//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10 
// Story: The Element of Laughter 
// by The-rogue-shadow 
//------------------------------//

Pinkie was having the time of her life playing with Sparkler, the child of the Doctor and Derpy. She was babysitting for them so Derpy could have a break. But Pinkie wished that she the foal didn't have the sounds of war in the background all day. Pinkie laid Sparkler down to sleep, the light purple foal yawned, and Pinkie realised just how tired she was as well. She walked over to the door of the tent and looked out, as troops, fresh from the days fight, returned. They looked battered and bruised, and Pinkie felt sorry for them. She saw Derpy and The Doctor returning, and smiled, glad that she would be able to get some rest. Derpy went straight for the foal, looking over the edge of the cot, and the Doctor stood next to Pinkie.
"Thank you Pinkie, I think she really needed this break." Said the Doctor. "And I must ask, how is life treating you nowadays?" Pinkie looked at him, contemplating the best answer. It had been almost a month since her victory over Pinkamina and her awakening from her slumber.
"I'm still having nightmares, but they are less frequent. And I can't shake this urge to party." She said, smiling at the Doctor, who hugged her.

"I'm glad. Why don't you take a walk with me?" he said, gesturing Pinkie outside, and she followed him. They walked around the camp, not saying anything, and Pinkie was feeling a bit anxious, not knowing what to do. The Doctor led her away from the camp, to the graveyard of the ponies that hadn't survived the war. He stopped at a particular grave, and it wasn't Rosethorn's like Pinkie had predicted, it was her own. She stared at it, shocked, having no idea it was there.
"It was erected when the military announced your death. They wanted to take it down upon your return, but I asked them not to." Said the Doctor. Pinkie gave him a quizzical look;
"Why Doctor?" She asked, as the Doctor produced what seemed to be a pen.
"Because I knew that you would defeat Pinkamina, and to me, this seemed fitting." He said, pointing the pen at the tombstone it made a whirring sound and the tombstone changed. Where it once said 'Here lies; Pinkamina Diane Pie' it now just said 'Here lies Pinkamina' The Doctor somehow erasing the other parts of her name from the rock. Pinkie hugged him, understanding what he meant.
"Thank you Doctor." She said, as small tears rolled down her face. 
"You're like a daughter to me Pinkie; I would do anything for you." Said the Doctor and Pinkie giggled.
"I'm sorry I lost your dagger." Said Pinkie, and the Doctor smiled.
"It's okay Pinkie, sometimes memories are best left in the past." Replied the Doctor. He walked her back to the camp as the sun set, the orange light casting long shadows over the entire camp. Pinkie slept peacefully that night, not a single nightmare or bad thought entering her mind. She woke up the next day in high spirits, and bounced around the camp, something she had not done properly in a long time. The smile on her face seemed to be infectious, as her smile spread around the camp. Somehow, she bounced over to the training grounds and found a group of new recruits being trained by Black Diamond, Rarity's coltfriend. She stopped and watched, s the young ponies were drilled by Diamond, made to run laps around a track, climb over a wall and duel each other with wooden swords. Pinkie's mind flashed back to her own training at Duskheart's hooves. Then it flashed to when she was Pinkamina, and his apology. Pinkie shook her head to get rid of the memories, at least for a time. With Pinkie, no memory was ever lost. Black Diamond saw her and smiled, beckoning her over. She walked over nervously, as all of the young ponies turned to look at her.

"Recruits, we have a special guest today. This is Pinkie, one of the finest warriors I have ever seen." He said and Pinkie looked at him in shock. 
"What are you doing? When have you seen me fight?" she asked, whispering it into his ear. He smiled, whispering back;
"To be honest, I haven't but I read Swift's report on your first mission. Can you take them off me for five minutes, I need to do something?" he said, and Pinkie nodded, adding a slight dirty look to her face. He smiled, before walking away quickly. Pinkie looked at the recruits; all lined up in front of her, eyes all staring intently at her. She took a deep breath.
'I am not qualified for this.' She thought as she smiled awkwardly the young ponies.
"Uh, so how about we start with some… uh Duelling?" she said, saying the first thing that popped into her head. The young ponies all nodded as one, lining up in two rows facing each other. Pinkie turned to a grey earth pony mare.
"So how does Black Diamond usually have you do this?" she asked. The pony looked at her strangely.
"We, uh, usually get paired with whoever the commander wants us to, then we fight, and then he gives us feedback on our abilities." She said. Pinkie smiled, before realising that she had no idea how to pick between them.
"Um… How about you all pick a fighting partner instead, somepony that you think is better than you, then it's a challenge at least." Said Pinkie and one of the recruits down the opposite end of the line scoffed. 
"Is there something you wanted to say?" asked Pinkie, narrowing her eyes at him. He looked at her with a scowl.
"Yeah, I don't think that you have any idea what you're doing. And personally, I really don't think that some pink bimbo can teach us anything about fighting" he said. Pinkie walked over to him, her anger badly hidden on her face.
"I can't teach you if you are unwilling to learn." She said. 
"I'm only unwilling to learn from you." Said the young blue colt. Pinkie nodded, smiling sarcastically.
"Would you like to test your theories about me?" asked Pinkie, calling the ponies bluff. He stared straight into her eyes and smirked.
"With pleasure." He said. Pinkie nodded, turning away from the colt and walking to the other end of the duelling circle. The other recruits all stepped out of the circle, leaving only Pinkie and the blue colt. Out of the corner of her eye, Pinkie could see bets being placed on the fight. She picked up a wooden sword, as did the colt. Pinkie took a deep breath, clearing her mind of distractions. 
"First lesson, keep calm." Said Pinkie, as her opponent charged, swinging his sword wildly. Pinkie easily countered with her own sword and kicked her leg out, tripping the colt, who fell flat onto is face.
"Lesson two, read your opponent." She said, stepping back to let the colt get up. He charged again, a might war cry coming from his mouth. His swings were powerful, but uncoordinated, he kept leaving himself open, and tiring himself out, as Pinkie just kept moving, dodging his blows. She bounced backward, the colt panting with exertion.
"Lesson three, don't be afraid to get creative." She said finally, pulling out her party cannon and firing it. The colt was blasted out of the circle, ending the duel. The other recruits stared at her, mouths open. Pinkie dropped the sword, turned and began to walk away when she spotted Black Diamond watching her. She walked over to him and he smiled.
"Impressive, I've never seen anypony win a duel like that before." He laughed. Pinkie poked him in the chest, angry.
"Don't ever ask me to do that again." She said, and Black Diamond paled.
"Why, what's wrong?" he asked, and Pinkie looked at the ground.
"I felt like Duskheart." She told him, and walked away.
"I'm sorry." Black Diamond called after her.

Pinkie didn't look back, instead deciding to make her way back to the main tent and rest. She could hear a loud noise in the distance, and looked up to see a crown gathered around the main tent. She picked up the pace, curious about what could have created such a crowd. She pushed her way through the wall of pony bodies and grinned when she saw Twilight at the centre, alive and well. Twilight saw her and grabbed Pinkie, pulling her into a kiss and not letting go. Pinkie didn't mind, enjoying it while it lasted. The crowd cheered, and Pinkie couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She ran her hoof through Twilight's now very short mane. Twilight eventually pulled away, giving Pinkie a sly wink.
"I've been wanting to do that for longer than I'd care to admit." Said Twilight, as they pushed their way out of the crowd and into the main tent, followed by Fluttershy and Big Mac. Inside, Twilight told the waiting Luna about her mission, and her subsequent desertion, which Luna forgave. Twilight's revelation about Gilda shocked Pinkie, she looked out of the window at the griffin camp, astonished that the cause of all the fighting was so close. The excitement died down over time and Fluttershy, Big Mac and Luna left them alone to talk.
"Twilight, I'm sorry I didn't tell you how I felt sooner, it's just that I was afraid of what you would think of me." Pinkie told her, as the cuddled up on Twilight's bed. Twilight laughed;
"Pinkie that's silly, if I was okay with Rainbow and AJ, why wouldn't I be okay with you?" reasoned Twilight.
"Because it was you I had feelings for." Said Pinkie. Twilight kissed her.
"You could have just told me and then we wouldn't have had to deal with all of this alone." Said Twilight, pulling Pinkie closer. Pinkie smiled, pushing the morning's unpleasantness into the back of her mind as she felt the warmth of Twilight's body. 

She closed her eyes, ready to take a nap, when a loud cheer erupted from outside. Pinkie sat up as the Doctor came bursting into the tent, smiling and laughing.
"Twilight, get ready, they're awake!" he cheered and Pinkie and Twilight looked at him in confusion. The Doctor must have noticed because he added;
"Applejack and Rainbow, they are awake!" Twilight jumped out of her bed, pulling on her cloak as Pinkie bounced around the tent cheering. The Doctor galloped out of the tent, looking for others to tell. Pinkie bounced over to Twilight.
"They are coming back, I can't believe it, we are going to have our best friends back!" She said, overjoyed. Twilight nodded;
"And it will be just like old times." She said. Pinkie stopped bouncing, looking at Twilight very seriously.
"It won't be like old times Twilight, too much has happened, we can try to make everything the way it was before, but it's not going to ever be the same." She said. Twilight put her arms around Pinkie.
"Trust me Pinkie, everything will be fine." Twilight said, letting go of Pinkie and flipping up her hood. Pinkie could see her horn glow underneath the hood as Twilight gathered magic, then, with a bright flash of light she vanished, teleporting back to Ponyville to retrieve their two friends.
"I hope your right Twilight." Said Pinkie