pinkie says, giving a salute.
Fire gives a thumbs-up and watches her daughter take the leap, all the way down, to the grass her beloved friends were standing on.
Soon, I will meet them., Fire tells herself.
...
Meanwhile at the bottom, Applejack feels the warm sun over her get shaded away, and sounds off in response "What in tarnation?"
"What's goin' on, Applejack? ...Oh.", Rainbow Dash says, looking up above AJ's standing area.
"Is that... w-w-huh?"
Applejack turns her body backward and cranes her head up to whatever this sun-blocker was. Turns out, it was a pleasant thing. A very pleasant thing.
Pinkie Pie, the ponies' pink, bubbly, treat-baking friend, was right there, floating down right back to them. Returning to their vicinity of seeing her.
This fantastic, fun day for the rest of the Mane Six just got 100% cooler.
"Pinkie! You're back!", Rainbow Dash squeals as she wraps around Pinkie's neck, followed by Applejack hugging around the midsection. The other three ponies detect the noise and walk out of the building, then pile on the hug in tears of joy. They can be heard saying "I missed you!", "Welcome back!", among other beautiful phrases.
"Aww! I love you girls!", Pinkie says, hugging the group back.
"I didn't think you'd be back so early!", Twilight exclaims.
"Things have been going faster than I thought.", Pinkie noted, taking herself on a rapid rewind through her adventure and its timeline thus far. Had Pinkie tried to predict how long the trip would take from the beginning to this point, only five days would not have been her outlook.
The hug eases off and this new chapter of Pinkie and Maud's big saga kicks off.
"So Pinkie, where's Maud at?", Rainbow Dash asks. "I've been told she went on the trip with you."
"About to come out right now.", Pinkie says, pointing her head towards a building behind her on the left.
Maud peeks her head out towards the mares from behind, and speaks to the group with a smile as her full body becomes visible... all in rather fast fashion. "How you all doing?"
Maud's unusually sparkly behavior triggers a lot of raised eyebrows among Pinkie's friends. They don't want to dodge her question or pry about personal matters, but she did seem different.
"We're pretty good.", Applejack answers. "Just been missin' Pinkie."
"Totally fair.", Maud said, looking over at her sister, who let out a squee at her pals.
Twilight changed the conversation's course. "So, how did the trip go?"
"I'll tell you about it at a dining table. Inside my home.", Pinkie sniffled, looking up at Sugarcube Corner.
"Aww, Pinkie! Home sweet home, right?", Rainbow Dash said, showing her other, soft side.
"Mhm.", Pinkie said, shedding a tear.
"Well, let's go get some treats!", Twilight said, leading the way in.
Pinkie and Maud, sitting side-by-side at a lone, circular table in front of the girls' bunched-together round tables to create a TV-host-like situation, prepare, in front of their friends and their treat eating, to tell the entire story thus far.
"So basically, me and Maud, after seeing Limestone and Marble not perform a trick I instructed, asked our parents why we could do all these crazy things, but they couldn't.", Pinkie began with. "First time I had ever really given thought to it."
"Same here.", Maud added. "My whole life, I always just, like, shrugged it off and said 'I don't have time to question it. Just move on.'"
"Right.", Pinkie says. "So we asked our parents about it, and that led to us finding out that, well, they're not our parents."
As expected, Pinkie could see the girls' eyes all go wide. Oh boy, here it comes...
"To put it bluntly, we were adopted.", Maud cut to the chase with. "Without ever being told about it."
The girls, even the ones who had food in their mouths or their forks hanging in the air, completely ceased all movement at the hearing of this info. The ones with food in their mouth made sure to chew and swallow, but as this bombshell exploded in their minds, they had to really push themselves to do so. Swallow food, think about that other thing later., Rainbow Dash said internally.
"Tell me about it. I was as shocked as you are.", Pinkie says, with that shattering moment, from Chapter 1, replaying in her mind and bringing back her old emotions from it. They were very much still around.
Pinkie, hanging her head down with closed eyes, lets the moment of silence go and waits for one of her friends to make a comment, that she was dying to know what it would be.
"Why... w-would your parents not tell you?", Rainbow Dash finally broke the ice with.
"They say it was because they didn't want to treat us as outsiders.", Pinkie said, rubbing her shoulder. "They thought that by hiding away anything different about us compared to Marble and Limestone, that we'd be a tighter-knit family.
Pinkie fully expected Applejack to comment on this, which she did. "Well, holdin' down a lie for darn that many years ain't gonna make ya tighter-knit!"
Pinkie nodded in betrayal at her parents' decision. "I wish they had seen it that way."
Applejack could only guess what kind of old demons she was re-releasing in Pinkie right now, so she tries to reassure and steer the conversation in a different direction. Key word: tries.
"Hey now, you ain't at fault. What happened happened, and I'd say it'd be best for ya to try and move on."
Uh... yeah, this was probably not it.
"Hey now Applejack, let her grieve.", Twilight said. "Pinkie did lose something here; she lost a connection she thought was there all this time, by virtue of decisions her parents made... that did affect her."
Applejack looks at Pinkie and does see the error in her advice, as Pinkie's head hangs down further with still-closed eyes.
"Oh. Sorry about that, y'all. I didn't know the right way to say that."
"No harm done, AJ.", Pinkie assures. "I know it's not our fault. What I'm upset about is that I have to be mad at my parents... but I don't want to be. I still love them and want to spend time with them; it's not like everything I had with them just got erased."
"Oh, is that the problem?", Rarity says. "Well dear, I do have to remind you that nopony is perfect. Cloudy and Igneous may have made a bad decision, but literally everypony has made them. I can attest."
Pinkie had a respond to this in completed planning, but, while looking at Maud, she notices the conversation having drifted off from the path, to which she suspects Maud agrees with.
"Well, I could say what I think of that, but now I'd like to talk about my original parents. I can save my emotional baggage for later."
The girls sit in worry that Pinkie was trying to bottle things up out of fear that she was overwhelming them, which wasn't true, but hey, let's not put extra pressure on her.
"S-o-o...", Pinkie begins with, realizing the extent of what she was about to reveal, "...our original mother, believe it or not, is the same species as Discord. She is a draconeqqus."
Rainbow Dash had chosen the very wrong time to take a sip of her tea; she almost coughs it down the wrong pipe while trying to avoid spitting it out all over the place.
"Whoa, man! So Discord's not the only one?", she says, suspended in the air from the shock.
"Nope!", Pinkie responds. "Our mom lives in a world that's full of them!"
Shocking silence shall ensue.
"Well then, that's a theory confirmed!", Twilight said. "Many books and legends have talked about living draconequi other than Discord before, but none were ever confirmed!"
"Nice!", Pinkie says. "That's always fun!" Twilight nodded in response.
Rainbow Dash was not tuned in to this theory conversation. Over on her leftmost table, she picks up on something. Something gigantic.
"So, wait.", she says. "I just remembered that draconequi can do a bunch of ridiculous things like teleporting objects and 'sensing' things before they happen... does that mean all your Pinkie randomness comes from being born to a draconeqqus?"
"Yep. That's it!", Pinkie answers. "I finally found out!"
Right after saying that, Pinkie sees a customer standing inside the building. A customer she had not noticed.
DISCORD'S SPECIES IS BEHIND PINKIE PIE'S RANDOMNESS
DISCORD ISN'T THE ONLY ONE... AND OTHERS LIKE HIM ARE WHY "PINKIE SENSE" EXISTS!
The next day, these are the three newspaper headlines getting pumped out all over Equestria; newspaper companies scrambling to print and press, to delivery ponies using powerful motor scooters to get to houses.
The idle Sugarcube Corner customer who caught wind of Pinkie's story-telling intended for the Mane Six couldn't keep herself contained. She had the burning desire to understand Pinkie's antics, as did nearly everypony, and she just had to shout the news out into the world. As expected, it spread like wildfire.
Soon enough, the town of Ponyville became a block party of ponies holding their newspapers so close to their eyes that the background is completely covered, all while exclaiming "Oh my goodness! Now we know!" among other phrases, and Pinkie and Maud future-feeling the inevitable swarm of reporters and onlookers.
Not that Pinkie was bothered by that; in fact, she held exciting anticipation for that experience. Maud, though, Pinkie thought to ask if she'd be okay with it.
"Hi Maud.", Pinkie says as she walks up the familiar stairs to her home bedroom, where Maud was staying for the time being. Still to come in this saga was Pinkie's friends meeting their original parents, so it wasn't time for Maud to return to Rockville yet.
"Hey. What's up, Pinkie?", Maud asks, setting down her rocks.
Pinkie sighs. "Let me just tell you something here. We're going to get news reporters all over us. The mystery of me and my Pinkie sense and stuff has long been a subject of public speculation; this news is already sending a shockwave all over town, if you just look out the window."
"I already looked.", Maud says. "And you are definitely right." She pulls open the window's left curtain to the side, revealing a visible gathering of newspaper readers, including a few who are looking up at the second-floor window.
"I know what you're going to ask next.", Maud continues. "The answer is; I'm okay with being out there as long as I don't have to talk much. You lead the way."
"Oh! Okay!", Pinkie says, starting to hop up and down. "Anything for you!"
Maud closes her eyes in a sweet smile.
Pinkie walks back downstairs for her planned first talk with the Cakes since returning from her trip; it was going to be a work-related chat about how things went at the bakery while Pinkie was gone.
...only for Mrs. Cake to be waiting at the bottom of the staircase for a different announcement.
"Pinkie dear, I think the reporters are outside the front door waiting for you."
"Oh, they are? Sweet!", Pinkie exclaims. "I'll just go get Maud and we're out there!"
Mrs. Cake was pleasantly surprised at Pinkie's enthusiasm for talking to the news. She knows from experience that most ponies wouldn't be much enthused, including herself. Sugarcube Corner has been on the air a couple times, and during every interview, Mrs. Cake was always thinking "Okay then, when can I be done..."
Pinkie announces to Maud that the time has come, and they head downstairs, out the door for their big moment. Well, yet another of their big moments.
...
"So, two Ms. Pies, what would you like to say first?"
Pinkie hadn't bothered to script herself for this interview, and here she stood with side-eyes, trying to think of something quick, right in front of the news staff and their notebooks.
"I guess I'll say that I'm happy for everypony in town that they finally know the answer to me.", she comes up with.
"I would say the same.", Maud says. "I can feel content knowing that ponies will understand her now."
"Oh, yeah!", Pinkie exclaims. "Now I'll probably get weird stares less! Although, the weird stares are kind of fun..."
A sea of giggling can be heard across the area. No doubt that Pinkie's personality is still there.
The news interview continued, going incredibly smooth, and at the end, Pinkie considers it a success. She loved answering questions about her situation.
Alright, so, now the reason for Pinkie's randomness is out in the world. The long-standing purgatory of no-knows has been dissolved. Ponies will understand her now.
But the saga is far from over.
While alone in her bedroom, during the evening, Pinkie remembers that yesterday morning, her mother, Fire, told Pinkie that she was ready, and eager, to meet the rest of the Mane Six.
Yet, when she arrived at the Mane Six, Pinkie got spider-webbed into telling them the story, then of course, by virtue of that customer coming in at the absolute perfect time, the news blowout happened.
As she counts the hours and days since hopping off Fire's back for that Ponyville landing, a wave of "oh no" splashes on Pinkie in a blip. In her view, a sudden darkening of the room would display the scene perfectly.
I... went into a hangout with the girls... and just left my parents behind...
I've continued to leave them behind during this day too, after they wanted to meet my friends...
Where are my parents now? Did they go back home? Did they go back home disappointed after the girls and I walked right into a building without them?
And what do I do to reach out to them? Do I have to go all the way back through the temple of portals? That super-duper long journey?
Pinkie laid stomach-down on her bed and buried her head into the blankets in sadness, frustration, and anxiety. A triple-sized rip current.
...
Maud, after having returned to Sugarcube Corner from eating dinner out at a restaurant (trying that for the first time), walks into the bedroom expecting a celebratory greeting from her sister, only to have presented that same sister face-planted into her pillow.
"Pinkie? Something wrong?", she asked.
Pinkie sighed. "Yes, there is something wrong.", she says, trying to hold her head up. "I've been forgetting about our mother! I went into that hangout with the girls without telling her. I never invited her to see the news blowout of today. She wants to meet my friends; it's been a whole day and we haven't done it yet!"
"Like, just... how could I keep forgetting?", Pinkie verbally beats herself as crying noises start to become heard.
Maud gets alarmed at this result of Pinkie throwing punches at herself. "Whoa there, it's okay, Pinkie.", she says. "Sometimes we forget things. Our minds are not always reliable."
"Plus, you had schedule overload.", she says as she lays beside Pinkie. "New things kept coming at you, before you had time to think. Your friends suggested the hangout, and the pony who spread the news just happened to show up at the right time."
"When something shiny and new pops up right in front of us, it can easily possess our minds and cause us to leave behind the old things. As a rock collector, I would know."
Pinkie sniffles as she begins to feel her chords striking.
Okay, I think I see what she means. Yeah. But... there's something else.
It comes to Pinkie's attention that Maud was speaking a lot more... informally there. Her word choices weren't as polished, and she spoke a faster pace and higher tone.
She's definitely changing, in some way. More evidence keeps popping up.
But back on track for now. "Okay, Maud.", Pinkie sniffles. "I won't beat myself up. But let's make plans to bring our parents here for a meetup with the girls, yeah?"
"That sounds wonderful, Pinkie.", Maud responds.
"As for how we get back to them, well, we don't need to. Draconequi have senses that tell them when somepony needs them for something."
Wait, what? The problem plaguing Pinkie earlier is already solved?
"Wow! How do you know about all this, Maud?", Pinkie says happily.
Maud giggles and shrugs. "I guess I'm just the know-it-all."
"Aww. You're so silly.", Pinkie says, hugging her sister. And then having another 'Whoa, hello there' moment.
I just said to her 'You're so silly.' Something that she absolutely was not before.
I have got to ask her about this at some point.
...
She's right here... maybe now?
Pinkie looks into the eyes of Maud, whom she still had in her grasp, and whose eyes... are closed. She's also breathing dreamily. Huh, looks like she's fallen asleep.
Pinkie lightly giggles and tightens the hug for night position.
I can do it after the introduction meetup tomorrow!
Twilight finishes preparing the meeting room in her castle for a few hours from now, when Pinkie's biological parents are to come and see her and the girls for the first time.
Earlier in the morning, when Twilight's sleepy eyes and mind were still fogged up, Pinkie bounced over to the castle to announce to her the date and time, which was today at 1 PM.
At that announcement, Twilight paced around the castle exclaiming "short notice!" even though it was 8 AM at the time. But Spike succeeded at to calming her down, and now, 30 minutes in advance at 12:30, the snacks and drinks are all sorted out, the room looks shiny and clean; the chairs are all there; everything ready for a meeting.
"And finished! I'm so excited, Spike!", she squeals.
Spike, walking into the room to look at the finished product, does not replicate the enthusiasm of his friend. He stands in the room concerned and conflicted.
"What's wrong, Spike? Aren't you excited to meet Pinkie Pie's biological parents?"
"Well, that's just the thing.", Spike says. "They may technically be her parents, but they're compete strangers to me, yet there's supposed to be some sort of connection? Like, whenever I imagine myself meeting my biological parents, it sounds, like, I don't know, weird. Because I've come to know you as my parent."
"That's alright.", Twilight assures. "Everypony has different reactions to this kind of thing. You don't have to talk much in the meeting if you don't want."
Spike tried to work out a decision on how much he'd participate, but can't reach a conclusion and just shrugs. "I guess I'll just see how everything goes."
"I'm sure it will all be fine.", Twilight says. Her horn receives a notification that Pinkie and her parents have landed in Ponyville, so she sends out a magical signal to the rest of the girls.
"This is going to be so fun!", Twilight squeals again.
"Hoping for everything to all work out well!", Spike salutes.
...
"You excited for this, mom?", Pinkie asks Fire, as she sees the landscape around her change to the recognizable pre-castle path.
"I'm fired up for it! Hehe, pun. Anyway, my dream showed your friends as being super nice, and I can bet that's how they are in real life too."
"That is how they are! They're the best friends in the whole world!", Pinkie says.
"Ooh, and we can play a game! You'll get to test how accurate your dream was!"
Fire giggles. "Sure. That sounds fun."
Pinkie laughs. And yes, she was serious about that game.
When Pinkie woke up this morning, Maud turned out to be right about draconequi receiving signals from creatures who need them. Fire peeked through Pinkie's bedroom window in Sugarcube Corner as she woke up, startling her but also relieving her.
Pinkie then explained her feelings from the previous night, and her mother assured her that she had no ill will for anything that happened. "I fully expected you to just see your friends at first. My plans already were to meet them with you some other time."
Fire had also explained that she did go back to her home world for the night, not because of any anger towards her daughter, but because she did not want to introduce herself to Ponyville without Pinkie being there. After all, draconequi other than Discord are not believed to exist there.
"I didn't want to confuse the whole town, you know?" Fire had said through the window. "I wanted to do it with somepony who could explain things."
Pinkie's anxiety had melted away, and she had a mind lightbulb as she asked Fire if they could do the meeting on the current day, provided the Mane Six could make it. And that's their plan.
"I am so, so excited for this, Pinkie." Fire claps her hands together as they draw closer to the castle. "Meeting your daughter's friends takes it to a whole new level."
"Happy to hear it." Pinkie says, smiling gently.
"And I'm fully prepared for whatever reaction they have." Fire notes. "You don't need to worry about offending me; I understand this is something that goes against what your friends thought was true about this family, and finally solves the big thing they've always wondered about you."
The meeting room of Twilight's castle fell silent as everypony processed the shock of the information.
"Huh. So, yeah. That's why.", Twilight said.
"Yep." Fire stated. "I was their original mother and passed my draconeqqus ways down onto them, them being ponies because their father is a pony, and not hybrids on the outside because... randomness."
The ponies take a minute to respond, something that Fire's dream did get right, albeit for a different reason.
"Well, the six of us know an Earth pony couple who had twins of a unicorn and a pegasus, so it's not that surprising.", Twilight says.
"I knew it." Fire says, giving the table a little pound. "These unusual combos are not caused by the logic-less nature of my home universe.", Fire says.
Twilight jolts, sensing a big discovery here that she could research into.
"You live in a logic-less universe, that's full of your species?", Twilight says. "Well, that's another theory confirmed!"
"Nice!", Fire said. "That's a great feeling."
"It is!" Twilight exclaimed, leaning in closer to Fire. "We could go to your world together and talk about it to those in Ponyville!"
Rainbow Dash giggled. "That's our Twilight. Loves her research and information."
Fire giggled too. "I can tell. And I like it."
...
"So, Fire, how do you overall feel about the whole situation, looking at it from this new perspective?", Twilight asks.
"I'd say it's pretty good."
This catches looks at each other from the ponies.
"So, you don't feel bitter?", Rainbow Dash asks.
"A little bit, but it's been healed a lot. I may not have gotten to see my daughters grow up, but being able to have contact with them again now, and to know they've had a great life in this universe, courtesy of you all... I'm happy."
"Heh. More accuracy points for my dream."
"That's the spirit, Fire.", Applejack says.
"Can you girls all give me a hug? For celebration of making my mom happy for us?", Pinkie asks.
"Right on board, Pinks.", Applejack says, stepping off her chair. All of Pinkie's friends piled onto her, for what Fire saw as the perfect symbol for what this universe gave to Pinkie.
I can also feel at peace, knowing... that I made the right choice.
...
This was awesome.
"So, Fire, when would you like to introduce yourself to Ponyville? As in, publicly?", Twilight asked. "I mean, they already know there is another draconeqqus in town, due to the newspaper reports."
"I'd say I'm ready tomorrow.", Fire responds. "You're right; the news did mention that draconeqqus heritage gave Pinkie and Maud these abilities. Before we do that, though," - she hatches up an idea - "Pinkie and Maud, how about you go back to your original parents and talk to them about all that's happened, now that it's progressed this far and you're back home?"
Oh, shoot.
At this moment, Pinkie's face sported a look of sadness and fear, her mane moving as if it was about to deflate. "Oh... right.", she says out loud. "We have to do that someday, don't we?"
"Hey, no need to do it tomorrow if you don't want.", Fire assures. "We can do my public introduction first. I was just making a suggestion."
"No worries, mom.", Pinkie says. "I'm afraid of going back to them in general."
Pinkie learns the hard way that the storm is not clear just yet. There was indeed one big step of this journey still unturned. And that step did not look pleasant.
"And no one will blame you for that. Guess who's here to help you the whole way?", Fire says.
Pinkie looks up at her mother and her friends, all smiling directly at her. She knew exactly what Fire was getting at.
Pinkie breathes out. "You're right. I will do it, and I have help."
Rainbow Dash nods at her. "That's the spirit, Pinkie."
"And while we're here, we can focus on the happy stuff.", Fire says. "Pinkie has plenty of time to handle her task."
"Good idea." Rainbow Dash says.
So they do return to discussing happy stuff, but for Pinkie, this conversation can't become quite the same as it was before.