She's the original. She won the paint-watching test, fair and square.
So why do the townsponies keep avoiding her? Why do all her friends keep whispering around her? And why does Twilight keep insisting that she isn't any good at baking or throwing parties?
She's the original. The best Pinkie. She won the test, fair and square. She's not some copy, not anymore…but perhaps being a copy would be easier than being herself.
Comments contain spoilers.
Partially inspired by Quadrophenia by The Who. The [Pinkie Pie] and [Other] tags together represent Pinkie Pie's clone.
Editing and prereading thanks; Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi, CDRW, Sereg, JapaneseTeeth, MidnightRambler, and especially Nonagon. If you liked this story, be sure to check out their pages too!
Now I'm to begin
The life that I'm assigned
A life that's been used before
A thousand times
—The Who, "905"
You've got a nice plot, and good characterization. Just make the chapters a wee bit longer.
2140977
They do get longer as the plot grows more complex.
My editors told me the same thing
2140983
Okay. Just letting you know.
i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q714/mufffinpatrol/tumblr_men9n121621qcwhkeo1_400.gif
Yeesh, this is comically dark. Or darkly comical. Either way, favoriting this. Should be interesting.
I wonder how long it will take New Pinkie to "grow up" and become her own person, so to speak. Or if she'll even get around to doing so. There were a lot of ponies who loved Pinkie, and grief can do bad things to someone.
This is sad! It's good though, the voice of the Pinkie clone was good characterization. I'm intrigued to see where this goes.
Yeah, this episode was very.... dark. I mean, this was life and death hanging in the balance. And this is an interesting take on what would've happened if the real Pinkie lost.
This is an absolutely wonderful story. A simple concept, executed pretty much flawlessly.
It takes advantage of the terrible thought process that resulted in a terrible test, that was more likely to produce a wrong result than a right one. Then everypony gets in a huff and starts mistreating the answer that they wanted, regardless of its truth.
Existentialism and ponies. Glorious.
What is even more interesting is that the real Pinkie told the clone what to do when she, the real Pinkie, lost and did so while thinking she may not be the real Pinkie Pie. Hidden depths indeed.
Well, ain't this a predicament.
This is... dark. I don't mean gore, blood, and death dark. I mean truly emotionally dark. I mean like the emotions of Katniss Everdeen before the Hunger Games dark. I mean like the slightly less action-packed scenes of the Matrix dark. I mean like Past Sins' Nyx's identity crisis dark.
...
None of these similes are making any sense, are they?
2148698
I've heard, used, and created worse similes
And darkness makes the light brighter by comparision... Right?
2144044
Thank you!
I was thinking more about identity in general than existentialism in particular, but I guess I can't deny that it is present (a lot of things are, I suppose).
What is interesting now is that Pinkies friends are still having trouble seeing the differences between the clone and the original despite them being different in several key ways. An interesting and saddening thought.
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.
Plot indeed.
...
Not in that sense, you perverts.
The Plot!!!
Aaannnnd the sudden Head-canon of Psuedo-Pinkie talking in a British accent has settled nicely in my brain...
uh what cupckakes twilight? i dont like cupcakes but it seems it is going that way infact i cant think of it going any other way
oh and um maybe it is pinkie she could have been so hard on herself that she made herself into a not pinkie but really she is the real pinkie :P she has a imagination it could happen she could even force the names...
Drugs. Then she kidnaps the fake Pinkie.
JUST STOP BEING GIGANTIC DICKHEADS AND THINK FOR A SECOND PONIES.
I know prey/herd animals are mispositioned for the sort of "Outsiders bad" thing, but... Damn. just.
Nopony here is accepting?
Applebloom, who accepted a zebra, wont accept pinkie? Applejack?
I get that grieving is hard, but, if I saw pinkie, I would just give her help, not tell her she's not a pony and walk by,
just. stop being assholes goddamnit!
Wait: if Twilight used a ‘back-from-where-you-came’ spell, it would send her to the rock farm! She's still alive! Right?
2247022
Uncanny Valley--Sometimes being slightly different is more disturbing than being concretely different.
I had to move the in-universe explanation to a later chapter, but perhaps I should've left it where it was...
Ooh ooh! I know what Twilight's gonna do! She's gonna kill and skin the Pinkie-clone and then she and the others can wear it and pretend to be her!
Did you know that I found this on EQD? Congratulations! And, you know, you definitely deserve it. I love this story and will continue to read it.
2247496 I doubt this is her plan, sadly I do think it will be something this crazy though.
2247059
I dunno, I'd certainly be like : Oook, this is so very wrongity wrong, but this pony clearly needs my support, even if she doesn't quite know why.
But im not a prey driven pony who went through pinkie induced hell..
I always thought that the way Twilight tried to find the "Real" Pinkie was an absolutely terrible idea. One screw up and boom. Thank God it's a family friendly show.
Why dosn't she just bring the imposter back to the mirror pool, have her duplicat herself again, and then wait untill what Twilight assumes is the real Pinkie Pie and then go from there?
2247496
Cosplay.
I only sporadically read fanfics, and almost never drop any comments, but I was idly curious when I saw this linked on EQD and the brevity of the chapters made me give it a shot.
I've kinda wanted to see someone play off the possibility that the wrong Pinkie was allowed to stay in that episode, and I like your approach. It's relatively succinct, it maintains its own continuity well, and it keeps you engaged. I honestly wouldn't have a problem if it were longer but it doesn't necessarily need to be.
I'm curious to see what you do with the "fake" Pinkie (I also liked that you specified she was the first clone to spawn from the pool); I have a few thoughts that I would (and wouldn't) like to see, but I know an author always has their own agenda, so I won't sit and type anything up myself :P Good stuff so far, keep goin :)
2248199
Thanks, glad you liked it so far!
My agendas are never well-planned or set in stone, as my editors and story notes can attest. If someone makes some interesting comments they may find their way into my plan somehow. If nothing else I like reading other people interpretations of things.
You could always comment anyway, and then you'll be able to say "I knew it!" later
I'm sure I can be wrong in my assumptions on how this story works I mean hell there could be a way to reverse it but I think this pretty much requires a TRAGEDY tag.
I'm going with this one lol...I hope we are right! 2247030
Sad
I will keep reading but oh gawd if I have figured out how this ends it will be too sad to keep...........
2248516
2247030
No, technically a "Back from whence you came" spell would send her back into her mother's womb.
So this whole mess will be fixed in approx. 10 - 20 years!
I'm intriqued about the idea of the other side of the pond and hope that it gets explored very soon.
I do have a number of crackpot theories for it, but I would rather just let it be and see what you have come up with.
2249101
Well, I do love listening to crackpot theories if you change your mind
2247030
Exactly what I was thinking!
Tragic and horrifying and hard not to read. I am hooked, and it makes me sad.
Did First Clone want to win the most because she had already experienced not having fun? She seemed to me to be the most self-aware of the clones, and thus the clone with the most empathy. This is the only bit I find less realistic.
Of course I could be saying that because I've already written a sadfic about First Clone, but...
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.
2247955
Presumably she'll just generate clones of First Clone, and never actually get the original Pinkie Pie.
Sorry I'm a bit late, but congrats to making it on EQD. I really enjoy what you have so far. It's a really interesting way of exploring Pinkie's relationships with the other ponies even in her absence.