Too Many Pinkies Plus One

 

You don’t know how long you stayed there, but it felt like it lasted an eternity. It was just you, staring at your pale reflection above you. Then suddenly you hear a myriad of high-pitched voices and visages of pink beyond the glass. Muffled chanting of the word "fun" muffled around your flushed eardrums. Almost as if it was a spell, you felt yourself being drawn to the source. You reached out a hand instinctively, finding yourself floating towards the surface. The closer you came, the more vivid the chanting and ping visages became.

 

"-and into her own reflection she stared, Yearning for one whose reflection she shared, And solemnly sweared not to be scared. At the prospect of being doubly mared."

 

A multitude of pink limbs melted through the glass as you’re suddenly pulled up before finally breaking free to the surface, forcing you to take a burning sharp inhale. Glancing around the scene before you, faintly recognizing these creatures. You stare down at your newly quadrupedal, pink self. You had four pink fluffy hooves, a wet mane that strung down like a curtain, and a slightly chubby belly. Peering behind you your eyes land directly on your flank, revealing a cutie mark consisting of three separate balloons. Taking all this in, you slowly come to a realization.

 

You are Pinkie, but also not.

You are a clone, but also human.

 

A massive headache surged within the depths of your mind. Memories of both lives are jumbled up in your head, leaving only the taste of ice and the looming sense of self-preservation. You instinctively knew that you have some weird powers involving pseudo-omnipotence and slapstick comedy. How you came to know, it was too painful to remember. You didn't want to remember. Recalling anything was like a tumor. Yet now you were remembering everything at once. A surge of information came crashing in, all conflicting with one another, threatening to override one another. The pain pounded away at your skull.

 

Your ears flicked to the environment around you. The other Pinkies were all chanting the word "fun" in the background, but with every clone batch, they make the volume increases tenfold. Your head starts to ache even further as you press your hooves against your ears, flattening them shut. Eventually, you decided you had enough. A visceral command growled out of your throat, "QUIET DOWN!"

 

The other pinkies suddenly paused in place, all of them frozen in their positions staring directly at you. The moment lasted longer than you were comfortable with and you found yourself barking another order, "Scram!" Then almost as if an engine-turned to life, all the Pinkies went back to reciting "fun" as they bounced in unison towards the cave's exit. Tremors shook the ground due to the galloping hoofsteps, but the vibrations eventually comes to a close.

 

You grunted in relief now that your headache was easing off. Yet even with a clear mind, you still couldn't figure out what was going on. "I am Pinkie Pie, but also a human? Or was a human..." You muttered out your thoughts in an attempt to organize them but to no avail. Your memories are still muddled in the mainstream of events that are still fresh in your mind. You attempt to shake the ebbing pain away, but no success either. Breathing a sigh of resignation, you simply sat there on the cold stone ground in thought. Your gaze drifted to the pond a couple of meters away. Sturdying yourself, you walked towards the front of the pool and peered back at yourself. It was a Pinkie Pie, but unlike you, her hair was puffy much like the ones you shouted at earlier. You could see that she was mouthing something among the ripples of water. You mouth the words of your reflection, "What are you doing here?"

 

"I..." Your words lingered in the back of your throat before finally replying, "I don't know."

 

"You're needed somewhere." It stated back. "Somepony needs you to be there for them."

 

"But... why?" The human side of you voiced out.

 

"Because it's what you're meant for." It replied.

 

"But, what if I don't want to?" You tilted your head.

 

"Then somepony will be sad." The pinkie reflecting back answered, mimicking your head-tilt in a somber expression. For whatever reason, this deeply dampened your mood. You had realized, for reasons that may not be your own, that you didn't want anypony to be sad.

 

"But, why do I have to be responsible for their happiness?" Your eyes narrowed, shaking from these foreign feelings.

 

"You don't. Just do it for yourself." It stated a matter of factly.

 

"For... myself?" You inquired, puzzled at her response.

 

"Yeah, go out and make somepony happy. It doesn't have to be everypony. As long as you improve the mood of at least one pony, you can be satisfied that you made a positive influence on that day."

 

"I... suppose I could try that." You nodded. "Just one pony."

 

"Just one pony." You said again back at your reflection.

 

It was a horrible day in Ponyville. Too many Pinkies were infesting every place as far as a pony's eye could see. Tremors throughout the ground were felt as structures loosened and collapsed. Mayor Mare has declared a Ponyville-wide emergency throughout town blasting an air horn to alert the others. Unfortunately for them, the Pinkies proceeded to mimic her, and soon the town was filled with Pinkies blaring their own airhorns, loud enough to deafen anypony.

 

Houses were broken in by the flocks of Pinkies, all pushing their weight against barred doors and windows. Walls collapsed and lamp-posts were covered in colored strings and confetti. The waves of Pinkies continued damaging various structures as families fled in panic. Pegasi and the stronger Earth Ponies were all trying to herd the Pinkies away from the evacuation site but were simply overwhelmed at their sheer numbers.

 

You were walking by calmly among the chaos, examining all the other ponies fleeing in utter terror. A stallion was lying on the ground in front of you in complete utter shock. You lent a hoof out to pull him up, but he freaked out and swatted your hoof away in sheer horror before running out of view. You clicked your tongue in disappointment. I'm not going to make anypony happy at this rate.

 

Then out of the corner of your eye, you see another pink clone resting on one of the benches near Café Hay. Unlike the others, however, this one seems to be resigned sitting in one place. Curiously, you walked over to the pink pony and soon realized that this one was different. A sour mood was written all over her muzzle. You felt your new instincts prickling against your spine, all of which told you to cheer her up. "Weird day we're having." You try to interrupt her wallowing, the earth rumbles as the sounds of a bell tower collapses in the faint background.

 

"More like the worst..." This other Pinkie's hair lifelessly drooped on the table, almost as if it was dunked in water.

 

You sat at the table with her, the sounds of confetti blasting in the background and screams of ponies echoed in the amiss. Despite being dry, your mane still parted from your head into a straight curtain. "How so?"

 

The other Pinkie looks up at you with a glimmer of relief, her tension alleviating as she takes a large inhale. "SoitfirststartedwithmewithwantingtojoinRainbowDashwithrelaxingafterherweatherpatrol,butthenApplejackcameinandaskedmetojoinheronherfamily'sbarnraisng.AndsoIstartedtopanicbecauseIcouldn'tdecidewhotojoinbecausetryingtohaveasmuchfunaspossiblewithtwoponiesisreallyhard.IthinkIlandedonTwilightandforsomereasonsheturnedafrogintoanorange,anditwasalsoreallycoolandseemedfuntowatch.SoIbegantopanicevenmoreandsoRainbowDashsaid"Ifonlythereweremoreofmetogoaround".ThenIhadanepiphanyasIremeberedthelegendoftheMirrorPoolbecauseofNanaPinkie'sstories.

 

WEEEEEEEEEZEEEE-

 

ThenIrecitedthechantoftheMirrorPoolandmadeacloneofmejustlikeyou,exceptnotjustlikeyousinceyouhavestraighthair,butyougetmypoint.AnywaysmeandmyclonewenttoseerainbowdashandAppleJack,butmyclonethentoldmethatFluttershywashavingapicnicwithherlittleanimalfriends.Thenwepanickedanddecidedtomakeanotherclone,andwedid.Howeverthen*that*clonewentaheadandmadeotherclonesuntiltherewereawholebunchofus.Buttherewerejusttoomanyofustogoaroundandthecloneswentandruinedeverypony'sfun!That'slike,thecompleteoppositeofwhatIwantedandIdidn'twantanyofthis!SoItriedtogotoTwilighttoseeifIcouldhelp,butshecouldn'ttellifIwastherealone.

 

WEEEEEEEEEZEEEE-

 

ButthenabunchofotherPinkiePiessaidtheyweretherealonesandTwilightstillcouldn'ttellitwasme!Butperhapsshe'srightandI'mnotmeandjustanotherclonelikeyou!HowamIsupposedtohelpthemifI'mjustaclone!Ididn'twantthis.Ididn'twantanyofthis.Ijustwantedtomakeeveryponyhappy,butnownoponyishappy-

 

And it's all my faauuuult!" Your doppelganger wailed, pressing her head on the table as she shed tears.

 

"Yikes, maybe it really is the worst day." You remarked casually, only for her to start bawling her eyes out. Scratching your head awkwardly, your nerves screamed at you to calm this mare down. "Look, about your friends, maybe you shouldn't worry about it." You say a matter of factly.

 

"H-Huh? Sniff. Whadyamean?" Hic. This Pinkie raised her head, her wet eyes tinted with redness.

 

"I mean, do you have to make everypony happy? Because you know that's impossible right?" You shrugged.

 

"B-But hic, the clones." Said clone sniffed in her snot.

 

"Yeah, like that went well." You say sarcastically, pointing to the destruction around the both of you. "Besides, who ever said it was your responsibility to keep everypony happy?"

 

"I- because they're my friends-"

 

"Who cares! If your friends aren't going to understand you can't be everywhere at once, then they're not your friends to begin with." You say with a little more venom than intended. Your gaze softened a bit after you saw the pony you were yelling at was shrinking back into her chair.

 

"You... you sound exactly like my sister."

 

"...What?" You were taken aback, not exactly expecting to hear that response.

 

"-I mean you have her eyes! But you also have my other sister's hair. But you also look like me! Well that's because you're a clone, but you still sound like her! Those words are exactly the kind of words she would have told me!" The other Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing from her seat and placing her hooves on the table.

 

"I-I" You stutter.

 

"Oh thank you!, thank you, thank you!" She gripped a hoof and shook it rapidly, causing your vision to blur before letting go. "Thanks to you I know exactly what to do now! I'd love to stay and chat a bit more, but I gotta go and see my friends! Talktoyoulaterbye!" You hear her shout from the distance as you try to keep your head on straight, birds chirping in your ears.

 

Shaking your head, your eyes readjusted to see her vanishing from sight. "You're... welcome?" You look around, cautiously. Suddenly another tremor rumbled throughout the earth. The sky darkened as you looked up, a bell tower was collapsing right where you were. Easily side-stepping it, you bit your lip. "...Welp, mission accomplished. Time to leave." You told yourself as you walked out of town.

 

At the end of that conversation, you've decided that you’re gonna figure your new life at a leisure pace. You’re currently resting on top of a lake while laying back on an inflatable pool chair. The sounds of Ponyville's destruction slowly dying off in the distance. You hold a suntan screen while wearing some nifty sunglasses you found. Your rear legs were crossed as you stare calmly at the blue sky. You were relaxed and satisfied, no longer annoyed by that small voice that nagged at the back of your head. Things were rather nice.

 

Then a couple of pink streaks flowed across the sky. You lower your sunglasses to see even more streaks coming from Ponyville and into the Everfree Forest. You scoffed to yourself. The anti-mirror spell Twilight conjured out of her flank. You mused. That might be a problem.

 

With a sigh you place back your sunglasses and crossed your legs the other way, continuing your sunbathing. The fresh air and sounds of chirping in the background were still much more enjoyable compared to your time under that frozen lake. Or mirror pool. Whatever...

 

A while passed and you could see six distinct colors from your peripheral vision. The mane six were standing outside the edge of the pool looking at you with their apparent "real" Pinkie Pie. You knew this would happen, but you were calm as ever. You perk your eyes to see the faint conversation happening on the other side, a voice you recognize from the blue pegasus.

 

"Yeah, my bad." Rainbow Dash remarks apologetically. "I miiiight have missed a Pinkie or two."

 

"You don't say." Applejack says sarcastically, before retrieving her lasso from her saddlebag.

 

"Wait, I think I can cast the spell from here. She has no where to go anyways." Twilight interjected, seeing that I was laying back casually in the center of a pool.

 

"Why isn't she running away?" Fluttershy said in a barely audible whisper.

 

"A defective probably, kinda like that Pinkie we met at that table." You hear Spike suggest. Oh wow, you could barely see him riding on Twilight's back. Your thoughts lingered on the Pinkie they mentioned, the one you helped out. A pang of guilt hits you as that Pinkie Pie could have been banished to the Mirror Pool.

 

"A mystery for another time perhaps. Let's just have Twilight take care of it." Rarity spoofed up her hair.

 

"Yeah alright, just give me a second." The purple unicorn's horn glowed as she started to cast the spell, unleashing a small purple laser at you. You shrug and simply deflected the laser back with your suntan screen, barely missing Twilight by a margin. "Ahhh!" A burnt-black mark stained the grass next to one of her hooves.

 

"Buck off" you simply state.

 

"H-Hey! You can’t do that to my friend!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, coming to Twilight’s defense.

 

"And what gives your friend the right to do that to me?" You deadpanned, turning the sunbathing panel back at yourself. Your eyes linger on the "real" Pinkie Pie right beside them. She only stares at you warily, glancing at her friends and back at you. You could tell she was conflicted at this sudden development.

 

Twilight reared back behind her Rainbow Dash in panic, both terrified that she almost zapped herself and shocked that you just swore at her.

 

"What do you mean?" Fluttershy uttered from the crowd, just barely and audibly heard.

 

"I’m not bothering anypony am I?" You idly replied.

 

"Well, no... but-" Twilight replied.

 

"But what?" You say with a tinge more animosity in your voice, taking off your glasses to glare fiercely at her.

 

"You’re a fake."

"An imposter!"

"A darned copycat."

The other three mares interjected, glaring back at me with equal animosity.

 

Twilight reared back again terrified, but slowly gaining the courage with all her friends coming up to her defense. "W-Well to put it simply. You aren’t supposed to exist!" Twilight finished, staring at me with a newfound determination.

 

You stay silent for a few seconds, as the air tensed up. Finally, you say, "And what gives you the right to decide if I exist or not?"

 

"I-" Twilight stampers, before pausing to really think about what you said.

 

"Well, ah reckon' cause, well..." Applejack tries to interject, opening her mouth before going silent and closing it again.

 

"Because Twilight knows so!" Rainbow Dash blurted out. "She’s the smartest out of all of us, so if she says that you gotta go, you gotta go." The blue pegasus raises her hoofs in a boxing stance before punching the air, but that only drew more ire from you.

 

"So if Twilight said to drown in a lake, would you?" You seethed.

 

"Why what a horrible insinuation! Twilight would never tell us to do such thing!"

 

"Hold on," Pinkie interjected everypony, drawing surprise from all five mares as they realized this was the first time she talked her entire time here. "Girls, I think that me may have a point." She pointed towards you.

 

"She does?!" All the other mares exclaimed in unison. Your harsh gaze softened her statement drawing an eyebrow from you.

 

"Yeah, I mean, I made her. Well technically my-selves made her. Or probably my selves-selves because they kept making themselves, or myselves in the mirror pool. Or would it be my selves-selves-self? Or my selves-selves-selves-selves-self-"

 

"Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

 

"Oh right. Well the point is this Pinkie is my responsibility. And I know for a fact that this Pinkie never bothered anypony! In fact, she went ahead and helped me!"

 

"She did?" Spike tilted her head at her remark, sharing confusion with the rest of the mares.

 

"Yeah! Remember when you both talked to me at Café Hay while I was having an existential crisis on one of the tables?" Pinkie blurted out a matter of factly without missing a beat.

 

"Wait..." Twilight's eyes widened, "that was you?"

 

"Yup!" The real Pinkie smiled, "And, she did really help me out. After both of you left, this Pinkie saw me crying and came by to talk to me." Her gaze turned to you, giving you a soft and genuine smile. "She helped made me realize what’s truly important to maintain a friendship." Your ire extinguished completely as you saw her smile. Relief that both the Pinkie you chatted with was this pony here, and that she was vouching for you.

 

The real Pinkie looks over to her friends showing the same light smile. "I wanted to spend time with everypony, but I couldn’t. I thought I could make everypony happy if I was there everywhere at once, but I couldn't. And she made me realize that... I don’t have to be!"

 

You couldn't help but smile from this, her happiness was infectious and it seemed to spread to the others too as Pinkie brightened up even more. "There’s always will be more opportunities to hang out with my friends, and they never abandon me just because I chose one over the other. And I would never abandon them either! Because that's what real friends do!" Pinkie chirps before pulling all her friends in a group hug.

 

"Uh, that’s great Pinkie." Applejack squirmed a bit. "So, yer don’t want this Pinkie zapped back in that pond or whatucallit?"

 

"The Mirror Pool." Pinkie corrected.

 

"Right." The farm pony said, taking a skeptical glance at you.

 

"And no, this Pinkie is alright. She’s pretty chill." She gave you a nod in affirmation.

 

"Alright well, whatever yer say Pinkie. I gotta get back and rebuild the farm. And uh," Applejack tipped her hat at you apologetically, "Ah’m sorry I had Twilight almost zap you other... Pinkie."

 

"It’s cool," you say putting your shades back on with a shrug, "thanks for not, un-existing me I guess."