4. Now I’m to Begin
Twilight had been staring at the door to Sugarcube Corner for a while now. She hadn’t been able to sleep. She had just been thinking about what Fluttershy had told her, and why she hadn’t been able to argue with her.
When she told her other friends, they had agreed with Fluttershy. She hadn’t been able to argue with them, either. Whenever she tried, she thought back to her poorly planned attack back in town hall. Twilight shook her head. Too late now, she thought to herself. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and went back to staring at the door.
Twilight knew Pinkie Pie got up early every day to prepare for parties. She was hesitant to knock on the door this early. That social more of interrupting a sleeping person festered at the front of her mind. What if this new Pinkie was a late sleeper? What if Twilight had to wait around until noon to tell that imposter what everypony had decided?
“No. I’m not gonna sit here that long,” she whispered. The words were very loud in the quiet morning. They didn’t convince her as much as she had hoped, but she finally got up the nerve and knocked on the door anyway.
A small flurry of noise echoed from inside the building. A few seconds later it subsided, and Pinkie flung open the door.
Her eyes lit up, and a huge smile swept across her face. “Twilight! I’m so happy to see you!” Pinkie flung her arms around Twilight.
Twilight didn’t return the hug. “Uhm, hello, Pinkie. May I come in?”
“Of course, of course! How silly of me!” Pinkie released Twilight and bounced back inside. “Come in, come in! I was just baking cupcakes. It’s what I do, after all!”
Twilight set her bag by the door. She had half-expected the place to be a mess, to have all the furniture rearranged, to be painted a different color, to somehow reflect how abnormal everything felt. Except it didn’t. Everything was exactly the same.
She followed Pinkie into the kitchen. There was a notable pile of pots and utensils scattered everywhere. “I see you haven’t figured out how to do dishes yet.”
“Nope! I’m working on it, though.”
Twilight sighed. The anger and guilt and fatigue seemed to cancel each other out, and she managed to speak calmly. “Anyway, I came here to tell you that everypony decided to let you stay.”
Pinkie gasped. “Really!? See, I told everypony I won fair and square! There’s no way I would ever cheat with something that important.”
“Yea, well, congratulations, I guess.” Imposter.
“Just you wait, Twilight! I’m going to be the best Pinkie Pie ever. I promise not to disappoint you or any of my other new friends!” Pinkie hopped over to Twilight and gave her another one-sided embrace.
Thankfully, the doorbell rang.
“Oh boy! Another visitor!” Pinkie skipped into the foyer, and returned moments later with Fluttershy.
“Look, Twilight! Fluttershy came by to give me a housewarming present!”
“Hi, Fluttershy.” Twilight said evenly.
“Oh, uhm, hi, Twilight.”
“Oh man, this is the best day ever. My first-ever present, from my first-ever friends!” There was a loud ding from the oven. “And my first-ever batch of cookies! Wait right here.” Pinkie leapt over to the oven and began to pull out several large baking trays.
“I thought she was baking cupcakes…?” Twilight asked aloud.
“Well, she’s…enthusiastic.”
“She’ll never be Pinkie Pie, no matter how much or how well she bakes.”
“If you say so…”
“Crumpets are done! What are you two whispering about?”
“Nothing,” Twilight answered promptly.
“Ooh, so it’s a secret? I love those! They’re a lot of fun. Is it about me? It’s about me isn’t it? Anyway, try these brownies! Fresh from the oven!” Pinkie offered them the tray of baked goods. The shapeless brown lumps scattered across it looked incredibly unappetizing.
“They look, uhm, nice.” Fluttershy took one, and Twilight reluctantly followed suit.
Pinkie smiled and carried the tray back to the kitchen island, singing a song to herself as she slid the cupcakecookiebrowniecrumpets onto a plate. She looked up and found the other two staring at her. “What?”
“I’ve never heard that song before,” Twilight said.
“Oh, well, I guess you wouldn’t have! It’s from the other side of the pond.”
Twilight and Fluttershy exchanged a glance, though Twilight’s was more of a resentful glare.
“Well, don’t just stand there, dig in!”
The two ponies braced themselves, and finally took a bite simultaneously. They spat them out simultaneously as well.
“Sooo, what did you think?” Pinkie asked excitedly.
I think it's a great idea, putting a fake Pinkie in there...
She's so like a child. So's normal Pinkie, but new Pinkie is like a child in that she hasn't learned applicable skills yet.
nobody has ever taught her how to bake. Or do anything else that she'd need to know to be what the old Pinkie was.
But she isn't the old Pinkie. She's the new Pinkie. She can be whatever she wants to be. Learn whatever she wants.
I read this and wonder... its a clone of the original. One with a the correct personality, but none of the experiences.
Possibly capable of learning the skills of the original. She should have a similar learning curve and potential.
Unless something crushes her spirit and she becomes more Pinkamena then Pinkie.
( The depressed and frustrated one from the season 3 finale.)
But Dash did say she felt the Original Pinkie didn't feel gone...
Be interesting if by the end the Original Pinkie returns to live with her new twin sister Pinkamena.
Meh... mindless musings.
Thumbed and faved.
The song is from the other side of the pond.... Now that is more scary than anything else thusfar.
And it seems way too soon for Twilight to give up -- She made the spell impossible to break, she can unmake it. Either that or get her flank down under that ice and rescue pinkie pie the hard way.
Sorry, cleverpun. 'Tis not doin' it for me.
Also, I've not heard of this quadrophenia business.
2162634
Well, you don't have to apologize, but may I ask where it lost you?
Quadrophenia is an album/rock opera by The Who. It's main theme is identity.
2164957
That much I got from your blog post. Just letting you know where I stand on that subject.
I read all that you got here so far. I wouldn't say that you lost me at any one point in particular, I just not feeling it. I dunno, I'm no good at articulating my thoughts on these things.
I wouldn't worry about it too strongly. I am just one guy.
2174754
But if it didn't click for you then that means others prolly had the same problem: they just didn't say so.
Perhaps it's the fact that the main plot hasn't shown up yet after four chapters? Or perhaps the short chapters and POV switches are making the pacing feel choppy?
2176601
I suppose I'd lean towards the former, but who knows for sure? Write the rest of it and you'll probably find out. Or at least have a better Idea.
You really shouldn't worry about that, man. It's one of the fundamental rules of life: You can't please everybody.
Aaannnnd the sudden Head-canon of Psuedo-Pinkie talking in a British accent has settled nicely in my brain...
2176601
Sometimes the full explanation really is "not doing it for me". I've read plenty of well-written stories that had interesting hooks and just kind of lost interest after however many chapters, and I've rarely been able to understand why I lost interest or where I ran out of fucks to give.
Now, just to be clear, this story hasn't hit that point. Chapters are a little short, but that's not always a bad thing. Definitely keen to see where you might be going with this.
2185669
It's a rather cleverpun if I may say.
So does that mean that there's another world on the other side of the pool? Like a parallel universe type deal? And if so, wouldn't it be possible to get the original Pinkie back?
"The simple things you see and all complicated" - Substitute, The Who
2252888 well in one of the previous chapters twilight clearly states that she added the side effect that the ponies she sent back couldn't be brought back with magic, so yeah...
4222442 but what if they go inside the pond and grab the real pinkie, stuff hernin a bag and go in a rocket to which they find a wormhole , go through it, and it turns out to be a parelel well original equestrian they were always inside?
...
...Britain?
4837191
Nah! They're in Britain. So ... Australia? Or Hawaii?
The implications for this are huge, and I can't believe neither of them can see that. Come on, girls, think. Your brains are for more than just filling up space inside your skulls.
Just wanted to add that you use human anatomy a little too frequently, particularly the word 'arms.' I wasn't going to say anything – this kind of thing usually attracts enough attention that someone beats me to it – but this is the second story of yours I've read that's doing it and it's getting very distracting.
What the heck does that MEAN?
5310083
In real world it means fro macros she ocean like someone from the UK going to Canada