Reborn

“Welcome back to Sugar Cube Corner!” Pinkie Pie celebrated loudly as the duo of Sunset and Twilight entered slowly, both quite hesitant at first. Once it seemed like there was going to be no explosions of confetti, or showering of cupcakes, they each took another step in.

And straight into an explosion of cupcakes and a showering of confetti, courtesy of Pinkie Pie’s party cannon.

“Bleh- Pinkie!” Twilight growled as she spat out a mouthful of surprisingly cupcake flavoured paper. “I said no-”

“Welcomewelcomewelcome! A fine welcome to you!” the pink on pink Earth Pony sang, prance to and fro in the sweet shoppe, completely ignoring Twilight as the alicorn tried to calm down her friend, failing each time during Pinkie’s two minute long welcome song.

“Heh…” Sunset couldn’t help but chuckle as Pinkie finished her song, a battery of party modified artillery going off around the shop as the pink mare stood bombastically on top of her lavender friend.

“Laughter, yes!” Pinkie said between giggles, flinging herself at Sunset and wrapping her hooves around the amber mare. “Pinkie’s still got it!”

“Nice to meet you.” came Sunset’s response as she watched Pinkie float away, completely encased in a pale red bubble. She landed just as a flash of white whisked away all the confetti and smushed up cupcakes that had painted every surface of the Sugar Cube Corner.

“Nice to meet you too, Sunset! Now! How do I get a “Sorry-That-The-Other-Me-Is-A-Great-Big-Meanie cake through the portal for you to have when you get home? Would a box do it? Or maybe I could-”

“Look, I get you girls want to show me that you are different from the versions of you that I know, but you don’t really have to try so hard, alright?” Sunset said tiredly. “I thought that it was going to be me projecting onto you girls.”

“Well I made a Pinkie Promise to never make anyone cry when I was a little filly, and I intend to honour it! Especially if there are other versions of me that won’t!” Pinkie beat at her chest, a dedicated look on her face.

“Well I’m pretty sure that she would have done the same.” Sunset slowly trotted over towards a table, sitting down in front of it. It may be a completely other world, but the floor plan of Sugar Cube Corner was exactly the same between them.

“Well if she did then she broke it! And no one breaks a Pinkie Promise!” Sunset leaned back as she watched the pink mare somehow erupt in flames.

“Ya know, I never knew why you- either of you, I guess?- were so dedicated to these “Pinkie Promises”.” she said as Pinkie calmed down, slowly trotting over to the table. “Like, I know it’s not a good thing to break a promise, but you seem to take them incredibly seriously.”

Pinkie Pie nodded as she reached the table, before her mane somehow distended back into her tail and pulled out a platter covered in cupcakes, depositing them on the table before taking a seat of her own.

“That’s because Pinkie Promises are serious business.” responded Pinkie, a warm smile on her muzzle as Twilight joined the pair at the table. “Plus I don’t want to stick a cupcake in my eye, hehehe.”

“So, uh… Are you not intrigued by what Pinkie’s done here so far?” Twilight asked softly.

“Who, me?” Sunset lifted a hoof up to herself, looking at Twilight in amusement. “The other Pinkie did stuff like this all the time, in case you forgot.”

“True…” Twilight pawed at her muzzle. “I wonder if there is a correlation…?”

“Huh… Good job decorating the cupcakes, Pinkie.” came the amber unicorn’s genuine compliment. “You decorated them in everyone’s colours!”

~

“Seriously…!” Sunset barely managed to get out between her desperate gasping for air, her lungs burning as she slammed a hoof against the table. “Y-You gotta… stop…!”

“And she said-” Pinkie started, a friendly, maniacal look on her face as she stood up on her hind legs on top of the table. “You gotta be kitten me!”

Fresh peals of laughter erupted from the two gasping and wheezing mares that were half glued to the table at this point do lack of air, the table vibrating from their matching strikes onto the wooden surface.

“N-No more…! P-P… Please…!” Twilight begged, even as her face was split in a rictus grin. “W-W-We’re gonna be late… F-F-For-!”