When Pure Love meets Boundless Joy
Rifts of cheerful laughter danced merrily across the town of Ponyville as mares and stallions engaged each other in conversation or in other ways. Many a pony trotted about, with boxes of chocolate, or bundles of flowers or even both, with the hopes to impress that special somepony. The sun shone brightly down upon many couples, all of whom kissed, laughed or gave each other sultry looks. For today was Hearts and Hooves Day, the one day a year truly dedicated to love and the ponies that held it in their hearts.
Outside one delightfully decorated dessert shop, a lone line of ponies waited to enter Sugar Cube Corner. The bakery was abuzz with ponies, many nervously trotting in place, while others talked excitedly to anypony that would listen. The establishment owners, Mr. and Mrs. Cake, ran about in a blur behind the counter. Mrs. Cake took orders in a fast and efficient manner, though the line never seemed get any shorter. Mr. Cake ran back and forth from the counters, as well as into the back kitchen.
A cacophony of sound could be heard from the back kitchen, the crash of pots and pans a percussion to the chorus of voices in the shop. Mr. Cake pushed the door open and dared to peek inside. Pinkie Pie, the perpetually perky pink pony that loved to plan parties, stood before a long table. Her hooves were covered in flour, her curly pink hair pulled back. She stuck her tongue out a little out of the side of her mouth as she focused intensely upon the bowl in front of her. With the twirl of a wooden spoon, she mixed the ingredients with speed and precision. She tossed the bowl into the air with a flick of her hoof, the bowl getting a good bit of hang time, before she caught it once more with the end of her spoon.
"Three more orders for the Lover's Chocolate Cake Special, Pinkie Pie!" he shouted over the noise.
"Coming right up, Mr. Cake!"
Mr. Cake closed the door and went back to assist his wife. Pinkie Pie had never taken her attention of her work, the focus of a true master evident in her movement.
"No amount of goodies is too much for me, The Master of Pie!" she giggled. In a rush of movement, Pinkie Pie had gathered all the ingredients for the newest orders, even as she took the time to check on all of the ovens. Many orders still baked as she worked, her hooves moving faster than anypony could see. Majestic cakes and pastries of all kinds were almost magically brought into existence as Pinkie Pie remained focused upon her craft.
Hearts and Hooves day was a wonderful holiday and one of Pinkie's favorite. She worked hard, though her mind occasionally drifted to the party she had planned later. Twilight had let slip that Princess Cadence would be visiting Ponyville this year for the holiday celebration, and Pinkie couldn't help but plan an extra special party.
As she worked, Pinkie Pie's right leg started to itch. Pinkie was too focused to immediately give it any attention as she poured the melted chocolate over enormous strawberries. It was easily the most requested holiday gift, as Pinkie had already made nearly a hundred of them, but each one was still given equal love and attention.
After Pinkie placed the fruit onto a rack to harden, she glanced at her hoof. She furrowed her brow as she looked around the kitchen for anypony that might be watching her.
"Itchy hoof means somepony is being a super sneaky spying spy, and I don't really have time to go look for you right now, so just come on out!" Pinkie Pie tapped her hoof impatiently as she looked around the kitchen. She picked up a bag of cake frosting, the end that squirted held out like a weapon. "Come out with your hooves up!"
A pink haired alicorn stepped out from behind a wall, which led to the stairway to the upper stories of Sugar Cube Corner. Her flank was adorned with a blue crystallized heart, her pink coat only a slightly different shade from Pinkie Pie's. In addition, she also sported a small miniature Alicorn on her back, who giggled and laughed as she saw Pinkie Pie.
"Princess Cadence!" cheered Pinkie Pie. She tossed the cake frosting into the air, which landed perfectly onto the table, before she bounced over to the alicorn princess of love.
"Shh." Cadence said as she held a hoof to her muzzle.
Pinkie blinked in surprise, but then leaned in close to whisper, "Why do we need to be quiet?"
"I don't want anypony to know I'm here, Pinkie, please don't say anything," Cadence pleaded. Flurry Heart, the baby alicorn with a swirl of blue and pink hair, giggled at the pair of pink ponies.
"But aren't you here for the Hearts and Hooves Day party?" Pinkie whispered as her eyes furrowed in confusion.
"Well, that why I came here, actually." she said. She blushed slightly, which was hard to tell with her coat color. "I hoped that you would be willing to help me with that."
Pinkie's eyes widened, the start of a smile upon her face. "How can I help?" she said as she nearly bounced into the air with excitement.
'Well..." Cadance said as she put a hoof to her chin in thought. "I kind of wanted to take the rest of the day off. Maybe I could just enjoy some time with little Flurry Heart here and not have to fix romance problems this holiday."
"Not sure how I could help with that, but I'd love to try!" said Pinkie.
"I'm going to give you just a bit of my magic, Pinkie, so that you can act in my stead," Princess Cadence explained.
Pinkie blinked in confusion, but then smiled and nodded. "I'd love to help, but I do still need to bake for a while. It is one of the busiest days for Sugar Cube Corner."
"Oh, don't worry about that, Pinkie Pie," Princess Cadence assured her. "Flurry Heart and I will handle the rest of the baking."
"I didn't know you liked to bake!" Pinkie said as she hopped in place.
"Shining armor isn't a particularly good cook, and, on top of that, I loved to bake Twilight treats whenever I used to foalsit her." Moving into the center of the kitchen, Princess Cadence gestured for Pinkie Pie to stand in front of her. "Now, Pinkie Pie, stand as still as you can, and let me work my spell." Pinkie Pie nodded and followed her instruction the best she could. She stood still for what felt like an eternity, though it was actually only ten seconds—Pinkie just had a really hard time standing still for any length of time.
Princess Cadence's horn flashes bright pink, the kitchen aglow of vibrant magic of a matching color as she bent her head in focus. Her horn pointed at Pinkie Pie, the magic pulsed, and then there was a giggle. Flurry Heart, who was still snuggled atop her mother's back, lit her own horn. Before Cadence realized the change of magical power in the room, the spell finished, which sent warm waves of energy into Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie's eyes flash white as she was lifted into the air. As her face went blank, the magic surged around her, before it accumulated at her chest. With a brilliant surge of light and sound, Pinkie Pie sent a wave of pink exploding outwards. Cadence covered her eyes with a hoof, the radiance of magic too bright to gaze upon. When she felt it was safe, she turned to check on Pinkie Pie.
"Why was there so much power in that spell, I could have sworn..." Cadence trailed off as she looked back at her little filly, who was now snoozing away, her muzzle pressed into Cadence's neck.
The aura of pink magic subsided, in the middle of which stood a sight that both awed and terrified Cadence.
Pinkie Pie stood tall in the middle of the kitchen, her pink wings outstretched as she raised her head, her long spiraling horn pointing to the ceiling. Pinkie slowly turned her head, examining her new form. The balloons that had been her cutie mark were now shaped as hearts, and her curly mane now stretched a fair bit longer, along with the rest of her body. She returned her face to Cadence, her face blank, before she finally broke out into a wide grin.
"This...is...amazing!" Pinkie Pie Pipped as she flapped her wings. "I'm going to be the best substitute Cadance ever! Well, probably the only substitute Cadence ever, but still!" She ran up the stairs and into her bedroom, Cadence starting to say something, but Pinkie was too excited to notice. Pinkie jumped out of the already open window and flew toward the center of Ponyville.
Back down in the kitchen, Cadence could only wonder one thing: "What in Equestria have I done?" Then, she levitated a tall white chef's hat atop head and smirked. "Well, Twilight will take care of it."
The impending pink doom of Equestria flapped her new wings, which seemed to act without conscious direction, as she rose high above the center of town. Pinkie Pie's eyes shone like brilliant sapphires as she stared down upon Ponyville. It seemed small from this far in the sky as she was positioned over City Hall.
"I know what needs to be done," Pinkie pie said, her voice several octaves deeper than it had ever been. Her horn flash once, before her whole body shook with waves of magic. She took off in an instant, which leaving a contrail of solid pink, her destination the clouds high above. Her body tensed as she approached the clouds, her body wracked with vibrant magic. As Pinkie Pie reached her hooves up to the clouds, her hooves disappeared into fluffy white expanse.
With a groan and a tug, Pinkie began to tear something. A small purple opening appeared in the center between Pinkie's struggling hooves, a strange swirl of magic within. As Pinkie pulled at the edges of the world, it pulled back, a constant resistance to her strength.
"Oh, no you don't!" Pinkie Pie grunted. Her horn renewed its light, her entire body being covered in waves of powerful purple magic. "I have the power!
With a final yell, Pinkie Pie tore the fourth wall open across the sky. The vortex of crisscrossing energy inside greeted Pinkie like an old friend.
"Now, it's time for the real fun."
Pinkie Pie fluttered to the ground, a bead of sweat fell next to her hoof. By this time, many of Ponyville had gathered near the center of Ponyville, most who had seen or heard the commotion Pinkie had caused. Twilight was the first to come forward to address her friend.
"Pinkie what in Equestria is going on?" Her eyes widened like giant purple discs as she gazed upon the pony of party love. "You're an alicorn!" she stated. Her brain stopped processing for a moment as her eyes turned blank. When Twilight's processor finally rebooted, she continued as if she'd never stopped. "And what is that giant hole in the sky?" she gestured above with a hoof.
"I don't have time to explain, Twilight, there's urgent business to attend to! With the power of lurve, I shall make this the greatest Hearts and Hooves Day ever!"
Before Twilight could realize what Pinkie was up to, Pinkie shot a beam of violet light into the extra dimensional hole. Waves of magic emitted from Pinkie Pie, which pushed Twilight back from the sheer magnitude of force. Then, she lost her grip and was flung straight back, only to be caught by Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
"Wut in the hay is goin' on, Twilight?' Applejack said as she held her hat with a hoof.
"My best guess?" Twilight said. She watched the catastrophe unfold before her eyes. "The end of Equestria."
Pinkie Pie smiled as she stared past the fourth wall into dimensions far past. She pressed her magic further, deeper into the split between worlds. "Almost there!" She chirped. Every pony looked worried as they watched, many completely frozen as they witnessed the end of their existence.
Behind Twilight and her friends, which now included Fluttershy and Rarity, a large flap of wings was heard. The group turned to see Princess Celestia and Luna approach them, worried looks upon their faces.
"Where is Cadence!" Luna demanded.
"Now, now, sister, let's deal with the more immediate matter at hoof, then we can worry about scolding Princess Cadence."
Twilight looked back and forth between them. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, what's going on!"
"It seems your friend has been foolishly gifted an extreme amount of magic from Princess Cadence. Now, it seems, she is attempting to pull something across the dimensional plane."
"What! Should we stop her?" Twilight said as she furrowed her eyebrows. Then she stopped to think logically about it, the recent events having scrambled her normally rational brain. "It'd be dangerous to interrupt, to us, and to whatever she's trying to bring to our dimension."
"That's very possible, Twilight," Celestia said with a slight nod of approval.
"She's almost done anyways," Luna said as she watched Pinkie Pie focus harder on anything she ever had in her life.
Deep within the abyss, stars of light twinkled as they were pulled towards Ponyville. With a smile and a twist of her magic, Pinkie brought the light the rest of the way into Equestria. The stars of brilliant white light shimmered as she floated above Ponyville square. The luminous balls of energy flashed once, then with a pop of balloons, all disappeared, which left a herd of falling ponies to crash to the ground.
A strangely familiar bunch of ponies, and one dragon, got up with a collection of moans. Twilight's eyes widened as the familiar forms of Dusk Shine and the rest of their dimensional alter egos shook as they stood up.
"Dusk Shine?" Twilight asked, as if unable to believe her eyes.
"Twilight?" Dusk blinked as if he too had suffered his counterpart's inability to process the situation. She ran to him, her hoof stretched out to give him a big hug. He smiled as he embraced his sister, after which he looked over her should to observe the rest of the mares that mirror each of his closest friends.
"How did you..." he asked as he pulled away from Twilight.
Twilight shook her head and instead pointed a hoof at Pinkie Pie, who stood with her eyes transfixed on a certain pink stallion who had just now untangled himself from the mess of ponies.
As he raised his head, his tail began to twister, his whole body vibrating like an activated alarm clock. He twisted his neck around, followed a second later by the rest of his body, his eyes widening as he took in Pinkie Pie's new form.
"Berry Bubble!" Pinkie Pie shouted, just before he took off at high speed towards her. The two embraced each other, a gentle nuzzle before they parted.
"Wow, Pinkie Pie, you look super yummy!" Berry giggled. Pinkie Pie blushed as she booped Berry Bubble on the nose. "Can I?" he asked.
"Of course!" Pinkie giggled. Berry turned to hop onto Pinkie Pie, who was now tall and strong enough to not only carry a pony, but fly around. She flapped her wings hard, sending the pair of perpetually perky pink party ponies into the sky.
"Elusive?" Rarity stepped forward as her eyes glistened hopefully.
"Yes, my darling?" The white stallion stepped past Dusk Shine, his elegant chin held high as he gazed into the eyes of his better half.
"Oh, Elusive!" Rarity squeaked as she ran towards him. Elusive scooped her up into his hooves, a surge of magic almost tangible as their horns touched.
"It's been too long, my sweet Rarity. Come now, let us take refuge from this watchful crowd."
The regal white unicorns hastily beat a retreat to Carousel Boutique, their lips already locked onto each other.
"You ready for a real race, you filly faker!?" called a strong raspy voice.
"You're on, cold crudder! First one to Canterlot wins?" A nod and exchange of passionate eyes later, and the town was treated to a double rainboom as the multi-colored manes burst away at breakneck speeds.
Two farmer ponies shook their heads as they watched the rainbows fade away.
"Darn them pegasi, just what can yah' do with 'em?" the pair said in unison.
"Hey there, cousin." Applejack said.
"Hay there, Jayjay," the tall stallion said as her pushes his hat back.
"Wanna head back to the farm to meet Big Mac and Granny?"
"Ehyup!' he laughed. The farmers walked off, which only left three ponies and one dragon in the pile of craziness.
"Fluttershy?" A gentle flap of wings and a squeak were all the response he got. Butterscotch smiled as he landed carefully next to the sweet, shy pegasus. He gave her the most gentle nuzzle, to which she returned, before she outright tackled him in a delighted squee of joy.
'Oh, Butterscotch, I missed you so much!"
"So did I, Fluttershy. Not a day went by that I didn't think of you."
"Come on, I want to show you something, Butterscotch," Fluttershy said as she pulled on his hoof, her wings flapping.
"What is it?" Butterscotch asked. Fluttershy hovered next to his ear and whispered into it.
"Oh, my!" he said with a blush. The pair flew off towards Fluttershy's cottage at a speed that was far beyond what ponies had ever seen them capable.
"Hey there, Spines!" Twilight called at the little dragoness, who was hiding behind the last two remaining figures from the alternate dimension.
"Um, hi," she whispered.
"Spines," Dust Shine called as he stepped forward. "Head to the library, you'll find a good friend there, just for you!"
"Who?" she question, her face plastered with confusion.
"You'll see!" Twilight and Dusk answered in unison.
Spines shrugged, but then hurried off towards the library.
That left six ponies left in the center of town: Dusk Shine, Twilight Sparkle, and four royal alicorns, each one a match for another in coat and mane color.
"Well, well!" said the tall white stallion. "How are you doing, hot stuff?"
Celestia blushed slightly, but answered curtly, "Very well, Solaris, and yourself?"
"Oh, well you know how it is, running a kingdom and all." he chuckled.
"Huzzah!" the pair of dark alicorns yelled as they danced around each other in the air. "The moon butts have been doubled!"
Four face hooves echoed across the town.
"So you know what this means?" Solaris asked with raised eyebrows.
"I'll get the moonshine!" shouted Artemis.
"I'll get the hoofcuffs!" shouted Luna.
"I'll prepare the dungeon," Celestia supplied.
"And I'll think of the party games!" Solaris finished.
"What do you want us to do?' Twilight and Dusk asked.
The four tall alicorns turned to face their smaller counterparts.
"Nothing, you get to watch!"
Author's Note
Hey ponies, this idea hit me like a rock earlier, and I kind of had to rush to get it out. Sorry if there's any mistakes, I'll reread it when I get home. This story is a little spin-off of an old favorite of mine: On a Cross and Arrow. I hope you enjoy the silliness what's here, and maybe I'll do something more for it at some point.
