//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four- The Mirror in Which She Gazed 
// Story: Her Birthright 
// by DougtheLoremaster 
//------------------------------//

“I’m looking for a pony with three balloons; one yellow and two blue on either side, as a cutie mark. I have reason to believe it is most likely a mare I’m looking for. Have you seen her?”
The pink filly in front of Twilight raised an eyebrow, her mane was a periwinkle with white stripes, while her flank boasted a small tiara on it. She tapped a hoof to her chin as if in thought, before turning to call out to another filly off to the side.
“Sweetie Belle! I think one of your mom’s friends is looking for somepony.”
A little white Unicorn came running over, her fluffed pink mane and tail bouncing as she did so. She had no cutiemark to speak of though she appeared the same age as the pink filly, and shouted at her as she ran up.
“What makes you think it’s a friend of my mom, Diamond Tiara?”
Next to her, hovering a few feet off the ground, an orange Pegasus filly rapidly fluttered her wings; like her friend she boasted no cutie mark. Her voice was rather gruff as she added.
“Yeah, what makes you think it’s her mom’s friend?”
Diamond Tiara looked unphased, turning her attention to the orange Pegasus, responding loftily.
“Well Scootaloo, she is looking for a mare and has an apparent focus on her flank. How many mares do we know like that?”
Sweetie Bell placed a hoof in exasperation against her face.
“Yeah, that’s definitely one of mom’s friends, alright. I’ll take care of this, why don’t you two go and play on the teeter totter or something?”
 A look of concern appeared on Scootaloo’s face.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Sweetie Belle gave a bright smile.
“I’ll be fine, after all I doubt she needs me to perform magic.”
These words caused Twilight to focus her attention on the little Unicorn, as the others took off.
“You can’t use magic?”
The words were spoken without a hint of emotion, causing Sweetie Belle to grow anxious at the question. She stared up in Twilight’s eyes, trying to put on a brave face, but as she gazed into them, Sweetie Belle felt like she was staring into the void, itself. Her knees rattled as she stammered out bravely.
“N-no. It’s a medical c-condition. Mom says it-it only affects one out of a few hundred thousand Unicorns, guess I was just lucky.”
Twilight was silent, before nodding. Once again, the inflection in her words was flat, empty.
“I see. Maybe if you help me, I can give you something that may assist you with that.”
Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but feel existential dread just being near the Unicorn before her, still something told her this mare meant no harm.
“Are you really a friend of my mom’s?”
“Perhaps one day I will be. Now I am looking for a pony mare with three balloons on her flank; one yellow and two blue.”
Sweetie Belle sat for a solid minute, deep in thought, while Twilight stared down at her completely motionless with no expression on her face. Suddenly the tiny Unicorn brightened in excitement.
“Pinkie Pie! You can find her over at Sugarcube Corners, Miss uh-”
Twilight had already turned to head that direction, calling out, in a flat, expressionless way; her horn glowing light purple, causing a book to appear in Sweetie Belle’s hooves.
“Twilight. Twilight C. Sparkle. Thank you, Miss Belle.”
Sweetie Belle blinked in surprise, looking down at the book in her hooves: How to Overcome Unicroninuculosis, by Twilight Celestial Sparkle. Swiftly in surprise she raised her head to shout out to Twilight, only to find she was already gone. Behind her, her two friends ran up behind her.
“Sweetie, are you ok? We saw magic!”
Looking down, Sweetie Belle stared at the book in her hooves, hearing that toneless voice once more in her head:
What you do with the knowledge within those pages, is up to you. But keep in mind, you are the only one who those writings are meant for, others won’t be able to glean any information from my words. Perhaps an unfair hand can be redealt, or maybe you’ll disregard it. It all depends on what you decide. Regardless, this concludes my end of our bargain with your desire granted, the verbal contract has been fulfilled. Take care.
She glanced up at her friends, quickly hiding the book in her saddlebag as they approached. Smiling a huge smile, she gave them both a warm hug with the slightest spark of hope suddenly shining in her radiant green eyes.
“I’m fine, she just needed directions to Sugarcube Corners. Let’s get back to class, Miss. Cheerilee is waiting.”



Walking into Sugarcube Corners, Twilight approached the front counter, where she was greeted by a mature blue Earthpony mare, featuring a trio of cupcakes for a cutie mark; her mane and tail styled to resemble flowing pink cake icing, while both ears had tiny green ball earrings.
“Well Cinnamon Sugar on Toast, Princess Celestia’s own niece in my little shop. What can I do for you, your highness?”
The expression on Twilight’s face never changed; blank and just as empty as the words she spoke.
“Do you mind if I seat myself?”
“Not at all, do you have something in mind?”
Twilight glanced at the menu, a strange glow seemingly appearing around a particular item on it. She nodded stiffly.
“A ‘Party Surprise’ Cupcake, if you don’t mind.”
Nodding, Mrs. Cake jotted the request down on a notepad, giving a warm smile.
“Oh, what a wonderful choice! Please have a seat, it'll be out in a moment.”
Taking a booth by a window, Twilight sat there stone-faced, waiting and watching the doors of the kitchen. That’s when a bubbly, cheerful voice said energetically.
“Oh, wow! It really is you. I’ll be honest, I didn't think you would be arriving here this chapter.”
Twilight jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of a Pink Earthpony suddenly beside her, before chuckling lightly at the theatrical entrance.
“What the hell? Oh, I see. Laughter. You must be Pinkie Pie.”
Giggling, the bubbly Earthpony with a Dark Pink mane all poofed up, nodded; a massive smile on her face. Suddenly, Twilight frowned, something wasn’t right. Everything around her glowed brightly with the magic of the world, but around the mare sitting by her, there was no such glow. She opened her mouth to say so, when Pinkie leaned in close and whispered.
“Listen, Twilight, I already know what you want to say. Instead of talking here, how about we discuss this in private? My break is in fifteen minutes. Please, I promise I’ll explain everything, if you can just be patient.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this. After a second of staring into the pleading eyes of Pinkie Pie, she nodded; her voice suddenly gentle and caring.
“Alright, I’ll indulge this desire of yours, but no tricks.”
Grinning, Pinkie pulled a giant cupcake from out of her mane, one that couldn’t possibly have been hidden by it. Twilight blinked in surprise; the cupcake was the size of a dinner plate, and fully decorated with many colors of icing and sprinkles, even having been adorned with a fresh maraschino cherry. 
“You’re the best! Here’s your ‘Party Surprise’ Cupcake by the way~”
A blast of confetti showered down from out of nowhere, while Twilight watched Pinkie cartwheel backwards into the kitchen. Twilight giggled at the sudden antics, looking at the ginormous cupcake before her. So that’s the Element of Laughter, huh? Impressive. Though why can’t I sense this world's energy on her? Twilight sighed. Now I just have to wait for-
“Sorry that took so long!”
Twilight looked all around her in absolute confusion. She was suddenly outside the town, next to Pinkie Pie beneath a tree, both sitting there. How did she get here? Pinkie, noticing her confusion, giggled looking directly at you as she spoke.
“Sorry about that, you’ll have to forgive me; I skipped a little ahead in the story so you wouldn’t have to wait as long for your answers.”
“Who are you talking to?”
Pinkie turned to look at Twilight, completely taken by surprise.
“You saw that?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, before replying in an inquisitive nature.
“Of course I did. You just looked towards the sky and while I couldn’t see exactly who you were talking to, you clearly were speaking to somepony. How could I not?”
Pinkie sat down, placing a hoof thoughtfully on her chin.
“That’s odd, usually nopony takes notice when I talk to them.”
“Who is ‘them’?.”
Pinkie points a hoof directly towards you.
“The one reading this story, of course. Right there, see?”
Glancing in the direction of the hoof, Twilight saw nothing, but rather than dismiss it as insanity, Twilight took a moment to ponder the situation out loud.
“You are able to see beyond the confines of our world, huh? And you claim we are part of some story?”
Pinkie nodded, glancing up once more, laughing brightly.
“That’s right! A Dystopian Drama, according to the tags.”
Twilight considered what she had said, and though she wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, she was certain of one thing.
“Correct, I am not from this world of yours, Twilight.”
Pinkie popped up beside her in an instant, no longer standing where Twilight had been looking. Twilight stiffened; Alicorns in this world were mediators of Harmony; both Chaos and Order. Morality such as good and evil didn’t concern them at all, as long as the balance was maintained in the process through their actions. Twilight was struggling to resist removing Pinkie from existence; something, Pinkie, upon reading this paragraph, began to address immediately, and quite frantically at that.
“Wait, wait, wait! Before you do that let me explain what happened.”
Twilight was oddly curious at the display Pinkie was putting on. Something about her was wrong for this world, but yet, Twilight for once, felt a pang of desire to let her be, as there was clearly no malicious intent present within Pinkie. Plus, she was begrudgingly warming up to this ball of energy.
“Alright then. It’s clear you can see something I can’t, and I can clearly see you're not the Pinkie that should be here at this point and time. Go ahead. Explain it to me. But like I said before, no tricks-”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, causing even Pinkie to lose her energy just staring into those merciless orbs.
“-Or I will end you, here and now. Start talking.”
Pinkie suddenly stopped bouncing around, nervously glancing up at you as she leaned in close to Twilight. Twilight took notice of this sudden shift while Pinkie whispered in her ear.
“I know you want me to be serious right now and tell you everything, but rather than just talk about it in a hyperactive way as is often expected of me, how about I show you instead?”
Twilight leaned forward and whispered back.
“Why are you whispering in my ear?”
Pinkie replied with a shrug.
“Dramatic tension.”
Twilight blinked in annoyance.
“Be serious. Or I will kill you. Last chance.”
Pinkie threw her hooves up in surrendered panic. She began to speak quickly.
“Okay, listen. I really do want to show you something. Problem is, I need you to laugh first, otherwise I can’t.”
Twilight frowned.
“You need me to…laugh?”
Pinkie nodded as Twilight inquired.
“Is this some kind of magic?”
“A magic of sorts.”
Twilight seemed intrigued by this reply.
“Is it a magic I can learn?”
Pinkie sat down and tapped a hoof to her chin, considering the question. Musing out loud she slowly turned towards you while revealing the following.
“As the Element of Magic, many, including yourself, are aware of your capability, Twilight, to see, and immediately decipher, cast and replicate any form of magic. However, the magic I perform has no exact rhyme or reason-”
Pinkie’s tail started to twitch, and she moved to the side as a flowerpot crashed to the ground where she had been; followed by a dresser, and a four poster bed. Twilight looked up to see a gray Pegasus mare with several bubbles on her flank calling down to her.
“Sorry! I just don’t know what went wrong!”
Twilight looked at Pinkie realizing that the Earthpony had known what was about to happen. How was this possible? Pinkie continued her explanation as though nothing had even happened.
“Except one constant rule to activate it: Laughter. My magic is tied directly to the ability to make others laugh. If I can make them laugh then the action can be done; even if impossible by any known standards. And in your case-”
Twilight nodded.
“Alicorns don’t laugh naturally. In fact, when it comes to emotional responses, we just don’t have any. If it weren’t for your Element being near me, I probably wouldn’t feel anything whatsoever, as Alicorns operate only on pure logic and practicality. We maintain the balance, after all; both sides of it, the good and the evil as others may see it. Or at least, we did.”
Pinkie nodded, excitedly stating.
“Exactly! So no, to answer your question. In your current state, I don’t think even with the Element of Magic you can learn to perform this magic, Twilight.”
Twilight was silent for a moment, glancing down at the ground as she thought about this new information. Slowly, a smile spread across her face, evolving into a light giggle and finally loud laughter as she exclaimed.
“That is so ridiculous. The Element of Magic, according to the book: Elements of Harmony, is able to learn any magic and is currently unable to learn magic clearly being shown to her. An Alicorn that literally is the living manifestation of magic, itself, has no chance of learning a type of magic cast by a single Earthpony, whose kind are known for not knowing magic to begin with. How ironic is that?”
Pinkie watched Twilight laughing and a massive grin appeared on her face. Leaping into the air an abundance of confetti fell down from nowhere, as she shouted excitedly.
“That’s it! Let the show begin!”
Twilight, startled by the sudden shower of confetti, ceased laughing and watched in astonishment as Pinkie stretched her hoof like it was made of rubber, grabbing hold of the sky itself and pulling it down to reveal a massive hole in reality.
But it was what was in that hole that Twilight couldn’t believe she was seeing. A living room, with an empty couch in front of a strange device, that showed moving pictures and seemed to be speaking:
“Now let’s get back to My Little Pony only on the Hub!”
In an instant, the scene shifted and Twilight gasped. 
“Is that me? Rainbow Dash? And you? And Rarity, Applejack, - Pinkie what is going on?”
Pinkie, standing off to the side, pointed to the scene as it continued on:
“-And magic makes it all complete, you have my little ponies~”
“Twilight, this is the world I came from. I give you My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. A world that existed as a TV show that aired in another world. My friends and I went on wacky adventures, learning lessons, and discovering the magic of real friendship; metaphorically and quite physically.”
Twilight watched in surprise in awe as the version of her and the others walked about the animated world. She had never heard of a TV before, but something about it made her smile. On the device’s front appeared the words: ‘Too Many Pinkie Pies’.
“I wanted to make them smile.”
Pinkie Pie’s tone was horribly somber, causing Twilight to turn to look at her. Pinkie’s mane was deflated, and she looked despondent.
“Are you alright?”
Pinkie sighed, lamenting.
“I loved making Ponies smile. It gave my life purpose, and it still does. But I stretched myself too far, trying to be everything to everyone, and as a result I lost everything. Just-just watch Twilight.”
Twilight turned back towards the opening, and watched as the device showed her Pinkie’s past. For thirty-two minutes and forty-five seconds, Twilight observed her antics; the desire for more fun, the inability to be everywhere at once. It wasn’t until the mirror pool was revealed that Twilight frowned in annoyance. Still, she stayed silent and watched it all to the very end, turning towards Pinkie and taking a deep breath.
“You became a casualty of your own greed. Do you realize that?”
Pinkie was a bit surprised.
“Greed? No I just-”
Twilight cut her off, marching up to her, clearly not having it as she lectured Pinkie heavily.
“Wanted to have fun with your friends, all at once and all the time because you were quantifying the amount of fun you were having with one, and greedily decided you could have more. So you decided to use the Mirror Pool. Something your Twilight may not know of, but this one sure as Tartarus does.”
Pinkie cowered under Twilight’s glare. Yet, the Alicorn continued, clearly having something to say on the subject.
“Oh yes, Pinkie I am well aware of the Mirror Pool; especially how it reflects not you as yourself but what you desire most at the time you glimpse yourself within it. Your doppelganger is then infused to emulate this desire of yours, little miss fun,fun,fun-”
Noticing Pinkie’s eyes tearing up, Twilight sighed and took a step back, her horn glowing with light purple magic; a large bottle of Apple Whiskey appearing to levitate before her. Conjuring a glass, Twilight poured the bottle until it was halfway filled with the golden amber liquid. Pinkie just stared in disbelief as two ice cubes were also conjured and dropped in the glass.
“Not that I don’t have my own issues, mind you.”
Standing up and brushing her tail off with a hoof, Pinkie stared at her before inquiring.
“Like what?”
Twilight, having downed the glass in an instant, and now halfway through the bottle, smiled.
“Oh, I like you.”
Pinkie giggled.
“Oh thanks, I-”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, throwing the glass bottle to the side with such force that it created a miniature explosion of glass fragments.
“Back to the matter at hoof. I’m going to tell you what is going to happen. You are going to fix that hole-”
Pointing directly at the living room, Twilight continued.
“Going to acknowledge what you’ve done. And believe me, that Mirror Pool nonsense can never happen again, I took care of that long ago. So that’s no concern of mine. And you are going to-”
Twilight’s eyes softened.
“-Join me for a shake at Sugarcube Corners. We can talk more there.”
Pinkie, having just finished rolling back up the flap and closing the break in reality, turned around to just stare at her.
“I-What? But- But there’s no Romance tag on this story!”
Twilight chuckled drunkenly.
“No, not as romantic partners, just as friends. Frankly, you've been through enough and I want to see you smile.”
Pinkie grinned and bounced around in excitement.
“I’d love that!”
The two started off, walking side by side, as Twilight suddenly said.
“You know, after everything that has just happened, we are definitely putting rum in that shake.”
“Sounds like fun!”
 	“And making it a double. I really need a drink.”