Pony-Me™

by TheMajorTechie

Move on.

"Y'know," Lisa chuckled as she walked alongside the remainder of the Mane Six, "I find it funny how nobody's brought up the fact that I'm not a pony. Not even strangers."

"We do notice your... differences, darling," Rarity replied, smiling back at Lisa, "But this is Ponyville that you've walked into. This is hardly the strangest occurrence that we've run into."

"Sure is," Applejack agreed, "Ya should'a seen Twilight's face when she got all worked up about some late report to Celestia."

Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa spotted a dim message notification from Samantha.

"Hold on," she paused, frozen in place. "I'll be right back. Gotta answer something."

Lisa pulled her headset off, setting the controllers aside as she pulled up her messaging application.

Hey, Lis. I have a bit of extra time to talk tonight. What's up?

I was in the middle of walking to Twilight's castle. You?

Wait, you're in Equestria right now?

Yup.

That fast?

Yup.

What are you even doing right now?

Walking, like I said. I should probably get back someone gets worried.

Do you think I can join in with you?

Maybe? I mean, I don't have any character model for you, but I can send you the tools that I used.

Don't worry, I'll find a way to make things work. Shouldn't be too hard, anyways.

Ooh, quoting me now, huh?

Idunno. Did you say that earlier?

Yup. Alright then, I quoted you.

Well, I'm gonna get back now. We can meet at Sugarcube Corner or something. Just message me later. I'll send you the custom client program now.

Lisa dragged the window to the side, doing the same to the headset's mirrored output on-screen to access the customized client program. With a single movement of her mouse, she instantly shared the program with her friend.

The girl turned her attention back to the simulation, dragging the output display back into full view as she clutched the headset with her other hand.

"Alright," she spoke into the mic as she placed the device back over her eyes, "I'm back."

Fluttershy nudged her character in the side. "Excuse me," she whispered almost inaudibly, "But what were you doing? We were getting worried about you after you didn't respond to anything."

"I... was thinking!" Lisa responded, clapping her hands together, "I think that we should probably get going now, shouldn't we?"

Applejack made a face at the obvious fib but nevertheless relented.

"Fine, let's go. Ah've been waitin' long enough now anyways."

Rainbow Dash touched down beside the farmpony. "Twilight's castle is still locked!" she exclaimed, "But, I saw Twilight and Pinkie through one of the windows!"

Applejack's mood lifted. "Well Ah'll be darned, Ah knew those two were all holed up in there since they up n' vanished that second time! Ah could just feel it!"

"Now now, darling. Now's not the time to get all worked up. Don't forget that we have a guest with us!"

Applejack nodded, walking to the front of the group. "C'mon then," she beamed, "Let's see what our friends are up to."

Friends... Lisa mused as she trailed behind Rainbow Dash. Geez, it feels like a lifetime ago when I was in this place...

Up ahead, the magnificent castle Lisa once called home towered over the ground, its equally large shadow looming amidst the quickly setting sun.

"It's... it's beautiful," Lisa exclaimed, "I... I mean, Twilight lives in there?"

"Yeah," Rainbow answered, "Been there since her library burned down."

"...Oh, o-oh yeah," Lisa stuttered, "I almost forgot about that."

"Hm? Forgot?" Rarity commented, "Were you acquaintanced with Twilight in the past?"

Lisa shook her head, following up with a thoughtful finger. "Actually," she began, "I... well, I--"

"The girl says she is Twilight," Applejack cut in, "Or was, Ah suppose. Ain't that right, Rainbow?"

"I still don't really get how she can be Twilight when we already have a Twilight," the pegasus grumbled in response.

Lisa forced a grin. "Y-you'll see what she means," she explained, "It's a little weird though, and you might want to brace yourselves for some sort of freakout if I remember my old self well enough."

She turned her attention back to the glittering crystal foundation of the castle.

"Well," she sighed, "It's now or nothing, girls... i-it's... it's time to meet myself."

"And we'll be here every step of the way," Rainbow added, pausing in front of the girl, "I promise."

Lisa's eyes widened as a smile grew across her face.

"Pinkie promise?"

Rainbow playfully rolled her eyes as she went through the motions.

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thank you."

---

Twilight's ears perked as she heard a faint knock on the door.

"I'll go get it," Spike grumbled, slipping out of his basket, comic book still in hand. "You and Pinkie just keep working out whatever it is you're trying to talk about."

Twilight nodded, watching as the young dragon left the room. She turned back to Pinkie, blinking.

"Now... where were we?" she began in a half-whisper, "Let's see... disconnection... sustenance sectors... uh... ah, we were on the part about how I met the old Professor, right?"

"Er... yeah?"

Through the open door, she heard the echoes of the front doors opening up, followed by hoofsteps on the thin carpet.

"Twilight?" she heard Rainbow's voice call, "Pinkie? You there?"

"Hush, darling. Spike opened the doors for us. Why don't you just ask him whether they're here or not?"

"They're just up in the study room, Rarity," Spike commented, "I'm... not sure if you should dist--"

"Don't worry, Spike. Ya don't have to stare at 'er, she's a friend. Popped up not too far from mah farm not too long ago, too. She says she's this sorta Twilight Sparkle from th' past."

Twilight leaned forward on her bed, listening to the conversation. Pinkie's ear twitched.

"May we see Twilight and Pinkie?" a voice - Twilight's voice - asked. "I... want to say something... wait, hold on a second, I gotta do something again real quick."

The mare pushed herself off the bed, giving a brief glance to Pinkie before heading for the door.

"C'mon, Pinkie," she whispered, "she's here. Let's go meet her."

Pinkie cocked her head.

"Lisa Garnet."

Without another word, Twilight left the room. A shudder ran over Pinkie's body.

---

Samantha opened her eyes, squinting in the soft light of the spawn room as she took a shaky step forward. For a few seconds, she continued to simply stand, idly swaying on her feet as she rattled off a message to Lisa in real life.

Hey, I'm here. Where do you wanna meet up?

I kinda just arrived at Twilight's castle. Try to get there ASAP. I wanna make this a special occasion. Sorry for not being able to talk for too long, I can already hear someone coming down the stairs!

Go ahead and meet Twilight without me. I'll catch up later with you guys.

---

Twilight stared down the long, open hallway that led to the stairs. A brief sigh escaped her lips as she stepped out of her study, a single goal in mind: Meet herself.

A blur of colors entered her vision moments before the mare felt herself get pinned against the wall.

"Where were you, Twilight?!" Rainbow hollered much to the mare's annoyance, "We were all worried about you and Pinkie when you disappeared!"

"I was--" Twilight trailed off, "I... was studying?"

Rainbow scoffed. "Twi, that was so bad that even I could see through that lie! C'mon, tell me what you and Pinkie were doing all that time!"

"It's alright, Dash," Applejack mused as she reached the top of the stairs, "No need to put so much pressure on 'er, 'kay?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, moving away from Twilight.

"Anyways, just like Rainbow said," Applejack continued, stopping before Twilight, "We were worried about ya, sugarcube. One day you an' Pinkie were here, and the next, gone!"

"I... I know..." Twilight mumbled, pawing the floor, "I know everything that happened during that time."

Panting, Lisa's character finally made it to the top of the stairs.

"Holy crap," she grumbled, staring over the railing at the bottom steps, "Were those stairs always so high? My running speed definitely should've been able to clear a flight of stairs faster..."

"Lisa."

The girl glanced up, her eyes widening at the sight of Twilight standing with the others.

"Tw-Twilight?"

"Lisa, you need to explain yourself."

"Twilight?" Fluttershy peeped, "Do you know her?"

"Lisa was Twilight, remember what she said?" Rainbow whispered to the mare.

Lisa stared at Twilight, completely at a loss for words.

"Explain yourself!" Twilight demanded, stomping a hoof on the ground, "What. Did. You. Do?"

The girl took a nervous step back, her hands raised defensively. "What... what do you mean, what did I do?" she stammered, "I returned you and Pinkie to Equestria, that's all. Right?"

"That wasn't all you did."

"Huh?"

Rainbow Dash took a cautious step towards Twilight but was held back by Applejack.

"There's a lot more that you did to Pinkie and me than you think you did."

Twilight turned to the ajar door beside herself. "Pinkie," she called, "come out, the rest of the girls have been waiting for you!"

Lisa gasped as a sullen Pinkamena trudged out of the room, her mane stringy and limp as it hung across her face. The mare looked up for a moment, eyes widening as hers met with Lisa's.

"She's just like the drawing you made earlier, Twilight," Pinkie mumbled, "Just like it."

"I don't understand," Lisa shook her head, "How did this happen? Isn't Pinkie supposed to be all upbeat and stuff?"

"Not since she returned, Lisa."

"Wha--"

"Alright, hold up," Applejack butted in, "Before we get anymore bickerin', can somepony please explain what's goin' on between the three of ya?"

Twilight's face softened. "Here," she gestured, "come into my study with me."

She paused before entering the room, her eyes locking with Lisa's.

"You too, me."

"I--"

"No objections. You got yourself into this, you can get yourself out."

The girl let out a sigh. "Fine," she breathed, "I'll explain as much as I can remember."

Her eyes once again met Twilight's.

"But only if you help me," she continued, "I... can't recall very much past a few days ago."

Twilight responded with a wordless nod, nudging the door open as she gestured for the group to follow. Pinkie trailed solemnly behind, pausing for a brief moment to catch another glimpse of Lisa before continuing.

"Hey," Lisa began as she entered the room, "I just noticed this, but what happened to the old library that you lived in? It burnt down, didn't it? I... I don't really remember much about... well, this place being a thing."

"Nothing."

"C'mon, Twilight, it's not like the whole world was turned on its head or anyth--"

"You know what?" Twilight snapped, spinning to face the girl, "What if it was an event that nearly ended the world? What if it did rewrite my life as I knew it? Maybe it did change everything. Hmm?"

"Well sor-ry," Lisa huffed in response, folding her arms. She remained in the pose for a few seconds, swaying in place on her feet before her mood softened. "...sorry..."

Twilight sighed, shaking her head.

"It's alright, Lisa. There's just been a lot going on."

With the others now gathered into the room, Twilight sat on a chair, gesturing for Lisa to do the same.

"So..." the girl began as she sat, "Are we just gonna talk?"

Twilight nodded.

"Ah think Twi here should start," Applejack mused, "We've already heard a bit on your end, Lisa. That is unless you wanna tell us some more."

Lisa's eyes shot over to Twilight, who didn't respond.

"Okay," the girl sighed, "First of all, I should probably say this before somebody discovers it on their own and panics... you guys aren't real."

Twilight and Pinkie both let out amused snorts as the others returned with confused glances.

"Darling, are you alright?" Rarity commented, "First you say that you were Twilight, and now you're spouting nonsense!"

"No, no," Lisa shook her head, "I mean it. Your entire world - Equestria - is just a world that Samantha and I constructed. I was originally Twilight because we were literally the same pe--pony. Ask her yourself if you want confirmation."

All eyes turned to Twilight, who simply gave a single nod.

"Now," the girl continued, "I don't personally remember all that much about the time that I spent in here, but I'm pretty sure that it might've had something to do with the recent separation of myself and Twilight. Her disappearance and Pinkie's both were due in part to me and Samantha deciding to not return to Equestria for some time, and instead return to our homes outside of Equestria."

"...What."

"Seriously," Lisa pressed, "It's true. Twilight, how much do you remember about this?"

---

"And so, somehow, our consciousness-es were soon severed from each other around the time we--"

"Twilight!" Spike blurted, rushing into the room, "Someone's at the door! She's asking for... whatshernameagain?"

"Lisa," the girl replied, smiling at the dragon. "That must be my friend, Samantha."

She turned back to Twilight. "Or as you know her, Pinkie."

"The deal," Twilight nodded, watching her assistant scurry out the room, "Pinkie's gonna have much to say when she comes in."

Lisa raised a brow. "What deal?" she asked, leaning closer to Twilight, "I thought Samantha and Pinkie just learned to get along until Pinkie herself could return to Equestria."

"Pinkie, or at least, the original Pinkie made a deal with Samantha to basically limit herself both in ability and character. It's not your friend's fault entirely, but more something that the old Pinkie did to herself just out of regret, from what she's told the current iteration of Pinkie.

She glanced over to the mare in question.

"She's... confused," Pinkie murmured, staring straight ahead, "She wants to let me be myself like Twilight, but at the same time she's afraid she might break something again."

Lisa raised a brow. "Break what?"

"Physics. Equestria. The entire simulation, even," Pinkie replied, "She wants to talk to Samantha to find a way to fix herself, especially after trapping her in Equestria unintentionally for years on end."

"Well," Lisa concluded, "I guess it's time to talk to my friend then. Let's get this whole mess sorted out, 'kay?"

The girl turned to the other mares, who simply stared back in complete and utter shock. The sound of footsteps approached the partially-opened door. Moments later, Samantha entered the room, giving a friendly wave to Lisa as Spike trailed close behind.

Samantha turned to Pinkie.

"Hello," she greeted, extending a hand, "It's been a while since we talked."

The mare hesitated, looking away from Samantha.

"She wants to talk," Pinkie mumbled, still turned away from Samantha, "She has many questions."

"Is Pinkie alright?" Samantha commented, glancing at her friend, "She does not sound like herself, whatsoever."

Lisa shrugged. "Something about a deal she made with you, I think."

Samantha's eyes widened as she mouthed "Oh". She turned back to Pinkie.

"How about this," she began, "To hold up my end of the deal and to make yours easier, I can... remove some abilities of yours. The tools I have access to this time around should be able to close the loopholes that you used before, so go ahead and tell me what you'd rather keep and what can go."

Everyone watched as a small amount of color and puff began to return to Pinkie.

"I... don't know," Pinkie whimpered, flinching away from Samantha, "She-- I've never imagined what life would be like without being able to do the things I'm known for..."

"Sam!" Lisa whispered, "She's been miserable ever since you merged her with the new Pinkie. I don't think that this deal of yours is being very fair to her."

Samantha fell silent as Lisa continued.

"From what I can remember, most of what she did was just minor things from a privilege escalation bug such as pulling items out of nowhere and stuff. Why not just let her be?"

No response.

"Samantha?"

Lisa poked her friend's character. Still no response.

"You and your friend are weird," Rainbow Dash grumbled, "Both of you have these random times where you just stop everything, and then there's... well, whatever you've been talking about all this time! It's just weird!"

Strangely, a faint clacking noise seemed to emanate from Samantha as she continued to remain completely still. Pinkie stared onward, equally unmoving.

"Pinkie?" Twilight began slowly, waving a hoof in front of the mare's face, "Pinkie, what's wrong?"

Twilight shifted, placing a hoof under her friend's chin as she took a hard look at Pinkie. Once again, no response was given.

"Wait," Rainbow cut in, "Twilight, look what's going on with her tail!"

Frowning, the mare turned her attention away from her friend's face, and instead to Pinkie's spazzing tail.

"Welp, I'm back!" Samantha cheered, her character settling back into a more natural position, "Just had to tweak some things."

With an almost comedic pop, Pinkie jolted in place, her mane and tail instantly returning to their original puffiness as color returned to her coat.

"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed, blinking. "That... that was all?"

She turned to Samantha, who simply gave a smile and a nod in return.

"So... you fixed me, then?"

"Eh," Samantha mumbled, "Not so much fixed as just returned you to how you originally were."

"But what abou--"

"Don't worry about it, Pinkie. I think you'll know what's best."

Samantha turned to Lisa, who continued to stare at Pinkie in astonishment.

"Well?" she smiled, "Anything you'd like to say?"

"Twilight," Lisa stated, gesturing toward the mare in question, "She's been through just as much as Pinkie. Do you think you can help her out as well?"

"Sure. Should I just do the same thing I did with Pinkie?"

Lisa raised a brow.

"Y'know, talk to her a bit behind-the-scenes, remove any self-imposed limitations, re-merge their memories into a single stream instead of two competing timelines, et cetera."

The sound of a hoof stomping on the floor suddenly echoed through the room.

"With all this mumbo-jumbo 'bout fixin' and helpin' out Twilight an' Pinkie being thrown around," Applejack deadpanned, "Ah think it'd be best ta leave the four o' you alone."

The mare turned to the rest of the girls.

"...Well, I guess it would be rude to be around when they're so sensitive still..." Fluttershy whispered, "I... I think I'll go with Applejack."

Everyone watched as Applejack promptly stood up and walked out the door, Fluttershy following timidly behind. The door shut with an unceremonious click.

"Anyways," Samantha continued, turning her attention back on Twilight, "the decision's up to you. Would you like to forget that all of this ever happened, and return to your old life?"

"I..." Twilight trailed, "I don't know. Should I?"

Samantha shrugged. "I mean, I don't have to remove any memories. I didn't do anything like that to Pinkie, but if you want to get rid of any memories, I could remove them for you."

Twilight hesitated, pawing the floor with a hoof.

"Do it," she mumbled, "Just... don't delete my memories. Put them somewhere else instead... in your world, perhaps. Or at the least, keep them from influencing me anymore."

With a nod, Samantha's character once again fell perfectly still, as did Twilight Sparkle. Precious minutes passed as the faint clacking noise resumed. Pinkie shifted uncomfortably, fidgeting in place as she kept her eyes on her friend.

"Hm..." Samantha's voice hummed faintly through her closed lips, "That's interesting..."

"What's interesting?" Pinkie peeped, glancing at Samantha, "Is something wrong?"

No response.

An audible sigh came from Samantha's character, followed by more clattering.

"I think all we can do now is wait and see," Lisa began, glancing at Pinkie, "Hopefully, Twilight'll be fine."

Another minute passed. Lisa shifted in her chair, staring at Twilight.

"'Kay," Samantha suddenly blurted, her character returning to motion, "Twilight, how do you feel?"

The alicorn continued to sit still, staring straight ahead.

"Twilight?" Samantha repeated, "Twilight, is everything alright? You're certainly taking your time compared to Pinkie. Is anything wro--"

The girl was cut off as a shudder ran up the mare's spine. Twilight shook her head, blinking. With a frown, she glanced about the room.

"How are you feeling, Twilight?" Samantha asked, "We were getting a little worried when you didn't come to."

"I... I just had the strangest experience..." she grumbled, rubbing her eye with a hoof. "Feels like I was just run over by a chariot or something..."

She glanced back up, shrinking away at the sight of Lisa and Samantha with a gasp.

"D-did it work?" she stuttered, eyes widening, "Am I better now?"

She fumbled with her hooves, feeling herself over. "I don't feel any different. How am I supposed to know that I'm better now?"

"Nobody can tell, but let's hope you will be," Samantha smiled, "You don't have to live with those memories anymore, Twilight. Go on and live your life."

The mare turned to Lisa.

"What she said," the girl began, gesturing at her friend, "It's your life now. You do you, and I do me. We've spent quite some time together now, haven't we?"

Twilight nodded slowly, a shadow of a smile forming on her face.

"I mean, we've spent, what-- a decade together now. Not just as friends, but as a single being," Lisa continued, "I-it'd be crazy to imagine what my life would've been like had it not been for you, nevermind the fact that you wouldn't even be around!"

"Lisa."

"We... we're separate now. It-it's just hard to come to terms with that after having had so much happen just in the past week. This place was our home, the place that not only you lived in, but the place I called home as well. I... I--"

"Lisa..." Samantha sighed, "It's alright, don't get so emotio--"

"--I poured my heart into making this place, into making us possible," Lisa sniffed, "Ba... back when things first started going, I thought that I could spend the rest of my life here, as you, Twilight."

"Lisa, that's enough now."

"I-- sorry..." the girl paused, her character mimicking her real-life self wiping away a tear, "It's just... I never thought that I'd be saying goodbye like this. Especially to someone--somepony who I saw as a reflection of myself in every way."

"It's alright, Lis," Samantha soothed, patting her friend on the shoulder, "We know you've been through a lot. It's okay now, you don't have to worry anymore."

Lisa sniffed again, nodding as she forced a smile.

"And even then," Pinkie added, "If you're ever feeling down in the dumps again, you could always drop by and say hi!"

More nodding.

"On the bright side," Samantha beamed, clapping her hands together, "We've got much more time on our hands now than ever before! Just think of what you can do now. You could travel the world, Lisa, or maybe settle down and take up that offer Argall gave you. Y'know?"

"Yeah..."

"Personally," Samantha continued, "I'm hoping to regain my old position at the company. I want to bring back the old tech camps that we used to go to as kids, so that we can train the next generation to surpass even us in the future!"

"Certainly sounds like a plan," Lisa sighed, her smile slowly returning, "You're still aiming as high as ever, aren't you?"

"Hold on just a sec," Pinkie blurted, whirling around to Samantha, "I just realized that Twilight seems like she still remembers a lot! Didn't you remove her memories already?"

"Not quite removed, but stored away separately," Samantha smiled, turning to Twilight. "You said earlier that you wanted to keep your memories, but to leave them detached from you personally. Remember that?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rainbow blurted, "With how you and Pinkie were acting earlier, I don't really think that it'd be a really good idea to remember... uh, stuff like that."

"Oh? Rainbow, you're still here?" Twilight hummed, "I thought everypony else besides myself and Pinkie left earlier when Applejack walked out."

"I suppose we have been rather silent for the past few minutes," Rarity commented, "But if you'd like, we could fetch Applejack and Fluttershy before our new friends here have to leave."

"I think that'd be good," Lisa began, "I don't think we'll be sticking around for much longer, so... I guess it'd be best if I could say goodbye to everyone at once."

The girl turned away, her hands folded in her lap.

"Darling?" Rarity asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Celestia," Lisa mumbled, "Before I go, I want to see her one more time. Even if she isn't who she used to be, I know she'll still recognize me."

Twilight frowned. "It'd be strange if she didn't recognize us," she shook her head, "Celestia's known me long before we separated, Lisa."

"No, no, not that," Lisa fussed in response, "What I mean is that we knew each other even before Equestria, back when... when--"

"It's alright, sugarcube," Applejack consoled, pushing the door open as she led Fluttershy, "If ya wanna see the Princess before you go, then by all means, feel free to do so!"

Lisa's eyes lit up. "Really?" she exclaimed, "B-but I thought that Celestia wa--"

"Don't worry," Rainbow Dash puffed her chest, "We're the Elements of Harmony, we can meet her any time we want!"

Comments

[Luckyfanisaac]

Walking, like I said. I should probably get back before someone gets worried.

It's not your friend's fault entirely, but more something that the old Pinkie did to herself just out of regret, from what she's told the current iteration of Pinkie.”(——

0:43