//------------------------------// // 16 I think I'm a Clone Now // Story: The Line Between Fire and Light // by Stolenalicorn //------------------------------// Everyone walked along as they left Rarity's boutique, openly thankful for her understanding about the contents of the article about her Manehatten boutique. Pinkie Pie, however, was curious about James's conspicuous absence from the article. “Well, I wasn't there for most of it.” James calmly said. “I only got back when you banded together to get it done.” “Well, yeah. But didn't he have any questions for you? He included Coco Pommel blowing her nose but not your interview?” Rainbow Dash said as she rode on James's back. James mocked injury as he spoke. “I know. A sneeze was more interesting than I was.” He held his composure for a minute as everyone stared at him. However he couldn't hold it long and began to laugh. “Honestly, I don't know why he didn't include anything about my minimal involvement. I actually thought it was interesting how Applejack and I got the construction done. Especially since we had to scavenge most of the materials.” Applejack shook her head as they walked. “Yeah, well I guess if it wasn't some kind of disaster he wasn't interested.” James shrugged. “Yeah, conflict drives a narrative. On those lines, I believe we've got somewhere to be Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow Dash lightly smacked the back of James's head as she spoke. “It's a date, how is that “On those lines”?” James just smiled as he looked back to her. “Because I am very frustrating.” He simply answered. Applejack laughed at his comment. “He's got you there Rainbow Dash.” The Pony Post, as reliable as ever, arrived exactly when Rarity expected. In addition to a few small deliveries she received a manilla envelope from Buried Lede. It seemed odd that the journalist would write to her just as his article was printed, and even more odd that it was clearly more than just a letter. Rarity sat at her table opened the envelope and pulled out a pile of papers along with a letter. Rarity, I know that by now you've read the review of your boutique in Manehatten, it was honest and accurate, however it was also shorter than I planned. I've sent along a section of the notes that I used in the original draft so you can piece together the whole story. My conclusion stands as it does in the article, but you deserve the whole story. It was when she read the first line of the interview notes that she realized just what was missing. He laughed, almost evilly. “Beautiful directed Chaos.” Rarity looked back to the article, she had thought Buried Lede hadn't interviewed James, or that James had refused. But this was big. What did James say to be cut entirely. “Things probably would have been easier if we had come in days earlier to do all the set up work. This was a lot to do in only a few hours. The biggest issue was that Stripes guy.” His brow furrowed and I could see his anger at the memory of Rarity's land lord. What was it about Mr. Stripes that made things difficult? “Okay, I can easily understand wanting to do anything to make your daughter happy. I've got two myself. But he was using his position to force Rarity to work with her. Even worse, he threatened to price gouge her until she was forced to leave if she didn't work with his daughter and her terrible ideas.” His voice dropped an octave and became gravely, and he growled his next sentence. “Nobody threatens my friends!” So what happened next? His voice quickly went back to normal and he even seemed to relax a bit. “Well, I may have excused myself far too early for their liking, but I couldn't just let the threat stand. One thing few realize is that every successful landlord with high end property has a lot of debt. Often some of it with late payments. I have friends in high places and was able to find out where all of his debts were. From there it was no challenge to buy it out. Here's a bit of financial advice, always read the fine print when getting a loan. Now he no longer owed several institutions large sums each month. Instead he owed an individual a massive sum with late payments on some properties already knocking at their deadline. I crafted an informal letter telling him about the change and that his payments were to be made up to date immediately. But I'm not unreasonable like he was, I was willing to negotiate a more favorable payment plan that would even let him reduce his overall owed amount beyond the offered exchange.” I could tell that he was enjoying reliving the memory, he had a small but wicked smile and even forgot about the coffee that he had ordered. “I met him in private and informed him about the change, complete with notarized documentation. That's when I told him in no uncertain terms that his only hope for his payments to not all be combined into one lump sum that he had no chance of being able to pay was to sign over the building that Rarity had just rented out the bottom floor of to me free and clear. And that while his daughter could stay at the shop that night so she's not completely devastated, afterwords she would have to work for and not with Rarity if she was going to stay. If she wanted to try her hand (whatever that is) at fashion she would have to try on her own and not ride on the reputation of someone else. I'm sure there's a market for her ideas, but it's her responsibility to find it. Not her father's to force others into ruin while he tries to make a name for her.” Once again his voice took on an angry tone and his eyes narrowed. Mr. Stripes had really ruffled his mane. Were you there at her breaking point? “No, I was probably talking to Mr. Stripes at that time. But I'm sure it was dramatic. Push anyone to the breaking point and you're getting something big.” What would Rarity do without friends like you? “I didn't realize she had more friends like me. That sounds horrible. But her friends who aren't me are great. And I think she's a better person (what's with these pronouns?) for it, as are her friends.” When did you get back? “I don't know exactly when in the time line I got back, but Rarity was locked in the window display when I did. Clearly something interesting happened while I was gone.” So was that your contribution to the whole thing? Getting the building for yourself? “Oh no. There was no structure set up for any displays, no counters, no paint, nothing was ready. It took all of us to get that place done. Thankfully I'm a bit of a handyman (There's those darn pronouns again, find a thesaurus that can tell me just what he's saying.) so between Applejack and myself we had the construction done in no time. Bit of hard work and a little haste magic. I happen to be pretty good with that spell. We managed to get things sorted out, built painted and ready by that night. Actually she had this great idea about some of the junk in the back alley …” Rarity looked at the last note page only to realize it was another letter for her. She was already shocked by what she had read, what else was there to add? Rarity, that friend of yours is a pony of no small influence. While he does seem to be a decent enough guy, he clearly has a quick and wrathful temper. Which is the reason I cut him from the article. If he can purchase the debt of Mr. Stripes and be wiling to just write off a prime location. Then I do not want to get on his bad side. This was a bombshell. She couldn't just not ask James about this, she needed to hear what he had to say about it. Fortunately he was still in Ponyville for now, so it was simple enough to get him back to her studio to ask him just what happened. After his date that is. There was no excuse to be rude. *** “That's not even the most interesting story from the diner that night.” James said with a smile. “I went in to get a coffee while he was interviewing Pinkie Pie. And much to my surprise I saw Pinkie Pie.” “ … Uhm, How's that a surprise?” Rarity asked as she tried to riddle out his statement. “What would surprise me about finding Pinkie Pie when I was expecting to find Pinkie Pie?” James asked with a smirk. Rarity was getting more confused as James effectively just repeated himself. “Exactly. James, you're not making much sense.” “I saw Pinkie Pie and Pinkie Pie.” He said, his smirk turning into a smile. Rarity's face fell as she heard the statement, she was absolutely certain that every Mirror Pool Pinkie Pie had been dealt with. It had been total chaos because of those copies. “Oh no. I've got to tell Twilight.” James held out his hoof to keep Rarity sitting. “Please at least hear the rest of what I have to tell you before making any rash decisions.” Rarity looked to James astonished, she could see the sincerity in his eyes as he asked. “Alright, but I don't think you know just how dire this is.” James shook his head. “I don't think you know the situation.” With a nod he began to talk, telling Rarity about how when the copy Pinkies were staring at the drying paint one looked away long enough to be noticed, but as Twilight's spell came for her another Pinkie got in the way letting her hide and escape later. She escaped to Manehatten believing it would be the best place to get lost in a crowd. She'd been keeping a low profile since her escape, working as a baker and keeping to herself. James recounted her story of the lonely years she spent wishing she could risk seeing her old friends or even making new ones. How she had even given up on parties, both from fear of being found and she just didn't have it in her anymore. Rarity was quietly crying as she heard the story, she had never even taken a moment to think about how the Mirror Pool Pinkie must have felt having to hide from everyone she had once thought as a friend. “I also knew that it might be a problem for you if there was another Pinkie Pie around. So I took care of the problem.” James calmly said. Rarity was horrified, after everything she had told him he had still sent her back to the pool?! Was he really heartless?! “But … How ….” She stammered. James knew immediately that he had poorly phrased his statement. “I mean that she's not around anymore … Wait, that's just as bad. Give me a moment.” James took a moment to collect his thoughts, normally saying something horrifying is his goal but he needed to be comforting right now. “Alright, she's not in Equestria anymore because she's now a citizen of New Guardia. I couldn't let her live in fear of making new friends because she was worried about what would happen if her old ones found her. And I know that you got rid of all the surplus Pinkies because they were becoming a destructive force. But she's not just a copy anymore, she's had a life of her own. New experiences and hardships. She deserves to live that life now.” Rarity was choked up as she thought about it. “I see. I hope she can be happy now.” She spent the rest of the day thinking about the story James had related to her, about how she would feel if the Pinkie Pie she knew were put in that position. Eventually realizing that it was irrelevant, this was the Pinkie Pie she knew. She had been living in constant fear, isolating herself, not even a single friend. Rarity felt hollow, she knew that she had taken something precious from her and she couldn't allow this to go any longer. That following morning she called for everyone to meet her in Twilight's castle. “So what's goin' on Rarity?” Applejack asked as she sat in her throne. “It's not an easy subject to bring up, but it seems that there's one last Mirror Pool Pinkie Pie.” Rarity cautiously said. She knew the reaction she would get, but she was ready to argue her position. “What?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “How could we have missed one?” Rarity stopped her before things got out of control. Once things were settled down she recounted James's tale to her the night before. “… And honestly. I think we owe this poor filly an apology. She's been so terrified about what would happen if we found out about her that she isolated herself.” Pinkie cried openly as the rest of them wiped away a small tear. “You're right Rarity. We have to do this for her.” Twilight said as she looked to the rest of them. “First thing in the morning for New Guardia we go and talk to Pinkie and tell her ourselves.” A resounding agreement filled the room. “So that means the evening then.” Rainbow Dash said. “It's still day for a couple hours now if you'd rather do it sooner.” “So why is it you never saw her?” Applejack asked as they walked to the door. “As much as you've been there, I'd think you'd know something about it.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Obviously she's avoiding me. And James didn't tell me because she asked him not to. He's pretty good at keeping secrets.” She honestly didn't know that a copy Pinkie Pie was now living in New Guardia but it was nice to know that his first thought was to help her out, especially after his first reaction to Pinkie when he initially came to Ponyville. Twilight insisted that Starlight come along as the more ponies they had looking for her the better their chances were of finding her. It was still light out as they made their way to the foyer of New Guardia Castle. They could clearly hear Amber and Sara laughing from James's study as they were likely goofing off instead of actually doing their homework. They walked along the cobblestone path through the woods towards the main road to Truce, the last vestiges of winter still clung to the ground and a slight chill wind brought with it the smells of the changing season. Truce itself was a growing city, where they would even start to look was the real question. It was Pinkie Pie who came up with the answer as she walked up to the first person she saw and asked if they had seen her that day and where they last saw her. “Last I saw you you were working at Maggie's Diner,” The centaur said as she pointed them towards another part of the city. “but that was hours ago. Did you lose something?” Pinkie was only too happy to answer. “Oh no. My friends and I are looking for a copy of me from a magical mirror pool. She was in hiding back in Equestria but now she's come here to hide.” The centaur woman believed her, weirder things were certainly not unheard of up here. But her explanation sounded like they were planning on extraditing her. “You may want to ask security.” Twilight had her hoof to her face as Starlight groaned, they didn't need security involved. “Oh, no. We're just looking to talk to her, that's all. Thank you.” Pinkie said as she happily walked back to the group. “Pinkie Pie!” Rarity moaned. “We're trying to find her, not scare her back into hiding.” Rainbow Dash flew over to her and looked down at her as she shook her head. “Yeah, if security starts looking and tells her that we're here she'll just run away again.” Pinkie looked down. “Oh, I just thought that if we found where she was somepony could tell us where she went. That way we can find her faster.” Twilight took a deep breath. “I know you were only trying to help, and you did, but I think we need to find her before she tries to hide again.” Starlight shook her head as she thought about the situation. “Well, I guess we'd better hurry then. We know where she was so we've at least got a place to start.” James was just recovering from Piccolo's latest attack, he looked to himself waiting on the sidelines knowing that when he least expected it he'd be involved in a free-for-all fight with two opponents. While that would take pressure off of him that also made tactics more difficult as any attack could open him up to another one, or that what he thought was coming for him might be meant for the other. As he stood back up his omnitool blinked to life alerting him to a message. “Are you fucking kidding me?!” He growled. “Dismiss, I've got it.” He heard himself say. James shook his head as he heard himself shout to him. He kept his eye on Piccolo as he dismissed the message. The message was a simple request if he was aware of any extradition request for only Equestrian resident. It was a simple answer of no and he could only think of one group that might look for her. “Alright, I'll be going now.” James said as he began typing out several commands on his omnitool before violently melting away. He stopped in to the castle to see if anyone knew where the ponies had gone, after getting Sara and Amber to get back to doing their homework he went to check in with Tali. She was in the game room playing Dark Souls carefully making her way through Anor Londo. “Something come up?” Tali asked as she tried to get to a safe place where she could afford to look away for a minute or more. “Yeah, I gotta go keep security off some guests.” James said as he leaned against her chair. “Then shouldn't you be going?” Tali asked as she dodged to the side of a Silver Knight. “Yeah. Just seeing where you are, be careful there's a mimic coming up.” James said as he could see where Tali was going. “I know, that's what got me last time.” Tali commented as she dealt with the current Silver Knight. Mirror Pinkie walked towards her current apartment. While she appreciated James's offer to house her in the castle until she could get her own place it was too risky with Rainbow Dash coming as often as she was. She was able to convince her once that she was the Pinkie Pie from Ponyville but if she figured it out it was back to the pond. Mirror Pinkie had to work her way back up here, and she still wasn't sure how safe it was to become widely known. She didn't like running away, and it felt horrible that she had to avoid her friends. It was almost a curse that the longer she had spent out of the pond the more the original's memories had taken hold, remembering every good time they had. She knew she was a copy of the original and not a copy of a copy. Those ones were copies of a blank slate and never got the memories she had. At times she wished she were one of them, or maybe that she had been sent back to the pond. At least she wouldn't be alone then. She had moved to one of the general housing districts of Truce where she lived in one of the rent free apartments. It wasn't nice but it didn't have any problems either, it just felt like she waiting to get to something better. As she approached her apartment she could hear a group talking. At first she thought it was a few of her neighbors who she had gotten to know pretty well until she looked down the hall and saw who it was. She didn't know how but her friends had found her. For a brief moment nearly every part of her wanted to shout out in joy at seeing them, wanted to run up and tell them all how much she missed them, how much she loved them. But she knew that there was only one reason for them to be here. It was going to hurt, but she had to run away from then again. That short pause was too long as Starlight saw her looking at them. “Hey, I found her!” She said happily. Mirror Pinkie panicked and turned to run away, she needed to escape. She wanted to run to them, but she wanted to live too. She began to cry as she escaped from the ponies she once knew. “Pinkie Pie! Get back here!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew after the fleeing mare. Twilight called out to Mirror Pinkie as she ran off. “Wait Pinkie! We're here to apologize!” As she turned back to the group she saw that Pinkie Pie was no longer with them. “Well don't just stand around! After them!” Applejack said as she took off in a run. Rainbow Dash watched as Mirror Pinkie flawlessly dodged every obstacle in her way as she ran through the streets. “How does she do that?” “Pinkie sense most likely.” Pinkie Pie said from right below her before running off ahead. Mirror Pinkie turned a corner and her Pinkie sense warned her to stop immediately. She opened her eyes for a moment as saw herself standing in front of her smiling. She turned and ran off again, knowing that she had to escape. “Wait!” Pinkie shouted as her copy ran off. Once again Mirror Pinkie's sense told her to stop, instead she doubled back and kept running. “We only want to …” Pinkie Pie tried to explain. Each corner and alley had Mirror Pinkie running from herself again. Even Rainbow Dash was getting dizzy as she tried to keep up with her narrowing escape routs. Things got even tighter as Twilight and the rest caught up to them and circled around her. Her Pinkie sense screamed defeat in any direction she thought to go. She couldn't go down as the ground was too hard, she couldn't hope to go over with Rainbow Dash in the air. Her best chance was to go through Fluttershy and Rarity. Mirror Pinkie looked to her two friends apologetically before she charged full bore towards them. She jumped as her Pinkie sense told her of Applejack's lasso coming towards her. Rainbow Dash dove as Fluttershy jumped out of the way. Applejack's lasso missed but Rainbow Dash was fast enough to tackle the fleeing Pinkie Pie. Caught, all she could do now was cry. She was so happy to be with her friends, but terrified at what she knew was coming now. Her Pinkie sense was going nuts as she waited for the end, something completely unbelievable was going to happen. She wondered if she would feel anything when she was back in the Pond. Rainbow Dash held her tightly as she sat up. All of the other ponies came in and began to hug her as she cried. Several security officers began to approach the group until their omnitools alerted them. James stood behind them with his Omnitool and quietly shook his head. With one last look back security walked away. Once they left James used an invisibility spell and leaned against the wall to watch. He didn't need to get involved. Mirror Pinkie slowly began to stop crying and she was now just confused that she was still even there, let alone why they were hugging her. “Aren't you here to send me back to the Mirror Pool?” She eventually asked. “Of course not.” Twilight said as she began to back away. “We came to say that we're sorry. We never wanted you to be afraid. If we had known earlier that you were still out there and that you were so scared we'd have come to talk sooner.” Mirror Pinkie still didn't understand though. “But don't you have to send me back to the mirror pool?” “Dear, we've gone this long without needing to, why should we now that you have your own life to live.” Rarity said with a smile. Mirror Pinkie smiled as she looked at everyone there, unfortunately part of accepting James’s offer meant that she couldn't live in Equestria anymore, but her friends cared about her. She began to cry again as she realized that she was no longer alone. “I love you! I love you all!” She cried happily. “Even you, whoever you are!” Starlight smiled awkwardly as Mirror Pinkie hugged her.