A Mercenary's Ending

“It feels like forever since we left here,” Rarity commented as they stepped off of their train onto the Maretime Bay train station platform. The engine, which was a dull gray unlike the pink one she Twilight was used to, waited patiently as everypony stepped off and stretched their legs.

“It has been a while since we were here,” Twilight agreed, “and I’m not looking forward to seeing what it’s like now.”

“It’s probably a mess in town,” Applejack said. “Ah’ll help anyway ah can, but mah family may need me on the new farm.”

“Don’t worry about it too much, Applejack,” Twilight reassured her, “I’ll manage somehow.”

“I can help, too,” Rarity said.

Twilight turned to her former friend. “Rarity…but-”

“Don’t say anything, Twilight,” she said, raising a hoof. “I know you’re going to protest and try and say you can do things alone, but there’s something I can do that very few ponies in town can do. I can make clothes for the new humans. It’s the least I can do. Besides, I’ll probably need to make both summer and winter clothes if this is permanent,” she added.

Twilight nodded. She had a good point. Humans apparently wore clothes, not for a fashion statement like ponies did, but because it was a necessity. They had no fur covering their skin, and certain…areas…needed to be covered. Ponies could cover their unmentionables underneath fur, but humans apparently didn’t. She had sat down with Gregory one day and had talked about that among other aspects of humanity she hadn’t even known about. Clothing being a necessity to protect against heat and cold along with being a moral aspect of their life made sense. “I’ll offer my organizational services to Town Hall and see if I can get a budget set up so that we can get you the fabric that you need,” she said. “Just remember, though, they can’t be anything extravagant.”

“Of course,” Rarity said with an understanding nod, but Twilight could see the disappointment in her eyes.

Same old Rarity, she thought as she turned to Rainbow and Fluttershy. “Why did you get off here?” she asked. “This train goes to Zephyr Heights, right?”

“We’re staying to help,” Rainbow said. “I failed miserably and did such horrible things, and I need-want-to make up for it.”

“Besides,” Fluttershy added, “we aren’t going to just leave you to manage this alone.”

Twilight snorted, a half smile forming on her face. “I thought Rainbow was Loyalty back in the day,” she said sardonically.

“We need to be more than a representative of just our former element,” Pinkie said, stepping forward. “We need to follow all of the tenets. We’re staying, like it or not.”

Twilight was overwhelmed by the outpouring of kindness and loyalty from all of the ponies here. She looked at Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie first. “There’s room at the lighthouse,” she said, “so you can stay with me there.”

“Thank you,” Pinkie said with a small smile.

“It was you guys that we saw,” a new voice said from behind them. A familiar voice. “Good to have you back, all of you.”

Twilight turned along with the others, and her eyes bulged out in shock and surprise. She honestly couldn’t believe what she was seeing at that very moment. Apparently, neither could her old friends. There, standing before the six, were two ponies, but with more human-like features. The face and mane shapes were familiar to her, and their exposed shoulders showed all-too familiar cutie marks. “Lyra? Bon Bon? Is that you?” Twilight asked.

Lyra, who was wearing simple gray pants and a white sleeveless top along with some hastily made sandals, chuckled dryly. “How do we look?” she asked as she brushed her mane aside.

“Like nothing I’ve ever seen or imagined before,” Twilight admitted, looking at the human-shaped pony in front of her. Unlike normal humans, Lyra and Bon Bon had their fur back, although it looked somewhat shorter. She had to avoid looking at the chest area as she could see the human version of teats somewhat exposed through the thin fabric of her sleeveless top. “When did this happen?”

“About a day ago,” Bon Bon replied. She was wearing a black sleeveless top and a pair of dark blue shorts.

“But…why did it happen?” Fluttershy asked, looking just as confused as the rest of the silent former Elements.

Lyra and Bon Bon turned to each other, seeming to communicate without saying a word, then nodded. Bon Bon turned back. “Two nights ago, before the two of us went to bed, we were sitting up and talking about the past.”

“Specifically, Jason,” Lyra added.

“Right,” Bon Bon said, “and we were also discussing other things that should be kept private but that were somewhat related.”

Twilight, when she was a princess, had become privy to Bon Bon’s identity as Sweetie Drops, but she didn’t show it as she nodded. “Okay…how did that change you from humans to this unusual form?” she asked.

“Well, here’s the thing,” Bon Bon said, “we’re not completely sure. Lyra has a theory, though.”

Twilight turned to Lyra. “What do you think happened?” she asked.

“Well, remember back when we were in Celestia’s school and we were being taught about the steps to lifting a curse?” Lyra asked.

“I do,” Twilight nodded. It had been one of the earlier lessons they had learned in school.

“There was a note in one of our textbooks about how certain spells, enchantments, or curses can be lifted if something inside the cursed or enchanted pony changes,” Lyra said. “Like, the caster of the enchantment or curse can lay out certain conditions for said enchantment or curse to be lifted.”

“Okay, I see where you’re going with this,” Twilight said, nodding in agreement with her former Canterlot friend, “but what proof do you have?”

“Well, did you hear about how Mayor Mare got her earth pony magic back while still remaining a human?” Lyra asked.

That caught the attention of everypony there. “How in tarnation did that happen?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“When we asked her about it, she said that she had some sort of revelation,” Bon Bon said. “Something inside her changed. She said she grew a bit as a pony, but that there was more that she felt like she needed to do.”

“Did either of you experience this…resurgence of your pony magic?” Twilight asked.

“Nope,” Lyra said, “we just woke up yesterday morning and found that we were like this/” She reached up and touched her horn with her new hands. “These fingers are pretty sensitive,” she said, holding up one finger to see that the digit was wrapped in a small bandage. “I got this when I was touching my horn, I never knew how sharp they were.”

“Oh dear,” Fluttershy said, “are you alright?”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Lyra said.

“Back to the topic at hoof, though,” Bon Bon said.

“Right, sorry,” Lyra said sheepishly. “Back to our talk two nights ago. We were talking about our failures as ponies in upholding any of the tenets when it came not just to Jason, but to others like Zecora or other nonponies who passed through Ponyville who did us no harm. I’m not ashamed to admit that we were still wallowing in our own self-pity.”

Bon Bon snorted in a very ponylike way. “Some of us more than others,” she said.

Lyra gave Bon Bon a glare, but Twilight could see her eyes twinkling with amusement as well before she turned back to Twilight and the others. “We were doing some deep reflecting, I should say,” she said, “and yes, while we were throwing a pity party, our conversation was very serious.”

“What specifically did you talk about?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Well, like I said, how we failed as ponies,” Lyra said, “but then we switched topics somewhat.”

“We started talking about how we could become better ponies,” Bon Bon added.

“Right,” Lyra said. “We began asking ourselves what we could do better, and how we could train ourselves to become better. How could we not lose ourselves to our deep-seated fears and things like that.”

“And did you come up with anything?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“A good starting point,” Bon Bon said. “We needed to look at the tenets of harmony again, but also on other aspects that make a good pony.”

“Like empathy for others, acceptance of those difference than us, and to stand up not just for what we believe in, but for others and to just be good neighbors to our fellow creatures,” Lyra said. “It was a corny conversation thinking back, but it was also a good one to have.”

“Agreed,” Bon Bon said.

“Was that all you talked about?” Rarity asked, not sounding quite convinced.

“We discussed self-forgiveness for a bit,” Lyra said, “but that topic switched to basically never forgetting what we did. We even discussed asking the rest of the townsfolk to create a day where we just remember what we did. Not to wallow in misery, but as a way to never forget.”

“A reminder to always exercise the tenets of harmony,” Bon Bon added, “not just to ponies, but to all.”

“We may never forgive ourselves for what we did,” Lyra said in a somber tone, “but we can ensure that something like this never happens again as best as we can.”

“We were actually just about to ask the mayor if she could call a meeting for the town,” Bon Bon said.

“Would you six like to come?” Lyra asked.

Bon Bon frowned at this, but it wasn’t a frown of derision, which was only confirmed when she turned to Lyra. “Do you think the ponies and humans in town will want to see them?” she asked.

“Whether or not they want to see them isn’t the issue,” Lyra replied, turning back to Bon Bon with a furled brow, “but they need to be heard.” She turned back to the six. “Unless some of you still have sticks up your posteriors.” Here, she gave Rarity a glare.

The white unicorn lowered her head. “I’m not that petulant foal anymore,” she said soberly. “I know I need to take responsibility for my own crimes and betrayal of my own former element. And I would like to speak about my own abhorrent behavior.”

Lyra’s face relaxed. “Good,” she said, “because we were just about to head over when we saw you getting off and came to meet you.”

“Well, lead the way,” Twilight said.

As the two bipedal ponies turned and walked, Twilight’s analytical mind couldn’t help but observe their movements. In a way, they were extremely similar to Gregory’s. She’d watched how Spike walked over the years as well, and the two bipedal ponies in front of her did walk similarly. Heel down, then on the front, rinse, repeat. But there was something subtly different about their motion that confused Twilight. A part of her hoped that, someday, she could get to ask Gregory about it.

That was when she realized that she actually had seen something like that before. The goblin woman named Dengal had walked in an identical way. A part of her wondered if there was a difference in a walk between males and females of a bipedal or human-like species.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Lyra turned her head back to face them. “By the way, there’s a third pony that we know of who’s undergone the same transformation from human to…humony? Ponan? Humanoid pony? Anyway, somepony also changed like us.”

“Really? Who?” Rainbow asked, sounding as curious as Twilight felt.

“Octavia Melody,” Bon Bon replied.

That caught Twilight by surprise. Octavia had been one of the many ponies who participated in the mobs that chased Jason out of town, and from what she’d learned later, had been one of the crueler ponies. Still, hearing that she was now a humanoid pony was a shock to Twilight. “Did she tell you how it happened?” Rarity was the one to ask what Twilight was just about to.

“She was rather…tight lipped about the whole thing,” Bon Bon said.

“Needless to say, she’s just happy she can eat some of her favorite pony foods again,” Lyra chuckled. “I’ve never seen anypony scarf down that many hayburgers before.”

That brought further shock to the ponies. “She can eat hay again??” Twilight exclaimed. From what she knew from Gregory, humans couldn’t eat hay or some other things that ponies ate.

“She hasn’t gotten hurt like some of the other new humans who tried,” Lyra said as they turned a corner and headed down the main street towards Town Hall. “There she is now with Vinyl.”

Twilight looked past the two. Sure enough, there was a gray furred humanoid shape standing in front of Town Hall. Vinyl, who was still a normal pony, stood next to her, their height difference clearly visible. Octavia was wearing a dark blue pair of pants along with a light white sleeveless shirt. When the group was closer, the two ponies spotted them. Vinyl waved and called out, “You’re late!”

“Sorry!” Lyra called back, “we picked up some ponies who might be able to help!”

Octavia and Vinyl looked at them, and the former’s face grew briefly angry, but that gave way to self chiding, then confusion. “The former Elements?” Octavia asked in her upper Britmane accent. “Not to be rude, but how could they help?”

“Personal experience stories, for one,” Lyra explained, “and personal lessons that they may have learned.”

“Especially about the second human who was in town recently,” Bon Bon said.

Twilight wasn’t the only one who gawked at the earth pony humanoid in shock at that revelation. “How in tarnation did ya know that?” Applejack asked after a while.

“I have my sources,” Bon Bon said. “That masked mercenary who disappeared from town up near your new place had to be the other human. Most bipedal races on Erda have four digits on each claw or hand. Diamond dogs, dragons, abyssinians, and others are like that.”

“Goblins can have five digits,” Twilight argued, remembering Dengal and her five digits on each of her hands.

“That is a rarity,” Bon Bon said wryly, “and those goblins are systematically cast out from their tribes for being tainted.”

“Did that human come with you?” Octavia asked, looking past the six ponies as if searching for somepony.

“No,” Twilight said. “He and his mercenary group are somewhere else right now.”

“A shame,” Lyra said, ears flattening. “I was hoping to pick his brain about how humans live and how best they survive so we could help the other ponies around here who are humans make the best of the situation.”

“I did talk with him a few times about humans,” Twilight said, “and I’ll share that information with you.”

Lyra’s ears perked up. “We’ll sit down later,” she promised.

“Right now, though, I think it’s time to get inside and start this town meeting,” Bon Bon said as she and the other two humanoid ponies turned and walked inside, being forced to duck as they did. Twilight made a mental note of that as she and the others followed inside.

The inner chamber where town meetings were held was a lot simpler in design than the Town Hall from Ponyville, Twilight observed again. She’d only ever set hoof in this place once, and that had been when she had initially arrived in Maretime Bay. That visit had been brief because she had not wanted to stay too long, avoiding the gazes of the ponies who were there at the time. Now, though, she got a better look at it. The main hall was a rectangular affair with vaulted ceilings, a number of simple chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, lamps on sconces on the sides of the walls, and a stage at the front with a podium and several large custom built chairs sitting behind it. A couple ponies were setting up a microphone there, while most of the main floor was occupied, either with ponies in the same folding chairs, or humans sitting on cushions, presumably ones they’d brought from home.

The majority of the crowd were humans, all wearing simple clothes, either pants or shorts and sleeveless short sleeved shirts. Unlike how she had felt with Gregory, however, these humans did have a bit of magic. Not as much as a normal pony did, but enough to be detected by her own enhanced magical senses, a gift of her alicorn ascension. She did sense a hooffull of these humans who had more magic, and observed one of them using telekinesis with his new hand. Judging by the wall-eyed pegasus mare who sat beside him along with another human woman who he overheard the human male calling Rose, she guessed that he was Time Turner, Ponyville’s former resident earth pony scientist, inventor, and time keeper.

When the crowd turned and spotted the newcomers, Twilight could feel the angry stares of many of the pony-turned-human inhabitants of the town on her and her former friends. However, she was quickly distracted when a familiar face began walking up. Twilight’s eyes bulged when she saw Mayor Mare walking up to them, and just like the other three mares who were leading them, she was a humanoid pony as well.

This was an apparent surprise to the other three, who stared at the older mare in surprise. “You too?” Lyra asked softly.

Mayor Mare chuckled softly and nodded, running her new hand through her mane. “Apparently so,” she said. “It does feel nice to be able to eat some of my favorite foods again,” she added, “and to feel my full range of magic.” She looked down at her cutie mark, which was on her shoulder like those of the other three. She put a hand over it, caressing it lightly. “It’s more to have this back, too, even if it’s not in the same place.”

“You won’t hear me complaining,” Lyra said, looking down at her own golden harp cutie mark on her own shoulder.

Mayor Mare then noticed the group approaching and she frowned, more so in confusion than anything else. “Miss Sparkle? When did you and the others come back?”

“Just now,” Twilight replied, ears beginning to flatten.

Mayor Mare nodded, then looked at the others. “You’re just in time for a town meeting called by these four, then,” she said, gesturing to Lyra, Bon Bon, Vinyl, and Octavia. “I’m sure there are seats available in the back.”

“Actually, we were thinking of asking them to speak to the crowd,” Bon Bon said.

Mayor Mare’s frown deepened as she crossed her arms, seeming to consider this. “Why?” she asked.

“To give their perspective on things and to share their experiences,” Lyra said. “Mayor, look at the crowd,” she said in a lower tone, gesturing subtly to the crowd. “Everypony’s scared. Many feel like they’ve lost everything because of this transformation. Sure, some of us have magic back, but if there’s a way for anypony to change like us, that’s at least better for their current mental state than how they are now.”

“Are you saying there’s something wrong with being human?” Fluttershy asked softly, but there was an edge to it, one that Twilight had never heard from the shy pegasus.

Lyra shook her head quickly, trying to backtrack. “Not at all,” she said, “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant is that, if my hypothesis is right, and this change came from mine and Bon Bon’s realization about we were being flankholes and a true change of heart, then they will be better ponies for it, on the inside especially.” Lyra put a hand on her chest. “The outside doesn’t matter, as long as the inside is what has truly changed and evolved.”

“Who knew you could speak so eloquently?” Bon Bon said, hands on her hips with a wry grin.

Lyra blushed and elbowed her friend. “Oh stop it, you,” she said before turning to Twilight. “When this is all over, do you think that human from before would be willing to visit us and help with understanding our new bodies.”

“That is, if they’re permanent,” Octavia said as she reached down and touched one of the mounds on her upper body. “These are a pain in the back, quite literally.”

Twilight couldn’t help but blush. She knew better than most what Octavia was touching, but that could wait. “I’ll share what I know with you all later,” she promised before turning to Mayor Mare. “For now, are my friends and I permitted to stand up on stage and speak?”

Mayor Mare looked carefully at them, considering. Finally, she nodded. “If things start getting heated, though, that door on stage leads to the administrative offices and a back entrance,” she said quietly, gesturing to a small oak door at one corner of the stage.

“Understood,” Twilight said, then turned and looked at her former friends. “If any of you don’t want to talk, I doubt anypony will force you to,” she added.

“I may not be as awesome as I once was,” Rainbow said, a hint of the old brash personality coming to the surface, “hay, I’m not awesome at all right now, but I refuse to back down from facing this.”

“Ah’m with ya on that one, sugarcube,” Applejack said.

“A proper mare faces her mistakes head on,” Rarity said stalwartly, standing up taller.

“Doing the right thing is what we all need to do right now,” Pinkie Pie added.

“Regardless of how scary it is,” a somewhat nervous but determined Fluttershy finished.

Twilight smiled. It felt good to see her former friends returning back to their former selves while simultaneously having changed for the better. She turned back to the four humanoid ponies. “There you have it,” she said.

Mayor Mare nodded, then walked over to the wall where a few folding chairs were leaning. She grabbed them and with apparent ease lifted six of them up. “Then let’s go,” she said.

“Good afternoon, everyone,” Mayor Mare said about ten minutes later as she stood behind the podium, grasping the wooden structure’s sides as she faced the crowd of ponies and transformed humans before her. “Thank you for coming to this impromptu meeting. I’m sorry for calling you here on such short notice, but it’s long past time that we talk about recent events that have plagued our town.”

Twilight sat on her chair, making a conscious effort not to squirm, not because the chair was uncomfortable, but because she could practically feel the stares of the crowd on her. Behind her, Maple Leaf had joined her for some extra moral support. Twilight listened as Mayor Mare continued speaking. “I understand how many of the new humans in the crowd today feel,” she continued. “I recently was one before my more recent transformation. I know many of you have questions about this, and we will talk about it, I promise. But for now, we have a number of speakers who want to say a few words. I know many of you recognize six of them,” and here she turned and gestured towards the former Elements before turning back to the crowd, “and I know many of you harbor some resentment and anger towards them, but I need to ask that no one cause a scene. What they have to say to us is what’s more important to hear.”

Twilight could feel less than see the scowls permeating the crowd, but when nopony said anything, she relaxed slightly. She even let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Mayor Mare continued. “As you may have already seen, I’m not the only pony who has undergone this sort of transformation.” She gestured to Lyra, Bon Bon and Octavia, who were sitting on the custom built chairs. Vinyl sat next to Octavia in one of the folding chairs. Mayor Mare turned back to the crowd. “Everypony on stage here will be speaking about their own experiences and even their own thoughts on recent events. Please give them your full attention and for the love of Harmony, please don’t interrupt them. I know feelings regarding some of them are strong, but please keep silent until they have all said their peace.” With that, she turned and gestured to the ponies sitting down before she turned and walked to sit down.

Nopony in their chairs moved for a while, and Twilight almost sighed in exasperation. This was why she had wanted to spent at least five minutes talking about speaking order. Still, she had been bottling up so much for years despite her time in the mental institution. She decided to take the stand first. Standing, she walked over and stood next to the podium, which had been made not for her height, but for the height of the humanoid ponies behind her. “Good afternoon, everypony,” she began, “I’m sure you know me. I’m the pony who was the first one to meet Jason Wright when he came into town. I was also the first one who turned him away.”

Her ears flattened at the memory and of her first dismissive words to him. The only words she had ever said to him, in point of fact. Still, she pressed forward. “I was once the Element of the Magic of Friendship, but because I failed to uphold that element in regards to him, I was stripped of that title and all benefits regarding it. I’m sure some of you, if not most of you, are aware of my mental breakdown after Jason’s death. I spent a year in the Canterlot Hospital for the Mentally Unwell for a year as the doctors helped me come to terms with my crimes. And they were crimes.” She stood straighter now. “I turned away an innocent creature who simply wanted to be friends with me and my former friends, along with other ponies I’m sure.”

She looked over the crowd, who were paying attention to her perfectly now. “My initial actions led to a cycle of abuse and torment that lasted for three whole years,” she said, a tremble creeping onto her lips. “Three years in which I did nothing to help. I may not have joined in the mobs that chased him out of town or beat him up, but I condoned those actions by my own lack of action against them.” She straightened further and the tremble began to fade as her voice picked up strength. “It may not look like it, but I paid a heavy price for my crimes of complacency. I lost my friends, my station as a princess, and for a time, my own mind. I lived in a delusional state for a year after Jason’s death, believing that he was alive and that everypony had finally accepted him.” She shuddered, “I still remember those delusions as if they were reality. They still give me nightmares. And even after I was discharged, the guilt and shame haunted me. It still does.”

Biting her lower lip, she took a deep breath. “Fillies and gentlecolts, recently, I met another human who has undergone his own trials and tribulations since he came to our land. Sadly, it seems that Ponyville wasn’t the only town to reject a human. I’m sure you’ve heard about how Dodge City has been visited by Majesty, the same mare who visited Maretime Bay so recently. The ponies there chased that human out of town, and the mare who turned almost everypony here into humans turned the ponies there who chased the human visitor out into a race of reptilians called stratadons. Even after it came out that Jason had ended his life, that town didn’t report that they’d done similar things to another human, hoping to sweep it under the rug. I am in no means condoning what Majesty has done, but even before her visit, you all suffered some consequence. Ponyville is a desolate ruin after over a hundred years of peaceful existence. Everypony who lived there are practically outcasts from society and we are judged even now. However, that doesn’t mean things need to stay the way they are.”

“How can that change??” a random voice shouted from the crowd. Murmurs of assent could be heard in agreement.

“We need to accept that what we did was wrong,” Twilight said simply. “I have. It took a while to accept what I did because I lived for a year in denial, but I’ve since come to terms with the consequences of my own actions. Many in town have suffered because of what we did, but that suffering doesn’t have to be the end. We need to accept that what we did isn’t anypony’s fault but our own, learn from it, and focus on being better ponies. I may no longer be the Element of the Magic of Friendship, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn heavily from this. I will never forget what I did, and neither should I. I will never forget the consequences. And I will try my best to become a better pony.” With that, she turned, walked back, and sat down.

The crowd murmured among themselves as the next pony to stand up was Fluttershy. The crowd went silent as the shy pegasus strode boldly up to the side of the podium, looking at the crowd with a fierce determination in her eyes. “I can’t add too much to what Twilight has said,” she said, “but I can only share my own personal experience. I ignored a creature in need, betraying my former Element, the Element of Kindness. I thought I was kind, but I wasn’t when somecreature needed it more than anyone else. I abandoned the Tenets of Harmony when it came to him. My own inaction led to his death, and I still…I still struggle to reconcile with it even now. Still, I’m trying to be a better pony, kinder to others.” She sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye, then turned away as Rainbow flew over and helped her back to her seat.

The next speaker was Rainbow. She walked up, looking uncomfortable at first, but as she spoke, that went away. “I’m one of the worst ponies out there,” she began. “I purposely struck him with lightning. I saw how badly it hurt him, but in that moment I didn’t care. I thought I was being loyal to the town, but I was really just being cruel. I enjoyed hurting him. I thought I was protecting the town from a monster. But I was the real monster, and I suffered the consequence of that long before any of this began. I was stripped of my dream, and the princess was right to do so. I’ll never be a Wonderbolt again, and that much I deserve. But even so, I’m not going to let that keep me down. I’ll become a better pony because of it.”

Rarity was up next. She stood tall despite the tears in her eyes. “I chased Jason out of my boutique when generosity would have been a blessing to him. I called him a brute and many other very unladylike names. I even hurled objects at him, including some very sharp needles that stuck him. I never even considered that he could need my generosity. I only saw him as a monstrosity dirtying up my store. And even after I lost everything, I continued placing the blame onto him for what I lost. It took me longer than it should have to accept my part in all of this. As the others have said, I’m going to strive to be a better pony and never forget the harsh lessons life has taught me.”

Pinkie walked up next. “I hid from Jason whenever he came into town,” she admitted with great sorrow. “I never once offered him any sort of laughter or any other of the Tenets of Harmony. I failed in my duty as an Element of Harmony to spread laughter wherever I could, and Jason is now dead because of it and many ponies are now suffering because of it. I retreated to my farm and learned that I hadn’t really grown up. I acted like a foal a lot of the time and thought that I was a grown pony. I’ve learned more since then, and even though I’m no longer the Element of Laughter, I’m going to try and spread joy and laughter as best as I can.”

Applejack stepped forward, her ears splayed against her head as she stood next to the stand. “Ah can’t add much,” she said somberly. “Ah never once offered me or mah family’s hospitality tah Jason. He came a few times tah try an’ find a job. Ah bucked him in the ribs. Ah remember hearin’ the breakin’ bones, but ah just didn’t care. Ah thought ah was protectin’ mah family, but he never once did anythin’ tah me or mine. Ah did see him a few times grabbin’ apples off of our trees and ah sicced Winona on her, Harmony rest her soul.” A tear fell, not just at her own shame, but at the memory of Winona’s death. “Ah’ve hated mahself fer years now, but ah know how tah try an’ change mahself now. At least, ah know where tah start. It weren’t pretty tah learn how cruel ah could be, but ah have goals tah become a better pony.” With that, Applejack returned to her seat.

There was silence, and then Bon Bon stood, followed quickly by Lyra. They approached the podium and stood next to each other. Their appearance led most of the people in the room to murmur in confusion. Bon Bon held up her new hand for silence, and it eventually came. “That is the heart of the matter today,” Bon Bon began, “that we need to not only face what we did, but who we are as ponies and that we are all extremely flawed. Say what you will about Majesty’s actions, but she has at least identified the ponies who participated in the abuse hurled against Jason.” She put a hand on her chest. “I was one, Lyra here was one, and as you can see behind me, our mayor and Miss Octavia Melody.” She gestured to the crowd. “I see here that the majority of the crowd here today are humans, or at least ponies who have turned human. Quite a fitting punishment we were granted by the self-imposed queen.”

Lyra spoke next, raising her horn and using it to cast a simple telekinesis spell on a nearby glass of water. It floated up in the air inside her pale golden magical aura and into her hands. She took a sip before speaking. “Bon Bon, Miss Melody, Miss Mayor and I have regained a semblance of our pony abilities recently,” she said. “I’m sure you can see that, but I bet many of you are asking how? Believe me, I’ve asked myself that since I woke up like this, but I think the fact that Bon Bon and I stayed up late one night having a serious talk and introspection on our actions and who we are and who we want to be as ponies, or people I guess would be the politically correct term, had something to do with it. It was not a very happy conversation. In fact, I will admit tears were shed on both sides, but I believe, and this is just a belief mind you, but I believe that what happened to us is similar to what Mayor Mare experienced a while ago. She regained her earth pony magic while remaining human after working on changing herself. Then, she turned into a human-shaped version of herself. We all did, cutie mark and all.” She pointed to the cutie mark on her shoulder.

Octavia stood up and strode over. Twilight noted that, even in her current human/pony hybrid form, she moved with grace and finesse. At least, she thought that’s what she was seeing, as she had no idea if that was actually the case. “I had a similar experience two nights ago, only I was sitting up in bed reading a book called Dignity And Discrimination. For those unaware, it’s a romance story about the love between a mare and a dragon male. The couple face persecution on both sides, but the author Mercy Fields focuses more on pony prejudice. It’s not a very well known book because it was bashed by critics for, and I quote, ‘…unrealistic reactions of ponies’, which we now can say is a complete lie, now can’t we? Anyway, I was reading it and I saw examples of pony discrimination against them that sadly mirrored some of what we as a town did and some other examples I have heard of in Ponyville’s past. I realized then that I didn’t want to become like the ponies in that story. I hated seeing them plotting against the couple. I won’t spoil it but it’s a good read, and very eye opening. When I finished reading that night, I went to bed vowing to not only work on myself as a pony, or person, but to also stop blaming others for my own misdeeds. We all have that habit, and I agree with what everypony else has said here.” With that, she walked back and sat back down, Vinyl putting a reassuring hoof on her knee immediately.

“We need to look inward and face what we’ve done,” Lyra said. “Accept it. Realize that we all did what we did without it being anypony’s fault but our own, learn from it, and move forward. Without forgetting it.” She took in a deep breath, then exhaled. “I know everypony here has said virtually the same thing, but it needs to be said. We ponies tend to need to be smacked upside the head a few times before we get it. Let’s not let this time be that way, huh?” And with that, she turned, walked over with Bon Bon to their seats, and sat.

After some moments of silence, Mayor Mare stood and walked back to the podium. “I can’t add anything more to all that’s been said,” she said, “but I agree with everything that everypony here has said. I may not have participated in the mobs against Jason, but I never once offered him any sort of job that he could have used to buy anything. I reasoned that since he was being chased out that the bits would be wasted on him. I feel disgusted by those thoughts now, and that’s why I’ve worked so hard to keep this community together, offering jobs when I can to those who most need it. But anyway, I’m not going to ramble on anymore. If you all want to remain here and talk about things, the main hall will be open until seven tonight for that. And if the speakers here want to stay to talk to anypony, then please do,” she added, turning to the speakers.

Twilight straightened and stood with the others. She was about to walk down to speak to a group of inquisitive looking ponies who had been turned into humans, but she felt a hoof on her back, stopping her. She turned to see Maple looking at her. “Miss Twilight, are you sure you’re up for this?” she asked. “You haven’t really faced anypony here yet after your…release.”

A tremor of fear and nervousness flashed through her at the thought. She had always seen the looks of anger and, in some cases, hatred, on the faces of the citizens of Maretime Bay every time she’d gone into town. It always got to her, and she always went to bed crying on those nights. She almost began backing away, but stopped. No, she thought, that was what affected you in the first place, Twilight. That’s what caused you to turn Jason away.

She straightened. “I’ll be alright,” she said as she turned. She put one hoof in front of the other…