Her father had been right, the Apples really didn't ask too many questions when someone needed a place to stay. Which was fine with Panacea.

Despite how early everyone ate breakfast, and the mad scramble to get a plate before everything was gone, she was finding her time at Sweet Apple Acres to be a peaceful respite before the storm that was confronting her mother.

She'd cross that river serpent when she came to it, for now the young alicorn was happy to have something simple to fill her day.

Like using her restoration magic on a sapling struggling with a bout of blight, carefully coaxing the cells into reproducing after she scraped away what rot there was that had gone too far. It was salvageable but the fledgling tree would bear scars.

The process was painstaking and took time and accuracy but it was soothing work, like solving a puzzle or riddle. Something she could mindlessly do while there was just enough focus involved to keep herself reigned in.

"Still messin' with that there sapling?"

Scratch the focused part.

"I just finished up with it, should be good as new with some time and attention!" Panacea turned to Fuji Butter, finding that the half kirin was almost nose to nose with her. "What are you up to?" The creamy orange mare had never seemed to consider personal space, at least when it came to friends and family.

"We rightly appreciate it, would've been a shame to pull the poor thing up, " Fuji gave the sapling a look over, closely eyeing the healed over gouges. "As for me, I was just about to grab some lunch. My moms should be ringing the bell any minute now, thought I'd come pick ya'll up on the way there."

Panacea's stomach growled at the thought of food, making her ears tip back with a sheepish grin. "Food sounds good, thanks for thinking of me, otherwise I might not have noticed the time..."

Something in her brain clicked unpleasantly at those words, they rang with familiarity and a flash of lavender was shoved from her mind's eye. She had to think about it eventually, but didn't want it to be through the worry that she would one day end up like her mother. Too preoccupied by her work, so far lost into her equations and theories that she'd do something selfish, ruin someone's life and lie to them for years and years.

"Pan? Equestria to Pan? You alright, Honeysweet?" Fuji was waving a hoof in her face with a concerned frown turning her lips.

"I'm fine!" Panacea jolted to attention, bonking her nose against her friend's outstretched hoof in the process. She cleared her throat and gave Fuji Butter an awkward smile before nodding in the direction of the house. "We'd better get going if we want to get to the food before your cousins do! "

The maned pony snorted a laugh in agreement before pawing the ground with a hoof, "Alrighty then, race ya there! Onetwothree GO!" And she was off, leaving a trail of dust rising into the air in her wake.

Panacea's own hooves were moving before she even realized she was running, wings pressed firmly against her side so as not to drag her down and her head ducked low in determination. She wasn't exactly known for her speed, but the young alicorn was known for a surprising competitive streak.

As the pair raced beneath the shade of trees onto open ground, she observed Fuji who was easily several pony-lengths ahead of her.

With her orange creme coat, freckles and straw and ochre duotoned mane it was obvious she was Applejack's daughter. The only thing separating her from your average earth pony was how her mane wrapped around her entire neck like a curly cloud of gold and her tail had a long leonine shape with a tuft of flowing fur at the end.

They were both oddities in Ponyville, maybe most everyone was too polite to point it out but she remembered that as foals when in public ponies would sometimes give the pair a doubletake. It had sometimes created a sense of spectacle when they were out on a playdate with their mothers.

That had lessened with the years as the town had gotten used to seeing them as well as a fresh wave of new and more diverse residents, but they had shared that sense of other ever since their young days.

Now they had something else in common too.

Panacea had been planning to ask Fuji later about how she felt about Rainbow Dash, in hopefully not as blunt words as that sounded to her. Her friend and her adoptive mother seemed to get along just fine, maybe even better than with her birth mother. Fuji had experience with living knowingly with a non blood related parent, she could give her some advice...but asking for it would give some implications she wasn't ready to explain with her sudden arrival.

There was no way in Tartarus that Panacea was going to tell her what she had learned, Fuji was her best friend but the thought of her learning who she really was left her ears burning in shame. What if she was disgusted with her? It couldn't be Panacea's fault, she had nothing to do with this.

Oh but she had everything to do with this!

Flaring her wings, Panacea put on a burst of speed and soared over Fuji Butter just as they reached the house. The last thing she saw before they collided was her friend's expression going from confused to shocked to angry before they burst through the door in a tangle of swearing limbs.

"Pan, you no-good cheating-"

"You're just mad because you lost!"

"You're damn right I'm mad-"

Ba-Bonk!

With a crisp metallic clatter and a merciful lack of pain, both mares felt their skulls rattled by an empty pie tin each to the head.

"Now what the Sam Hell is wrong with you two? Ya'll ain't foals no more!" Applejack's voice rose above their dramatic groans as the pair rubbed their heads.

A rasping and rhythmic wheezing could be heard on the other side of the kitchen, causing the Apple matriarch to swerve and point a pan threateningly at her wife. "Now don't you start up either, Rainbow," She warned the scarred pegasus.

Rainbow Dash pointed to herself with her eye widened as if to say 'Who, me?' before leaning back in her chair with a silent whistle.

"Auntie Applejack you just hit a PRINCESS!" Sweet Cider yelled, the colt's mouth hung agape and was dripping applesauce onto the table.

"Darn tootin' I did! Changed that girl's diaper when she was a foal and I can tell her momma she was misbehaving in my house, she's kin before she's a princess!" Applejack set the tins back down on the counter and pointed to the hallway, "Now ya'll go wash up before you sit down and no rough housin' inside!"

Panacea and Fuji Butter lowered their heads with a sigh, grumbling a "Yes, Auntie Applejack" and "Yes, momma" respectively as they scurried off to the hallway bathroom to wash their hooves.

Once that was done, they returned to find the rest of the family had gathered at the large table that took up most of the dining room. The clacking of plates and mingling of voices lent a brand of liveliness that could only be achieved by an Apple family meal.

It was different from her own family sit downs. They weren't boring, especially when they had guests over, but Panacea's family had a much more relaxed take on mealtimes. Here at Sweet Apple Acres, there was much grabbing and yelling and even on the rare occasion someone took a pie to the face. Being so close with the Apples, it wasn't surprising anymore but it was something that while familiar was also a 'once in a while' kind of thing.

She and Fuji piled their own plates with creamy custard apple tarts, fried eggs, caramel pear-apple fritters and more. It wasn't until after they were seated and eating that Panacea realized she had been following Fuji's lead on building her plate.

It was much more than she would normally eat, but now that she had touched it and it was on her plate it felt rude and unsanitary to put any of it back. She was just going to have to power through. If Fuji Butter could do it, so could she!

Panacea had regrets.

She slumped over her plate, still half heartedly chewing the edge of an egg white while Applejack and Fuji cleared the plates away.

"Now don't go hurting yourself, Pan, if you can't finish then it'll go to the pigs. Won't be going to waste or anything," Applejack spoke over her shoulder as she washed a plate clean. "You know, it's funny...your momma had a hurtin' put on her by an Apple lunch too when she first came to Ponyville-"

Crash!

All eyes went to Panacea as her water glass fell to the ground and shattered, the last wisps of her magic dissipating into the air as she stared at her half finished plate with a glassy stare before her shoulders shuddered.

They twitched again before she hid her face behind a hoof and bit down on it to muffle a tearful hiccup. Then she was crying, throat hot and constricted as she tried to keep her noise to a minimum, as if she could hide the tears slicing through the fur of her cheeks.

"Hey, hey...it's alright, Sugarcube." A warm embrace wrapped around the lilac mare from one side, being met halfway by a matching hug from the other. Fuji and her mother pressed close to Panacea on either side as Applejack rubbed her back with a still soapy hoof. "Now I don't know what's goin' on with you and your mom, and I won't press. But know that there's always a place for you here if you need one, long as you need it."

The two Apples pulled away, with Fuji keeping a hoof on her shoulder as Panacea hurriedly dried her tears.

"Like momma said, you're kin, Pan," Fuji asserted gently, giving her shoulder a little shake. "If you ever wanna talk, just give a holler and I'll be there in ten seconds flat!"

Panacea sniffled and nodded, patting her friend's hoof in acknowledgement as Applejack began to sweep up the shattered glass. "I'm sorry about the glass, I can get that-"

"Now don't you worry none, why don't you two go outside and get some fresh air?" Applejack nodded to the kitchen door, still slightly ajar to her annoyance from whoever had last left.

She was tempted to make a fuss and insist upon helping, but Panacea relented with a tired nod and followed Fuji outside. The light was shifting to the warm amber of the afternoon sun as it bathed the orchard, outlining the leaves on the trees and warming her wings through her feathers. It was nice.

The pair came to a stop below one of the apple trees, leaning against it and scuffing their hooves in the dirt. Fuji seemed to be content to leave things in silence, for which Panacea was grateful for, but also afraid to break it.

"So...you wanna tell me what that was all about?"

Oh ponyfeathers.

"Not especially, sorry Fu, I'm just not ready." After that display of kindness and warmth, she felt a bit more like she could talk to her friend about it. But Panacea still felt shame and fear rooted too deeply to even consider trying. Just knowing that the other mare was willing to listen was appreciated though, and she resolved to drop off something nice later for the Apples to repay their hospitality.

Fuji grunted in reply and closed her eyes as she leaned back against the tree, releasing a soft exhale. "Fair nuff."

They stayed like that for half an hour, making quiet small talk and soaking in the lazy afternoon. No one came to collect them or bother them, which was likely Applejack's doing. For just a little bit, to Panacea they were the only ponies in the world.

However, if what happened in the kitchen was any indication, something had to be done. Confrontation was something the young alicorn hated above all else, but this was something she had to do for her own peace of mind and soul.

She had to have a very hard, very awkward and likely very emotional talk with her mother.

"Hey, Fu?" She lolled her head to look at her friend's face.

"Mhm?" Fuji raised her brows at her.

"I think I have to go home and talk to my mom..." Panacea watched the half kirin's brows rise higher, but she posed no more questions.

"Well now, you do what you gotta do, Honeysweet. If you're makin' up then that's awful big of you. If you're going to war then go get her, Tiger." Fuji patted her firmly on the back, jostling the startled pony.

Panacea stood up and shook out her coat, giving Fuji a wry glare before smiling. "Thanks, Fu. Tell your folks that I appreciate them letting me stay the night, we should do that more often...you know...sans the crying."

Fuji laughed, rising with her to walk her to the edge of the property. "Nothing to it, Pan, you're always welcome here!"

They bid each other farewell, then Panacea found herself alone, following the dusty road back to Ponyville center. It was hard to miss the massive, crystalline castle that her family called home. It was like a beacon that drew her in but repulsed her all at once, the closer she got, the more conflicting her feelings became.

Finally, she stood before the gate that opened to the estate. Panacea inhaled deeply, holding it in her chest with a hoof pressed to her heart before letting it go with a slow exhale and sweep of her foreleg.

It was go time.

Author's Note

Fuji Butter enters the fray!
Meanwhile, Panacea seeks to confront her mother on her unsettling origins!

Thank you for reading this far, every view on this story is greatly appreciated!