The Element of Laughter

by Quixotic Mage

Prologue

The Element of Laughter

Prologue

“Spike, come grab a book for me please.” Twilight shouted, not looking up from the paper she was writing. “Of course,” Spike replied, as he walked downstairs, “which book?”

“Top shelf on the left, Star-Swirl the Bearded’s treatise on magic resistance” Twilight said, still writing furiously.

Spike winced. “Top shelf might be a problem, I lent our step ladder to the mayor to help fix town hall. Can’t you just grab it with magic?”

Twilight sheepishly looked up from her paper. “I would, but the very first spell in the book is ‘how to magic proof this book’ and I cast it already for practice.”

“Here Twilight, use this ladder.” Pinkie said.

“Thanks Pinkie that’s just what I- Wait. Where did you come from?”

“Well…I was at Mr. and Mrs. Cakes helping to make a batch of cupcakes when I heard Spike say ‘top shelf might be a problem’ and a good friend always helps a friend with a problem so I ran over grabbed the ladder from your garage and here I am with a ladder!” Pinkie blurted out, talking at her usual pace of a mile a minute.

Twilight noticed several impossibilities in what Pinkie had said and opted to focus on the most glaring one.

“Pinkie, I don’t have a garage.”

“Sure you do Twilight, its right out back.” Pinkie hopped over to the window and pointed, “See?”

Twilight rolled her eyes but went over to the window to check anyway. Sure enough there was nothing but the usual, empty, backyard of her library tree. “Pinkie, there’s nothing there.”

As she left the window and started skipping around the room Pinkie replied, “Well gosh Twilight, I can’t help it if you can’t keep track of your own garage.”

“Grr, that’s it, I’ve had it! I am going to figure out how you do all the weird things you do and I’m going to figure it out now!” Twilight stood up from her desk, picked Pinkie up with her magic, and headed toward the basement. Her ‘I will study until I understand or pass out’ expression plastered over her face. She called back to Spike “Don’t let anyone in, I don’t want any distractions.” Well familiar with that particular look Spike just nodded before scampering off to raid the gem jar while Twilight was otherwise occupied.

“Wheeeeeee” Pinkie shouted as she was whisked down the stairs, “I didn’t know you could do that! Oh oh, spin me around the room now, pretty please with a chimicherrychanga cupcake on top.”

Twilight ignored the request and dropped Pinkie on a couch in the middle of the room before taking a seat on an opposite couch. She spoke sternly, hoping Pinkie would see things her way. “Pinkie this is serious. You have done things that should not be possible and I really want to understand them. I found a spell which might help me understand you better; will you let me try it out to see if your unconscious mind holds some answers?”

Uncharacteristically serious, Pinkie looked Twilight right in the eye. “Remember Twilight ‘Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you’. You might not like what you find, but, if you really want to, you may try.”

Twilight blinked in surprise, somewhat nonplussed by the serious and enigmatic response. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before making up her mind. While she wasn’t sure what to make of Pinkie’s odd statement there was no way she was going to miss this opportunity. Readying herself, she cast the spell and started to speak in a low even voice. “You are getting sleepy. Your eyelids are growing heavy. A nap sounds like the best idea in the world”

Pinkie yawned as the spell took effect. “A nap does sound nice. I think I’ll just close my eyes for a minute.” True to her word, her eyes began closing as Twilight continued to speak in the same flat tone of voice. Seeing that Pinkie was fast asleep she began the next step. “Good. Now, when I count to three you will wake up. One, two, thr-“

“Save your breath Twilight Sparkle, I am awake.” The voice came from Pinkie but it wasn’t her voice. It was too low, too solemn to belong to the cheerful pink pony. Indeed, her entire body seemed somehow different. Her eyes were open but seemed more narrow and careworn, her mouth drooped on either side, as if she had forgotten how to smile, let alone laugh, and her shoulders were bowed, as if bearing a great weight. Most telling of all, her mane and tail flattened out with a sound like air being let out of a balloon.

The transformation startled Twilight so much that she fell backward off her couch. She struggled to her feet and gazed in concern at her friend. “Pinkie, are you okay?”

The pink pony winced at the sound of her name. “Don’t call me Pinkie, the name of my imprisonment. Please call me Diana that I may remember for a time who and what I was.”

“I- I don’t understand.” Twilight stammered, “What happened to Pinkie Pie? Who are you? Where did you come from and how did you get into Pinkie’s body?”

“PINKIE’S BODY?” Diana shouted, standing up in her fury, “This body was mine long before the one you call Pinkie Pie even existed!” Diana’s voice shook the room. Her anger was practically palpable, a terrifying presence emanated from her, the room seemed to grow darker and the air more turbulent. Twilight cowered back behind a book, wondering what her meddling had unleashed.

She need not have worried, however, for Diana’s energy was soon spent and she sank back onto the couch. “I’m sorry Twilight. My prison is one of my own making. But I’ve been alone for a very long time and it seems I’ve forgotten my manners, forgive me.”

Twilight came out from behind her book-shield and shook her head in bemusement. “Typical Pinkie, any attempt to understand just makes things more confusing. I’m beginning to think logic doesn’t apply to her…you…argh! This is so weird!”

Diana’s expression grew less severe. “I understand; it can’t be easy watching a completely different pony take over what is apparently your friend’s body. Rest assured that this is only temporary. Pinkie’s mind will soon reassert itself and I will be returned to my prison deep inside.”

Her mind eased on that account, Twilight let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “I’m glad that Pinkie will be alright, but I still want to know who you are and why you’re trapped in her mind.”

Diana eyed her with a curious expression. “You are a student of Celestia yes? The one who defeated Discord? Alright. I suppose it’s fitting to tell you my story. First though, I must ask, what do you know of the founding of Equestria?”

Twilight unconsciously sat up straighter and folded her hooves in typical school pony fashion as she recited what she knew. “The tribes of the Earth Ponies, the Pegasi, and the Unicorns were all at war over the diminishing resources of their homeland so they-“

Before she had even finished her first sentence Diana interrupted her. “That myth will come into play in my story but I’m talking about the defeat of Discord and the establishment of Celestia and Luna’s Diarchy.”

Put off balance by the interruption, Twilight momentarily floundered before focusing on the question at hand. “Approximately 1500 years ago Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony to topple Discord and –“

Diana cut her off again. “So you know almost nothing. That’s fine; I’ll simply cover some background history before beginning.”

Twilight neighed quietly, miffed at being interrupted a second time. Not to mention being told she knew nothing! “But I’m polite,” she thought to herself, “I’m not going to interrupt, unlike some ponies.”

Meanwhile, Diana was in full blown lecture mode. “In the time before my grandparents Equestria was a much smaller country, ruled by a council of Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns, and Alicorns. It was a good time; a time of peace and prosperity. However, when my grandparents were fillies, Equestria and all neighboring states were conquered by Discord. Some resisted, but Discord’s magic was overwhelming and he had armies of homunculi at his command that did not know fear or defiance. He crushed all who opposed him and divided the survivors into separate villages, forcing them to eke out a meager living with backbreaking labor. The years passed under Discord’s chaotic tyranny, my grandparents had children and raised the next generation. Finally, in the sole surviving Alicorn village, I was born. So begins my-“

“An Alicorn village?” Twilight interjected, unable to contain herself any longer, “but you’re an Earth pony, why would you be born in an Alicorn village?”

Diana stared straight into Twilight’s eyes. “I am no Earth Pony. I am Alicorn. My wings may have been torn from my back, my horn may have been ripped from my head, but no one can take the blood of an Alicorn that flows in my veins. Now sit, still your questions and listen to my tale.”

Comments

[RedvsBlue327]

Caution readers! This fanfic train is nearing 200 miles an hour!

Joke aside, you really shouldn't be rushing this so much! Can't you ease into each part alittle more gently and slowly?

[mythfan12]

PINKIE IS AN ALICORN?

[The REAL Mister Pkmn]

This got heavy quickly.