A Second Chance

It was the kind of thing that every pony mother would tell to her children; don’t go into the Everfree Forest. Although, it's not as if they had to actually be told not to go there to avoid it like the plague. That vast forest, covering a good chunk of Equestria, had long been a source of legends, old mare's tales and dark rumours. But, unlike many other such tales, it had reality to back it up. Poisonous plants, terrifying beasts that fed upon unsuspecting ponies, and a general feeling that everything within it was just wrong somehow. For its name Everfree, was indeed an apt one, as no pony had ever managed to exert the kind of control over its land, weather and creatures like they would with everywhere else in Equestria. It was dangerous, through and through, and a place where only the strongest, the most resilient, the bravest, or even the most foolish of ponies would ever willingly go. And yet, despite that, there were those who ventured to this place, not for fame, nor tests of courage or any other such reason, but for far simpler causes. Such was the case today, as Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's resident party planner, found herself venturing through the dense undergrowth and darkened canopies of this forested land. Upon her face was a look of both anticipation and concern, as she looked from left to right, clearly searching for something.

"Okay, Pinkie...you know it's here somewhere. You've just gotta find it!"

She carried on, passing by bushes and ancient trees in her search, never once giving thought to the many strange sounds, or even the eyes glancing at her from the darkness around her. She didn’t know how much time had passed, only that there had been a lot of it, but then, after turning the next corner, a look of understanding came to her, as if conjuring forth a happy memory. Without a word, she charged forward, galloping as fast as her legs could carry her, and within moments, she passed by a particularly large oak, and immediately ground to a halt afterwards. She looked on eagerly, her smiling giving the distinct impression that she was expecting to see something amazing. However, that smile faded when she saw what was actually there. It was a small clearing, and in the middle of it, there was a large boulder. Tilting her head in confusion, Pinkie approached the enormous rock, poking it slightly with her hoof before eventually snorting in annoyance. Rearing up onto her hind legs, she began to push the boulder as hard as she could. But, despite her best efforts, the thing wasn't budging. As one might expect, doing this for a long time soon took its toll, and she started panting heavily, all while glaring angrily at the stone beside her.

"Mean old rock! You're not supposed to be here! There's supposed to be a hole! Not a hole-with-a-rock-on-it!"

Narrowing her eyes at the thing, Pinkie spun around and, in a manner rather reminiscent of Applejack, bucked the boulder with her hind legs. Naturally, this did nothing except causing her to grunt with pain slightly at her attempt, as she sat down on the grass below and started nursing her knees slightly. As she did this, she began to hear a new sound, and turned to her left as she began to see something emerging from the darkness of the forest around her. Although initially worried about this, as anypony would be in her situation, her expression became one of surprise and confusion when she realised that the newcomer was none other than her friend, Twilight. As the young unicorn entered the clearing in earnest, she glanced around before her eyes finally landed on Pinkie, after which she broke out into a small smile.

"Pinkie!"

But Pinkie merely raised an eyebrow at that.

"Twilight?"

Her unicorn friend looked left and right, most likely to try and see if there were any dangerous animals in the area, before eventually starting to walk towards her.

"Pinkie...I've been looking all over for you. What are you doing out here?"

Immediately, the pink mare gained a look of nervousness before swiftly starting to stand on her hind legs, while leaning against the rock and folding her forelegs in front of her chest.

"Oh...you know...just chilling."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.

"...Chilling?"

"Uh-huh! Chilling!" Pinkie replied.

There was a moment of silence between the two mares, as Twilight kept staring at her friend. Pinkie, kept her eyes away for a good long while, not wanting Twilight to see any nervousness in her. However, in time, she began to falter, and her eyes finally glanced in Twilight's direction, seeing the analytical look she was giving her. After a few frustrating moments, Pinkie eventually let out a sigh and landed back onto all four hooves, before looking to her friend and speaking in a low tone.

"Okay! You got me! I was...trying to find the mirror pool."

Twilight titled her head in confusion at that, prompting Pinkie to explain herself.

"It’s this magical place my Grandma told me about when I was a filly. A pool that can make more than one of me!"

Immediately, Twilight’s eyes widened.

"Oh! So that's what it was called!"

Pinkie turned to her, confused as to her friend's response.

"Wait...you know about the pool?!"

Twilight nodded.

"Yes. In fact...I'm the one who blocked it up."

Pinkie stood there, aghast at what her friend had just told her, but remaining utterly silent. With no spoken response from her, Twilight began to explain herself.

"It was a few months back, when I was travelling across Equestria. Any trace of dark or dangerous magic, I took it upon myself to get rid of, or at the very least make it so that nopony could use it, in case it did some serious harm. This pool was one of them. I couldn't destroy it, even with my magic...so I sealed it up with Tom here."

Pinkie turned, looking to the enormous rock behind her, before turning back to Twilight.

"Tom?"

A look of slight embarrassment crossed Twilight's face with that question.

"I...er...named the rock Tom."

Fortunately for Twilight, Pinkie seemed to forget that point soon afterwards, instead returning to the matter at hoof as she looked to her, an almost pleading look crossing her face.

"But...but...but...I need it!"

Twilight tilted her head at that.

"You need it? Why? What could you possibly need to make multiple copies of yourself for?"

Upon hearing that question, Pinkie immediately shut her mouth tightly and began to look away, almost ashamed of the thought of telling her friend the truth about all this. Twilight watched her, clearly not wanting to push or pry into her friend's personal issues, but nevertheless looked on with genuine concern over whatever problems she was having. Eventually, Pinkie turned back to her, seeing this honest worry in Twilight's eyes, and knew her friend only wanted to help. Realising this, she let out a big sigh before starting to nervously poke the ground with her hoof, after which she finally started to explain things.

"It’s just...I wanna help everypony! I'm always trying to make them happy, or to make them smile, but I have so many friends that...I just can't keep up with it all!"

She looked away, placing a hoof upon the boulder.

"I can't be there for everypony all the time...even though I want to be! I mean...I can't just spend time with one friend and not with all my other friends."

The pink mare let out a sigh, rethinking over her issue as Twilight stood there, listening to everything she had to say. Eventually, the lavender unicorn finally spoke up, though her words were of great surprise to Pinkie.

"Yes...you can."

Pinkie immediately spun around, bearing a look of great confusion. As for Twilight, she was wearing a small smile as she approached her friend, speaking softly as she did so.

"Pinkie...that you're willing to go to such lengths, exposing yourself to dangerous magic...just so you can make your friend happy more effectively...it's an admirable thing."

She raised a hoof, gently placing it upon Pinkie's shoulder.

"But...you have to understand something. It's no sin to not be able to spend time with everypony all at once. Sometimes...you'll have days where you can only be with one or two. Having as many friends as you do, all of Ponyville at last count, do you really think all of those friends expect you to spend time with them every day?"

Pinkie stopped and thought those words over for a moment, her ears dropping slightly.

"Well...they did kinda say it was no biggie. But...I'm their friend! And friend make their friend happy! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't do everything in my power to make all of my friends happy?"

Twilight then looked at her with a somewhat sympathetic look, after which she spoke up again.

"Let me tell you something. When I was younger, first entering into Celestia's tutelage, things were a mess for me. There were so many things I felt I needed to do. So many things I needed to learn. It was as if every important thing in the world was being heaped onto my shoulders. No joke but...during my first week...I felt so overwhelmed that I actually considered stopping being her student."

Pinkie gasped at that, shocked at the mere idea that Twilight would have ever done such a thing. After chuckling slightly at her friend's reaction, the young unicorn continued.

"But...I came to realise that...nopony, especially Celestia, ever expected me to do all those things at once. If they took time, then they took time. Trying to do everything at once, just because it's what you feel you have to do...it never ends well. Trust me."

Twilight looked to her friend, who was clearly thinking that matter over carefully. Even so, it did seem like she wasn't entirely convinced just yet. Understanding this, Twilight let out a sigh.

"Pinkie...ask yourself this. Do you think any of your friends, myself included, could be happy knowing that you're running yourself ragged, or stressing yourself out...just to put smiles on their faces? Do you think, for one minute, that any of them would be comfortable knowing you might even put yourself in danger to make their happiness happen?"

Yet again, Pinkie found herself deep in thought over those words. As was often the case when Twilight was involved, Pinkie knew deep down that the words of her unicorn friend contained much wisdom, and she had spoken them honestly, just like she did with everything. But, being the kind of mare that she was, it was clear that Pinkie was struggling with the concept of simply limiting who she spends time with and how much. Even so, after much silence between the two, Pinkie eventually slumped her shoulders somewhat, taking one final glance at the boulder, where the entrance to the mirror pool used to be, before looking back to Twilight, wearing a genuine smile as she did so.

"I guess...I can't be with all my friends...at least not all the time."

Twilight smiled and nodded in agreement over that, but was then taken aback when her friend leapt forward, embracing her in a warm hug in her usual Pinkie Pie manner. Although initially surprised by this, Twilight soon composed herself, smiling once more and returning the hug soon afterwards. The two mares stayed together for some time, until, at last, they parted. Twilight stepped aside, raising her hoof and gesturing to the path that led her here. Getting the message, Pinkie nodded in agreement, and, without speaking a word, the two mares soon set off, heading back to Ponyville at a slow and steady pace. As they journeyed, Pinkie looked over her shoulder, back to the boulder, and let out a sigh.

"Although...it would have been pretty neat to have more than one of me around. It'd be like making a new friend from scratch!"

Twilight turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, Pinkie. Magic like that is dangerous. Perhaps it's for the best if it stays cut off from everypony."

Pinkie thought on that for a while before looking ahead once more, nodding in agreement as she did so.

"Yeah...guess you're right."

But, it was mere moments later that the pink mare broke out into a massive smile.

"Besides...who knows what could have happened if I'd used it too much? For all we know, we could have ended up with so many Pinkies in town that they'd cause utter chaos and force you to start a massive elimination of all of them, thus leading you to regret ending their lives for the rest of time or something!"

Rather than laugh at her friend's bubbly manner of speaking, or even showing shock at how accurate her prediction was, Twilight simply kept her eyes forward, a look of regret crossing her face.

"Yeah...guess so."