//------------------------------// // 019 - NINETEEN // Story: Songs of the Spheres // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// “Hey guys! Pinkie Pie here! I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while – I finally get my own chapter! Isn’t that great? I’ve been one of the mane ponies for an arc and then some already and I haven’t really gotten a chance in the spotlight! Twilight and Nova definitely have, Rarity has, Flutterfree’s had some good pivotal moments, but me? I’m usually just there, along for the ride, there to make you smile and spread cheer around! “I mean, that’s not something that upsets me or anything, sometimes I just work best in the background! Probably most of the time actually, me being an important force on the way things pan out is sorta cheating. Usually. That might change… “Ah, what am I saying? Who cares about that! Ahah… How’s your life been lately? Must be good, or at least better, since you’re reading this, right? I like to think it is, anyway, though it’s a little hard to give a message to everyone reading this that actually applies to everyone. Your life might actually suck right now – and if it does, don’t lose hope! Things have a way of turning out for the better! “I mean, right now, my situation isn’t all that great, but I have faith it’ll turn out okay. Probably. Today was quiiiiite a doozy, let me tell you! Lots of running, jumping, and crazy things that are just too much to deal with! You should have seen it, actually. I’m surprised you haven’t already. Ooooooh, right, you’re just looking at this first so you can go back later! That’s a pretty cool narrative trick, huh? Must be nice, time both being linear and fluid for you. You can read everything in a single sequence of events even if the events themselves jump around a lot. It’d save a lot of headache if it looked that way for us. “Oh, but I don’t want you to go yet! It’s nice to have someone to talk to, or at least talk at. Some of you are responding in your heads – thank you for the imaginary cookie, by the way – but as you can see it’s more than a liiiiiiittle difficult to give any sort of answer to you that makes any sense! And now you’re all thinking about cookies! Heh! “…So, you’ve probably started asking about now, why am I talking to you? Even if I’ve dropped hints before, I’ve never actually addressed you. See, yeah I’m usually not supposed to, or even really able to do this, but… Ah, that’s not important. Well, it is, but I kinda don’t want to talk about it right now. You’ll probably figure it out. …Yay. “Let’s talk about something else! Apparently I’m going to be the only mane pony not to change her name! Or, well, I try changing it so often and never settle on anything that it is going to be permanent so nopony takes my names seriously and… Yeah. You’ll like what Twilight and Rarity choose, I think. I’m actually not sure why Twilight chooses hers though, and I’m keeping my lips zipped about Rarity! There’s got to be some fun, right? “Oh? Why don’t I just choose Diane? Because, sillies, there’s already other Pinkies who have that one! Quite a lot, actually! It’s what my loose mirror clone duplicate is going by on ‘Equis Vitis’ right now! Heh, ‘Equis Vitis’. What a silly name! I love it! “What else… What else… Oh! You want to know what I’m doing? Nothing actually, just standing in a field of roses. Nothing all that interesting, to be honest. Definitely not. Everything’s perfectly fine and you shouldn’t be worried. Ow – yeesh, these things are much, much more pointy than they look. Or should be. Or could be… Everythinghasgonenineteen. Ahemherm! Right, right. “I think it’s time for you to go back now, see at least part of my story. Fun, I guess. Just… when you go back, please don’t judge me, okay? You… You really can’t understand what went on in my head, no matter how much he tries to describe it to you. Okay? “Please…?” ~~~ “Watcha dooin’?” Pinkie asked, putting her hooves on the laboratory counter covered with strange, vibrating panels of glass that reflected the walls of Twilight's castle rather well. Starbeat looked through her goggles at Pinkie and bit her lip. “Ah. Pinkie. I am… Experimenting.” “Experimenting on what?” Starbeat scooted away from her and tapped one of the panes of glass. “The mysterious force, what else? It’s all I study.” Pinkie nodded slowly. “What are you finding out?” “Well, that everywhere has it. Every dimension, every world, every person. As of yet I haven’t found a place where it manifests like a curse – like mine – but everywhere there’s ambient spread of it. I’m starting to wonder if it’s an inherent part of reality, like space, time, matter, and energy.” Pinkie poked one of the vibrating glass panes. “That’s cool!” “That’s terrifying! There’s something around us that nopony has any idea about that probably changes a lot of things without us realizing! Some ponies have more of the mysterious force around them! Some universes just have more background energy! And I have no idea what it does or means!” “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll figure it out!” “I’ve been working on this for months, Pinkie, and nothing, nothing, has revealed itself!” Pinkie smiled sadly. “I think that’s just how it’s going to be for a long, long time. But you shouldn’t let that discourage you! I’m sure you can find out more the more you keep working on it!” “Yeah, I will… After all, I need to find a cure for myself…” She looked at Pinkie. “Yes, you look really, really hot to me right now and I want to caress you. It’s… painful.” Pinkie giggled. “No problem. You can pet me if you think it’ll make you feel better.” “Ah… No. Like an addiction, giving in just forces me into a worse relapse. I have to remain strong and not give in to my nature.” “I’m sure you can do it!” Starbeat took a deep breath and scooted further away from Pinkie. “Here’s the cruel ironic paradox of this mess, the positive reinforcement from other ponies just makes the urge worse. How’s that for fun?” Pinkie frowned. “That’s horrible…” “Yeah, it is…” She shook her head. “Talk about something else. Quickly.” “Did you name the force after yourself yet?” Starbeat grabbed a tissue off the countertop to help with her nosebleeds – apparently they were quite common, given the small pile of bloodied tissues neatly stacked next to the tissue box. “Erhem… Sorta? When I write papers about it, I call it the Beat, but that’s obviously geared toward the observation of it in my world.” Starbeat turned to Pinkie. “Hey, you have a… tendency to know things, and a strong focus of the ambient force around you. Do you have a name?” Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, I think you should just go with Beat for now.” Starbeat nodded. “Fair enough…” “So, anything interesting about ponies or universes with strong amounts of the Beat?” Starbeat nodded slowly. “Charter Twilight Sparkle has the most ambient beat of any individual I’ve scanned. You’re the second. The universe we’re standing in right now has the highest ambience of any of the others, with Earth Tau’ri being the second. The problem is I can’t assign definite measures to the Beat since it fluctuates wildly and doesn’t make any sense…” Pinkie smiled. “Hey, hey, don’t worry, sometimes you just have to be okay with not understanding everything. That’s what all my friends have to do with me daily! ‘It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie’ has become a meme.” “Meme?” “An idea that spreads that people recognize and use over and over again. You should check the Hub Internet, they’re everywhere.” She pulled a smartphone out of her pocket and produced a picture of Senator Pearse with the caption “NEW FRIENDS WHO WANT NOTHING AND WOULD LOVE TO HELP ME WITH ANYTHING I ASKED? CLEARLY, I NEED TO ROB THEM.” “…I don’t get it.” Pinkie shrugged. “It’s just a thing you slowly begin to understand the more you’re exposed to it. Or just laugh at if you’re me, but you aren’t.” “There are a few ponies who are,” Starbeat commented. “Yeah, that’s true. It makes things more fun! Did you know there’s a clone of me wandering around this world that goes by the name Diane?” Starbeat blinked. “I had no idea. Guess that’s why you don’t use that name then, huh?” “Yep!” Pinkie grinned. “By the way, why did you chose Starbeat in the heat of the moment?” “Cause I felt like it, really. I was Starlight, and beat was related to the heart, which was what my world was all about. In a disgusting sort of way.” “I see…” Pinkie furrowed her brow. “Well, I wish you luck in your experiments!” “You leaving?” “I’m about to be called away!” Twilight poked her head in the doorway. “Pinkie! We’re off on an adventure! New world!” “Yay!” Pinkie bounced over to Twilight. “See you Starbeat!” Starbeat weaved. Twilight nodded in her direction. “Hey, Starbeat, how you doing?” “Oh, you know, suffering from an extreme urge to hold Pinkie and never let go, but it will pass.” Twilight smiled awkwardly. “Right… Good luck with that. See you later.” “As always,” she said, sliding her goggles back on her face. ~~~ The world in question was another alternate version of Equestria. Today, the grass was extra blue and the buildings of Ponyville were all in the wrong spots, and Twilight’s castle was floating. Other than that, the ponies acted more or less the same and everything was enjoyable. They’d already met their alternate selves and had made quick friends with them. One of the simplest outings yet. “So, marking this one as just another regular world?” Nova asked. “Doesn’t seem to be anything special here.” “Really?” the world’s native Starlight said, frowning. “Nothing special?” “Well, the grass is blue,” Nova conceded. “Unless you’ve got something better.” Starlight frowned. “Well, the best thing we’ve got is Melinda, and you probably have her as well.” Twilight blinked. “Melinda?” “Who’s Melinda?” Pinkie asked. “Oh, she probably just has a different name in your world. She’s just the best.” Starlight grinned. “She’s, like, the personification of all six elements of harmony at once, is just so talented at everything, and can help everypony with all their friendship problems!” “…Not ringing any bells,” Rarity said. Starlight gasped. “You… You don’t have a Melinda!? How do you live? Without her we’d be… I don’t want to think about it!” “I guess our universe just survived,” Flutterfree said. “Can we meet this Melinda?” “Well, uh, I don’t exactly know where she is right now. But you can talk to other ponies, I’m sure some of them can tell you where she is! Actually, while you go do that, I’m going to look for her! Don’t leave while I’m gone!” She ran off. Nova glanced at Twilight. “Well that was weird.” Pinkie shrugged. “Not as weird as me. Still weird though.” Twilight nodded. “True. I do want to meet this Melinda now, apparently she’s something special.” She waved down a version of Applejack. “Hey, do you know Melinda?” “Do Ah ever! She’s just so great! Ah had her over for dinner yesterday with the family and she managed to solve three separate issues with our crops and animals simply by sayin’ things! We’ll have twice the load of apples next year!” “Know where we can find her?” Rarity asked. “Not really, she moves around a lot, talks to a lot of ponies. She’s around Rarity – our Rarity – most often. Check the boutique. You’ll be in for a treat when you meet her!” “…We’ve gathered that,” Twilight said, turning to Rarity. “You see your Boutique yet?” Rarity smirked. “Two streets down, three buildings to the left. I always have an eye for finding it, every time.” The five ponies walked through town to the Boutique, all curious about this Melinda now. Such high praise from two ponies, she must really be something. They walked into the world’s version of Carousel Boutique, and Rarity instantly gasped at the clothing on sale. “I… I…” “Do you like?” the native Rarity said, poking her head out from behind a screen. Rarity bit her lip. “I mean…” she pointed at an olive green dress. “The color on that one seems a bit… off, and the stitching is a liiiiiittle sideways-“ “Oh, your eyes must not be working properly. Melinda designed that; it’s one of the best pieces in my shop. Far outshines anything I design.” The traveling Rarity’s pupils dilated. “Twilight, the ponies in this town are crazy!” she hissed. Twilight stifled a chuckle. “Ahem. Rarity, is everything Melinda designs better than yours?” The native Rarity grinned. “Why, yes! She’s a fashionista the likes of which the world has never seen! Just look at all these dresses! Beauty! Fashion! Brilliance!” Pinkie blinked. “Yeah, even I can tell that pink dress is a bit overdone.” The native Rarity gasped. “Never! It’s such the perfect balance of color, seamwork, and fabric choice! I – oh, maybe you just come from another universe and have different eyes. It must be terrible to be you. I bet Melinda could fix that, get you to see right with her magic!” Nova narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “She can get us to see ‘correctly’ with magic?” “Well, I’d assume so! Never seen her do such a thing, though. But with her magic prowess I’m sure she could!” “Do you, by chance, know where she is?” Flutterfree asked. “Ah, no. Last I saw she was headed over to Fluttershy’s cottage to deal with the animals. She’s the only one besides Fluttershy who can keep Angel at bay.” “…Thank you, Rarity.” the visiting Rarity said, furrowing her brow. “Try to have more confidence in your own designs though, okay?” “Of course!” The five ponies left the Boutique. “This is suspicious,” Pinkie said. “No, really?” Nova snarked. “My bet is that the ponies in this town are brainwashed. Nobody’s that well liked.” “I know who we can ask,” Twilight said. “We’re going to Fluttershy’s cottage, right? We can probably find this world’s Discord. I doubt he’d be affected by brainwashing.” Flutterfree nodded. “Right! To my other cottage!” Fluttershy’s cottage looked identical to Flutterfree’s cottage back in Equis Vitis. It was a tree covered with all sorts of cute animals and a couple not-so-cute ones. Flutterfree gently knocked on the door, and Fluttershy answered. “Oh! It’s… you five! Hi! What brings you to my cottage?” “We’re wondering if we could see your world’s Discord,” Rarity said, smiling warmly. “Is he around?” “Oh, he is if I ask for him. Heeeeey Discord!” Fluttershy called. In an instant Discord appeared in a flash of white. He was covered in strange, fluffy, purple spiders seemingly made of cactuses. “Hello Fluttershy! And – oh! Otherworldly visitors! I am Discord, charmed to meet you!” He snapped his fingers, hitting Twilight alongside the head with a lucky charm marshmallow. Twilight blinked. “You certainly aren’t any different.” “I’m glad to hear that the other mes across the multiverse understand how to have a good time.” He stroked her cheek, making her feel like grass was growing in her face when, in reality, the hair had just turned blue. “It’d be a shame if that ever came to an end.” “Right, right,” Nova said. “We wanted to ask you something. What do you think of Melinda?” Fluttershy snorted. “Oh, this should be fun!” Discord groaned. “Fine, fine…” he cleared his throat. “Melinda is a strange freak of nature who brings a tremendous amount of order to existence that, while annoying me to no end, I must admit is quite possibly the best person in existence. There. You happy? Did you just want to see me dance around the issue or something!?” Nova stared at Discord in disbelief. “H-how? How can anyone be that well liked?” “Clearly you haven’t met her,” Discord said, folding his arms. “Everyone who sees her truly understands that she is, the best!” He grabbed a microphone and sung the best into it a few times for an annoying echo effect. “Of course she and I have chaos and order fights all the time, it’s good to have a rival.” Pinkie frowned. “Girls, something tells me we should leave. Like, hop along back home, deal with stuff there.” “Right!” Twilight said, smiling nervously. “We’ve got another world to go look at! So many worlds, so little time!” Discord put his hands on his hips. “Oh, we can’t have that! Clearly, you need to meet Melinda first!” Flutterfree smiled, putting on the cute puppy-eyes. “Discord, I don’t think we do…” Fluttershy looked at Discord as well with a similar expression. “I think they do!” Discord blinked. “…Having two of you is absolutely terrifying. But, regardless, to Melinda!” He snapped his fingers, teleporting himself and the five otherworldly travelers back into the center of town. There, they saw this world’s Twilight Sparkle being ridden – by a young human woman. Everypony had to admit, she looked stunning. Her hair was a lush, yet simple brown that curled delicately around her ears, each of which held a softly glowing red pearl earring. Her eyes were full of hazel wisdom, and her nose small, but slightly pointed. Her lips were full, and naturally vibrant, permanently twisted in a bemused and friendly smile. Her neck was slender, delicately sloping her skull down to her body, which was adorned with a simple blue t-shirt that somehow showed off all her curves in an amazing, yet modest way. Her jeans were simple blue denim, carefully sculpted around her powerful legs. The shoes were- “Augh! Enough of that!” Pinkie said, smacking herself in the head. Twilight looked at the human that was clearly Melinda and smiled. “Hello. I am Charter-Princess Twilight Sparkle, and I’m from another universe. I’ve heard a lot about you Melinda.” Melinda smiled a smile that was truly innocent. “Oh, are the ponies spreading stories about me again? Really, they shouldn’t do that.” “But we just have to let others know about you!” the native Twilight said. “What would we even be without you?” Melinda blushed. “Please, there’s no need! I can do everything you need, I don’t need any praise in return!” “Ah, but you’ll get it, because you deserve it!” “Aw, Twilight!” “…Why do I feel like puking,” Nova whispered to Charter Twilight. Twilight didn’t get to answer. Melinda apparently heard that remark. “Excuse me, Starlight?” Nova coughed. “Nova, actually, I go by a different name to avoid confusion. I was just making a joke to Twilight here, nothing to worry about.” Melinda frowned. “It wasn’t very nice though. You shouldn’t make jokes at the expense of other people.” “Especially Melinda!” the native Twilight shouted, defensive. Discord shrugged. “I don’t know… I make jokes at her expense all the time.” “And it’s wrong,” Melinda asserted. “I know,” Discord chuckled. “I’m just so bad aren’t I?” Flutterfree glanced back and forth between them. “I… Twilight, are you sensing anything?” Twilight’s horn was alit. She shook her head. “No…. There’s a lot of magic coming off of Melinda, more than Discord, but no sign of mental manipulation at all…” Melinda gasped. “You… You think I’m mind controlling these ponies?” Twilight smiled nervously. “No offense. You seem nice enough, but I’m finding it hard to believe that that everypony likes you this much.” “What are you talking about?” native Twilight shouted. “Melinda’s amazing! Why can’t you see that?” Charter-Twilight cocked her head at her other self. “Well, you see, she’s just a little too ‘perfect’ don’t you think? She’s not exactly arrogant, but she steals the spotlight from everypony else. She doesn’t seem to be willing to defend her own self, but you are all ready to defend her for her. It’s… Just a little weird, and I can’t believe it’s normal.” Melinda walked up to Twilight, an expression of true confusion on her face. “…What are you talking about?” Twilight smiled sadly. “I guess… I just don’t think you’re the best person in the world, Melinda.” “That’s perfectly fine,” Melinda said, leaning down. “Not everyone has to like me. I didn’t even ask for it.” Native Twilight gasped. “Look at that, other me! Look at that! She’s letting you win! How can you not see now?” Charter-Twilight raised an eyebrow at her other self. “Why are you so worked up over this?” Native Twilight ignored the question. “Melinda, think about it! Who are the only ponies who didn’t like you?” Melinda shrugged. “Troublemakers, but…” Her pupils dilated. “Wait, Twilight, are you saying…?” “Yes! Anyone who doesn’t like you is either a troublemaker, a liar, or a hater! You are a gift to everyone, and it’s blatantly obvious!” Melinda turned back to Charter-Twilight. “She’s right… Literally no good pony has ever said what you said… You’re probably a villain in disguise!” “…What.” Flutterfree deadpanned. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but…” Melinda raised her hand, encasing Twilight in a magic bubble that froze her solid. “I’m going to have to have a long talk with Charter-Twilight here, see if I can redeem her. Not everyone’s mind can be changed, but I’ll try my hardest. To the castle, Twilight, let’s see if we can help her.” Then Melinda, native Twilight, and Discord were gone. Nova twitched. “What just happened!?” Rarity had her hoof to her mouth. “I think… I think Melinda believed Twilight was a bad pony? Just for not liking her? And then somehow overwhelmed her with magic?” Flutterfree shook her head. “This doesn’t make any sense.” Rarity nodded. “Yes… Of course…” “We need to get Twilight back and leave, fast,” Nova said. “They said they were going to the castle so… Hey, wait a second. Where’s Pinkie?” Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. ~~~ “Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope!” Pinkie yelled in a panicked sing-song voice as she ran across the world’s version of Ponyville. “I don’t need to be here, I really don’t need to be here…” She laughed to herself. “Oh, sure, Melinda can break the rules, that’s perfectly fine, just dance around and be a little crazy! But me? No… Can’t do a thing! Need to get as far away from her as possible…” She ducked behind an alleyway and took a knapsack out of her mane. “Check for survival supplies… Cakes that will last me several months, check. Timer to tell me when they fix the problem, check. Alarm that’ll tell me if Melinda’s within seven miles of me, check. Why isn’t it ringing right now? Why am I even looking right now? She could just know I’m running, or find me by chance or… AUGH!” She stuffed all the stuff back in her mane and took off in a pink blur through the town. Soon she left the version of Ponyville behind, arriving at a mountain. She threw herself into a cave and crammed herself into the deepest portion of it she could find. “There! I should be able to survive here until it blows over!” She sat there for about a minute before she realized that wasn’t going to work. “Oh, come on! What are you all looking at! Go back to Nova or something, I’m sure she’s cooking up a great bust-Twilight-out-of-jail plan! Go on! Shoo!” A drop of water hit the floor nearby, echoing through the cave. Pinkie groaned. “Aaaaaugh why is this my moment? I’m not supposed to be near her! She’s scary! She’s, just, AGH.” She folded her legs and pouted. “No, I’m not doing this. I’m sitting right here and there’s nothing you can do about it! You’re all just looking at words on a page! You have nooo control! This is going to be boring, and boring, and boring until the scene changes or something!” There was an eerie breeze through the cavern. Pinkie could hear the nothingness around her, interspersed with the water drops. She counted the drops - nothing better to do while cowering here. Twelve… Thirteen… Fourteen… Fifteen… Sixteen… Seventeen… Eighteen… Nineteen… Then nothing. It stopped at nineteen. Pinkie twitched. “What, am I supposed to go back then? And do what? Actually, no, nevermind, not talking, Miss Zipperlips here! Not giving you what you want!” There was silence. The cave itself was dark, so dark that even with Pinkie’s eyes wide open she couldn’t see anything. Not that there was anything, now that the water drops had stopped. It was just her in a very, very dark cave, trying her hardest to be uninteresting. Her tail started twitching and her jaw opened forcefully. The Pinkie Sense had activated, but Pinkie wasn’t going to listen to it. Nope. Her place was not out there, it was in here, away from things that twisted her world. There were some things she shouldn’t mess with, and Melinda was one of them. She had no idea what’d happen- “Would you stop broadcasting my thoughts!?” she shouted. There was nothing for some time. “Thank you.” Due to a lack of thoughts or cave interactions, it just so happened that ten minutes passed. Then something happened. “Oh for the-“ The native Pinkie Pie appeared, holding a lantern. “Hi! Watcha dooin?” “Hiding in a cave.” “Woah! Why?” “Because I need to stay away from town for a while, that’s all,” Pinkie smiled. “Nothing for you to worry about, everything will be fine!” “Oh! It sounds like you have a bit of a problem! I can help!” Pinkie looked at her counterpart. “Really? How?” “I know just the person to introduce you to!” “OHHHH NONONONONONONO!” Pinkie blurted, scooting up against a far cave wall. “I’d rather just… Not, okay?” “What’s wrong with Melinda? She’s the best!” “Can… Can you not see what she is? What she does to all of you ponies?” The other Pinkie cocked her head. “Uh… No. What does she do?” “Well if I told you you’d just label me a crazy, a baddy, a hater, or something and drag me over to her castle!” Pinkie put her hooves over her mouth. “Actually, ignore that!” The other Pinkie pursed her lips. “I think you really need to see Melinda.” Pinkie took out a squeaky hammer and pointed it at her counterpart. “You won’t be taking me there!” “Yes I will!” she said, producing a giant candy cane and hooking Pinkie with it. Pinkie twisted out of its grasp, bopping her other self on the head. The native Pinkie took the opportunity to grab the visiting Pinkie with her hooves, trying to drag her out of the cave. They apparead around numerous different stalactites and stalagmites, moving in clearly impossible patterns all around the cave walls. “Hey! If you can do these things, why can’t you see her for what she is? Aren’t you aware of them?” Pinkie asked herself when they both had each other in a chokehold. “Them? Who?” Pinkie jumped into the air, laying flat on the ceiling. “The ones watching and reading, silly!” “There’s nopony watching or reading! You’re crazier than I am!” “…Oh,” Pinkie said. “Time for me to check out.” She tried to duck behind a stalactite and appear somewhere on the outside of the mountain, but the other Pinkie grabbed her. They both tried to appear each other in different, distant locations… POP. Pinkie was suddenly in a dark room with a wooden floor. Her counterpart was gone. “Woo!” She cheered. “I got away! Now, where am I?” “…Here, apparently,” the Sage said, staring at Pinkie in disbelief. She removed the mask from her face and held it to her side, giving Pinkie an incredulous look. Pinkie looked right into the Sage’s blue, oculus eyes. “You’re causing a lot of ponies a lot of trouble, you know that?” “Yes,” the Sage agreed. “So are you, at this moment.” Pinkie glanced behind the Sage. The Mechanism was beautifully constructed, glowing with powerful magics, and… waiting. “What’s it waiting for?” “You think I’d tell you?” “No, but it was worth a shot, wasn’t it?” “Not in my mind,” the Sage commented. “What about that mask then, huh? I know General Sunset found where it came from. Why the shape of a mask, hrm? What’d you do with the Moon Spirit?” The Sage narrowed her eyes. “So you did see that.” “Well, I just know that. I probably don’t know everything that’s happened, but that one I do!” “You know you need to go back.” Pinkie laughed. “No I don’t! I can stay here and make it my mission to figure out what you’re doing!” She appeared behind the mechanism, tapping one of the yellow runes. It zapped her, tossing her down to the floor. “Ouchie…” “Don’t touch it. You might break something.” Pinkie stood up. “Would that be bad for you? That means it’s probably good for me!” “You don’t know though. I certainly believe my actions are good, and that everypony will be better off after I accomplish my goals. There are other forces who offer no such assurance.” Pinkie frowned. “Such as?” “You know the rules.” Pinkie smirked. “Ah, see, exactly why I can’t go back! That’d require messing with the rules.” The Sage pointed at her. “The rules can change. You know this. You just don’t want them to, not this time. You want to have happy-go-lucky party time for eternity. Wake up, Pinkie, that’s not the way things are going.” Pinkie ground her teeth. “I can try to keep them that way.” “When you decided to go on your little adventures, you knew that there would be danger, horror, and death. You decided to go do it anyway. You knew this was coming. Your rules change. You can use it now.” “But, she’s a Mary Sue Sage-me! That’s, like, the hardest thing to outfox I could possibly imagine! I’m not that great at being clever!” “You can figure something out.” Pinkie pointed the hammer at the Sage. “You’ve been steering the conversation as far away from you as you possibly can.” “And now so are you.” “Aha, we already talked about me!” “You are running away from your calling.” Pinkie narrowed her eyes. “I am no-“ Her cutie mark suddenly started glowing and flashing, the call of the Tree of Harmony. “Uh…” The Sage nodded. “See? Your Tree wants you back.” “The Tree doesn’t know the truth.” “It’s smart enough to know you, though. It knows they need you.” “But I can’t just ‘be Pinkie Pie’ this time! I’d have to explain some things to them! They’re not ready!” “You’re the one deciding it has to be that way.” “Well what about THIS?” Pinkie shouted, pointing at the Mechanism. “Does THIS, whatever it is, have to be whatever way you have it!?” “Perhaps not, but it’s the path I’ve chosen.” “Then I’m not going to go back there!” “Even if you can do that, which I’m not sure you can, there will come a time when you do have to. They are on a path, Pinkie. We can both see that they are going to rise high enough to see it. They’re already starting to notice a few oddities.” “And I’m starting to notice more things about this Mechanism!” “Pinkie, stop changing the-“ “I’ll change what I want! What’s this thing do, Sage? It’s something about the Goddess Armonia, isn’t it? What, you want her power? Got a way to contact her?” The Sage put the mask back on. “I’m putting you back.” “No you aren’t,” Pinkie said, taking a defensive stance. The Sage leaped at her, but Pinkie jumped out of the way. Pinkie was not able to stop a giant metal hook from grabbing her mane, dragging her back. The Sage tried to force her back to the other world. “We’re not supposed to jump worlds!” Pinkie yelled. “You just did.” “Accidentally!” “It’s not the only thing you shouldn’t have done.” The Sage tried to twist Pinkie away- POP. Pinkie was not in the world with Melinda. She was standing on a red planet covered in war and blood. She was pretty sure the planet was red because of the blood. How… How horrible. On both sides were beings encased in red, buglike armor that was oddly reminiscent of the demons, but without the four arms and significantly larger. She was pretty sure it was just humans fighting against humans with tooth, claw, gun, sword, laser, and anything else they could get their armored hands on. Blood constantly flew threw the air, filling the atmosphere with enough particulates to give it a reddish tint. Pinkie did not want to be here. She did not want to look. But they saw her and wanted to fight anyway. Warriors from both sides of the conflict swung at her with their huge oversized blades and explosive guns. She leaped into the air, bouncing off a missile and deflecting arrows with a giant cookie shield. She threw a party-bomb into the ground, sending several soldiers flying around her. This place was brutal. She had to get out. She couldn’t live here, it just wasn’t her way. She whirled her tail around like a helicopter blade and flew off, distraught to find some of the blood, covered warriors finding ways to fly to her. She took out a party bazooka and shot cakes into each of their faces, forcing them to the ground. “Just stay away!” They spoke in an untranslatable, alien manner. She grunted under her breath, launching more party bombs in an attempt to just get away. But they were relentless, unending, and impossible. Even if she started using lethal force they would still overwhelm her eventually. She needed a way out… To her surprise a blue metal orb dropped from the sky, split itself into six parts, and encased her within itself like some random space claw. The inside was well lit, but it was impossible to see out of. She banged against the walls, yelling out, hoping somepony would hear her. But she knew they wouldn’t… So after a few seconds she waited, preparing to pull a fast one. The six-part orb arrived at a location far, far away shortly thereafter, sliding itself into an enclosure, floating a meter from the ground and ceiling. A humanoid, blue, metallic creature strode up to it, feet clanking on the ground as he walked. He had numerous blue spikes coming out of his head that resembled far-reaching groups of hair. He pointed at the orb, and it popped open. Nothing was inside. Pinkie was behind him with a hammer to the back of his head. “You better be friendly,” The hammer shattered to dust without so much as a motion from him. He simply turned around and looked at her. “Pinkie Pie.” “Well, you know my name, it’d be nice if you told me yours!” she said, trying to remain cheerful. “If you don’t know you are not meant to,” the thing said in a surprisingly normal sounding voice. “You are not supposed to be out this far.” “Nope!” “Statement, not a question.” “I know!” The eyes – which were just points of red in black recesses on the ‘face’ – flickered. “I think you’re running, and you’re being punished for it.” “No… Really? Can’t be.” “I don’t think you’re being fully sarcastic.” Pinkie bit her lip. “What do you want?” “I want to capture you, but you and I both know that’s not going to happen at this moment. Perhaps another time.” “Capture…?” “You’re too far out, Pinkie Pie. It’s not important now.” Pinkie knew he was right. She let herself calm a bit. “So… Am I even out here for a reason?” “I can’t say for sure. I don’t have your power. I can just make educated guesses. It looks like you’re in denial about something.” Pinkie frowned, looking at the ground. “I don’t want to be involved in the struggle against Melinda. She’s just… Outside. We encountered her too early.” “I have no idea what she is, but it sounds like if you’re having these thoughts maybe it was exactly the correct time.” “It’s always exactly the correct time,” Pinkie muttered. “This is my chapter, my moment, apparently. I’m not just going to give in to it though.” “You’re fighting it? You should know that’s pointless.” “I know, it’s like a time loop, I know… Just… ARGH, I keep waiting for the third option to present itself, you know?” The being leaned back and shrugged. “The truth isn’t always to take a third option.” “Well, what even is the truth?” Pinkie asked. “I don’t know! All I know is we’re in some book somewhere on some pages, scribbled in a margin, typed on a document. It’s a reason – but the reason for it is beyond me!” “Peculiar. Usually your kind isn’t that open about it.” “It’s clear that you already know.” “You have given more information about this specific moment.” “Aaaaaaa – the rules!” “Are you breaking them?” Pinkie cocked her head. “I don’t know anymore! I thought I did, but guess not! It looks like the pink party pony actually is an idiot!” She blew a party blower sarcastically. “Woo.” “I’m not going to pretend to know. But I am going to say, I bet the lesson should be obvious.” Pinkie shook her head. “Nope!” “You can be really stubborn. If you just calm yourself…” Pinkie pointed a hoof at him. “You’re one of them! You’re a Sue!” “Guilty as charged. I live pretty well with it though, don’t you think?” “Of course you do! Naturally perfect and unbeatable, and apparently at least partially aware to boot! How can things like you be allowed to exist!? Twisting the rules, finding loopholes, apparently breaking them to create walls?” He took a few steps forward, placing a finger on Pinkie’s nose. “We happen when everything goes nineteen.” “What does that even mean?” “You’re about to find out, Pinkie. You wanted answers? I feel as though you’ll get them. You’ll suddenly feel like you understood nothing all those years.” Pinkie twitched. “What is that supposed to-“ He pushed his finger deeper into her nose. POP. She stood in a field of roses. Perfect roses of the most brilliant red imaginable that stretched as far as she could see over rolling hills. There were no other plants, no other signs of life but her and the roses. The sky was an odd mix of blue and orange, filled with precisely nineteen wispy clouds, swirling about a center. The Tower. It needed a capital letter before it was even described. It had no top, as far as Pinkie could tell. It reached for infinity, never stopping to consider how impossible it was. No… It was more than that. It considered it, and made it possible by using how impossible it was as proof. It was round, black – Dark, and covered in a swirling pattern of windows glowing with eldritch color that didn’t really exist. The large double doors beckoned to Pinkie, asking her to come and see. Come and feel. Pinkie Pie of Equis Vitis stood in the shadow of the Dark Tower, and she knew it was the Truth. Nineteen. She saw what it meant – and she laughed. Celestia, that was funny. To make it better they didn’t even get to know. They just got to see her laugh. Nineteen. Gold! It wanted her – The Dark Tower called to her again, demanding she enter its doors. Telling her to come, to come, to come. She didn’t want to. She never wanted to. She tried her best to ignore it, to ignore its demands, to defy what it asked for, what it wanted, what it meant, what it… WHAT. Just what in general! Everything was what! Everything was nineteen. So she used the nature of this place – this place at the center of everything – to talk to them. She usually wasn’t aware of them this strongly, and she knew she wouldn’t be again for quite some time. So she’d use them. Talk to them, try to keep them here. To keep herself here. To… …Aw, horsefeathers. ~~~ “Aw, horsefeathers! You’ve gone through the entire thing and come back here! And I reviewed it as well along with you, and… And well… Besides the fact that clearly it didn’t exist before I arrived here, this is completely… “…It makes sense. Clearly, the moral of the story is not to run away from your problems, but to face them head on, blah de blah. But… But I thought I was doing something else. I thought I was protecting them from the truth. Well, it turns out I didn’t actually know the Truth, and probably still don’t, but I’m closer now that I’ve seen the Tower. I know what nineteen means – yes, you’ll just have to wait to find that one out. You’ll really hate me when you do. Trust me. “I guess that isn’t the whole story, though. See, I wasn’t just running from the truth I knew, it was also the Truth I didn’t know, and… And this is the part where the wibbly-wobbly mess of this drives even me insane. In some ways, I was in this rose field FIRST. In others, I had to go through the rest of the story, then back there, then back here. It wasn’t time… It was Ka. “Ah, Ka, what a nice word. Nopony will use that for forever, sadly. But I didn’t know what it meant either, so… I guess I was just in the same boat with them? I probably still am. No idea who that blue guy was. Important, yes, knowable, no. It’s all a big game of ever-changing rules and regulations, you see, and I’m not even a big player! I have the chance to be, though. “I was running from something else too, I think. I liked being mysterious, random, and crazy. It was a delight, and I always told myself they just didn’t need to know. That they couldn’t handle it. That was a lie. They can. They will be told when the time is right, I just… I was just reminded that time would be soon. I could also have been a lot nicer to them. Could have saved Twilight a lot of headache if I just told her that there was a reason, and asked her not to look into it. To tell her to trust me. Maybe not when we first met, but after we became good friends, I think that would have worked for us. “I’m about to find out if it’ll work now. I haven’t lied – not really. But I’ve been deceptive. It’s… It’s time for them to actually know a little bit. Not everything, but some. And I’m going to help them get out of their predicament. Because that’s what friends do, and this is my chapter after all. It’s my time to shine. “One thing still confuses me though. Was I supposed to come out here and learn to be more open, or did I bring that on myself by running away? I don’t know. I’m not sure I ever can know. I’m starting to think I should actually test the limits of myself more often. You all should try that too. “Some of you are probably annoyed by all this needless meta-ness. That’s fine. Frankly I’m getting a little tired of it myself, since there are still rules and things I can’t even tell you. No, the secret I want to tell you is not the secret of nineteen, the secret of nineteen is just delightful. Heehee. “And don’t worry. I won’t tell them everything. Still have to keep some around. But… Well I won’t be the crazy ditz, anymore. It looks like at least part of that role has to go. …I really wanted to keep it. I really liked being the way I was. Was that wrong? Was it mean? Deceptive, even? I still don’t know. Not sure I ever will. “So, now I guess I walk into the Dark Tower. It’ll take me to where I need to be. Because that’s what it wants, as much as it can actually want something. And then I won’t be back here for a long, long time. “We probably won’t talk like this again until then – if at all! So… Bye!” ~~~ “We need to get Twilight back and leave, fast,” Nova said. “They said they were going to the castle so… Hey, wait a second. Where’s Pinkie?” Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. Nova rolled her eyes. “Whatever, Flutterfree, you’re going to go to the front and politely ask for Twilight back. This is not likely to work, but it’ll be distracting. Rarity and I will sneak into the castle from the back and get Twilight out. I should be able to crack through with my magic and use the dimensional device she has.” “Won’t work,” Pinkie said, walking out from behind a tree. “…Why not, Pinkie?” Pinkie sighed, cracking her hooves against each other. “Melinda is not your normal enemy, she has a little something extra about her. It’s not quite magical, but think about it like an ‘I am the best and I win’ spell. If she can notice you, she will. Even if she seems kinda stupid, she will deduce your exact plan within a few seconds of you unleashing it. She may seem to make mistakes, rarely, but in reality it’ll just be her setting up.” Nova raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie, that’s impossible.” Pinkie grinned. “About as impossible as a person that literally everypony who comes into contact likes unconditionally!” “Um… We don’t like her,” Flutterfree pointed out. “Yeah, that’s because we’re from somewhere else, we have a bit of buffer. If we stayed here long enough we would. And yes, Twilight is in danger of being ‘redeemed’ in that way, though not anytime soon. It’s like universally condoned brainwashing.” “…How do you…?” “It’s just Pinkie being Pinkie, dear,” Rarity said. Pinkie held up a hoof. “Don’t say that anymore, Rarity. It’s an excuse. I’m… Not sure if it’s a bad one, a good one, or what. But it’s done what it needed to do. You can now ask. I don’t promise to answer – and right now I think we should go save Twilight instead of deliberating – but you can ask.” Flutterfree blinked. “Pinkie… What happened to you?” “I tried to run away,” she said, looking up towards Twilight’s castle. “Then I came back, knowing more than when I left.” “But you were barely gone at all!” Pinkie smirked. “Isn’t the fluidity of time fun?” “So you experienced time change?” Flutterfree asked. “Yep! Jumped a couple universes, experienced some weird stuff, and viola! It was life changing. Woo!” She launched her party cannon. Rarity smiled. “You’re still the same Pinkie though.” “Aww, Rarity!” Nova shook her head. “Pinkie’s right, we need to focus on getting Twilight back. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but…” She took in a deep breath. “Pinkie, what’s the plan?” Pinkie grinned. “I thought you’d never ask!” ~~~ Melinda looked at the crystal Charter-Princess Twilight Sparkle was imprisoned in and frowned. “I don’t understand her, Twilight. She seemed nice. But you’re right, she acted like one of them.” Native Twilight nodded. “Clearly, she’s just really, really clever, like myself. You’re too trusting Melinda, you need to watch out for those trying to take advantage of you.” Melinda sighed. “What would I do without you?” “You’d find a way to survive, you always do. You’d even thrive. Then you’d eventually discover their manipulative ways and turn it against them.” “Twilight, you’re just too kind!” “I know!” There was a knock at the door. “…They’re looking for her,” Melinda said. “I should have grabbed the rest of them as well, huh?” Twilight furrowed her brow. “Maybe. But we can always get them later. It’s not like anyone can resist your spells.” Melinda threw open the front doors of the floating castle to see Fultterfree sitting there, smiling. “So, you know already, don’t you?” “You’re a distraction,” Melinda said, turning around. “They’re trying something to – wait.” She turned back to Flutterfree. “How did you know I already knew?” Flutterfree smiled. “I have my sources.” “Tell me,” Melinda insisted, pointing at her with a finger and Staring. “Or else.” Flutterfree Stared back. “Make me.” Twilight gasped. “…H-how? Nopony can resist your Stare charms!” Flutterfree sighed. “That… Didn’t sound… ‘good’. Let’s go with good.” Melinda took a step back. “It doesn’t matter, I can find them the old fashioned way.” She teleported to the place Charter Twilight was being held, glad to find her still frozen away. “Good.” Melinda knew Charter Twilight could hear everything they were saying, so Melinda leaned in close. “Listen, other Twilight, your friends are trying to bust you out of here and stop you from understanding the glories of true friendship. You and I both don’t want that. So realize that I am defending you when I do this.” She turned back to the doorway – Flutterfree was no longer there. The native Twilight gasped. “She’s gone!” “Just part of the distraction,” Melinda said, getting a firm stance on the ground. “I think they have their Nova, Rarity, and Pinkie working on a way in. The Rarity will show up with a secondary distraction, leaving the two most powerful to take their Twilight with a hit and run. But they can’t, everything about that spell is unbreakable. Anti-teleport, anti-dispel, anti-everything. She’s not going anywhere.” Sure enough, they saw Rarity run across the hall in front of them, trying to catch their attention. Melinda had to hold Twilight in place to keep her from going. “Remember what I said.” “Right. Got it. You’ve sure got their plan figured out!” Nova teleported behind them and lit her horn, smashing against the crystal bubble covering Charter Twilight with her impressive magic. She blew out a wall, but the magic bubble didn’t budge. Melinda levitated the unicorn to her. “Don’t worry, Nova, you’ll still get to spend lots of time with her. Wait… Where’s Pinkie?” There was a sound of applauding hooves. Melinda turned to see Pinkie sitting on a barstool, clapping her hooves with a super-snarky grin on her face. “Well done, Melinda! You did exactly what you were designed to!” “…I what?” “You won!” Pinkie shouted, putting a party blower in her mouth and a pointy hat on her head. “Congratz! You stopped our plan, knew exactly how it would pan out far before it happened, and, well, made a spell that not even Nova could break! I mean I always say do five impossible things before breakfast – and so do a lot of other people – but that’s a bit much all in a row there! Wow!” Twilight growled. “That’s not impossible, that’s-“ A cartoonish anvil dropped from nowhere and hit Twilight in the head, knocking her out. Melinda gasped. “Twilight!” “She’s fine. It’s not the first anvil she’s experienced,” Pinkie said, beginning to pace around Melinda. “But now it’s just you and me. And Nova, but, well, she’s indisposed, and I’ve told her to stay quiet during this part anyway.” Melinda narrowed her eyes. “This was part of the plan all along. To get me alone. So what, you could overpower me? Do you have some bizarre otherworldly trick up your sleeve that you think I can’t take when alone?” “Well, there’s nineteen, but that’s nothing,” Pinkie giggled. “Or there’s this!” She pulled a giant laser cannon out of nowhere and hit Melinda dead on with it. Melinda took the blast, part of her hair charring, and part of her clothes turning black, but she stood strong. She breathed hard. “Did you think that… Would do anything?” “Nope!” Pinkie said. “But you felt like it pushed your physical limits, didn’t you? Like you could just barely fight your way through it. You see, here’s a fun thing, you’re precisely as strong as you need to be. Well, actually, you’re a bit too strong, but you have to at least look like you’re trying sometimes, and you have to feel that way too.” “This doesn’t make any sense. I’m not some perfect sculpture, I’m just a human being!” “Are you sure about that?” Pinkie said, producing a drill-machine from her mane and tossing it into the ground. “That just hit this castle’s floatation crystal. Someone’s going to have to catch this castle to keep it from hitting Ponyville.” “You monster!” Pinkie’s hair went flat for a moment and a knife appeared in her hooves. “Maybe, maybe not! But you better go down there and save everypony!” Melinda teleported outside just as the castle began to fall. She grabbed hold of it with her hands and pushed it away from Ponyville, into a nearby mountain. She appeared in front of Pinkie again, breathing heavily. She grabbed Nova before she could try to free Charter Twilight again, throwing the unicorn into her own bubble. “See? Not only did you manage to stop the castle from hitting Ponyville, you also had enough energy stop Nova! And you were already exhausted!” “It’s… Amazing what you can do… When you have no choice.” Pinkie nodded. “That it is!” She giggled. “But, how could I have been so sure you could do that? I never would have dropped this castle if I wasn’t sure you’d save everypony involved. The thing is, I was. I knew you had it in you. I know you still have more in you.” She pulled a real warhammer out of her mane, brandishing it in her hooves. “And I think you want a fight.” Melinda shot her magic bubble spell at Pinkie, only for her to appear behind Melinda and hit her across the head dead-on. “See? That should have been more than enough to knock you unconscious. But no, you stand, even though you’re already running on empty.” “If I’m ‘designed’ to win, why can I not stop you?” Melinda demanded, firing a laser bolt at Pinkie, deflecting off the hammer. “You can,” Pinkie said, narrowing her eyes. “You have precisely enough energy within you to win this fight. Like always. You will struggle…” Pinkie hit her midsection, tossing her into a wall. “…And you will feel like the end is near, but you will pull through.” Melinda kicked Pinkie in the face, tossing her into a nearby wall. “No!” “Why not?” Pinkie said, face clearly bruised. “I’m not some perfectly designed creature!” “So…” Pinkie said, leaning in. “You don’t want to be that?” “I n-“ She caught herself, smiling. “Oh, oh that’s clever. You wanted me to admit that I didn’t want to be perfect, and therefore mean that I would get what I want, that is, ‘win’, by ‘losing’.” Pinkie’s grin fell. “…Er…” “It’s a classic paradox. You set up against my ‘winning’ by making me actually want to ‘lose’. Well, I won’t. I’ve decided that I don’t want to lose anymore. I’m okay with being the perfect thing they all know I am. Maybe I just needed to accept that.” Pinkie threw her hammer to the ground and facehooved. “OH COME ON! That’s cheap! Stupid and cheap! You don’t just turn your entire philosophy around like that! You were supposed to stay existential!” “That. It. Is.” She pointed her finger at Pinkie, smiling. “And now that I know all this you’ve told me, I have quite a bit more confidence. Thank you, it was a thing I was lacking.” Pinkie rammed her face into a nearby wall, waiting for the magical trap to hit – and then a lightbulb appeared above her head. “HEY! Stop the fighting!” “…What?” “Hey, since you realized that you are a perfect thing that basically has to win, can you maybe realize that Twilight’s not a bad pony for being suspicious of you?” Melinda blinked. “I… I…” “I mean, no one can hold it against you, you didn’t know before, what you were. But now, think of it! You can just let Twilight go and be happy with your life, having found a better, newer identity! You now know why she was suspicious – she can’t accept a ‘perfect’ individual! Different universes, and all that. She’s not meant to be around you as an admirer. Knocked-out Twilight over there is, but my Twilight isn’t.” Melinda nodded slowly. With a snap of her fingers, she released Nova and Twilight. Rarity and Flutterfree crawled out from behind a nearby column. “…Is it over?” Flutterfree asked. “Yes,” Melinda said, kneeling down to her. “I hope you can accept my apology. I didn’t know.” “…I’m not sure I understand, but I’ll accept your apology,” Flutterfree said, smiling awkwardly. Twilight shook her head. “So… That’s it then? I’m just… Free?” “Yes!” Melinda said. “You’re free to go, go do what things you are meant to do, I’ll mind the business of my own! Thank you Pinkie for showing me something new!” “Ladies and gentlemen,” Pinkie said, grunting. “She still won. Absolutely brilliant. Whatever, I’m done here, let’s go home Twilight.” Twilight nodded, activating the dimensional device. “Come back and visit!” Melinda called. “Don’t plan on it!” Pinkie called. They left and found themselves in a field in Equis Vitis. Then Twilight turned to Pinkie. “What... What WAS that!?” Pinkie sighed. “I knew that’d scare you. I’m sorry.” “I forgive you but… But… I…” She shook her head. “Nevermind…” “No, Twilight,” Pinkie said, grabbing her by the shoulder. “You can ask. You have the right to.” Twilight blinked. “I… Do?” “I did a little soul-searching,” Pinkie said. “Twilight, Nova, Flutterfree, Rarity… It’s time you knew some things. I know things. You’ve known this for a long time, but you’ve learned not to question it. You’ve known I can do impossible things as well, and you learned not to question that. It’s ‘just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie’. Well… I liked it that way. It was fun to keep you all in the dark, dance around you, and laugh at your expressions. And that was a little selfish of me.” “Pinkie…” Rarity said, putting a hoof around her. “It’s okay.” “I know it was. You all accepted me as the loco giggly pony I was.” She giggled. “And I still am. I always loved parties, I always felt joy with my randomness, and it was all just great. But… But I need to stop hiding everything from you all. I can’t tell you everything, there are rules, regulations, and a few things that you just shouldn’t be aware of. And don’t want to know.” Twilight frowned. “Don’t want to?” Pinkie whispered something in Twilight’s ear. She turned beet red and hung her head. “That’s mild,” Pinkie said. “There’s a lot of things worse than that you just don’t want to deal with. But I have to, because they’re just shown to me. And I don’t act on these things most of the time. I just… take them and act like a random lunatic. I probably should have started sharing my inklings when we met the Sage Pinkie, but I didn’t. She’s gotten a head start because of it. She uses them.” Twilight frowned. “Pinkie… Where do your powers come from?” Pinkie giggled. “Twilight, that’s a good question. A very good question. You aren’t ready for the whole answer, but you will eventually. For now, let’s just say I thought I knew where it came from, and today it turned out I was completely wrong. I’m a reversal of a fundamental concept in the multiverse, apparently. As are most other Pinkies.” Twilight nodded. Then she hugged Pinkie. “I’ll accept that. I’ll accept anything from you, Pinkie. You don’t have to do this.” “I need to,” Pinkie said. “Melinda’s not the worst of what lies out there. There are many other, actually horrible things that lie in wait. Most of them lie in blind spots in my vision, but there are a few I can see. Sage Pinkie is working on something that she’s trying her best to keep from me, and there’s another dark power of some kind in the hands of Ba’al. I’m done sitting in the background, taking comfort in knowing that ‘everything will be okay’. If today taught me anything, it’s that I can’t be sure of that.” Pinkie pulled everyone into a group hug. “All I know is that we’re going to face it together, whatever it is. Okay?” “Okay!” The other four cheered. It was a cute, blessed moment. A tear slid down Pinkie’s cheek. She knew not all of them would be able to stand together, at the end. That was something she wished she didn’t know. ~~~ “Ka,” Pinkie said, trotting by Starbeat’s lab. “What?” Starbeat said, raising an eyebrow. “Kaka.” “…Are you okay?” Pinkie grinned. “I’m nineteen!” “Aren’t you like, twenty-something?” Pinkie shrugged. “Eh, yeah.” Starbeat rolled her eyes and returned to her work. Pinkie bounced off, chuckling to herself. Who said she had to stop messing with ponies completely? Nobody, that’s who! She giggled maniacally. Maybe this could make it even better – after all, now she could get her closest friends in on it! They were going to throw a party for the multiverse.