Ponies on Bronies

by Ravenmane

21 - Inner Space

As everything came back into focus I found myself standing in the center of four mirrors, each equidistant from each other along a small circular plane. Trippy, I said silently. This felt a little familiar, I just couldn’t place where. I looked around at the ground and saw some sort of stain glass pattern, details were a bit warped but looked like one of those Station of Awakening platforms in Kingdom Hearts.

“Dashie,” I called. “Twilight? Princess Luna?” I bit my lip when I heard no reply, “anypony?”

“There are four ponies in here,” came a soft voice. I turned to look in the direction of it to see myself face to face with a mirror containing an earth pony with a white coat, an overly long black mane, and black tail carefully pulled back into a ‘ponytail’ similar to Applejack’s tail. “Hello Alex, I think you’re smart enough to figure this out.”

“Right,” I said bluntly, “correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re me right?”

The earth pony nodded. “Each of us is you in our own way. Each has a different personality. But most important of all is that we’re all you.”

“Do all of you have a way to convince me to pick you?”

“I can’t speak for the others but I’m only going to give you advice. This is a one shot deal, no take backs. Got it?”

I nodded. “Next question, cutie mark?”

He showed his flank, flashing a fractured mirror at my eyes. “Any other questions Alex?”

“What can I expect?”

“Three other ponies resembling me, each with this vague cutie mark. Each has a different personality, but like me, don’t make your choice based on how we act.”

“Simple, clean, informative, I like you already.” I turned around and went to take a look at the mirror opposite of the earth pony’s.

*****

It was true what the earth pony said, the next pony came into focus looking nearly identical to the earth pony until you came to the notion of it lying on its back on a cloud and listening to This Day Aria’s colt version, I could tell since he was singing along. There was no horn so this would have to be my pegasus side.

“No I do not love the bride,” he sang in a very regal and proud voice. He was doing his best to match the song, and I must admit he was doing a very good job at it.

“For my heart is dead inside,” I continued, matching his voice as best I could.

“But I still want her to be mine,” we both finished the verse.

Those few lines brought my presence to his attention and he quickly paused the music. “Heheheh,” he said nervously, “sorry ‘bout that. I like to get lost in songs.”

“You’re entertainment aren’t you?”

“Nope, I’m entertainment and humor. You forgot the humor so no cookie for you.”

Gotta admit, I thought, guy’s amusing. In his own unusual way, but amusing when everything was done.

“Okay, no, sorry but I can’t give you a cookie anyways. I can’t give you a cookie cause if you take one then you become me. Not personality me, but a pegasus, know what I mean Al?”

“Kinda, but this is pretty confusing.”

“Cause you’re talking to yourself?”

“Wha-huh?” I was still having issues grappling with the concept of simply talking with myself like this.

“You heard me Al; you’re just talking to yourself.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, “so what’s the cutie mark mean?”

“I have no idea,” he replied casually, “I think we’re all the same as the earth pony in that department. Thought you should also know that there’s no way the earth pony can do your job, not with some of its peculiarities. The clock’s I mean. Pick him and you’ll need a new new job. Then there’s Twi.”

“What about her?”

“You pick me and she might get jealous a Dashie. Gonna need to put her mind at ease if ya know what I mean.”

“Care to take a stab at something else?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Why does the inside of my head look like something out of Kingdom Hearts?”

The pegasus took a long look out onto the surface. “Huh, I got nothin’ but a guess. Perhaps your mind is trying to orient it in a way that you already know. So, here we are, your very own Station of Awakening!”

*****

Was I confused by the time I walked away from the pegasus mirror? A little, but that was mostly from his insistence of doing Pinkie’s singing telegram with him before moving on. The next mirror I met contained a book coated in a golden aura as it hovered in front of somepony.

“Lemmie guess,” I said dryly, “you’re the brains here?”

I heard the sound of a page turn before I saw the top of a unicorn’s head over the top of the book. “A very safe assumption,” he said carefully. “I’m caution and curiosity. If I didn’t know what was in the mirror opposite of me I would never stop wondering.”

“So what’s he like,” I asked plainly.

“I’d rather not talk about a colleague like that. You’ll know when you see him.”

“Alright then, what benefits would I gain from you?”

“I would hope you mean aside from copious time with Twilight learning all about magic and the jealousy Rainbow Dash may feel towards her.”

“Well, there’s that too, but what else?”

The unicorn rolled his eyes. “Right, guy with a pulse, anywa-”

“Hold on there, just because I’m a guy, I have a pulse, and I’m infatuated with two girls, doesn’t mean I want to be like that all the time.”

“Yes, you have a stellar record,” he retorted sarcastically.

“Any clue how hard it is to distract her once she sets her mind to something?”

The reflected unicorn dropped his book and stared blankly. “How do you do it,” he eventually asked.

“Fight compulsion with every distraction I can think of, in very rare cases I use liquor. Sex isn’t the best answer and we both know it.”

“Fair enough,” I heard as I turned away from the unicorn mirror. I felt ready as ever to face the alicorn mirror.

*****

“Now I’ve met the others,” I said casually to the reflected alicorn. “I’ve seen what they’re all like and what I’ll be capable of in their place”

“Well that’s what I expected of you,” he replied calmly. This stallion was perhaps a little bigger than Celestia. It would be close at the very least.

“What bugs me is I’ve never-”

“Seen a male? How could I ever doubt your skepticism? I’m just as real as the others, but I’m also the one that is the least likely.”

I gave him a confused look. “Care to translate that?”

The alicorn took a deep breath followed by a gentle exhale. “The earth pony displays you as you already are: a rooted and down to earth person with no special qualities aside from what makes you who you are. The pegasus displays you with freedom of movement, your capacities given full freedom to move about in a true three-dimensional fashion. The unicorn represents you with magic, how you may approach magic, or perhaps interpret approaching magic.”

“So what do you represent?”

“I represent appeasing everypony. I especially embody your desire to help everypony in every way you can. I display all qualities and all your capabilities. This does not mean that I define you; none of us truly defines you. You define us, easy as that.”

“It can’t be that easy. I’ve never found something that easy.”

“In this case, it is that easy.”

“Then how are you the most unlikely of the four of you? The four ponies of me?” I shook my head feverishly. “You know what I mean.”

“I know,” he replied serenely, “and I also know it’s confusing to talk about all of us, yourself included.”

“Is there even such a thing as the first-person plural when speaking about one’s self in addition to speaking in the singular-possessive?”

“No, this is too abstract for something more than simply ‘us’ to work. At least, that’s what the part of your mind that I am thinks.”

“Is time abstract in here,” I chanced.

The alicorn gave me a very familiar thinking face, one that I often donned when trying to explain things to the Crusaders. “In a way it is and it isn’t. Time is a constant, but this is a conversation in your head. If my understanding is correct then we are communicating at the relative speed of your inner dialogue so I think you can do the math from there.”

I gave the alicorn a vacant stare. “You’re really cut and dry aren’t you?”

“Yes,” he replied pleasantly, “yes I am. I haven’t answered your question though. I’m least likely because of what I am. You’ll be expected to do wondrous things if you take my shape. Look at the hoofsteps you’re following. Celestia raises and lowers the sun every day. Luna does the same with the moon. Even Cadance will eclipse you if you stand in my hooves, for how long though I am not sure. Learning from step one will prove quite the trial.”

“Meaning I’ll be learning magic and flying and won’t be capable of handling a job for quite a while?”

“There’s more than that. You’ll place everypony under excessive pressure, and paint a giant bull’s-eye on your head.”

“I’m living with Rainbow and Twilight! They’ve saved Equestria from Discord and Nightmare Moon, and this will paint a bull’s-eye on me? What happened to being a human and being with two of the scant saviors of Equestria in this day and age?”

“Hey,” called the earth pony mirror, “you’re getting rid of one of those targets by doing this thing!”

“Then there’s the fact that you’re already fully grown,” harped the unicorn mirror. “This isn’t something like learning all about yourself over the course of your life. Think about it, you’re already an adult, so stepping into that form is just asking for considerable trouble.”

“Wait a sec,” called the pegasus mirror, “you may as well scream ‘take the earth pony mirror’ at him when you put it that way.”

“Will all of you just shut up,” I yelled. “I want to just sit down and think about this. It isn’t a choice I can make with all of you arguing like children.” I sat down and everypony went silent.

*****

As I considered, I noticed that the mirrors closed in on me, bringing each of them into focus at the same time. Each choice had merits and flaws. One kept my reasoning closest to where it already is, but prevented me from working my current job. The other three offered the ability to continue my maintenance job, but I’d be learning something to accommodate my new form. One would require magic lessons, a second would require flying lessons, and the third was the most ponderous of all. The third of those bodies required flying and magic lessons.

On one hoof, the alicorn was a major bull’s-eye, a hard trade for me to make to have both magic and flying. On another hoof, magic or flying meant a crash course in learning how to uses those traits. On the third hoof, not having magic, or some crazy mad feather skills, I would have to get used to not having a rational equivalent to my hands.

“Made your choice,” the unicorn asked as I rose from my contemplation.

“Yeah,” I replied as I began to circle, facing each in turn.

“You’re sure,” asked the pegasus.

“Positive guys,” I said with a nod. Before I touched the mirror I chose, I paused. “Hey guys, I’ve got one last question.”

“Certainly,” said the alicorn, “what is it?”

“Who’s been talking through my mirror at home?”

They exchanged looks. “I’ve been talking to you at times,” admitted the earth pony.

“Longer talks were with me,” confessed the unicorn.

“I was super lax,” added the pegasus, “ya know, calling Twilight ‘Twi’ and the like.”

“I tried to advise you as best I could,” replied the earth pony.

“Well, how about you,” I asked the alicorn.

“No,” he answered. “I want you to make your own choices. After all, how else can you learn?”

He made me pause and think about it, I wasn’t about to get into an argument with myself over this. “It was nice to have this chat with um… me. So long hands.” I reached my arm out and paused, my hand mere centimeters from the mirror I felt was right. I had the eerie feeling something else was watching me.

“Good catch,” said a new pony as it passed through me. It was different from even the alicorn mirror. It had a horn and wings like the alicorn, but its cutie mark was different and it was closer to Princess Cadance’s size.

“Who or what are you,” I asked it.

“Compromise,” it replied as the four mirrors bent into a semicircle. “How about you touch both the unicorn and pegasus mirrors at the same time? I mean, you know what a jack-of-trades is right?”

“He’s skilled at several things, but can never master any of them right?”

The phantom pony nodded. “You’ll be lucky to reach ten point oh wingpower, and you’ll only be so-so at magic. Then again, I doubt you’d think that being as powerful as Twilight would be plausible anyways.”

“Well yeah, she’s the Element of Magic and her cutie mark shows it.”

“With her as a teacher, you’d be pretty strong, but if you compromise then I think you’ll be more equal with Rarity after Twi’s done with you. Then there’s flying. Under Rainbow’s tutelage you should be an alright flyer. Think you could live with that stuff?”

“I think I could, if I do what you say.”

I reached out my hand and found the surface was cool to the touch. It almost felt like it was yanking me through the reflective surface. The next thing I knew my legs felt like jelly, I was on my four hooves awkwardly. I had returned to the archives.

Comments

[the other sans]

Compromise...

Might as well take the alicorn mirror and be stronger in both aspects but prospectively live longer and... Oh...

Uhh... I bet on pegasus right?

[High_Wind]

Well ladies and gents this is it! The moment of truth will be upon us next chapter so it's time to start making your final bets!

pinkie.ponychan.net/chan/files/src/133696411567.png

[drone_r0m-3]

So... Pegacorn?

[Amethyst Blade]

pegacorn and not a full fledged alicorn...