//------------------------------// // Far Past Bickering // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record // by The King of Hearts //------------------------------// //// Far Past Bickering //// “She’s going to make your friends hate each other…” Sorrow mumbled from Pinkie’s back, as she was carried in to town by her brighter half, “We should have stayed in the forest.” “How could my friends ever hate each other?” Pinkie asked, laughing at the impossibility of her friends ever having more than a small quarrel. Walking up the Road, Pinkie figured she’d head for the spa. She knew that Rarity and Fluttershy were due to be there for their weekly get-together, so she could grab them to help her deal with this whole ‘dark-side’ issue that she was having. “Do you see the strings?” Sorrow whispered in Pinkie’s ear, causing the mare to look to the sky and tilt her head in confusion. Coming from as high as she could possibly see, several silver strings had fallen to the ground, and connected with something in the town. “Hmm, I’d better find all of my friends, and fast!” Pinkie said, speeding up to a brisk pace, as she reached the entrance of the spa. “Oh, Pinkie!” Aloe called, running out the door, “You need to help… me…” She fell silent as she looked to Pinkie’s copy. “Don’t mind her, it’s a magic thing,” Pinkie said with a smile, “What can I help you with?” “Well, um, Miss Rarity and Miss Fluttershy are having quite the argument in the hot tub!” She said, looking over her shoulder in a panic, “I think they’re going to cause some damage to our spa!” “Those two?” Pinkie asked disbelievingly, temporarily forgetting what her doppelganger had been saying to her only a minute before, “Just let me have a word with them!” “Please.” Aloe said pleadingly, watching as Pinkie happily trotted into the building. Heading in and turning right, Pinkie headed through the locker and shower rooms, arriving in the pristine relaxation area on the other side, where she and her friends had often had their hooves done. “No, you take it back!” A voice shouted, as a bucket was flung through the door in front of them, barely missing Pinkie’s head. “H-hey!” Pinkie called in to the room, “You almost hit me with that!” Running into the room with the massive tub, Pinkie was shocked to see her friends both levitating out of the water, Rarity with her chaotic magic, and Fluttershy with her wings. “How dare you insinuate that I would ever treat Spike like that!” Rarity shouted, “I haven’t so much as batted my eyes at another stallion since Spike and I began our courtship! Maybe you’d understand if you’d made a move on Big Mac before Cheerilee got to him!” Pinkie gasped at the low blow Rarity had made on Fluttershy, and fully expected the yellow mare to break down, but, she was surprised with the actual response she gave. “You were always so busy looking at his ass that I was worried you were going to make a move on him!” Fluttershy spat back, as a black aura of magic enveloped the water below her, splashing the white mare. “You wanna know something?!” Rarity shouted, “I’ll bet all of that shyness would melt away if you would just get something stuck in you!” “That’s enough!” Pinkie shouted, silencing the argument as she picked up the wooden bucket that had nearly hit her, and smashed it on the ground. “Are we done?!” The two were silent for a moment, as they both looked to her with equally apprehensive gazes. “Pinkie, perfect timing!” Rarity said, clearly reassured to see her, “You simply must tell Fluttershy that she needs to mind her own business when it comes to Spike and I.” “No, you need to tell Rarity that she teats everypony in her life like lesser ponies!” The yellow mare retorted, “A true friend would never act the way she does!” “What the heck happened to you guys?” Pinkie asked meekly, taking a step back as both of her friends approached her, expecting her to agree with their respective opinions. “The strings,” The second Pinkie muttered into her originals ear. “Oh yeah!” Pinkie said, beginning to look upward, before realizing something a little odd, “Um, are you not weirded out by the second version of me on my back?” Rarity and Fluttershy both gave her an odd look before responding simultaneously, “Yeah, so?” Huffing, Pinkie looked up and noticed the silver strings coming through the ceiling, and attaching to her friends. “It’s making them this way.” Sorrow said, and as long as it’s connected, they’re going to stay that way. “Is it on everypony in town?” Pinkie asked. “I don’t think so,” She responded, “The third one of us told me that it was complicated.” “So?” Fluttershy asked, leaning in and looking between the two, “Why haven’t you agreed with me yet?” “You?” Rarity scoffed, “They were clearly about to agree with me!” Pinkie gulped audibly as they started gearing up to fight each other again. “Okay… so, I think I need to go find everypony else,” Pinkie said, backing away slowly from the still approaching mares., “But I promise I’ll take one of your sides in just a little bit!” And before either of them could respond, Pinkie bolted from the room, leaving her two friends to continue their conversation in the pool. However, on the way out, she did apologize to the proprietors of the spa. //// “This is crazy!” Pinkie shouted over the wind that was rushing past her, “Why would this version of me be making all my friends hate each other?” “If I knew, I’d tell you.” Sorrow said, still flopped comfortably on her doppelgangers back, “But something tells me that we’re going to get similar stories from everypony else we come across.” “Yeah, me too…” Pinkie sighed, heading toward the library, fearing that Twilight and Alpha would have a squabble between the two of them as well. //// Twilight and Alpha sat together in the bathroom as Twilight repeatedly emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. She had been at it for the last couple of days, and was hoping that whatever ailment she had come down with, would be passing soon. Hearing a knock at the door, Twilight weakly looked to her companion and sighed. “Marick… would you get that?” Twilight asked, “I don’t think I’ll make it there and back.” “Sure thing,” He said with a soft smile, “I’ll be right back.” Heading down the stairs, Alpha decided to play his door answering safe, and transformed himself into a brown stallion, as to not scare any potential ponies at the door. Opening it slowly, he was relived to see that it was just Pinkie. And… another Pinkie? “Hey! Is Twilight home? Are you Alpha? Of course you are! Are you two having an argument? Because I don’t think you should! My dark side is—“ “Pinkie, slow down!” Alpha said, looking over his shoulder in his marefriend’s direction, “Look, why don’t you… two… come in and sit down. Twilight’s still not feeling too well.” “Oh, okay.” Pinkie said, nodding as she entered the library past the incredibly confused Alpha. “I’ll, uh, see if I can get Twilight down here to help you out.” He said, trotting off toward the bathroom, as Pinkie awkwardly sat down as to not drop Sorrow on the floor. “I’m surprised,” The dark side of the mare said, “Why wouldn’t she twist these ponies?” “I still don’t know what’s going on.” Pinkie sighed, “When Twilight get’s down here… we’re going to work all of this out, start to finish.” “I just hope those strings don’t show up.” “Me too.” Pinkie quivered ////