Pinkie Pie took a few hours to get ready for her mission; for the most part, this consisted of learning as much as she could about Sunset Shimmer from Celestia. Aside from a basic physical description, Pinkie learned that Sunset Shimmer was a highly ambitious and powerful magician (though she probably could have guessed that on her own) who as a student had shown a particular flair for neuromancy (which she probably wouldn’t have guessed). According to Celestia, Sunset’s fascination with the way magic affected the mind had long predated her fall from grace. Thus, it was vitally important to stay on one’s guard around her; regardless of the state of magic on the other side of the mirror, as a talented neuromancer, Sunset wouldn’t need to do very much to cloud her opponent’s mind.
Beyond that, though, Pinkie would have to deal with things as they came up, because Luna couldn’t find any specifics about the world on the other side of the mirror. The best she’d been able to come up with was a vague phrase that suggested that ponies weren’t the dominant species, but she wasn’t willing to commit to that notion with any certainty. Twilight offered to cast a universal translation spell in case a different language was spoken on the other side, which Pinkie readily accepted, even though she was fairly certain that her imaginary friend powers could handle that problem.
In any case, Pinkie spent the last hour or so before dawn in a side room with Penumbra, ostensibly so they could discuss potential strategies for finding the Element of Magic. In reality, she was doing her best to deal with Discord. She had still been considering simply revealing his secret and leaving him behind, on the grounds that her friends were better prepared to deal with him than the strangers on the other side. In response, Discord had reminded her that Penny was the reason he’d decided to reform in the first place, and thus, if anything were to happen to Penny, he would lose most of his incentive to be a good little draconequus. Considering that the Equestrian Defense Squad would be not one, but two elements short while Pinkie searched for the tiara, this was not a very pleasant scenario to contemplate. While this line of logic did nothing to improve Pinkie’s opinion of Discord, she had to admit that he had a point.
With this issue squared away (if only temporarily), there was little reason for Pinkie to stick around. The Element of Magic wasn’t going to find itself, and the longer they stayed in Equestria, the more likely it was that Sunset Shimmer would acquire it first. Thus, soon after Celestia raised the sun into the heavens, Pinkie and Penumbra returned to the mirror, where their friends were waiting to send them off.
As it turned out, Discord hadn’t been totally accurate in his declaration that Equestria would be down by two Elements of Harmony during this mission, as Pinkie decided to entrust the Element of Laughter to the capable hooves of its previous Bearer. Granted, the blue gemstone almost certainly wouldn’t work as well for Celestia as it had in ages past, but it was better than risking a mishap on the other side of the mirror. However, once this detail was sorted out, the last excuse for dillydallying vanished. “Okay, everypony,” Pinkie said, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Her friends responded with somber wishes of good luck and admonitions for caution, all of which were spoken in low tones that seemed to blend together into a mush of indistinguishable tension as they reached Pinkie’s ears. “You look agitated,” Penumbra observed as she finished up her own round of goodbyes and well-wishes.
“Agitated? No, I’m... er... excited.”
Penumbra wasn’t buying it. “Really?”
“Really. I’m about to go on an adventure, and those are exciting, so I’m excited... and I guess maybe a teensy bit nervous, but it’s the exciting kind of nervousness. I guess you could say I’m nervouscited.” Pinkie attempted a weak smile.
Penumbra rolled her eyes. “I suppose I could say that, except it seems fairly obvious to me that you’re just plain nervous. Don’t worry about it. We can do this.”
“Oh,” Twilight interjected, “before you and Penumbra go, have you decided how you’re going to get back?”
Pinkie nodded. “I’ve decided that it’ll be better to let you all know when I need the portal open again.”
“Then I’ll make sure that there’s a guard posted in this room to watch the mirror for your signal,” said Celestia.
“Great,” Pinkie said. “Once I get the Element of Magic back, I’ll send some sort of signal back here. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
And, so, after one final group hug, Penumbra slipped back into Pinkie’s mind as Luna powered up the mirror with her magic, making the silver surface glow a bright white. Pinkie took a deep breath, and after a final glance behind her towards her friends, she stepped through the shimmering surface.
Almost immediately, the whiteness evaporated into an inky blackness, punctuated here and there with barely perceptible splotches of red, green, and blue, though these were so fleeting that they reminded Pinkie of the after images that stayed in her mind’s eye when she closed her eyelids after staring at something bright. Behind her, a glimpse into the world she’d just left was momentarily visible before it abruptly winked into the darkness. For a second, it felt like she was floating in a weightless void, but soon, she began to move, pulled forward by some unknowable force, though she simultaneously felt as though she was falling sideways. The overall effect was disorienting.
Then the noise began. Until the sounds entered her ears, Pinkie Pie hadn’t even noticed how silent it had been in the limitless chamber of everything and nothing. It was a strange, droning noise, vaguely reminiscent of a choir, but with an unnaturally steady, synthetic quality. The music—for the noise did sound like music to her, albeit of a highly experimental nature—seemed to move back and forth in tone, from soothing to uneasy to disturbing to hopeful and back to soothing again, continuously shifting according to some incomprehensibly complex schedule that half of the vocalists (assuming that the sounds around her were actually vocal, which Pinkie was seriously beginning to doubt) had decided to ignore.
As the volume increased, Pinkie Pie felt something like wind blowing into her face, the sensation strengthening as she kept moving forward. But as the intermittent swathes of color grew more frequent and more solid, she also felt something else: a sort of stretching sensation across her entire body, as if it was becoming elongated. However, unlike most of the sensations she was experiencing, there was nothing unfamiliar about this; she’d done more than enough shapeshifting to know when her body was being reformed. The only difference in this instance was that she wasn’t in control. Her first instinct was to resist, but when that proved ineffective, she decided to wait and see how this journey was actually changing her, though admittedly, at the moment, there wasn’t really enough light to see much of anything.
Pinkie began to feel extremely lightheaded. This might have been due to the her general sense of disorientation, but it could just as easily been due to the fact something weird was happening to her muzzle, which felt like it was being scrunched up and pushed into her jaw. What she did know for certain was that she was on the verge of losing consciousness altogether, and all things being equal, she would prefer to avoid emerging on the other side of the portal while passed out. However, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, which in this case happened to be an actual pinprick of white light in the seemingly endless darkness. The light grew rapidly in size, and soon, Pinkie began to make out the outlines of certain objects, such as a tree, and perhaps some sort of park bench, but before she could make out any more details, she was suddenly ejected through the light and out onto the other side.
———————
Pinkie rolled on the ground for a second or two before coming to a stop face-first on some grass. The first thing she noticed was that the grass didn’t taste nearly as good as the bluegrass that grew in the fields around Ponyville, but she didn’t exactly have time to dwell on this. Instead, she rolled over onto her back and raised her head to look back to where she came from. To her mild surprise, she did not see another mirror, but rather an otherwise plain marble plinth for some sort of monument in the middle of a park. The stone glimmered briefly for a few seconds before it faded back to normal. Having determined where she’d been (and thus, where she’d probably have to return when this business was over, her next task was to figure out where she was... or perhaps, what she was.
Pinkie blinked and stretched, feeling her body shift oddly. She looked down at her body and, even though she’d suspected it, it was still a bit of a shock to realize that she was no longer equine. The most obvious difference was the fact that she didn’t have hooves. Instead, her forelegs now ended with things that looked sort of like Spike’s claws, except the hard bits at the very end weren’t sharp enough to scratch anything more threatening than an itch. Also, even though she was still the same shade of pink as always, the pinkness didn’t come from the hairs of her coat, because this body didn’t really have much in the way of body hair. Instead, the pinkness came from her skin. For a brief moment, she wondered if her skin really was that pink back in Equestria; she’d never had a reason to shave away any parts of her coat to find out. Her mane, at least, didn’t seem to have changed. It was still poofy, and she could still see the little hook dangling in front of her forehead, but as she awkwardly repositioned herself so that she could sit on her haunches, she couldn’t help but notice that her tail no longer matched her mane, largely because she no longer had one.
As she considered the matter of her missing tail, she realized her hindhooves seemed to have remained unchanged, save for a shift to the color blue. After twisting to poke them she realized they seemed to be in some kind of boot, as she followed the boot up her leg she realized she was wearing clothing. That was probably the first truly unexpected result of her journey—when she’d left Equestria, Pinkie Pie had been nude, but somehow, she’d managed to acquire a not just boots, but also a skirt and a blouse upon her arrival. Of course, at the moment, Pinkie Pie didn’t have access to anything reflective enough to see her face, but on further consideration, there was only one sensible conclusion: She’d been transformed into a sasquatch.
As all of the pictures she’d seen of sasquatches depicted them as bipedal, she attempted to stand on her hind legs... which, she realized, were technically her only set of legs if her idea was correct. The first attempt was an abysmal failure, resulting in little more than a sore rump as she lost her balance and landed on her bottom. However, the second time, she was able to steady herself against the marble slab she’d just emerged from, and fairly soon, she was standing with minimal difficulty, although her knees felt wobbly. It was then that she took a good look at her surroundings.
She was definitely in some sort of park; aside from the fact that there were benches spread evenly around the area, there was also several pieces of playground equipment off to the side where she spied several small creatures (who, on further consideration, probably weren’t sasquatches—they were standing up just a little too straight and they weren’t nearly hairy enough) frolicking about and having a good time, while some older creatures looked on. Given the fact that every single creature she saw was wearing clothing, Pinkie decided that now would not be a good time to disrobe to see if her cutie mark was still on her hindquarters, or whatever these creatures called that part of the body. Then again, the skirt she was wearing already had a logo that looked remarkably similar to her three balloons, and upon further consideration, she decided that her ensemble was actually pretty cute, so it wasn’t like there was any reason to hurry. Besides, there were more pressing concerns. “I think the coast is clear, Penny. Mind coming out to help me look for the Element?”
“No, but I do mind that you’re calling me “Penny,’” Penumbra’s voice responded as she emerged from Pinkie’s mind. Like her warden, Penumbra had taken on the form of one of the gangly primates, and she’d also acquired a set of clothing in the process: she was now wearing a dress that was a slightly darker shade of blue than her skin with a bodice that was almost the same shade of black as her mane. Also like Pinkie, Penumbra had acquired a pair of knee-length boots, though hers were black and far more rugged-looking than Pinkie’s blue pair, which seemed designed with fashion in mind rather than practicality. Unlike Pinkie, Penumbra’s clothing didn’t bear any logos or other embroidery that resembled her cutie mark, though she was wearing a pendant with a bright silver ring around her neck. She casually leaned a shoulder against the plinth as she continued speaking: “I doubt that tiara has gone very far. After all, the only reason it went through on its own was because Sunset Shimmer was a bit clumsy for a moment, so it’s not likely that she was going to pass it to an accomplice like a baton.”
“You think we should look around this park, then?” Pinkie asked.
“Well, maybe if we had been able to go through the mirror right away that would make sense, but as things stand I’d guess it’s already been found by somebody. If it wasn’t, Ms. Shimmer would probably be in the area looking for it.”
“You’ve got a point... You don’t suppose she’s found it herself, do you?”
Penumbra shrugged. “It’s a definite possibility, but if that was the case, I’d also think she’d be waiting by the portal to ambush anypony who had followed her.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Villain’s intuition,” Penumbra said with another idle shrug. “In any case, I don’t see much point in dwelling on it until we have reason to think it’s true. For now, though, we should probably try to find it, even if we might not be able to retrieve it yet.”
“Well, I guess that’s as good a plan as any,” Pinkie said with a shrug as she carefully pushed herself away from the plinth. Even though her knees were somewhat shaky, she managed to move around on two legs with relative ease, probably because Penumbra was there to give her advice.
“How did you learn to walk like this, anyway?” Pinkie asked once she felt confident in her stride. “Was it something you and Luna did to pass the time on the moon?”
Penumbra shook her head. “No, the only things Luna wanted to talk about on the moon were vengeance, punishment, and the maximization of equine suffering, so all the skills we worked on were to that end. I learned the basics of walking on two legs from Discord.”
On hearing this, Pinkie abruptly halted, nearly falling over as her momentum kept the top half of her body moving forward. She only avoided skinned knees by grabbing onto a nearby lamppost. “Oops...” she said. “I guess it’s a bit harder to stop when you’ve only got two feet on the ground.”
“Are you okay?” Penumbra asked, glancing over.
“I’m fine,” Pinkie said with a wave of her free hand. “You just reminded me of something important, that’s all.”
Penumbra had a pretty good idea about what that something was, or rather who: “Discord is still in your head for the moment, alright? I spent most of the trip convincing him that this new world will require a much more subtle approach than his usual antics, and he’s agreed to hang back for a while—provided that you stop jamming his radio so he can listen in and get a better idea of how this world works.”
Pinkie sighed as she resumed walking. “I guess that’s better than getting whacked on the head with a rusty poker.” She concentrated for a split-second and started broadcasting her sensory information to Penumbra’s living room. “This had better not backfire, though. It seems pretty fishy that he’d agree that quickly.”
“Not really,” Penumbra replied as she allowed her scowl to briefly transform into a smirk. “At least, not from our point of view, I think you went into a dream state of some sort, because it seemed like we were talking for at least an hour.”
“Oh, I see. That does make sense, I guess.” Well, technically, it didn’t make sense, but who expected sensibility from dreams? “So, do you think we should try asking around to see if a tiara has turned up recently? Oh, or maybe we should scour the area for clues, like in a detective story! You don’t suppose they have that stuff that glows blue when there’s evidence over here, do you? Ooh! I betcha I can use my Pinkie Sense!”
“I thought that only predicted vague, indeterminate events.”
Having more or less mastered basic locomotion, Pinkie was now attempting a two-legged bounce. The airtime wasn’t nearly as impressive as it was back home, though Pinkie wasn’t sure if this was due to her relative inexperience as a biped, or if it was because earth ponies were just stronger than the creatures who populated this world. She might have been tempted to ruminate on this further, were it not for the fact that she was already in the middle of a conversation. “Nah, my Pinkie Sense is only vague because half the time I can’t figure out what it’s trying to tell me before it happens. Then again, I’m not sure if it will work as well over here...”
Penumbra groaned slightly and rolled her eyes. “Or, instead of looking everywhere for a strange tiara and making all these creatures suspicious, we can try to find Sunset Shimmer instead. After all, I’m willing to bet that right now, she either has the tiara, or she’s waiting for her chance to get it. Besides, I’m also willing to bet that folks are more like to notice someone with a red and yellow striped mane than a piece of jewelry lying on the ground.”
Pinkie thought about this for a second or two as she rubbed her chin. “Hmm... sounds good to me.”
———————
As it turned out, Penumbra’s idea worked wonderfully: Sunset Shimmer’s mane (or rather, her “hairdo,” as the locals called it) was quite memorable, and she was soon identified as a student at a nearby school called “Canterlot High.” Neither Pinkie nor Penumbra thought this school’s name could be a mere coincidence, though at the moment, neither could explain why an institute of learning would share its name with the capital of Equestria, unless, as Pinkie theorized, they were in a town called Canterlot, which would make perfect sense since they’d just left a city called Canterlot that was on the other side of a mirror. The school itself turned out to be a rather large building, approximately the size of the School for Gifted Unicorns, though its shape was much boxier than Celestia’s castle. Several of the creatures, most of them older than the youngsters at the playground but younger than the ones looking after them, were milling around, conversing about the day’s events. Apparently, the lessons for the day had concluded, but more than a few students were sticking around for various extracurricular activities. They seemed to be interspersed with students who were heading home, calling their goodbyes to friends and chatting.
Naturally, Pinkie’s first instinct was to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger, but Penumbra held her back. “Hold up,” she said as she hooked her friend by the elbow and pulled her aside to hide behind a large tree. “We can’t just walk up there and start blabbing about tiaras and Sunset Shimmer.”
“Why not?” Pinkie Pie asked, looking out at the various groups, her eyes eager. “I mean, there’s a good chance we’ll find both of them here, isn’t there?”
Penny groaned and tugged Pinkie to look at her directly. “Yes, but if Sunset Shimmer hears about a pair of newcomers asking about her, she’ll know we’re already here.”
Pinkie scrunched her mouth up. “So? I mean, I get what you’re saying about the element of surprise, but Sunset Shimmer has to know that we’re coming.”
Penny waved an arm as she tried to explain her thoughts. “She knows that somepony is coming, but she doesn’t know who. She didn’t see our faces the night she stole the tiara in the first place, so she wouldn’t know to be on the lookout for a pink... um... girl... who’s friendly to everything that’s ever existed or a dark blue one who’s an eternal curmudgeon. If she does have the Element, we’ll need every advantage we can get to take it back.”
“But... but these are all potential friends! I can’t just not talk to them,” Pinkie said with a whimper, looking longingly at the chatting groups.
Penny rolled her eyes. “At least listen in on their conversations for a bit. For all you know, some of them are Shimmer’s lackeys.”
“How do you know she has lackeys?”
Penny looked at her flatly. “Celestia said she was corrupt and power-hungry. Of course she has lackeys.”
“You didn’t,” Pinkie countered.
“I didn’t need lackeys. I have the Shadowbolts for that. Look, my point is that we need to be selective about who we talk to until we know who we can trust.”
“But that’s passive and quiet and boooring...” Pinkie Pie whined as her shoulders slumped down. It seemed like the best posture to express the emotions that she’d normally flatten her ears for.
“Pinkie, you know I’m right.”
Pinkie sighed. “Of course I know that, but that doesn’t make me feel any better about it.”
The pair found a convenient bush to crouch behind and listened carefully for any smidgen of information that could prove useful; as it turned out, though, there were numerous smidgens to be heard, as quite a few of the random passers-by were talking about a rather intriguing piece of costume jewelry.
“....I can not believe Ms. Cheerilee saddled us with so much homework at the last minute....”
“....Hey, Flash, you heading to football practice?”
“Yeah. I’ll catch up with you later tonight....”
“....They’re seriously replacing the tiara for the Fall Formal?”
“Why not? The old one looked kind of tacky....”
“....Seriously, my parents are saying that I might have to pay my own phone bill. That is so unfair!”
“Well, maybe you could get a job after school or something.”
“What? And give in to my parents? Why should I? They’re the ones being unfair....”
“....Has anyone seen that new crown thing?”
“It was in Vice Principal Luna’s office, but I heard it got moved....”
“Did you catch last night’s episode of House of Thrones? Seriously, those guys will kill off anyone...”
“....I’m telling you, it only has one gem, but it’s huge, and it almost looks like it’s real, instead of plastic or whatever rhinestones are made out of. Only I’ve never seen a real gem cut into the shape of a star before....”
“....For the last time, I’m not going to the Formal with you. If you keep bugging me, you’re going to get maced. With an actual mace....”
“....Walking home sucks. Why do we have to wait until we’re sixteen to get our driver’s licenses? I’m, like, totally mature for fifteen....”
“...I heard that Sunset Shimmer was the one who convinced Principal Celestia to replace the tiara for the Formal.”
“Ugh... that little brown-noser practically has them eating out of her hand. She probably figures she’s a lock to be elected Princess, and wants the crown to match her dress, or something stupid like that.”
“You’re probably right. In fact, I heard that Sunset Shimmer actually designed the new tiara herself, and Principal Celestia even let her pick it up for delivery!”
“Some girls get all the luck. I just wish someone else was willing to enter the contest....”
“Did you hear that?” Pinkie whispered excitedly to Penumbra as the crowd began to thin out. “It sounds like the Element of Magic is going to be the prize for some contest at this Fall Formal thing! You know what that means, right?”
Penumbra nodded. “Of course. We need to steal it before then.”
“Exactly! We’re going to... wait, no! We’re not going to steal anything!”
Penumbra shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, okay, we won’t be doing any stealing.”
“Good,” Pinkie said with a determined nod.
“Technically, it doesn’t even count as stealing, since they’re not supposed to have it in the first place. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that we’ll need to do some breaking and entering if we want to get that tiara,” Penny said, crossing her arms.
“Breaking and entering?! We are doing no such thing! We need to keep our impact in this world to a minimum,” Pinkie shrieked, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Penny.
Penny glared back, unmoved. “And taking the tiara back by force is the quickest, and therefore the best method. It probably won’t have any effect, aside from maybe ruining this Fall Formal party.”
Penumbra had never seen Pinkie look so offended before. In fact, the only time she’d ever seen anypony look so offended was the time she accidentally insulted Derpy Hooves’ intelligence. “We are not going to ruin anyone’s party!”
Penny threw up her hands in frustration. “Well, how else do you expect us to get it? From what I overheard, it sounds like Sunset Shimmer’s a shoo-in to win this princess contest.”
“Maybe, but you’re forgetting something super-duper-important,” Pinkie said with a smirk.
“And that is?”
“Well, I’m already a princess, aren’t I?” Pinkie pointed her thumb at her chest proudly.
Penumbra sighed. “Pinkie, somehow, I doubt that contest is open to anyone who isn’t a student here.”
“That obstacle,” said a nasal tenor directly behind them, “is hardly insurmountable.”
The duo’s heads whipped around to see a tall, slender male with grayish-brown skin, dark grey hair with a single shock of pure white at the widow’s peak, an immaculately trimmed light grey goatee, and slightly jaundiced red eyes. His clothes were as carefully styled as his coiffure: a white dress shirt with diamond-studded gold cufflinks; a pinstriped burgundy vest (or waistcoat, as Rarity always insisted on calling them) with a matching necktie and a solid gold chain which presumably led to a pocket watch; dark brown dress slacks with a crease that looked sharp enough to split a hair; and spit-shined black leather wingtip shoes on his feet.
“Discord!” Pinkie said in a harsh whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I believe we all established that I would be tagging along on your little mission before you left....” Discord began, calmly adjusting his sleeves and brushing off some lint.
“That’s not what I meant. Penumbra said you promised to stay at her place.” Pinkie stomped a foot to emphasize her annoyance.
“And so I did—until the situation was such that I would be able to offer you assistance. Thus, here I am.”
Penumbra seemed far less perturbed by Discord’s entry into this new world. “I would have expected you to pick an outfit that was more... unconventional.”
Discord let out a low chuckle. “Well, I have been trying to rid myself of that pesky habit of ‘predictable unpredictability,’ haven’t I? Besides, you need to appear trustworthy at first glance if you really want to cause chaos.”
“So that’s why you’re out here?” Pinkie Pie asked, her face in an uncharacteristic snarl. “You want to create even more problems?”
“No, I’m here to solve problems. Specifically, I’m here to solve your problems, which does not preclude the creation of lesser problems along the way.” Discord said, looking at her with a sardonic smile plastered on his face.
“Discord...” Pinkie growled.
Discord sighed and raised a hand to forestall the incoming rant. “I assure you that any chaos I create will not rise above the level of ‘minor inconvenience.’”
“Pinkie, will you please just lighten up for a bit?” Penumbra said, tugging on her friend’s arm. “I know you don’t like him very much, but he is here to help us out.”
Pinkie looked at Penumbra in shock and gesticulated wildly in Discord’s general direction as she responded. “Help? How is he possibly going to help us do anything?”
Discord flashed a beaming, toothy grin that reminded Pinkie of those shady cider salesponies that had once tried to swindle the Apple family out of their orchard. “Now, Pinkamena, is that any way to talk to your father?”
“Don’t call me ‘Pinkamena.’”
Discord's plan makes a lot more sense than Twilight's "just show up and pretend to be a student"-plan. Huh, that's weird.
Makes more sense than Twilight's reasoning for not just taking the damn thing! Seriously, that movie could have ended if she just explained to the principals that that was her lost jewelry they'd found, bam, problem solved! At least Pinkie has a reason, even if isn't a good one.
Wow, nice chapter. This had a lot of good, fun moments. Pinkie believing that she was a Sasquatch, Penumbra suggesting they steal the crown (which would have been the simplest solution in the movie, but at least here they have a good reason not to: Pinkie refuses to ruin a party) . . . you know, you do a lot of things that would have made the movie make more sense. I see what Discord is up to, he's going to enroll his "daughters" so they can get the crown. Also, since this more sensible plan implies a more sensible Principle Celestia, I'm guessing that she'd recognize if there was already a Pinkie Pie there, so I'm guessing she's been replaced with Twilight/SciTwi.
Have you by any chance seen the new trailer for Friendship Games? Or are you avoiding spoilers / ignoring any differences since this is an alternate universe anyway?
Wouldn't Discord and Penumbra sort of be cousins? And wouldn't they both be related to Pinkie since the Diarch's adoptive niece is Pinkie's Aunt-in-Law?
Laughter was Luna's Element. If you look at the colors of the Elements during the flashback in "Princess Twilight Sparkle", you'll see Celestia has Kindness, Generosity, and Magic, while Luna has the other three. I know this is an alternate universe, but I don't see how the changes would affect who gets which element, nor do I see how any of the three could go to Luna in order to be replaced by Laughter, as Celestia has those qualities more than Luna.
You forgot the end parenthesis.
There's no error here. I just felt it was so hilarious that it bore repeating.
On my phone, otherwise you'd be getting a healthy dose of "dis gon b gud" gifs right about now. XD
Might somepony give me an assist?
6163797 - In previous stories, I established that in this continuity, Luna's elements were Magic, Honesty, and Loyalty. In fact, I noted several times in Pandelirium that Magic was one of Luna's elements, as it motivated many of her actions in the flashback sequences at the beginning of each chapter.
6163724 - I'm not just avoiding spoilers, I'm avoiding the movies altogether. I wrote a blog post explaining why.
So weird seeing Pinkie be the serious one.
6163933
Then it's not entirely his fault for not remembering that. That was a long-butt while ago and differs from canon. Perhaps a sentence or two of recap on that bit of information? While I doubt it's necessarily important to the plot, it would help clear up confusion to anyone who doesn't remember the change in Princess-wielded elements but did actually notice which elements they wielded when we were shown.
6164047 - It's almost like everything is turned around and this crazy world is upside down.
What's a Sasquatch?
This line feels weird. The element bounced through the mirror and Sunset went right after it. There's no reason to think she didn't immediately pick it up again on the other side. We, the audience, know that didn't happen, but the Equestrians don't and it's odd they're assuming she doesn't yet have it.
Later, Penumbra reasons that if Sunset Shimmer had it, she'd be ambushing them but that clue hasn't been provided yet.
6165036
Another word for Bigfoot.
6163848
Bugger, on a phone too.
Considering Pinkie's origins, and the rest of the team's...this Earth is in for some interesting times.
Discord is the new Rainbow Dash? I'm going to need to hear the logic behind his declaration of paternity.
In any case, the hunt begins! And with this group, "low-impact" doesn't seem feasible. Really, they'll be lucky if the school is still standing by the time they get the crown back.
(Also, the Element of Laughter is blue, like Pinkie's eyes. Just an FYI.)
6165291
Presumably, Discord will claim to be the father of Pinkie and Penumbra, enrolling them in the school.
whelp here's hoping this is a train wreck cause with those 3 in charge this mission will be hilarious
People keep going on about the sasquatch line. It's good, sure, but I personally prefer:
6163933 It's been a while, and I have a poor memory. I was just making sure you knew what you were doing. You do.
Theres a Pinkie Pie Promise to get a notification back, and theres Pinkie And Discord to power it?
This time we are aiming for Pinkie Pie Princess? or are we looking to see TwiNerd arrive due to a transfer and its Pinkies job to get her up to speed and leadership position?
I'm presuming Pinkie was hearing this, then?
Neuromancy, eh? I can buy that given the mental magic being thrown around at the end of the movie.
There we go, make a Pinkie promise to come back, there's no choice but to make it back safely. (I'm looking at you, Twisted Tales Through Time.)
Dang it, Kwaker, I'm suddenly wondering whether the Equestrian Girls humans have cutie marks.
Discord! And he's helping! You know, this is one scary group that was sent after Twilight's crown.
needs closing )
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Like with Pi. This is different than her Cutie Mark which was introduced as a white ring (then called a silver orb in Pi. Now a silver ring in this fic.).
Or is it silver here rather than white only for artistic purposes? Which is a bit odd.
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Yes. That is indeed a perfectly logical conclusion to make.
Oh Penumbra, usually so smart and perceptive. Should have known better than to threaten a party in front of Pinkie Pie!
Am I the only one who thinks Discord looks epic as a human?
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Scary, or Scary awesome ^_^.
Personally I think that'd be the best team to send out for any problem. You have the tactical genius, army summoning ex-super villain. The reality warping, neigh-omnipotent, ex super villain. And a reality warping, neigh-omnipotent unbalanced alicorn.
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I can just imagine Pinkie eventually snapping, (or something the that extent) due Sunny's stupidity, or some other reason, and basicly saying
Pinkie:"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and you stole my mothers crown, please give it back"
Sunset:"Oh yeah? you and what army?
Pinkie:"Well you got me... oh, um, If it helps I'm kinda an Alicorn, but if that doesn't work, I'm got Nightmare Moon with me"
Penumbra:*Raven like deadpan* "Hello"
Pinkie:"Oh, oh! and we have a Discord too!"
Discord:"Discord Sma--" *coughs hard* "--I mean, 'Sup Bacon Mane.."
missing ).
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Can't believe that I missed this comment. Kind of sad that this basically happens, but turns out differently.
Do you want her to fillet you like a fish Discord?
The Penny and Pinkamena Show!