//------------------------------// // Giggle // Story: Her Own Pony // by Jorofrarie //------------------------------// Huge thanks to Piedol, my super awesome editor. Go check him out. Fuzzy images danced a delicate ballet in the corners of her vision, weaving in and out of the fog. It was impossible to make them out in detail, but the blurry outlines superimposed on the back light that shone through the mist. She was running, and they were chasing. The ragged breathing in her ears was the only thing audible in the whole of the hellish place. The figures in the mist were completely silent, not even a hoofstep echoing, wraiths of the fog. Something crunched underhoof, something firm, something solid. She only managed to get a quick glance at it before she was past it, running onwards. It looked pink. Another crunch, another glance, another glimpse at something pink, and fluffy, and still. The noises were getting closer together now, the mist closing in, the chasers getting closer. They were making noise now, a ghastly mix of shouting and screaming. They seemed angry about something, but what? It was getting harder to move now. The pink things on the ground were getting more dense, cluttering up the space around her, making it harder for her to move. It was getting crowded, the panic starting to set in. And then something caught her leg. It had gotten tangled with one of the things on the ground, pulling her down in an instant. Whatever it was had a good grip on her. She tried to pull her hoof away but whatever had her was too strong, it wouldn’t budge, and when it did it would snap back into place a moment later. She looked at her leg, her eyes frantically searching for the cause, before settling on what had dragged her down. It was pink. It was fluffy. It was a hoof. In fact, it was a lot of them, all reaching towards her own leg and grabbing on, refusing to let her run on. But it was the owners that scared her. Each one was a pink pony, lying on the ground. Each one was obviously incapacitated, wounds and abrasions covering their bodies. Each one was moving slowly, turning the ground into a shifting floor of bodies. And each one had an enormous, terrifying grin on its face. Their faces were completely neutral, but their mouths were stretched to their limits, threatening to tear their faces asunder. None of their eyes moved, every single one being focused on her, the pony in their grasp. The figures in the mist continued uninhibited, their noises getting louder. A shriek filled the space around her, a terrible noise, the noise of a hunter closing in on its prey. They were closing on her, drawing nearer with each heartbeat, with each bated breath, each hurried blink. The hair on her neck stood on end, her blood temperature plummeting in a second. The instinctive fear that came from being chased was settling over her, an unwelcome and stifling blanket of mindless terror. She turned her head, snapping it around to see the things in the mist. They were almost in the clear now, all five - no, six - of them. Six of them. But that was all there needed to be, six would easily be the end of her. They were stepping out of the mist now, but the fog stayed. Their images were blurred, still indistinct for some reason. All that she could see of them were dark shifting shapes. vaguely pony shaped, but they were horrible jokes of the originals. Instead of peaceful fur and hooves these things were all sharp teeth, claws and slitted eyes, only red sunken pits in what might have been the heads. They let out a quick yell of triumph, all of them in perfect coordination, the same way that a pack of wolves might chase a defenceless animal. They surrounded her - not that there was any need to, she was still being held down - and started prowling around in a small circle, closing in slowly. One of the six stopped, the rest of them stopping at the same time, still in perfect unison. It walked towards her, the eyes blazing bright red holes in its head, smouldering coals completing the demon visage. It was staring right at her, as if trying to hear her thoughts. She shuddered. It had something protruding from its head. Something long, something dark and smoky, something sharp. And it was wreathed in a dark glow, the edges of the glow releasing wisps out of the mass and into the air around it. Whenever a wisp touched one of the hideous grinning ponies it vanished, the smile not even wavering for a moment, even as it was the only thing left, a bodiless smile hanging in the air. It was facing her, burning the image into her mind. The appendage with the glow drew closer, the beast’s mouth opening, revealing massive fangs, each one dripping with venom. Black venom. Further down its gullet she could see an orange glow, a clue to the fire that burned within. She shrunk down and away from the dark beast that loomed overhead, her fur standing on end. In the last moment, just before the dark glow touched her, she could see each of the other-hers. Not a single one of them moved, each staying completely still, even as the excess mist dripped onto them and dissolved them into nothingness. But their smiles remained, each one a burning after-image superimposed upon the empty air, a reminder of what once was. She could faintly hear an echo of laughter hanging on the nonexistent wind. A whimper escaped her mouth, but the laughter continued regardless, and the mouths smiled wider. She tried to close her eyes, but even when she did she could still see. And then a hoof descended from nowhere, a hoof attached to the thing with the appendage, and it travelled towards her face, reaching its destination... ...And then she was gasping for air, desperately trying to pull in lungfuls of the precious substance around her. Something was shaking her, trying to get her attention. Instinctively she felt her right hoof shoot up and collide with the blurry thing above her, connecting with something solid. And then that thing let out a gasp of pain and fell back, massaging the injury. “HEY!” the thing said, still trying to rub feeling into its injured muzzle, “Why the hay did you do that?!” The words went into her head, and she heard them, but they just didn’t make sense. The world around her was still blurry and indistinct, details fuzzy and distorted. There was a warm orange glow coming from somewhere, but that was the most that she could make out. For a few moments she just thrashed about, still caught in her night-terror. Her chest heaved and shook as she tried to calm down, to figure out what was happening. The images of the dark beasts chasing her was fresh in her mind. Everything was there, the sounds, the smell, the look, the fear. And then she blinked the tears out of her eyes and the world cleared, the veil of obscurity lifting. There was an instant moment of relief as the familiar surroundings fell into focus, triggering memories of warmth and comfort, and relief and help. She was back in the living room, a dusty shaft of orange sunlight shooting through the open window. She shook her head violently, trying to erase any trace of the haze of sleep, and hopefully the half-remembered dreams that came with it. They were still clear in her head, each horrific moment of it seared into her brain. She tapped her head again, trying to dislodge the memories, or even just damage herself in any way that would stop them from being recalled. A pressure on her shoulder made her thoughts go out the window. The thing that had been standing over her was there again, but it wasn’t a thing. Instead, it was just a concerned looking Ditzy Doo with a frown on her face. She released a breath that she hadn’t even realised she was holding, letting herself relax slightly into the grasp of the worried pony. It was a wonderful feeling, having somepony actually care for her. She gave Ditzy a small, sad smile. “Thanks,” she said, “I needed that...” She trailed off, letting the sentence hang in the air unfinished. The grey pegasus grunted quietly and looked into her eye, prying her eyelids open and peering in. A flashlight wouldn’t have gone amiss. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? Nightmare or something?” “Yeah, just a bad... dream.” Ditzy slid away, her hooves returning to her sides as she kept looking at her. “You sure and all?” Her eyes narrowed for a moment before she shrugged, eyes losing focus. “Not my business. Anyway, I was gonna wake you up for breakfast, want to some food?” She walked out of the room, leaving her to think. The images of the things in the mist were still lurking behind her eyes, and their wailings were echoing inside her head. And the smell of fresh food was wafting from the kitchen, and that beat all other thoughts into submission. She decided to sideline the whole ‘mental destruction and/or subliminal message’ thing and focus on what was important at the moment: food. She got off the couch and started to make her way into what could only have been the kitchen. The whole house was quiet, the fire having gone out a long time ago, leaving only ashes, and the rain having faded away an unknown amount of time ago. She hurried into the other room. Inside was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. A table was there, and it was good, but not amazing. A fridge and stove was there, but those weren’t amazing either. There was food, and it was glorious. Her stomach rumbled eagerly, impatient to have anything to eat after being starved for at least a day. Come to think of it, she’d never really had anything to eat. Food for thought. She giggled quietly at the mental image of her actually eating her thoughts, and filed them away for later. Maybe she’d try that, when all this was over... She practically leaped over to the table, Ditzy already sitting on the other side. The whole thing was filled with porridge and hay sandwiches... and muffins. A simple breakfast. And at the moment, there was nothing that looked better. She gave her donator a grateful glance across the table. They were about to start eating when a small sound came from another room, a banging noise. The door. Ditzy’s hoof froze, incredibly close to one of the muffins, and she gave it a mournful look before standing up and moving towards the doorway. “Hang on,” she said, “I’ve just gotta go get this, might be one of Dinky’s friends.” She shrugged and watched as the other pony walked out, one ear trained on the doorway unconsciously, trying to hear the conversation. She didn’t hesitate to give herself a hearty helping of porridge and grab one of the sandwiches, leaving the muffins for Ditzy when she got back, she’d appreciate that. Her spoon was so close to the bowl when she heard a voice. Or rather, many voices. And they were very familiar. “Oh, hi Ditzy” one said. “We’ve just here to check out some leads, and we think that you could help us!” “Yes dear, we’re still looking for that clone that ran amuck, I’m sure that you know all about that, so you’ll understand why we’re so involved in this.” “Yeah! We’ve been all over Ponyville already! Seriously, I mean everywhere, like, everywhere everywhere! Still haven’t found it! Not even a glimpse or anything! So stupid...” “I mean, it’s hard to find. You wouldn’t know where it it, would you? If you have spare time...” The pink pony paused, and she quietly pushed back the chair to stand up. She walked out of the kitchen, slowly peeking around the corner to the door. Ditzy was blocking the doorway, but she caught a glimpse of something purple, and that was enough. It was them, and they were closing in. She screwed her eyes together, trying not to panic, forcing herself to take deep breaths. They couldn’t be here, not now, not ever. How had they even managed to find her anyway? They should be... somewhere else! And they just had to come when she was about to eat something too! What kind of pony would interrupt breakfast?! Ditzy was saying something. “...appened anyway? Never heard, I was delivering to Canterlot, urgent stuff you know... “Did something go wacky again?” One of the ponies started to say something, but was cut off by Ditzy. “Actually, why don’t you come in and sit down. Try the lounge room, I’ll bring you something to drink. Oh! And don’t worry about the mess. I had Dinky down there last night. She was doing... kid stuff, you know? Yeah, just come on in, I’ll be a second.” The pink pony backed hastily away from the door and back into the kitchen, a hoof on her mouth to cover any noises that she might make. A second later Ditzy walked in, looking slightly confused and a little concerned. The pegasus stopped next to her and paused. “Are those the same ponies from last night? I didn’t get a good look at them at the time.” She hesitated. “Yeah. Those are the ones.” The pegasus nodded. “Oookey. So you’ve got the Elements of Harmony, the ones that keep saving Ponyville, chasing you. Huh. And you’re absolutely sure that it’s bad if they find you?” The pink pony nodded slowly. “I don’t know exactly what, but it’s... not good...” Ditzy sighed. “I wish you could explain this to me properly, but if you’re right then I’ve got to help you. Let me think...” Ditzy waited for a second before calling out, “Hey, anyone want any drinks? You all comfy?” A chorus of replies came from the adjacent room, the owners not visible from around the corner. Ditzy nodded and bit her lip “I'm still not sure about this, they're the Elements of Harmony and all... Her eyes hit the floor. "I’ll try to keep them occupied, you just get out of here and run, try to find the mayor, anyone that can help. Tell them what’s happening, I dunno, I haven’t done this before.” She tried to utter her thanks, but the pegasus clamped a hoof over her mouth. "Don't mention it. I like to help. Or at least try... "But after this is over, I'll be wanting an explanation." She was ushered to the other side of the kitchen, another door leading back around the house in a circular route. “Try to sneak out the front door when they’re distracted, it’s the only way out. I’ll do whatever I can.” WIth that she withdrew her hoof and walked back to the stove to grab some cups and brew drinks. She turned to the doorway and started sneaking through the next room. It was filled with small knick-knacks and mementos, photographs lining the shelving and cupboards. She quickly passed through this and quietly moved onto the next. It was what looked like another lounge room, but it was also filled with toys and books, and leisure room by the looks of it. She walked through and stopped, not wanting to move too quickly past. It was the exit to the room, and the only thing further was a staircase and the door outside, as well as the doorway to the lounge room proper, the place where the six ponies were sitting. She could hear what they were saying from within... “Do ya think that we’ll find the varmint?” “Yeah we will! She’ll never be able to escape Equestria’s-” “-Number one flyer, we all know, you’ve said it enough times dear.” “Oh, I hope that she won’t be angry or anything... I don’t want to be rude...” “Are you crazy?! Why the hay would she be angry! If anything she’s probably playing hide and seek, probably thinks this whole thing is a stupid game!” “Ooh! Hide and seek? That sounds like-” “Pinkie!” they all chorused. Their conversation was interrupted for a second as Ditzy walked back in, carrying a tray by the sounds of things. This was her cue. She tip-hooved slowly through the doorway and reached her hoof forward to edge the door open. There was a terrifying moment where the handle squeaked, but over the clinking of cups nopony heard. And then the door was open and she was through, gently closing it on the other side. The alley didn’t seem as scary as it had yesterday. It was still wet, sure, but the lack of cold and rain made the whole place brighten up tremendously. Nopony was around, a testament to how isolated this area was in spite of it looking better. She almost let out a sigh of relief, but caught herself just in time, remembering that she was still in danger. Nevertheless, she couldn't stop her steps from having a little spring in them, and a little giggle. She was nearing the end of the alley when the door opened. Her heart froze, her breath quickening. Adrenalin surged into her system, in preparation for an escape. She snuck a look behind her and saw something, something pink, something that looked like her. The pony wasn’t looking at her yet, it was just standing in the doorway talking to itself. It was still. And then it exploded into motion, spinning around and jumping, twirling and bouncing. And then it stopped. And looked right at her. She didn’t wait to hear what it had to say. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t question. She just ran. She took Ditzy’s advice and tore off, not looking back. She couldn’t even hear the pony that looked like her. But just as she reached the end of the alley she did look back, and what she saw confused her. The other-her was just standing there. It wasn’t trying to chase her, or find her, or talk to her. It was just standing there, watching her sadly. But she still didn’t stop. She had to find another source of help. Ditzy wouldn’t be safe anymore, the ponies had already been there, and the other-her had seen her, and would no doubt tell the others. So she just ran, and looked for the nearest official looking building, apartment, anything, anywhere that could have somepony in power. If she could find somepony that had influence then maybe, just maybe they could help her. It was still relatively early in the morning, and most of the ponies in the town were still inside, or else asleep. But there were the few that were already about, the early risers. She emerged from the alley running blindly, not even realising that she was out until she stumbled over a bump in the road. She took a moment to get her bearings before setting off, not waiting for any of the other ponies to chase her. There had to be a building around somewhere. She was walking in the shadows of the houses and shops, the shadows cast by the rising sun hiding her to an extent. Even so, there was the occasional pony that would see her, that would just stop and stare at her as she walked past, some actually moving to the other side of the street. She kept her head down and kept walking, trying not to make eye contact with the ponies passing by. It was much easier to find her way in the more open space rather than the alleyways of Ponyville, and before long she was drifting off slightly, the easy navigation letting her mind wander off. Right up until she bumped into a building and fell over. She snapped out of her slight daydream - breakfast - and looked at the building. There was a small sign that read- “Mayor Mare’s Office. Perfect.” She knocked on the door, sneaking a glance behind her to see if anypony was watching, and to see if the chasers had found her yet. Nopony else in sight, brilliant. A few seconds passed before a soft stomping noise could be heard. The door opened and- “You’d better have a great reason for interrupting my sleep th- Oh, hello Pinkie, just the pony I need to see.” A small grey earth mare was standing there, something approaching pince-nez glasses perched upon her muzzle. She was smiling at her for some reason. “Now, I know this might be the wrong time, but I do need to talk to you about fixing the town after yesterday, there were some minor breaks. “I trust that the extra - clones? - were sorted out, correct?” The Mayor didn’t even wait for an answer. “No, I know they were, you’re always so reliable, the six of you. Just glad to have the original back, huh? I guess you could say that... Wow, nothing much to do with that one. Anyhoo, will you be free sometime today to talk the repairs over? Some of those clones could really get into trouble with their ‘fun’. What do you say?” She froze. Something in the back of her mind was nagging at her, telling her that if she went into the office with the Mayor something bad would happen. And what was this about clones and causing damage? Something doesn't add up here... She stood still, indecisive. “Uh, you know what?” she hurriedly thought of something to say, “Sorry Mayor, but I really need to be somewhere. Sorry about that, busy and all. I'll talk to you later maybe! Bye!" She tore off through the streets, the Mayor eyeing her retreating form with something approaching confusion, before shrugging it off, accepting the strangeness. She only slowed to a trot when the building was out of sight. It was clear that something bigger was at hoof. The Mayor’s words were worming into her mind. What did she mean by clones? There weren’t any clones about, were there? Were there? She would have noticed any clones around town, it wasn't really an easy thing... to... Miss... Hang on, what about her? Just yesterday... Oh no... The other-me's... It wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true. She refused to accept it. She wasn’t a clone, she was real. She had hooves, she had a mane, she had feelings, she thought and learned, and laughed and ate cupcakes! But a small part of her mind was arguing with her, telling her that once that hadn’t been true, once she had been a shell of a pony, absolutely no thoughts and feelings apart from one: Fun. But it just couldn’t be true. She wasn’t a clone! She wasn’t she wasn’t she wasn’t! She couldn’t be! Why would she be a clone of another?! And if she was... There couldn't be any other alternative, she had seen a bunch of identical ponies before, so it had to be her. ANd all of them were gone now! But she wanted to stay! She wanted to live! She wanted to learn, to experience more! No. She wasn't just a clone. Even if she had been at some point, she wasn't now. If the others couldn't accept that then they would just have to get over it. She was not going away. She was not just another clone. She had to show them. Unconsciously, her gaze drifted upwards from the town and searched, searched for the city in the mountains. She found it in the distance, a massive construct that clung to the steep peaks like a parasite, refusing to let go. But it was what resided in the city that she needed. It was the cradle of power in Equestria from what she knew, home to the two most powerful individuals in existence, the ones that were consulted when nothing else would do. A memory of Ditzy drifted into her mind. Try to find the Mayor, anyone that can help. The Mayor was out of the question, she didn’t seem like she would help. But there might be another... The mountain in the distance would be her new goal. If she couldn’t talk to the Mayor... Well, she’d just have to go to a slightly higher power than a local town. Then she would be able to show them. But how would she get there? There was only one efficient way of getting there, considering the distance, that much was obvious to anypony. A train station existed near the edge of Ponyville, and the trains that ran from there would get a pony to the city in no time at all. She had to get on that train. Her mind was going a million miles a minute, and the thought caused her to give a slight chuckle in spite of things. Her mind couldn't actually move that fast... No, concentrate. She sprinted towards the station, some part of her irrationally scared that the ponies chasing her would have already caught on, even if they had no clue what she was doing. Nevertheless, she still ran, and reached the station within a few minutes of flat out sprinting. There was a train berthed there. It was a beast of a steam train, a freight construction by the looks of things, not meant for pony passengers. That wouldn’t stop her. She had to get to that city, and that was the first stop on the line after all, in fact the only one in that direction if the location of the city was anything to go by. She snuck in the shadows, clinging to the buildings. Conductors and station masters were scampering about, fiddling and fine-tuning the train before its departure. Steam was already starting to fill the platform and a whistle went off, temporarily deafening all of the ponies on the platform and making them stumble about. And then the train was ready to leave the station, and she knew that she had one chance. She darted from her cover and dashed towards the steam-driven beast. A yell reached her ears as one of the station workers spotted her, but she didn't stop for him, nothing would have a chance of doing that. One of the carts was slightly open, a fully enclosed cart with a sliding door. She didn’t question it, she just dived in, and her nose was assaulted with the scent of apples. The cart was full of the things, piled in baskets littered everywhere, structured orderly. It wasn’t perfect, but it would do to get her there. She curled in between the baskets and lay down, trying to hide in case some pony else came by, resting her head as the train started to roll away from the platform. The yelling pony was drowned out by the steam and the noise, the driver had obviously missed him. She watched as Ponyville grew smaller and smaller along with the platform. There was a faint compulsion to just jump from the train and get lost in the countryside, never to be seen again, but she had to see the Sisters, had to finish it. So she drew her gaze away from Ponyville and lay her head down to rest before the arduous task was to begin. She would have to not only get an audience with the two most powerful ponies - both politically and in the literal sense - in existence. And she had to do it before those other ponies could catch her. The day had only just begun, and already it was looking perfect. She hadn’t even had anything to eat.