The Might of a Quill

by derpyland

Chapter 8: “Twilight deserves to be happy”

Twilight Sparkle awoke the next morning after a very relaxing night's sleep. This time she had no nightmares, and she did not wake up screaming. When she opened her eyes she saw that a gentle yellow light was streaming in through her bedroom windows. The sun had risen and a new day had begun.

“Good morning, Twilight,” a voice called out. Twilight lazily rolled over in bed and saw that Sunshine had poked her head in the room. “How is my favorite mare feeling today?”

“Really, really good, actually. I'm ready to go out there and get things done. I have a good feeling about today.”

“Fantastic! That's what I like to hear.”

Twilight was about to get out of bed, but Sunshine stopped her. “There's no need for you to get up, princess. Your breakfast is on its way. It's coming to you this morning.”

“It is? But you don't have to do that! Really, it's fine. You don't have to go through all that trouble.”

“But I'm not the one who's bringing it. Take a look and see.”

Twilight glanced at her bedroom door, intrigued. A moment later the door opened and Moondancer walked in. She was levitating a tray that held a steaming cup of tea and a stack of freshly made haycakes. “Good morning, princess!” she said cheerfully. She set the tray down on the bed. “Here you go, your highness – a nice, hot breakfast! I hope it's what you wanted. Is there anything else that I can get for you?”

“Moondancer?” Twilight exclaimed, astonished. “What in Equestria are you doing here?”

“Just serving you, princess. I'm stationed in the kitchen. I'll be making all of your meals, so if you have any requests just let me know. Sunshine has already told me the sort of foods that you enjoy, but if you want something special I'd be more than happy to make it for you.”

Twilight looked at Sunshine curiously. The white alicorn smiled. “Surprise! I stayed up late last night and did a bit of writing. I told you that we needed some staff to run this castle, and I decided we just couldn't wait any longer. It's only proper for a princess to have servants. Since Moondancer was one of your friends, I thought you might like to see her around. I made six copies of her. This one runs the kitchen, and is actually pretty good at it. The other five were created to be writing assistants. They're in the basement right now working on your new book.”

“Oh, wow. I didn't expect that. Thank you! But how did you get Moondancer's genetic material? I'm positive I didn't have any of her hair on hand.”

“I didn't. I just created her based on your memories of her. She's not a perfect copy, but she doesn't have to be. I wasn't trying to make an exact clone her. We just needed some help.”

Moondancer spoke up. “So is there anything else that you need, your highness?”

Twilight took a sip of her tea. “Nope. I'm good.”

“Very well, princess. Just let me know if there is.”

Moondancer then left the room, leaving Sunshine and Twilight alone.

Sunshine opened Twilight's curtains and glanced outside. “We have a big day ahead of us, Twilight! I have a lot of research to manage, and you have two friends who need your help.”

Twilight nodded. “That's right! I'm sure Applejack and Rainbow Dash will be over here soon. Today is the day Applejack gets her wings.”

“Would you like me to take care of that for you? It wouldn't be any trouble.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I'll do it. They are my friends, you know. Besides, it shouldn't take very long. Once I'm done with that I'll go out and collect the minds of the rest of the gang. I'll return here when I'm done.”

“I will be waiting for your return. If you get done in time then perhaps we could have lunch together. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“It seems that you've done kind of a lot already! I have to say, it's a little creepy to have an army of Moondancers as my personal servants. I'm not sure how she would feel about that.”

“Would you like me to change them?” Sunshine asked. “I can alter their form into something else, if you wish.”

“No, that's ok. Just leave them as they are. Did you really make six of them?”

Sunshine nodded. “I certainly did. Why not? After all, they're relatively easy to make. It didn't cost anything.”

“Do we have that many spare rooms? I'm guessing they're going to be living here with us, right?”

Sunshine shook her head. “We do have that many rooms – and more – but no, they're not staying here. Once they finish their daily tasks they will return to the comics that they were created from. I've created a place for them to live there – a home of their own. There's no reason for them to live in the castle. I thought we could keep the space you had left for your guests and friends.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Twilight said. “Thanks.”

“Let me know if there's anything I can do for you,” Sunshine said cheerfully. She then left the room, leaving Twilight alone with her breakfast.

This is really nice, Twilight thought, as she munched on breakfast in bed. I think I'm going to like my new life. I should have done this a long time ago.

* * * * *

An hour later Twilight walked into her library. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were already there.

“I'm so sorry to keep you waiting!” Twilight said. “I'm afraid I kind of slept in this morning. It was really hard to get out of bed.”

“Oh, that's all right,” Applejack replied. “It ain't no big deal. Besides, we haven't been waiting long.”

Rainbow Dash spoke up. “And the wait gave us a chance to meet that clone of Celestia that you made. Boy, is she ever creepy! What was her name again?”

“Sunshine,” Applejack replied. “She seems nice and all, but it sure was strange talking to her. I don't think Celestia is going to like her.”

“Why not?” Twilight asked. “She's not a bad pony, and she's very good at what she does. Sunshine has helped me out quite a lot.”

Applejack frowned. “And how does she help you, exactly? By creating Moondancer clones to answer your front door? I'm not sure Moondancer is going to like that. It's just plain weird. Are you sure you should be making copies of your friends and turning them into your servants?”

“I think it's great! This new magical technique I've invented opens up all sorts of new possibilities. We are on the verge of changing Equestria forever. In a few weeks hunger, poverty, and want will be things of the past. Celestia has no reason to be upset. I haven't hurt her at all, you know. I didn't take anything from Celestia in order to make Sunshine.”

“That's not the point,” Applejack replied. “Think about it. You're planning on releasing this new magic into the world, right?”

“Absolutely! I can hardly wait.”

“Right. So, you know, ponies are going to use it to make the stuff that they want. You are a pretty popular pony, Twilight. I've seen ponies dress up as you for Nightmare Night. What are you going to do when they create copies of you to play with? Do you have any idea what sort of things they're probably going to do with those copies?”

Twilight turned bright red. “All right, I see your point. I suppose there are some ethical boundaries that we need to work out. But this magic is a good thing. It brought you back to life, Applejack, and made your family whole again. And now it's going to teach you how to fly. Are you ready to get started?”

“You bet!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “I was born ready. Applejack, you're going to love flying. It is totally awesome. You'll never want to set hoof on the ground again.”

“I don't know about that. I still think this is all a mite unnatural. But I'm willing to give it a try. Never let it be said that an Apple was afraid of something.”

“That's the spirit! Believe me, flying is not scary. It is the best thing ever.”

Twilight sat both of her friends down and began to work. Since the castle basement was filled with copies of Moondancer, she had arranged to have the equipment she needed brought up to the library. That way she could perform the transformation spell there.

The first part of the spell was the trickiest. She took a small mane sample from Rainbow Dash and carefully merged it with Applejack's comic. What made it difficult was that she only wanted to extract the flight information from Rainbow's mane; she didn't want to overwrite Applejack with Rainbow Dash. The pony still needed to be Applejack, with her earth pony strength and her cutie mark. It just needed to be Applejack with wings.

Fortunately Sunshine had developed a technique to get just the material she needed. She had even invented a way to merge it with Applejack's existing body. Twilight was impressed at how quickly Sunshine had been able to figure out a solution. I'm so glad I have her, she thought, as she completed the spell. Although, now that I think about it, how did she test this new process? Maybe I need to ask her some questions. Or maybe I should just trust her and not worry about it. After all, she's mostly a copy of me. I'm sure she handles things the same way I would.

After Rainbow's genetic material was merged with the comic, Twilight read it over carefully to make sure that she had done everything correctly. She then made a few minor manual adjustments. The purple alicorn then stepped back, took a deep breath, and activated the modified comic.

In an instant Applejack changed. A pair of beautiful orange wings sprouted from her side. Applejack gasped involuntarily. She turned her head and looked down at her changed body.

“Are you all right?” Twilight asked anxiously. “Did it hurt?”

“No, I'm fine. It just surprised me, that's all. That was the strangest feeling. I felt – well, I don't exactly know how to describe it. I just changed all of the sudden.”

Applejack stared at her wings with a look of pure wonder and amazement. She gently flapped them, and was surprised when she lifted off the ground. She quickly stopped and landed on the floor. “Well if that don't beat all! I can actually feel these things. It's like they're a part of me.”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “Of course you can feel them! That's how wings work. Aren't they awesome?”

“They're a sight all right. So what's next?”

Twilight smiled. “Next is the easy part. I'm going to copy Rainbow Dash's mind into a memory stone and then give you her knowledge of flight. Once I do that you'll know how to use your new wings. In fact, you'll have as much flying knowledge and skill as Rainbow Dash.”

“That is, like, totally awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “So I just need to sit still, right? I've seen you do this before. Only last time you did it with a corpse.”

“That's right, Rainbow. This won't take long. Since you're alive it should be a lot easier than before. It took a lot of effort to get Applejacks mind out of her, um, old self.”

Applejack spoke up. “What did you do with my body, anyway? Last time I saw it my corpse was in your basement. You didn't keep it for experiments or anything, did you?”

“Of course not! I buried the coffin in my basement. It has been respectfully laid to rest.”

“Seriously?” Rainbow replied. “Are you telling me that your super creepy dark magic laboratory now has dead bodies buried in it too? Are you also going to add pony skeletons to its walls? Maybe you could add a whole shelf of skulls. You know – to make it more inviting and homey.”

Twilight facehoofed. “This isn't dark magic! Look. I didn't bury the body in the main section of the laboratory; instead I created a memorial room off to the side. It's all very respectful and in good taste. Applejack, if you ever want to visit your, um, remains, you are more than welcome to do so. Oh – and if you would rather have them buried at the family farm then I can dig them up for you. They are your remains, I guess. Come to think of it, I probably should have asked you before I did anything. I'm just not used to asking ponies what to do in this situation.”

Applejack shook her head. “It's fine, Twilight. I'm not worried about it. My body is fine where it is. I was just curious, that's all.”

“Enough already!” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “I've got big plans for today. Let's get this finished so I can take Applejack flying. This is gonna be so great!”

The memory transfer process was fairly straightforward. Since Twilight had done it once before and knew what she was doing, she found it much easier to cast the spell a second time. It really was easier to get memories out of a living body – especially one that was willing and eager to help. Twilight copied Rainbow Dash's mind into a memory stone, and then set about trying to extract her knowledge of flight and transfer it into Applejack.

To her surprise that proved to be much trickier than she expected. The hard pare wasn't transferring information into a living body; she knew how to do that. The problem was that Rainbow's flight knowledge had other information attached to it as well. Applejack was going to get a lot more of Rainbow Dash copied into her than she was expecting.

It will be fine, Twilight thought. After all, they're friends. It's not like they have secrets or anything. I'm sure Rainbow Dash won't mind.

The entire process took less than ten minutes. When Twilight was done she levitated the memory stone back onto the table and looked at Applejack. “How do you feel?”

“I'm not sure,” Applejack said slowly. “This is really strange. I know all about flying now – in fact, I know as much about flying as I do about raisin' apples. Flying is really, really easy. It's the weirdest thing. I guess the spell worked, Twilight.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “So let's–”

“But there's more,” Applejack interrupted. “I don't just know how to create a sonic rainboom; I actually remember doing it. I have a vivid memory of creating a rainboom at flight camp when I was just a filly. Only I'm pretty sure I wasn't a pegasus when I was a filly.”

“Do you mean you have my memories too?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Not all of them. Just some memories about things you did when you were flying. You know, Rainbow, you've done some pretty weird things while you were in the air.”

Applejack frowned, as if she was thinking about something. Then her eyes suddenly widened. “Sweet Celestia! I can't believe it. Rainbow, do you mean to tell me that you once–”

Rainbow Dash immediately put a hoof over her friend's mouth. “Let's not talk about that. Twilight, you didn't tell me that you were going to give away all my secrets!”

“I am so sorry. I didn't do it on purpose! I didn't even know you had secrets. This is all new magic, you know. There are some parts of it I haven't worked out yet.”

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash. “You are quite a pony. I have to say you're not the pony I thought you were. I think I understand you a lot better now.”

“Is that good, or bad?” Rainbow Dash asked anxiously. “It's bad, isn't it? Oh, please tell me it's not bad. You're going to disown me now, aren't you?”

Applejack hugged Rainbow Dash. “You ain't got nothin' to worry about. I'm proud to know you, and I'm mighty pleased to have this new set of wings. In fact, I think we should go try them out. I hear the sky is a pretty awesome place.”

Applejack turned to Twlight. “Thanks a lot – for everything. You've done a lot for the Apple family and for me personally, and I'm grateful.”

“You're welcome. But I don't understand. What has Rainbow been doing?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” Rainbow Dash said quickly. “C'mon – the sky's waiting!”

Rainbow Dash flew out of the room, and Applejack flew right behind her. It was an amazing sight. Applejack flew with the skill of an experienced flyer. It's like she has been doing it all her life, Twilight thought.

Twilight was very pleased. The experiment was a complete success. She had a feeling that Applejack and Rainbow Dash would be much closer now. If anything, this is going to improve their friendship.

As Twilight cleaned up the library, Spike and Sunshine walked in. “So how did it go?” Sunshine asked.

“It went very well! Nothing went wrong. Did you see Applejack fly out of here?”

Spike spoke up. “I sure did! It was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen – and I live with you. I never thought I'd see her fly. She's actually surprisingly good at it. Rainbow and Applejack made good time flying down the hall and out the door.”

Sunshine spoke up. “I'm glad it was a success. Twilight, you should be proud of your great accomplishment. Were there any problems with my technique?”

“Nope – it worked like a charm. You did a great job. Applejack is delighted to have wings. I think the two of them are going to spend the rest of the day in the sky. I wish I'd had this magic available when I first got wings. It took me forever to learn how to fly. I'm still not very good at it.”

Sunshine glanced at the memory stone that was resting on the table. “If you want Rainbow's knowledge of flight then why not take it? After all, you have all of her memories right there. I'm sure she wouldn't mind.”

“And miss out on the joys of learning? It's tempting, but I'm not going to do that. The learning process is just so rewarding! Reading books is about more than just getting information out of them, you know. The act of reading itself is part of the fun. I wouldn't want to skip that.”

“I understand,” Sunshine said.

Spike shook his head. “I think you two are crazy.”

Twilight grinned. “Are you ready to go out and run some errands with me? We have more memories to collect, and I'd love to have the help of my number-one assistant!”

“Sure thing! I'm right behind you.”

Sunshine levitated the memory stone off the table. “I'll go ahead and place this stone with Applejack's, and I'll store Rainbow's extra mane sample there as well. Please let me know if there is anything I can do while you're gone.”

“Thank you so much,” Twilight replied.

Twilight and Spike then left the room. The two friends talked cheerfully with each other. It was obvious that both of them were in a great mood.

Sunshine smiled as she watched them depart. She then began cleaning the library.

* * * * *

The first stop was at Sugarcube Corner, the premier bakery of Ponyville. Pinkie Pie was working at the front counter. When Twilight and Spike walked in through the front door she became very excited.

“There you are!” the pink pony exclaimed. She rushed over and gave them both a big hug. “I haven't seen you two in, like, forever! How have you been? Have you been doing anything exciting? I heard that you made your own personal copy of Celestia. How is she working out? Do you like her?”

Twilight grinned. “Oh, Pinkie, it's good to see you again! I have missed you more than I realized. I've spent too much time cooped up in that castle.”

Spike spoke up. “In that creepy basement, you mean.”

“So tell me everything about Sunshine,” Pinkie said. “Is she nice?”

“She's very nice. I created her to be my research assistant. She has really helped me in my studies of arcane magic.”

“She sounds wonderful! Did she help you give Applejack wings?”

Twilight looked surprised. “Pinkie! How did you know about that? That only happened less than ten minutes ago!”

“Oh, I saw them fly by. Applejack doesn't normally do a lot of flying, so I picked up on that pretty quickly. I then asked myself, who could possibly have taught her how to fly? And I checked the list, and your name was at the top.”

“Sunshine did help with that,” Twilight admitted. “She's been doing a lot for me.”

“That's great! I love helpful ponies. In fact, I need some help myself. Do you think that you could ask Sunshine to make a copy of me?”

“You want what? A copy of you? Why in Equestria would you want that?”

“Because it would be amazing! That's why you're here, isn't it? You want to copy my mind into a memory stone, just like you did with Applejack, so you can bring me back in case I get stepped on by a giant marshmallow monster. And you want a mane sample so you can recreate my body. I've already got everything prepared for you.”

Pinkie gestured to a corner of the room, where she had a giant pile of pink mane clippings. “But you see, I don't want you to wait until I'm squished to copy me. I would really like it if you could go ahead and duplicate me now. Before I get squished. I've always wanted to be friends with myself. I think the two of us would get along super well.”

“Didn't you try that before? I seem to remember this one time when an entire hurricane of Pinkie Pies invaded Ponyville. The town barely survived.”

Pinkie waved a hoof dismissively. “That was different. Those were mirror pool clones. They may have looked like me, but they weren't me, and they got out of hoof. For one thing, there were way too many of them. All I'm asking for is just one perfect copy of me. That's it – just one. It would mean a whole lot to me. Can you do that?”

“Sure, I suppose so. If that's what you want. Do you want to make any changes to your clone?”

“You bet! I've given it a lot of thought over the past four minutes, and I want my copy to be able to fly. That would be amazing! Other than that it should be exactly like me.”

Twilight froze. She thought about what it would be like to have a flying Pinkie in Ponyville. A vague feeling of horror came over her. Pinkie was already an unstoppable force. If she got wings–

Before she had a chance to say anything, Spike spoke up. “Sure, Twilight can do that. In fact, she is an expert at things like that! It won't be a problem.”

“Wonderful!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Oh, we will have so much fun together. Me and myself are going to be the best of friends. I can hardly wait to meet me!”

Pinkie sat down in front of Twilight. “All right, do your magic! I'm ready.”

Despite her misgivings, Twilight took out a memory stone and copied Pinkie's mind. She then took some samples of Pinkie's mane from the giant pile and gave the stone and the samples to Spike.

Twilight hesitated. She knew what she was about to unleash upon the world, but she couldn't say no to Pinkie. “Spike, take these to Sunshine and ask her to make a clone of Pinkie Pie right away. Tell her to give the clone a set of pegasus wings and Rainbow's knowledge of flight. Also tell her that this is a priority request, and Pinkie wants her clone as soon as possible.”

“Got it,” Spike said. He took the stone and the mane and walked out the door.

Pinkie hugged Twilight. “Thank you thank you thank you! This is going to be amazing.”

The pink pony then raced out the door. “Wait for me, Spike! I want to watch!”

* * * * *

After Twilight tracked down the Cake family and made sure that somepony was attending the counter at Sugarcube Corner, she headed out of the city to Fluttershy's cottage. The purple alicorn gently knocked on her front door. “Hello?” she called out. “Is anyone home? Any pony, I mean. Not that I'm against animals or anything.”

Fluttershy opened the door. “Oh, hello, Twilight! It's so nice of you to drop by. Won't you come in?”

Twilight followed Fluttershy inside. As usual, the cottage was filled with animals of all types. Twilight always found it a bit odd that Fluttershy let bears roam around her living room, but she knew that was just her way. Fluttershy had an amazing talent with animals – one she had never seen in any other pony.

Fluttershy and Twilight sat down on her couch. “So what brings you here?” Fluttershy asked. “I've heard that you have very been busy in your castle, working on new kinds of magic. Are things going well?”

“They certainly are! But I'm really sorry about neglecting you. I know I haven't been around very much lately, and I'm going to change that. Things have just been so difficult since the accident.”

“Oh, I understand. There's no need to apologize. That whole situation was so terrible, wasn't it? I felt so bad for the Apple family. But then you were able to bring Applejack back. That was really nice of you. The family has been so happy ever since she returned. I had no idea you were able to do things like that.”

“I've learned how to do all sorts of things. I can actually create entire worlds now, and make dreams come to life. The magic that I've developed has enormous potential.”

“You can make dreams come to life?” Fluttershy asked. “Really? How does that work?”

“It's actually pretty simple. You just write down in a comic whatever you want. Then you can enter the comic and live the dream. Anything that you can imagine is possible.”

“That does sound interesting. Um, do you have to be an alicorn to do that? You probably do, don't you? I bet a pegasus like me can't use those books. We can't use magic, you know.”

Twilight shook her head. “It's true that I used magic to bring Applejack back to life, but I'm working on a new way of doing things that can be used by anypony. Once I've figured everything out you won't need to be a unicorn to create these comics. You could be a pegasus or an earth pony and it will still work.”

“That would be so nice. I've always enjoyed my dreams, but it would be wonderful to actually live them. You know?”

“Exactly!” Twilight agreed.

“So, um, I know you're busy, but if one day you could show me how to do that – once you've figured it out and all – I would really appreciate it.”

“Of course! I would be glad to.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Actually, there is.” Twilight took a memory stone out of her saddlebag. “Would you mind if I copied your mind into this stone? And I'll need a sample from your mane as well, if that's ok.”

“I guess I don't mind, although no one has ever asked me that before. But how is that going to help you?”

“It's in case of accidents. If something ever happened to you I could use this stone and your mane to bring you back to life. Just like I did with Applejack.”

“Oh. Well, that sounds like a good thing. I think I'd like that.”

“Great! This will take just a few minutes – and it won't hurt a bit.”

* * * * *

After Twilight finished copying Fluttershy's mind into the memory stone, her friend invited her to stay and visit for a while. The two ponies spent more than an hour talking to each other. Twilight thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. It had been a while since she'd had a chance to catch up with her friend, and it was good to know what was going on in her life.

Fluttershy invited Twilight to stay for lunch, but Twilight said that she had to get going. She still needed to stop and see Rarity. So she bade her friend goodbye and headed back into town.

When she got to the Carousel Boutique and entered the door she saw that Rarity was not alone. Pinkie Pie was there with her. In fact, there were two Pinkies – one with a pair of wings, and one without. The two Pinkies were filled with energy and were excitedly darting around the room. A very frazzled Rarity was trying to calm them down, but her pleas were having no effect.

When the Pinkies saw Twilight they rushed over to her. “There she is!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That's Twilight Sparkle.”

“I know!” the pegasus Pinkie said. “I have all your memories, remember? But it's still nice to meet you, Twilight! Today is my birthday. I am literally less than one day old! Did you have a nice visit with Fluttershy?”

“It was very nice,” Twilight replied. “Fluttershy is doing well. Um, how are you doing? What is your name?”

“It's Pinkie, of course,” the pegasus Pinkie replied. “I've always been Pinkie since I was born. Well, since the original was born, I guess. I'm the copy made by your assistant Sunshine, which you probably knew because of my wings. But a copy of Pinkie is still Pinkie.”

“Maybe you could be Pinkie Two,” the other pink pony said. “I could be Pinkie One. That way when ponies call out our names we'll know which one they want.”

Rarity spoke up. “Whatever your names are, will you please calm down? You've already knocked over a whole rack of my dresses, and you scattered sequins everywhere! If you are going to fly then please do it outside. This boutique is not a barn.”

“That's Rarity,” Pinkie Two said to Twilight. “She's a wonderful pony.”

“You are a wonderful pony and clone,” Pinkie One exclaimed. “It's nice to have another sister in the Pie family! You can never have too many sisters, you know. Especially if the sisters are you. Oh, Maud is going to be so excited to meet the new me!”

Twilight grinned. “Well, if you see your sisters be sure to tell them hello for me. All of them are welcome back to Ponyville any time. I know we'd all love to see the Pie family.”

Pinkie One's eyes widened. “That gives me a terrific idea! Pinkie Two, you haven't met my family yet, have you? We've got to plan a trip immediately!”

“Let's do it!” pegasus Pinkie exclaimed. She picked up the original Pinkie up and put her on her back. The pair then flew out of the store and soared off into the sky.

Twilight shook her head as she watched them leave, and then closed the door behind them. “They're quite a lively pair, aren't they?”

“Indeed they are,” Rarity agreed. “They are much too lively, if you ask me. It's a bit hard to get a word in edgewise now that there are two of them. I don't mean to be rude, darling, but why in Equestria did you agree to clone Pinkie? Have you taken leave of your senses? Surely the mirror pool incident demonstrated that the world can't survive more than one Pinkie at a time!”

Twilight was taken aback by Rarity's irritated tone. “I don't think they're going to be a problem – and no, I'm not stupid. Pinkie brings a lot of joy and laughter into the world, and she is very good at making friends. Two Pinkies is better than one. Besides, I think Pinkie learned her lesson. She's not going to go crazy this time.”

Rarity looked around at her dress shop. The whole room was in a state of utter chaos. Dresses were everywhere, furniture was overturned, and the ground was littered with sequins. The place looked like it had been hit by a riot.

“Pinkie is already crazy. Two Pinkies compounds that craziness and makes the whole situation far, far worse. I don't know what's gotten into you, Twilight. You've turned into some kind of mad scientist. Have you given even a moment's thought about the consequences of what you're doing?”

Twilight felt a sharp pain stab through her heart. Her joy and happiness vanished in an instant and was replaced by a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Excuse me? What do you mean?”

Rarity used her magic to hang some dresses back on the rack. “Are you blind? Don't you see what is happening here? The whole world has gone crazy, and it's all your fault! Applejack is back from the dead, and she now has wings and can fly like a pegasus. You have your own personal copy of Celestia, who you've turned into some kind of mind-controlled slave. And now you've duplicated Pinkie Pie and they're going around destroying the whole town. I just don't know what to do anymore. When did you decide to become a force of chaos?”

“I am not a force of chaos!” Twilight said angrily. “I am a good pony. I am helping things, not making them worse!”

“Then you really are a fool. Can't you see what is happening? You've launched a revolution, Twilight, and are turning reality onto its head. You've become just like Discord. This world used to be governed by rules – rules that could not be broken. Those rules provided a sense of understanding and order. Ponies knew what sort of things to expect. For example, when a pony died they stayed dead. If you were an earth pony then you would always be an earth pony; you would never be able to fly. And ponies were unique. There was only one Pinkie Pie and there would never be two of them. Those were things you could count on.”

Rarity sighed. “Don't you see? Now that you've found a way to create anything that you want, there's no longer any way to live your life with a sense of order and predictability. You can't plan for the future because you have no idea what the future might bring. Change is painful, Twilight. It leads to confusion and uncertainty. What I'm seeing is discord, not harmony. I have to say I really don't care for it. You of all ponies ought to know better.”

Twilight felt rage boiling up inside her. She fought back the tears and tried to keep herself calm. “I just don't see your point. All of the things that you mentioned are good things. Bringing Applejack back from the dead was a good thing. Giving her the ability to fly was a good thing. Being able to create food and water for starving ponies is also a good thing. Yes, it's true that my magic is bringing change. But all of these changes are going to lead to a better Equestria. They will bring new opportunities and a new way of life. There may be some adjustment involved, but after that adjusting period is over ponies are going to love their new lives. Don't you see? With this magic you can have anything that you ever wanted! Applejack wanted to fly, and now she can fly. Pinkie wanted a copy of herself, and now she's got that. Isn't there anything that you want?”

“I already have everything that I want,” Rarity replied testily. “Or, at least, I used to. I had a loving sister, a thriving business, good friends, and a world that I understood. Now I see my world teetering on the brink of utter madness. It's frightening, Twilight. I have to say I don't care for it – and I don't care for what you've become, either. I'm very disappointed in you. I really thought you were better than this.”

Rarity suddenly stopped. She eyed Twilight critically. “Just why are you here, anyway? I haven't seen you in some time. This isn't just a social call, is it?”

Twilight was deeply hurt, but she was determined to not let Rarity know that. She wasn't going to break down and start crying in the middle of her store. There was no way she was giving Rarity that satisfaction.

The purple alicorn took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “Well, Rarity, it is and it isn't. I did want to go around and see all of my friends – honest. I had a lovely visit with Fluttershy. It was so good to spend some time with her – and I'd like to spend some time with you, too. I feel like I've lost touch with what is going on in everypony's life. But you are right. I did come here to ask you for a favor.”

“You want to copy me, don't you?” Rarity said bitterly. “You foolish mare. Pinkie already told me all about it, and frankly I'm appalled. She said you copied her mind into a stone, and then Spike took it to your assistant. Sunshine then used her magic to create the pink pegasus that is now terrorizing the town. You want my mind as well, don't you?”

Twilight resisted the urge to slap her friend. Don't make me turn you into a frog, you bitter harpy. You're about as generous as a zombie. “That is correct. I need a copy of your mind and a sample of your mane. Now, I'm not planning on making any copies of you. I just want to have these things on hand so that when you die I can bring you back, the way I brought back Applejack. I'm not going to clone you like I did Pinkie. I only did that because she asked for it.”

“I'm afraid I can't help you,” Rarity said firmly. “Well, technically speaking I suppose I could help you, but I have far too much sense to do so. You have taken leave of your senses, Twilight. I have no desire to see a copy of myself roam around Equestria, using my name and reputation to do who knows what. I'm not going to permit that while I'm still alive, and I'm not going to permit it after I'm dead either. I find the entire matter deeply offensive.”

“You know it will be you, right?” Twilight asked. “It will be you in every possible way. It will have your body, your memories, your knowledge, your morals – even your cutie mark. It's not going to be some kind of undead abomination.”

“It will most certainly not be me! I am me. If you create a duplicate, it still won't be me. It will just be an imitation of the real thing, and I refuse to be imitated. I am a rarity, darling. There is only one of me, and that is how it will stay. I am not going to participate in this madness. Now if you will excuse me, I have some work to do. That is, until you give all my customers the ability to make their own dresses out of nothing. Then I suppose I'll be out of work and will starve to death. Good day.”

Rarity turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Twilight alone.

* * * * *

Twilight was deeply hurt by Rarity's complete rejection. She slowly walked back to her castle and made her way to her bedroom. She then collapsed onto her bed and cried. The princess knew that it was silly to cry. Some ponies would like her new technique, and others wouldn't. It was unreasonable to expect everypony to be on board with it – after all, it was quite new, and new things can be intimidating. Besides, most of Twilight's friends approved of all her hard work and were supportive.

But Rarity's cutting words deeply hurt her. Rarity was her friend – in fact, she was one of her closest friends. Twilight had put a great deal of effort into inventing this new magic. She had really put her heart and hopes into it. Yet, when she freely offered it to one of her best friends, Rarity had stomped it into the ground and deeply wounded her. Twilight had been counting on the support of all of her friends, and she now saw that she wasn't going to get it. Rejection was hard enough to deal with when it came from strangers. Having it come from those you deeply respect and admire was a thousand times worse.

I've done so much to help you, Twilight thought bitterly. I even modeled a dress for you in Canterlot so you could use my name and reputation to get sales. Is this how you repay me? After everything I've done for you, this is how you treat me?

So Twilight cried. She knew she was acting like a filly but she didn't know how to handle this sort of situation. Her friends had had disagreements before, but nothing like this. Her spirit was crushed.

Twilight was only in her bedroom for a minute when Sunshine rushed in. When she saw Twilight she hurried over to her, picked her up, and held her close. “Oh, Twilight, what's wrong? What happened? Moondancer told me you were upset. Can you tell me about it?”

Twilight shook her head. She just held onto Sunshine and cried.

Sunshine patiently waited on Twilight to calm down. She held her close and wrapped one of her wings around her, and then used her magic to remove her saddlebag. The white alicorn carefully levitated out the bag's contents. Sunshine found a memory stone and a bit of yellow mane, and a second memory stone that was empty. That was enough to tell her what happened. Spike gave me Pinkie's memory stone, Sunshine thought, so this must belong to Fluttershy. Twilight would have gone to Rarity's store next, but there's nothing in here from her. Rarity must have rejected her – that heartless, selfish mare. She's the one who did this to my poor Twilight. I am going to make Rarity pay for what she's done. No one can get away with treating my princess like this. Twilight deserves to be happy.

Sunshine gently stroked Twilight's mane. “It was Rarity, wasn't it?” she said softly. “She's the one who hurt you.”

Twilight nodded. Tears were streaming down her face. “She hates me and she hates my magic. She said I'm like Discord. She said I was destroying the world and was going to put her out of business and make her starve to death.”

Sunshine gasped. “I'm so sorry, dear. I had no idea that Rarity would respond that way to the small favor that you asked of her. She's clearly a very mean and selfish pony who doesn't deserve to have a friend like you. Couldn't she see that you were just trying to help?”

Twilight didn't respond. All she could think about was Rarity's rejection.

“I know,” Sunshine said. “I know it hurts, and I know you care about Rarity. But don't worry, Twilight. All of this magic is new, and sometimes it takes ponies a while to get used to new things. Some ponies like the old ways and need to be taught that the new ways are better. I know Rarity isn't being very nice right now, but I think if you give her some time she will come around. Trust me, Twilight. She will change.”

“You think so?” Twilight asked.

“I know so,” Sunshine said. “Now look. You've had a stressful day, and things haven't gone very well. Why don't you come down with me to the basement? We've been making some excellent progress in our research. Would you like to see what we've done? You might have some ideas about where we should go next.”

Twilight nodded. “I'd like that.”

Sunshine wiped away Twilight's tears and hugged her one more time, then let her go. “I have so much to show you!” she said enthusiastically. “I think you're going to love it.”

* * * * *

That evening, Sunshine put Twilight to bed. She had managed to calm her down and improve her mood, but she knew that Twilight was still hurt over her friend's rejection. Twilight is a sensitive soul, she thought. She's had a very stressful month and she isn't emotionally stable. What she needs right now is the full support of her friends. I'm going to make sure that she gets that.

Sunshine watched Twilight until the exhausted mare fell asleep, and then quietly made her way over to the Carousel Boutique. The night was darker than usual. An overcast sky hid the moon and the stars from view, and a low fog had rolled in from the Everfree Forest. Sunshine kept to the shadows and made sure that nopony saw her. If somepony did see her she could always pretend to be Celestia, but she didn't want it to have to come to that. It would be best if her nighttime adventure went completely unnoticed.

The trip to Rarity's shop took her about half an hour. In the daylight she could have crossed that distance in a fraction of the time, but tonight stealth mattered more than speed. Once Sunshine reached her target she used her magic to teleport herself inside. She then quietly made her way upstairs.

She found Rarity in her bedroom, fast asleep and dead to the world. Sunshine looked at her coldly. She wanted to rush over to Rarity and yell at her, but she knew that wouldn't be productive. Ponies like Rarity cannot be reasoned with. There is only one thing that they understand – brute force. The time for talking and reasoning is over. Now is the time for action. Sunshine had a plan to fix everything and make Twilight happy again, and she was going to stick to her plan.

Sunshine cast a spell onto Rarity that made her fall into a deep coma. She wanted to make sure that Rarity would not wake up, no matter what happened. Once the spell was cast, Sunshine levitated a memory stone out of her saddlebag and placed it near Rarity's head. When she had put the stone in position she took a moment to smile. She knew time was of the essence – she must not be caught doing this – but she couldn't help feeling a bit of triumph. Did you really think you could stop me? Twilight always gets what she wants because she deserves it. I would do anything to make her happy – unlike you, you self-centered brat. I would burn down all of Equestria if that would avenge her pain. You have no idea who you're messing with. Twilight isn't alone anymore, Rarity. She has a very powerful ally now, and I am completely dedicated to protecting her. You crossed the wrong mare.

Sunshine quickly copied Rarity's mind into the stone and took a clipping of her mane. That was the first part of her plan, and so far everything had gone well. It was now time to execute the second part.

The white alicorn took a blank comic book out of her saddlebag. She then merged Rarity's mind and genetic material with the comic. By now she had done that technique so many times that it was second nature to her. Once the comic had been imprinted with Rarity's information, Sunshine levitated a quill and began making changes.

This new Rarity is going to be quite different from the old one, Sunshine decided. The new Rarity will be fully supportive of Twilight at all times. She will always agree with Twilight, no matter what, and will always try to help her. Instead of being a selfish, heartless mare she will be totally devoted to my dear princess. She will love her like a daughter and will do anything for her. As soon as she wakes up in the morning she will go straight to Twilight and apologize for her terrible, thoughtless behavior. This Rarity will have no problem with Twilight's amazing magical abilities, or with her wonderful plans for the world. She will be a perfect friend.

When Sunshine was done altering Rarity's definition, she cast a spell on the comic. The comic briefly glowed with magical energy – and a clone of Rarity appeared on the bedroom floor. She looked exactly like Rarity. She, too, was fast asleep.

Sunshine smiled. She then reached into her saddlebag and took out a small, black book. She cast a spell onto the original Rarity, and she vanished from the world.

Sunshine looked at her tiny black book with a feeling of triumph. You are very fortunate, Rarity. I could have killed you, you know. I could have put you in a dungeon and done terrible things to you. You deserve to suffer for the way you betrayed Twilight. But I am not a bad pony. I was kinder to you than you have ever been to your friends. As long as you are in this comic, time will not pass. You won't even have any dreams. You will be perfectly preserved there, with no way to escape or cause any further emotional damage.

Meanwhile, your duplicate will be the pony that you should have been. Since I control her book definition I can make sure that she always pleases Twilight. She will be so much better than you ever were. You natural-born ponies are so unpredictable and erratic. The magic-based race that Twilight and I are creating will be vastly superior. They will always follow their character profiles and do exactly as they are told. They will be perfect servants.

Sunshine put the small black book back into her saddlebag, then levitated the Rarity clone onto her bed and tucked her in. Rarity would sleep through the night and then wake up naturally. She would never know what had happened.

The white alicorn looked at her thoughtfully. For now I will leave Twilight's other friends alone. Pinkie and Fluttershy were very supportive today, and Rainbow Dash has urged Applejack to embrace her new nature. As long as they continue to be nice to Twilight I will let them be. If they betray her, though, I will replace them with improved versions of themselves.

Twilight must never know what happened. It's best if she doesn't know because then she can be happy about the new attitude of her friends. I will do anything for Twilight – make any sacrifice and run any risk. Making her happy is all that I care about. It's why I exist.

Sunshine took the comic that defined the Rarity clone and put it into her saddlebag. She knew that she would have to hide both of those books well. They needed to survive and be protected, but Twilight must never find them. That should not be hard. Twilight is not a suspicious pony, and there are so many good hiding places. These two books will never be found.

Sunshine took one last look around to make sure that she hadn't left anything behind, and then exited the Boutique. Tomorrow is a bold new day! Twilight is going to love it.

Comments

[Awesometacular]

Twilight, you've done it now, you created a monster. Now one by one your friends are being replaced with duplicates who's sole purpose it to never disagree with you know matter how questionable your actions and methods, Rarity being the first.