Down Down Down
Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.
-Inception
You all thought this would be easy, didn’t you? Thought you could march in with your plans and your strategies and take me out. You thought I would sit by and let you come to me on your terms? Did you assume that I would be too stupid to realize that you planned to come at me full force, once you had gathered up Applejack? Of course you did… you thought I would stand by and wait my turn like a good little soldier. That is just silly. Where is the fun in waiting around for you to overwhelm me when I can bring the games to you?
Sunlight streamed into the Ponyville Library, shining down on the form of its librarian as she looked through her periodicals. Twilight turned the page of the magazine in front of her and snorted when she read its contents. “I can’t believe any pony would believe this spell could give you a longer mane! It would clearly cause your hooves to shine!” She levitated a quill over to her and moved the magazine over to her desk. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed a scroll and set to work. “To… the editors… of Magical Monthly… I have found it quite… laughable… that you would publish such an incomplete spell… as you did in your March edition. “
She chuckled to herself as she detailed just what was wrong with the spell. It was just so utterly silly it made her nearly weep. She glanced over and lost the battle with the giggles when she noticed that the spell next to it was wrong too. Shaking her head, Twilight set about correcting the editor again, never noticing the cracks that were forming in the air around her, pink energy oozing out of it. To one side, unnoticed, was a magazine bearing the image of a certain pink pony…
You see this all as a math problem, don’t you Twilight? 5(alicorn=1000) + 3(abstract=1000)=8000. Even if my power is at 2000 or 5000 you still outpower me. But life is not mathematics, Twilight, and that is why you have been failing all this time. You keep rushing in, thinking that because you have the numbers you can win. But how can you succeed when you are playing against someone who controls the very system around you. You based your beliefs on a set of rules… but I have rewritten them. They were rewritten before you even knew I was here. You thought you were prepared… you thought that you had built up your walls and knew how to keep me out. Silly, silly Twilight… my attack was merely to a feint; I wanted you to find me so I could see your strengths and weaknesses. Everything you thought was real was merely a dream and with each ‘awakening’ you merely fall down deeper. I found the fissures in your mental shields and now I use you to get to the rest…
Celestia and Luna sat in their customary box at the Canterlot Playhouse, watching a wonderful staging of ‘Twelfth Night’. It was a wonderful production, with no expense spared and the greatest of actors giving even the smallest part all the strength one could. They chuckled and laughed at the antics of the ponies on stage, delighting in how every cue was made and every line hit just right. They never noticed that the actors were all pink…
This is how you enjoy life, isn't it? You like it structured and controlled, with every actor knowing his lines and all roads leading to happy endings. That is why you were so against Discord; if you desire life to be a play then he wanted it to be all improv. I see now that both of you were wrong... life can not be pure chaos but it can not run without a strong hoof to guide it. A paradox, you might say; a stubborn truth is my reply. There must be room to grow… but boundaries to keep one in place. A balance… harmony. True harmony… MY harmony…
Spike was holding his sides, laughing so hard that he was a having a hard time staying in his chair. The comedy club was filled to the max, every pony joining him and laughing at the dignified Fancy Pants as he worked the mic and the room.
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" he said with his usual pompous flair. "To get to the other side!"
Spike threw back his head and laughed, pounding the table with his fist as his pink waitress brought him another lemonade.
You like to pretend that you are so powerful and refined, don't you Spike? With you new powers you want everyone to see you as an adult, able to hold his own. But it is all a lie, isn't it? You are still a child, giggling at knock knock jokes and snickering when someone says the word poop. You haven't grown up at all, have you? You've just learned to hide the truth. A child… an infant in a world of giants…
"He didn't!" Trixie exclaimed.
"He did," Faith said with a smile, gently running his hoof along her side. The two of them were lying upon their backs, watching the clouds as they drifted by, swapping stories and gossip about any pony they could think off. Trixie, of course, was focused on Twilight Sparkle and her hilarious freakouts, while Faith would discuss ponies who had long since passed on to the other side. It didn't matter to Trixie if she had never heard their names before; she just enjoyed spending time with Faith.
"I can't believe Princess Celestia didn't banish him after that!"
"Apparently old sunny butt has a better sense of humor than we thought," Faith said, causing Trixie to snort. "Ok, ok, we need to calm down... no need to wake up the little prince."
Trixie nodded, a smile growing upon her lips as she looked at the little blue foal that was curled up against her side, his metallic white mane gleaming in the sunlight. Every once and a while he would let out such a great snore that he would wake himself up, looking around in confusion before drifting back to sleep, leaving Fatih and Trixie to laugh at their son's antics.
All that glitz... all that glamour... you have put up so many fronts and played the roles everypony expects you to play. Do any of them realize how simple your dreams are? How the thing that would make you smile and laugh the most is such a grounded thing? Of course they don't... you are too busy pretending your want everything but that to reveal your heart’s desire...
She watched them all… watched as Applejack and Rainbow laughed in glee as they raced, each believing themselves the winner yet unable to see that they were tied. She saw Shining surrounded by family, the center of attention at long last, a wide grin on his face. There was Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, delighting in their cutie marks and waving their rears in Diamond Tiara’s face. There was Big Macintosh, a stuffed doll at his side as he watched apple trees blossom with cherries. She watched the swirl of madness that was Honesty… of course an abstract would find abstract art fun.
She watched it all… she watched them laugh… again… and again… and again….
~MC~MC~MC~
Clyde Pie’s life was exciting.
Normal ponies didn’t see it that way. They looked at his life and saw it as drab and boring. He knew that but it didn’t bother him… he was simply wired differently than the rest of Equestria. They wanted thrills and adventures… but he found excitement in the ground and in the rocks and upon the land. To him, the rest of the world was boring; his farm and his work was the most exciting thing ever.
But he had been pulled away from his exciting life by forces beyond his control. He and his family had been forced to live their lives by the rules of other ponies and deal with what they deemed ‘exciting’ and ‘adventurous’. It gave the farmer a migraine and the desire to run back to his fields.
All of this flowed through Clyde’s head as he slowly stood up,
"What happened?" Sue asked with a moan, Inkie and Blinkie hurrying over to help their mother up.
"Don't rightly know," Granny Smith said, Apple Bloom bringing her walker over. "Big Mac, you know... Big Mac?" Granny waved her hand in front of Macintoh's face, but the stallion just kept staring straight ahead, his eyes flickering every one and a while. "Dang it, you didn't go and have a stroke on me, did ya?"
"If he did then he ain't the only one!" Apple Bloom exclaimed, nudging Sweetie Belle. "Scootaloo and Sweetie are out too!" Apple Bloom turned and let out a panicked wail. "And so is Applejack!"
"So is Miss Sparkle and Miss Dash," Clyde stated, trotting over to the two alicorns. Spike, Shining Armor, Trixie and the Princesses were off to one side, piled up together with their eyes still wide open. To their right Honesty and Faith were crumpled in a heap, looking completely normal save for the long dead stare they sported.
"What happened to them?" Inkie asked.
"What is the last thing you remember?" Blinkie added.
Apple Bloom stood next to her sister, her little hooves pressing against AJ's flank. "We were all at that freaky tea party and then Pinkie Pie made the floor drop out-"
"That was not Pinkie Pie," Clyde said sharply.
"Clyde..." Sue chided gently.
"No. I won't have them bad mouthing our little girl. Pinkie might not act like us but she is a Pie and Pies stick together. That was all Laughter's doing."
"So, what ya think happ'ined?" Granny Smith asked. "How'd we all end up here?"
"I don't think we made it into the house," Clyde said. He took a step forward and his entire body began to twitch. "There be magic around the door, alright. Laughter must have set up some kind of magic booby trap."
Apple Bloom frowned, tilting her head in confusion. "What did you just do?"
"What do you mean?" Inkie asked.
Apple Bloom frowned. "The whole twitching thing... I thought only Pinkie had Pinkie Sense!"
"Pinkie Sense?" Sue said, the slightest of smiles forming on her lips. "Course she would call it that... silly thing always loved naming things after herself! Why, she still refers to our house as Pinkie Pie Manor..."
As Sue trailed off Clyde continued to test the doorway, getting the same results. "Every pony in our family has the Sixth Sense. They say that our line can trace itself all the way to Prince Pie, Princess Platinum's younger brother. He married Smart Cookie and started up a whole brood. I don't know how much of it is true, but all Pies can sense things... including magic." Clyde walked towards the house again and frowned. "Strange magic...my knees get a bit achy followed by my left molar feeling hot and my lids blinking."
"That means the spell was set for a specific pony!" Blinkie declared. "Remember when that mean land developer tried to trick us off our farm and set up that spell that would only affect you, father?"
"I do indeed... and you are right, daughter. Laughter set this spell for one particular pony."
"Yes," Faith called out, slowly rising to his feet, "she set it for Twilight."
"Mr. Faith, you're awake!" Apple Bloom called out, rushing towards him. "You have to help my sister and-"
Sue grabbed Apple Bloom and threw her onto her back, Clyde and the sisters getting in a defensive stance. Granny Smith held up her walker, ready to pound Faith if he made any sudden moves.
"You aren't Faith," Inkie stated. "Don't try and claim that you are! You don't feel like him." All the Pies twitched the same way.
"No, but I am a friend," 'Faith' said as 'his' eyes flashed solid pink. "Doubt tried to use me... but it looks like she made a grave mistake."
"Who are you?" Clyde demanded.
'Faith' smiled. "Cadence... I’m Princess Cadence."
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So, who saw that coming?
Yup, the whole reason Pinkie and Laughter were able to one up Twilight and the rest is because they sprung a trap the moment Twilight took a step towards the house. How the trap works will be detailed soon, as how Laughter got around Twilight's mental shields.
As for Cadence... yes, that is really her. Go back to when Doubt took over her body, about 20 chapters ago... Faith's eyes flash pink. That was Cadence entering him... she has been with Faith the entire time. Reread two chapters ago... remember how all the mares suddenly found Faith hot? What did Shining say... sometimes cadence had flare ups that caused that...
Yes, I write and plan that far in advanced.
Wat?
Seriously?
......ok..... sooo when doubt attacked faith cadence transfered her soul? into faith.... or thats what im getting from this... yea all i got to say is DAFUQ? Wicked new chapter jumped around alot but i guess it was kinda ment to do so..
So Cadence a mare is inside faith a stallion well thats not going to be weird at all.
Wait what just happened
Edit: Damn I feel stupid! dammit
*walks over to wall and starts smashing head
Who saw it coming that the heroes are overconfident idiots? Oh, oh, I did, I did! *bounces up and down excitedly like an idiot* =D
I still find it a tad dumb, but whatever, compared to another fic I read recently which shan't be named, this is entirely believable so I won't complain about Pinkie too much, I'll just roll along and see where it goes. As long as Laughter (and Pinkie) die excruciatingly painful deaths, is fine. ^_^
I admit, however, that you did catch me off guard with Cadance. Can't rightly think of a reason why Cadance is suddenly able to enter other ponies, though?
2251294
You're a sane madman with very sane plans. Let me take a stab at how Laughter got past Twilight's shields. With a highly logical mind like Twilight's I would assume she would set her mind up like a Rubix cube, an extremely difficult puzzle to solve that involves quite a few twists and turns. However, there is still a pattern for those who can see it.
Laughter bypassed it by doing the completely unexpected. He simply removed the stickers and put them into place, unlocking the puzzle and allowing him inside. Sometimes the simplest solution is the least thought of one and even less used.
So where is FAITH now? Doubt is in Cadence's body, Cadence is in Faith's body...
I guess Shining is gonna become a colt-cuddler now
2251356>>2251404
There only excuse is they weren't expecting it. If Twilight and the rest had faced Laughter in a straight up fight, they'd have lost. Laughter decided not to wait and set a magical trap in the LAST place they would expect: the home of Applejack, a mare who had broken free of Doubt and who had turned an abstract back to good. Sweet Apple Acres was pure and untouched... the perfect place for a trap NO PONY saw coming.
As for how Cadence ended up in Faith, it will be explained and it deals with Doubt and the nature of abstracts. As for where Faith is now, it will be revealed next chapter.
You sir...VERY well played!!
I did take a look back, and you are indeed right. The Devil in the Details as it were, nice to see an author with a flare for the little clues!
That said, the Sixth Sense being a Pie family trait, moreover one that has been mapped out a bit and Pinky hasn't likely gotten full instruction on, I am now very excited!
Can't wait for the next bit, keep this up and I'll find it hard to read anything but this!
2251417
Which is what I find kind of idiotic of Twilight and the others. They already got rid of three abstracts and queens, you'd think that by now they'd realise the queens and their abstracts would retaliate, prompting them to be on their guard at all times. Oh well, nobody's perfect, I guess.
2251441
I suppose they were just caught of guard from a place they thought would be the perfect sanctuary... lets just hope Faith has a trump card for Laughter's schemes...
I so can't wait to see the Pies trying to comfort Pinkie when she is freed...
2251408
Not to mention Trixie and Twilight´s reactions.
2251518
I wonder what Twilight will say about Cadance's situation now... you can't help but feel sorry for Cadance
- She gets sealed up in a cave by a bug-queen for who knows how long
- The mare she loves as her own sister is scarred by family and friends and mentor, and she can't do anything about it really
- She gets locked up again by The Five Queens and beaten
- Her body is snatched by the real mastermind
- Her consciousness is now in the body of the pony who is their only hope in this
Lets just hope she has a happy ending after this
Whoa. You completely took me off guard there with the whole 'Cadence is in Faith's body thing.'
Good chapter, and I like how the non hero type characters are the ones that are going to be the ones that snap everypony out of dream land.
- Super-Brony12
Cadence? Well...color me flabbergasted...
I had some feels in that scene with Trixie.
First off, this is awesome, second off, I'll probably work on my current one shot(revolving around a Scottish stallion who has been watching over the three foals from the first oneshot) and try to sort things out there, and once Laughter is defeated I'll run it by you.
That good?
Brilliant! I loved Pinkie/Laughter's monologue. I think this is the best insane Pinkie I've read so far
2251604
Works for me
Pinkie is right and wrong at the same time.
...
If ya don't mind
MOAR.
A mare in a stallion's body?
Oh boy...why do I get the feeling that's going to be an issue later?
Pinkie always walked the tightrope of sanity and insanity, it makes sense that her Laughter imbued version tromps all over it.
Can't anyone stay in their proper body?!? Doubt as Faith, Faith as Faith, Doubt in Cadence, Cadence in Faith... ugg!
2251294if any one says that your writeing is sub par, they can co burn because you are a genious
i would give u a cuteness explosion if my pc werent acting up.
but that at least gives u something to lokk foreward to
Uhhh, I do believe you want hoof.
Abstracts in Pony Bodies. Ponies in Abstract Bodies. Ok.
I imagine that only the INSANE are safe from laughter, correct? them put this guy in:
images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090903145510/batman/images/f/f9/Heath_Ledger_as_the_Joker.JPG
Good chapter, but it felt a but short. Maybe its just me. Update soon!
Out of curiosity, how many chapters is this story gonna be?
THe Journey to the maddness of laughter continues....
This is going to be one interesting Pie family reunion coming up.
Also, I wonder what will happen when Laughter/Pinkie meets her real family again ?
I also wonder if the Pies can sense this isn't the real Princess Candance ?
Nice update and great insight on the fears that these "heroes" have, it will be a bit interesting to see what happens when they break out of Laughter's trance....
So please do keep up the good work upon such a gerat tale.
2252194
Why would they... it is Cadence.
Huh, I think I like Laughter... I'm pretty sure she's not on Doubt's side. She's on her own dagnabit! That and, well... I'm a sucker for the balance play.
2251294
I'm not liking how rediculously OP pinkie is here, but I'll try to keep an open mind for at least one more chapter.
2251294
Woah, I didn't expect a plot that intricately detailed, especially that many chapters apart. Well done, well done indeed Author.
i still say the answer here is discord. pinkie 'destroyed' his statue maybe but it was empty this makes sense, there has been pure chaos around the statue for months now. the spirit of discord and disharmony is free and he can be reasoned with
so cadence had borrowed faiths body
and imma guess is using it like a puppet
not in it
just using the strings
Looks like the sidekicks will have to save the day.
In the mean time let's see just what Pinkie Pie does to break her prisoners.
2252341
All I will say is... that would be wise.
The whole Pie family having the Sixth Sense should be a canon...
Umm... Forgive me if I find that plot twist a little... weird. Nothing wrong, just personal issue. I just find it uncomfortably weird when girls are in boy's bodies or vice versa. (Wizard of Oz Books... Ocarina of Time)
I thought that was just Faith being a Gary Stu.
I kid, I kid.
Why do I get the feeling Laughter right now is the least of their problems? And how did Faith not notice Cadance in him? Same way Cadance never noticed Doubt? Probably be answered next chapter.
Darn you and your cliffhangers, it's really getting annoying... not entirely sure if that's a bad thing or not.
Kinda disappointed with Laughter so far. With what you've shown me, I don't really see her as Harley Quinn, I see her as more like Tira from SoulCalibur. Harley was never too bright and was male-dependent. Laughter, like TIra, is much more competent, manipulative, and sadistic. Then again, I have yet to see Laughter as opposed to Pinkie/Laughter but still. Kinda underwhelmed.
What? What? So wait... was that Faith all this time? Or was that Cadence?
I am so confused... my mind is broken...
Thank you defender2222. You have broken the most important asset I had. My brain. I will be sending you the fees for the repairs. The bill should come to about 145,354,298,234 bits.
...wait... wut?
.... NAJSFBHidhfliahdsfj *flips table* THIS IS GETTING CONFUSING!! ...where's my charts!!? GET ME MY CHARTS! ...and then something deep friend and smothered in chocolate! ...MY DIET IS RUINED! ...I hope you're happy.
Interesting twist at the end though I'm still quite confused over the entire chapter.
Okay..huh-wha-tha buck? I think my thought process just went total derp on me. It feels like ive missed a chapter, cause i had a hard time following this one. I mean, it was like, boom! dreams! Awake! Cadence!
gah.
2251294
So where's Faith?
Well... That WAS unexpected... I'm gonna leave now...
after thinking for a bit I think Cadence has temporarily control over faith's body. Fath is lost in laughter's ilussion, thus not in control of his body and allowing cadence to control it. An I right?
2251294 You are full of win, sir! I just wish the chapter was longer....
2251294 Ha! Knew it! Well didn't notice about the suddenly everyone finding him hot, but still!
Of course now the big question. Since Faith and Cadence is now one... Does that mean Shining Armor is married to Faith and loves him? 