Internal Conflict

"Finally have time for me, Twilight, since I've managed to become interesting." Twilight shrank back from the straight haired Pinkie.

"Don't talk to my best friend like that!" The curly haired Pinkie confronted herself, nose to nose.

The straight haired Pinkie chuckled. "You think she's your best friend. Really? After she just blew you off yesterday."

"She didn't just blow me off, she was working. I understood that." Both Pinkie's eyes narrowed at one another.

"Umm…Pinkie?" Twilight said as she walked up to the pair.

Both pink mare's turned to look at her. "What?"

"Okay, so we need a way to tell ya'll apart when talkin' to ya." Applejack interrupted whatever Twilight was about to say. "Maybe one of you could go by Pinkamena, your real name?"

The two Pinkie's looked at Applejack. The look was unsetteling to the farm pony, but she stood her ground. The straight haired Pinkie was the first to speak. "Fine, I will."

Twilight looked between the two pink mares. "Pinkie, Pinkamena, how did this happen?"

Pinkie spoke first. "Well, after I left your house yesterday, I went home before deciding to visit AJ. On the way there, I heard moaning in the Whitetail Woods so I went to see if I could help. There was this stallion stuck under a fallen tree, so I helped him out and he said he would help me and did the funny rhyme speak like Zecora and then I woke up in my bed this morning!" Pinkie smiled.

"What about you, Pinkamena?" Twilight smiled at the pink pony, but Pinkamena's face remained emotionless. "Same for me, except I woke up at Sweet Apple Acres." Twilight looked between the two. "What did the stallion say?"

" You shall find your fears are for naught, only once yourself you've caught. But simply catching is not enough, but acceptance, though it'll be rough." Pinkie beamed after telling Twilight. "I thought it was funny, but I didn't really understand.

Everyone was silent for a moment. "What are you afraid of, Pinkie? Pinkamena?" Fluttershy asked, looking at her friend. Friends. The two Pinkies.

"I'm not afraid of anything," Pinkie said happily. "I have the bestest friends in the world, what is there to be afraid of?"

"How about what you thought of yesterday?" Pinkamena asked Pinkie.

Pinkie shook her head. "I was being a silly-filly."

"You didn't think that yesterday. In fact, you thought the same thing I said to Twilight."

"Twily is my best friend. You leave her alone." Again, the two pink mare's had their noses pressed against each other. "You don't know anything about her."

"I don't know that she blew you off? I don't know that you're getting sick of feeling like the only time ponies like you is when you throw parties? I am you, I know everything. I know how you want to stop smiling all the time, I know what you think of at night when nopony else is around." Pinkamena's voice was low, but sharp.

Pinkie seemed on the verge of tears. "That isn't true. My friends..my friends…" She swallowed. "Everypony is my friend."

Pinkamena snorted. "Right. You annoy everypony with how you're always rambling about something. Fluttershy was right. You are the most frivolous pony in Equestira. At least Rarity is doing something useful. What do you do? Throw parties everypony forgets in a week."

Pinkie shook her head. "You're wrong! My parties…I…" She couldn't come up with anything to say back. It was true, she had known it for a while. She was nothing but a silly foal that ponies just put up with. She sat on the floor, looking down. "You're just wrong."

Twilight walked over and wrapped her hooves around Pinkie, throwing a glare at Pinkamena. "How could you say something like that to Pinkie?" Twilight held the party pony close, stroking her mane."

Pinkamena looked at the site before her. "You don't understand, do you. I am her. And I don't need your pity. I understand just exactly how you all feel about me. If I wasn't one of those stupid Elements, you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"No wait a gosh darn second." Applejack walked up to Pinkamena, looking her dead in the eye. "We all love Pinkie. Sure, you can be silly sometimes, but so what? Ah'm stubborn, Rarity is conceited," Applejack ignored the small "Hey!" Rarity said, "and everypony has something like that about them. Twi is a neat freak. You can go overboard in the fun department, but that's okay, Pinks."

Pinkamena looked over at Pinkie and Twilight, who were ignoring everything but their private bubble. Twilight seemed to be singing something to the curly maned pony as she held her close. Pinkamena walked closer, reciving a wary look from Twilight. "Why are you doing that?"

Twilight looked up, right into Pinkamena's eyes. She could see her Pinkie in them, just as she could in the eyes of the mare she was holding. "Because, Pinkie," Twilight said, letting go of the curly maned mare. "It's like you said earlier. You're my best friend." Twilight wrapped her hooves around the pink pony's neck. Pinkamena didn't move, but Twilight felt something wet fall onto her  coat.

After Twilight released her, Pinkamena walked over to where Pinkie was now standing with the rest of her friends. "I don't want to be alone anymore," Pinkamena said.

"Me either," Pinkie replied. The two Pinkie's hugged each other, holding tight. A bright light slowly grew around them, getting brighter and brighter until the other five ponies in the room had to shield their eyes. When the light died and everypony could see again, there was only one curly haired Pinkie standing where the two had been.

"You don't really believe all that stuff, do you, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked. "About us only liking you for your parties?"

When she didn't reply, that was answer enough. "Pinkie," Twilight spoke up again. "You were the first pony I met when I came to Ponyville. You threw me a party and you didn't even know me. Sure, maybe I was able to actually talk to the others first, but you're still my first real friend. Maybe you make me crazy sometimes, but that's me. I have to have logic to explain everything." Twilight embraced the pink pony. "I love you."

Everypony followed Twilight's lead, telling Pinkie how much she really meant to them and wrapping her in a huge group hug. For once, she ignored the thoughts trying to float to the top of her head. For once, she let herself believe she was truly loved.