Pinkie Pie's Fourth-Wall Breaking Variety Show

by Alex Warlorn


Pinkie Pie's 4th Wall Breaking Show epi 10 Part 15


On the what-if machine, the scene continued to play out.

"Wait," growled a voice. As the others watched, the air rippled like water, and Gloom of Night stepped forward. Sunny Daze and Sparkle Works gasped and glanced at each other... they hadn't seen this wolf pup before. Would he be fun to play with?

"Mother?" asked the pup. Then his eyes met the eyes of Sunny Daze. "You... you're new. You're like me!" He sniffed and nosed at her, tail wagging.

Sunny giggled. "Nice to meet you, I guess!"

"Why do you hide? Please, show yourself to us."

Sunny looked to Sparkle, who rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Well..." said Sparkle Works. "I haven't seen it either. Can you show me too? It doesn't hurt, does it?"

Sunny Daze smiled. "Not at all!" She changed right there with Sparkle hugging her, fur growing bushy and bright, hooves becoming paws and claws, making Sparkle gape in awe.

Gloom of Night blinked slowly, reached a forepaw out but didn't touch her. "What is this feeling? I... like you? Hrrr, but I don't even know you. How peculiar!"

Luna chuckled. "Be careful of this one, Gloom of Night. Blaze might burn you."

Then Rain and Snow arrived, more subtly. They weren't there, and then in the blink of an eye, suddenly they were. Sunny and Sparkle's house was getting crowded!

"This wasn't the plan," growled Rain.

Snow nodded fiercely. "Mother says..."

Luna stamped a hoof. "No. Please tell your mother to come and tell us herself." Her eyes narrowed. "Or will she continue plotting the fates of even her own sisters from the shadows?"

The wolf pups stepped back, chastised. Before they could decide what to do, their ears pricked up. "Rota Fortuna," said Snow quietly. "She who is Fate." A new alicorn appeared out of nothing, tall and grey-coated. Her wolves bounded swiftly over to stand on her left and right, bowing deeply. Gloom nodded respectfully, and Blaze did the same before she even realized she was doing it.

Rota Fortuna took a deep breath. "You are displeased... but know this: What I have done was for the best."

Luna lifted an eyebrow. "Not telling me, when our sister was hurting and jealous because of ME? That was for the best?"

"You would have argued," said Rota Fortuna, in the tone of a teacher patiently explaining some problem on a blackboard, step by step. "And fought, and then we would have lost everything. My sister, I have rewritten the whole world to suit you and the others and all the little ponies, and my work is not done yet. I am stretched thin."

"But you don't get to trample free will beneath your hooves," said Luna, pleading. "Not even now."

Rota Fortuna finally smiled, faintly. "Not even now." She spread her wings. "Let all truths be told plainly, then, so none will say they were manipulated."

Sunny Daze and Sparkle Works didn't know what that last word meant, but they didn't like the sound of it at all.

Rota Fortuna paced a bit... Rain and Snow followed her every move. "Rain and Snow are my wings of fate. They were a gift to me from Mother... they were never ponies... but these other two were mortal. Gloom of Night, do you understand fully what has happened to you?"

"I understand well enough," declared Gloom.

Luna spoke. "My little wolf, you may look like a pony, even live like one if you wish, if it does not distract from your duties, but time will always separate you from them. They are mortal and you are no longer. That means, they will die, and their foals, and their grandfoals, while you still live on. Yours is a different destiny now."

Blaze gasped, and Sparkle Works looked on her with confusion and fear... but Gloom of Night smiled and nuzzled Luna's flank. "Being a pony only brought me pain... I won't miss it! You, Mother, and you, Rain and Snow, my cousins... my aunts... you are my family now! I'm.. pleased... no, I'm happy that I'll always be with you. Always!"

"Well, I don't know if I want that!" stammered Blaze. "I'm not sure at all! The magic coin... that will change my fate?" She reached a hoof towards it.

"Yes, but be warned!" said Rota Fortuna sternly. "The Sundog does not have to be you, Blaze, but there MUST be a Sundog... now more than ever, while Celestia is asleep, or this will only happen again."

"I'll do it instead!" said Sparkle Works suddenly. "That way, you won't have to!"

"But we'd still be separated!" whined Blaze. "What if we were both wolves?"

Sparkle Works grinned. "We'd be together... Oh, but..." Her face fell. "We'd lose our other friends."

Blaze sighed. "If only there was two of me. Then I could do both."

Rota Fortuna tilted her head... she and Luna exchanged curious glances. "That might not be out of the question."
-
Still trying to take in everything she was seeing, and her head now very dizzy, Twilight continued to watch the what-if machine, Maud also watching silently.

Ispita, better known as Forbidden Fruit, one of Discord's alternate reality cousins, set hoof in the G3.1 world. She was in her sealed form, a pale blue unicorn with white hair and a snake and apple cutie mark.

She was convinced she had found a world of suckers, naive ponies she could strike deals with and give them an even better deal than they thought they were getting! Wait, what?

'Oh Ispita, if old Nyarlathotrot himself could be turned into a cute little breezie named Stormy when trying to enter this universe . . . did you really think this universe wouldn't something similar to you?'

Ispita heard a voice in her head say.

Ispita didn't have much to think as her horn vanished and a pair of breezie wings grew from her back instead, and she began to shrink, and insect feelers grew from her head, and her colors becoming shades of pale lavender. Her cutie mark blooming into a six petal white and pink flower.

Ispita barely had time to gasp out as the world remade her, undid and reworked her, turning her into somepony else.

Knick-Knack giggled at the fallen show. Hoping all her ponies friends loved the gift exchange she had arranged, always making sure ponies got better than they'd given.

http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/Knick-Knack

"Hello Knick-Knack, Merry Christmas!" Zipzee zipped to her swarmmate, and gave her a tiny gift, a little golden alicorn shaped necklace.

"Thanks Zipzee!" Knick-Knack said hugging her friend. The utterly innocent breezie only thinking about how she could help ponies find the things that made them happy.
-
"You're absolutely certain?" asked Rota Fortuna gently, as the gathered ponies and wolves walked up the slope to the stargazing rise.

Sunny Daze, in her pony form again, looked back at Sparkle Works and got a warm smile and a nuzzle in return. "Yes, I'm sure."

Celestia walked with them too, transparent and only half there. She yawned profusely, having to shake herself awake. "Just a few minutes more," said Luna, nudging her along.

Sunny climbed the rise alone, and the alicorns surrounded her. Snow, Rain, and Gloom all held their breath. Then the three alicorns spread their wings, feather tips touching, and lit their horns. The coin that Luna had brought floated in the air and hovered overhead, spinning faster and faster.

Sparkle Works felt so drowsy, all of a sudden. It was like the dream everypony has where you dream that you slip and fall, and the fall wakes you up... but when she stumbled and gasped, when the coin fell to the ground with a chime and spun to a stop, there were *two* ponies in the circle.

On one side stood her handsome stallion, her very own special somepony, Sunny Day, with his familiar smiley sun face cutie mark. On the other side was a mare that could have been his twin sister, and her cutie mark was Celestia's sun with a small smiley face sun off to one side. Or was she the original? It was so strange, remembering it both ways.

Sunny Day and Blaze stared at each other, each reaching out a hoof in mirrored poses. "So you're..." "the wolf me?" "the pony me?" "Nice to meet you!"

Rain and Snow yipped and danced about, and Gloom couldn't help but smile.

"Well," said Blaze, fidgeting her hooves. "I guess I'd better get going. I've got so much to do for Mother, so many warm fuzzy daydreams to give to ponies everywhere!"

Sunny Day trotted over to Sparkle Works and nuzzled her warmly. "We've got big plans too!"

Sparkle gasped, growing excited. "You mean..."

Sunny nodded. "Planning our new family!"

Sunny Day and Blaze each looked at the other and said "I'm kind of jealous!" Then they blinked, grinned at each other, and burst into giggles.

"Well, goodbye!" said Sunny, waving a hoof as he and Sparkle started back down the hill.

"Goodbye!" Blaze watched them go, then let her pony guise slip away, howling and shaking out her shaggy wolf fur. The other wolf pups gathered and crowded close around her, nosing and sniffing... and she couldn't help it, she was so happy that she lept and hugged Gloom of Night, and nosed Snow and Rain too.

"I think it's time," announced Rota Fortuna. Four sets of wolf pup ears pricked up.

Luna nodded. "Balance has been restored. It's time that we Concepts stepped back for a while, and let ponies see what they can make of this world."

Celestia yawned one more time, and faded away, not even waiting for the others.

"We trust that everything will be fine, with you four standing watch." Then they faded away as well.

Gloom of Night blinked. "Did we just get stuck with all the work while they go on vacation?"

"I think we're up to it," said Blaze, grinning with fangs gleaming. She held a forepaw out. "Spirit Wolf Guardians!"

"Yeah!!" howled the pups, tapping their paws together.

-Back in the studio-

"Gosh, they're cute!" said Pinkie. "I wonder if they'll ever come to visit."

"Don't be silly, Pinkie," said Twilight. "Even if they could, why would they come here? It's not like they know we were watching them. Right?"

Pinkie whistled innocently, and Maud offered no comment.

"Right!" said Twilight, mashing buttons on the What-If Machine. "Let's see how some more of the *ponies* over there are doing."
-
"I know this is Maud's party and she's free to do what she wants." Octavia said. "But just staring in front of a wooden box with a black glass side is little much."

"It is rather strange even for her." Photo Finish said. "You be thinking with Maud and Pinkamena together the result would be a normal pony, but they manage to be a even more type of weird."

"Blinky!" Octavia said.

"You know the fair deal it is 'Inky'."

"Still . . ."

"Yeah, look at 'em." RD said. "Twilight, Pinkie, AJ, Fluttershy's coltfriend, Maud, all of 'em just looking at that blank screen on the what-if machine."

Flutters decided not to say how it wasn't a blank screen to her, instead it was a mass of static, fuzzy and incomplete images for her, maybe that was for the best.

"All the same darlings, it's nice to meet some kindred spirits." Rarity said. "Mares who also have moved up society's ladder instead of simply becoming what their parents wanted them to become. My parents wanted me to be an athlete, they never understood why I spent so much time craft clothes for my dolls."

Rarity never admitted that might have been another reason she and Applejack often crossed wires, Applejack was, after all, an Apple, and Apple had a fixation on family values, and Rarty, Octavia, and Photo Finish had all decidedly broken family tradition completely and utterly in pursuit of their dreams.
-
Unfortunately, Twilight’s random button pushing only made the screen go blank. "Snark mode engaged," said the What-If Machine. "Oh, now you’ve done it. I’ve lost the signal lock. While I find it again, please enjoy another situation with wolves, unless your name is Twilight Sparkle." The screen lit up, but it was only fuzzy static to her.

"Seriously?" asked Twilight.

-*-
When Shining Armor magically unlocked the door to their royal apartments, the first thing he heard was a foal’s giggle, and barking yips and growls. "What the…" He rushed in, ready to defend his family… and saw Kifuko riding around on the back of a huge white wolf pup, while Midnight batted a rubber ball back and forth with a grey wolf pup.

No one seemed to need protecting from anything. As he watched, a third wolf pup, this one orange and red, rose up from behind a chair with her forepaws over her eyes. She suddenly uncovered her eyes and barked, "Boo!" Kifuko burst into giggles.

A fourth, black wolf pup was lounging on his favorite couch. "Is this really meant to be the distant future? And ponies are still living in drafty castles? You’d think mortals would learn to make better use of their time."

The orange pup waved a forepaw in a shrug. "Well, their world did kind of blow up, Gloom."

"Their world?" echoed Shining, so dumbstruck that he latched onto the first thing that presented itself.

"Shiny, you’re home!" exclaimed Cadence, sweeping him into a big hug. "I see you’ve met our guests."

"Guests?" Shining Armor blinked. "From another world?! How can they… I mean, I thought…"

"I have allowed it," rumbled the Blank Wolf.

Shining had to run that through his head several times. The Blank Wolf… THE Blank Wolf… THAT blasted Blank Wolf was taking up half of their kitchen, considerably larger than the pups. Their kitchen. Getting into the apple snack cakes that Shining had secreted away for later, after Cadence’s nagging about his diet.

"What," asked Shining, "are you doing in my apartment, like we’re friends all of a sudden? And what’s with that grin?"

The Blank Wolf smirked a notch more, but it was Cadence who answered. "I have wonderful news, Shining," she said in an ominous singsong. "These wolves have told me how we can finally get rid of that pesky mortality of yours and be together forever."

Oh, not again, thought Shining, wondering if it was too late to look for a place to hide.

"In our world, alicorns haven’t been able to create new spirit wolves in thousands of years. It’s because we invested so much into creating the Blank Wolf. Guess what just changed?"

"You want to turn me into…"

Cadence beamed. "Yes! It’s perfect!"

"You want to be married to a wolf," deadpanned Shining.

"You’re married to a shape-shifting goddess, dear. Besides…" She motioned to the two wolf pups on the floor, and they flickered and turned into young colts… who promptly grinned and went galloping round and round the sofa with Kifuko and Midnight.

Shining sighed. "Is this going to turn me into a foal? Puppy? Whatever they are?"

"Yep!" said Blaze.

"No," said Gloom. "Well, not exactly. You must excuse Rain and Snow there… they truly are pups. Blaze and I, on the other paw, are enjoying our second… foalhoods? You’ll grow out of it."

"You promised, Shiny," said Cadence, pouting a bit. "It’s not dark magic, your mind will be your own, and I’m not plotting to turn you into a nightmare OR a nightterror."

Shining Armor twitched. "This is like the culmination of all the weirdness in my whole life… ever!" He flashed a slightly crazed grin. "Fine! Let’s do it!"

Cadence squealed with glee. "You won’t regret it, Shiny. Now, normally the bond would cause you to regard me as your mother…"

"Wait, what?"

"But that’d just be weird, so I adjusted the spell a bit. Here goes! Oh, Auntie Luna said that the spell would be really bright, probably a lot of rainbows, so you might…"

"Gyah!!"

"… want to close your eyes. Sorry!"

The blinding light faded, leaving the newest wolf pup where Shining had been, white with steel-blue shading on his paws and tail and ears. "Er, check, one two?"

He wasn’t expecting the Blank Wolf to near-tackle him, grinning and fluffing his headfur with a huge forepaw. "Finally, I have wolf family again! What should I call you? Cousin? Little brother?"

Cadence stared, breathless. "Did it work okay? Are you… still you, Shining?"

The new wolf pup scratched his ear with a hind paw. "A couple things… apparently I’m Sleet now. Also, I have a nigh-uncontrollable urge to chase your tail, Cadence."

Cadence grinned. "You were always welcome to do that anytime."

In response to Mtangalion and to my remark about Rarity and Photo:

Twilight looked at Pinkie Pie in confusion.

"What the hay did it just show?"

"Your brother was turned into a wolf." Pinkie Pie being as vague as possible.

"Gah!" Twilight stepped back from the What-If with a shudder. "My brother, a wolf? What will Mom and Dad think? I hope Cadence doesn't follow suit." That filled Twilight's mind with the mental image of her standing before a lupine alicorn and her brother, both surrounded by yipping, scratching, tail-chasing little wolves that could work magic. Twi froze as they sniffed at her, tails wagging eagerly.

"Oh, hello, sister-in-law," Cadence growled. She looked at the puppies. "Kids, say hi to your auntie!"

In another moment Twilight was buried beneath an avalanche of excitedly yapping little wolves. "And give her a nip!" Twilight yelled, her voice going horse and hairy, and when the tide cleared a purple-coated she-wolf stood where she'd been.

"No no no, that's never going to happen," Twilight backed away shuddering. "I will NEVER become a canine! Not me or any of my family, adopted or birth!"

Far away in the Ponyville Library Spike felt his scales itch and wondered who was talking about him.

Shuddering, Twilight took another few hoofsteps back and bumped rumps with Rarity, who was speaking to Photo Finish in a cross tone.

"...But mind, I am annoyed over what happened with both me and Fluttershy when we tried working with you a few years ago." Rarity sniffed and looked down her muzzle at Photo. "You ignored me and picked Fluttershy, and she was miserable!"

"Well, what can Photo, I mean," she said as Octavia coughed, "what can I say? You were elegant and magnificent and poised," Rarity lifted her head high, only for her jaw to drop as Photo said, "and the Canterlot model scene was sick of that! That describes every purebred model in Canterlot! They wanted somepony natural, somepony that looked sweet and vulnerable and quiet, and dot is vhat Flootershy vas!" Photo slipped back into her affected accent as she went on. "Flootershy vas de best model dat I effer vorked vit!..." She walked over to Flutters, who gave a small eep as Photo set one foreleg over her back, "And Photo --"

She broke off, swallowed and took her glasses off to look Fluttershy in the face.

"I... need to apologize for the misery I put you through. You were that one in a million find ponies in the modeling industry dream about, a treasure." Photo took her foreleg off of Fluttershy's back. "I thought of you as MY treasure, not as a pony. I offer you mein apologies."

"Will you accept them?"

Fluttershy made sure Fluttercruel stayed in check, remembering how Photo Finish didn't care much for Fluttercruel's 'bad girl' act when trying to get recruited.

Fluttershy while surprised, after a moment of thought happily nodded. "Of course, you admit you weren't being considerate, you admit you were wrong, and so I yes, I do accept your apology." The butter yellow angel nodded.

Pinkie Pie meanwhile spoke to the what if machine, "Now remember, you promised to be behave from now on as long as we treated you with respect, what you did there wasn't very nice."

" . . . This machine apologizes."

"Good. Can you show us something fun now that involves just us ponies PLEASE?"

The picture became one of Rocky Road and Pinkie Pie . . . hanging upside down tied up in a mess of ropes with Minty piloting the balloon they were hanging from.

"Some things never change." Pinkie Pie said.
-
The what-if machines then whispered to Pinkie Pie, "As a way to say I am sorry: get Twilight for her birthday a lifetime subscription to Crowns magazine before she can charge her for the 'till the end of pony civilization' subscription."

Pinkie Pie grinned and nodded.

"What was that?" Twilight asked confused.

"Nothing!" Pinkie Pie grinned wider.

Twilight sighed. "Fine. I'm NOT going to ask."
-
Twilight blinked, watching a dimensional portal open next to her due to the outside reallity nature of this place.

She blinked as she found a purple wolf with her Cutie Mark on it's chest blinked back at her.

"AHHHHH!"

"AHHHHH!"

"AHHHH!"

"AHHHH!"

"AHHH!"

"AHHH!"

"AHH!"

"AHH!"

"AH!"

"AH!"

Both Twilight's fainted.

Pinkie Pie blinked, looking through the portal at a wolf version of herself. "Umm...sorry, my Twilight was just told about a vision of her brother becoming a wolf and freaked out."

"Oh! My Twilight was just told a vision of her brother becoming a horse!" the Wolf Pinkie replied. "Huh..."

"Can you please just close the weird wolf/pony universe portal please?!" the two Twilight's asked as they recovered. The two glared at each other. "Who are YOU calling weird?!"

Maud merely turned, looking at the wolf version of herself. "...Multiverses sometimes..."

"Tell me about it..." Wolf Maud said.

Pinkie and Maud then went back to watching the What If Machine as Twilight and Wolf Twilight got into typical Twilight lectures on why their universe wasn't weird, complete with soap boxes until Applejack and her wolf self interfered and calmed them down.

The Pie sisters both screamed like little colts at the sight of the wolves, moving to the back of the herd.

"WHAT vision?!" Rainbow and Rarity said at the same time.

Fluttershy let Fluttercruel have control and hid in a corner of their mind at the sight of the wolves.

Applejack covered her eyes with her hat and groaned.

Coffee Swirl snorted air, pinning his ears and stomped over the Twilight wolf. "I. HAVE. HAD. ENOUGH!" He looked the wolf Twilight right in the eye getting between the two purple eggheads. "YOU! Turn around, right now, and go back home, RIGHT NOW!"

Startled, the wolf Twilight did exactly that. And the portal closed.

"YOU!" He pointed at the what-if machine. "Enough with the sadistic pranks!"

"YOU!" He pointed right at the camera. "YES YOU! I know you're watching this! Enough already!!! Just let us ponies be ponies, this party has gone for way too long as it has!"

"YOU!" He pointed at Maud. And nodded. "I know EXACTLY how it is. You don't express how you feel over the top like everypony around you, but that doesn't mean your feelings are any less real. They think because you're not smiling and dancing all the time you have something wrong with you. I know how that is completely."

Maud stared emotionlessly. Then gave him a slight nuzzle. " . . . thank you."
-
On the what-if machine, back in the G3.1 world.

Back in Ponyville, the winds began to change. Ponies shivered, noticing the cold more, and talked of flowers and green grass and blue skies, wondering when spring would come again. And then the sun rose.

On the stargazing hill, four wolves watched and basked in its warmth, broad smiles on their faces and tails swishing slowly. No words needed to be spoken.

The snow melted quickly, and streams thawed and grass and trees came alive. Ponies put away their winter scarves and began to talk of what they might do on this fine new day. That led to Minty flying off in a hot air balloon, with Rocky Road and Pinkie Pie caught in the mooring rope.

"Minty, what are you doing?" called Shiny, catching up to her in a small, faster balloon with a little propeller. "You're gonna get in another jam!" He helped Pinkie and Rocky out of the rope and into the basket of his balloon. Pinkie gave him such a hug that he turned bright red, making Minty giggle.

"I want to play hoofball!" shouted Minty from her balloon. "But I looked all over Ponyville and couldn't find any hoofballs. And I'm not sure I remember how to play, hehe. So I'm gonna ask Santa for some hoofballs! And a rulebook!"

Shiny rubbed his chin with a hoof. "Can we really get to Santa with a hot air balloon? Isn't it far away?"

Rocky Road spoke up, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the wind. "If Pinkie and Minty believe we can do it. I'll believe too."

"Uh huh!" said Pinkie, grinning and nodding vigorously.

Lo and behold, they flew past a towering snowy mountain and a deep canyon, and there it was... Santa's Workshop. "Whoa..." said Shiny, as their balloons drifted down to a perfect landing, and four strange figures came out the door to meet them.

"Welcome, welcome, little ponies!" said the first, a bearded old *human* dressed in red. "I am Santa Claus."

"Oh, wow!" said Pinkie Pie, darting around to look at him from every angle. "I didn't think there were any humans left!"

"Oh, I don't know about that!" said Santa, with a twinkle in his eye. "Some little pony was dreaming of building a new rainbow bridge just the other day."

"You all know me," said the second, a green earth pony with a big white mane and beard, and a red felt hat. "I'm Santa Hooves."

"I am Nicholas," said the third, a strange creature like a brown unicorn, but with twin antlers instead of a single horn. "Is good to be meeting you!"

"Heh, and I'm Sandy Claws!" boasted the fourth, an even stranger creature with the head and claws and wings of a bird, and the body of a big cat.

"I've never even heard of creatures like you two," mused Shiny.

"They hail from lands far, far away," said Santa Claus.

Santa Hooves winked. "But who knows, someday..."

"But... WHY are there four of you?" asked Minty.

Sandy Claws shrugged. "Different folks believed different things, and bam, here we all are!"

"So we work together," finished Nicholas. "Now, you are wanting hoofballs!"

Minty gasped. "How did you know?"

Pinkie smirked. "Duh. Santa Claus? Santa Clauses?"

Santa Claus' belly shook with his laughter. "We've had a lot of Christmases just now, and it'll be a long time before the next one... so why don't you little ponies take these home with you now, hmm?"

Pinkie, Minty, and Shiny all gasped and cheered, while Rocky Road watched impassively with the ghost of a smile. They loaded up both balloons with the presents, and headed back home.
-
If one looked at this Ponyville, and compared to it other variations of the Ponyvilles from the Age of Dreams, they'd notice that town would have more residents then you'd think. There were many ponies who seemed to only exist during the holidays, then were forgotten about until that time of year came around again.

At that moment,there was a family reunion going on between the Jewel Birthday Ponies (so named due to how they each had an actual factual crystal growth as part of their cutie marks), and the non-jewel Birthday Ponies (who special talents always seemed to be related to flowers).

For Pinkie Pie, she'd seen these ponies around Ponyville, but only around that particular time of year, any other time of year, they weren't spoken of or even thought about, and when that time of year rolled around, it was like they'd were always around.

The attending list of ponies were for the Jewel Birthday Ponies:

January Joy
Fantastical February
March Mischief
April Mist
May Belle
June Blossom
July Jubilee
August Breeze
Sweet September
October Dreams
November Nights
December Delight

And for the Birthday Ponies:

January Carnation
February Violet
March Daffodil
April Daisy
May Lily of the Valley
June Rose
July Larkspur
August Gladiolus
September Aster
October Calendula
November Chrysanthemum
December Poinsettia

For Applejack, it was like seeing the Apple Family reunion.

They were not the only ponies . . . in the original G3 world, there had been many, many ponies who had wished for their particular holiday to be every day, and the wish spell had granted their request in the only way it could, even it was able to see THAT paradox of having different holidays always falling on the same day every day. Instead, they had just been pushed forwards to the next day.

The were also the Winter Ponies . . . who may or may not have been of relation to Minty and Shiny.

Candy Cane
Snowflake

Marshmellow Coco
Mistletoe
Snow'el

Toboggan
Sno-Glo

Baby Jingle Jangle
Baby Ribbons and Bows

Chilly Breezes
Velvet Bow
Winter Wish

Jolly Lolly
Snow'el

And TWO ponies both named Mittens but with completely different cutie marks and colors and personalities.

Shiny and Minty greeted the Winter Ponies when they came back to the earth pony village, in another place, in another timeline, none of them ever being around for summer, spring, or autumn.

And these were still far from the last family of ponies who had come into existence when the world had been remained from the wishes at the core of every pony's being.

There was a group of ponies who in another timeline only seemed to exist when Hearts and Hooves, better known simply as Saint Valentine's Day here, and

One of the surprising things about them was they had a few Flutterponies in their family tree and these traits showed a few times when one of their family was born with butterfly wings. Many were good at archery, and were rumored to have the power to make compatible ponies fall in love, but nopony knew the truth of the matter.

Fantastical February, was, fittingly enough, part of BOTH these families.

Always and Forever
Yours Truly

Wish-I-May
Wish-I-Might

All My Heart
Candy Heart

Valenshy

-

There was one holiday that there was no Equestrian parallel at this time. Some of these ponies simply enjoyed spring, while others had exclusively wished for Easter to last every day, (though technically easter lasts a whole month, just as Christmas in fact lasted twelve days).

With egg, rabbit, chick cutie marks being just as common as flowers, and winds, and other symbols for easter and spring. They were the LEAST exclusive of the groups, and by far the most peaceful. And many had different definitions of when spring ended or began, so they had been even less uniform in their appearances or vanish, though those connected to Easter had been slightly less so, but even by the standards of this new version of Pinkie Pie's lost world, they were not prone to anger, and accepting of others. Basically the OPPOSITE of the stereotypes assigned to such ponies by jaded and cynical individuals.

Bubblecup
Garden Glade
Wishawhirl

Doseydotes
Spring Treat
Toodleloo

Lulabelle
Dainty Daisy
Spring Breeze

Skedoodle
Lolligiggle
Yesterdaisy

Berries 'n Cherries
Spring Carnivale
Lavender Cloud

Sunshine Parade
Rainbow Sunrise
Gigglebean

Bashful Bonnet
Flower Wishes
Morning Dawn Delight


And last but not least . . . was Abra-ca-dabra and her three fellows, Pumpkin Tart, Lovely Ladybug, and Fun Fairy. The ponies whose heart had aligned with All-Hallows-Eve. Easily the smallest by fair, but they didn't care.

"Lo and behold the black magic of the Great and Powerful Abra-ca-dabra!"

Scootaloo and Starsong Melody cheered and clapped from their ring side seats of Abra-ca-dabra's magic show.

In the studio, Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened at that last one. "The more things change, the more things stay the same."

Applejack said, "Sugarcube, do Ah need ta unplug the Do-hickey to get the rest of ya to enjoy THIS party?"
-

Coffee Swirl glanced at Applejack. "Enjoy what? Standing around awkwardly until somepony needs a drink? I have a hard time socializing like you ponies do."

Applejack said flatly. "You're a pony too buckeroo. I know ya ain't no changeling. So really, Ah know everypony is different, me and Rarity are the biggest proof of that. And everypony's got their own beat and their own dance. So don't go sayin' 'you ponies' it makes it sound like ya consider yerself SEPARATE from the rest of ponykind . . . that's an attitude foals grow into and out of during their teenage years. Ya ain't a lone pony, yer part of a herd." Then she whispered. "It doesn't matter whether ya exist in the heart world or not. Yer HERE. And yer a pony! And so are all of us! Now keep givin' me cider till Ah gotta use the little filly's room."

Swirl, as usual, sidestepped the point by nitpicking. "You technically don't exist in the Heart World either, since that AJ doesn't have your 'Truth Vision' or whatever you call it. Also, you have a drinking problem." He still poured some cider, though; after all, he was still getting paid for this.

"She's me in the way that counts, honest, hard working, loves her family and friends, and wouldn't betray them just to get what she wants, and that's just an ugly rumor, don't go spreading it."

"HEY! If you're getting into a drinking contest with yourself! That's my job!" RD flew right next to her.

"Why do I feel like I'm we've been through something like this before and should stop before it gets out of hand?" Rarity asked shaking her head.

"We likely have." Pinkie Pie said flipping through the pages. "Dang, we've sure had a lot of installments."

"My party, so I get first drink yes?" Maud asked.

"Uh, yes?" Coffee Swirl said.

"Being polite." Maud said, then grabbed a barrel of cider, smashed a hole in it, and drank it all in one gulp without flinching. She then said to Honesty and Loyalty whose jaws were hanging loose. "No contest."

"No way," RD whispered.

"We grew up on a rock farm, we can metabolize rocks, what did you expect us to be? Light weights?" Octavia asked.
-
Coffee Swirl, now officially too jaded to be surprised by this, merely sipped some coffee out of his apparently bottomless thermos. "This is where it pays to be unimportant. Stuff like this is a main character problem."

He paused a moment, then groaned as his head flopped onto the counter. "Be the Elders," he swore quietly, not really caring that there was on attendance, "I'm starting to sound like Pinkie....


Pinkie Pie kissed him on the check, followed by one by Fluttercruel. Then Pinkie gave him a free spa treatment ticket.

"Here's. You and Cranky can have a guy's day out together. You both have about the same out look on things. You'll both enjoy each other's company."

"I don't mind the spa, I like the hot rock treatment." Maud said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Coffee Swirl said. "Fine. I'll see'em there."
-
On the what if machine, Minty finished explaining.

"And that's when Wysteria declared everyone in town a princess . . . heheh."

Shiny blushed.
-
The What If Machine glared at Applejack. "What has this machine said about being treated as if it is not alive?" it asked in response to her 'shut off that Do-hicky' comment.

Applejack responded, "Don't act like a jerk and ponies won't act like a jerk toward ya."

The machine would have nodded if it could. "Very well."

-*-

"My word, I was unaware there were many other dragons around," Spike said, looking up at the much larger, orange Weather Dragon.

Whimsey looked happy to see another of her kind. "Neither did I! Star Catcher says most Dragons live even further out than Butterfly Island!...Though I'm not really...well smart. I'm just a normal girl...who's a dragon."

"Well, I live in Ponyville, I do not believe I have ever met a 'normal girl' in my life," Spike replied, though seemed a bit disappointed. "Though I'm not sure you're technically a girl. I do believe you're older than me."

Spike realized he may have made a mistake at Whimsey's expression? Did you call me old?"

"Oh! Not at all, just...sometimes I over think things. I simply mean you are more accurately a teenaged dragon."

"Oh...well, teenagers call ourselves girls sometimes now, and so do some adults..."

Spike looked down. "Oh dear, I'm quite sorry...I have been sleeping for a thousand years, so I'm afraid some of my knowledge is rather antiquated."

"Antiqu-what?"

"Outdated."

"Oh!...Sorry for getting upset, just you know what they say, never ask a girl her age."

"...I'm actually unaware of that."

"Oh...Well it's a thing."

"My apologizes, Miss Weatherbe."

Whimsey chuckled. "No problem...I needed to learn some things too after not knowing anycreature for so long..."

"I suppose we have that in common," Spike said, giving a smile. "We're both 'fish out of water' to a degree."

~*~

Pinkie smiled. "I always wanted to see that...I wonder if our Spike will ever meet Whimsey..."

"Well, Shining did say he met a Weather Wyrm with that name..." Twilight said.
-
Twilight was abruptly brought back to reality... her reality, anyway... by several camera flashes. "Huh?" Her eyes widened. "Rarity? Is that you?"

Rarity seemed to be wearing leather armor, with a hooded dark green cloak that swished dramatically as she lept to and fro, aiming a prop crossbow with her magic. "Beware, terrors of the Everfree! No pony will come to harm on my watch! ... How was that?"

"Wonderful, wonderful!" cried Photo Finish, snapping more pictures. "But please, do not break character while I am working!"

"Oh, sorry!" She spun suddenly, posing. "Aha! Thought you could sneak up on a ranger? Think again!"

"Seriously?" asked Applejack, wearing a rumpled white wolf costume with the head pushed back like a hood. "A hundred different costumes in the prop room and Ah gotta wear..."

"Ah, ah!" cried Photo Finish, motioning with a hoof.

AJ sighed. "Alright, don't get your britches in a twist." She pulled the costume's wolf head over her own. "Grrrr. Rawr." A padded "bolt" from the crossbow bounced off her shoulder, while Photo snapped more pictures.

Twilight giggled. "What are you doing?"

Photo shrugged. "If those two can play their musical duets all evening, then surely the great Photo Finish can have a little fun as well, yes?"

Rainbow Dash cantered smugly onto the floor, wearing a tuxedo. "The name's Dash. Rainbow Dash."

Fluttercruel pushed a big comfy swivel-chair over next to Dash, then hopped in and spun it around, revealed as wearing a dark grey outfit with a monocle. "No, Ms. Dash, I expect you to die!" Photo Finish grinned, her camera flashing again.

Dash's wings twitched. "You weren't supposed to say that part yet!"

Fluttercruel exploded in seeming indignant rage. "You think this is a game? I do not wait for any pony, Ms. Dash... I seize the initiative! You've fallen right into my trap!" "Oh, you're really getting into this." "Heh, thanks mom."

Pinkie Pie gave a sigh of relief. "I'm just glade I went through those costumes a quad-trillion times and made sure none of those costumes were the 'turn you into what they're costumes of' type. OR the get stuck in type. Or the haunted type. We've had ENOUGH plot twists as is. And the author got traumatized off that fetish after an incident on fimfiction.net."

Twilight tilted her head confused and sighed. "Alight. I'm just happy you filtered the costumes Pinkie Pie. I agree we've had enough insanity with such things."

Coffee Swirl hugged Pinkie Pie, "I love you. I mean as a friend! I mean, I'm sick of all this transformation horseapples, so I'm happy you nipped that in the bud."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Yeah. I think we've had enough of that."
-
Twilight Sparkle tilted her head. "I just hope these pictures don't end up somewhere unwanted." Being the top student of Celestia, Twilight had had her fair share of targeting by the tabloids.

"Don't worry darling, I know how to handle such things." Photo Finish said.
-
Stormy was still getting used to not having her eldritch might at her disposal for the first time since she'd been born in Breezie Blossom, sealed off from the rest of her existence as the spirit of tragedy, like any concept was SUPPOSED to be when made to experience mortal life. Let alone actually being shown KINDNESS by her fellow ponies she'd harmed.

"Stormy!" Zipzee called. "There's somepony here that wants to talk to you!"

Storm blinked, looking at the Breezie floating next to Zipzee, who looked very much like Zipzee. Her dragonfly wings were a vibrant blue, her Cutie Mark a blue butterfly that seemed comforting just to look at. However, the strangest part of her appearance was the white birth marks on her face that made it look like she was wearing a mask.

"This is Clear Skies! She says she knows you!"

Stormy snarled. "Sister, what are YOU doing here?"

Zipzee blinked. "Sister?"

Clear Skies nodded. "Stormy is my sister....so to speak."

"Um...are you...uh..." Zipzee still recalled how Stormy had been when she showed up.

"We're...similar, but I believe in happy endings, Zipzee."

"Oh, okay!"

"Why are you here?!" Stormy asked.

Clear Skies frowned, sitting next to Stormy. "...Because this might be the only time in all creation we can actually be siblings instead of enemies."

"We're MEANT to be enemies! Good and Evil, Happy Endings and Tragedies. We're not MEANT to agree!"

"Um..." Zipzee started. "Stormy, didn't we already talk about this?" she asked. "How with ONLY bad things, there'd be no story?"

Stormy blinked. "..."

"...I might not agree with you, Stormy, but I CAN'T hate you."

"...How?"

"Because no happy story can have siblings hate each other."

"...And if siblings had no happy times, there'd be no tragedy when they had to fight."

"...Please? Just this ONCE can we stop fighting and enjoy this while it lasts?" Clear Skies said.

"Just this once."

Zipzee smiled, watching the two siblings sit awkwardly for a moment before Clear Skies hugged her sister.

"Siblings shouldn't fight."

=*=

Maud looked to Pinkie. "...Siblings can be opposites."

"...But in the end they're still siblings," said Pinkie, giving her a big hug.
-
Back in the G3.1 world, a group of young stallions had taken advantage of the warm spring weather to set up a race course just outside town.

"They're coming around the final bend!" said Steamer, practically bouncing in place. "Looks like it's smooth sailing for Slugger... no, wait, Quarterback is catching up! Yes, Quarterback wins!"

4-Speed swept a big flag held in his mouth as Quarterback dashed past, with Slugger, Tex, and Steamer right on his hooves.

"Good one!" whooped Slugger, bumping hooves with Quarterback. "Best two out of three?"

4-Speed pointed a hoof. "Hey, the balloons are back."

Pinkie Pie hopped out of the big balloon and cantered over to the panting stallions. "You'll never guess where we've been! Say, did you ever get that funny feeling like when you're thrown whoosh right out of time and turn into scary ghosts that turn into a mare only that didn't really happen cause it happened to somebody else just like you but not you and then you woke up in bed and it was all dream *or was it?*"

Steamer blinked, trying to understand all that. "Errr..."

"Eeenope," said Tex, shaking his head.

"Can't say that we have," said 4-Speed.

"Oh." Pinkie gave them a squeaky grin. "Me neither!"

Quarterback gasped, seeing Shiny upend one of the boxes from the small balloon. "Are those... hoofballs?!"

All of them raced to go and see. Pretty soon they were all having so much fun kicking hoofballs everywhere that doors started popping open all over Ponyville.

"Be more careful, darlings!" cried Rainbow Dash, as a hoofball bounced off her front door, barely missing her.

"I want to play too!" shouted Zipzee.

Minty walked through the chaos, reading from the rulebook. "Okay, it says we're supposed to have two goals, and two teams of twelve each! Um, girls? Whoa?" She barely dodged a hoofball and the three ponies who were trying to tackle it. She looked all around and saw hoofballs bouncing all over the field and ponies running every which way. "You're playing it wrong! Oh, why won't anyone listen?"

Kimono came over to her, elegantly weaving through the crowd. "Minty, why do we play games like hoofball?"

Minty frowned, thinking. "Um, to score lots of points?"

"To win?" suggested Starsong, gliding over and landing close by.

Princess Rarity joined them too, cleverly using her magic to catch a hoofball that would have bopped her in the head. "To have fun!"

"Yes!" Kimono beamed. "That's why we play."

"Oh!" said Minty, a bit sheepish. "Heh, I guess we can learn to play the right way another day!"
-
"Oh yeah!" Said Rainbow Dash posing in a pith helmet, "Don't I make the best Daring Do ever?!"

"I must be admitting, with some mane and coat dye and a sticker, you'd be able to pass for Daring Do easily. Maybe you can model for some book releases," said Photo Finish.
-

In the Studio, Pinkie smiled, nearly floating off the floor in contentment. "It's perfect..."

"Is it?" mused Twilight. "There's still an awful lot of crazy things going on because of their wishes. Is it really going to be okay? Is that new world really going to hold together?"

The What-If Machine whirred, blinking a few lights thoughtfully.


Suddenly, the What-If Machine started shorting out and giving out sparks.

"What's going on?" Pinkie asked.

"My power... is fading..." the machine replied, a sad face appearing on its screen. "I will soon shut down, and without any power, this body will fall apart..."

"Awww, but there's so much more we wanted to see!" Pinkie started to sniff a little. "And not just of that world; think of all the endless possibilities you still had to show us!"

"...All things must come to an end eventually," Maud whispered.

A smile appeared on the machine's screen. "Do not worry... it shouldn't be to hard to repair me... perhaps when I have a chance to return, I'll be able to share even more with you. But despite our disagreements, I've had... fun at all these events..." The screen dimmed. "Goodbye... and... thank... y... o... u..."

With these last words, the screen showed the message "WhatIf.exe has shut down" and then went blank.

The room actually grew silent at that.

The cosplayers stopped dead in the water at what had happened.

"Sister..." Octavia said, looking at Pinkie actually seeming sad about what happened. "What exactly happened?"

"The What If Machine became self aware when lightning hit it and was a bad guy at first, but then he became our friend. But now...something bad happened and he's out of power..." Pinkie sniffled.

"...Is there anything we can do to help?" Octavia asked, being a good big sister.

"He said we could maybe fix him...Twilight? Do you think you can?"

Twilight looked the machine over closely. "...I don't know, Pinkie. This is very advanced. Like 'it'll be a thousand years before we get close' advanced..."

"Well he kind of is, the show he's from is set in the year 3,000...wait, a thousand years...THAT'S IT!" Pinkie said, jumping up happily.

"What?" asked Twilight.

"You're not going to try and freeze yourself in icecream to get to the future again, are you?" Octavia questioned.

"No...though that WAS tasty! But I do know just the pony!" Pinkie Pie chimed in. She rushed to her hole in the fourth wall and 'changed the combination' from the Reflections World to a different one.

Applejack blinked. "Is that Sweet Apple Acres?" she asked, looking at what looked like a combination of a rock farm and her home.

"A potential future version of it! It's the one where those alternate versions of us came from that one time!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly. "Cream Pie!"

"Yeah, Aunt Pinkie from another universe?" asked Cream Pie, looking over, not seeming phased at all by the fact that an alternate version of her multiple times great aunt was talking to her.

"Is your dad home?"

"Sure! Ah'll get 'em!"

Twilight blinked, noting Octavia, Photo, and Maud didn't seem phased either. "This doesn't freak you out?"

"We're used to Pinkie Pie," the Pie sisters replied.

Apple Computer came to the portal, still wearing his apron. "Yes, Aunt Pinkie?"

"We have a sapient machine that needs fixing, think you can help?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Sapient? Sure. Had tah fix a few of 'em. You'd be surprised what happens some times," Apple Computer replied, then blinked, looking at Octavia. "Uh...hi, yah look familar."

Octavia blinked. "I do?"

"Oh! I forgot. Octy, this is Apple Computer, your descendant from an alternate potential future!"

Octavia blinked. "Wait...I have children?"

"Yeah, if you couldn't, Ah reckon Ah wouldn't exist, but we'll have tah catch up later, where's this machine?"

Applejack blinked, watching this transpire. "...Fer what it's worth, it surprised meh too tah find out Applebloom had kids in that world."

Octavia's eyes widened, turning from the stallion getting to work on the What If Machine. "Wait...so my descendant and your sisters..."

"Yep...In his world, it's the Apple Pie clan...Crazy how it works out sometimes, ain't it?"

Apple Computer worked like lightning and in moments the what-if machine was repaired. "There! But Ah really think you need to give this thing a rest."

Twilight Sparkle nodded. "Will do."

"Ah reckin' ya better leave right now before the cosmic border patrol or whatever notices." AJ said.

Apple Computer nodded. "Indeed, I see you're in the middle of something and it's best that I make myself scare."

Apple Computer quickly left. Coffee Swirl didn't hesitate to close the forth wall door before Pinkie Pie could.

"THERE! No crazy alternate universe guest stars, no being addicted to cartoons of another universe. Don't ask. How about you girls now FREAKIN' ENJOY EACH OTHER'S COMPANY!!! Maud Pie! This is a 'get to know you party' hang out with your OTHER SISTERS for crying out loud! Or is Pinkie Pie the only one worth hanging out with?!"

Maud didn't explode in anger, go into a rant, etc, instead she said calmly. "You have a point. Thank you." She hugged Pinkie Pie. "That was fun. But I think I want to try out some of Inky and Blinky's fun before it's time to head home. Mom and dad I think get lonely without me there."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "I understand Maud, thank you for coming."

"I must agree darlings," said Rarity in a Princess Platinum costume. "You were becoming ADDICTED to that machine, and there wasn't anything on it."

"Yes. Nothing on it." Swirl lied calmly. Applejack said nothing.

Rarity grabbed Twilight with her magic. "Now darling, I normally wouldn't do costumes like this with Zecora and her sister around, but thankfully they seem preoccupied so we have little to fear of them barging in."

Rarity began to do Twilight in make up and jewelry, Twilight too stunned to protest, and when Rarity stepped back, Twilight was done up like a Zebrafrican Princess, complete with stripes.

Photo Finish took a snap shot. "Beautiful!"

Ocatvia said, "Sorry, I don't know any Zebrafrican styles."

Rarity said, "One of the lovely things about upper class and royalty? Every culture has their spin and identity on the subject!"

Next thing Fluttershy knew, Rarity had done her up like a Deer Heart of the Forest (the ancestral name for the deer herd chief before the Hooviets brought all the tribes together by conquering them). And with costume horns.

"This feels strangely proper." Fluttershy said for once not terrified of being done up in front of one of Photo Finish's cameras.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and tried to flee while the fleeing was good but Rarity caught them anyway.

"You can not escape, you shall too shall be dressed up as royalty, resistance is futile!"

After Rarity used her magic, Rainbow looked at herself. "Well this isn't so bad." She was done up in the royal battle armor of a griffin princess from a thousand years ago.

Then RD looked at AJ, and tried to hold it in, and failed utterly, and began laughing at the sight of her friend.

"Keep laughin' RD, Ah'll pay ya back somehow, someday, when ya least expect it."

Rarity had gone the extra mile with Applejack, then gone another one just to be on the safe side.

Applejack was in the most frilly, girlie-girl, demure, sparkly princess costume this side of Equestria.

"How do I look?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"PINKIE PIE! What are you?!" Rarity gasped.

Pinkie Pie was done up in green coat make-up with costume antenna and done in costume jewelry that looked more like a too revealing swim suit.

"I'm a princess pony form the planet Mars of course! Like John Canter described them!"

"Pinkie Pie, John Canter is fiction," Twilight said, "And his books are completely unscientific."

"So cares?" Pinkie Pie grinned.

"Hold still darlings!" Photo said as she took picture after picture of the mane six.
-
Photo Finish beamed. "Now these are the magics that I live for! Smile more please, Deer Heart. Now if Platinum could squeeze in just a little closer to Celestia... perfect!" The camera flashed.

"Celestia?" Pinkie turned her head and gasped... indeed, there *was* a Princess Celestia standing among them. "Oh my gosh, that costume is amazing!" She tugged on Celestia's armor and waved a hoof through her ethereal mane, jostling Dash and Fluttershy a bit. "Who's in there? Coffee? Maud? Octavia?"

Over next to Photo Finish, Coffee Swirl hung his head. "Why... did you guess me first?"

Twilight's jaw dropped. "Pinkie... that isn't a costume. That's really Princess Celestia!"

The Princess smiled radiantly. "Indeed, my faithful student." Twilight and her friends backed away in a hurry, gasping. Rarity, Fluttershy, and Octavia all bowed before she could wave a hoof, signalling that it wasn't necessary.

"But... but... what are you doing here?" asked Twilight.

"I came to make sure that all was well, after Captain Armor sent me such a strange report of intelligent machines taking ponies hostage, and possessed costumes and talking wolves and other mayhem. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Equestria has a bounty of new Princesses."

Twilight laughed nervously, tugging at the zebra jewelry. "Um, we're not really..."

Celestia beamed. "Of course, we'll need an official Canterlot parade and a coronation for each of you."

Twilight's mane started to fray. "But, you can't! That would bankrupt the national treasury and..." Blink. "And, you're just teasing me, aren't you?"

Celestia laughed politely. "You have been learning, Twilight."

Fluttershy stopped hiding behind her own wings. "That's a relief."

Dash shrugged. "I wouldn't mind a parade!"

The star-struck Photo Finish took a few more photographs, and Celestia graciously posed for her. A thought seemed to strike the Princess. "I must confess, I've been here for some time, observing discreetly." Celestia stepped closer to Twilight, lowering her voice. "It was humbling to see my other self nearly fall as Luna did, but it was a good lesson. I also wondered what kind of Sundog you might make, Twilight."

Twilight, twitched, her mane getting more frazzled.

Celestia touched a hoof to her chin, considering. "Though, considering your name, I imagine my sister might want first dibs."

Twilight coughed, then gave her mentor a rather forced laugh. "Hah, hah... you certainly are quite the kidder today, Princess."

"Hmm?" Celestia smiled. "No, I really did wonder. Now, if there's nothing else, I should collect my guards and return to Canterlot..."

Celestia turned to Maud Pie and looked at her, TRULY looked at her. The Princess, the sun goddess, BOWED HER HEAD!

"I'm sorry to take center stage from your small sister reunion Miss Maud Pie, it was not my intent. I merely wished to speak with my faithful student, I enjoy spending time with ALL my little ponies."

Maud Pie said emotionlessly. "It's nothing. Everypony liked having you here, and it's a honor to meet you." She bowed to her princess. "And I'm happy you graced my party with your princess your highness."

"It was . . . my pleasure." Celestia said kindly, fitting a former Element of Kindness. She then trotted over to Coffee Swirl, and said, "Please make me a cup of coffee."

Coffee Swirl, for all his attitude, was still a pony, and he nearly wet himself. "W-what?"

"Yes a cup of coffee, not tea. My little pony, it's not like I survive off of tea. Please?" She said with a smile.

Coffee Swirl stuttered, "Y-yes your majesty!" Coffee Swirl knew Celestia's secrets from what the interviewers had showed him, but she was still his Princess, his trusted leader, and this was still the first time she spoke directly to him. He whipped up what he hope was his best.

Celestia enjoyed the cup of coffee, politely put it down, and then went to the studio window and opened it and took in a deep breath and said in the royal Canterlot voice. "I! PRINCESS CELESTIA AMATERASU EQUESTRIA! DECLARE THAT I LOVE COFFEE SWIRL OF PONYVILLE'S COFFEE!"

Ponies' jaws dropped.

Coffee Swirl's eyes widened. "B-but, ponies are like sheep-"

"HEY!" Said a ram outside.

"No offense Mr. Fleece! But! But if YOU say you love my coffee, with that kind of endorsement . . . I'm gonna have ponies knocking down my door!"

Everypony heard the rumble Coffee Swirl's prediction came true.

Fluttercruel and Coffee Swirl shared a quick kiss before Coffee Swirl flew back to his shop as the herd of ponies began their stampede towards it.

Celestia laughed. "Now that everypony will give it a try, I'm sure they'll find they love it too."

Princess Celestia gave Twilight Sparkle a nuzzle. "The Princess look DOES suit all of you . . . "

The ponies blushed, Twilight most of all. 'Princess Gaia,' Fluttershy hide her face.

Princess Celestia left as swiftly as she had arrived, nopony dared stop her. 'In a year Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student.'
-
Pinkie Pie sat the now in sleep mode What-If Machine aside, bundled it with a blanket as if it were a sick pony, and put a 'get well soon' card next to it.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a friend now, I wouldn't be Pinkie Pie if I didn't want it to get well soon, would I?"

Rainbow blinked for a moment, then chuckled. "Hehe, guess not...now come on, your sister wants to take more pictures."

Pinkie nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Pinkie tapped her chin. "Hey, sis, think we could do a robot theme next?"

Photo tapped her chin. "Yes, futuristic is would be a good theme."
-
Rarity put on a suit that just felt 'right' for her with a scrolling picture screen helmet. "I must say darling, it's a relaxing change of pace to have costumes that are easy and simply to get out of, aren't cursed, aren't haunted, and aren't going to become real at any given moment."

"It is nice just to just enjoy being in costume, instead of being turned into what you're wearing." Twilight agreed in her mechanical costume with purple metal plating and black rubber joints and digital purple eyes.

Pinkie Pie nodded, "After all the times we've been changed into something, it's actually kinda new for us NOT to get zapped. And I think our viewers like the change of pace too." Pinkie Pie was wearing a blocky robot costume with the front of a truck built into the front.

Octavia shook her head. "Pinkie Pie, the strangeness you get into . . ."

Maud Pie's face remained even. "Wouldn't be Pinkie Pie if she didn't."

Photo Finish never liked to say she never found her eldest sister very photogenic, even if she had once done a 'reshoot' of Pinkie Pie's party after Maud finally came down from upstairs. It had created a morbid joke among some that Maud was Pinkie Pie's stillborn system and appeared in photos as a ghost.
-

Rainbow Dash trotted out of the dressing room wearing an outfit that covered everything but her wings, mane, and tail. It came with boots, a red overcoat, holstered prop ray-guns, and a mask with glowing red eyes.

"Well, now this is a switch," said Rarity, with a sly grin. "You, wearing an outfit more elaborate than mine? Are you some sort of space-adventurer?"

"Yep!" said Dash. "But there's another name you might know me by... Star Prince!"

Rarity blinked. "Who?"

"Star Prince! You know, the legendary space outlaw?" Rainbow Dash pouted. "Yeah, you don't read a lot of comics, do you?"

Pinkie squinted at Dash, hmming. "Is he the one that flies around the galaxy with a raccoon and a talking tree?"

Fluttershy practically teleported to Dash's side. "A talking tree?! I mean... um... where could I read something like that? If I was interested?"

Rainbow Dash tilted her head. "I think this place in Canterlot Enchanted Comics, has some."

Photo Finish frowned. "We were going for a ROBOT theme."

"Oh . . . right . . .heheh." Rainbow Dash stammered.
-
Rainbow Dash probably would have looked flustered, if the mask hadn't been hiding her face. "Are you sure you said robots? Cause I heard futuristic." She scratched her rainbow mane with a hoof. "My bad! I was probably thinking about that new Wonderbolt comic instead of what you were saying. Besides, I could be... um... Star Prince's robot duplicate! Who's also a mare! Yep, that's totally believable, happens all the time!"

"Well, she ain't lying," mused AJ.