Pinkie got up bright and early to prepare her clones for the trips that were planned that day. As she gazed down at the pair, she winced as she recalled the events of last night. The Cakes weren’t exactly pleased with her two guests.
She shook her head and leaned to her right. She pulled out a poster board from somewhere with sheets of paper tucked into the folds of the display. “Rise and shine, you two!” she announced as the two clones yawned and rubbed their eyes. “We need to be up before the crack of dawn! Before we get started, I’m going to test you on some names I went over yesterday!” she chirped as she flipped up a piece of paper which bore a depiction of Sunburst drawn on it in orange crayon.
“Sunburst!” the two replied nearly in unison. Pinkie rolled over the page to reveal a portrait of the Princess of the Night. “Princess Luna!” Pinkie nodded in approval as another paper was turned. “Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie swiveled her head to the paper which bore a portrait of herself upon it. After a few seconds, she returned her attention to the clones again.
“Great job, you two!” Pinkie announced as she zipped into her closet. A few moments later, a pair of pre-packed saddlebags sailed out from the closet door. The clones clopped their hooves together excitedly.
After helping them strap the saddlebags around their barrels, Pinkie and the clones descended the staircase into a small hallway that connected the seating area to the kitchen. Mr. Cake dashed past them and out to the main area without batting an eye at their presence. The sounds of grinding metal and the clattering of pans could be heard from the kitchen.
“Morning, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie called before the sounds abruptly stopped. Mrs. Cake peeked her head around the doorframe, with her face partially covered in flour and sugar, and put on her best, though slightly forced, smile.
“Oh… Morning, Pinkie dear. Are your, um, guests leaving?” Pinkie nodded her head at that. “O-oh! Well… Uh, have a good trip!” Mrs. Cake announced as the sounds of batter preparation started up anew. They continued onward through the kitchen and pushed through a swinging door of the back entrance. The amber glow of the sun was only just starting to appear over the horizon.
Pinkie led them down the main road through Ponyville in companionable silence. As she did, she noticed lights came on in various windows, and pony-shaped silhouettes appeared in several others. As the residents of Ponyville began their day, Pinkie realized that they were running out of time. As more and more lights came on in the surrounding buildings, she turned to her clones.
“Now, before we get too far, I have to tell you both something super duper important, so pay close attention, okay?” Two pairs of ears pricked at her voice, indicating that the two were listening. “Whatever you do, do not, and I cannot express this enough, do not let yourselves be seen together. If you do, then the entire plan is ruined at best. At worst, there will be a lot more problems than just Twilight not being able to attend these trips.” Pinkie admonished as they made their way over to the train station. “Do you two understand?” They nodded at Pinkie, who smiled and continued down the path.
With nopony around, the trip to the station was rather uneventful. Pinkie was silently grateful they didn't have to try their luck with the back alleys. The trio arrived just as the Canterlot Express sped into the station, exhaling a gout of steam as it came to a rather sudden stop.
"Alright, you two wait here and stay out of sight. I'm going to get your tickets, and I'll be right back. Remember! Don't let anyone see you two together!" Pinkie parroted as she pronked into the station. The two clones slipped around the side to look at the train. When they saw a head turn their way, they quickly disappeared around the corner again.
After buying two tickets for them, Pinkie came back out, only to hear somebody muttering something about needing to lay off the cider. Shrugging, she returned to her clones to address them for what she expected to be the last time.
“Good luck, you two! Remember, if you need any help…” Pinkie began as the clones seamlessly finished her sentence for her, “... come and visit me at the Corner!” Pinkie simply giggled as she hugged them.
"All aboard! Next stop, Canterlot Station!" the conductor announced as a shrill whistle could be heard. Pinkie broke the hug and quickly ushered them into the last car just as it started to move. She stood on the platform, waving at the two until they chugged out of sight.
"How much long~er?" the first clone whined as the train lurched to the left. "It feels like we've been on this train for da~ys!" she exclaimed as her forehooves stretched her face like rubber before it bounded back into a bemused expression.
The second clone leaned to her right and pulled out a pamphlet from somewhere, flicking it open. “Well, according to this...” She turned the first clone's head with a hoof and tapped at a portion of the paper for emphasis. "We should be at Canterlot station in a couple more hours!" she exclaimed. The first clone merely sighed and stared out of the window.
Eventually the Canterlot Express pulled into the station, exhaling another gout of steam as they disembarked. "Finally! I thought we'd never get here!" the first clone groused. The second one seemed to ignore her plight.
“Uh… Where do we go to find them?" The second clone glanced left and right before she shrugged. "I have zero ideas of where to start!"
The first clone facehoofed as she let out a groan. "There's no way I'm getting back on that train again so soon to return to the Corner. Let's just ask around and see if somepony can help us." The second one nodded. They left the station and made their way into the city. After asking around and getting pointed in the right direction by several members of the Royal Guard, the two eventually arrived at Canterlot Castle.
"So, according to what we were told, they both should be in here!" The second clone galloped through the main gate to the castle with the first one following behind a few moments later. “Alright, let’s split up! I’ll go left, you go up those stairs!” The second clone zipped off down a side hallway before the other could protest. Sighing, she ascended the stairs and entered the hallway beyond.
Deciding to follow it, she came across a member of the guard. She stopped and glanced over at the mottled grey stallion who was stationed outside one of the innumerable rooms in the castle.
“Um, excuse me? I’m here to see Princess Luna. Could you possibly tell me where she is?” The guard remained frozen in his stoic pose as she waved a foreleg in front of his face. “Hello? Can you help me or not?” Realizing she wasn’t going to get anywhere by asking the guard, she decided to continue her attempts to locate the Princess of the Night on her own.
“Hmm, where could she be?” She mused as she wandered around the halls. “Oh!” She dove underneath the velvet carpet. “Not here.” Her mane deflated a bit as she pulled her head back up. “And what about…?” She stuck her muzzle in a nearby vase. “Nope, nada. And… oof.” She rubbed her forehead.
“Who dares bump into the royal personage?" When the clone looked up, she saw a rather tall pony looking down at her. "Ah, Ms. Pie. To what do we owe this honor?” the princess asked as comprehension flashed across the clone's face. Pinkie rubbed her forehooves together nervously as she realized who was speaking to her.
“W-well, you see, Princess Luna… Uh, T-Twilight won’t be able to attend the trip. S-so, she sent me instead?” she offered meekly as she pawed at the rug-adorned marble flooring.
Concern flashed across Luna’s face for a brief moment. Twilight made it a point to never be late for anything. She always had her day scheduled down to the second and even if she was running late, she definitely would have arrived by now. Maybe she just overwhelmed herself? There must be an explanation, and she was going to find out what. She looked down at Pinkie and raised an eyebrow. “Pray tell, what is the reason for her not attending? She would be the first to ‘jump on the bandwagon’, as the young ponies say, to attend a trip like this.”
“Well, you see… Twilight’s kinda, sorta, maybe feeling just a teensy, weensy bit ill right now.” Pinkie’s eyes momentarily focused on the floor tiles. A few moments later, she looked back up at Luna and tilted her head. “I’m sure that, if Twilight was feeling like her normal self, she would definitely make it a point to be here right now. I’m fairly certain that this is more her area of expertise, not mine,” she mused as she lightly scratched behind her ear.
For the first time since before she boarded the Canterlot Express, a hopeful smile wound its way along her muzzle, producing dimples in her cheeks. “Is there something special going on? Ooh, ooh, ooh! Did Twilight discover a new civilization?” she pondered enthusiastically. “Or maybe she discovered a new species? Ooh! Or maybe she's receiving an award! If that’s the case, I’m going to have to throw her a party when we get back! Ooh, she’s going to be so surpris~ed!” Pinkie hopped in place with a mirthful expression on her face.
“Nay. Yet with her enthusiasm when we told her, one might think so.” Luna took a moment to shake her head and allow a small snicker to escape her lips. “It’s just a business trip to discuss matters of importance to the Crown, as well as some delegation issues.”
“Oh." As quickly as the smile came, it fled from the clone's face. Her dimples collapsed outward with such speed, one would say they were mimicking an inflating balloon. "So, what you’re trying to say is... It’s a diplomatic voyage?” she asked with a bit more disdain than she intended to.
Fortunately, the shift in tone seemed to have sailed directly over Luna’s head. “Verily. Doth thou intend to accompany us? We would be grateful to have some company on our trip!” she added with a small smile.
Maybe it was the hopeful look in Luna’s eyes, or the pressure of not letting Pinkie down, but the clone found herself nodding in response. Luna began heading towards the staircase with the clone following right behind her.
The second clone made her way down one of the many hallways in her search for Sunburst. As she did, she glanced at a vase sitting on one of the many tables she passed. “That’s strange. That pot looks pretty familiar. And that one, that one, did I mention that one?” Somewhere inside of her head, two little voices were having a conversation.
Hey, uh, me?
Yeah, me?
That vase looks awfully familiar, doesn’t it, me?
Yep yep! I’d say we passed that vase about four times now, me!
Hey, me! You know what I just realized?
What’s that, me?
We’re lost!
Don’t be silly! I know the castle like the back of my hoof! We’ll get there before we know it!
There goes that vase again, me.
Yep, okay, we’re lost, me.
Pinkie stopped and rubbed her chin with her hoof. Almost as if the castle knew she was completely lost, a door swung open and smacked her right in the face. She bounced a few hoofsteps away and settled on her dock on the floor.
“Is that you, Twilight?”
Shaking her head to regain her bearings, she saw a stallion peer out from around the door. His orange and cream-colored coat was offset only by the silvery-grey pair of glasses that rested on his muzzle. After a few moments of recollection, she put a name to the face: Sunburst. When he looked to his right, he saw Pinkie and rounded the door to face her fully. "Oh, you're not Twilight. You're… You're one of her friends, aren't you? Pinkie, was it?"
“Yep yep! That's my name! Hiya, friend!” the clone stated as she rose to her hooves. "Sadly, Twilight couldn't make it… So, she sent me!" She pronked around Sunburst energetically, eventually coming to a rest at his side with one foreleg draped over his back.
"Huh. Okay then. So, I presume that she told you what we were doing?" Sunburst mused as he lifted his hoof and adjusted his glasses.
"Um… Well… That is to say, uh… N-no…?" She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "She didn't really tell me anything… M-maybe you can fill me in?"
"Alright. Let's take a walk. When we get to the airship, I'll let you know what the plan is. That sound good to you?" Sunburst didn't wait for a reply. Instead, he started making his way to the airship with the second clone following close behind.
As they passed through the main hall, she saw the first clone heading the opposite way, chatting with Princess Luna. A snippet of the conversation filtered in despite the distance between them. “Doth thou have any knowledge of Maretonian culture?” She heard Luna ask as she saw the first clone vibrate her head back and forth so fast it became a pink blur.
The second clone suddenly felt a lump form in the pit of her stomach, yet she had a difficult time trying to piece together why. She scratched behind an ear as she recalled the conversation she was a part of right before arriving here.
Whatever you do, do not, and I cannot express this enough, do not let yourselves be seen together. If you do, then the entire plan is ruined at best. At worst, there will be a lot more problems than just Twilight not being able to attend these trips.
She snapped from her reverie and quickly realized that if they stayed on course, they would pass by each other like ships in the night. If Sunburst saw the other clone, then the entire plan was ruined. She had to come up with something, and fast!
Thinking quickly, the second clone reared up. "How about we, uh, go this way!" Without warning, she pushed Sunburst down a side hallway just as the other Pinkie and Luna trotted past. "Phew!" The second clone wiped some non-existent sweat from her brow when she saw them pass by. Sunburst simply glanced at Pinkie and raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, Pinkie? Why are you pushing me?" The clone immediately stopped and took a few steps away from him with an awkward chuckle. Her eyes darted back and forth intermittently as she started tapping her forehooves together nervously.
"Well, uh… You see, we were… W-we were about to run into Princess Luna! Y-yeah! Don’t want to run into any potential distractions! Yup, totally trying to keep your best interests at heart here and not trying to hide anything! No sirree!" Sunburst stared at her for a moment. Pinkie was sweating bullets behind her exaggeratedly wide smile, hoping that he wouldn’t question it.
Eventually, Sunburst relented with a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his muzzle with his hoof. “Let’s just get to the airship…” he groaned as he made his way past her and down the hallway. Pinkie expelled a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding and followed him.
Eventually, the two arrived at the airship that was docked outside of the city. She was expecting a giant ship with balconies and metal outcroppings, yet all she saw was nothing more than a large weather balloon repurposed to support a wooden galleon, with two propellers on the back. A building was settled on the deck that was an entirely different color compared to the rest of the galleon itself. Several bay windows flanked the sides of the building at measured intervals. Even from Pinkie’s current location, she saw that they housed a number of basic cabins inside. Basic living arrangements, from beds to nightstands and even bathrooms, could be seen through the windows on the side facing the duo.
When they got closer, it became quickly apparent that it was hastily constructed on the ship itself to turn it into a passenger vessel. Squinting, Pinkie could also barely make out signs of dry-rot on some of the building’s planks. As they began walking up the ramp to board, Sunburst turned to Pinkie. “Alright, here’s the plan. When we get to Seaquestria, we’re going to go visit the Queen and get her permission to go and explore some old ruin sites on the seafloor. We’ll spend maybe a day or two down there, then return home. Simple, right?” he mused as he boarded.
“Ooh! I can’t wait to go deep sea diving!” she exclaimed as she followed him on board. I wonder what the other clone is up to right now? Maybe she’s having just as much fun as me? I sure hope so!