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Chapter Text

“ MOTHER ?!”

“ Huh ?!” Lauren gasped, as those words escaped Princess Celestia’s lips. Meanwhile, around them, the Mane Six and Spike reacted with shock and surprise, as they realized Princess Celestia herself, the only pony who could raise and lower the sun, an immortal alicorn who had ruled Equestria for more than a thousand years, had just addressed somepony as her mother.

Did she just call me ‘mother’? This cannot be! Wait, Nightmar e Moon seemed to know me before, perhaps she was aware this world was created by my own imagination? Do Celestia and Luna know about it? But then-

Before she could elaborate further on the question, Lauren found herself in a bone-crushing hug as Princess Luna rushed against her, her light-blue mane right in front of her nose as Lauren realized she was crying. Instinctively, Lauren moved to hug her back, her wings wrapping around the princess of the night, pressing her closer, her head nuzzling into the back of Luna's neck.

“Shhh, don’t cry Lulu. I’m here now.” She tried to comfort her, rubbing her back with her hoof. Poor Lulu, always so…so... wait, what am I doing? Her eyes flickered with panic, as she realized what was happening. There she was, Princess Luna, the sovereign of the Night and one of the two Alicorn Sisters… and she was treating her as her own kid?

She pulled back, breaking the hug as she nervously tried to reassert her situation.

“I-I apologize for that; I don’t know what came over me.”

Luna soured, an expression mixed between disappointment, confusion and worry on her face, while Celestia, taking advantage of the time the two were hugging, had moved forward and was now standing side-to-side with her younger sibling, she too shared the same expression of confusion and worry.

“Mother, are you feeling alright?” The Sun Princess questioned.

“I apologize, your majesties, but I think you have confused me for someone else. I’m not your mother. And again, I'm sorry for acting like that, Princess Luna. I genuinely have no idea what came over me.”

Another awkward silence fell onto the room, as the two sisters exchanged a worried glance.

"What art thou saying?” Luna spoke first. “Art thou not Lauren Faust?"

“Well, that is my name.” Lauren conceded. “However-”

Celestia said nothing. Instead, her horn lit, a glowing golden aura surrounding Lauren.

“What are you doing?”

“Do not fret.” Luna replied, “We wrote this spell, it won't do aught but prove thine identity.”

Ok, the Ye Olde English was funnier on the production- wait, did she just say, ‘prove my identity’?

The golden aura surrounding Lauren disappeared as the spell stopped, Celestia’s expression turning into a bright smile. “It is you. The spell confirmed it, you’re Lauren Faust, our mother, and you’re here, alive and healthy! And that means… you are the Queen.”

“ Queen ?!” Twilight, who until now had been silently listening to the conversation, promptly yelled in shock. 

“Oh, right.” Princess Celestia chuckled, only then remembering the six new holders of the Elements of Harmony (plus one young, yet very powerful dragon) were still in the room. “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, I want you to meet our mother, Lauren Faust, High Queen of Equestria.”

“ Queen ?”  Spike murmured, his eyes filled with shock as he walked up to Lauren, before dropping to his knees. “ Your Majesty ! I gravel at your feet .” He then grabbed one of Lauren’s hooves and began to kiss it aggressively, making the red-maned alicorn react with embarrassment.

“ Stop it .” Lauren groaned, pulling her hoof free.

“Ok, first, it’s ‘I grovel’ not ‘I gravel’, and second… Spike, what are you doing ?” Twilight started to reprimand him. “You never did that before, not even to Princess Celestia!”

“But Twilight, she’s the Queen! I didn’t even know we had one!”

“So, let me get this straight.” Rainbow Dash interjected as well. “You are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s mother, the Queen of Equestria? And you never told us?!”

“Look, this changes nothing !” Lauren tried to counter. “I’m still the same pony you all met at the library, when you came to join Pinkie’s party for Twilight, the pony who accompanied you all the way here through the Everfree Forest! I’m still me!”

“ But with power! ” Dash pumped one of her hooves in the air. “Also, you didn’t tell us you had wings and a horn! Why did you keep them hidden? We could have had a flying race, on the way here!”

“Well, obviously because I didn’t want for others to learn I had wings and horn, since only alicorns have the full set.” Luna and Celestia snickered in response. “Do you have any idea how the whole of Ponyville might have reacted, if I had shown myself as an alicorn? Moreover, wings are much easier to hide compared to horns.”

“Perhaps, it would be better to continue our little chat elsewhere, don’t you agree, my little ponies?” Princess Celestia spoke. “After all, Luna and I have… a lot of catching up to do with our mother.”

“Huh, before we do that, perhaps it would be better if I inform you of a few more things, for the sake of… honesty,” Lauren said, looking at Applejack for a brief second before resuming her speech. “I can’t possibly be your mother, because I don’t even come from this place. I know this is going to make me sound crazy, but… I’m not even a pony .”

“ You’re not ?” Rarity questioned, obviously pointing out how inconsistent Lauren’s words sounded like, compared to her current appearance. “But then, what are you supposed to be?”

“Well, not sure if you are familiar with the term, but… do you know what a human is ?”

(...)

“-and when I woke up again, I found myself lying in some clearing, already in this body, with no idea how I ever got here in the first place.” Lauren finished her story, looking up from where she was sitting, the two Alicorn sisters, the Mane Six and Spike all listening to her. They were all back in Ponyville, inside the Golden Oak, a small squad of Royal Guards surrounding the library to protect them from the crowd outside.

“So, you claim to be… some kind of monkey?” Applejack snorted, clearly not believing what she was hearing.

“Humans are not monkeys!” Lauren countered. “We are just like them… to the 99.99 percent. But it’s that 0.01 that gives us power.”

“Isn’t that basically being the same thing?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“I like those percentages!” Pinkie remarked.

“So, you claim there is another world, another dimension, just like ours, and these ‘humans’ are the only sentient species living in such a world?” Twilight questioned, having taken notes of everything Lauren said. “But… aren’t there ponies in your world?”

“There are, but not like here. To start, we don’t have pegasi or unicorns, only Earth Ponies, and we call them ‘horses’ back there. Plus, they’re bigger, taller, buffer, and they’re not sentient, just like any other creature on Earth. I know how that sounds, but-”

“Actually, I can confirm that.” Princess Celestia said, after having listened in silence to Lauren’s story for several minutes. “I knew about the existence of these so-called ‘humans’. In fact, I was once very dear friends with a group of very special humans.”

Wait, is she talking about Molly, Megan and Danny? That wasn’t just some hallucination, what had I seen during the headache? They did exist?!

“Nevertheless, I hope you can accept my apologies again, your highness, but as I’ve explained, I can’t possibly be your mother. I wasn’t even alive over one thousand years ago!”

“Oh, but you were.”

“Huh?” Lauren and the Mane Six all gasped at once as they saw Luna and Celestia smile with a smug, yet heartfelt shared expression.

“The spell mine sister used vanquished any doubt.” Luna nodded. “Thou art our mother, Lauren Faust, with an approximate age of ten thousand years.”

“ Ten thousand years ?!” Lauren gasped, unable to accept such a notion. After all, which female of any species would have been able to accept that they were older than the whole human civilization?

“Indeed! Tell me, mother, can you remember which age you were supposed to be, as a human, before you came here? Or your latest address of residence?”

“Of course I can remember that! I am- I am… wait, why can't I remember my age?! ” Lauren shouted, realizing that Celestia was right: she couldn’t remember any specific detail of her former life. She remembered her studies and going to work as an animator, every movie and franchise she worked on, yet she couldn’t recall what her age was supposed to be, or even where she lived.

“That’s what I suspected.” Princess Celestia continued. “From what you told us, and from what my spell has been able to tell me, the best hypothesis I have is that your previous ‘life’ as a human on Earth was a consequence of some enhanced translocation spell. Somehow, passing from one dimension to another made you restart your whole life from zero, growing up and old as a human before passing away. But when your physical human body died your soul was sent back to its original dimension, ours, so you were returned to your real appearance.”

Wait, but that does mean… I passed away? I was dead?! Lauren’s eyes widened in horror, as she realized the implication within Celestia’s words. Has she lived a long and fulfilling life on earth, before finding herself in Equestria? Was Quinn a teenager now, or maybe she was an adult yet? Was Craig still alive or had he passed over before her?

I hope I did write down my will before any of that, or Tara’s family would have never got that very special ‘gift’ I had planned for them…

“So… you’re saying that I was… this, before even being human?”

“It is only a theory, so far, yet it would explain many things about your story that wouldn’t make sense otherwise. For example, how you knew about everything that was about to happen, and how you knew each one of them.” She pointed to Twilight and her friends.

Lauren mentally cursed herself: when she told them of her life on Earth, she had avoided telling them about her role in creating the fourth generation of the My Little Pony Franchise, so she couldn’t explain why she had recognized Twilight and Fluttershy, back when they met outside the library. Or why she was aware of Nightmare Moon’s return, when only Twilight had the slightest idea about her possible escape. Or why had she been so ready to trust these six ponies, and to help them all the way through the Everfree Forest.

“I suspect your Equestrian nature, alongside the intertemporal difference between our dimension and the humans’ native one, allowed you to see glimpses of our world, either memories from the past or forecast of events that were still to happen.”

Is she implying that the whole Generation 4 was something that would have happened for real, and I somehow predicted it?

But then-

“You mean that… that I really am your mother?” Lauren said in realization, unable to deny the fact in front of her any longer, just as Luna once again lunged toward her, tears dropping down from her eyes, filled with shame and remorse.

“Mother, I-I hath no excuse for what I hath done. I knew mineself should hast restrained Nightmare Moon, yet I could do naught.  I was a prisoner, trapped in mine own body-”

“Shhh, it’s okay Lulu.” Lauren said, her motherly instincts taking over again, moving one of her wings and placing it on the alicorn of the night’s shoulder. “You don’t have to apologize. What Nightmare Moon has done… that wasn’t you , I know. You allowed your own jealousy and your anger to control your mood, and taking advantage of your weakness, the darkness used those negative emotions as the cornerstone to create their own champion. Yet, the same prophecy that was meant to warn about her, also foretold about Nightmare Moon’s defeat and your liberation.”

“F-foretold?” Rarity questioned.

“ On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars shall aid her escape .” Lauren recited. “Don’t you realize, the wording makes no sense? Why would the stars, who had always been loyal to you, help the villain controlling your body to break free? That’s when you should have realized… that those weren’t the stars the prophecy was talking about.”

As she said that last sentence, Lauren looked at Twilight, and more specifically, at the cutie mark over her flank. The lavender unicorn gasped, everyone focusing on her, as she realized what Lauren was trying to tell them.

“The stars… was a reference to my own Cutie Mark?!” Celestia’s personal student said, her voice filled with emotion.

“Indeed, young Lady Sparkle.” Lauren nodded, not realizing she was using a ‘motherly’ mannerism like the one Celestia often used. “You and your friends were the stars mentioned in the prophecy. “Just as I mentioned that Nightmare Moon was the prison, not the prisoner. The prophecy was never about Nightmare Moon escaping, but rather, it foretold about you and your friends, the newest incarnations of the Elements of Harmony, bringing forth Princess Luna’s redemption.”

Luna’s eyes widened as she realized the truth. “Mother, you’re right! The prophecy wasn’t about me at all! It was about Nightmare Moon!”

“That’s correct, my dear.” Lauren smiled warmly at her ‘daughter’, proud of her intelligence. “You see, Luna, sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways. Just like your big sister .”

“Wait, me ?” Celestia chuckled nervously, as Lauren’s gaze moved toward her. “Oh my, I have no idea about what you-”

“You can stop trying to keep the charade up, Tia.” The red-maned alicorn countered. “Do you really think I haven’t noticed? Do you perhaps think it is a coincidence that this library, the library of a small rustic town, would contain a book specifically talking about the Elements of the Harmony, including their full rooster and their last known position, whereas to find them?”

As Lauren spoke, Twilight’s eyes widened even more. She recalled the book Pinkie had found in the library, and that had provided her and her friends key info about the Elements (and that Lauren, obviously, was already aware of before): now that she thought about it, it was weird that such a specific volume had been part of the library’s catalogue.

But then-

“So, Rosetta- I mean , Lauren was right !” Spike announced, walking in from the kitchen, carrying a refill of hot flavory tea and sugar for all ponies, looking at Celestia. “You did set everything up for when we would arrive, so we would find the information we needed to rescue your sister.”

“Well-”

“And let’s not forget how the book with Nightmare Moon’s prophecy just happened to be part of your student’s assigned studies.” Lauren continued, “Or what about the Summer Sun Celebration, with the participation of Princess Celestia herself, being held in a small town that just happens to be the closest to the castle? And what a coincidence that you sent your own apprentice to oversee the preparations, and in doing that, she developed lasting bonds with five other mares who just happen to be the new holders of the Elements, leading her to unlock her own power within herself!”

“Wait, what does that mean ?” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“Looks like the Princess planned all of this.” Rarity replied.

“You mean she knew this Nightmare Moon would be back, and you let us deal with it?” Applejack gasped in shock.

“Sister, is it true ?!” Luna looked at Celestia with an accusatory look. “You manipulated your own student and these five ponies?”

“ No !” Celestia shouted, as she felt the weight of several inquisitive eyes on her. “I’d never manipulate anypony, let alone my own prized student. But…” she looked down, shame on her face, “you’re right when you say I knew more than I showed.”

“ Princess ?”

“Twilight Sparkle, my dear student,” the princess once turned her attention to the purple unicorn. “It’s true that I knew you were the next Element of Magic, ever since you managed to pass a test that was supposed to be unpassable. That’s part of the reason why I choose to take you as my disciple.”

“Wait, unpassable ?” Spike jerked. “But the exam… was that when my egg- I wasn’t supposed to hatch at all ?!”

“To be completely honest with you, Twilight, my hopes at the beginning were to locate all six of the next holders of the Elements, so I could teach them and prepare them for what they would face. But… unfortunately, I can’t see everything happening in Equestria, so I wasn’t able to locate any of you besides Twilight.”

“You mean we could have been the Princess students too?” Fluttershy blushed, thinking how her filly self would have reacted if she received such an offer.

“Growing up in Canterlot, surrounded by the cream of the crop of the society… oh my !” Rarity spoke with delight, starting to daydream.

“I always assumed the bond you shared with the Elements would eventually draw you together, so this is why I granted my royal permission to a certain family to settle on this land.” Princess Celestia looked at Applejack, the Earth pony farmer gasping as she realized what she was referring to. “But without knowing your identities, nor having any way to recognize you, my best hope was to keep my eyes onto Twilight and see her develop bonds with the ponies around her, hoping that at least one or more would be the next holders of the Elements. For a while, I assumed I had successfully identified them, in her own study mates.”

Twilight stuttered, thinking back to her own friends in Canterlot, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine, Lyra, Moon Dancer- what would have happened, if they had come with her? Ah, what it might have been…

“You have no idea how many of my plans to deal with Nightmare Moon relied on hope, hope I could successfully identify all the Elements before the time had come, to train them and prepare them. But, as the years went by, nothing seemed to happen: you were so engrossed in your own studies you barely paid any attention to anything else. Part of me even wished I could tell you the truth, to explain to you why it was so crucial for you to make friends, but… I was afraid. Afraid I would have ruined it, by trying to force you into making friends… just like I did, back when I was forced to exile my own sister. This is why I couldn’t use the Elements myself after so many years.”

“Sister…”

“ The worst day of my life . I lost my own sister due to being shortsighted and unable to see beyond the admiration everypony bashed onto me every day. The Elements knew, and while they allowed me to win on that day, they’ve refused me ever since. And without them, I knew it was only a matter of time before Equestria was doomed. This is why I sent you to Ponyville: it wasn’t a plan, but rather, a contingency.”

“ Contingency ?!” Everyone gasped at the same time.

“I sent you here, on a small quiet city far away from Canterlot, so you would be safe when Nightmare Moon took over the throne; I personally inserted the book about Nightmare Moon on your studies, so you would be aware of the threat, and thus you would have time to get prepared for the challenge ahead. And I even hid a key book of my own making in this very library, so you’d learn about the Elements, and where you would find them. I hoped that, eventually, you would be able to gather the other holders, and you would find the Elements and defeat Nightmare Moon.” Celestia explained, tears falling down her cheeks. “I even had a premade scroll to be sent to you, with a magical delay, telling you the whole truth and to stay safe, set to teleport to your location as soon as the Sun failed to rise the next day.”

“Failed to rise?” Luna gasped in horror, realizing what her sister meant. “Thou don’t mean-”

“Yes, I was mentally prepared to spend the next few years, perhaps even decades, trapped into the Sun, just as I had done to you for over a thousand years. I expected to be liberated only to find Equestria in ruins or worse! I surely wasn’t expecting for… for…”

Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and Alicorn of the Sun, looked at her own student and apprentice with teary eyes of joy, the smaller unicorn in shock to see her in such a state.

“Twilight Sparkle, you have rendered outstanding service to us today. Once again, you have exceeded even my best expectations, like on the day of your exam. You and your friends… not only have you saved all of Equestria, not only have you rescued me from my imprisonment, not only have you saved my sister and restored her to her true self… but you also allowed us to rejoin our mother, who we had deemed lost forever millennia ago.”

Lauren shivered, as Celestia’s gaze moved toward her, and with an abrupt move, pushed her face onto her chest, filling her nostrils with the familiar smell of Lauren’s mane, the red-maned alicorn right wing covering her while Luna moved to her left side.

It was then that Lauren’s motherly instinct took hold completely, pushing any doubts from her mind with the force of a freight train.

“It’s all right, Tia. It’s alright. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.” I don’t know if I’m really your mother or not, but if you see me as such, I surely won’t step back.

“Your majesties!” The unicorn captain of the Royal guard deployed outside entered. “The crowd’s getting restless, the rumor about- oh.” He stopped as he saw both alicorn princesses holding their supposed ‘mother’ in a heartfelt hug, Lauren giving him her best ‘don’t ruin the moment’ look. “Huh… I guess I should get back outside. Yeah, that’s better.”

“Mother, we can’t stay here any longer.” Luna peeked from under Lauren’s wing. “We need to get you back and introduce you before the nobles get word about your return.”

“Indeed, it’s a pity we have to stop such a moment, but it’s time for us to get back.” Celestia nodded. “I must warn you; things have changed a lot since you left, and even more while Luna was away. Many things you were used to… you may have some problems re-adapting to them.”

“That’s not a problem at all!” Lauren replied. “As long as we’re going to have a roof over our heads and warm food to eat, it won’t matter where we’re going to live.” Plus, I am curious to see what Canterlot looks like in real life .

It was then that Celestia, just like canon, noticed Twilight’s sad expression. “Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?”

“That's just it.” Twilight replied. “Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them.”

Celestia smiled. “Spike, take a note please! I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville.”

“Huh, Tia?” Lauren piped in. “If I’m allowed…, can I suggest a few changes? First off, does your student have to send reports weekly, or just whenever she or her friends learn something new?”

“It may be whenever they learn something new!” The princess of the day replied. As Twilight gasped, covering her mouth with her hoof.

“Also, before that, I would like to invite Twilight and her new friends back into Canterlot, in a week or two from today.” Lauren added, the rest of the Mane 6 and Spike gasping like Twilight had done. “You did a great service to all of Equestria today, so it would only be proper if you were to receive a reward appropriate to your success. And… in confidence, perhaps it would be better if you were to set your duties in order in Canterlot, before relocating here permanently, Miss Twilight. I remember you told me your family resides in the capital, so it would be better to tell them you’re moving. And while the bond you had with them wasn’t as strong as the one you have with each pony currently in this room, I think your former school mates deserve to salute you one last time. Especially a certain pony, who I heard she was supposed to hold a party yesterday, and she really looked forward to see you-”

“Oh my, Moondancer !” Twilight gasped, as Lauren’s words helped her remember. “I have to go and see her, and apologize I couldn’t go to her party!”

“She was having a party, and you didn’t go?!” Pinkie Pie said with an irked expression. “That’s mean!”

“Well, she was a bit busy saving the whole of Equestria and befriending each one of you, so I think her behavior was excusable, considering the circumstances.” Lauren continued. “I guess I should come with her and hopefully clear up the misunderstanding. Besides, your friend’s not the only ‘unsolved business’ you have in Canterlot: I recall you borrowed a book from your local library, titled ‘ Perfection: The Impossible Pursuit’. And… it’s overdue since yesterday!”

“ WHAT ?!” Twilight yelled, as she once again began to go Twili-nanas. “ I’m tardy?! But I can’t have an overdue book! My title as best book borrower! I've never turned in a book even a minute late! And this one-”

“I’m sure the library staff will understand, if you explain your reason behind your lateness. Besides, it’s not like you’re not going to return to Canterlot, at least once a while: you did promise me you would help me get the hang of my magic, did you?” Twilight’s fear of finding out about her overdue book was stopped cold, as she remembered her promise. “Oh, by the way, Miss Rarity, since now you know my secret, I have no more reason to refuse your offer, so I shall be glad to model for you… that is, if the offer still stands.”

Rarity stuttered, as she was forcefully reminded she had asked the mother of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the one and only Queen of Equestria, to be the model for her clothes and outfits.

“And the same goes for you, Miss Dash. Since you now know I have wings like you, I guess I’ll be more than happy to accept your… challenge …”

So, this is Canterlot , Lauren gasped as she looked down, the Royal Chariot flying through the sky, pulled by several pegasi Royal guards at once, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing at her sides as the author-turned-alicorn queen finally saw the city she herself had created for the series.

Once again, the show’s depiction didn’t give the capital city of Equestria justice: nestled on the slopes of a towering mountain, a breathtaking city of concentric circles unfolded before the eye, encircled by rivers and waterfalls that cascaded from the mountain, flowing through the city's canals and waterways, and culminating in grand waterfalls that plunged into the basin below. A vast, circular section of the city, encircled by water on three-quarters of its circumference, boasted a grand square at its heart, also circular in shape and adorned with a small patch of vibrant green trees. Further down, another section of the city, nestled between the inner circle and the walls, housed several grand structures, including what appeared to be a Roman-style amphitheater. Higher up, other concentric sections of the city connected to various platforms, where airships, airplanes, and other lighter-than-air aerial transportation were docked. And at the very edge of the grand city, almost perched on the plain below, stood the Royal Palace of Equestria, a majestic fairytale castle with purple roofs and golden decorations, reaching for the sky.

It was here that the chariot, carrying the three alicorns, was headed.

“Sister, is this where you live now?” Luna gasped, looking with amazement at the city down under. “Is this the city of Canterlot you were talking about?”

“Many things have changed in one thousand years; this is our home now.” Celestia turned her head toward Lauren. “And yours as well, mother.”

The pegasi soldiers landed right in front of the entrance to the castle, allowing Lauren and Luna to notice that quite a large crowd of ponies, including servants and guards of the castle, but also several functionaries, had gathered and were now watching them. Among the crowd, Lauren could recognize Kibitz, the gray-haired unicorn pony with bushy eyebrows and a long mustache who was also Princess Celestia's royal scheduling advisor in the comics, staring with wide eyes as three alicorns stepped down from the carriage. Meanwhile, in front of the crowd-

“ Auntie !” A pink alicorn with bright purple eyes, curly mane and tail and an image of the Crystal Heart as her cutie mark rushed forward, accompanied by a unicorn in purple uniform, symbol of the Captain of the Royal Guard.

“You’re safe! You have no idea how worried I was! When the sun didn’t rise, me and Shiny immediately rushed to return to Canterlot. We didn’t find you, but-”

“Princess, where is my sister?” Shining Armor questioned, his voice betraying his panic. “ Where’s Twily ?”

“Fear not, my little pony. Your sister’s fine .” Celestia replied. “She had made new friends and requested to stay in Ponyville for the foreseeable future. I have agreed with her request, and she will use her time to study the magic of Friendship and send up a report about her findings. However, you should not focus on her absence, but rather on her achievements: Twilight Sparkle not only had become the new holder of the Element of Magic, but together with the next generation of the Elements of Harmony, she had returned to me some ponies I thought I had lost forever.”

It was then that Luna and Lauren rejoined Celestia, the former human internally smiling as she saw the surprise in the pink alicorn’s face.

Yeah, that’s the same kind of expression I did when I found out those executives at Hasbro changed you from a simple unicorn to a full-blown alicorn . At least with Luna, I ended up agreeing with the idea.

“Everypony,” Celestia continued, “this is my sister, Princess Luna!”

Several ponies among the crowd, while surprised, immediately bowed down, Luna smiling proudly as they showed her the respect due to her rank. Lauren, meanwhile, stood behind her two daughters still unsure if she had to say something and what.

“And this,” Celestia now turned toward Lauren, everypony turning with her, their gaze falling onto the red-maned alicorn, the former human gulping as she realized they were staring at her, “is our beloved mother the one and only Queen of Equestria Lauren Faust!”

“ Queen ?!” Lauren heard several ponies gasp among the crowd, many trying to keep their voice under check, but a few, especially those in the rear of the crowd, shouting with disbelief, uncaring about the emotions they showed.

“But… we never had a Queen!”

“Actually, yes, you did, only you weren’t aware.” Princess Celestia apologized. “It is my fault, for never mentioning it before, but she was away, and my sister and I were ruling in her place. However, she is now back, and ready to rejoin us!”

Lauren took a few steps forward, mentally amused by the various reaction her presence was causing, before deciding it would be better to address them as well:

“Greetings, my little ponies,” Lauren Faust, former creator of the Fourth generation of the My Little Pony franchise, and now High Queen of Equestria, said in a gentle voice, the same one she used whenever she had to deal with pre-teen audiences. “It brings me so much joy to see how much Equestria had developed ever since the last time I saw it. It makes me happy to see all pony tribes, Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorn and other races working together to build a better future together, rather than squabble and waste time and opportunities by quarreling over petty issues. And it makes me even happier to see what you all have achieved.”

“Y-your Majesty?” Kibitz nodded, slowly approaching Lauren, his head so lowered the mustached unicorn was staring at the ground. “I’m-”

“Kibitz, I know you.” Lauren replied, shocking the unicorn and several other ponies in the attendance. “You’re my eldest daughter’s most trusted advisor and day consultant. I wish to thank you for your service, as well for everything you do each day to help her with her schedule.”

Lauren hadn’t planned anything too big when she said those words: she simply wanted to thank him for his hard work and treat him with kindness. Yet, as Kibitz listened to her, she saw his eyes widen, her mouth open before he bowed even more, basically slamming his forehead on the ground.

“Your Majesty! There are no words that can describe the emotions you made me feel with those gentle words. I was already willing to serve and assist you simply because you were our beloved Princess’ mother, but now- I swear fealty to you, to our only and true Queen! For as long as I live, I’ll serve you and your majesty, just as I have served and I will continue to serve your daughter!”

“Me too!” One of the Royal guards who had been on guard when the chariot landed dropped down. “I swear fealty to you, our beloved Queen!”

“I swear fealty-”

“-Our graceful and kind queen-”

“-may Harmony forever bless her and give her endless happiness-”

Lauren felt embarrassed as the whole crowd of guards and servants lowered down, all swearing fealty to their newfound queen while Cadance, Shining Armor, Luna and Celestia watched.

“You still have got it in you, right mother?” Celestia said with a chuckle. “Five minutes since you’ve met your new subjects, and you’ve already started to win their sympathies.”

“That wasn’t my intention!” Lauren replied. “I was just being kind! Come on, get back on your feet! You don’t have to bow in front of me!”

“Nonsense!” Luna countered. “They’re simply showing their respect to their legit sovereign! In fact, I think they didn’t bow fast enough!”

“It’s fine, Lulu.” Celestia replied, just as Cadance and Shining Armor walked toward the trio, both with low heads in respect.

“G-greetings, Your Majesty.” Cadence said in a low tone. Britt was right: she is adorable ! Lauren thought in her head, seeing the pink alicorn of love up close. Oh, this is a too-good chance to pass this up.

“So,” Lauren turned head toward Celestia, speaking with a teasing voice. “Do you have something to tell me? And who is the lucky stallion?”

Princess Celestia gasped in shock, Cadence blushing furiously, while Shining Armor stuffed, trying to hold back his laughter.

“It’s not like that-”

“Indeed!” Luna spoke as well, before Celestia, Cadence or anyone else had any chance to clear up the misunderstanding. “She is an alicorn like us, and since both mom and I were unavailable, she can only be thy child! Lest you’d crave to say to me there are other alicorns in Equestria, and thou forgot to mention it till now ?”

Ok, note to self: if I must start issuing royal degrees, my first one shall be to give Luna a proper teacher of modern dialect.

“I’m not her daughter, I’m her niece !”

“ What ?” Luna seemed to get angry to hear that. “Sister, would thou reject thine own daughter ?!”

“I didn’t-”

“ ENOUGH !” Lauren shouted, her Royal Canterlot Voice making her voice echo through the whole courtyard of the castle. “I think it is time we get inside so we can discuss… this privately and civilly. Captain?”

“Your Majesty?”

“Please escort me and my daughter, plus Miss Cadence here, inside. It’s been a long day, I’m quite tired and I’d like some hot tea and some sweets to rest my mind.”

“U-understood!” Shining Armor saluted, rushing inside with a sprint.

“Now,” Lauren turned again, looking at the other three alicorns with authoritative eyes, “shall we go?”

(…)

“So, you aren’t my sister’s foal?” Luna murmured; her voice filled with embarrassment.

“No, I’m just her niece by adoption.” Cadence explained. “I was born a pegasus, but after I faced some evil enchantress called Prismia, who tried to steal all love from the ponies in the village I grew up, not only did I earn my cutie mark, but I ended up in some kind of weird place and became… well, this .” The pink alicorn pointed at the horn on her forehead, while opening her wings a bit.

“So, you weren’t an alicorn by birth, but you ascended after proving yourself worthy?” Lauren said, pretending to be interested even if she knew Cadence's supposed backstory. “And then Tia chose to take you in and adopt you as her niece?”

“It was all for her own protection.” The Alicorn of the Sun replied, taking another sip off her tea. “You must understand, it had been centuries since you were gone, Lulu, and many ponies assumed that I was the only alicorn at all. Do you have any idea how those nobles would have reacted, once they found out a small pegasus filly who had grown up with Earth ponies her whole life, had suddenly become one of us?”

“You know, it’s almost comforting to hear that the nobles are still the same bunch of paranoid, incompetent, ever-scheming opportunists they were a thousand years ago.” The Alicorn of the Moon smirked. “After seeing how many things have changed ever since, to find something has stayed basically the same is… reassuring .”

“So, if you’re auntie’s mother,” Cadence questioned, looking at Lauren, “then that makes you… my grandma ?”

Urgh , Lauren felt like her heart had just been stabbed as the word ‘grandma’ reached her, kneeling forward and almost slamming her forehead on the chocolate cake slice in front of her.

“Mother, are you alright? Do we need to recall the medic?”

“I’m… fine, Lulu.” Lauren took a deep breath, trying to control her own emotions. “It’s just… it has been so sudden… to find out I’m supposed to be over ten thousand years old when my mind still doesn’t feel beyond forty, my daughters are all grown up and have been taking care of things in my absence and being called grandma.”

“You don’t want me to call you grandma?” Cadence asked, a shadow of sadness passing over her face. “Isn’t that correct?”

“It is! Only… I don’t think my heart is ready to have someone call me their grandmother. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to do that, only… can I get some time to get used to the situation, and perhaps call me something else?”

“Then, how about Gruntie?” Cadence teased; her momentary sadness replaced by a sly smirk. “That’s short for ‘great-aunt’ since you are aunt’s mother.”

“ That’s perfect !” Lauren nodded before moving on to the next point. “Ok, I know that you probably have a lot of questions that you want to ask me, and I too have questions that I’d like to ask, so… how about we make a deal? You ask one question, and I’ll try to answer it to the best of my abilities, and then I ask you one question with the same manner.”

“If that’s not a problem, can I be the first to ask?” Cadence suggested. “I am curious: you said you spent all this time in another world, one populated by some weird kind of monkeys.”

“They weren’t monkeys, they called themselves humans.” Lauren mentally groaned, wondering how long it would be before she started to hear monkey jokes going around. “And what do you want to know about it?”

“Well, you spent the equivalent of a whole life among them, yet they didn’t seem to be bothered by your appearance?”

“Oh, I wasn’t like this. In their world I was one of them.”

“You were a monkey?”

“ Human , and yes, that is exactly what I was. I have some difficulties explaining what they look like, but perhaps, you could ask Tia: she had known some humans, back when she was a filly.”

“Uhm, that would be a story for a later time, mom.” The princess replied. “However, I must admit I am curious about what kind of life you had among them. I must guess that, since you had no memories of Equestria, you weren’t aware of your royal status.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“But then, how did you manage to survive among them?” Luna wondered with a puzzled look.

“It wasn’t easy, I admit it.” Lauren replied, thinking back to her own childhood. “But either I was lucky, or harmony protected me, because I was blessed with a good family, loving and supporting parents, and a chance to follow my dreams in order to get myself an occupation that I loved.”

“And what kind of employment did you hold among them?”

“I was… a storyteller.” The red-maned alicorn explained, juggling as she tried to find the right words to explain her previous life without risking telling too much. “I liked to create stories for children.”

“ Children ?” Cadence questioned.

“That’s their equivalent of foals.”

“ Oh !”

“Yes, mom always had the greatest talent for creating and narrating stories, ever since Tia and I were small fillies.” Luna said with a heartfelt voice, as her memory brought her back to those far away happy times. “And everypony loved the stories mom would make for us.”

“Well, luckily I was able to keep my dreams going, so little by little, I managed to further my own career with them. I started developing stories with authors, but after a while, I was able to pitch my own ideas as well to the studios-”

“Wait, studios?” Celestia gasped, a tone of excitement. “Don’t tell me… you were able to make your stories into plays? Actual theatrical plays?”

“I… suppose so?” Lauren spoke, realizing she had just made a faux pass, yet willingly let Celestia draw her own conclusions. She knew it wasn’t honest, but… how was she supposed to explain the whole concept of the internet and cartoons to one of the most popular cartoon characters of all ages?

Celestia giggled happily, tip-toeing on her hooves before starting to prance around, to Lauren’s confusion, Cadance’s shock and Luna’s miffed amusement.

“Celestia?”

“Auntie?”

The Alicorn of the Sun stopped, reassuming her royal proper appearance and behavior. “I…. I apologize for having got so excited. It’s just, ever since I was a little filly, I always loved plays. Our friends used to put them on all the time, and they were always so wonderful! Everypony comes together to create a magical experience to share with others.”

When did I write that into Celestia’s character? Lauren gasped at her supposed daughter’s confession. I don’t remember adding it when I first defined her: is that something I decided to change later, just like when I agreed to make her a Princess rather than a full-blown queen? Or perhaps, is it still something else those guys at Hasbro decided to add on later season?

But then, just hearing it makes me feel so… happy, and proud?

“I've always believed theater brings out the best in us,” Celestia concluded, “and forges a special bond of friendship.”

“I didn’t know you used to be an actress!” Cadence gasped, only for Luna to shake her head.

“She didn’t.” The Alicorn of the Moon clarified. “Oh, she would have loved to…”

“I was always too busy with my own magical lessons to be part of any plays myself.” Celestia nodded, her expression turning sour for an instant. “You must understand mother, it was barely after you were gone. Lulu and I at the time were under the care of a powerful unicorn wizard called Starswirl the Bearded-”

“I know about him,” Lauren replied, before remembering she needed a reason for that. “Your apprentice, Twilight, was very vocal about her idol.”

“Oh yeah, Twily’s always been quite… enthusiastic about Starswirl. Considering the feats he achieved, that’s quite understandable.”

Would you still say that, once you met him? Lauren thought, thinking back to the episode where Twilight and her friends would eventually rescue Starswirl and his companions, only to unwittingly release the Pony of Shadows as well. The saying ‘never try to meet your heroes’ didn’t even describe the emotional rollercoaster the lavender alicorn went through.

Perhaps, I could try to smooth things over? Warning Luna and Celestia about Starswirl, gather a bunch of Royal Guards, have everything set so we can vanquish the Pony of Shadow as soon as it’s freed, rescue Stygian and have the whole plot solved without so much unnecessary drama? But would that be enough to convince Starswirl, or without the episode’s events, he would maintain his ‘evil-doers cannot be redeemed’ view?

“Well, he did watch over my daughters while I was away.” Lauren nodded, trying to keep her tone of voice neutral. “I guess I should be thankful for that, at least.”

“Anyway, I am happy to learn you had a chance to be part of such a wonderful world, while you were living among the humans.” Celestia nodded, trotting back to the table and looking at Lauren with excited glee. “Perhaps you could tell me more?”

“Well, I can say you’re not wrong when you say it’s a world filled with magical experiences.” The former human chuckled, a part of her happy that she got a chance to share her passion with one of her ‘children’. “In fact it was there that I- OH !”

“Mother?!” Luna gasped, seeing the red-maned freeze where she stood, as her mind brought back to her one of her best memories, the day she met Craig. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m okay, I was just reminded of something that I really need to ask you.” Lauren took a deep breath before continuing. “Tell me, do you perhaps remember if I was… married , before disappearing?”

Both Luna and Celestia jerked back, their faces blushing and their eyes widening in shock.

“ No, you weren’t .” Celestia quickly replied, looking aside. “Not that we remember, of course.”

“Wait, but then, you and Aunt Luna-” Cadence began to say.

“Mom wasn’t with anypony when I was born,” the Alicorn of the Moon. “She obviously was with somepony at some point, otherwise Tia and I wouldn’t be here, but you never introduced him to us. At least, not to me.”

“Nor me.” Celestia nodded. “As far I remember, you were the only parent Lulu and I ever had. After you… ‘disappeared’, a few stallions came forward to try and claim to be our biological father, but in the end, all of them turned out to be scammers, who only wanted to exploit their so-called blood connection with the new princesses of the whole ponykind.”

Lauren let out a huge breath of relief in response.

“Does this sadden you, mother?” Luna raised an eyebrow “Are you mourning their loss?”

“No, to tell the truth, I am feeling glad to learn that I don’t have somepony I was married to, still waiting for my return. After all,” she continued, taking a sip of her tea, “it would be quite awkward to try and explain this to my husband.”

(…)

“YOUR WHAT?!” Princess Celestia and Princess Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voices could be heard throughout the castle and Canterlot itself, causing ponies and other beings for mile to turn their heads at the same time, looking in direction of the castle with eyes a faces full of apprehension, wondering what could have caused such reaction…

(…)

Back in the room where the four alicorns were gathered, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked at their mother with eyes filled with shock, their mouth wide open, their bodies barely moving as their minds tried again and again to assimilate the information the red-maned alicorn had just told them, only to fail at every turn. Meanwhile Cadence was now smiling wildly, her eyes shining while she looked at Lauren eagerly waiting for more information, her Love-sense already starting to activate.

“ We have a father ?!” Celestia said once again.

“ Step father, actually. But yeah.”

“While you were living among those humans… you ended up marrying one of them?”

“His name’s Craig, Lulu. We both met each other while we were working on a common project. Since we both liked to work on children’s stories, we eventually hit it off, and one thing led to another and… well, we got married.”

“And,” Cadence dared to ask, “how is he?”

“Craig? He’s such a sweetheart, always making sure I am okay and I wasn’t straining myself with work. In fact, I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t met him.”

“Huh, mother?” Luna interjected, a new question popping in her head. “Did you perhaps you, you know… do we have step siblings ?”

“ One .” The former human giggled, unaware of how much more shocked Luna and Celestia had become or how much wide Cadence's smile had gotten. “We called her Quinn, and she’s the most adorable, energic and over-enthusiast child any would-be parents could ever hope for. I had to take time off to watch over her when she was born, but I didn’t regret doing so.”

“A sibling… you mean a younger sister ?” Celestia repeated, her eyes lost in the void. “We have a little sister somewhere?”

“That’s excellent news indeed.” Luna replied, a small smile blossoming on her lips. “I’m not the younger sister anymore!”

“So, about this Craig… what can you tell me more about him?” Cadence popped out a notepad and a pen, getting ready to take notes. “How did your first date go? Which day was it? Did he take you out for dinner, or did you do something else? What kind of interests do you share? How many-”

“Cadence!” The Alicorn of the Sun seemed to shake off her astonishment to reprimand the younger Princess of Love, the latter blushing and retreating to her initial spot.

“Sorry, I just tend to get a bit overenthusiastic when it comes to love. And I really want to see how compatible you and him are.”

“Oh, I can tell you we were quite compatible.” Lauren chuckled. “There was one time, he brought me to-”

Suddenly, Lauren’s laugh died in her throat, almost like her happiness and cheerfulness had been ripped away, and an awful sense of depression befell onto her. She saw herself standing with her husband and her daughter, doing family things together, having fun at conventions or going places together…

What would become of them, now that they had been separated forever? Would her memories of such happy times forever torture her, reminding her of who she had lost? Or perhaps she would eventually forget about them?

“Mom?”

“Excuse me,” Lauren said, trotting toward the door, “I just need… some fresh air …”

(…)

The Royal Gardens of Canterlot were widely considered to be one of the greatest wonders of Equestria. Established a little after the founding of Canterlot city itself, the Gardens were currently divided in two sections: the public and private sections.

The public section, available to guided tours and most of the diplomatic staff of other nations, hosted the large hedge maze, at its center a tall oak tree planted by Princess Celestia herself when Canterlot became the new capital city of Equestria; the Animal Sanctuary, where animal species that were endangered and considered ‘protected’ by Equestrian laws found a safe haven; and the different lifelike statues of great heroes and characters of the past, such as Starswirl the Bearded, commander Hurricane and Princess Platinum. Only the princesses knew that, among the genuine statues, one was in fact the Lord of Chaos Discord himself, imprisoned in a rock prison over one thousand years ago through the combined powers of the Elements of Harmony.

The private section of the Garden, meanwhile, hosted specimens of the most exotic flowers and plants of the world, with bushes, trees and other plants imported from countless far-off lands and nations, some not even existing anymore. This was a place that, besides the royal gardeners tasked to keep such wonders of nature in pristine state and the guards tasked to patrol the area on their daily shifts, only a few token ponies were allowed into.

Had Lauren been in a different mood, she would have probably taken her time to fully explore the gardens and marvel at such triumph of gardening skills, fully taking advantage of her new alicorn status to explore them.

Instead, she galloped forward, barely looking at the flowers or the artistic topiaries, her mind too much in turmoil to care, tears falling down her cheeks as the memory of two most important people of her life plagued her mind, haunted her, tortured her.

Should I really hope to forget about them? The red-maned alicorn thought as her body refused to stop, the unconscious part of her mind allowing her to move on all four hooves without tripping. I don’t want to; I never want to forget them! But… to be forever tortured like this? To never again see them? To never know what had happened to them after I was gone?

Lauren Faust stopped, her head moving forward, looking at the Moon and the stars that were now filling the sky. That too was a wonder of art, a part of her realizing why Luna had been so angry that no one seemed to care about it: the Alicorn of the Moon clearly took great pride in her work.

The stars in Equestria are stunningly beautiful , she mused, there are even more than I ever saw on Earth. When I was with Twilight and her friends, marching through the Everfree forest to reach the Castle of the Two Sisters, I was so busy that I couldn’t give them more than a few glances, but now… the more I look at them, the happier I am to be here.

If only-

Lauren didn’t realize at first, but as those thoughts began to form inside her head, her magic began to self-activate once again, a faint glow beginning to surge in the area where her chest was supposed to be.

If only you could see this with your own eyes, Craig. If only you and Quinn had come here with me. If only we hadn’t been divided, perhaps forever.

The glow continued to grow, enveloping more and more of the alicorn’s body, mane and tail, making the latter two flow just like Celestia’s own mane and tails did. And yet, the human-turned-alicorn was so focused on the starred sky above her, her mind so trapped in her thoughts, that she didn’t notice, even as the air around her began to tingle and small sparkles of white and golden magic started to appear.

I don’t want to be forever separated by you, I want to see you again. I want to hold you both in my arms, well, my front hooves perhaps. I want to have you close to my chest, I want to hear your smell again, I want to hear your voices again-

The sparkles continued to multiply by the second, filling the area around Lauren in less than a minute, the alicorn’s mantle starting to glow as well, the magic energy surging from within her body and gathering on her horn, on her wings and on her cutie mark, making all three of them shine.

It was then that Lauren, feeling her body tingle, noticed what was happening.

W-what is this? She gasped in silence, her wings starting to flap, her horn cracking with electricity, her Cutie Mark tickling. This warm, overflowing feeling… what’s happening? Is this… my magic? I can actually do magic? Could it be that… right now…

Lauren closed her eyes, her mind focusing once again, the magic energy surging from her starting to change, concentrating on her horn, before releasing a blast of pure white-gold energy on the ground a few steps from where she was, all the particles of magic she had unwittingly generated before being absorbed by it, until-

A powerful blast erupted from the area Lauren had hit with her magic, forming a tall pillar of golden light launching itself to the sky, lasting for several seconds before depleting, the alicorn responsible falling on her knees, her eyes closed to protect them from the flash. And when she opened them again, her mouth opened in shock, as she noticed, on the spot the column of light had appeared, two equine figures, one smaller than the other, yet both showing horns and wings, and she could hear their voices.

“What-what happened?” The first figure, a tall alicorn with cyan fur covering its body, sapphire blue mane, tail and goatee around his mouth and chin, a cutie mark representing a typewriter on his flank, questioned with a young male voice, looking around with shock. “Where am I? And- what happened to me?!” He yelled in shock, realizing he had become a pony, the shock making him lose all unconscious control over his new body and making him fall flat on the grass.

“ Dad !” The smaller figure, this one a female alicorn filly (from appearance alone, around the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders) with light pink fur and red mane and tail, similar to Lauren’s ones, and aquamarine eyes, rushed toward him. “You’re a pony! Like me! Is this my birthday? Best birthday present ever!”

“Quinn, is that you?” The alicorn stallion said, his voice broken by emotion as he looked at his daughter, unaware of the third figure who was standing motionless and in broken silence, gazing at the duo with jaws wide open, tears of joy starting to drip from her eyes and onto her cheeks. “W-what happened to us?”

“ Craig? Quinn ?”

Both alicorn turned head as they heard someone pronounce the adult male’s name, their eyes widening in turn as they saw the majestic, ethereal alicorn moving toward them in small steps, a pony they had seen countless times before in their life as drawings and small artworks, but never as an actual living being.

“ Laury ?”

“ Mom ?”

Lauren Faust, former animator and creator of the Fourth Generation of the My Little Pony franchise, now transformed in her own ponysona, couldn’t control her own emotions anymore and rushed toward them, holding her husband and daughter in an heartfelt hug, her wings moving according to her desires and enveloping their bodies, just as Craig’s own feathered limbs did the same, the small pink alicorn amid her parents and showing off the happiest smile of the world. 

“You’re here… you’re actually here !”

“My love, I can’t believe I can see you again!”

“Mommy’s become a true pony now, and so is dad!” Quinn was visibly the most enthusiastic about them, snuggling and nuzzling her parent’s fur, breathing their smell and listening to the sound of their heartbeats. “ This is the best day of my life !”

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you again, even if it’s when we are all like… this.” The stallion nodded, suddenly remembering about the elephant in the room (or rather, the new equine bodies he and his family were), surprise dawning upon him once again as he looked past his wife, and saw the grandiose architecture of Canterlot. “B-but… where are we?”

“It’s a long story,” Lauren chuckled, her mind frantically trying to come up with the best way to ‘break’ the news to her formerly human family. “I don’t know how to tell you, but-”

“ MOTHER !” A very familiar voice shouted as Princess Luna, Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance landed around the trio, Shining Armor just behind them, leading a crack squad of unicorns, pegasi and Earth ponies all dressed in Royal Guard armors. “We saw the flash of light, and we heard a big explosion! Are you safe? Did someone dare to attack Canterlot? Who-”

The Alicorn of the Night’s aggressivity quickly evaporated, as she, Celestia and Luna noticed the plus two alicorns standing with their mother, realizing instantly that one of them was an alicorn stallion, the guards behind them dropping jaws in shock as they struggled to assimilate that information. Just like Craig and Quinn gasped, seeing the Princesses of Equestria with their own eyes, in flesh, blood and magic.

“My little ponies,” Lauren began to say, chuckling nervously as she tried to come up with something smart to say to solve the situation, only to fail miserably, “I think some introductions are in order. Honey, these are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, rulers of Equestria, and daughters of mine too, as well as my… granddaughter (ugh!) Princess Cadence. Cadence, Tia, Lulu, let me introduce to you my husband, Craig McCracken, your stepfather, and my other daughter Quinn, your… stepsister.”

  This is going to be so awkward…