Crying is the pinnacle of being weak and manipulative, so I cut myself off as soon as I can, but nibbling on one of the remaining cupcakes to distract myself isn’t enough. It’s time for answers. After stopping at a drinking fountain, I head back into the schoolhouse.

“This conversation is private, sweetie.”

Mr. Lee’s voice hits me first. The scene takes another moment to process. He’s sitting behind his low desk across from Applebloom, and both of them are looking at me. Applebloom turns away, but not quickly enough to hide how his coat is darkened below his eyes.

“I, ah, okay,” I blurt out, backing up and out the door and nearly running into a white filly. When I open my mouth to apologize, she just sticks her white tongue out and walks away.

Fine, weird, but whatever. I guess if it doesn’t work to start at the bottom with a teacher like Mr. Lee, I should try from the top instead. I’m about done with all this, anyway. Celestia probably won’t just let me go back to being human, that’s not how she is, but maybe I could at least talk her into some changes. She does rule this place. As for finding her? Well, there are ponies all over.

“Hey. Where do I find Celestia?” I say, trotting up to the nearest pony. The all-white colt gives me a casual glance, then turns his attention back to the volleyball coming his way.

“Canterlot, duh.” The colt rears up and gives the ball a spectacular headbutt that sends it flying. And flying. And flying. He yells towards the opposing players, “Hey! You agreed to no D.A.G. enchantments!”

“Thanks,” I say. As most of the volleyballers fall to bickering and yelling from opposite sides of the net, I add, “What’s D.A.G. stand for, anyway?”

“Delayed anti-gravity,” the colt says. Then he stops, turns, and looks at me again. “Oh hoary sheep, you can see ponies?”

“What.” I give him my flattest flat look. Then I look down at my hooves. What, does he think I’m some kind of spirit? This wouldn’t be my first time away from my body, but it would be the first time anyone else noticed. My hooves are pretty solid, though, and they push down the grass beneath them like they should.

“Pretty sure I can,” I say. That might have been the wrong thing, as he squeals in what I hope is delight and starts spewing words faster than I can understand. Luckily, everypony else is too busy fighting over volleyball to pay attention to me. Still, I hold up my right hand⁠—or, hoof⁠—to stop him.

“Look, could you tell me how to get there?” I say. He’s still talking, of course. “Come on, at least slow down.”

“You’re a ghost!” is the first coherent thing he says. “That’s so cool I’m going to tell all of my friends I’ve never been seen by a real life ghost before⁠—”

“Seriously! Stop!” I breathe a sigh of relief when he actually does stop, and… pull my hoof out of his mouth. Gross! Although his mouth didn’t really feel like anything besides white. Why would I reflexively stuff his mouth with what’s supposed to be my hand? Why would Celestia make white a sensation? Another brace of questions for the bindle.

“Sorry, sorry. Please just point me to Canterlot," I say. “Then you can tell your friends, or whatever you were going to do.”

“Sure!” He goes back to speaking too quickly to understand, and I’m not sticking my hoof in his mouth again, but I pick up the words train station. Trains are fine, and someone at the station can explain how to get where I’m going. If Celestia can make them run on time in the real world, she can do it here, hopefully without the upload attrition on commuters. It would just be weird if she did that here too. Where else is left?

It’s well after waving goodbye and leaving the school behind that I realize three important things: one, that colt didn’t give any directions I could understand; two, it’s still way too hot to be wandering around in the open; and three, picking a random direction and hoping wasn’t such a good idea. This neighborhood is kind of nice though, with a modest but cared-for middle class look to the tiny lawns around its dull white houses, so I’m not too worried. The street plan seems straightforward, which means I really should be able to turn around and go back, but that’s nixed by having taken a few turns.

I stop, wiping sweat away from my eyes. Not many ponies are about to ask for directions, and I assume it’s because of the heat, but maybe if I can remember which turns I took and when or where, I can retrace my steps. Was it right, left, and right? Right, left, left, and right? Which way did I go at that one weird Y-intersection?

“Hey there.” The mare’s voice is warm and inviting. I turn to look at her; the unicorn’s smile and pink-purple colors match her tone.

“Going somewhere?” she says.

“Just the train station,” I say. “If you could⁠—”

“Of course! I’ll walk you there,” she says, trotting up next to me and gesturing ahead with a hoof and her ears in a way my digital brain categorizes as excited, because ears are gesture devices now and somehow I’m not the worst in the universe at reading body language anymore. Wonderful. We get moving, and she keeps on talking. “I’ll walk you there. It’s a good thing we ran into each other, the station isn’t on this side of the city.

“Oh, and I’m Amethyst Star, by the way. Nice to meet you.”

“Sweetie Belle,” I say automatically. Wow, is my old name so far gone already? I guess it fits her theme that Celestia would make it easy to go native. Not that anyone could stand up to her, but replacing your name? That’s cheating.

“And, um, likewise,” I add.

“My, you’re polite for a filly who knows so much. Oh, let’s turn right here,” Amethyst says, leading me onto another identical street with identical buildings. “That way would have gone right by a school, and well, you’re playing hooky. So where are you going after the train station?”

I definitely do not know whatever or however much she’s talking about, and stick to not commenting on it.

“I’ve got to talk to Celestia,” I say. She ahhs.

“Sunrise City, then?”

“Canterlot.”

“Really? I haven’t heard of it. Anyway, not much further and we can take a shortcut that I know. Let’s hurry.”

We pick up a more rapid pace, and both of us pay for it with more sweat. Amethyst even leaves faint, damp hoofprints behind as we trot single file through what little shade exists on this street. Gross, but I’m probably not doing much better. Hopefully the station has a drinking fountain, because I’m going to need all of the water. Ever.

“Alright, we’re almost to my friend’s place,” Amethyst says after another turn that gives us more shade. She gives the street a quick visual scan before going on, but there aren’t any other ponies around. “She has a mirror that goes almost directly there. Really convenient, I’ve got to get one.”

A blue and lilac-purple streak slams into the ground in front of us, rattling my teeth and drawing a yelp from Amethyst. I grimace and step back. That had to hurt. But no, the pegasus who gets to her hooves without so much as a scratch is just really wet and smells of sweat. In fact, there’s a small puddle around her hooves. Ew.

“Hi, Ammy,” she says in a sour tone. Actually, she sounds really masculine. Am I looking at a stallion? How do I even know?

“Moonie!” Amethyst snaps. “Don’t startle me like that!”

“But hitting the ground is more fun than landing,” Moonie says. That is definitely a guy voice. That is definitely a gal appearance. Celestia, did you have to make a pony specifically for hurting my brain? Because good job.

“Fine, fine, I’m going,” Amethyst says. She sticks her tongue out at Moonie and blows a raspberry. “Spoilsport. Maybe next time, sweetie.”

Moonie lets out a heavy sigh as Amethyst goes. As she speaks, she finally stops grating against my brain and becomes just a mare with a stallion’s voice for some reason. Fine.

“I’m really sorry about my sister,” she says. “Sometimes she just can’t control herself.”

“She seemed alright to me.” I shrug. They’re siblings? That explains why they don’t get along. “So who are you?”

“I’m Moon Dancer,” she says. “Let’s walk and talk, alright?”

“Sure,” I say. I’m lost, anyway.

“So like I said, I’m Moon Dancer,” Moon says. “I run the library system and occasionally check on missing foals. Cheery let me know you didn’t come back from recess earlier.”

“Who’s Cheery?” I say. “Wait, you mean Mr. Lee?”

“Yep, the one and only. So where were you off to that’s more important than school?”

“The train station,” I say, slamming face-first into her sweaty butt when she stops too quickly. I recoil. Ew! Can today stop being gross yet?

“Sweetie Belle, listen to me very carefully,” Moon Dancer says, turning around and fixing me with a heavy, stern look. “Do not go to the train station. I’ve seen you around town a few times, and you seem nice, so do yourself that favor.”

“What, I can’t travel just because I’m a filly?” I don’t even know whether there are laws about it, or just grown-ups being their stupid, interfering, mama-knows-best selves. And since when am I sour about grown-ups? I guess since I started crying over everything. Waking up this morning is definitely where everything went wrong.

“No, not that. I don’t even⁠—what? Trains aren’t how you travel,” Moon says. “Why would you even…? Never mind. Let’s get going again.”

What better do I have to do right now? I fall in step behind Moon again.

“I have a lot of questions for Ammy when I get home,” she says, with a droop of her ears that might mean not looking forward to it. “Anyway, if you want to travel, you can just go to Skyways. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t mind taking you there.”

“You know them?” I ask. My parents? Is that supposed to mean Mom Voice and Pink?

“We’re acquainted,” Moon says. “And I know where they live. Here we are.”

Moon stops in front of a white house that looks just like all the other white houses on dirt streets that we’ve passed. Except, now that I look at it, it very clearly stands out as home. Weird.

“How did we get here so fast?” I say.

“It’s not far from where I found you,” she says. She lays a wing over my back and gives me a pat on the head, which I hate. “Say hello to your mother for me, alright?”

“Sure, I guess.” I look up at the door. It’s got a lever-handle instead of a knob, at least. It takes rearing up to place a hoof over it, but it’s not locked, and swings open easily.

“So, uh, Moon⁠—” I start, turning around to talk to her. But she’s already gone. Not just walking down the street a few houses away⁠, she isn’t anywhere. Just a few ponies who are probably just going home from work, or whatever ponies do besides school.

Well, whatever. I go in. It’s a little too warm, but still a welcome break from today’s heat, and unlike outside, the hot air carries a heavy aroma of bread and chocolate. Well, at least one thing’s right in this bizarro world. I sigh in relief, and Mom Voice calls from the kitchen.

“I know that sigh. Come on in, sweetie!” She doesn’t have to raise her voice much, since the front room is more of a closet for jackets and umbrellas, and the only other room on this floor that I’ve seen is just the landing at the bottom of the stairs. I make my way through both to the kitchen.

Mom Voice is at the table, reclined on a pillow with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. There are a few different pans on the counter, holding cupcakes, brownies, bread, cake, muffins, and more, all fresh. The table is covered with icings and frostings and batters in dishes that have yet to be baked, and the three ovens still have fire under them. It smells even better in here than the front room.

“Hey, sweetie,” says Mom Voice, opening her eyes to look over at me. “How was school?”

“It was fine,” I say, grimacing. I know it won’t change the inevitable, but I ask anyway. “Can we maybe not talk about that?”

“Sure, sweetie.” Mom Voice’s smile doesn’t leave her face. “Why don’t you set your lunch bag down and help me out a little instead? Let’s get some fresh fuel to the ovens.”

I look back. Sure enough, my lunch bag is riding on my shoulders. Has it been there the entire time? Well, that’s fine. I nod, grateful for the topic of literally anything else, and join Mom Voice as she gets up from the table.

Author's Note

This chapter was generously sponsored by Canary in the Coal Mine via Patreon. Thank you so much for the motivation and support!