//------------------------------//
// The First, And Only, Chapter 
// Story: A Brief Reflection on the Reflection 
// by thinglet247 
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Dear Princess Celestia,

Before we begin, just know that this is not a letter about a lesson of friendship. Do not worry, I still do believe that friendship is magic and it thanks to you that I've made lots of friends with the ponies in Ponyvile. Heck, you even made me a princess for it and for that I am truly grateful. Without your guidance I would have been a pony more concerned with my studies rather than friendship.

That said, I am still a researcher at heart and as of recently I've begun to study one of my dear friends' behavior. That friend is Pinkie Pie. It brings me no joy to say that I'm doing this, especially since it's not what a good friend does. However I feel as though it is necessary to talk to you about this.

For the past few years, I believe that the Pinkie Pie I've interacted with for the past few moons is not the real Pinkie Pie, but instead a clone replica of her. Not only this, but I know where the real Pinkie Pie is if that is the case. And if my hypothesis is correct, her disappearance is all my fault!

Let me explain. About a week after Sombra attacked the Crystal Empire (and before before I ascended to an alicorn) ,Pinkie Pie learned a lesson. That lesson was that sometimes you'll have to choose between your friends, this is a letter which I know you've received. How did she learn this lesson was not mentioned, but if you happened to read the Ponyvile newspaper you'd  probably notice an article entitled "Pink Panic" and something about Pinkie Pies being everywhere around town? 

Long story short, Pinkie Pie cloned herself thanks to the legend of the mirror pool to avoid making decisions and disappointing her friends. Luckily, we managed to figure out how to spot the real one, or at least we thought we did. I figured Pinkie Pie was excited by almost anything, even the most mundane of things, so I figured that the Pinkie who stared the longest would be the real one. It all worked out in the end as we managed to return all but one of the Pinkie's to the mirror pool.

However, this brings me to my first bit of evidence that this Pinkie may not be the Pinkie we all know and love today. When we managed to get down to the last one she said the following:

"I'm me. I'm me. I'm Meeeeee! Or am I?...Yeah I'm pretty sure I am."

She didn't give a direct answer right away. She had to think about it, and when she finally did she didn't sound fully confident in it. At the time I didn't think much of it, assuming it to be just a regular dose of Pinkie antics. Who knows? Maybe it was Just that. After all, who wouldn't have doubts about their own sense of self after being cloned that many times.

But those weren't the only things she observed. A few weeks ago we were reminiscing about old times, specifically when I first got Owlowiscious and Spike was a little bit jealous. At one point he feel asleep inside a container of punch and Pinkie made the joke about how things had been Spiked. However, the way she remembered it, Spike had fallen asleep in a cookie jar instead of the punch bowl.

This could just be a simple case of misremembering things, it's not like I've never done that. but it wasn't the only instance. For some reason she thought Rarity who shrunk down due to the poison joke instead of AJ, and she thought AJ was the one with the bad hair day. Last Nightmare Nights she thought Fluttershy went dressed as a bunny rabbit, when in reality she never left the door.For the Heartswarning Eve Pageant she thought she took the door instead of the chimney. And don't even get me started on all the way she misremembered how I first arrived.

I don't think the real Pinkie Pie would make all those mistakes, especially since she seems to value memories of her friends. What's more concerning problem however, is the time she forgot her family. She claimed they were Inkie, Blinkie and Maude. Only one of those three was correct; Limestone and Marble were the two she missed. She claimed it was a nickname she gave to them based upon an old arcade game they used to play, Pac-mare. I could tell she was lying though. You didn't need the element of honesty to see that.

And the moment I knew it was a lie? That was the moment I knew. The moment I knew that the Pinkie before me was not the Pinkie I had met when I first came to Ponyvile, but instead a clone.

And it's all my fault. I'm the one who came up with the paint drying idea. Even if I hadn't I'm the one who zapped the other Pinkies away. Even if I wasn't the princess of friendship then I still should have known. I still should have known who was real and who was fake. Instead I zapped the real Pinkie into the pool leaving her behind with all the other non Pinkie's. It's all my fault.

So, I come to ask you for advice on what to do in this situation. You are still the superior princess, and with the information I've given you I'm certain that your decision is the right one.

If you think as though this one mistake is enough to revoke my wings, go ahead. A part of me is unsure if I deserve to be the princess of friendship after my mistake. I feel as though Applejack or Rainbow Dash deserve it. Applejack is already respected around the town due to her family's orchard and her honest nature. Rainbow Dash, however, as the element of loyalty would likely be a princess for the people who would not only be obeyed but obey the requests of others. Rarity and Fluttershy may work as well, but Rarity has enough stress already with the dress work she makes and Fluttershy might have it a bit much. I ask that I still keep the element of magic if you do remove me as an alicorn princess, and still let me teach Starlight Glimmer. However, if you feel as though I am not suited for them either I shall not object.

Regardless if you remove my wings or not however, there is the concern about what to do with Pinkie Pie. As of right now I can only think of 2 options.

The first option is to try to find a spell that can remove the real Pinkie from the mirror pool. This make take years of effort, or it could only take a few months. I may need assistance from other scientifically educated ponies and spell casters but I believe that a spell is out there just waiting to be found. A spell that can be used to bring back the Pinkie that I've known all this time. Once it's cast we'll have to remove the false Pinkie, but I'm sure you can come up with an excuse since you're so smart and intelligent. And maybe you can get Luna on board too.

Of course this is only one choice and though I've listed a few positives we cannot turn a blind eye to the problems that may arise with this option. For one it might be hard for Pinkie Pie to adapt to this new society. Actually it definitely will be considering how long she's been trapped down here. While it may not be as hard as adapting a pony that has been frozen since the stone age or 50 years ago, it may still be hard. The golden oaks library is now gone, replaced with the castle of friendship. Discord has been redeemed and Shinning Armor now has a baby. There are so many other things I could list here, but I think most relevant are the things that are happening in her own life. Her relationship with Grilled Cheese? She and Applejack being distant cousins? The fact that she's got a new job as a teacher of friendship?

Of course adapting her may not be the only problem. There might be another one too. Her hatred towards me. She probably hates me. No, not probably. I know she does. I should have known. I should have known it wasn't the real Pinkie back then, but I didn't. And the real one definitely won't let that stand. Will she try to kill me? I don't know. If she does I won't fight back. I deserve it. If she doesn't, then she still likely won't forgive me. What I did was as bad as breaking a Pinkie promise. No matter how you look at it she'll never let me life this down. And I'll have to live with the guilt forever.

But...I don't have to go through with it. There is another option. We could let the Pinkie Pie reflection stay within this real world. Like the real Pinkie, she has the ability to wield the element of magic. The reflection also seems to have powers that most ponies do not and her Pinkie sense appears to have been heightened. She is aware of the "fourth wall" and is still the best baker we have. Although it is believed may not have all of her memories, that can easily be fixed. All we need is to cast a memory altering spell. Who knows? Maybe with enough time she can naturally regain the memories of the true Pinkie all by herself.

This would mean secrecy of course. It will have to between a secret between us alicorns. Actually, maybe just between you me and Luna, I'm not sure how Cadance would react to my mistake but she'd likely tell my brother and I don't want him to worry about me.

I can't let my friends know either. I'm sure Fluttershy and Rarity would be willing to forgive me, and Spike wouldn't even think there's a need to forgive. Starlight, Trixie and Discord wouldn't be a big problem either. They were once villains before friendship, I'm sure they'd understand where I'm coming from. 

Rainbow Dash though? It could go either way with her. It is possible that she might see where I'm coming from. However the fact that I was to slow to tell us may not rub her the right way. She's the element of loyalty and this might not be seen as something a loyal friend would do, but her loyalty also means that she's a loyal friend to the end.

Applejack on the other hand is the element of honesty. And keeping a secret as big as this? It's just like lying to the public. Even though I came clean she wouldn't forgive me for it. In fact she might turn Ponyvile against me, turn my one mistake into an outcry. She might say I'm not worthy of being the princess of friendship. 

The worst part is she may be right. You didn't think I just started doing this research either. I've been doing this research on her for over 2 months now. I've been keeping it to myself for over 2 months now. The only reason I'm finally writing is because now I'm stuck and I don't know what to do!

But you do. I can always count on you for advice. Now I need you to give me an answer. What would be the best soluition for everypony in this case.

Do I bring the real one back form the mirror pool? Or do I let the new one take her place?

For once, I need you to tell me the answer directly instead of me having to figure it out as a lesson on my own.

Your faithful, and worried, student,
Twilight Sparkle.