Friends, Forgiveness, and Magic
Equestria Part Three: This Day Pinkamania
“Pinkie how could you? I thought you were reformed!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.
Pinkie Pie giggled. “Oh silly little Sunset! I never needed reforming! I’m the good guy here!”
Smog stared at her in disbelief. “You ambushed us and locked us inside a cage! How does this make you the good guy?!”
Pinkie’s smile shrunk a little bit. “Okay, I guess smashing you guys against the walls and ceiling was a little uncalled for. I’m sorry guys, I didn’t mean to get so violent back there.” Her smile grew again as she added, “I just got a little carried away because I’m so nervicited!”
“And you!” Nightmare Moon growled at the Applejack who had tricked them. “You’re the one behind this?!”
Applejack chuckled. “Ah sure am! Been planning this whole thing since the beginning. Shoot, Ah’ve been planning this since before Princess Twilight returned back in our world. See, everything Ah told ya was true. Except Ah was the one that this Applejack confused fir a changeling imposter.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” the Pinkie Pie in the cage interrupted. “Too many Applejacks and Pinkie Pies! We need some way to tell who is who!”
“No problem. The ones in the cage with us are Good Applejack and Good Pinkie and the ones outside are Evil Applejack and Evil Pinkie,” Smog said. “Sounds simple to me.”
The Applejack outside the cage frowned. “Things are a lot more complicated than that.”
“No, if you ask me they really aren’t,” Smog said as he glared at her.
“Ooh, I know!” the Pinkie in the cage said. “How about we call her Applejewel, cause that’s what Sunset called her and we can call the other me Pinkamania!”
Sunset stared at her. “Where did you hear that name?”
Pinkie opened her mouth to say something before she slowly closed it and stared at the ceiling. “Huh. How do I know that name?”
The Pinkie who was also Pinkamania giggled. “You can see it now, can’t you?”
“See what?” Pinkie asked.
Pinkamania just giggled again. “Don’t worry, I can see it too. I can even see them.”
The Applejack who was also Applejewel raised an eyebrow at her. “Right…well you folks stay here. Pinkie and Ah’ve got a ceremony to help out with.”
“STOP!” Nightmare shouted as they turned to leave. “Why are you doing this?! I demand answers!”
Applejewel snorted in disgust. “Too bad. Ah got nothing ta say to ya.”
“What? But you’ve got us all tied up! Isn’t this the part where you tell us your evil plan?” Pinkie asked.
“For the last time, we aren’t evil! Sweet Celestia, why would you think that?” Applejewel asked.
Pinkamania shrugged. “I know, right? I try to play some games with people and they always overact!”
“Don’t ya think we deserve to know the truth?” Applejack asked.
That made Applejewel freeze in her tracks. She sighed, and turned around to face them. “Yer right. You deserve the truth.” She smiled and asked them, “So how much do y’all know about alternate universes?”
“Well this one time we visited a world where King Sombra was good and Princess Celestia and Luna were bad but then we turned them good and that Sombra went bad except he still had a little good inside him and Princess Celestia was totally in love with him! And this one time Twilight and Spike went to one alternate universe where she turned into a human and he turned into a dog and they met a whole bunch of humans who looked like us except they weren’t ponies! And you were there too Sunset!” Pinkie explained very quickly and cheerfully.
Applejewel smirked. “Except she’s not the same Sunset Shimmer, are ya Sunny? And Nyxie ain’t the pony she claims to be either. Ain’t that right, Nightmare Moon?” Pinkie and Applejack gasped and stared at Nightmare. Applejewel chuckled. “Yeah, Ah know. In her world, Princess Nightmare is the leader of their version of the Elements of Harmony. Sounds crazy, don’t it? And things only get crazier from there. Pinkie?”
Pinkamania giggled and waved her hoof, regrowing her fingers. She snapped her fingers and created a small illusion of Ponyville, hovering in front of them. She snapped her fingers again and the Ponyville illusion began to split into two, then four, then six, then ten, and so on.
“So there you have it. Y’all know about worlds with humans, worlds with alicorns who are stallions instead of mares, and worlds where things are plain flipped upside down. Some universes are so different it’d be like comparing apples to castles...while some universes have so much in common ya could spend yer whole life searching for that one difference that made ALL the difference,” Applejewel explained. She smirked at Nightmare and said, “Ah knew the difference. Then Pinkie learned it. And if what she told me is right, you learned it during yer vision.”
Nightmare blinked. “How do you know about that?”
Applejewel chuckled. “Ah’m the Element of Honesty. Ah know truth better than anypony. And to know truth is ta know everything.”
“HEY! Applejack! Psst!” Pinkie said in a whisper that everyone could hear. “I think the other you is CRAZY!”
“Ah’m not convinced she’s me, but other than that yer right,” Applejack muttered.
Applejewel rolled her eyes. “Ya know what, why don’t Ah explain this in a way yer more familiar with?” She nodded to Pinkamania who snapped her fingers and made the Ponyville illusions disappear, before she conjured up one of Zecora’s vision potions. The potion swirled out of its container and filled the room. “Now this should look familiar to y’all.”
“My crown! She’s got my crown!” Twilight cried. “Stop! Thief!”
The others blinked in surprise as they saw Princess Twilight chasing down Sunset Shimmer, followed by Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and the younger Spike. “Hey! This is the night that Sunset stole Twilight’s crown!” present Pinkie said.
“For the last time, I never stole anyone’s crown!” Sunset cried.
“Not you, but another version of you,” Pinkamania pointed out cheerfully.
“She’s stolen my crown! Stop!” the past Twilight cried.
As the vision continued, Nightmare’s eyes widened. “This looks just like my vision. Except I was playing Twilight and I couldn’t see that it was Sunset.”
“What did you do to my crown?”
“Sorry it had to be this way…princess.” the past Sunset said to Twilight. The present Sunset shuddered a little as she saw how arrogant her counterpart was.
Applejewel chuckled. “Eeyup! Ah reckon that vision ya saw was the same thing we’re seeing now. But here’s where it gets interesting.” She pointed at the past Twilight as she fired her spell at the mirror. “In one Equestria, Twilight and the rest of us just sat and stared when Sunset vanished into the mirror. But in this Equestria, the one tiny detail that created this whole universe was that Twilight stood up and did something. But it wasn’t just this Equestria that Twilight helped create. See what do y’all think would happen when a super powerful alicorn like Twilight fires magic at a mirror designed to act as a portal between worlds?”
Smog gasped. “No way…are you saying your Princess Twilight…”
Applejewel smirked. “Eeyup. Twilight accidentally created a mirror universe. Your mirror universe at that.”
They watched as Twilight’s spell blasted a shard of glass off the mirror. The shard of glass flew out of an open window and faded away from sight, only for the vision to follow the piece of the mirror. Instead of the gardens outside the castle, the mirror fragment landed in an endless white void.
Pinkamania giggled. “Ya know, we’re a pretty lucky bunch of ponies! Not everyone gets the chance to see a Big Bang up close!” She laughed and waved her hooves as if she was on a rollercoaster ride as the mirror shard sent off a wave of energy, causing the earth, seas, and skies to form all around them. “We kinda sped up the vision there, but that’s basically what happened. And that’s how Everfree was made!” she announced cheerfully.
“Oh, I get it! The Twilight in this world helped create the world they come from. Neat! Are we going to hear about your cutie mark next?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, for some reason you don’t have one even though Evil Applejack does.”
“Ah ain’t evil, Pinkie. And Ah lost my cutie mark too. This one here’s a fake,” Applejewel said, pointing at the three apples on her flank. “A little bit of juice from a green crystal, and Ah was able to give myself my old cutie mark. Anyway let’s get back to the story. Now ya see, that piece of the mirror? It stuck around in mah world after it was created, but by the time Clover the Clever and company had their Hearth’s Warming Eve the mirror shard was long gone. The mirror shard even broke up into even tinier shards of glass before it was lost for thousands of years. After that, the rules of our little mirror world began ta kick off. All the villains and heroes in this world swapped places in ours. Nightmare Moon and Twilight, Sombra and Celestia, Discord and Pinkie, Trixie and Rarity, Rainbow and Gilda, the changeling queen and Fluttershy…even that rotten Diamond Tiara with sweet little Apple Bloom. And of course, Sunset with me.”
Sunset glared at her. “Excuse me? You think we switched places? I’m nothing like you!”
Applejewel smirked. “Ah wouldn’t say that sugarcube. Twilight and Nightmare may be the smartest mares in our groups but we’re the next best mares. We’re the second in command, the common sense of our groups. We’re loyal to our friends and passionate about our goals.”
Smog blinked in shock. “That…does sound like you, Sunset.”
“Sure sounds like Good Applejack too! She’s cool as cucumber. Or would that be cool as an apple?” Pinkie said.
Applejewel rolled her eyes. “Ya know, Ah’m interested in more than just apples. Ah mean, apples are my livelihood but Ah do think of stuff besides apples.”
“Oopsie daisy! Sorry, you can keep going now,” Pinkie giggled.
Applejewel shook her head and chuckled. “Thanks. So anyway, most folks in Everfree don’t know how our universe was made, course that shouldn’t come as a surprise. But because our world was split off from this world due ta Twilight’s actions, some of us figured a few things out. Twilight became powerful enough to know that there was something strange about our upside-down world but she never figured it out all the way.”
“My mom always said I’ve got a really special little brain and of course I have my Pinkie sense,” Pinkamania said. “When I got my chaos powers I learned a few more things too, but I still couldn’t figure it out ALL the way.”
“And that’s when we come back ta me. As the Element of Honesty, Ah was drawn to the truth. Ah reached the point in mah life where Ah was traveling off ta the Crystal Empire, whereas you’d be traveling ta Manehatten,” Applejewel said to Applejack. “But on my way there, Ah spotted something.”
The vision shifted to show a young filly Applejewel somewhere in a forest. She had the same cutie mark of three apples that Applejack had, and she was wearing a hat that was a bit big for her. Her eyes were glued to a tiny piece of the mirror shard, which was hanging out of a tree as if it was a piece of fruit. Still staring up at the mirror shard, filly Applejewel spun around and bucked the tree. The tree didn’t shake very much but the mirror fell out of the tree…and landed right in Applejewel’s left eye.
“OW!” Young Applejewel screamed as she clutched her eye. “Sweet Celestia! It fell in mah eye! Mah flying eye! Argh, Luna and Cadance right in mah apple bucking eye!”
Pinkie gasped as the filly Applejewel continued to scream. “Evil Applejack, such language! There are kids listening to this!” she said as she covered Smog’s ears with her hooves.
Applejewel raised an eyebrow. “How’d ya get untied so fast?”
Pinkie grinned. “Easy! I just wiggled around a bit.”
Pinkamania giggled and snapped her fingers, tying her counterpart up again. “Oh me! You’re so random!”
Young Applejewel finally opened her eyes and looked around while the older Applejewel explained. “Now as y’all can imagine, having glass in mah eye hurt worse than hay. But because the glass was magic, it didn’t actually damage mah eye. Instead the mirror shard sensed mah own instinctual desire for the truth and it began to show me glimpses into this world. It showed me that something was very wrong with mah world.”
She smirked at them as the vision began to shift. “The rest of mah past some of y’all might know ‘cause yer from Everfree. For those of you who don’t, lemme tell you catch y’all up. I traveled to the Crystal Empire and even made a few return trips there when Ah was a teenager. Ah became one of King Sombra’s students and got ta learning more about magic. During mah studies, Ah found even more tiny pieces of the mirror. Now that Ah had one shard stuck in mah eye, the rest of the shards were drawn to me. Shoot, some days it felt like Ah couldn’t even open a book without getting an eyeful of mirror.”
The other people watching the vision flinched as Young Applejewel did in fact open a book only for a piece of glass to fly out of it and land in her eye. “Gosh. Now Ah kinda feel sorry fir ya,” Applejack said, as the Young Applejewel screamed some more about apple bucking glass in her sky flying eye.
Applejewel smiled. “Aw, shucks. Thanks Applejack, but it didn’t hurt that much…okay it did, but Ah got used to it.”
“You got used to it?” Nightmare asked incredulously.
Applejewel smirked. “Sure. With every shard Ah collected, mah knowledge of Equestria and the truth behind Everfree grew. It was during mah studies when Ah knew that Ah couldn’t stand fir this anymore. Sombra on the throne, changelings and dragons flying all over the place, Discord having a bunch of troublemaking relatives, and all my friends turning bad? It was wrong. The world Ah was forced ta live in was a lie. And if no one else was gonna fix it then Ah would.”
She sighed as the vision shifted to show a younger Big Macintosh smiling at the younger Applejewel on the farm. Young Applejewel was staring at her blank flank, and she didn’t look happy about it. “Course, it wasn’t all easy. If Ah was gonna fix the world, it meant that Ah’d have to leave mah family behind. Of course, there are a small number of other Applejacks out in the multiverse who stayed in Manehatten instead of returning to the farm. Big Mac was so proud of me when Ah lost mah cutie mark, even though Ah hated myself fir at the time. But Ah couldn’t go back. Ah couldn’t live with the idea of mah friends as the bad guys and mah future sister as a bully. So Ah left fir Manehatten and then…Ah conquered it.”
Applejewel smirked and slipped back into the accent Sunset was more familiar with. “It wasn’t that hard to act like a true Manehattanite once again. After all, with my memories of Manehatten and Rarity, why I played the ladylike little filly perfectly. My performance was simply divine.”
Applejack’s eyes widened. “Shoot, yer city talk is good. Way better than mine.”
Applejewel winked and gave her a ladylike giggle. “Why thank you darling.” She smirked as the vision shifted some more, showing Young Applejewel talking with pony after pony. “In the big city, people are always searching for the next big thing and I knew how to win them over. Even when I didn’t, the mirror shards let me see things that nobody else could. I had the face of a cute little filly, the loyalty and dependability of an honest Apple, and the mind of a full-grown mare. By the time I was a young adult, I was playing the big city like a fiddle. I started up my own company, Apple Pie Incorporated, named after my family and my favourite cousin Pinkie Pie.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet! You hear that!” Pinkamania smiled and hugged Applejewel. “I’m still an Apple to the core!”
“Don’t forget the best fourth cousin twice removed ever!” Pinkie said as she wiggled out of her ropes again and hugged Applejack. Pinkamania giggled and snapped her fingers, retying her counterpart up.
“It wasn’t too long before they renamed the city after me due to all the hard work I had put into it. Of course there was one event that really helped in that area but that’s a story for another day. The point is that once Manehatten was renamed as the Big Apple, that’s when I really started to make my move. I used the power and resources at my disposal to find more pieces of the mirror shard and prepare myself for when I was ready to enter this world.” She smirked at Nightmare. “Remember that pony who stole your copy of The Elements of Forgiveness: A Reference Guide? That was Babs Seed.”
“Little Babs Seed? How’d she manage ta steal from Nightmare Moon of all ponies?” Applejack asked.
Sunset’s eyes widened. “Of course. You of all people would have the money and resources to get those rare crystals. They disguised Babs and stopped us from firing magic directly at her.”
“Eeyup!” Applejewel said, switching accents again. “She was actually part of a test. Ah used those same crystals plus yer own research to mix up mah own blend of magic protection. It’s why y’all couldn’t land a single spell on me. As a bonus, it turned out yer copy of the reference guide had another piece of the mirror shard. The last piece. Once it flew into my eye and joined up with the rest of the shard, Ah knew it was only a matter of time before the portal could finally open up and bring me back home. I just had to wait fir Nightmare to be crowned a princess. Just like Twilight, right before Sunset Shimmer came and stole her crown.”
“So lemme get this straight…ya got magic mirror glass stuck in yer eye that made ya see stuff. So yer plan was ta put more magic glass in yer eye?” Applejack asked. “Yeah, yer insane.”
Applejewel smirked. “Careful now. You’re the one talking to yourself.”
Applejack ignored her, and turned to face Pinkamania. “What about you?”
Pinkamania smiled. “For me, it was different. My powers and my Pinkie sense couldn’t tell me what was going on. For years, I struggled to remember the names and faces of the ponies and dragon who mattered more to me than anyone. But I discovered that there was one thing that could help me remember my past life: the magic of friendship. The first time I met my version of Twilight, I asked for her name. I did the same with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy and finally Applejack.”
Applejewel nodded. “Pinkie’s plan was coming together and everything was all set in place fir mah plan. Ah just had one thing to check before Ah left. Now Ah sent lots of money to Sweet Apple Acres to give mah family the rich lifestyle they deserve and in return Big Macintosh tells me everything that happens on the farm while still keeping things between us a secret. Ah didn’t want Big Mac or Apple Bloom ta know about the dangerous game Ah was playing.”
“Until Ah learned that Apple Bloom already knew.” The vision swirled again and focused on Applejewel and Apple Bloom, on the day of Princess Nightmare’s coronation.
“Come now Apple Bloom. It’s time to take the mask off,” Past Applejewel said.
“Hey!” The Apple Bloom in the vision cried as Applejewel snatched her sunglasses off. She quickly shielded her eyes. “Don’t look!”
“I’m sorry Apple Bloom, but we have to,” Past Applejewel said.
Apple Bloom opened her eyes and stared up at Applejewel. As she did so, the other ponies got a good look of what was wrong with Apple Bloom’s right eye. Her sclera had turned dark red, her orange iris was glowing bright green, and dotted around her eye there were tiny specks of broken magic mirror glass.
Applejack gulped at the sight of it. “Sweet Celestia, that’s horrible. Poor Apple Bloom.”
But as bad as Apple Bloom’s eye was, it was nothing compared to Applejewel’s left eye. Past Applejewel removed her golden mask, giving them all a good look at her eye. “AAAHHH! Evil! EVIL,” Apple Bloom screamed.
Nightmare, Sunset, Smog, Applejack, and Pinkie had to agree with her. Applejewel’s eye looked like a cross between a broken mirror and a demon’s heart. Her sclera was blood red, with black veins shooting all over her eye like cracks in a mirror. Unlike her normal eye which had a green iris, her corrupted eye had a glowing blue iris. Most notable was the large mirror shard sticking out of her eye for all to see.
“Ah think Ah’m going ta be sick,” Applejack whimpered, staring in horror at her counterpart’s eye.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Pinkie whimpered.
“Is…is it throbbing? Maybe I’m going crazy but it looks like it’s pulsating,” Sunset said, her face looking a little green too.
Past Applejewel smiled. “Oh, it’s not that bad, sugarcube. Come on Apple Bloom. It’s time to look the truth in the eye.” She raised an eyebrow as she stared at her sister. “Speaking of which, you look like you have a little something in your eye too.”
“Mah eye? Applejack, you’ve got a huge hunk of glass in yer eye!” Apple Bloom shouted.
Past Applejewel shrugged. “I know. Honestly I can’t even feel it.” She frowned at her sister. “Speaking of which, there’s only reason why your eye would be like that. How much do you know about Ponyville, Apple Bloom?”
Apple Bloom flinched before she sighed and looked down at the ground. “Not everything but a pretty big bit of it.”
Past Applejewel smiled and switched accents. “Good. Ah can talk normal like to ya then. So when’d ya start figuring stuff out?”
Apple Bloom sighed. “If ya can believe it, Ah got a tiny piece of glass stuck in mah eye the same day Ah lost mah cutie mark. Ah felt it go in, but it was so tiny that it didn’t hurt much. Ah went around bragging ta ponies about how Ah lost mah mark. Ah dunno, at the time Ah felt like Ah’d really accomplished something but now Ah really wish Ah could remember what mah mark looked like.”
Past Applejewel sighed. “Not everyone remembers what their cutie mark looked like. Makes sense that you’d be one of them, even if it is unfair to ya.”
“After that Ah got kidnapped by Spike along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon,” Apple Bloom said. “In Spike’s hoard Ah found another tiny piece of glass that went flying in mah eye. The last big piece Ah can remember was when Ah borrowed The Elements of Forgiveness: A Reference Guide from Nightmare’s library. Ah gave it back ta her and ever since then mah eye’s been hurting something fierce and Ah’ve been getting glimpses of Ponyville.”
Past Applejewel sighed sadly. “That about lines everything up. Oh, come here sugarcube.” She pulled Apple Bloom into a gentle hug. “It’s okay AB. It’s okay. Ah’m gonna make it all go away.”
Apple Bloom frowned and pushed herself out of the hug. “What do ya mean you’ll make it go away?”
Past Applejewel smiled. “It’s almost time Apple Bloom. Ah’ve lined up everything getting ready for this moment. In just a little bit, Ah’m going to take Nightmare Moon’s fancy crown and toss it somewhere she’ll never find it. Then Ah’m going back home to Ponyville where everything is as it should be. Ah’ll go talk to Princess Celestia and convince her how rotten this place is.” She smirked coldly. “Then Ah’ll watch as she and mah friends kick this whole world upside-down.”
Apple Bloom gasped. “Why would you do that? Sis, Ah know things can be a little crazy in Peaceville but…they’re not the same! It ain’t the same evil Nightmare Moon, or Discord, or changelings or anything. They’re really nice! They ain’t hurting anybody!”
“What about our friends?” Past Applejewel growled. “Am Ah supposed ta forget about how much Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity have suffered? What about you?”
“W-what about me?”
“Apple Bloom don’t ya dare lie ta me! You’ve switched roles too! Ah know yer the spoiled little rich girl at school instead of that rotten Diamond Tiara.”
Apple Bloom frowned. “Fine. Maybe Ah did act a little like a bully once. But Ah’ve long since learned from that mistake. Just ‘cause Ah switched places with her, it don’t mean Ah gotta act like the old Diamond Tiara. And the Diamond Ah know now is a really nice filly! Dagnabbit Applejack, Ah’m happy with how mah life’s going! It ain’t perfect but Ah’m happy and Ah can live with a little weirdness.”
Past Applejewel glared at her for a moment before she sighed. “Alright Apple Bloom. If that’s the way ya feel. Excuse me fir a second.” She turned around and picked up her hat, reaching into it and pulling out a black crystal. She then rushed forward and smashed the crystal into her sister’s face, causing the crystal to release a black cloud. Apple Bloom gasped and coughed for a few seconds before the magic in the crystal knocked her out unconscious. Past Applejewel caught her sister and gently lowered her to the ground. “Ah’m sorry about this AB…but you’ll thank me when this is all over.”
As Past Applejewel carried her away, Applejack scowled at the present Applejewel. “How could you? Yer own sister!”
Applejewel sighed. “Sugarcube, that crystal didn’t hurt her it just gave her a little naptime. Trust me, she’s fine. If ya don’t believe me, ask Sunset. She’s the crystal expert.” The vision shifted again and Applejewel continued. “After that, Ah was focused back on the task at hoof. Ah snuck into Nightmare’s room and swiped her Element of Power, using another crystal to increase mah magic so that Ah could create a sorta magic cushion on mah hooves so that she couldn’t hear me come in. Actually Ah’d planned to grab the Element of Knowledge too since Ah reckoned it was mine, being the mirror for mah Element and all. But as Ah was sneaking around the castle, Ah bumped into Pinkie.”
The vision shifted one last time. Past Applejack crept through the Crystal Castle, wearing a black cloak. A few crystals and the Element of Power could be seen sticking out of one of the bags. As she continued sneaking down the halls, one of the doors opened and Past Pinkamania floated out of her bedroom. “Hi there!”
Past Applejewel jumped back in fright, but managed to cover her mouth with a hoof to stop herself from screaming.
“Nice night out, isn’t it? I just felt my Pinkie sense go off and boy was it a doozy! Next thing I know, you’re walking past my bedroom, secret agent ninja style!” She floated over and pulled the cloak off Past Applejewel. “So who…are…oh my gosh.”
“Pinkie?” Past Applejewel said, feeling a little creeped out by the huge grin growing on the chaotic mare’s face.
“Tell me your name. Tell me your real name right now,” Past Pinkamania demanded, her whole body shaking with excitement.
“Mah name is Applejack,” Past Applejewel answered, her eyes filled with courage and defiance.
“Applejack…” Past Pinkamania said, rolling the name around on her tongue. “…Celestia. Luna. Spike. Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Fluttershy. Applejack.”
As Past Pinkamania spoke the last name, her eyes began to glow. A shockwave of magical energy exploded out from her eyes as her smile stretched farther than ever.
CRASH!
Smog gasped. “That’s it! That’s the crash I heard!”
“You’re right! What was that?!” Sunset asked.
Past Applejewel grimaced as she clutched her ears. “What in tarnation was that?!”
“The sound of the illusion breaking,” Past Pinkamania announced as she gave her a big hug. “Oh Applejack…I remember everything now!”
“Ya…you do?” Past Applejewel smiled. “Oh Pinkie, Ah’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too!” She set her friend down and grinned. “Come on! Forget about the Element of Knowledge and let’s go!” She snapped her fingers and teleported both of them to the secret mirror chamber. As soon as they arrived the portal to Equestria began to glow, the mirror’s glass waving and wobbling. The shard of glass in Applejewel’s eye began to glow with it. “The portal’s open. It’s finally open!” She pushed Past Applejewel toward it. “Come on Applejack! This is what we’ve been waiting for!”
“What? Wait a minute Pinkie, what about Nightmare Moon and the others? Ah’ll need time to talk to Princess Celestia and to warn her about them.”
Past Pinkamania giggled. “If it means that much to you, I’ll come with you! As long as I don’t stay too long in Equestria to start with, I should be albe to avoid Discord’s magic sensing powers and then I’ll come back here to throw them all off our tracks. I can even disguise myself as you!” To demonstrate she snapped her fingers and turned herself into Applejewel, including the fancy dress, hat, and bandage covering her eye. “Don’t worry, your Auntie Applejewel has got it all taken care of,” the disguised Pinkamania said.
“Wait Pinkie, what if-”
“I can’t wait anymore!” Past Pinkamania squeed. She grabbed Past Applejewel and jumped into the mirror, laughing all the way as the portal carried them to Twilight’s castle in Ponyville. As they jumped through the mirror, the large piece of glass floated out of Applejewel’s eye and clicked back into place on the mirror
Past Applejewel groaned and slowly stood back up. As she stood up, she caught her reflection in the crystal mirror and gasped. “M-mah eye. It’s…normal. There ain’t any glass in it. No glowing iris or blood red sclera!”
Past Pinkamania floated into the air with a giggle. “I always called it the white in your eye. Although calling it sclera would be more right since your eyes might not even have white in them and I’m sorry if I’m babbling but we’re here, we’re here, we’re here! We’re finally back home! Yippee!” she cheered as she zipped around the room.
“Pinkie, not so loud,” Past Applejewel hissed. “It’s nighttime, ya might wake up somebody.”
Past Pinkamania gasped. “You’re right AJ, time is really important here. Hold on to your hat!” She grinned and snapped her fingers, teleporting the two of them away with a flash of light.
Past Applejewel gasped as they appeared before a large crystal tree. “The Tree of Harmony? What are we doing here?”
Past Pinkamania floated up to the tree and pointed a glowing hoof at it. “You know, I’m curious…I know what the Tree does here but what does the Cave of Forgiveness do?”
“Oh, that’s easy sugarcube. Lemme just check mah…” Past Applejewel trailed off as she realized something. “The mirror shard ain’t there anymore. Ah can’t see the truth of things anymore.” Noticing that Pinkamania was still focused on the tree, she shrugged. “Mah guess is that the Cave is linked to the Tree. Everfree was split off of Equestria and it seems the cave knows that. Ah never got a good glimpse of the statue before, but doesn’t it have a bunch of statues of ponies? Maybe that’s us and our friends?”
Past Pinkamania giggled. “Maybe. I dunno. What I do know is that I FINALLY have what I’ve been looking for…” Six coloured jewels floated from the Tree and slowly spun in a circle around her hoof.
Past Applejewel gasped. “The Elements of Harmony. A…Ah never thought Ah’d get ta use them! Ah only planned on getting Princess Celestia, Twilight, and the others to come fix Everfree. But this…”
Past Pinkamania frowned. “I can’t get to their magic. They’re actually stronger than me. If we want to use these, we need to build a connection between us and the Elements.”
“A connection? How do we do that?” Past Applejewel asked.
Past Pinkamania stared at her, a spark of something glowing dangerously in her eyes. “Our friends, of course. Friendship is magic. All we need to do is make a connection with them and we’ll be connected to the Elements.”
Past Applejewel slowly grinned. “Ah think Ah know how we can do that.”
Past Pinkamania dropped the Elements of Harmony in front of Applejewel and floated away. “Well then, I’ll leave the rest in your dependable hooves Applejack! I gotta fly outta here before Discord senses something wrong. You get everything ready but don’t start the party without me! See you on the other side, silly filly!” With a final flash of light, the vision ended.
“And there you have it. Ah was telling the truth when Ah said Ah ran into myself. She even smacked me over the head with a shovel,” Applejewel chuckled as she pointed at Applejack. “But with all the crystals Ah’ve used, Ah’m a bit tougher than Ah used ta be. Even if Ah hadn’t, Ah’ve always been a hard-headed and stubborn little pony. Ah tried to get Applejack here, mah own other self ta see reason, but in the end Ah had to switch places with her. Once Ah got a bit of time from doing the chores here on the farm…” She paused and smiled. “Oh, it felt right to be doing them again…anyway, after that Ah started set things in place fir the museum opening. Once all six of us are on that stage together, we’ll be connected to the Elements of Harmony. Maybe even that new Rainbow Power.” She smirked at Nightmare and Sunset. “Once we get that, we’re coming over ta your world and setting things right once and for all.”
Nightmare growled at Applejewel and Pinkamania. “You’re insane. You’re both completely insane.”
“Okay, you’ve explained just about everything else. But why? Why are you doing this?” Smog asked. “We haven’t done anything evil! Why do you hate our world so much?”
“Because it’s a lie,” Applejewel growled. “It’s all lies! Mah friends have never been the bad guys, it’s you.” She pushed her face up against the cage, glaring at Nightmare. “What Ah’d like ta know is why you’re acting this way? Ah know how yer universe works Nightmare Moon. Yer supposed to be the same as the Nightmare Moon in our world, except that you’ve got a whole heaping helping of niceness and politeness dumped onto you. But the real Nightmare Moon is buried underneath. So why would an arrogant, vicious, maniacal mare like yourself ever pretend to be a hero?”
“You’re as crazy as Pinkamania if you think I’m the bad guy here,” Nightmare told her, glaring at her defiantly.
“Don’t worry, I got her,” Pinkamania said. She snapped her fingers and teleported Nightmare out of the cage and into her clutches. But before Nightmare could fight back, Pinkamania pressed her hooves onto Nightmare’s chest. The disguised alicorn screamed in pain as she felt Pinkamania’s power burning into her, her stomach feeling as if poison had been poured into it. “She asked you a question Nightie. Why would you ever think you were the hero?”
“Because I won!”
Sunset, Smog, Applejack, Pinkie, and even Nightmare herself were all shocked at the words coming out of her own mouth. “I may not have eternal night or the throne of Equestria. But I have everything I’ve ever wanted! I’m a princess of Everfree! The mighty alicorn of the night! I have power and I have friends! I’m not even possessing her and yet I have more control over Luna than ever before! I have all the power, love, respect and admiration that I’ve ever wanted!” The demon possessing Nightmare grinned evilly at Pinkamania. “Can you say the same thing, you pitiful foal?”
Pinkamania grinned evilly right back at her. “I will soon enough.” She let go of Nightmare and teleported her back into the cage.
Poor Nightmare felt like she was going to be sick as she coughed and coughed before she managed to fully regain control of herself. “What’d…what did you do to me?”
“Pinkie just let out what was already in there,” Applejewel said. She smirked at Nightmare coldly. “What was it that yer pal Discord said? ‘When all the truth does is make your heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take.’ Well your whole life is nothing but a lie.”
“Yer lying,” Applejack muttered.
Applejewel angrily spun around to face her counterpart. “The hay did you just say?!”
“Ah said yer lying! That wasn’t the real Nightmare, Evil Pinkie over there just used her weird powers to make her say what she wanted ta hear!” Applejack declared. “Ah may have just met her but Ah know that this Nightmare Moon is a much kinder and honest pony than you are!”
“Applejack is right!” Pinkie declared. “I don’t need to know her whole life story to know that this Nightmare Moon is a nice pony and way nicer than you two big meanies!”
Applejewel growled. “You little…”
“Applejack, stop.” Pinkamania patted Applejewel on the shoulder and smiled calmly. “They don’t mean that. They’ve just had a confusing day. Why are we still here when we could be with our friends?”
Applejewel smiled. “Yer right Pinkie. We got a ceremony to help put on.” She walked towards the door, her head held high with overwhelming confidence. “Ya coming Pinkie?”
Pinkamania giggled. “I’ll catch up.” She cheerfully waved as Applejewel shut the door behind her.
“Oh, what now? Are we gonna hear your evil gloating?” Smog asked.
Pinkamania giggled. “It’s not really evil gloating if I’m not evil, now is it? Applejack didn’t want to explain things to Nightmare and Sunset, but it seemed fair enough to tell our other selves what was going on. As for me, I’m just returning a favor I owe you.”
“What?” Nightmare asked as Pinkamania unexpectedly smiled warmly at her.
“You know…my parents were nothing like your parents,” Pinkamania said, smiling at her counterpart. “You always got everyone to smile for you. People trust you, they love you. I tried to the same thing that you did Pinkie, but I failed miserably. I was convinced that the world I lived in was evil and that I needed to fix it.” She smiled at Nightmare again. “But then you tried to befriend me. I know you never actually wanted to be my friend but you made the attempt so that you could reform me.”
“Pinkie…we truly wanted you to be our friend,” Sunset said. “If you just let us go-”
Pinkamania smiled sadly. “You don’t have to pretend for me. It would have never worked out between us. But you showed me things. You helped me reawaken Maud, the one pony who always believed in me. I told her that I could see glimpses into another world. A better world, where our parents loved us and we had friends. She knew I hadn’t figured out the whole plan yet but she never gave up on me. And I’ve seen all the other things in your world Nightie! I’ve seen nice Diamond and Silver, I’ve seen Polaris and the grown up Cake twins, I saw Rainbow with her friend Gilda, and I’ve seen lots of people become friends with people I’d never thought they’d be friends with!”
“So then…why are you helping Applejewel attack our world?” Nightmare asked.
“Oh, it won’t be your world I’m fixing,” Pinkamania said.
“Ah don’t like the sound of that…” Applejack muttered.
“Pinkie, stop! Whatever it is you’re planning, you don’t have to do this!” Sunset cried.
Pinkamania giggled. “But I want to. Come on guys, don’t look so sad. It’ll be fun!”
“Dagnabbit, Pinkie! Can’t ya act serious for one moment of yer life!” Applejack shouted.
Pinkamania frowned. “You want me to be serious? Fine. Let’s get serious.” She conjured up a hairbrush in her hoof and brushed her mane and tail until they were both straight and hanging limply. She smiled at them and said, “I think Pinkie here will agree with me when I say that there are three things I’m always serious about. Number one is parties. Sure, we may act silly but that’s just so everyone can have fun. That’s why I always make sure that nobody party poops on a Pinkie Pie party.”
Pinkie smiled nervously. “Um…yeah, I agree with you. But…why are you smiling like that? That’s not a nice smile.”
“Number two is a Pinkie Promise. Nobody breaks a Pinkie Promise. You of all people should know that Applejack,” Pinkamania said with a smile.
Applejack shuddered. “Yeah…I know.”
“Number three…” She zoomed over to the cage and pressed her face against the bars, her eyes glowing red and her mane on fire. “NOBODY HURTS MY FRIENDS AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!”
The ponies and dragon jumped back in fright, even as Pinkamania went back to smiling cheerfully, her eyes and mane normal.
“You see…this world isn’t the only Equestria I’ve gotten glimpses of. I’ve seen worlds where all my friends just like how I always imagined them. I’ve heard ponies tell all sorts of stories about our adventures and our friendship! Even in universes where we’re fictional. In fact, right now there’s a group of people out there watching us. They’re reading a story and they think that’s it’s just a story,” she giggled.
Pinkamania floated up to one of the windows in the barn and pressed her face and hooves against the glass, smiling directly at you.
“That’s right. I seeeee you.”
Pinkamania giggled and floated away from the window. “That’s not all. I’ve seen versions of our world that are filled with such joy…and versions of our world filled with such despair.” Pinkamania’s eyes began to glow as she stared off into space. “I’ve seen worlds with a cold-hearted Nightmare Moon, a greedy Chrysalis, a cruel Diamond Tiara, and a sadistic Discord. I’ve even seen worlds with evil versions of Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Celestia…even me. I’ve seen worlds where they win and where they make everyone around them miserable. So I’m going to bring joy back to those worlds! I’m going to erase the evil from every Equestria!”
“Oh…neat!” Pinkie smiled. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“What just a minute…what do you mean erase?” Sunset asked.
Pinkamania giggled. “Simple.” She snapped her fingers and created an illusion of Discord. She snapped her fingers again and gleefully watched as the Discord illusion screamed and turned to stone. She snapped her fingers a third time, conjuring up a large hammer in her grip. She swung the hammer and smashed the statue, reducing it to rubble.
The other ponies and dragon gasped in horror as Pinkamania looked up with a smile. “Or something like that. I can always change my mind when I meet them.”
“If you hurt Discord, I will make you suffer,” Nightmare growled.
“You can’t hurt Discord!” Pinkie cried. “He’s our friend!”
“No, this Discord is friendly. There are other worlds where he never reformed and where he hurt our friends.” Pinkamania frowned. “He deserves what I’m going to do to him.” She snapped her fingers again, creating illusions of Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, Queen Celestia, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, and several others. “What I’ll do to all of them.”
“You can’t do this! I won’t let you!” Pinkie cried, tearing falling out of her eyes.
Pinkamania giggled. “Oh, my poor little me. I’ve kept you all trapped like that for too long, haven’t I?” She snapped her fingers, causing the rope and cage to disappear. Instead, giant glass bottles trapped the ponies and dragon in their own individual glass prison. She even teleported the Element of Power back onto Nightmare’s head. “Here’s the deal Princess Nightmare. You can all break these glass bottles easily but since you’re the one with alicorn strength I know that you’ll break it first. When you get out, you can take Sunset and Smog and go home. Go back to Twilight’s castle, back through the mirror, and back to Everfree. You can forget all about me and live your life with your friends and family. I give you this gift as a sign that I truly am sorry that we couldn’t be friends. Or…you can try to stop me from erasing all my enemies. But if you do that, then no more Mrs. Nice Pie. Understand?”
“I understand perfectly,” Nightmare growled as she smashed her hooves against the glass. “And we WILL stop you!”
Pinkamania giggled. “You can try. Oh, and one last thing before I forget. I finished my song!”
She snapped her fingers, causing a rainbow coloured ball of light to appear. The ball of light began to play a haunting theme as Pinkamania softly sang:
“This day is going to be perfect
The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small.
All my friends will gather round
To say I look lovely in my gown.
What they don’t know is that I have fooled you all!”
Pinkamania snapped her fingers again, creating an illusion of her filly self, dancing about and trying to make other ponies smile.
“My childhood was meant to be perfect
I’d throw parties for every creature big and small
But instead of having cake
With all my friends to celebrate
I never had a friend who cared for me at all…”
The Pinkamania in the illusion began to cry as everyone turned away from here. Slowly her tears of sorrow turned into flames of fury as she glared up at the world with glowing red eyes.
“Pinkie, think about what you’re doing!” Smog cried. “What about King Sombra? What about Chrysalis or your friends back home? You promised us that you were good now!”
Pinkamania just chuckled darkly as she conjured up illusions of King Sombra and Chrysalis…before she kicked them both into clouds of mist.
“I care not a thing about your king
I won’t be seen with your changeling queen
Your promise? Well I was lying when I said…”
Pinkamania snapped her fingers and made cotton candy clouds with chocolate rain swirl about the barn.
“That through any kind of weather
I’d want us to be together
The truth is I planned this from the start!”
“Pinkie, please don’t do this!” Applejack begged. “Just forget this whole thing and-”
Pinkamania glared at her and conjured up more illusions, this time of Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, and Rainbow Dash.
“No my life I won’t forget!
My dreams, my friends, and all of my regrets.”
The others stared in shock as Pinkamania hugged the illusions of her friends before she kissed the Rainbow illusion. Applejack and Pinkie shook their heads in disbelief. Pinkamania grinned and conjured illusions of the Elements of Harmony, placing the Element of Laughter around her neck.
“But now at last the Elements will be all mine!”
Pinkamania then faced Nightmare and smirked.
“You can’t escape before it’s too late
But don’t worry we’ll have a blast.
Your friends? Oh I’m so happy that you asked!”
Images of changelings appeared all around them. One by one, the changelings grew wide eyes and creepy grins.
“I don’t fear the monsters I’ll knock down
As smiles replace all their frowns
Now they face judgment for their crimes at last!”
Pinkamania grinned evilly at the images of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, and Tirek that appeared.
“Now it’s time to face your doom!
Your evil, my powers will consume!”
Nightmare, Sunset, and Smog gasped as they watched the images of their friends, burned away by pink flames. An image of the Equestria flag appeared next which Pinkamania proudly saluted it and sang,
“Oh, my Equestria, I’ll be your hero again soon!”
With that last line, Pinkamania’s hair became poofy once again before she turned into a pink blur and flew to Twilight’s castle in a burst of hyperactive speed. She reached her friend Applejewel who was inside a dressing room in the castle, struggling to get into the dress that Rarity had made her for the ceremony.
“Looking good Applejack!” Pinkamania giggled as she waved her hoof, causing her fingers to disappear. She waved her hoof again and donned her own Rarity-exclusive dress, a beautiful pink gown.
Applejewel smiled. “We finally did it, Pinkie.”
They heard Rarity knock at the door. “Pardon me, Pinkie Pie, Applejack. Are you ready?”
Pinkamania flung the door open and hugged her friend. “We sure are Rarity!” She spotted her other friends and zoomed over to give Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and Rainbow hugs.
“Wow Pinkie. That’s like the fifth hug you’ve given me today. You must be in a really good mood,” Rainbow commented.
“Of course I am! I get to share the best day of my life with the best friends I could ever ask for! I love you Rainbow Dash! I love all of you!” Pinkamania cheered.
Twilight smiled warmly. “We love you too Pinkie. I love you girls so much.”
“Hey, don’t forget me,” Spike chuckled.
As they walked outside, Pinkamania could see a crowd of ponies gathered. Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Prince Shining Armor all stood up on a platform, ready to show her friends with praise. All the kids from the Ponyville Schoolhouse were there too. Even Discord was floating off to the size, staring at Pinkamania with a confused frown. Even if he did suspect something was up, it didn’t matter. Pinkamania could feel the magic of friendship flowing into her. She grinned widely and sung once more:
“Finally the moment has arrived!
All my friends are once more by my side!” she sang as she hugged Rainbow and Twilight.
Back at the barn, the ponies and dragons were frantically clawing and kicking at the glass bottle. Just like Pinkamania said, Nightmare was the first one to escape as she smashed through the glass. “Don’t worry guys, I’ll get you out of-”
“There’s no time!” Smog cried. “We can get out of these ourselves! Nightmare, you have to stop them! GO!”
Nightmare nodded and quickly ran out of the barn as fast as her legs could carry her, for some reason singing as she ran:
“Oh, if I don’t arrive on time
The kingdom will fall to Pinkie’s crime
And Equestria will be…”
As they stepped up onto the stage, Pinkamania saw the Elements of Harmony sitting behind a glass case on the table. She grinned at the sight of them and whispered,
“Mine. All mine…”
Princess Celestia cleared her throat and spoke to the crowd. “Mares and gentlecolts. We are gathered here today in celebration of the many accomplishments of Princess Twilight Sparkle and all of her Ponyville friends. They have all done many extraordinary things, including reuniting me with my sister, Princess Luna, defeating and then reforming the spirit of chaos Discord, stopping a changeling invasion, giving hope back to the Crystal Empire, creating new magic, and defeating the dreaded Tirek. All of this, they have done with the most powerful magic in all of Equestria, the magic of friendship. Two of Princess Twilight’s friends, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, were recently able to retrieve the Elements of Harmony from the Tree of Harmony so that you can see these Elements up close at last. And now, it is my great pleasure to declare this Museum of Eternal Friendship officially open!”
The crowd cheered as Princess Celestia used her magic to cut the red ribbon, keeping the museum doors closed. The museum itself was located within Twilight’s castle, in a room that Pinkamania had added on with her powers. The best part was that the castle was so big, not even Twilight noticed the addition.
Pinkamania basked in the pure joy that filled her whole body…and she smiled even more when she saw Nightmare running towards them.
“STOP! Everyone stop!” Nightmare shouted. The crowd gasped and spun around to face Nightmare. “That’s not the real Pinkie Pie! That’s not the real Applejack! They’re imposters! They stole my crown and now they’re trying to conquer Equestria! You have to listen to me, Pinkie is evil!”
Pinkamania giggled. “Boy, she sure sounds funny. Hey Twilight, she sounds like you when you went all crazy during Cadance’s wedding!”
Princess Cadance raised an eyebrow. “But Twilight was right about that.”
Pinkamania giggled again. “Well yeah, but look at me! Do I look or sound anything like that mean old changeling queen?”
“Nyxie!” Twilight said, her voice gentle but firm. “I think I would know if my best friends were replaced by changelings or something. What’s really going on here?”
Applejewel opened her mouth to say something, but Pinkamania interrupted her. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m not evil, she is! Nyxie is the one pretending to be somepony she’s not! And I can prove it!” Grinning madly, she zipped over to the Elements of Harmony and took them out of their case, tossing the Elements to the Element bearers and Applejewel before placing the Element of Laughter around her own neck. “We’ll beat her with the magical rainbow of friendship, just like we always do!”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but count me in!” Rainbow cheered.
Applejewel raised an eyebrow and stared at her Element of Honesty. “Is it just me, or are they glowing a little…darker?”
Nightmare gasped in fear as the Elements of Harmony began to glow. She then scowled with pure rage as Pinkamania reached over and cupped Princess Luna’s face with her hooves.
“Oh Princess Luna! There’s someone I would LOVE to introduce you to!” Pinkamania sang.
“PINKIE! Get your hooves off my mom!” Nightmare roared as she charged at Pinkamania.
But Pinkamania just grinned and waved her hoof, freezing Nightmare in midair before she began to sing:
“Little Nyxie, yes it is she
But not as you know her
Read my lips and come to grips with reality!”
“Wait, how is she doing that? Is it the Elements?”” Rainbow asked as Pinkamania floated into the air and hovered in a circle around Princess Luna and then Twilight.
“Yes, meet a blast from your past
Whose lies were too good to last
Say hello to your precious little Nyxie!”
Pinkamania turned around and fired a beam of magic from her chest, making it appear like it shot from the Element of Laughter. The beam struck Nightmare and removed her Nyxie Lulamoon disguise. Her eyes became draconic once more, her vest vanished as her wings unfolded for everyone to see, and her mane and tail became magical and star-filled once again. Even her armor appeared on her body, making her look exactly like the Nightmare Moon that Ponyville feared. “Or should I say Nightmare Moon?” Pinkamania giggled.
Nightmare stared at Luna as the crowd gasped. “Luna, you have to get away from her! She’ll-”
“Why won’t you leave me alone, foul she-demon!” Princess Luna growled. “Who have you claimed this time? Crawl back to the shadows from whence you came foul monster!”
Nightmare cringed at Luna’s harsh words, feeling as if she’s just been stabbed in the stomach. Tears fell from her eyes as she whispered, “L…Loony? Mom? W-why? I…I don’t…”
Pinkamania grinned and floated closer to her, still singing,
“So Nyxie turns out to be Nightmare Moon
Just an imposter, a cruel little monster
Take it from me.”
Pinkamania waved her hoof again, turning day to night as the sun lowered and the moon rose into the air. “Pinkie, what are you doing?” Applejewel asked, feeling confused and nervous.
“Her aggression and her treason
Give me plenty of reason.”
Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejewel gasped as they felt the Elements tug on their necks and head. It felt as if they were being lifted into the air by puppet strings. Pinkamania grinned widely, filled with the power of both disharmony and harmony as a rainbow coloured ball of energy formed in her hooves. She raised the ball over her head and aimed it at Nightmare.
“To send her packing on a one-way trip
So her prospects take a permanent dip
Her powers will be frozen, ‘cause the venue chosen
Is beyond of the earth – WHOOPEE!”
Nightmare screamed as the Elements of Harmony blasted her right in the face and banished her straight to the moon, leaving the Element of Power to clatter onto the ground. Pinkamania grinned as the Mare in the Moon appeared on Luna’s moon once more. She waved at it cheerfully, laughing like mad.
“So long! Ex-Element of HAR…MON…EEEEEY! Eh ha, ha, ha! AH HA HA HA!”
Rainbow stared at her friend with some concern as the Elements of Harmony lowered them back down. “Um, Pinkie? Are you feeling okay?”
Pinkamania grinned at her. “Oh Dashie…I feel alive.”
“W-why were the Elements acting so strangely?” Fluttershy whispered nervously. “It felt l-like they were c-controlling us instead of the other way around.” She closed her eyes and shuddered.
“I know what you mean darling. It felt as if my necklace was strangling me! But what I’m most worried about is why would Nightmare Moon return at a time like this?” Rarity asked.
“Nightmare Moon! Don’t worry, we’ll save you!” they heard Pinkie cry. The crowd of ponies gasped as three mares and one dragon ran towards them.
“Wait…two Pinkie Pies? Two Applejacks?” Twilight stared at Sunset and Smog as they came to a halt. “Sunset, what’s going on?”
Princess Celestia’s eyes widened. “Sunset Shimmer?”
Applejack glared at Applejewel. “What’s going on is that she ain’t the real me! Ah am!”
“Yeah! And that’s not me either!” Pinkie cried as she pointed at her counterpart. “They’re some kind of alternate usesses!”
“That’s not a real world,” Spike said.
“Really? So what would be the plural for us? I mean, ‘us’ is a plural already.” Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. “Gosh, it’d be a lot easier if it was just one pony from an alternate dimension we were dealing with. Do you remember that time I made a bunch of mirror clones and I had to deal with all those mes and wow, saying mes sounds a lot better than usesses.”
“Don’t listen them! They’re trying to confuse y’all!” Applejewel said.
Applejack smirked. “Oh what? Yer going to tell them we’re changelings? Ya might be really good at twisting the truth but there’s no way you can say that without lying. And from what Ah gathered, yer even worse than me at telling big, fat lies.”
“Where is Nightie – I mean Nyxie?!” Smog shouted at Pinkamania.
“Oh no…” Sunset whispered as she picked Nightmare’s Element of Power off the ground.
“It appears that the mare known as Nyxie was Nightmare Moon in disguise,” Princess Luna said. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you know of her?”
Smog shut his eyes tightly in frustration before he opened them again and looked Princess Luna in the eye. “I know that she’s my best friend and that she’s nothing like the Nightmare Moon of this world. She’s a good person.”
Sunset stared back at the princess too. “Our world is very different from yours. Princess Twilight, I’m sorry we lied to you. The truth is that where we’re from, Nightmare Moon is a beloved princess of our kingdom and the bearer of this Element of Power, the counterpart to your own Element.” She held up the Element to show them. “I wield another one of the Elements of Redemption along with my friends as we defend our Crystal Empire from any and all threats. Including that Pink Demon up there.”
Applejewel snorted. “Would y’all listen to yourselves? Y’all sound ridiculous! Pinkie, would ya help me out here? …Pinkie?”
Pinkamania smiled at her. “Applejack, it’s okay. We don’t have to hide anymore. Without Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Redemption won’t work. But more importantly, we finally have the Elements of Harmony. We’ve won.”
“Pinkie Pie? What are you talking about?” Princess Celestia asked with some concern.
“Applejack? What’s going on?” Apple Bloom said as her gaze darted from Applejewel to Applejack, pain and confusion in her eyes.
Pinkamania giggled as she floated higher into the air. “Sorry kids, not telling the story again! But I WILL leave you all enlightened!” She then placed her front hooves on her forehead, before a blinding flash of light exploded out from her eyes.
Applejewel gasped as everyone else in the crowd collapsed onto the ground, clutching their heads in pain. The other Element bearers, Big Macintosh, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the princesses, even Discord was suffering from a severe headache. “Pinkie, what are you doing?!” she cried.
Pinkamania smiled. “I’m just filling them all in on everything. All of Nightie’s adventures back in Everfree and all of MY adventures that have lead up to this. Sadly, stuffing all that information all at once always leads to a doozy of a double-whammy headachy! But this way, they’ll be all caught up.”
Twilight was the first to recover, as her massive headache slowly faded away. “That was a…good Nightmare Moon?”
“Gilda’s…still my friend?” Rainbow whispered.
“Cadance and me? Poison? A wedding? W-what’s going on?” Fluttershy whimpered.
“A hundred years…without Twilight,” Spike mumbled, his eyes watering a little.
“Diamond Tiara…was our friend?” Scootaloo asked, still whimpering from the headache.
“Nightmare Moon…” Princess Luna trailed off, the memories that been forced onto her leaving her completely speechless.
Pinkamania covered her mouth with her hoof as she held back a snicker as she floated over to Discord. “Boy, you were right Discord.” She raised her hoof and yanked him into the air. “The looks on your faces are priceless.”
“Release him at once!” Princess Celestia demanded as she fired a huge beam of magic at Pinkamania, who caught the spell in her hoof and shaped it into a ball.
“Oopsie daisy! I think you dropped this Princess Celestia, do you want it back?” Pinkamania bounced the ball of magic a couple of times before she sent it floating back into Celestia’s horn.
Discord smiled nervously. “Now Pinkie my dear, you still prefer Pinkie, right?”
Pinkamania giggled. “Yeah. It was kinda funny at first when Sombra and his buddies kept calling me Pink One this and Pink Demon that…but the joke’s gotten old now.”
Discord chuckled nervously. “Right. Now Pinkie my dear, from those memories you’ve shown me, you’re in the same spot that I used to be! I can’t imagine why your reformation isn’t sticking but shockingly enough the magic of friendship truly is-”
“What would you know about friendship?” Pinkamania growled. “You think a little ‘I’m sorry’ to Fluttershy makes everything you did all okay? You betrayed us to Tirek. You made Fluttershy cry. Even before that, you tried to destroy MY Equestria. You discorded my friends, you made Applejack a liar, Rarity a hoarder, ME a grump, and Fluttershy…” Pinkamania sighed and shook her head. “You would have turned my friends into monsters if you hadn’t been stopped. Now I’ll make sure you never hurt them again…”
Fluttershy gasped as she saw pink flames dance around Pinkie’s hoof. “NO! Please Pinkie, don’t hurt him!”
Pinkamania lowered her hoof and smiled at Fluttershy. “Aw, would you look at that? Fluttershy always stands up for her friends, even when they don’t deserve it. Okie dokie Flutters. I won’t hurt this Discord. Instead, I’ll just do this.” She turned to Discord and opened her mouth wide.
“Not again!” Discord cried as his chaotic magic poured out of his mouth and into Pinkamania’s as she drained him of his magic.
“And now, the final touch.” Pinkamania pointed her hoof at Discord, engulfing him in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, an earth stallion with a grey coat, a dark gray mane and tail, and a cutie mark of a twister stood where Discord had been. Fluttershy gasped and flew over to the fallen earth stallion. “There you go Discord! Now you know it feels. Don’t worry you still have enough magic for a normal earth pony.” Pinkamania’s eyes darted to two fillies in the crowd. “Speaking of…”
Diamond and Silver both screamed as they saw their cutie marks vanish. “What have you done?!” they cried simultaneously.
“Oh, don’t look so sad girls. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are always looking for new members.” Pinkamania laughed as she telekinetically flung the two bullies at the hooves of Apple Bloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo. “Congratulations crusaders! They’re all yours now.”
“Leave them alone!” Sunset shouted as she blasted a beam of magic at the Pink Demon.
Pinkamania just dodged out of the way and smiled. “It’s been fun Sunny. Goodbye,” she said as she waved her hoof and sent Sunset and Smog flying away.
“ENOUGH! We will not allow you to torment our subjects any longer!” Princess Luna shouted.
“Even the ones who deserve it?” Pinkamania asked. “Ponies like the Flim Flam brothers, Suri Polomare, the changelings, Blueblood, Lightning Dust, or Starlight Glimmer?”
Rainbow glared at her. “Who in the hay is Starlight Glimmer?”
Pinkamania shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I’ll just have to find out when I invite her to a very…special…party...”
“You will not prevail, Trickster!” Princess Celestia shouted. “Twilight Sparkle! Use the Elements of Harmony!”
Pinkamania just rolled her eyes and giggled. “Oh sure. ‘Cause the last time you used the Elements on one of their own bearers worked so well…isn’t that right, Princess Luna?” She flew around in circles and gave them all a mad grin. “Don’t you get it Celestia?”
Rarity, Rainbow, and Applejewel gasped as the Elements around their necks glowed brightly before firing beams of magic at Pinkamania. The Pink One absorbed their magic and began to toy with her new power, causing rainbow coloured clouds to fill the skies and gemstones and apple trees to rise from the earth.
Pinkamania let out a deranged chuckle. “If the magic of friendship is the most powerful force in Equestria…then what does that make me?”
A piano floated past them all as Pinkamania spread her hooves wide and sang:
“This day has been just perfect!
The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small.
Everybody I’ll soon control!
Every stallion, mare, and foal!
Who says a girl can’t really have it all?”
To be continued…
THE END
Well that was fun! Oh, hi there! It’s me, Pinkie Pie! In case you were wondering, the songs that I sang were based off Queen Chrysie’s famous song and Prince Ali! You know, the reprise sung by that guy with the snake staff. Sorry if I sounded a little crazy back there, but I’m just SO excited! And I just can’t hide it! He, he! Sorry, couldn’t resist. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed watching Nightie’s story now, because it’s over. Yeah, I’m sad to see her go too. But don’t worry! Now you’ll get to watch me on my adventure to erase all the evil from Equestria! So, anywhere specific you nice people want me to check out first? Any world where Discord won, or Twilight went crazy, or something else? Well, let me know if you think of a place! Anyway, you won’t have to wait long for the next chapter in my story.
See you later…friend…