Sweetie Belle's New Friend
All I remember of before was a bright light, and then I was here.
I winced against the sunlight bearing down on me, and instantly sought shelter. A nearby tree provided enough shade for me to get my bearings.
I was in a village, unlike any I had ever seen before. There were no paved streets, nor cars, nor people. All around me were creatures that reminded me of Ponytas – except they came in a variety of bright colors, and their manes and tails weren’t on fire. Some even had horns or wings, but all of them were around the size of a Ponyta. All of them also had strange symbols on their flanks.
And they talked! Like people!
I made my way from shady spot to shady spot – seeking shelter under porches, between buildings, and within shrubbery. I was smaller than them, and none seemed to notice my presence.
I didn’t know where I was, but my experience with people led me to believe these creatures would be scared of me. Just like people were.
Eventually, I had to endure the sun as I crept by a large, fenced in yard. A tall, red building stood in the center, and I could make out what looked like playground equipment behind it. The thought of children gave me some hope – perhaps I could pass as one of their playthings.
But there was little shade to be found in the yard, much less a way over the fence. So, I climbed a nearby hill and rested against the tree that stood on top of it. At least the sun wouldn’t burn me.
Time passed. The sun began to set, with me shifting my seat to stay away from its light. All the while I watched the big red building with its playground. A bell rang in the building’s tower—it was a school, I quickly realized—and more of those Ponytas excitedly made for the playground. They were smaller than the Ponytas I had seen – these must be the children.
I patiently waited and watched, anticipating being found on the hill. Hoping that one of them would come my way.
But then they went back into the school, and I resumed waiting. Sometime later, there was another building, and the smaller Ponytas exited out of the front of the red schoolhouse.
At first, I thought none of them would come my way, and I would have to move on. Then, three of them turned and made their way for my hill – I could hardly keep myself from shaking with excitement.
One was a small Ponyta with wings – orange with a purple mane and tail. One was a plain small Ponyta – light yellow with a red mane and tail. And then there was the small Ponyta with a horn who led them – a white one with a slightly curled mane and tail that were pink and purple. Curiously, none of them had the marks the bigger Ponytas had on their flanks.
“It’s over here, girls,” she said to her friends.
“Ya sure it’s still here?” the yellow one asked.
“Look!” The orange one pointed to me, and the white Ponyta quickly ran up to me.
With trained precision, I did my best to stay stock still. The last thing I wanted to do was move and startle this Ponyta – she seemed the most interested in me. As she picked me up in her forehooves, I went limp like a ragdoll.
“What is it?” The orange one scrunched her snout. “It looks like an old, raggedy doll.”
“I wonder who left it up here.” The yellow one looked around the hill. “Doesn’t seem like anypony’s around.”
“Well, it’ll give me a chance to practice my sewing,” the white one said, her sweet smile filling my vision. A tremor ran through me at the thought of my perfect disguise being damaged, but fortunately the Ponyta didn’t seem to notice.
I was helpless as the white Ponyta stuffed me into her bags.
I was able to peek out of the white Ponyta’s bags as she and her friends made their way through the town. She approached a large, round building that reminded me of a carnival carousel. Bidding her friends goodbye, she stepped inside.
Another tremor ran through me. All around us I could see Ponyta mannequins and dresses. In one open room we passed, there were innumerous rolls of fabrics and a sewing machine. The thought of my disguise being run through one of those terrified me.
“Sweetie!” came a prim singsong voice from yet another room. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes!”
“Alright! Hey, Rarity, can I borrow some of your sewing stuff?” my captor called back.
Another horned Ponyta, bigger than my captor, walked in from another room. Her coat reminded me of fallen snow, and her dark blue mane and tail curled even more than the white Ponyta who currently had me. And she had three diamond markings on her flanks – how strange.
“Of course you can, darling,” she purred. “I’m so glad to see you’re trying to better your sewing skills.”
“I found this old doll today, and I want to see what I can do for it.” My eyes widened as the white Ponyta—the one referred to as “Sweetie”—pulled me from her bags and showed me to the bigger one.
The larger Ponyta wrinkled her snout, much as the small orange one had. Suddenly, I was out of my captor’s grip and floating! I saw a glimmering blue light around the larger Ponyta’s horn, and saw a similar shimmer faintly around me – perhaps she was a Psychic-type?
She squinted at me as she turned me this way and that. “Oh my… yes, this poor thing could use a good seamstress. Where did you find this?”
“By a tree near the school,” Sweetie said.
“Sweetie, you should know better than to take things that don’t belong to you!” the larger Ponyta admonished.
“But Rarity, no pony was nearby – I think they abandoned it,” Sweetie said. “I’ll bring it back tomorrow, after show-and-tell, I promise.” She batted her eye lashes, her green eyes big and shimmery.
“Rarity” huffed. “Very well. I suppose there’s no harm in it – just be sure to put it back where you found it. Somepony could be looking for it.”
Sweetie ran forward and hugged her, then snatched me up in her grip again and ran upstairs.
For the most part, it was a blur. A door was opened, the Ponyta’s bags were discarded, and I was plopped down on a stool.
“I’ll be back for you after dinner.” Sweetie looked down at me with a big smile before leaving the room.
I trembled as soon as the door had closed. What had I gotten myself into?
My plan had worked too well. I had wanted to be taken in by a child, but I hadn’t expected a small Ponyta with an interest in sewing! I quickly looked around the room, trying to plan an escape.
Then I thought about what would happen if the Ponyta found me missing – the larger one seemed to possess some sort of Psychic-type abilities. She could track me down and drag me back. But the risk of being seen under my disguise was too great with the smaller seamstress’s plans.
With a great reluctance, I realized I would have to abandon my disguise, at least until the Ponyta was done with it.
Slipping out from under it, I propped it up on the stool where she had left me. I had to catch it a few times before it could fall over, but finally I got it to stay upright. Looking around the room—a child’s bedroom, I realized—to find a suitable hiding spot, I settled for under the bed and dove for its dark shadows.
And there I waited, watching my inert disguise with great anxiety.
I didn’t have to wait long. Sweetie soon returned, strips of fabric, needles, threat, and other sewing implements floating around her—she apparently had Psychic-type abilities too. I was grateful I hadn’t fled now, but I still worried for my disguise.
Her work was mostly done outside of my line of sight, in front of her with her back to me. I saw strips of fabric and ribbon fly this way and that, and I winced at every metal sheer of a pair of fabric scissors.
It took the better part of an hour, but finally the Ponyta was done with my disguise. She set it where I couldn’t see it—in front of the stool she had first sat me on—and went about her routine. All the while, I sat helpless under the bed, not wanting to be seen.
Sweetie did her homework, before going about her nightly routine and then finally going to bed. I waited for a few minutes after the lights switched off, when I was certain I heard the even sleeping of the small Ponyta, before I ventured out.
I slipped into my disguise instantly, at least grateful its proportions were the same for me. I had to undo some stitching where Sweetie had sealed up my eyeholes before I looked around for a means to escape.
Heading for the front door, I paused. The moon was coming in through the window, shining on a big, floor-length mirror. I decided to see what damage had been to my disguise at least before I escaped.
To say I was surprised was an understatement.
While little could be done to clean most of the fabric up, I realized my drawn-on face was gone. The scribbled eyes were replaced by a mismatched pair of buttons and a sewn on strip of fabric to represent my mouth replaced a jagged marker sketch. Even the cheeks were two semi-ovular strips of reddish fabric. To top off the new look, where the “neck” of my disguise was, was a pink ribbon done up in a little bow. She’d even left my wooden tail be.
I was overjoyed! I had no skill with a needle and thread, nor any materials to do as good a job as she had done. I cooed happily, before catching myself – I didn’t want to wake up the talented artist.
My fear and hesitation melted away as I looked towards the bed. I’d never seen such a generous act of kindness of before. I vaguely remembered the small Ponyta mentioning a “show-and-tell” coming tomorrow. If I was to be the star of such a thing, who was I to deny her? I could always escape later – she said she’d return me to the tree after she was done anyway.
So I walked back over and flopped down where she had originally set my costume, falling asleep in anticipation for tomorrow.
I was whisked away in Sweetie’s bags the next day, happier than I had been the day before. I had to contain myself before my excited shaking could give me away. I still had to play my part as the ragdoll.
My assumption that the red building was a school was indeed correct – as soon as we were inside its walls, Sweetie sat down at her desk. I tuned out the voice near the front of the room – Ponyta school lessons were as boring as human ones.
I only perked up when I heard the voice say, “Alright class, it’s time for show-and-tell. Who would like to go first?”
“Me!” I heard Sweetie say, before the bag I was in was lifted off the ground and set down again.
“Alright, Sweetie Belle. What do you have?” the voice asked kindly – I practically squealed with excitement!
“There was this old doll I found yesterday – I don’t think it belongs to anyone, so I practiced sewing on it,” Sweetie explained, and then I was lifted into the air again by some psychic force.
Before us were rows of desk, each occupied by small Ponytas like Sweetie, in a variety of shades and colors. The yellow one and orange one from yesterday were present. I also subtly noticed that some had marks on their flanks and some didn’t.
The small Ponytas all gasped.
“That looks better than it did yesterday,” the orange Ponyta remarked.
“Nice job, Sweetie,” the yellow one said with a smile.
“Ugh, that thing looks so ugly. What’s it even supposed to be?”
I had to fight my instinct to glare – in front of an audience, with all eyes on me, the motion might’ve been noticed. My eyes did, however, focus on the owner of the voice: a small, pink Ponyta with a white-streaked purple mane. A tiara rested on top of her head, and a similar mark adorned her flanks.
“I’m not sure,” Sweetie said, turning me to get a better look at me. “I think it looks neat.”
“Well, thank you for sharing, Sweetie. I’m sure you’ll be as good as your sister in no time,” the voice said—the teacher, I suspected, standing behind a larger desk at the front of the class. “Next?”
As Sweetie returned to her seat with me and her bags, I noticed the pink Ponyta was seated a seat behind her in the next row. As I was deposited into Sweetie’s bags again, I was finally able to glare up at her.
How dare she insult Sweetie’s thoughtful gesture!
As the class went on, I noticed this pink pony was mean to Sweetie’s friends too – the ones who were with her when she had found me yesterday. The term “Blank Flanks” seemed to be used as an insult towards them and Sweetie, and it made me mad.
Slowly, an idea formed in my mind. It’d have to wait until after Sweetie left me at the tree…
The next day, I returned to the same tree to patiently wait and see if Sweetie and her friends would notice me. I had resolved myself that it was only right to reveal to her that I was more than a mere doll, and, if possible, to show my thanks for her wonderful improvements to my disguise.
Sure enough, after the school bells rang, the trio of familiar Ponytas raced up the hill to where I sat against the base of the tree.
“It’s still here!” Sweetie exclaimed. “Maybe we should ask around town and see if anypony is missing it?”
They jumped slightly when I stood up and walked over to them. “Hello!” I said cheerfully, looking cheerfully up at them.
“Wh-What’d it say?” the yellow Ponyta asked.
“I wanted to thank you for the new disguise!”
“I think it said… ‘Mimic you’?” The orange Ponyta looked up into the tree, frowning. “I bet it’s some kind of prank.”
The yellow one frowned, walking over to the tree, turning around to face it backwards, and kicked it soundly. “Alright you,” she barked. “Whoever it is, this ain’t funny.”
“I bet its Diamond Tiara,” the orange one huffed. “She wasn’t at school today. Out sick my rear hooves. Sick joke, making this doll into a puppet.”
I turned to the yellow Ponyta, confused by the turn of events. When nothing fell out of the tree but leaves and twigs, the three Ponytas slowly turned to look at me with wide eyes. I looked between them cheerfully.
“I’m not a puppet. I’m a Mimikyu.”
“A-Apple Bloom… I don’t think this is a prank,” the orange Ponyta said, backing away.
The yellow one—who I guessed was this Apple Bloom—gulped and joined her orange friend. I watched them curiously, before approaching Sweetie Belle. She took a step away from me.
“I wanted to thank you for your sewing, Sweetie Belle.”
“I… I think it’s friendly,” Sweetie said, lowering down to my height. Her eyes lowered when I blinked my own—they were down in my disguise’s “chest,” of course, so not many people expect it. “Are you… trying to thank me?”
I nodded eagerly, my disguise’s oversized head bobbing and wobbling.
“Sweetie, we should take that doll thing to Twilight,” Apple Bloom said. “Maybe she knows what it is.”
“You’re probably right, maybe it’s enchanted or something,” Sweetie said. She turned back to me, smiling. “Hey, would you like to come with us? We know someone who might know more about you.”
I blinked, nodding. I wasn’t sure any of the Ponytas around here would know anything about me – I certainly didn’t know anything about them.
I let Sweetie Belle carefully lift me up and put me away into her bags one more time, glad that her and her friends weren’t scared of me. So many people were, and it was a relief to finally have a friend.
I was set on a big wooden table, blinking as I looked around the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves, each one stuffed to the brim. I guessed I was in some sort of library – and that might mean the person Sweetie knew was indeed very knowledgeable. Maybe they even knew about me after all!
There was a scuffing noise next to the table, and I was soon joined by a purple and green creature, roughly the same height as me. I tilted my head as we studied each other – I deduced he was a Dragonite, but I’d never seen one this small, or purple and green. Then again, I hadn’t seen one before.
“Hi, I’m Spike,” the Dragonite said to me with a wave of his claws.
“Hi! I’m Mimikyu!” I replied.
“’Mimic you’? Interesting name,” he remarked.
“Oh my – I thought there was something strange about that doll.” I turned to the familiar voice and found Rarity standing next to the table. Beside her was a purple horned Ponyta with several books floating around her. Sweetie Belle and her two friends peeked over the edge of the table at me.
“What is it, Twilight?” Rarity turned to her purple friend – obviously this “Twilight,” who flipped through some of her floating books.
“I think… it might’ve been one of the creatures I summoned,” Twilight said with a sheepish smile.
“I told you that portal experiment was a bad idea,” Spike said flatly.
“Yes, darling. First we had that poor pony with its mane and tail on fire, then that water-shooting turtle, and now this. I trust this one is friendly?” Rarity looked back to me, an eyebrow raised.
“It sure seemed friendly to me,” Sweetie said. “I think it liked the makeover I gave it.”
“It looks way weirder than the turtle though,” the orange Ponyta with a frown. “At least the turtle looked like a turtle.”
“Well, while I’m sure it appreciates the new look, I’d better send it back where it came from – Fluttershy would probably agree it belongs in its natural habitat.” Twilight nodded, her horn charging with magenta shimmers.
“Alright.” Sweetie Belle turned to me, smiling sadly. “I’m glad you liked your makeover. Stay safe when you get home, ok?”
I nodded. A part of me was sad to leave her, but another part of me agreed with what Twilight had said. I imagined it wasn’t very natural for me to be here – there might not be any tasty berries in this world, or any other Pokémon like me. And while these Ponytas and the small Dragonite were nice, I missed Pokémon like me.
“Alright, I’ll need to concentrate to get the portal open again,” Twilight said, scanning through one of her books. “It’s best you and the girls head back to the Boutique.”
“Best of luck, Twilight. Come on girls, I’ll fix us some nice hot chocolate,” Rarity said to the three smaller Ponytas. They all cheered and followed her out the door – save for Sweetie, who paused at the threshold long enough to wave at me goodbye before leaving.
It took a few minutes for Twilight to conjure up a swirling vortex of silver energy – Spike abandoned the table to stand next to her. Realizing this was likely my way home, I nodded to Twilight and happily stepped through it.
Perhaps my new looks would help me make friends back where I was from.
And if anyone picked on those friends, they’d get the same treatment that mean pink Ponyta got. I’m very scary outside of my disguise, after all. But she deserved it for picking on my new friend Sweetie Belle.
"A lonely Pokémon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pokémon." - Mimikyu's Pokédex Entry, Pokémon Moon
"There was a scientist who peeked under Mimikyu’s old rag in the name of research. The scientist died of a mysterious disease." - Mimikyu's Pokédex Entry, Pokémon Shield