//------------------------------// // Optimist // Story: Her Own Pony // by Jorofrarie //------------------------------// Here we are, finally. Tell me what you all think. This has been floating around for a few weeks now. Oh, and by the way. Never underestimate editors. They are the greatest thing in the world. Alpha151. Worship that guy. A faint dripping slowly woke her, seeping into her groggy mind. She tried to ignore it for a while. That worked, but very quickly the sound started to drill through her ears. Drip... Drip... It wasn’t loud, just insistent. No matter how she turned trying to escape it, the noise somehow found a way into her ear and into her head. I should really tell Polished Mantle about it, maybe he can fix it later... Ice flooded her veins at the thought. She wasn’t in the mansion any more.. No, she was... Memories flew into her head. Entering the castle, meeting the guards, going underground. Being caught. Her head shot into the air, eyes wide and flying around the room in a panic. It wasn’t a room however. It was obviously a cell. From what little she could see in the incredibly low light environment, there was only a door, a floor and walls made of unevenly fitted rocks, and a set of metal shackles set into the wall. There was nopony in them at the moment, and they jangled quietly as the occasional droplet spattered against their rust-strewn surface. There was nothing else. They were the only things in the room. Not a bed, not a light, not a balcony. Only her, the shackles, and a barred door. A thin sliver of light was shooting through the gap between the bottom of the thick door and the floor. That was the only way she could see, and even then half of the cell was in complete darkness. She slowly staggered to her hooves, slipping a few times on the uneven floor. There was barely any way for her to get a proper balance. For all she knew there could be a massive drop off right in front of her, or there could be a key to the door. There was no way of knowing in the constant half light of her cell. A droplet of water hit her head, a tiny amount of liquid. She opened her mouth and looked to the ceiling, hoping to get a drop for her parched throat. Unluckily, she did. All she could do then was gag on the stagnant taste of stale water. In fact, most of the floor was already wet. This water had probably been flowing through the roof and onto the floor for years, or maybe only since the recent rain storm. And still the only sounds were the dripping and the jangling. Faint reflections would glance off the chains and into her eyes, giving her a view of the metal. She slowly walked towards the one landmark of her cell... And immediately backed up against the wall hastily. What she had once mistaken for rust wasn’t, or at least from what she could tell. It was something brown, and something dull, something that smelled. And it was not what she wanted to see in the cell. Thoughts of what might come to pass with her life flashed through her head, and she started to quiver, curled up against the back wall. She wasn’t sure how long she lay there in the cold, the dark and the wet, although it had to be a long time. But things like this don’t make for excitement, and it was only so long that she could resist the temptation of sleep, her eyelids slowly drawing steadily downwards. Then sleep claimed her. ** The sound of gears grinding brought her out of her rest, slowly reawakening her to the darkness surrounding. Something was moving, and she could see a sliver of light growing. She hastily covered her eyes with a hoof and pushed herself into an upright position. The grinding continued, and she could hear somepony cursing quietly. “Damn door, always getting stuck on me!” There was a sudden slamming noise, and the sliver of light turned into a torrent, pouring through the open doorway and smashing into her. She crouched down in the corner of the cell, trying to keep as much distance between her and the onslaught of luminosity. The sound of loud stomping from the corridor outside made her ears prick up. She could only barely catch the end of a conversation too. It was hushed, and the ponies almost seemed to be whispering. But after complete silence, even whispers were loud. “Disgusts me.” she heard somepony say. “I still don’t know why the bugs still try to get inside here, even when they already know that there is nothing good for them, especially if they get caught. I wonder what drives something like that to steal the life of a perfectly good pony away from them. More to the point, I wonder what gives them the right...” The voice was strong and rough, and almost a perfect match for Harsh, the guard that had not too long ago appeared welcoming to her. A soft feminine voice answered him. “Harsh, you know as well as I do that there is no understanding the minds of the changelings. Their minds are as their bodies, dark and full of holes. For all we’ve researched, we have evidence to believe that they have a hive mind at the same time. They could all be linked, and really be nothing more than spies for the queen. We just can’t be sure.” The male voice grumbled loudly. “Still,” it said eventually, “why do you have to interrogate this one in particular? It’s obviously just another one that thought it could sneak in!” The voice paused. “Not that I have anything against a princess choosing to take an interest in matters of security, only that...” “Only that what?” the feminine voice replied. “...Only that it’s unusual I guess.” “We are very much unusual Harsh, you should know that by now,” the voice laughed. The captured imposter gingerly opened one eye. Slowly, of course, as to now instantly burn away any possible vision that she might have had. She could barely make out the silhouette of a burly pony next to a bright rectangle of light. The image quickly resolved into a guard pony standing by the opened door to her cell. He was completely still, but she could have sworn that for just a moment his eyes flickered to her, and his face turned to one of anger. But just for a moment before he snapped back to attention. Two more shapes appeared next to the first. One looked almost identical to the other guard, probably Harsh. The other was bigger. She caught a glimpse of a flowing mane, a massive horn, and wings, a dark body... She rubbed her eyes to try and clear her blurry vision, and the bulky pony, probably Harsh, turned his head in her direction. “Well princess, it’s awake.” “Very good, very good... I think it’s about time we figure out what’s interesting about this one. Bring it to the chambers, I’ll have the girls assemble there,” said the feminine voice. “Yes, your majesty. Right away.” “You know what I said to you about calling me that.” “...Yes, your majesty” There was a definite laugh in that statement. The larger pony - the princess - shook its head and walked away from the door and out of the captive’s sight. Harsh’s demeanor suddenly changed, becoming more like his namesake. The jingling of chains echoed through the cell, and the guardponies started towards her. One of the immediately pinned her back to the ground, her neck as well. Harsh grabbed her rear hooves roughly and clipped something cold and hard to them, locking them both together. He moved to the front and did the same thing, before moving back to the door. She wondered if she could get up and have the weight removed from her back. Sadly, Harsh came back with one more thing. The bulky guardpony lifted a leather collar from off his back and held it over her neck. A second later there was a pressure around her throat, and the leather was attached. The weight lifted off her back, allowing her to properly breath for the first time in a minute. She shakily stood, the two guardponies watching her like hawks. Harsh looked to be wearing a cord that was connected to his armour. He started walking and she was gently pulled along by the collar. She was forced to take awkward short steps as the chains stopped her legs from reaching their full extent. Great, now I’m chained like... some sort of monster... The guards lead her out of the cell, pulling her along by the collar. A corridor stretched off into the darkness outside, fading away into the gloom. Harsh saw her eyeing it hopefully and said, “Don’t even think about trying to run. Just come along peacefully now and we can have no trouble.” She nodded meekly and let herself be directed by the guardpony. The one behind her was humming something quietly behind her back, but she couldn’t recognise it. Nevertheless, the sound of his humming echoed eerily down the corridor, quietly reverberating. The hard stone only served to increase the sound and make it something out of a nightmare, or at least that was what she thought. She wasn’t alone either. More cells lined the walls around her, rusted iron doors sitting sturdily in place. Each one was sealed and closed, barred and locked. There were no guards around these doors. What was the need? Nopony would be able to knock them down or open them, and if they did then they would have to escape the labyrinth-like corridors. They walked for an uncertain amount of time, occasionally taking turns and picking intersections where the only clue would be a symbol or a number, no concrete directions. That didn’t stop Harsh. He seemed to know exactly where to go at all times, and he took no pauses in choosing what appeared to be the correct turns. Just as she was starting to get tired, Harsh stopped. In front of them sat a row of heavy looking doors, each one with a number on it. They were - like every other door in the place - locked and sealed. That is, except for one. This door was the one that Harsh stopped in front of, number seven by the looks of it. This door was wide open, and there was a white room within. Harsh unclipped the rope from her collar and fastened the end to his armour, before saying, “Come on, get in there. Haven’t got all day.” The chained prisoner meekly lowered her head and trotted into the white room, closely followed by Harsh himself. The other guardpony stood outside and closed the door after them with a loud CLANG! Inside the room, everything was white. The walls were white, the inside of the door was white. The table with chairs around it was white. She was white. Feels like I was meant to be here, in this room... she thought bitterly. Harsh walked over to the table in the center of the room and pulled out one of the two chairs, each on opposite sides. He beckoned for her to sit down, before walking to the other side of the room and knocking on the wall. Barely a moment later, a whole section of the room opened up and a large pony appeared, closely followed by six more... And they looked very familiar... The princess, obvious because of her winged and horned nature, walked straight to the table and stood next to it, staring at her passively. Her coat was the darkest of blues, and a sparkling mane cascaded down her back. The captive looked at the other six. Fluttershy was trying to avoid looking at her, while the rest just seemed to be completely hostile, while Twilight was watching with undisguised curiosity. That was, all except one. Pinkie Pie was just staring at her, her mouth set in a slight frown. The silence stretched on as the ponies looked at each other. It was completely unbalanced, eight against one if you included Harsh, who was trying not to pay attention but couldn’t help glancing at the prisoner occasionally. Eventually, Luna placed a hoof on the table slowly, staring directly into the eyes of the captive. “Do you know why you are here, creature?” she asked, slowly and carefully. The captive swallowed loudly. “B-because I’m different?” she said unsurely. Rainbow Dash growled. “Different?! You’re not different, you monster! You’re just trying to look like the original! Why I out-” “Silence yourself, Miss Dash. Do not let your temper proceed you,” the Princess cut in forcefully. “We are trying to find answers here, not become enemies.” She glanced back at the prisoner. “No matter how strange they may be. Even if they somehow get all the way into the castle. This is why we talk, to find these things out. To investigate.” “Princess?” Twilight said softly. “If I may, I think we can already make a few assumptions. We know that there is an anti-changeling shield around the castle, so we can say that the chances of a changeling getting in are extremely slim. At the most, a probability of nine-hundred and fifty million to one against.” Twilight saw the others looking at her strangely. “Look, I like doing the numbers, you should know that by now. “Anyway, as I was saying. The chances of a changeling getting through are slim.” I think I like where this is going... Please let me be innocent in their minds... “But,” Twilight said loudly, “there are a few strange occurrences around this. One, there was another changeling with this one as they went through the shield. Admittedly, this one went first, but the same principle applies until we can do further testing. For all we know at the moment, additional targets can wear down the spell and make each victim of it have lessened results. “Two, it was wearing that cloak the whole time. It might have had a resistance to the knock-out part of the detection spell, so the cloak would stop us from seeing if it had changed back. “With all that said,” The purple unicorn said with finality, “we can have the assumption that this changeling is in fact hostile, as nothing would go through that much trouble only to be caught up in the castle.” “Well,” the Princess said eventually, “that is quite a theory. It certainly makes some sense. However, I think that we should take into con-” “I trusted you,” a quiet voice said. All heads in the room turned to the source, the butter yellow pegasus that was staring at the floor. “I’m sorry, what w-” the Princess started. “I trusted you, and you lied to me the whole time.” Fluttershy lifted her head. There were tears in her eyes, streaming down her muzzle. But her eyes... they were angry. “I thought that you needed help, that you had just lost what you thought was a friend. I thought that you were scared and angry, and that you needed a pony by your side...” Rarity tentatively reached for Fluttershy’s side, trying to make her relax, but the pegasus started walking towards the table. “You betrayed my trust,” she said as she walked. “You betrayed my friends. You were just using me to get your plans to work.” She glared at the chained pony, who was pressed against the back of her chair. “You know what you are?” Fluttershy leaned over the table. “You’re nothing but a monster,” she spat. “Even Discord didn’t outright lie to us like that. I don’t know anypony that would sneak around, telling things that aren’t true, just so that they can turn around and stab them in the back.” Applejack held a hoof forward. “Wait a sec ‘Shy. Don’t you think that you’re bein’ a mite too harsh there? I mean, we don’ even know what it was trying to do in Canterlot.” Rainbow shook her head. “Applejack, this thing just snuck into the castle, past all the defences. It's obviously a spy! For all we know it could have been sent here to kill somepony! It could be an assassin to get the princesses! It’s just like Daring Do! This is the evil guy, and we’re Daring and her faithful companion, Slow Poke! It’s my duty for me to find the answers, and yours to... act silly!” The chained pony started to shift around on her seat, the hoofcuffs clanging quietly on their links. All the while Rarity had been listening, and eventually turned to the pair. “Dears, do you really believe that now is the time to be arguing over a book? We have a changeling, that somehow got into the castle, possibly dangerous, sitting in front of us. It is our responsibility - neigh, our duty - to help Equestria by finding out why.” The Princess was still watching, her face a stoic mask. While Twilight had been thinking, and Fluttershy fuming, and Rainbow fantasising, and Applejack puzzling, and Pinkie observing, and Rarity being slightly jingoistic... The Princess just stood there. She watched as they argued, and barely moved at all but to occasionally glance at the prisoner in the room. “Girls,” she stated eventually, almost shouting to be heard over the noise. “We believe that you are all missing the point of you being here.” “...Which is, Princess?” “This changeling,” Princess Luna said, “is not only in the castle, but it also disguised as one of the Elements of Harmony. And not to stop there, it also waltzed in through the front gates, it also went in with the other Elements. You are here because you were there. You know what happened, and you would know roughly why a changeling would be disguised as Pinkie Pie.” The Princess turned to face Fluttershy, who was only now backing away from the table. “Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. You were there to help this creature after the other changeling was discovered. You know what happened.” Twilight coughed softly into a hoof. “Excuse me Princess, but if I might...” She walked over to the prisoner. “We can solve one part of this very simply,” she spoke to the Princess, before turning back to the white pony. “Why are you disguised as Pinkie?” All eyes were on the prisoner. The soft jangling of her chains was the only noise in the room. She sighed. “Because,” she said softly, “it’s the only thing I am.” Twilight hmmmm’d. “Well, would you mind showing us your natural form, it would give us some clue as to what the situation is. “This is me. I... I can’t change.” “A changeling that can’t change? I’ve never heard of that before...” Twilight mused. “It’s lying Twilight!” Rainbow shouted, only to be elbowed by her farmer friend. “Ya know, I really don’t think it is. It would have little to no reason to lie right now, and at the same time it’s very easy to disprove any lie she does say.” “That’s... very logical Applejack, thanks.” Twilight said, giving her friend a smile. The farmer simply tipped her hat in acknowledgement. “Actually,” Twilight continued, “if you’re not a changeling, that explains why you weren’t affected by the shield at all. It also becomes visible when reacting in close proximity to a changeling, so we should have known that you were one...” She trailed off slowly. “Twilight? Whatever is wrong?” Rarity said, concerned. “That’s just it though,” Twilight said, not even hearing her friend. “If the shield didn’t react, and you’re not a changeling... Then what are you?” ...This is it then... “I’m...” She took a deep breath to try and settle her nerves, wiping away a cold sweat that had just sprung up on her brow. “I-I’m actually... a clone...” The prisoner screwed her eyes up tight in anticipation. Seconds passed, and still nothing happened. After about ten seconds, she opened up her eyes again and looked at their reactions. They were all staring at her. Twilight was trying to catch flies apparently. “Wait, wait, wait. That was you?! How could that possibly be you! I mean, sure, the thought crossed my mind, but...” She shook her head. “That shouldn’t be possible! I mean, you’re here... Ho-” “Well, why don’t we just do the zap thing again? We did it to all the rest of them,” Applejack butted in. “It’ll stop the varmint from runnin’ amock.” “Yeah, what AJ said. Zappo whappo. C’mon Twi’! Time’s a wastin’ here!” Rainbow said, skimming around barely off the floor. Twilight bit her lip. “I mean... If you’re sure. I’ll use the return spell then, same as last time. Still, amazing that it got all the way here to Canterlot.” She shook her head in amazement. “Well, just an anomaly. I’ll get started...” So... This is it... I can almost say I’m relieved... “Just let me remember it...” No more running... “Ahh, here we go!” No more hiding... The horn on Twilight’s head lit up, and started to glow purple. No more Fancy Pants, or Rolling Stone, or... Wait, I can’t leave them... Fancy is still looking for me, and Rolling is captured. And it’s all my fault... The glow grew stronger. It can’t end like this. It just can’t. Not now, not ever. No! It won’t! “STOP!” two voices yelled out at exactly the same time. The first pony that yelled it surprised nopony, but the second... “PINKIE?!” A furious pink party pony was breathing heavily, barely contained anger struggling to the surface. “Don’t you see?!” she yelled. “You’re doing something wrong here! You can’t just kill her! She’s done nothing wrong!” “Pinkie, I really don-” Twilight began, her horn still wreathed in a dull purple glow. “No Twilight, just no. I understand this perfectly. She is me after all.” she said wryly. “Look around you,” Pinkie said, walking towards the table slowly. “Why are you angry? What has it... Strand done here to make you angry? What has she done wrong?” “Pinkie, she lied to us!” Rainbow yelled. Pinkie turned to her prismatic friend. “Would you do anything different in her situation?! She’s had nowhere to go to, not really. Nopony to confide in, nopony to talk to properly, and nopony to comfort her. Would you still lie to the ponies that were going to react like this,” she gestured to the room, “if they found out what you were?! Really?! “Do you want to know something funny?” she asked angrily. “I saw her once before, at Derpy’s house. And do you know what? I didn’t tell you. AND DO YOU KNOW WHY?!” Pinkie turned to face the prisoner. “It was because she looked so afraid, and so lonely. I just wanted her to escape and be free. And because I knew that if I ended up telling everypony else then they would just react like this! “And there’s something that you should know about that mirror pool as well,” Pinkie continued. “It’s in the rhyme, but I never told you it. It scares most ponies. The mirror pool? It doesn’t just reflect your appearance, it reflects everything. I mean that when I say it. It literally takes a snapshot of your soul, a bit for itself, and then recreates a living body out of what it gets. Of course, it can’t recreate it perfectly, and the clones don’t think properly, but strange things happen. And this pony? I can definitely say that it is one.” Pinkie was livid, her face almost going from pink to red. Her hooves were flying in grand, extravagant gestures, and her whole body language screamed rage. Twilight and the others could only watch with stunned expressions. However, somehow Twilight’s horn was still glowing... “I don’t care what you want to do to this pony. But you will not. And I mean, will not. Take away. Her. Life. Not after she’s accomplished so much. The others? I really don’t mind them, they were ignorant, they didn’t think properly. They vanished at a point in time where they were incapable of thought. But Strand is just as much of a pony as you or me. And you are going to deal with it.” Pinkie walked around the table, towards the prisoner. The pink pony kept talking the whole time, hammering in her point. The prisoner could only watch, chained as she was, as the pony drew closer. A small part of her was scared, but the larger part was in simple awe at the display of anger and righteousness. “And do you know what? I’m going to protect her until I drop. Do you know why? Because my name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, and I don’t like to see ponies sad!” The slammed one hoof onto the table, while reaching the other towards the prisoner. Pinkie’s friends were watching with visible shock, even the Princess. And Twilight’s horn was still glowing, even if she didn’t realise it herself. Pinkie Pie started walking closer to Twilight, who was backing up as far as she could, trying to escape the vengeful guardian that was her friend. “And if you ever,” Pinkie said threateningly, “try to take her away. I don’t think we’ll be in for a fun time.” She poked Twilight in the chest, and things happened all at once. Twilight slid off the edge of the chair. Not much, but just enough to startle her... ...Into releasing the charge that had been building up in her horn the whole time. It rebounded off the roof, smashing into the table and leaving a scorch mark. It flew over the heads of the other ponies. And it bounced off the far wall. Straight into the face of the prisoner. Then all was darkness. ** “...Leave it?! No...going to do that...you thinking?!” “...Danger, can’t just lea...No! Stop tryin...get her off the hook?!” “But why not? She’s innoce...ing wrong! Why are you...trouble...” “Darling, we just can’t do...Sorry, it just seem...” “Yeah! She’s evi...Yes, we know how you feel about he...” “Pinkie, I’m sorry...just can’t let her go...She’s a danger...whole of Ponyville! Damage every...last time? It could just as easily happen ag...” “No! She’s just a normal...Why is she guil...You can’t keep thinking that! Stop being so...Take a look around you!” “This is serious Pinkie! She’s a clone...any clone, your clone...sure that she won’t go crazy! Not enough evidence!” “Fine, let me take care...Give her a chance...guarantee...Just please...You’ll be killing her...She needs help...save her...I can handle...integrate...don’t know anything about her! It’s so simple!” “...Fine. We’ll give it a try. But I still don’t expect anything amazing. She’s a danger. We don’t know anything about these clones. They could easily go crazy and... Kill!” “Yeah, rampaging evil. And only the amazing Rainb-” “Not the time Dash. Pinkie, are you sure? You’ll be the pony responsible here!” “I’m sure Twilight. I’ve never been so sure. It’s not even a decision. I’ll take care of everything. Leave it to me.” “...Okay. Like I said, a try. Nothing more. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. As far as all of us are willing to go.” “Thank you! I won’t let you down.” “Please don’t, I want to see you be ri- Is she awake? Can she hear us?” “I think so! Wait, she’s slipping again! Try and keep her with us!” Silence. Then: “...Ask you to leave...Patient needs space...” “Buck...flatlining...Paddles!” “Nurse! Help ove...” “Losing her! Quickly! Everypony...” “...Danger...Not lon...” “...I d...May...So...” “...” ** She awoke to the sound of faint cheering. Groggily opening her eyes, she tried to pull herself up only to find herself restrained by a hoof. A pink pony was above her, smiling down onto her face. “Shhhh, don’t try to get up.” Pinkie said. “You’re safe now.” She groaned and looked around for signs as to where she was... A white room? Yes, a white room, with beeping equipment and strange contraptions all around her. More than a few of them had wires leading into her body, with little bits of tape keeping them attached to her limbs. And then she found the second surprise of the day. Her mane was pink again. “Quick!” she gasped urgently. “Get me a mirror, anything!” Pinkie nodded and came back a second later with a hoof mirror, placing above her face. She let out a sigh of relief, relaxing. It was completely over then. Her body was looking normal. The pink had returned, flowing into her mane and her coat. The blue had gone into her eyes, and the white and black had vanished. Almost. There was one thing that remained. In her mane was a single pure white streak. But she could live with that. It was what made her, her. Some individuality added on the side. Sighing in relief again, she whispered, “What about your friends? What did they think?” Pinkie smiled. “They weren’t too happy, and Rainbow was downright annoyed, but I managed to bring them all around to your point of view. Our point of view. Well... Kinda. They’re still not happy, and there are going to be some... special condition.” She patted the hospitalised pony’s mane again. “But you’re alright now. You’re being kept in the hospital until further notice, just to make sure that you’re okay.” The once-prisoner now-patient nodded. “Good, good...” A thought popped into her head, and she almost leaped off the bed. “What about the changeling?! Is he alright?!” “Changeling? What chan... ohhh, the one that was found at the gates?” The patient nodded, and Pinkie smiled. “Well, we - Twilight mainly - were trying to dredge up any information about you and somepony had the bright idea to talk to the changeling that was travelling with you. He’s in one of the interrogation rooms right now. If you want, you can probably talk to him later.” “But... I need to see him. I need to ask him some questions. Just stuff I need to talk about. Can I go a-” “Later,” Pinkie replied. “Right now you need some sleep. You deserve it. You’ve had a rough couple of days.” “But you were the one that saved me!” “Nope, that was just you. You got everypony there, you got yourself to Canterlot. You learned about the world. You kept yourself alive and relatively out of danger. You survived in a world the day you were brought into it. Don’t sell yourself short.” “But that wasn’t me! That was other ponies, not me! I need to get...” She yawned loudly. “I need to get out of here...” Another yawn. Pinkie shook her head. “You’re not going anywhere. Sleep tight, you’ll be out of here in no time.” The (other) pink pony stood and walked away from her bed. A moment later there was a click, and all of the light disappeared. Only a sliver from the door remained. It almost got to her, but not quite. She was safe now. Darkness wasn’t scary any more. “Oh, and one last thing,” she heard Pinkie say as the door opened again. “There’s a caravan in the park full of performing changelings that the guards found in a surprise sweep when they were investigating Stone. I don’t figure that you know anything about th...” Only snores filled the room. She didn’t dream. Not at all.