Twilight Sparkle watched from a chair in her library as Rarity gracefully stepped out of the mirror onto the hard crystal floor of her castle.
"Well, Rarity? How was it?" the alicorn smiled at her friend.
"Oh, darling. It was wonderful." Rarity return the smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some wonderful new ideas that I simply must start working on at the boutique."
"Oh, that sounds exciting- wait a minute, Rarity. You didn't take ideas from the human world, did you?" Twilight asked.
"Twilight! Now whatever could give you such a silly idea as that?" Rarity winked, slightly weakening her denial.
"Rarity..." Twilight sighed. "I guess I can't do anything about it now. I assume the other Rarity has several new ideas as well?"
"Well, it would be rude of me to only take ideas without giving her a little bit of help as well, wouldn't it?"
Twilight sighed again, heavier this time. "It seems that it can't be helped now."
"Oh, by the way Twilight, I was curious. Whose turn is it next for the portal?" Rarity asked with polite curiousity. Twilight told her.
The instant she heard who it was, Rarity's blood ran cold. Her face, already covered by white fur, became somehow paler. Her mouth hung open in abject shock and fear. Barely above a whisper, she spoke.
"No... It can't be..." Twilight only nodded in confirmation.
"I'm afraid it is."
"Pinkie Pie..." Rarity breathed, the words hanging ominously in the air for a moment.
This time, it was Twilight who broke the silence. "Celestia help us all."
Meanwhile, Pinkamena Diane Pie herself was happily bouncing her way through Ponyville, calling out cheerfully to anypony- or donkey, zebra, or dragon that she saw. She passed Lyra and Bonbon sitting on a bench "Hi Lyra! Hey Sweetie Dro- um, Bonbon!" The cream-colored earth pony gave her an 'I'm watching you' gesture. She bounced her way past the quill and sofa salespony "Heya!" and Cranky Doodle Donkey. "Cranky! Hi! It's me, Pinkie!" She passed Twilight, who was waving at her and calling her name, "Hi Twilight!" and continued bouncing down the street.
Wait a minute! she thought. Was Twilight calling my name in a 'hi' way, or was she calling my name in a 'Pinkie I need to tell you this fantastic cupcake recipe that I found in some book' way? Pinkie stopped herself mid-bounce and fell to the ground, landing in a sitting position. She put a hoof to her chin in deep thought. Hmm... Twilight was waving at me, kinda like she wanted me to listen to her, and she called my name multiple times. Actually, she's still calling my name. Sorry, thoughts! I gotta go!
With a bounce and a noise like a box of springs being sprung, Pinkie jumped into the air, landing in front of Twilight.
"Hiya, Twilight! I heard you calling my name like you wanted to tell me some sort of super-awesome cupcake recipe so I stopped and then jumped and now I'm talking to you!" With each word, Pinkie leaned closer and closer to Twilight, until her forehead was pressed right against the alicorn's, their eyes practically touching.
"Oh, um, hi Pinkie." Twilight took a step back, then shook her and took a deep breath. Pinkie knew she was getting into 'super-serious princessy announcement/lecture mode', and sat down. "Rarity has left the inter-dimensional portal, so it's vacant again. Sunset Shimmer and I decided that you and your other-dimensional counterpart would be next to inside it."
Pinkie's eyes crossed and un-crossed as she processed the Twilight-speak. Then, a huge grin lit up her face. "So you're saying that I can go meet the other me, who's like me but this thingy called a 'human' and she and I can throw a giant, massive, multi-world party!? YAY!" She grabbed Twilight in a close hug, and then jumped around the corner of a building. "I gotta go Twilight see you later bye!
"Pinkie!" Twilight called after the fleeing party pony. "That's not the way to my castle!" She gave a heavy sigh. "She'll probably still beat me to it, though. Just Pinkie being Pinkie..."
At about the same time, in a dimension not that far away, Sunset Shimmer groaned under her breath. She stood in the middle of Sugarcube Corner, the third place she had gone when she went looking for Pinkie Pie.
First, she'd tried the girl's house, but Pinkie's sister Maud had told Sunset that she was going to grab something that she'd forgotten at school. So Sunset went to Canterlot High, only to find the doors locked and all the lights off. So Sunset had decided to go to one of Pinkie's favorite places in the world- Sugarcube Corner. But the bright, colorful store had no sign of the pink-haired girl who worked there.
Maybe she's still at school. The building looked like it was locked up, but I wouldn't put it past Pinkie Pie to manage to get inside somehow. She's gotten into stranger places before. Might as well check, I guess. Her mind made up, Sunset turned around to walk out the door.
A half-second later, her palm hit her face with a loud smack.
"Ouchie, Sunset! That looked like it hurt!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Why'd you do that?" The very girl that Sunset had spent over a half-hour looking for was standing right behind her, looking concerned but somehow managing to look as energetic as always while doing so.
"Pinkie?" Sunset asked.
"Yeeeeaaaah?" Pinkie drew out the word, smiling widely.
"How long have you been standing behind me?"
"Oh, about since you got to CHS." Pinkie beamed innocently. Sunset sighed. Just Pinkie being Pinkie.
"So, Pinkie, I wanted to tell you-" She was cut off before she could finish.
"Rarity's back from visiting the pony Rarity in that place that's not our world but not the pony world, so now you want me to go in to that world and meet the pony Pinkie?" Pinkie gave her another completely innocent smile. Sunset almost could have sworn she saw a halo appear above Pinkie's head.
"Wha- uh- yeah." Sunset finished lamely. "Yeah, that's what I wanted to say." Just Pinkie being Pinkie, Sunset. Don't freak.
"Well then what are we waiting for, silly? Let's go to the portal!" Pinkie leaped into the air and took off out the door of Sugarcube Corner.
"Pinkie, wait!" Sunset yelled. "You're going the wrong w-" she shook her head. "Forgot who I'm talking to."
In Equestria, Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie stood together in front of the mirror portal. "Okay Pinkie." Twilight spoke slowly. "Are you ready to do this?"
"Ready as I'll ever be! See ya, Twilight!" With that, Pinkie jumped into the portal. Twilight looked for a minute at the still-rippling surface, and then shook her head and turned back towards the library proper.
In an instant, Pinkie's vision was full of colors. A full spectrum filled the air, like a thousand Sonic Rainbooms going off right in her face. "Wheeeee!" she yelled, and felt her body doing loop-de-loops and flips and all sorts of crazy twists and turns.
A second later, it was over. Pinkie popped out of the portal and bounced onto the ground, landing on her back with a sound that could only be described as a squeak. She hopped back onto her hooves and glanced around. She saw nothing but quiet trees, with a big treehouse in the middle.
In this moment, one thing was abundantly clear to Pinkie Pie; this place was undeniably fantastic. But for all its fantasticalness, it was missing just a little something more... exciting. It needed a party. Badly. And it looked like it would be up to Pinkie Pie to give it a party. Or would it be up to Pinkie Pies? She had to see if she was here yet. The thought made her giggle. Of course I'm here, but I need to see if I'm here. It made perfect sense to her.
"Pinkie? Pinkie Pie? Hello?" she called into the silent space. It felt silly to be calling her own name, but here she was, doing just that Hmm... Where could she be?
She looked up in the treehouse- "Pinkie?" the portal to Canterlot High- "Pinkie Pie?" the portal to Equestria- "Other me? Hello?" and a random space in the woods surrounding the treehouse- "Human Pinkie? Are you here?"
Pinkie Pie scrunched up her nose, looking around. "Huh. I guess she isn't here yet. Well..." Her voice took on a sing-songy tone "I guess this gives me time to pre-pare!"
Back in the human world, Pinkie Pie walked up to the portal set in the base of the Canterlot High statue. Sunset wasn't there, so Pinkie stuck her pinkie finger (or was it her Pinkie pinkie finger?) into the statue's base. It sunk right in, and Pinkie felt a weird and chilly feeling, like the feeling she got on her tongue when she drank something fizzy, but this time the feeling was on her finger.
"Hey, that tickles!" She laughed, waving her finger around like she was drawing pictures in the stone.
"Pinkie!" Sunset Shimmer ran up to her and slumped down next to the statue, gasping for breath. "How... did... you... get... here... so... fast?" She panted, taking a breath in between each word.
"I walked, silly Sunset!" Pinkie smiled cheerily. "What do you think I did?" Sunset stared at her, then shook her head.
"Whatever. Look, are you ready to go into the portal?" Sunset asked.
"Yepperooni!"
"Alright. Princess Twilight said that the pony Pinkie Pie is through already, so you're good to go."
"Great!" Pinkie jumped up and gave Sunset a tight hug, then skipped back in front of the portal. "See ya later, Sunny! I have to go meet- me!" And with a hop, a skip, and a jump, she was through the portal
Pinkie's sight was filled with colors, like a giant rainbow had smashed into her face. She wondered if this was what it had looked like when they'd hit Sunset with the rainbow laser back when she turned into a fiery demon and tried to take over the school. She'd have to ask her sometime. Probably with a 'no offense' thrown in there too.
A second later, Pinkie popped out of the portal, landing on one foot. She flailed her arms comically for a second, but overbalanced and fell flat on her face.
"Ugh," she moaned into the ground. "tastes like dirt and cupcakes." She laid there for a minute. Wait, cupcakes? She shot to her feet and opened her eyes to an amazing scene.
All around her spread the makings of a fantastic party. There were streamers and balloons and the cupcakes she'd tasted and a big banner saying 'WELCOME HUMAN PINKIE'.
"Ooh, is this for me?" Pinkie asked the seemingly empty area.
"You bet!" A voice that sounded almost exactly like her own rang out from somewhere in front of her.
"Well, that's a funny echo." Pinkie said, then raised her voice. "Echo!"
"Echo! Why're we doing this?" The voice came again.
"Echo! I don't know!" Pinkie yelled back. "Are you me?"
"I think so!" The voice popped out from behind a bush, and with the voice came the most adorable creature Pinkie had ever seen. The pony was smaller than any horse Pinkie had seen, and she was the pinkest pink Pinkie had ever seen. More importantly, aside from the whole 'pony' thing, she looked just like Pinkie!
"Hiya me! I'm Pinkie! And you're Pinkie! This is the most amazing thing ever!" The pony her even sounded like her! Pinkie decided to think of her has 'Pinkie Pony' in her head. "So, Pinkie. Did you see who set up this awesome party?" She gave Pinkie Pony a sly grin.
"Who- I set up this party!" Pinkie Pony said.
"I know, silly, I'm just joking! Now, while this is a great party and all, I think it's missing a little something." Pinkie mused.
"What do you mean? I have streamers, and balloons, and cake, and cupcakes, and banners, and everything!"
"Yes, but I'd say that it's missing someone to eat those cakes, and cupcakes, and enjoy all the decorations! So why don't we check it out?" Pinkie beamed.
"I'd love to!"
Twilight looked up from her copy of Astoundingly Abstract Augury as she heard the portal began to buzz. But instead of a pink pony flying out, she saw a few pieces of confetti float out of the surface and drift to the crystal floor.
"What in Equestria?" she wondered aloud. The portal hummed again, this time releasing a balloon, some streamers, and Gummy. Twilight rolled her eyes, slightly smiling, as she carefully levitated the alligator into the air and carried him back through the portal. She hardly noticed the swirl of rainbow colors, being used to it by now, and stepped easily onto the forest floor. Surely finding the Pinkies would be easy, all she had to do was find wherever the streamers and confetti were coming from.
But as Twilight wandered through the small forest, she saw no signs of any sort of party. It wasn't until she came closer to the clearing at the center that she saw a bit of pink through the trees. Confident that she'd found the party that was guaranteed to be happening, she walked towards the bright color... only to find pony and human Pinkie sitting at a table at the center of the clearing, playing chess.
"Excuse me, Pinkie? Or Pinkies?" Twilight said. "I think you may have lost Gummy?" She held up the alligator in question.
"Oh hi Twilight! So that's where Gummy wandered off to. Thanks for bringing him back!" Pinkie (the pony one, that is) said as she reclaimed her pet, loving placing him back in her mane.
"You're welcome, I guess." Twilight said, unsure what exactly to say, considering the situation. "I suppose I'll leave you two to your game, then?"
"Okay! We're almost done, anyways. Bye, Twi!" Pinkie waved as the alicorn slowly walked back into the forest, glancing occasionally over her shoulder as if she still couldn't believe what she was seeing. Pinkie turned back to her game, and moved her queen forward three spaces.
"Uno."