“Princess? Princess Twilight?”
A low groan emanated from under the pile of newspapers, but Twilight didn’t budge.
A hoof reached out, hesitated, then poked her again. “Princess Twilight…that you?”
There was a shift, then an irritated rustle. “Go away.”
The inquisitive stallion crouched down further and attempted to meet the young mare’s gaze. “Princess, what on earth are you doing sleeping on the ground? Are you alright?”
With an aggravated shout, Twilight sat straight up, ripping the newspapers away. She shot the stallion a hot glare, her teeth grinding furiously. “I was until you woke me up, you fool!”
The stallion took a startled step back. “I-I’m sorry, Princess. We were just worried is all!”
We?
Shifting her tired eyes, ‘Twilight’ gazed over at the rest of the park and saw several ponies staring at her with varying levels of concern. Most of them were fillies and colts, peering at her with quizzical eyes.
Twilight threw them an exaggerated look, mocking the expression on their faces. “Can I help you?”
Most of the ponies looked away, but the damage had already been done. As much as she wanted to stay and sleep, there were too many eyes.
With a sigh, Twilight forced herself to rise to her hooves. Gasps rippled through the small crowd as she emerged from her pile, followed by low murmuring.
“What in Equestria is she wearing?”
“Maybe we should call for a doctor!”
Twilight ignored them all, rolling her neck and stretching out her sore hindlegs. With a brief glance toward the busy Manehattan streets, she looked back at her unwanted spectators and gave them the most unnerving grin she could muster. The citizens took several steps back, some clinging their children tightly.
“Good day, subjects,” she crooned with a slight bow.
After a moment of silent shock, the citizens echoed her as she trotted out of sight. But a few minutes after Twilight left the park, her grin gradually started to fade, and her posture eventually wilted. She sighed loud and hard, pausing only to blow loose hair strands out of her face.
Apparently, Manehattan wasn’t the best place to hide out. Here, there were too many citizens, far too many. Any one of these numbskulls could report her whereabouts, and if that happened, it wouldn’t be long before ponies would put two and two together. Her demise would be imminent, surely.
Twilight had to keep going, but ugh.
She had been on the move for hours, and she didn’t think she had it in her to travel any further. Her hooves ached, and her muscles screamed at her to rest now. A part of her wanted to grit her teeth and keep going, but after a few more strained paces, she had no choice but to give in.
Weakling, she chastised herself as she plopped down in between two pristinely trimmed bushes. At least this spot was far off next to a vine covered wall and under the shade of a few trees.
A decent enough hiding spot, but for how long? She needed to get out of this miserable city, and fast.
But her hooves…
A curious wall of liquid wormed its way to her vision when she tried to touch a tender-looking bruise forming on her back hoof. She blinked curiously as the sensation gushed its way out of her eyes and slipped silently down her cheeks.
This was new…
No matter. Time to focus! What was she thinking of before…ah, yes, escaping from here. The question was, how?
Taking a bus or train would be too risky—she didn’t want to attract any more onlookers than she already had. Flying wasn’t an option anymore either. She had already pushed her wings far beyond their limit, much to her frustration. And besides…they felt much better, tucked and warm underneath her thick turtleneck sweater. It was a fool’s hope, that she would be less recognizable if she hid her wings.
Oh, well. At least it provided a small bit of comfort…Curses!
After what she had done to survive, every part of her had weakened. She was weak, for the first time in her short life, she was weak!
Curses, curses!
On the… ugh… bright side, Manehattan seemed large enough to find a suitable hiding place, at least until she rested up. She just needed to find it.
Twilight took this last bit of thought as her mental que to move, but after a few moments staring out into space, it was clear that she needed more time. Sighing, she sank into a lying position on the grass, and closed her eyes…
And by the time she opened them again, she instantly knew it had been too long. With a cry, she scrambled back to her hooves. Up, up, up!
She had to move now!
The clone rose to full height, and the sky and trees tilted. No no no no no. Twilight shook her head violently and regained her stance with a stubborn stomp of her left forehoof. Enough weaknesses! Time was of the essence.
Taking one step at a time, Twilight left her hiding spot, but was careful to stick to the shadows as she went. Despite this, however, she would occasionally stumble upon a pony or two who would excitedly call out to her or ask for an autograph.
Chrysalis can have Starlight Glimmer, Twilight thought bitterly. If I ever get my hooves on Twilight Sparkle…
She was too tired to finish the thought.
She spent a majority of the day like this, trapped in an endless game of evasion. There were moments where she managed to find a new hiding place and risked a small bit of shut-eye, but a concerned citizen would always somehow find her and rouse her out of her peaceful slumber. She made sure they regretted it of course, but with each pony she frightened off, Twilight knew she was digging herself into a deeper pit.
She had even caught passing comments that suggested her possible drinking problem. That won’t go over well the next time the Princess of Friendship visited this city.
Hide, hide, run and hide…
At one point, it occurred to her that a hotel wouldn’t mind having a Princess stay in their inns, but the idea was quickly shot down. Princess or no Princess, the only thing these Manehattanite employees desired was money. Something they expected the Princess of Friendship to have an endless amount of.
By the time she stumbled out of the last hotel, the sun had already disappeared behind the far-off buildings and skyscrapers. She watched the sky darken.
Here we go. Another night out in the cold.
With a resigned sigh, she trudged down the sidewalk, head hung. Somewhere in her haze, she had come across a street vendor selling hot cider. She swiped it without much thought and settled herself on the last porch step of an abandoned apartment building.
The windows and doors were boarded and bolted, but Twilight could find a way in, she supposed. Taking a long sip from her cup, she thought up different scenarios and solutions that would get her inside. Thunder rumbled as she did so, and she tilted her face upwards in time to catch the first raindrop. Yes, the sooner the better.
As Twilight continued to sip and think, a pony walked by and dropped a golden bit into her cup. The cider splashed her nose, and her lips pulled into a snarl. “I was drinking that, fool!” she shouted after the pony.
The figure stopped and turned as thunder rumbled overhead. “Sorry, friend,” she chirped, her eyes appearing from under the brim of her hat. Her mouth opened to say more, but the second they made eye contact, everything screeched to a halt.
Twilight felt her eye twitch. Pink coat, pink curly mane, a cutie mark made of three balloons…
Time seemed to stretch as the two stared at one another, unmoving. Drops of rain began to fall around them, and the sky rumbled once more. Twilight moved, and small objects smacked against her face before plinking against the sidewalk.
Blinking, Twilight glanced down. Different colored taffy wrappers lay scattered at her hooves. Glancing back up, Twilight hiked an eyebrow, and the pink one at least had the decency to look sheepish.
And then she ran.
That wouldn’t do.
The cup of cider spilled on the sidewalk as Twilight pursued, her energy cranked up to eleven. The pink one squealed and ducked inside a darkened alley, but Twilight only smirked. The pouring rain started to make the concrete slippery, but she was able to maintain her footing.
As her prey knocked over a nearby trash can and hopped over it, Twilight eyed the bright blue satchel strapped across her body.
Using the small bit of magic she had left, Twilight’s horn sparked, and her aura wrapped around the satchel. With one hard pull, the pink one was yanked back with an “errk--!”
Wasting no time, Twilight hurried to catch up as the pink one tried to wrestle out of the blue strap. Surprising herself, the alicorn managed to summon an impressive amount of strength and slammed into the pink one, sending them both to the ground. “Oof!” they grunted, but the pink one seemed to get the worst of it. With her body on top of the earth pony’s, Twilight could feel the air rushing out of her lungs. That didn’t mean she was letting up, however.
A dark grin crossed her face as she pinned the pink one firmly under her weight. “Surrender, puffball! You have no choice!”
The pink one’s mouth opened and closed as if she were a dying fish, gasping out in small breaths. “Wh…at’re you gonna do?” she wheezed, blinking against the rain.
Twilight opened her mouth to gladly inform the pink menace but paused.
Water dripped from her mane and down her turtleneck. With a frown, Twilight stared off into the alley. What was she going to do?
Now that she thought about it, she didn’t really consider what she was planning to do to the pink one once she caught up with her. She couldn’t allow her to run back to Ponyville and tell the real Twilight what she saw. While she didn’t quite know the extent of their everyday life, she knew that the Princess and the fuzzball had to live nearby each other.
And with each passing second, she quickly realized that she just spent most of her energy on that tackle.
Curses.
Oh, well. She would just…lie on her until she could think of a plan. A cruel smirk turned up her lips. Yes, let the pink one rot on the ground, her mane and backside wet with filth.
By now, the pink one had regained most of her breath, and tilted her head back. “HEEEELP! I’m being…. MUGGED!”
Despite the situation, Twilight gave her a flat look. “By a princess who is also your friend?”
The pink one near growled. “You’re not my friend!”
Twilight pressed harder as she struggled. “No, I’m not.”
With a grunt, the pink one yelled out again. “YIIIAAAIIIIIEEE!!!”
“Scream all you want, fool,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “There’s no use! Your undoing will be swift!”
Right after I figure out what that undoing will be, she added silently.
The pink one let out a wail. “But I don’t wanna go back to the Mirror Pond!”
Twilight halted for a moment, a confused frown on her lips. “What?”
Eyes squeezed shut, the pony babbled in a high, shaky voice. “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble on Ponyville! I only wanted to have fun! Please, Princess, please don’t send me back! I-I like it here, I really do!”
Sounds faded around her as Twilight’s mind spun. What in Equestria was this pathetic fuzzball talking about? What was this Mirror Pond she spoke of, and why did she refer to her as ‘Princess’? The last time she saw the airheaded cotton ball, she referred to her as Twilight…. never princess.
The gears turned in her mind as she stared at the shivering pony beneath her hooves. She may be a clone, but she was far more intelligent than one would give her credit for. In the first thirty-three hours she had been born, her brain had never steered her wrong before.
But…no, it couldn’t possibly. It was too coincidental. This could simply be a trap set up by the elements. She had a fair number of spectators earlier this morning, and enough time had passed for Twilight and company to receive word and formulate a plan. Had she fallen right into it?
With that thought in mind, Twilight pressed even harder, making the pony whimper. “If you’re looking to trap me, then by all means, do it,” she said, raising her voice so that her companions could hear. “But can you grab me faster than I can snap her neck? Don’t think I won’t!”
“Who are you talking to?” the pink pony all but shrieked.
“There is no Mirror Pond,” Twilight hissed, lowering her lips next to her ear. “You’re all just trying to trick me! You take me for a fool!”
The pink one’s eyes fluttered and met her own. “What?” she shuddered with an air of confusion. “Of c-course there is! You know! Th-the Mirror Pond Pinkie Pie used to make more of her. But then we grew to be too much, and…and…don’t you remember?”
Twilight said nothing, the sound of rain rushing back into her ears.
The pink one frowned and sat up as much as she could, squinting her eyes. “You are Twinkle Sparks—I mean, Twilight Sparkle…aren’t you?” There was a silence, and then a strange look. “Unless,” she said, almost speculative. “You’re not.”
Twilight’s expression didn’t change. “And I take it you’re not the real Pinkie Pie.”
The pink one didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Slowly, Twilight loosened her grip and stepped backward, allowing the pink one to rise back to her hooves, her backside completely soaked.
The two shared a long, contemplative silence, both sizing each other up.
The pink one looked exactly like the original, all the way down to the cutie mark on her flank. Even her coat was a similar shade of color, something that even the clone she was born alongside couldn’t obtain. Though, unlike the real Pinkie Pie, this one appeared to be more skittish. She didn’t seem as scared anymore, but her teeth still sunk into her lip as she held Twilight’s gaze.
Little by little, the tightness in Twilight’s chest started to ease, though her face remained a hard mask. Without moving her head, she gazed out toward the end of the alley. Through the sheet of rain, faint outlines of ponies scampered about, some holding newspapers over their heads as they attempted to escape the downpour.
By the time her eyes traveled back, the pink one’s face had grown more tense. With chattering teeth, she finally broke the silence. “Y-you can’t give me up without me telling them about y-you.”
To both of their surprise, a loud snort escaped Twilight.
The pink one slowly went to retrieve her hat, which lay discarded on the ground. “I mean it.”
Twilight watched her with a faint feeling of amusement creeping onto her. “You’re about as threatening as a small kitten. You need to work on your intimidation technique.” The pink one wrung out her hat and placed it back on her head with a sour frown. “Oh, relax. Lucky for you, we appear to be at an impasse.”
She sighed with a small air of defeat, and something odd settled in the pit of her stomach. “You needn’t worry your empty little head about it…” Twilight eyed the pink one’s satchel and lifted it with her magic. The pink one took an anxious step forward but stopped short as Twilight tossed it to her. “You’re free to engage in as much tom-foolery as you please. Whisper a single word about me, and I’ll make sure you will go back to where you came from.”
She turned and began to saunter off, but before long, the sound of hooves came splashing up from behind her. “Wait!”
Twilight stood rigid as the pink one touched her, then circled around to meet her eye to eye. “You didn’t seem to know about the Mirror Pond, so…where did you come from? Who made you?”
Twilight reached out a hoof and pushed her aside. “None of your business.”
She started forward again, but the pink one blocked her path once more. “How long have you been here? Where are you going? Do you have a place to stay?”
Twilight pushed the earth pony out of her airspace. “Here’s my question. What’s wrong with you? I told you that I won’t tell anypony about you, and I expect you to hold up your end of the deal, nothing more, nothing less. Leave.” Something caught in her throat then, and she swallowed thickly. “Just…leave.”
She turned once more, but her hooves didn’t seem to want to move. A breathy exhale escaped her as she sunk to the ground, wrapping her hooves around her body. “Just go away, leave me,” she said miserably.
There was an undistinguishable silence, then a soft sound of a satchel being dropped. The pink one sank down with her, attempting to make eye contact. “I know that look,” she said softly.
Twilight jerked her head toward the pink one and found herself staring into the other clone’s eyes. She had seen that expression before, except on another face. Yes, it was the same look of concern that the real Pinkie Pie wore when she held that blubbering butterball in her hooves. She had actively halted her plan, just to comfort her friend. It was a shameless display of weakness, and she had wanted to distance herself from it as much as possible.
A scowl formed on her face. If the pink one was looking to comfort her, she was sorely mistaken. She was not that sniveling ball of impotence, and she was certainly not weak or worthy of any sort of pity.
“You don’t know me at all. Go away.”
The pink one moved closer instead. “You’re new, aren’t you? Whatever happened, it must have been at least a day or so ago, huh?” Twilight tried not to flinch. “I thought so. Believe me, I know what it’s like. I was made two years ago. Like you, I…I didn’t know -FUN- what to do.”
Twilight’s pupils shrank at the sudden outburst, and the pink one cleared her throat sheepishly. “Sorry. Force of habit.” Keeping her eyes on Twilight, the pink one reached her hoof into her satchel, took out a taffy wrapper, and unraveled it. “It’s like looking in a mirror,” she remarked, chomping off a piece.
“I’m nothing like you,” Twilight scoffed, facing away from her.
“Don’t you wanna find out?” the pink one said with a slight smile. She held out a new wrapper. “Want one? They’re really good.”
Twilight swatted her hoof, sending the taffy a few feet away. “I’ve got more,” the pink one said.
“How can you offer me stupid candy at a time like this?” Twilight snapped. “This is the second worst day of my life!I’ve lost my one purpose, and I can’t even find the strength to get back at the ones who did this to me! I can’t even get away from you!”
The liquid appeared again, or at least she thought it did. It was hard to tell with all the rain. “I failed at the one thing I was made for! Now…now what’s the point of even existing anymore?”
The pink one was quiet for a long while. Then, she began to stuff the remaining bits of taffy into her mouth. “Uh huh,” she said in between bites. “Yeah. Okay.” She swallowed the last of it and grabbed onto Twilight’s foreleg. “C’mon. We’re going to eat.”
It was enough to snap Twilight out of her gloom. “What?”
“You know, eating. Particularly food, which is one of my favorite things to chew.”
“But…we’re not like real ponies. We don’t need to eat food.”
“No,” the pink one admitted. “But it usually feels great! Come on, it’s all on me!”
“No,” Twilight sulked, pulling her hoof away and falling forward on the hard concrete. She brooded face down, allowing the rain to hit her back. “Leave me,” she said in a muffled voice. “I’m worthless.”
The pink one only sighed and grabbed her by the sweater. “I don’t know where you picked that up from,” she grunted, hoisting her fellow clone back to a standing position. “But whoever made you think that way is a liar and a cake sniffer. And you’re comin’ with me whether you like it or -FUN- not.”
Twilight made to scowl, but it quickly faded away to slight fear at the sight of the pink one’s unsettling grin.
This is not what she had in mind today.
“Alright, ladies, what’ll it be?” the waitress chirped, pencil ready.
“I’ll have three, no four chocolate chip pancakes with blueberries on top,” the pink one rattled, almost bouncing in her seat. “Actually, make it five, yeah, five! And a glass of milk if you please!”
Twilight gave her a long side glance. For somepony who didn’t need to eat, she certainly had a large appetite.
“An’ you, miss?” the waitress asked, her pencil moving quickly. Twilight opened her mouth to refuse, but the pink one spoke over her.
“She’ll have the same. Just make it one stack.” Twilight shot her a glare, but the pink one smiled. “Trust me. It’s really good.”
“Alrighty, comin’ right up.”
As the waitress left, Twilight sighed heavily and dropped her head onto the table. The café appeared to be having a slow night; only one or two customers sat at the main counter, and neither seemed interested in her presence.
Still, it didn’t feel right, being out in the open like this. Especially not with another clone. She glanced over at her new acquaintance and let out a small scoff at the sight of her balancing a spoon on her nose.
Just as carefree and dimwitted as the original.
Another sigh escaped her lips, and she casually thumped her head against the table until a pink hoof reached over and held it in place. “Second. Worst. Day.”
A dull ache seeped its way inside her muscles, suddenly weighing her down. Her hooves throbbed, and her eyes grew heavier by the second. The warm smell of food baking in the ovens permeated the café, and the staff talked in such soft…pleasant…voices….
“Do you have a name?”
Twilight jerked, clearing her throat. “What?” she grunted, blinking rapidly.
“A name,” the pink one said, her blue eyes staring intently. “You have one of your own, right? I mean…” She paused, then leaned forward, bringing a hoof up to her mouth. “We both know you’re not the real Twilight Sparkle,” she whispered.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”
“So, you don’t call yourself anything different?”
“Do you?”
“Well…I dunno. I don’t really call myself anything. But if ponies recognize me as Pinkie Pie, I don’t deny it. I just go with the flow.”
“And you don’t think that’s risky?” Twilight inquired, narrowing her eyes. “What if you run into somepony that just saw her at one place and then sees you in another?”
“Oh, I never worry about that,” the pink one said cheerfully, waving a hoof. “Everypony knows that Pinkie Pie has a habit of appearing places where she shouldn’t. With a pony as fast as her, she could be any place at any time. And if she’s on a super important mission, I just hide out until it’s all over. Then I’m free to move about. But only when it’s widely published, of course.”
Twilight considered this.
“Besides, Pinkie’s nowhere near as noticeable as a princess,” the pink one added with a sympathetic grin. “Not so good for you, huh?”
“I…just…hate this,” Twilight glowered, banging her head against the table once more. “I didn’t ask to exist in this way. Of all ponies, Chrysalis had to include one of the most well-known faces in Equestria.”
A shadow passed over her eyes as she rose back up, and her voice lowered into something more sinister. A smile appeared then, soft, dark, and calculating. “She will pay.”
“But first a name,” the pink one said, oblivious to the look of death she was receiving. “Hmm. What would be a good name for you…” She tapped her chin steadily, going into deep thought.
“Try not to hurt yourself,” Twilight said, an eye roll evident in her voice. “Why are you so intent in giving me a name anyway?”
“Because looking at you now, I just realized something. if I were a clone—which I am—I’d want something to set me apart from the one I was made after. Something of my own. Calling you Twilight just doesn’t seem right. You’re your own pony after all.”
At the main counter, one of the customers got up and dropped a few bits. “Good evening,” he said cordially, tilting the brim of his hat.
“Come again!” the waitress called with a smile.
“That’s it!” the pink one exclaimed as the customer exited the café. “Evening! I’ll call you Evening!”
Twilight groaned. “That’s just the most…the most…”
Wait a minute.
Yes.
Yes.
Her eyes flicked over to the pink one, who smiled.
YES.
“How brilliant,” she purred, a slow crooked smile spreading across her face. “Evening.” She drew out the word dramatically, her eyes brightening at the sound. “Yes. Yes, Evening it shall be! And when I rise to my full abilities, my enemies will hear my name and tremble! Twilight Sparkle…Chrysalis…everypony!”
“Wait, did you just say Chrysalis?”
“All shall fear me and despair! EVERY SINGLE ONE!”
“Alright, dolls, here’s your pancakes,” the waitress said, stepping up to their table and placing their pancakes in front of them. “And one glass of milk. Wanna straw with that, hon?”
“I’m good, thanks!” the pink one said brightly, reaching out her hooves and pulling the glass toward herself.
As the pink one gulped down her milk, Eveningstudied her fellow clone over carefully folded hooves. “I admit that at first I thought of you as a simple-minded copy, a complete waste of existence, just as I was. But now I see, the answer is becoming clear!”
“Hmm?” the pink one managed, still chugging down her milk, which started to trickle down her coat.
“How would you like to join my conquest? Together, we can destroy those who have wronged us! Those who have brought us into the world, only to throw us away like garbage when we’ve become inconvenient.”
The pink one stopped abruptly and slowly lowered her glass with wide eyes.
“That’s how it happened, didn’t it? Pinkie Pie eventually grew tired of you, so she tried to get rid of you as quickly as possible. Am I right?”
“It…it wasn’t like that,” the pink one said, sobering. “She liked me, I know she did.” At Evening’s scoff, the pink one grew more insistent. “No, really! It’s just that things…might have gotten out of hoof. At one point, even I couldn’t tell who the real Pinkie was. I was just having so much FUN—sorry. I-I didn’t even notice…but I should’ve…” She leaned over the table, pressing her hooves to her temples. “If I hadn’t messed up and went to Applejack’s barn raising in the first place, we wouldn’t have had to make more…”
After watching her a bit, Evening settled against her side of the booth and crossed her forelegs. “Well, I’ve got nothing else to do,” she said dryly. “Out with it. What exactly is your story?”
With a small bit of hesitation, the pink one launched into her story. How she came to be, how excited she was to have fun, the screw up with Fluttershy’s picnic. The deeper she got into the tale, the quieter she got, occasionally pausing her story to take small bites of pancake. Evening briefly wondered if eating was how the pink one coped these past two years.
By the time she neared the story’s end, the pink one sounded more and more pained, the most she had ever heard from her. “…and when they started rounding all the other Pinkies up, I got a funny feeling. And not the good kind of funny either. So, I decided to hide in a bush.”
She bit her lip as she twirled her fork into the table. “I watched the Town Hall for a long while. Nothing was happening, but I felt scared. It was really quiet…and then…” She swallowed. “Then a strange burst of magic shot out from the building and it flew away. And after that, another one came, and another, and then another. I realized that they were all headed toward the direction of the Mirror Pond. They were being sent back. So…I bolted.”
She sat there for a moment, staring vacantly at the spot next to her plate. Then she sniffled and hastily wiped her nose with a napkin.
“Excellent survival instincts,” Evening noted, tapping her hooves together in delight. “An ability to think quickly, and an adequate strategist. This is turning out to be most marvelous indeed. But we’ll need a name for you too.” She rested her chin against her hoof. “Quite frankly, I’m tired of calling you the pink one in my head.”
“A name for me?” the pink one questioned, wiping her eyes. “Something…. other than Pinkie Pie?”
“It’s enough to have to walk around with her face,” Evening said. “Must you share her name too?”
“Mm. I guess not. Hmm, what would—Ooh! Ooh! I know!” She grinned widely; there were still small traces of grief there, but for the most part, it was hopeful. “How about Taffy?”
Evening blinked. “Again with the taffy?”
“I just really like taffy. I mean, who wouldn’t? It’s so stretchy, juicy and flavorful—like me!” Her eyes sparkled as she rubbed her hooves together. “Can I can I pleeeaaaaaassse?”
“It’s not even threatening!”
“Oh, but I love it! Pleaaaaase?”
“Evening and Taffy,” Evening muttered, shaking her head. “Bow low before us and tremble.”
“Yessiree,” Taffy affirmed, starting in on her pancakes. “Now come on, dig in before our food gets cold!”
Evening glanced down at her own pancakes and turned up her nose. “No thanks.” She pushed the plate away. “I told you, my body does not require food for survival. Besides…it looks…. sticky.”
Taffy raised her eyebrows, her face smeared with maple syrup. “Nuh isshsnot!” She reached over and pushed Evening’s plate back where it was. She chewed, then swallowed. “It’s delicious! Have some!” Evening’s face crumpled, and she jerked her head to the side. “Ohhh, I know what’s going on. It’s your first time eating, isn’t it? Awwww.”
Taffy grabbed Evening’s fork and scooped up the blueberries on top. “It’s nothing to be afraid of! I remember when I first ate at Fluttershy’s picnic! It felt strange at first, but I really liked it! Come onnn...” She waved the fork in the air enticingly, making her way up to Evening’s mouth. “Here comes the Wonderbolt~! B-r-r-r-r-r-r-r--!”
Evening’s hoof bopped Taffy’s nose and snatched away the fork. “No.”
“Somepony’s cranky,” Taffy said nasally, rubbing her sore nose.
“I may have been born yesterday, but I can think of at least seven different ways to kill you with this fork.”
“Touchy, touchy.”
“Besides, something like this inside my stomach can slow me down. I have to be as physically able as possible if I’m going to take down Chrysalis.”
“You really are serious about this, aren’t you?” Taffy said, furrowing her brow.
“Of course, I am! She needs to pay, they all do!”
“Aw, but why would you wanna take down your own mom?”
Evening glared. “You do realize that I have all this silverware by my plate, right? Sharp, pointy things?”
“What? It’s true, isn’t it? We don’t need parents of course, but watching these ponies, it…it kinda has me wondering. I mean, giving you life is what a mom does, right? From what I hear, she’s the first thing ponies see when they come into the world. Chrysalis…she was like that for you, wasn’t she?”
Evening inhaled patiently. “Taffy…Chrysalis is many things. Many horrible, terrible…imprudent things. But there is one thing she most definitely is not. Besides...” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. “Doesn’t a mother need to…” She used her hooves to make air quotes. “… ‘Love’ their kids? That’s a requirement, yes?”
“Not all families are perfect…”
Evening sighed, but Taffy looked thoughtful. “Sometimes I wonder what the real Pinkie Pie would do if I showed myself to her. I mean, I was the first one she made. And she taught me things…and comforted me when I was sad. That’s also what a mother does, at least I think. I’ve been okay on my own, but…it would be nice to have her…I dunno. Love me. Like a daughter. I think maybe she could!”
“That kind of thinking will get you sent right back to the Mirror Pond,” Evening said bluntly. “You go right on ahead and tell everypony that you’re a loose clone. See what happens then.”
Taffy frowned but shrugged. “It’s been two years. Things have changed since then…did you hear about the changelings? Oh, wait, maybe you have. And there’s also that pony…Starlight Glimmer? I heard that she caused a lotta ruckus too, but they love her as a friend! If they can forgive her and welcome the changelings, then maybe—”
“Starlight Glimmer and the QUEEN of the changelings are what got me here in the first place,” Evening near hissed. “You know how I got created? Chrysalis wanted revenge against Starlight, so she created me and five other clones of her friends so that we could take the Elements of Harmony and use their power against them. But I could see, her plan was doomed from the start. Far too many idiots running around at once.”
Taffy listened quietly as Evening reminisced. “I could see, that we were only a means to an end. As soon as we did her bidding, she would not need us anymore. So, I tried to take matters into my own hooves. Give the other clones a victory too, even though their IQ was considerably lower than mine. And…despite everything, the plan backfired. My skin, my eyes…every part of me was melting away.” She huffed out a breath, shaking her head.
“I don’t have the exact same abilities as the real Twilight Sparkle, but I did obtain some of her raw power. I used every bit of it to restore myself before I could deteriorate any further. Chrysalis caught me out of the corner of her eye. And I ran.”
Taffy’s eyes widened. “You mean Chrysalis is chasing you? Right now?”
“I’m not sure,” Evening said, glancing out the window. “She was at first. I escaped as much as I could, and I looked back very little. If I lost her, that means she must have bigger fish to fry. If not…” Her face darkened. “She could just be biding her time.”
A hoof reached out and touched her own. “I’m sorry that you lost your sisters that way,” she said softly.
Evening blinked but didn’t pull away. “You’re once again mistaken…they weren’t my sisters, they were just….”
Hollowed out eyes glazed in her direction as they melted into nothingness.
An ear here. A leg there.
All breathed their last as she hobbled away.
“I lost twenty-six of them,” Taffy said. “I didn’t know them that well, really. But…I’d like to think them as sisters. And even though they’re all gone…I also like to think that I’m living out their lives for them. For all of us. The lives we would have liked.”
Evening felt an unexpected thump in her chest area. After a long moment, she met the other clone’s gaze. She didn’t smile but gave her head the slightest of inclinations. Taffy’s face lit up and removed her hoof, digging back into her pancakes.
Evening watched Taffy eat for the remainder or their dinner, scarfing down one pancake after another. As her plates piled up, Evening spared a curious glance at her own stack. With a wary eye, Evening wrapped her aura around the fork and scooped up a piece.
She sniffed it first, just to make sure. Then, with a small wince, she took a teeny, tiny little bite.
Hmm. Not bad.
Taffy and Evening were the last ones to leave before the staff. The cold night air blew through their manes. It had stopped raining, but the downpour had made the roads slippery and wet. The two walked up to a nearby lamppost, its soft light casting shadows over their faces. “Taffy, I’ve been thinking,” Evening said. “As much as I’d like for you to join me, I don’t think that conquering ponies is what you’d enjoy. I think it’s just best if you…not take part in it after all.”
“But you’re still planning to do it?” Taffy said quietly. “All by yourself?”
“Yes.” She said the word plainly, as if it were obvious. “It’s not right…what they’re doing to clones like us. There’s no justice.”
“There are other ways of carrying out justice,” Taffy said carefully. “If you just…attacked them instead of talking it over, wouldn’t that make things worse?”
“I wasn’t given a chance to talk things over,” Evening said. “And neither were you, were you?”
“…But Twilight’s a nice pony,” Taffy said. “Even though Chrysalis isn’t. She’s not perfect, but…I think if we just talk, we could make her understand. Make them all understand.”
Evening stared off in another direction. “We can’t expect them to understand us.” With a sigh, she turned back to Taffy. “Promise me that you won’t go there. Don’t reveal yourself to anypony. You can’t just hope that they’ll have a change of heart because time has passed. You don’t know what they’re thinking. It’s not worth the risk.”
Taffy looked down at her hooves and gave a barely-there nod. “I promise.”
Evening nodded back and gave a bare hint of a smile before turning away.
“Evening!”
Evening swiveled back again as Taffy ran up to her. “I want you to stay with me.”
“What?”
“Just for a while. I don’t want you to be alone out there…like I was.”
Evening looked doubtful. “And ponies won’t find it odd that the Princess and her friend are staying at a place in Manehattan while also residing in Ponyville?”
“I live in an old apartment building—there’s actually not a lot of ponies on my floor. The landlord is a nice old stallion who doesn’t really care about the whole -FUN- Equestria-saving hoopla. And your appearance…” She reached up and played with Evening’s bangs. “Nothing that a better disguise can’t fix. We’ll get you a wig and everything.”
Evening regarded her searchingly. “You actually want me to stay with you…don’t you?”
“Well…of course. That’s what friends do…look out for each other…right?” Taffy smiled, but nothing huge, or overly cheerful. A soft, warm light seemed to radiate from her, something that Evening was foreign to…
But wouldn’t mind being more familiar with.
A small, genuine smile crossed her face. “Right.”
Taffy squealed and threw her hooves around her neck. “We’re gonna be the best. Roomies. Ever.”
Evening tried not to cringe at the sudden entrapment. “Hhhhheeeeeyyyyeah. Um. This is kind of strange. Not sure if I’m alright with this.”
“Oh! Right. Sorry. Heh heh.” Taffy released her hold, but remained close, staying right by Evening’s side as she showed her the way to her apartment. And as the pink pony began to ramble on about the odd jobs she did to keep herself afloat, Evening half-limped along, the ache in her chest growing a bit lighter.
Perhaps she would put her revenge plan on hold for now.
After all, she needed lots of time to recover.
Author's Note
I needed something to distract myself from the errand-running. (Fidgets)
Once I saw the adorable picture of Meanlight and Pinkie Clone link here, I couldn't resist. It's the only link I can find, and Badumquish's page link isn't really all SFW, but if there's another way please let me know, because he did a really cute job here.
And...since the clones aren't really Twilight and Pinkie...would the tags still be relevant...or are other tags best??? 
And, that's all. Finger quencher 
