//------------------------------//
// 5: Inner Demons - Pinkie vs Pinkie 
// Story: Fighting is Magic: The Equestrian Grand Tournament 
// by Lance Skyes 
//------------------------------//

	Shortly after the Mane 7 informed Princess Celestia of the events of the previous battle, they left the castle and checked the roster once again.
“Am I the only one noticing something... odd about the next battle?” Rainbow Dash asked as the ponies stared at the roster, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who had left to grab snacks before the next battle started.
“No, I don't believe you are,” Rarity replied.
“Now even I know this is out of the ordinary,” Keldeo added.
“Even for Pinkie Pie, this is going to be confusing,” Twilight commented.
“Hey guys!” Pinkie said as she trotted back to where her friends were standing with saddlebags full of popcorn and various sweets. “I've got popcorn, cupcakes, milkshakes, and some special-ordered Pokepuffs for Keldeo. Well, I didn't really order them. I had to make them myself.” It took another moment for Pinkie to register that something was out of the ordinary with her friends. “What's going on, guys?”
“Y'all might wanna take a look at the roster,” Applejack said as she stepped to the side to allow Pinkie to walk forward. The second Pinkie saw the combatants of the next battle, she instantly gasped loudly and nearly dropped all the snacks she had bought.
“There's no way this is possible!” Pinkie shouted. “I thought I got rid of her years ago!”
The cause for all this reaction was that in the next round, the combatants were Pinkie Pie and Pinkamena Diane Pie.
“Who's Pinkamena, anyway?” Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie, who was oblivious to the fact that Keldeo was at the moment raiding her bags for a Pokepuff.
“She's like my evil half,” Pinkie replied. “Rainbow Dash met her once before, in fact.”
“Is she like that crazier version of you I had to pull away from that creepy inanimate object party to get you to your birthday party 7 years ago?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Okay, you met her twice before,” Pinkie said. “The other time was when she invited you over to help make cupcakes.”
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I don't want to go into detail because it's pretty graphic, but the bottom line was that she pretty much dissected you and used your various body parts to make cupcakes, party favors, and for some other demented purposes.”
“WHAT?” Rainbow Dash asked in horror. “That never happened! I'm pretty sure I'd remember getting killed slowly like that.”
“Unless I went back in time to save you with the help of some odd stallion in a blue box who claimed to have two hearts,” Pinkie said. “Anyway, the point is that the last time I saw Pinkamena, I sent her tumbling through the Time Vortex where she should have been disintegrated and everything she did reversed as though it had never happened.”
“Is anypony else following this?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Because I'm not.”
“Nope,” Twilight replied.
“Not me,” Applejack said.
“These are really good Pokepuffs,” Keldeo commented with half of one still in his mouth. “What? I haven't had much to eat since I left my world. Seriously, though, these are really tasty. Pinkie, you should totally make sweets for a living.”
“Thanks, Keldeo,” Pinkie said. “But I already make sweets for a living. That's not important right now, though. What is important is that King Sombra has managed to resurrect one of the most powerful and evil creatures Equestria has ever known, and it's up to me to stop her!” Without warning, Pinkie took off her saddlebags, threw them onto Keldeo, and hightailed it to the arena.
“How does she carry all this stuff?” Keldeo asked as he struggled to stay upright under the weight of the saddlebags.
“Do you need some help?” Twilight asked.
“No thanks,” Keldeo said. “I once... had to carry... an injured Lairon... down a mountain.... This... is nothing compared... to that”
“Well then let's get to the stadium to support Pinkie,” Twilight said. The ponies then made their way to the stadium at full gallop.
“Hey!” Keldeo shouted as he struggled to even move under the weight of the saddlebags. “I never said... I carried the Lairon down quickly!” Though struggling with each step, Keldeo did his best to make his way to the stadium as well.

Fortunately for Keldeo, the battle wouldn't start for another half-hour, which was about the time it took him to carry the saddlebags to his friends.
“You guys didn't have to break out into full gallop and leave me behind,” Keldeo said as he dropped the saddlebags and took his seat.
“Sorry,” Twilight said. “We kinda-”
“Ah, don't worry about it,” Keldeo said. “You guys running is the only thing I'm mad about. Cobalion and the others have me on a much more intense training regimen back home.”
There was a moment's pause before Rainbow Dash said, “All of a sudden, I kinda miss the way Pinkie Pie would pull out her Pokedex every time you mentioned another Pokemon.”
Meanwhile, King Sombra had appeared to address the crowd. “Fillies and gentlecolts, this is the third battle of the Equestria Battle Tournament!” he announced. “And let me be the first to tell you, even I find this matchup a bit odd. In the eastern corner, Ponyville's signature party pony, the Element of Laughter, and, according to my sources, the only pony around here who knows how to make Pokepuffs, Pinkie Pie!”
As King Sombra finished this announcement, Pinkie Pie bounced out of the entrance and into the arena, waving and giving a large smile to the crowd around her.
“Weird,” Keldeo said. “Didn't she say not half an hour ago how serious of a battle this was to her?”
“As I've said before, we've just stopped questioning her,” Rainbow Dash said as she took a bite of her cupcake which actually turned out to be a Pokepuff. The second it registered that what Rainbow ate wasn't a cupcake, she quickly coughed and spat the bite she took out. “Ah, what is in this thing?”
Keldeo grabbed an identical Pokepuff from the saddlebag and sniffed it. “At a guess, I'd say baked Ghastly tears mixed with Pecha Berry juice for the base, frosting made from Colbur Berries, and on top, a feather taken straight from the mane of a Pidgeot.” Keldeo then took a bite of the Pokepuff in his hoof. “I don't see a problem with it. Only thing I'm wondering is how Pinkie got all that stuff.”
“Well that's... interesting...” Rainbow Dash said as she grabbed what she was sure was a regular cupcake.
Meanwhile, King Sombra went on with the show. “And in the western corner,” he continued, “an evil so powerful it's was even able to survive the void of the Time Vortex without a scratch, and also arguably the best baker in Tartarus were she to compete, Pinkamena Diane Pie!”
Into the other corner of the arena entered a pony who looked almost exactly like Pinkie Pie, except she seemed to have a darker tint to her body, her mane was straight, long, and droopy, and she seemed to be depressed about something but at the same time angry over the same thing. She didn't even notice the crowd as she held her head low and faced forward while slowly cantering to the center of the arena like a predator stalking its prey.
“So we meet again,” Pinkamena said to Pinkie as the two faced each other in the center of the arena. “It's been a while, Pinkie Pie.”
“Ever stop to wonder if maybe there was a reason for that?” Pinkie asked in reply. “If you and I are the same pony, you must know as well as I do that we can't exist in the same world.”
“I agree,” Pinkamena said. “Why do you think I came all this way to kill you?”
“You do realize that this isn't Mortal Kombat, right?” Pinkie asked. “I'm pretty sure you landed in the wrong universe if that's what you were aiming for.”
“Oh,” Pinkamena said. “This is a little bit awkward, then.... Oh well, I guess I'll get rid of you in this universe in some form or fashion and then make my way to one where I can actually kill you.”
“I won't give you the chance,” Pinkie said.
“Ha! You could barely defeat me with the help of the Doctor. What makes you so sure that you stand a chance now?”
“What are those two doing?” Keldeo asked.
“If I know Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash replied, “they're probably talking about parties or cupcakes or something like that.”
“Alright, combatants, take your positions,” King Sombra announced to the two Pinkies.
The two did as they were told and took several paces backwards so they were of a reasonable distance away from each other.
“Are the combatants ready?”
“I'm ready to end this once and for all,” Pinkie Pie said.
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Pinkamena replied.
“Then without further ado, let's begin,” Sombra said. “Round 1, FIGHT!”

Pinkie Pie was the first one to attack. She quickly galloped forward, leapt into the air, and brought a powerful punch down right onto Pinkamena's face. The attack made contact, but Pinkamena hardly even flinched. She was as still as a statue.
“Wait, did the battle start?” Pinkamena asked teasingly when Pinkie brought her hoof back to the ground. “Sorry, I was distracted by how adorable you were, Pinkie Pie.”
“Aw, thanks,” Pinkie said. “But this a battle, you're a psychopathic villain, and I can't accept your compliments.” Pinkie then turned around and tried to give Pinkamena a buck that, once more, did very little if anything to Pinkamena.
“Not sure if you got the memo, Pinkie,” Pinkamena said, “but the battle did start. This is the part where you're supposed to hurt me to the point where I get knocked out.”
“Oh, I'll hurt you, all right,” Pinkie said, starting to get flustered. Pinkie then leaned down low, and somehow summoned a trio of confetti cannons on her back. Without warning, Pinkie fired the cannons right in Pinkamena's face, causing her to go airborne. Pinkie then desummoned the confetti cannons and leapt up into the air to start an aerial combo. Pinkie threw two quick punches, a tornado attack in which she spun her whole body around, hitting Pinkamena several times, all topped off by a powerful flip kick that sent Pinkamena further into the air. Pinkie easily landed on all fours, but Pinkamena, on the other hoof... did the same thing.
“Alright, I think I get the game we're playing here,” Pinkamena said. Then, sarcastically, she said, “Oh, ow, that hurt so much! I think my leg's broken! Someone call a KO now so I don't have to suffer any longer!”
“Was that an actual request?” King Sombra asked. “I couldn't tell.”
“Of course it wasn't,” Pinkamena snarled at the tyrant. “In fact, I barely even felt that combo, if that's what you could even call it, Pinkie Pie.”
“Alright, I'm starting to get a little bit angry with you, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said.
“I don't get it,” Twilight said to her friends in the stands. “Pinkamena should have taken way more damage than she's showing right now.”
“Maybe she has high HP or Defense,” Keldeo said. “It'd be difficult to deal evident damage to something if it was tough. The only thing that's throwing me off is the fact that she isn't built like a Snorlax or an Aggron or even a Shuckle, all of whom are tanks in the competitive field. There's something about her, something not natural.”
“We kinda figured that out when Pinkie said Pinkamena was her evil half,” Rainbow Dash commented.
“Are you just going to stand there all day?” Pinkamena asked Pinkie Pie when the latter stood still for a few seconds.
“Am I not allowed to stand still for a few seconds?” Pinkie asked.
“Not really, no,” Pinkamena replied with a creepy grin. “Well, if you're not going to do anything, I'll be glad to move for you!” With that, Pinkamena quickly galloped forward and launched a punch at Pinkie Pie that turned out to be powerful enough to knock Pinkie off her hooves and several feet backwards.
“Woah!” Rainbow shouted. “That punch didn't even look like it had very much power behind it!”
“I think this Pinkamena character is well outside of Pinkie's abilities,” Twilight added.
Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was just then recovering from Pinkamena's attack. “Ow...” Pinkie said to herself as she rubbed her head. “What a meanie that Pinkamena is. I should call her Pinkameanie. Or would that also be calling myself Pinkameanie since my real name is actually Pinkamena and I'm just giving that name to her since I never use it anymore?”
“Ready to give up, Pinkie Pie?” Pinkamena asked as she cantered towards where Pinkie Pie lay with an evil smile on her face. “You know as well as I do that's hardly the tip of the iceberg in terms of pain I can give you.”
“Well, I've got two things to tell you, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said without getting up. “One...” Pinkie suddenly got up and had somehow pulled her party cannon out from nowhere and fired it right in Pinkamena's face. The force of the attack combined with Pinkamena's unpreparedness was actually enough to knock her backwards a little ways. “...say hello to my little friend. And the other thing is that I'm not ready to give up yet.”
Pinkamena quickly recovered from this attack and looked back at Pinkie Pie with an evil grin. “I was hoping you'd say that,” she said. “I guess that means this is where the fun starts.”
“Oh, there's no more time for fun,” Pinkie Pie said. “This is the part where it gets serious.”
“Wonderful!” Pinkamena shouted with an even wider but still incredibly creepy grin.
The next ten seconds consisted of Pinkie Pie getting brutally thrashed around by Pinkamena. Pinkie was unable to defend herself from the flurry of Pinkamena's lightning-fast but at the same time steel-hard attacks. The onslaught was so brutal, most of the spectators, including King Sombra himself, were unable to watch and looked away for most of the duration.
“Had enough, Pinkie?” Pinkamena asked after she landed on all fours after finishing an aerial combo. The question was pointless, however, as it took another couple seconds before Pinkie Pie returned to the ground as well, only she fell flat on her face.
“You're gonna feed the rocks when we dive back on the sun with the kittens,” Pinkie said woozily after picking her head up momentarily, only to quickly fall back to the ground, utterly beaten.
“KO!” King Sombra announced. “The winner, by a very brutal knockout that I wouldn't inflict upon my greatest enemy, is Pinkamena Diane Pie!” The crowd was unanimous in its boos and jeers upon this announcement.
“Keldeo, do you think you could help us a little here?” Twilight asked.
“Not a problem,” Keldeo replied. He then raised one of his hooves and fired a blast of icy-cold water onto Pinkie Pie, who instantly sprung back to life with a gasp.
“What? Who? Where am I?” Pinkie asked. She then turned to her friends, who actually weren't too far away from where she was standing. “Did I win?”
“To put it as politely as possible-” Rarity started.
“You kinda got your flank handed to you on a silver platter,” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“That's... actually not too far off from what I was about to say,” Rarity admitted.
“I'm sorry, guys,” Pinkie said as she hung her head and her ears drooped. “I don't know how I'm going to beat Pinkamena. She's powerful beyond even my imagination.” It was right when she said that that her head and ears perked back up. “Wait a second... Fluttershy, quick, ask me what I said just now!”
“Um... what did you-” Fluttershy started.
“I just said that Pinkamena was powerful beyond my imagination!” Pinkie interrupted. “But my imagination is limitless! If somepony were to go inside my imagination, they'd think they were in limbo and wander forever!”
“I know you told me not to ask anymore, but...” Keldeo started.
“Actually, this is a new level of weird for Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You can go ahead.”
“Thanks,” Keldeo said. He then took a deep breath before shouting with a near-hysterical tone, “Can somepony please tell me what she just said and whether or not it has any meaning behind it!?”
“I just said that I know how to beat Pinkamena!” Pinkie said while bouncing up and down despite her injuries.
“Should I blast her again?” Keldeo asked Twilight while raising his hoof.
“I think we're beyond cold water with her,” Twilight replied.
“Again, I know how to beat her,” Pinkie continued after stopping her boucing, “but I'm going to need help from you six. No matter what I do, no matter how crazy I act, and no matter how many hits I might take (because I'm pretty sure I'm going to take a lot of hits), you guys have to play along with the scenario I need to play out.”
“I'm in,” Keldeo said. “I've never role played before. I've only seen other Pokemon use Role Play.”
“Well, if it'll help you beat Pinkamena...” Twilight said, “I guess we could help. Right guys?”
The others replied with a generally collective “Yeah!”
“Right, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, putting more emphasis on her question this time.
“Hm?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Oh, I guess so. Just don't make us do anything too crazy, Pinkie.”
“Oh, Dashie,” Pinkie said, “when have I ever forced you guys to do anything really crazy?”
“Well, there was the time you-” Rarity started.
“Beside the point!” Pinkie suddenly shouted. It was then that she felt her wounds being healed and her stamina being restored by King Sombra. “Well, wish me luck, guys. Celestia knows there's not much chance this will work.” She then hopped off towards the center of the arena to begin the next round.
“Ready for a second thrashing?” Pinkamena asked Pinkie.
“No thanks,” Pinkie Pie replied with a giggle.
“What's so funny?” Pinkamena asked, already slightly irritated.
“Oh, nothing,” Pinkie replied while still giggling. “Sorry, I need a moment.” Pinkie resumed giggling for another moment before she stopped. “Alright, I think I'm good.”
“Can I start the round now?” King Sombra asked.
“Hang on,” Pinkie said. She paused for another moment before saying, “Okay, I think I got all the giggles out of me.”
“And I'm ready to finish what I've started,” Pinkamena said.
“Then let's begin,” King Sombra announced. “Round 2, FIGHT!”
“Would you like the first shot?” Pinkamena asked. “I only ask because it'd be the last shot you take this round.” Pinkie Pie didn't respond to this question, though. She was busy looking around. “Hello? I'm asking a question.”
Pinkie cocked her head in Pinkamena's general direction, but she wasn't looking at her evil half. “That was weird,” Pinkie said. “I could have sworn I just heard something.”
“Are your ears clogged?” Pinkamena asked. “I was what you heard.”
“Hmm... must have been a bug or something,” Pinkie said. “Poor thing, trapped in King Sombra's force field. Probably separated from its family or friends. Oh well, I'll make sure to get that bug back home after this tournament ends.”
“What is she doing?” Rainbow Dash asked. “There's no fighting going on at all. It's like Pinkie's pretending Pinkamena's not there at all.”
“That might be her goal,” Twilight said. “It's just a theory she might be working off of, but...”
“Odd,” Pinkie Pie resumed. “I could have sworn I had an opponent.”
“I'm your opponent!” Pinkamena shouted. She then galloped forward and gave Pinkie Pie a powerful punch to her face that knocked Pinkie several yards back. It took a while for Pinkie Pie to recover from this, but she shook it off and pretended it was nothing.
“Weird,” Pinkie commented. “That was one strong breeze I just got hit by.” She then turned to her friends. “Rainbow Dash, are you and the other pegasi here pulling a prank?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash replied. “You got hit by-”
“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted. “Don't deny your actions. You even tried to recruit me for this prank.”
“But I didn't-” Rainbow started.
“Like Pinkie said, we need to play along with her scenario,” Twilight whispered.
“I'm gonna have to get you back for that one, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said with one of those slightly angled and sideways “Oh, you” smiles.
“What is she doing?” Pinkamena asked amid a tidal wave of boos from the crowd that resulted from the lack of action. It was then that Pinkamena looked down to see that her hoof was slightly transparent. “No... No, she couldn't possibly be able to...” Pinkamena then charged forward and started trying to unleash a volley of punches and kicks on Pinkie Pie. However, much to Pinkamena's horror, the attacks seemed to be harmlessly be passing through Pinkie Pie's body.
“Hey, that's a pretty comfortable breeze,” Pinkie said. “Sorry, Rainbow Dash, but if you're trying to make up for your prank, it's not gonna work. I'm already planning out my vengeance prank as we speak.”
“Why. Won't. You. Do. Anything?” Pinkamena asked in a flurry of rage, becoming more and more translucent with each blow.
“Seriously, between this breeze and this buzzing in my ears, I'm starting to get a little bit annoyed,” Pinkie said. “Oh well. Maybe if I move a little bit, I can get out of the breeze and get away from the buzzing.” Pinkie then started bouncing off towards the center or the arena.
“NO!” Pinkamena shouted, almost entirely transparent. She then lunged at Pinkie Pie only to harmlessly phase through her. “You have to notice me!”
Pinkie suddenly turned to Pinkamena and said, “Okay.” She then suddenly thrust her hoof right through Pinkamena, creating a small hole in her chest and causing the fur around where Pinkie's hoof was to start shimmering.
“But... but that's impossible...” Pinkamena said.
“Oh, Pinkamena,” Pinkie Pie said with a strangely diabolical grin as she retracted her hoof, leaving the hole behind. “You and I both know there's no such thing as impossible when I'm in the equation.” Pinkie Pie then began hopping off, leaving Pinkamena behind.
“This can't be...” Pinkamena said as her whole body began shimmering. She then fell to her knees. “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” she shouted as she exploded in a brilliant fiery explosion that had a shockwave strong enough to knock some of the spectators out of their seats.
It was a few moments before most of the spectators, Pinkie's friends and King Sombra included, were able to even try to register what just happened.
“Did I go crazy just now?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Or did I just see Pinkamena explode after Pinkie Pie ignored her for half the battle and then gave her a single punch?”
“I couldn't answer that for you,” Twilight replied. “I'm still trying to process what just happened myself.”
“Um... I'm going to call that a KO,” King Sombra said. “And since spontaneously combusting results in an automatic DQ, the winner of this battle is Pinkie Pie.” The crowd was completely silent as most of them were still trying to process what happened.
“Oh well,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “Even if nopony's cheering for me, I can still celebrate my win.” Pinkie Pie then hopped out of the arena while whistling a happy tune.

After Pinkie Pie left the arena, the rest of her friends were quick to catch up to her. “Oh hay, guys,” Pinkie said with a smile. “Ready to go tell Princess Celestia what just happened?”
“I think we could start with you telling us what just happened,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Oh, I thought Twilight would have told you guys already,” Pinkie replied. “But if you insist, I'll go ahead and tell you myself. You see, before the second round started, I said that Pinkamena was strong beyond even my imagination, but that was a lie. Pinkamena was exactly as strong as my imagination. And as long as Pinkamena had that kind of power, she was unbeatable.”
“I'm not following,” Rainbow Dash quickly said.
“Don't you see?” Pinkie asked. “She was a figment of my imagination, and therefore fed off the energy of my imagination, which made her unbeatable since my imagination is limitless, thus making her power the same.”
“And that explains why she exploded...?” Keldeo asked.
“Not quite there yet,” Pinkie replied. “You see, I had to cut her off from her power source, which was my imagination. The only way to do that, though, is the old cliched 'you aren't real, I don't believe in you' thing. I had to keep that charade up for quite a while before her power started to diminish to a manageable level.”
“So then when her power was low enough,” Twilight chimed in, “her physical body was so unstable, it would have taken just one blow to destroy her completely.”
“Mostly right, Twilight,” Pinkie replied. “The only thing you got wrong was the 'destroy her completely' part. You see, she can't be destroyed. She's a part of me, and getting rid of her once and for all would require doing the same to me.” Pinkie then brought her hoof to her head. “But don't worry. I've got her locked up safe and sound.”
“Uh-huh...” Rainbow Dash said. “But the bottom line is we won't have to worry about her again, right?”
Pinkie Pie was uncomfortably silent for the longest time after Rainbow Dash asked that question. “Hey, weren't we going to the castle to tell Princess Celestia the results of this round?” Pinkie asked after a while.
“I guess,” Twilight said. “But you didn't answer Rainbow Dash's question.”
“That, Twilight, is because her question doesn't have a very... settling answer,” Pinkie said with a tone of seriousness in her voice. “Now let's go,” Pinkie suddenly said, her voice cheery once again. She then began bouncing off towards the castle.
“I seriously don't get her,” Keldeo said. “I know, Rainbow Dash, I should get used to it. Let's just follow her.” The others then made their way to the castle in an odd, unsettling silence.