Things are Different Today
Two Weeks after the Nightmare Moon Incident
The Skies of The Holy Griffon Empire
A lightly armored airship slowly drifted through the skies. The ship’s balloon was covered in patches of hastily tacked on repairs and older, more permanent repairs. The ship’s two leveled gondola was also a mess of tacked on repairs. Crew members; a mix of pegasi, unicorns, earth ponies and a few griffons continued along their task, cleaning the ship, wiping windows, checking cannons and other various tasks.
The Captain’s Quarters
The dimly-lit room was filled with hoofblades, stolen treasure, the hat of a Griffon Captain, and maps. In the middle of the room, a sleeping pegasus laid atop a desk, a bottle of liquor nearby. The pony snapped to attention as the door opened.
“You wanted to see me, Captain?” the newcomer, also a pegasus, asked.
“Whazza... oh, right.” The Captain smirked as she tossed a newspaper at the newcomer, “Take a look at this.”
The pegasus caught the newspaper and scanned it, “What am I suppose to be looking for?”
“That big article right in the middle of the paper,” the captain smiled.
The pegasus looked down at the paper and a picture: two earth stallions, two unicorn mares, a pegasus stallion and mare stood triumphantly in front of Discord.
“The New Elements of Harmony? So wha…” the pegasus did a double take, “Wait…”
“Yeah, ain’t that her?”
“It is.”
“It’s been what, nine years now?”
“…Yes.” The pegasus trailed off.
“….Listen, We don’t have any major jobs right now,” the captain paused for a moment, “well, we got an offer from Birdvaria, but fuck’m. Griffon wars ain’t my business. Anyway, we got a friendly family near there, so we can touch down if you want to.”
“Thank you, Captain,” the pegasus smiled, “I appreciate it.”
“No problem. CHASER!” the captain hollered.
A light blue pegasus mare with a spiky pale blue and white mane, three large scars over her left eye and an elaborate winding tattoo going down the right side of her face stuck her head into the room.
“You called Cap?”
“Take us to the Rock Farm,”
“You got it boss.”
---
My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh,
My Little Pony
I never cared about what friendship could be
My Little Pony
But times have changed, and now I see
Hard work and effort
Reliable care
Ol’ fashion charity
A story to share
Unlikely kindness
It’s a fantastic feat
And magic makes it all complete
You have My Little Pony
Don’t you know you’re all my splendid friends?
---
One Week Later
A Rock Farm on the outskirts of Ponyville
The blue pegasus touched down and bowed to a stern-looking earth pony couple.
“The Captain is a bit busy sleepin’ off her hangover, but the crew of the Firefly gives you their heartfelt thanks, Mister and Missus Pie,” the pegasus responded.
“It’s fine Miss Cloudchaser,” Mrs. Pie responded, “I see that ship is in need of repairs once again.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Cloudchaser chuckled, “Dog fight with some griffons when we were heading here. As usual, we’ll pay in Republic bits…”
“The first mate isn’t here,” the stallion cut in, “What happened to her?”
“She has business in Ponyville,” Cloudchaser’s expression grew darker, “I will caution you not to try and learn more, if only because it is a matter of family. I’m certain you’ll understand.”
“She has family in Ponyville?” the stallion, Mr. Pie, frowned.
“It’s complicated, that’s all we can say on the subject,” Cloudchaser shook a hoof, “That topic is over, finished.”
Ponyville
School Yard
“So your brother fought an Ursa Minor?” Rumble, Scootaloo, Sweet Wheat and Dinky stared at Applebloom in shock.
“Yep! He said that he tried ta fight it, but he had ta run,” Applebloom nodded.
“And then Rarity told us she’s the one who beat it!” Sweetie Belle beamed.
“Are you really so stupid that you’d believe a story like that?” Another voice cut into the conversation. The six turned to see a smirking white coated earth filly with a curly red mane and a cutie mark of two crossed peppermint sticks.
“Don’t say that, Twist, that’s what really happened,” Applebloom countered.
“Pfft, So your brother really fought a giant zombie bear and beat two unicorns?” Twist laughed, “I don’t think so. That stupid hick couldn’t beat up a-”
“Don’t say that about Applebloom’s brother!” Dinky cut her off, “He really did fight Nightmare Moon, and I didn’t see your dad do anything about it.”
“At least I got one,” the filly shot back, “and at least I know who my real mom is.”
“Hey! Take that back!” Scootaloo stood up.
“Make m-”
Scootaloo interrupted Twist’s response with a hoof to the face. The pegasus brought her hoof back for another blow, but abruptly stopped as Miss Pinkamena trotted over.
“…I’m waiting for an answer, Twist. Scootaloo.”
“It’s nothing Miss Pinkamena,” Twist gave the school teacher a false smile, “Scootaloo’s being a jerk again.”
“She made fun of Dinky because she doesn’t know who her father and mother are!” Scootaloo shot back.
“…I think this calls for another Parent-Teacher conference, for both of you.” The school teacher frowned, “Quiet frankly, I expect much better from the two of you. See me after school.”
“But…” Twist trailed off as Pinkamena glared at the filly, “Yes Miss Pinkamena.”
Elsewhere in Ponyville
Sugarcube Corner
The doorbell rung as a pegasus entered. Mrs. Cake walked out of the kitchen to greet her.
“Welco…oh!” Mrs. Cake blinked in surprise at the visitor, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“It has, Cup Cake,” The pegasus smiled, “How have you been?”
“Rather busy lately. Between the twins and the rebuilding from the Nightmare Moon incident, we haven’t had much time to relax,” the baker sighed.
“Twins?”
“I had them recently, Maybe later you can see them,” Mrs. Cake stepped towards the display case, “Now I imagine that you want your usual from all those years ago, right?”
“If you still have them,” the Pegasus chuckled.
“Is one dozen enough?”
“More than enough,” the pegasus chuckled, “Don’t worry, I have Republic bits.”
“It’s no charge,” Mrs. Cake replied before she began to load a bag with muffins.
The kitchen door opened and Dizzy Twister exited, carrying a load of scones, “Cupcake, I got the or-”
Dizzy dropped the load to the ground as she noticed the other pony standing there.
“….Oh my Discord.”
“Hello, Dizzy. I’m sorry to come by unannounced but…” the pegasus shrugged, “We were nearby.”
“It’s been nine years, now, hasn’t it?” Dizzy shook her head, “I…I really didn’t think you would keep that promise.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think I would either,” the pegasus agreed, “But… but I saw the article about you, and your friends and…”
“I understand,” Dizzy nodded, “Cupcake, I think I’m going to need some time off.”
“I don’t blame you dear, take whatever time you need,” Mrs. Cake placed the bag of muffins on the counter, “If the girls come by, I’ll send them home. Actually, do you want Scootaloo to know?”
“…I haven’t thought about that.” Dizzy sighed, “I think she’s going to have to know, but not just yet.”
After School
Dinky, Rumble, Sweet Wheat, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom trotted out of the schoolhouse.
“It’s alright, Dinky,” Sweetie Belle stated, “Twist is just a jerk, we still like you.”
“It doesn’t matter, Sweetie Belle,” Dinky brushed away the thought, “I still got the best step-parents ever.”
“But don’t you ever think about what happened to them?” Applebloom pressed on, “I mean, Big Mac, Applejack and Granny Smith don’t want tell me what happened to my parents, but Miss Roseluck sort of…well, she explained it to me.”
“…I don’t really think about it,” Dinky shook her head, “I’m sure mom and dad have a reason for keeping it from me.”
“Still…” Sweet Wheat trailed off, “We could go to Sugarcube corner and get something.”
“Yeah, Rarity finally gave me my allowance!”
“I guess so; we have to wait for Scootaloo, though,” Applebloom pointed out.
“I can wait for her,” Rumble offered, “It’s fine.”
“Alright, we’ll see you later Rumble.”
Dizzy pushed open her front door and the two pegasi trotted in.
“Just take a seat in the kitchen, I’ll have some coffee up soon.”
“Thank you,”
The pegasus took a seat as Dizzy began to fiddle with the coffee maker. As she waited, the pegasus stood up and walked over to a picture on the wall; a younger Dinky and Scootaloo beamed at the camera, each holding a large fish.
“When was this taken?”
“That picture? Must have been two years ago now. Thunderlane offered to take them all camping,” Dizzy shrugged.
“Thunderlane?”
“Oh, he’s Rumble’s older brother and on the weather team. He’s also the Element of Kindness.” Dizzy responded.
“The gray pegasus? He must have been…fairly young the last time I was here.”
“He was,” Dizzy set a cup down on the table and beckoned for the other pegasus to return.
“I want to ask you exactly how you plan on doing this.”
“…I don’t know.”
“I don’t think it’s going to work if you skimpily tell her that,” Dizzy shook her head.
“You know her better than I do, what would you suggest?”
“…Even I don’t have the slightest clue how to do this,” Dizzy shook her head again, “We never told her what happened to you, but Dinky’s smart enough to realize that it probably means you’re dead.”
“Heh. If I had a bit for every time somepony thought I was dead, I would be able to buy my own airship,” the pegasus chuckled.
Dizzy sighed, “Well, school just got out, so we’ll see.”
“What’s it like?”
“What?” Dizzy shot the other pegasus a confused look.
“Being an Element of Harmony. Saving Equestria from the end of days. Punching out a goddess,” the other pegasus smiled, “I really didn’t think you had that in you.”
“I did not punch out Nightmare Moon, I was only able to knock her down.” The baker countered.
“And shatter her helmet, as the rumors go.”
Dizzy blushed, “...Okay, that part was true.”
Sugarcube Corner
The four fillies entered the shop and headed for the counter.
“…Isn’t your mom supposed to be working today?” Sweet Wheat asked Dinky. The filly shrugged.
“Sometimes she is, sometimes she isn’t.” Dinky responded.
Cup Cake exited the kitchen, carrying a tray of baked goods.
“Hi Mrs. Cake!” all the fillies beamed.
“Oh hello dearies,” the mare beamed back, “Where’s Scootaloo and Rumble?”
“Scootaloo got in trouble at school, so Rumble is waiting for her.” Applebloom responded.
“Alright then,” Mrs. Cake shrugged, “Oh, and Dinky, after you finish your cupcake, go home. Your mother needs you for something.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Scootaloo?” the unicorn inquired.
“…No, it’s… a surprise.” Mrs. Cake trailed off, “Now who wants what?”
“So…” Dizzy sighed, “…you weren’t responsible for that?”
“No, no, no.” the other pegasus shook her head, “We don’t ship corpses. The boss has standards. Luftcaptain Gilda and Heartstrings the Science-Pirate don’t.”
“Well, that makes it easier to introduce you to Mac, Rarity and Turner.”
“…I’m certain we’ve met before.”
“Rarity and Mac were kids. Now Rarity’s running her own mechanic shop, and Mac is in charge of the Apple Collective.”
“…” the other pegasus sighed, “I missed a lot, didn’t I?”
“That’s life,” Dizzy shrugged.
Dinky continued down the street.
“…Why would mom want me but not Scootaloo?”
“Hello there Dinky.”
Dinky looked up at Big Macintosh and Carrot Top.
“Hi Mr. Macintosh, Miss Carrot Top.”
“Goin’ home now?” the stallion chuckled, “Applebloom an’ Sweet Wheat are still at the bakery?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, you best be on your way, don’t want to keep Dizzy waiting.” Carrot Top interrupted Big Macintosh’s response.
“Alright. Bye!”
Dinky continued on her way, eventually reaching her house. The filly pushed open the door and entered.
“Mom?” Mrs. Cake said you wanted to see me?” she called out.
“In the kitchen, Dinky.” Dizzy’s voice responded.
The filly trotted down the hall and into the kitchen. Dizzy sat at the kitchen table, across from a grey pegasus mare with a tattered blonde mane. The other pegasus also had multiple scars, new injuries, and a missing patch of hair on one of her legs. Finally Dinky noticed that the mare’s eyes remained unfocused; one stayed on Dinky while the other drifted up towards the ceiling.
“Mom? Who’s that?” Dinky inquired.
Dizzy looked down, “Dinky…
This is Ditzy Do.”
“Hello Dinky,” Ditzy smiled.
“She’s….” Dizzy sighed before continuing,
“She’s your mother. Your birth mother.”
Dinky stared at the two pegasi in stunned silence.
“But…” the filly’s voice cracked, “You… I… I thought she was dead.”
“You told her that?” Ditzy frowned.
“No, I didn’t.” Dizzy sighed, “Dinky, I never said anything other than ‘I will tell you when you’re ready’ for a reason.”
“But… but…”
“Dinky, take a seat and we can discuss things,” Dizzy motioned for the filly to take a seat near the table.
The filly stared at Ditzy who averted her gaze.
“Who are you?” Dinky whimpered.
“Ditzy Doo,” Ditzy chuckled, “I’m your mother.”
“But... but…”
“Dizzy is an old friend of mine. I asked her to take care of you for me.” Ditzy responded.
Dinky shot Dizzy a startled look.
“It’s true,” Dizzy sighed, “I agreed since I had Scootaloo around the same time.”
“But… but why would she leave me?” Dinky whimpered.
“…Because of what I am.” Ditzy shook her head, “I-”
“You abandoned me?”
“No, I didn’t want you as part of my li…” Ditzy trailed off as she realized what she said.
Silence reigned over the room as Dinky’s expression changed from confused to horrified to wretched. The filly backed away from the table, fear and sadness in her eyes.
“Dinky, wait, that’s not what she meant…” Dizzy stood up, trying to calm the filly.
“You didn’t want me?” the filly barely managed to whisper.
“No!” Ditzy stood up, knocking the table over, “I-”
“I HATE YOU!” Dinky shrieked before spinning around and fleeing the room, smashing her way through the door, leaving the two pegasi in stunned silence.
“…Well that went the way I expected it to.” Dizzy sighed.
After several moments, a greatly confused Rarity entered the house.
“Dizzy, I hope you don’t mind me asking but I just saw Dinky running towards town, crying. What is wro…”
The mechanic trailed off as she noticed the other pegasus.
“…Oh.”
“Hello Rarity,” Dizzy sighed, “You remember Ditzy Do?”
“Vaguely,” Rarity replied as she righted the table, “I take it you tried to tell her?”
“…Tried is a great exaggeration…” Dizzy sighed.
“Would you mind telling me what happened?” Rarity took a seat.
“…No, No…” Ditzy sighed, “Please. I need someone else to talk to.”
“Then let’s get started.”
Time Turner trotted down the street, talking to Lemon Hearts.
“Really now?” Lemon Hearts’ eyebrow rose, “You got dragged into the personal war between rival necromancer unicorns expelled from the Kingdom, and then managed to destroy their entire armies?”
“Well, Rarity did that part, but yes.” Time Turner conceded.
“This sounds like a horrible Doc Daring fan novel,” Lemon Hearts shook her head.
“You get those?” Time Turner seemed surprised by her statement.
“All the time.” Lemon Hearts shook her head, “Fans send in their ‘brilliant’ ideas, and I get stuck digging through them.
Every now and then there’s a gem, but I don’t use them, it would bring up some massive legal muck that I don’t want to bother with.”
“Wait, they send the fan mail to the library?” Time Turner cut in “Wouldn’t that…”
“No, no, they send it to my editor, who boxes them all up and ships them to me.” Lemon Hearts replied, “Since it is from a publisher, the mailponies all think its new books for the library.”
“Oh, that makes se-”
Time Turner was knocked to the ground as Dinky ran past them. Lemon Hearts watched as the filly continued on.
“…Oh that’s fantastic, just what I wanted, getting knocked over.
Again,” Time Turner grumbled, “at least I wasn’t hit by a scooter this time.”
“…It’s not like Dinky to do that,” Lemon Hearts frowned, “Scootaloo, yes, Dinky, no…”
“Well, everypony has their off days.” Time Turner grumbled, dusting himself off.
“Perhaps we should go and talk to Dizzy….” Lemon Hearts sighed, “Come along, Turner.”
“To be honest though, I would prefer getting run over by a scooter covered in fillies than vivisected.” Time Turner noted.
“…I beg your pardon?” the mare shot the stallion a baffled look.
Sugarcube corner
“So what did Miss Pinkamena say?” Sweet Wheat asked Scootaloo before taking a bite out of her cupcake.
“She said that even though Twist is a jerk, I shouldn’t have done that.” The pegasus sulked, “She said that even though Twist was wrong for saying things like that, beating her up doesn’t make it right.”
Scootaloo took a bite of her cupcake before continuing, “But she did say that it was good of me to stick up for her.”
“And what did she say to Twist?” Apple Bloom took a bite of her muffin.
“I don’t know, I didn’t stick around to listen.” Scootaloo shrugged the thought away.
“…She’s still telling your mom, isn’t she?” Sweet Wheat frowned.
“Yeah.” Scootaloo shrugged, “Where’s Dinky?”
“Mrs. Cake said your mom wanted to see her,” Sweetie Belle responded.
“Just her? That’s weird.” Scootaloo frowned, “Did she say why?”
“No, Mrs. Cake told us,” Sweet Wheat shook her head, “But Mrs. Cake seemed worried about something.”
“About Dinky?” Rumble looked up from his Bear Claw.
“Yeah,” the fillies nodded.
“…I’m sure I’ll find out when I get ho-”
Scootaloo trailed off as the door slammed open.
“You’re an idiot,” Rarity shook her head.
“Rarity, I don’t think that’s the best way to put it,” Dizzy countered.
“I’m not going to sugar-coat it, Dizzy,” the unicorn shot back, “We’re all adults here, and that’s the problem.”
“What?”
“You treated Dinky like she was an adult,” Rarity shook her head, “How often do you deal with fillies and colts?”
“Not… Not often,” Ditzy admitted, “If we end up with children from raiding Royal Slave ships, or other Pirate crews, we usually have Sweetheart or the twins take care of them.”
“Where are you when there are children on the ship?”
“Usually steering or helping the Captain with whatever treasure we have, or talking with the others,” Ditzy shrugged.
“And that’s the problem,” Rarity vacantly waved a hoof, “You don’t know how to talk to foals. An adult knows to be patient, listen, and hopefully understands what you’re getting at.”
Rarity paused, “I know some exceptions, but they’re few and far between.”
“Of what?” Ditzy frowned.
“Adults who have the attention span of children and visa versa,” the unicorn grumbled, “But that is not the point, the point is, if you want explain to Dinky you need to break it down.”
“…I don’t think I can.”
“Of course you can,” Dizzy patted the pegasus on the back.
“You’re her mother, after all,” Rarity added. Ditzy’s expression darkened at Rarity’s words.
“No, I’m not. I…I don’t know what I am.”
The pegasus stood up and sighed.
“I should have never came here.”
Ditzy began to head out of the room, only to find herself engulfed by Rarity’s magical aura.
“Put me down.”
“No.” Rarity responded.
“I said, put me down,” Ditzy rotated around, facing the other two ponies.
“I said, no.” Rarity took a sip of water, “I will not let you leave, especially now that I know the situation.”
“Rarity-” Dizzy started.
“I said no, Dizzy,” the unicorn interrupted, “I am not about to let you leave, knowing full well that you have completely shattered a filly’s world.”
“You do know who I am, right?” Ditzy spat back, “I-”
“Am running from the problem,” Rarity countered, “That might work for some things, but this is not one of those things.
Nor will shooting it, if that’s the case, then it would probably would have been better to jus-”
“Rarity. Enough.” Dizzy interrupted, “Ditzy. I will not let you leave here either. This is what you came here to deal with. And I will help you deal with Dinky. I owe her that much as her stepmother, and you owe her at least that much.”
“…I…”
“I am not going to let you do it alone,” Dizzy responded, “I have just as much explaining to do to her.”
“...”
Dizzy stood up and went over to Ditzy. The bearer of Loyalty held the floating mare’s hoof.
“I’m saying this as your friend.”
The room fell back into silence as the three mares stared at one another.
“…I… I need to think about it,” Ditzy sighed, “Please, put me down.”
Rarity glanced over at Dizzy, who nodded in response. The unicorn rolled her eyes.
“Oh fine,” Rarity’s aura vanished, Ditzy’s wings began fluttering, keeping the pegasus afloat, “But if you run off….”
“I won’t.” Ditzy shook her head, “I need to just…clear my head.”
The mare landed and left the room. Dizzy sighed, before noticing the dirty look Rarity was giving her.
“What?”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” the unicorn asked.
“I trust her,” Dizzy shook her head, “and that’s good enough for me.”
“…Alright.”
“So let me get this straight,” Time Turner paused, “You write the books, send the finished manuscripts to Canterlot under your name, they send it to Baltimare under the Conscious River alias, who then publishes it, send the money you get to Canterlot, and then they send it to Ponyville?”
“About right.”
“Doesn’t that get expensive?”
“Not particularly. I have connections.” Lemon Hearts shrugged.
“Ah.” Time Turner nodded, “So does the connection in Canterlot get a share of the money too?”
“Some of it,” Lemon Hears responded, “They have a similar deal with other writers who enjoy their privacy.”
“…Like who?”
“I’m not telling you,” Lemon Hearts chuckled, “Even I need to keep secrets.”
“That’s not fair.”
The two passed Ditzy on the road. Time Turner smiled and waved at the mare.
“Good morning!”
“Huh? Oh... right, good morning.” Ditzy politely replied before hurrying off.
“Well she’s a new face,” Time Turner beamed as he turned to look at look at Lemon Hearts. The mare’s expression grew darker and more serious.
“We’re going to Dizzy’s. Now.”
“…Alright?” Time Turner followed Lemon Hearts, uncertain of what was going on.
---
Ditzy continued through town, lost in thought.
“Hey there!”
Ditzy looked up as Thunderlane touched down in front of her. The stallion grinned at her.
“Missus Ditzy Doo, right?” Thunderlane smiled.
“Um... Yes?”
“Oh... You don’t remember me do you?” Thunderlane chuckled, “It’s me, Thunderlane.”
“Oh!” Ditzy’s face brightened, “My, you’ve grown.”
“Heh, So what brings you to Ponyville?” Thunderlane inquired.
“…It’s a long story. And not one that’s going so well,” Ditzy quickly added.
“…So she knows?” Thunderlane sighed, “Well… let’s go to my place. We can talk there.”
“…Alright.”
The two pegasi trotted down the street, passing two brown pegasi, browsing a vegetable cart. The lighter of the two suddenly jerked his head up, and watched Ditzy and Thunderlane.
“Is that… it is.” the light brown pegasi nudged the other one, “Dumb-bell.”
“I’ll pay thirty bits for all of this,” the darker pegasi, Dumb-bell, told the cart owner.
“Forty-five, I gotta make a profit, kid.”
“Hey, Dumb-bell.”
“Shut up Hoops, I’m negotiating.” Dumb-bell turned his attention back to the cart owner, “Thirty-two.”
“Forty, Take it or leave it kid.”
“…Fine.” Dumb-bell handed over a small bag of bits and took the packages of vegetables from the merchant. He shook his head as he began to walk away from the vendor “Discord Dammit, we’d never have come here if we knew Ponyville merchants were such tight a-”
“Listen to me!” Hoops jabbed his hoof into Dumb-bell’s side.
“What?”
“I just saw Ditzy Doo.”
“So?” Dumb-Bell blinked, “Wait, Ditzy Doo?”
“Yeah,”
“By herself?”
“Looks like it,” Hoops grinned, “We gotta get back to the boss.”
“Oh yeah, she’ll be pleased.”
