Out of the Mirror, into the Fire

Chapters

Sky-Blue Eyes
Ok, that happened.
Forest Picnic
Brillo Del Lago
The Heart Wants What It Wants
Is this an ‘Us’?

Sky-Blue Eyes

Twilight looked at Pinkie, stunned. Her human friend had just dropped something big. Pinkie looked a bit flustered, her cheeks flushed a bright red and her hands clenched at her sides.

“Pinkie, you-you love me?!” Twilight felt her eyes involuntarily widen.

“Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh! I messed up so so SO much didn’t I?” Came a frantic string of words from Pinkie.

A warm blush spread across Twilight’s cheeks, and her heart fluttered in her chest, in a way it hadn’t in a long while. She took a step closer to Pinkie. It was just them in the bakery, as Pinkie was technically supposed to be closing as of then. Sky-blue eyes pierced Twilight’s soul, making her pulse race, and her breath catch in her throat. One step closer. Then another. And another. She was only a metre or two from Pinkie now. Spellbound in the moment, entranced by rose-tinted thoughts, and cradled in the thrall of love, Twilight took another, shuffling step closer. In the aftermath, she couldn’t quite recall who acted first, but only that they had kissed. Tenderly. Sweetly. Celestia forbid, romantically. She could taste cupcake frosting and bubblegum lipgloss. She could feel the warmth radiating off Pinkie’s face. Inhaling the sweet aroma that lingered in the shop like a heavenly aura. With a small sigh, she stepped back. Pinkie was redder than an apple, and Twilight knew her face was probably much the same. No amount of romantic drivel had ever prepared her for moments like these. Small, blissful moments that memory cast in a pink glow.

“Do you-is it possible-I mean, Twilight, do you l-like me?” Her words tumbled out, and a bead of sweat ran down her face.

It only took Twilight a fraction of a second to respond.

“Yes! Yes! A million times over, yes!”

And for a moment, the world was beautiful, with no-one to stop them, the two could reach the ends of Equus! They could do anything as long as they were toge- her heart plummeted. It was her last day on this extended visit to Canterlot High. She would be going home come dawn.

“Pinkie?”

“Yes, Twilight, O beloved of mine?”

“I’m sorry. This has been great, but I’m going back through the portal soon. I’m so-I guess th-I ca-“ Twilight choked on her words.

“I’m really sorry, but this is a goodbye. I really hope there is an ‘us’somewhere in the future but I-“ she was cut off by Pinkie enveloping her in a hug.

“Please come back to me, Twilight Sparkle. I love you. Now and always. Remember that”

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

A guilt-wracked Twilight stepped closer to the statue, the frosted grass crunching beneath her feet. With a long, drawn out sigh, she put one hand up to the stone of the base. Upon contact, the marble rippled, as if it were a pond, and her hand slipped right through. She looked at her other hand for a moment, marvelling at the appendage, before steeling herself and stepping through the marble. Her turned to Pinkie, as the trans-dimensional magic swirled around her. Twilight mentally berated herself for just up and leaving the poor girl like that. Without much of a proper goodbye even. But Equestria called, and her duties as Princess of Friendship, and Element of Magic couldn’t go unattended for too long. Plus, homesickness was on a whole new level in trans-dimensional travel.

On the other end of the portal, a collection of beings waited patiently, consisting of an alicorn, two earth ponies, two pegasi, a unicorn, and a young drake.

“Twilight!” Came the exclamation of seven different voices, as she finally felt solid ground beneath her once more.

Two familiar lavender hooves in front of her, two slightly-less-familiar wings on her back, and one magical, mystical horn crowning her head. Stepping forward to help the rest of her through the portal was a sunset-hued earth pony wearing an oversized Stetson.

“You okay sugarcube?”

“Yeah, thanks Applejack” she replied.

Twilight turned to the rest of her friends, and smiled. If there had been any other motley crew of ponies (and a dragon!) by her side, she was sure that she wouldn’t have come as far as she had. Twilight was an alicorn, a princess, an Element of Harmony for crying out loud! Which was part of the reason she didn’t get annoyed when her friends bombarded her with questions about the human world. Even Celestia wanted to know about her Canterlot High counterpart. Twilight wasn’t by nature a very patient pony, but for these beings, she’d make an effort. By far, the most queries and theories came from one Pinkamena Diane Pie, who bounced around instead of merely sitting still.

“Ooh, ooh, I know, Human me’s found a Datemate! Wait no- Human me is on the run for three counts of grand larceny and one count of bank robbery! No, that can’t be it- Did other me set a hearth’s warming tree on fire? Argh! Twilight! You’re being so vague about her!”

Oh Pinkie. If only you knew. Twilight felt a light warmth in her cheeks whenever she looked over at the pink mare, which was quite often, as Pinkie had a lot of questions. Eventually the river of questions turned into a stream, and then a rivulet, which dried up. Her friends made their excuses and said their goodbyes, and for that, she was grateful. All she really needed was time. Time to process. Time to think. Time to keep feeling really guilty about abandoning Pinkie in the human world. Yeah, that was one thing she wasn’t exactly going to stop thinking about. She shook her head. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about Pinkie? The whole time she was answering questions, her mind was thinking about her. Replaying that kiss like it was a scene of a movie the director couldn’t find the right take for. Rolling around every word she had said like it was a pearl between two human fingers. Twilight meandered her way through the crystalline halls of her castle, ready to enter her room, lock the door, and just, well, have a freak out. Sparkling pillars, indigo carpets and gold adornments seemed to blur past her, as she navigated to her room. Shutting the door, and engaging the lock with a subtle click, Twilight pivoted, and promptly collapsed onto her bed in a daze. Pressing her face into the pillow, she silently cried out. Why couldn’t she stop thinking about Pinkie? Why?

Outwardly, pinkie wore the same ridiculous smile she had worn since the beginning of time itself, but on the inside? On the inside a small frown had appeared. It had been there for three days, since Twilight had returned through the portal. Ever since she got back, Twilight was acting strangely, even for Pinkie’s standards. A small jolt coursed through Pinkie’s body, nothing to worry about, just her Pinkie Sense telling her the muffins were ready. With renewed vigour, she pulled the steaming tray out of the oven, breathing in the muffin-y goodness. Derpy was willing to pay extra for a larger batch than usual. But that was off topic. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Pinkie’s brain. She would throw a party! A cheer-up-Twilight surprise party to be exact! Parties solved just about any problem!
As the sun set on Ponyville, the denizens of the hamlet gathered in the Apple family barn, where balloons and streamers covered every surface available, the few remaining clear spots holding trays of food or bowls of punch. The whispers and idle chatter grew silent as a magenta glow encased the barn doors, before throwing them open in a semi-dramatic fashion.

“SURPRISE!” A cacophony of voices cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.

Pinkie cartwheeled out from behind a hay bale, tumbling to a stop in front of one very confused Twilight Sparkle. Who, for the record, was very ‘surprised’.

“What’s all this for?” Twilight asked, craning her neck to get a better view of the barn.

“Weeeeeeeeeeeell… so maybe you were acting a bit off-“ “Darn right ya were!” Came Applejack’s voice, cutting Pinkie off “-sooooooo this is me throwing you a cheer-up party!” She continued gleefully.

“Pinkie, you know, you really didn’t have to…” Twilight trailed off when Pinkie merely giggled and extended her hoof to Twilight.

“So what? Now dance with me, princess!” She trilled.

A dance had indeed begun behind them, resident musicians DJ PON-3 and Octavia Melody having offered to perform at the party. Ponies twirled, dipped, pranced and laughed as the music swelled and dipped. Twilight tentatively accepted the proffered hoof, and Pinkie, beaming, all but dragged her into the crowd of dancing ponies. The two danced, twirling their way across the barn, stomping their hooves, and all but shimmying across the makeshift dance floor. Eventually, the music slowed, and then paused to allow for a brief break.

Twilight didn’t have to look at Pinkie to know she was grinning ear to ear. As the two broke apart and wandered off to eat, something drew the lavender pony’s attention. Sky-blue eyes caught her through the crowd, which was impossible, as Pinkie was in the other direction, trying to get Fluttershy to join the revelry. Those enchanting eyes looked at her, before darting to a side door in the barn, then looking back at her. And then those two beautiful orbs vanished into the throng of ponies. What harm could a little adventure bring? And she wouldn’t be gone for long. After pushing her way to the side door, Twilight opened the wooden portal, slid through to the other side, and shut it behind her again. It was then she found herself facing a curious problem. Because, here, in front of her own two eyes, was Pinkie Pie. Which, as said before, was impossible.

“Hiya Twilight! I know you probably have questions but-“

“Questions?! Pinkie, you were just inside. I just saw you! With my own two eyes! How in Celestia’s mighty name is this possible?! Wait, no, don’t tell me, another Pinkie clone. Ugh I hate dealing with that stupid pool”

“Oh silly! I’m not a clone! I came through the portal! It’s so weird not having hands. Oh and Applejack looks sooooo different! Which is also so weird!” Pinkie burbled.

That would mean this was the Pinkie Pie she- oh. A fiery blush spread across Twilight’s face. The last thing she remembered was the ground rushing up to meet her, as darkness spread across her vision. So this was what it was like to faint.

Author's Note

So this is it. The first chapter of my first fanfiction. I hope you enjoyed it!
Cheers to my friends for proofreading! Cheers to my Mum for reading it over!
Leave any queries and theories in the comments below. Thanks for reading, it was a hoot to write!

Ok, that happened.

Twilight was awoken by a gentle, yet somewhat erratic shaking of her shoulders. She groaned, as the moon above was unreasonably bright, and the grass beneath her was unreasonably itchy. Pinkie Pie-no, the pony form of the human Pinkie Pie, was standing over her, shaking her shoulders. Upon seeing her awake, the pink mare smiled and stepped out of Twilight’s current field of view. A sudden creaking sound from behind caught her attention, alerting her to the fact that somepony had opened the side door.

‘’Heya, Twi? You’ve been gone from the party and- Pinkie?! What in tarnation? I just spoke to ya inside!” Applejack sounded confused, but weary. She had seen enough of Pinkie’s antics over the years to warrant a level of caution.

“AJ, meet Pinkie.” Twilight pulled herself to her hooves. “Pinkie, meet Applejack”

“Did ya hit yer head there Twi? I know Pinkie. We’re related consarnit!”

“Hi Applejack. Oh wow, you look different from the AJ I know!” Pinkie smiled blithely at Applejack. The farm pony only raised her eyebrow in response.

Twilight rubbed her forehead blearily. “Yeah, this is Pinkie Pie… from the human world.”

Applejack’s jaw dropped. “Y’all can’t be serious. I’ve clearly drank one too many ciders. I’m hallucinating. This can’t be real!” She spluttered, looking at Pinkie with new eyes.

“See, there’s Pinkie! Inside! Dancing the pony polka! I’ve gotta be hallucinatin’, Twi!” She continued to ramble somewhat coherently, her eyes never leaving the pink pony in front of her.

It was then the cosmic powers that be decided to throw a curveball, in the form of one rainbow-maned pegasus named-

“RAINBOW DASH! YOU COME BACK HERE THIS INSTANT! I HOPE YOU CRASH INT-“ the furious voice was cut off as a multicoloured blur shot through the door, smashing straight into Applejack, who was thrown up into the air in a small arc.

She was followed by an enraged, though slower unicorn, wearing a frilly blue dress with a large purple stain. Her scalding blue gaze was locked on the sheepish form of Dash, who was currently cowering behind Pinkie. Pinkie, on the other hoof, waved happily at Rarity.

“You are the most self-important, insolent, cheap piece of horsefeathers I have EVER SEEN” Rarity shouted obscenely. “You RUINED MY FROCK, RAINBOW DASH. NOT. VERY. LOYAL!”

RD chuckled nervously. “Hehe, uh, well, Rarity, Rares, Rara, uhm, how bad could it possibly be? Can’t you just wash it out?”

The seamstress’ face turned a deep shade of scarlet. “YOU SPILLED BLUEBERRY WINE ON SILK! WASH IT OUT? WASH IT OUT? ARE YOU INSANE!” She paused to take a breath, before continuing her vocal rampage. “THAT. IS. IT. NO MORE FREE OUTFITS. NO MORE FIXING YOUR WONDERBOLTS COSTUME WHEN YOU TAKE IT OUT FOR LARP. NO. MORE.” With that, Rarity huffed, and sat facing away from the group. On the bright side, Twilight noted, she seemed to be calming down.

“Is everything alright, girls?” Fluttershy timidly peered through the doorway at the growing congregation.

She let out a small ‘eep’ upon seeing Pinkie, her eyes wide as dinner plates.

“G-guys that’s n-not Pinkie… It can’t be! I was just dancing with her!” She exclaimed, her voice trembling a little as she spoke.

Rarity’s head whipped around to stare at the pink pony in their midst, and Rainbow darted out from behind her, staring untrustingly at this seemingly exact copy of her friend. It seemed the cosmic powers that be decided yet again to make life just that much harder. Because, the equine version of Pinkamena Diane Pie took that moment to step through the threshold of the side door, and join her friends out in the cool night air.

Pinkie awoke the next morning feeling… vaguely remorseful? She didn’t remember much of what had happened the previous night, and it wasn’t like she was entirely sober the entire time. But even as her other memories were as syrupy as chocolate sauce, one particular moment stood out from the rest. Launching herself at a pink pony, poised to strike the impostor who was wearing her face. Hmm. Weird. Maybe it was a changeling? Another memory hit her. A magenta wave filling her vision, then darkness. And was that Twilight’s voice chanting something weird in the background? ‘Iam quiescas, alta qiescamus, teque opacum quiescas!’ Well, that was what it sounded like. Sounded pretty archaic to her.

Bemused confused, and currently unamused, she decided that it was finally time to get up. A bright pink sticky note was stuck on the window next to her bed, and upon closer inspection, was written in an orderly font that was much too neat for Pinkie’s likings. That and the small, illegible signature at the bottom pointed to this note being written by another. She stepped closer, and took a whiff of the note. Hmm, Magnolia blossom with a hint of cologne? Definitely Twilight Sparkle. Speaking of whom, hadn’t she been… a fresh wave of memories washed over her. Memories of Twilight surreptitiously gazing over at the other Pinkie. Possessive thoughts. Awful thoughts, running through her mind as she looked over at the lavender alicorn. Not even bothering to hear out any explanation before a deep-seeded fury ignited inside her. Driving her to do something that didn’t make someone laugh. Quite the opposite in fact. Seeking to turn her mind from bad memories, she finally took a moment to read Twilight’s note.

‘Hey Pinkie, look, really sorry about last night. That other you? She’s from the human world.
I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for using an umbra somnum spell on you.
Just like I hope other Pinkie can forgive you for dealing her a savage left-hook. Love, Twilight Sparkle’

Pinkie felt a little butterfly flutter about in her stomach. Eh. She was probably just hungry. And what was that about ‘other Pinkie’ being from the human world? Ugh! Nothing ever made sense on an empty stomach! Pinkie took one last look at the note, before heading down the stairs to the kitchen.

Pinkie Pie was bored. Breakfast had long since passed, and now, with nothing to do (it being a Sunday, so Sugarcube Corner was closed), she sat staring out her bedroom window. An idea occurred to her. There was always one method that would provide an escape from boredom! Zipping to her supply closet, she hastily collected the needed items.
1 helium pump
1 pony harness
17 balloons!

A few minutes later, and she was ready to go. Pinkie stared down the open window in front of her, tensed her legs, and with one solid leap, she was off! Out the window! Gravity pulled her down for one worrying second, but she had guesstimated the number of balloons correctly, leaving her to soar through the domain of the birds! And pegasi, she guessed. And griffons, dragons, hippogriffs, alicorns, changelings, draconequui… she kept listing off airborne creatures as she floated over Ponyville. The few residents that saw her waved, unsurprised at her behaviour. She waved back with her trademark smile affixed to her face. As the breeze swept her over the Apple family’s property, she could make out the barn they had that sweet party in! And that area off by the side door. Oof. Still not a pleasant memory.

As she rose higher in the air, floating serenely over the Everfree Forest, a thought occurred to her.

“I’m on top of the world!” She proclaimed to no-one, and it did feel like she was on the roof of the world, up here in the clear sky. It felt good, in a way.

Ooh, what was that down there? Pinkie spied a beautiful little clearing, with verdantly green grass, and a ring of trees surrounding it that looked quite peaceful in the sunlight. She carefully mapped out a route to this spot in her mind. This would be the perfect place for an I’m-sorry-about-last-night party! Parties. Solved. EVERYTHING.

Twilight paced the room, thinking. A letter had appeared in her gold-plated mail slot after she returned from lunch. It had addressed her in a style of lettering that looped and curved like a roller coaster across the page. It smelled strongly of sugary sweetness, and combined with the eye-catching fact that the envelope it was posted in was covered end-to-end in confetti and glitter, made it pretty obvious who the sender was. Pinkie. Oh how her heart beat that much faster around that mare.

How traitorous of it.

And now she paced the confines of her bedroom, levitating the letter in midair in front of her. Reading and rereading the words over and over again. Innocuous as the letter may have been, it’s words failed, no, refused to remain in her mind after she read them. Twilight stopped pacing, and set the letter down gently on her nightstand. She needed a break.

“Hey Spike?” She called out.

“Yeah?” He sounded so far away.

Knowing Spike, he was probably reading one of his Power Ponies comics, or finding some new act of maintenance that needed to be done. He should really get out more, Twilight thought to herself, as she called back to him.

“Can you come and help me with something? I need help with a bit of reading.” She cringed a bit even as the words left her mouth. Since when did the Great and Terrible Bookworm Twilight Sparkle need help with reading?

She could hear steps quickly approaching her room, before a knock on the door alerted her to the fact that the door was closed. The gemstone-studded doorknob jiggling suddenly alerted her to the fact the door was locked. Weird. She didn’t usually lock the door. Dismissing it as a simple lapse in memory, she hurried to unlock the door with her magic. Spike opened the door with no trouble this time.

“Twilight? You ok? You said you need help with reading something. Again: are you ok?” He asked her.

Twilight smiled; a quick, almost mechanical motion, and reassured him that she was ok. She just needed help with this thing of hers. Twilight gestured to the note on her nightstand with one hoof. Taking the cue, Spike picked up, and began. Maybe it would be better if somecreature else read it, she reasoned as he cleared his throat.

“Ahem.
‘Dear Twilight Sparkle. This is your invite to my I’m-sorry-about-last-night party!
Please find the coordinates attached!
Fair warning, the party is going to be in the Everfree around sundown, so bring a source of light!
I hope you come!
Love, Pinkie D. Pie!
That’s it. Are you going to go, Twilight? I know I totally want to. Though, if it’s around sundown, we’re going to need more of a light source than just your horn alone.” Spike finished, his voice hopeful.

Twilight smiled. “If you can find that other light source, we just might!”

Spike gave a mock salute and ran off to do so. Now that she was alone once more, Twilight sighed. She stared out the window at that perfect blue sky, marred only by puffy white clouds and the occasional bird, or pegasus. Yeah, so the last party went south. But, she was fairly certain this one couldn’t go much worse than ‘your kind-of-marefriend shows up and looks exactly like one of your friends, who is also at the party, and attacks your kind-of-marefriend’. At least she was able to sort things out a bit with an umbra somnum spell. Even though those were, technically speaking, illegal. She was sure it’d be fine though. And if it wasn’t fine? Twilight was an alicorn, the Element of Magic. She had taken on Tirek. Chrysalis. The might of the alicorn amulet! Plus a few more dubiously (and barely) legal spells in her arsenal. Yeah. This would be just fine.

Author's Note

This was a drag to write, but looking back, I really enjoy what I’ve created. And I really hope that you did too. Cheers to my friends for their support, and cheers to all of you for reading this far!
Love yourselves and bye til next time.
-MT

Forest Picnic

A picnic in an idyllic Everfree meadow. That’s what Twilight was expecting. A sunny, wildflower-lined dirt path through the majestic woods. That’s what Twilight was expecting. A rough trek through unyielding woods because she and Spike were horrendously, hopelessly lost? That’s what Twilight should’ve expected.

She slumped forward onto the ground with a sigh. They’d never get to the party at this rate. Foreboding trees surrounded them on all sides, and the forest was slowly growing darker, thanks to the day almost being over and the sun finally starting to slip over the horizon. Spike had their only non-magical source of light, in the form of an oil lamp carried in one claw.

“Hey Twilight?” He stepped over her to look at the map still floating in her magic. “Maybe give me a look at that map?”

“Yeah, sure, knock yourself out.” She grumbled.

Spike examined the map closely, before letting out a triumphant ‘aha’.

“Twilight, I have it! The map was upside down!” He declared.

Twilight looked up incredulously, only to facehoof when she, too, made that realisation. Just how lost were they? Pulling herself up off the earth, the lavender alicorn groaned and took yet another look at the map. Yeah, she definitely had it the wrong way around.

At this point, the thick gloom of night was descending on the woods around them, making it hard to see a mere few hooves in front of her, so Twilight ignited her horn, the unnatural magenta glow providing a tiny bit more light. Thick, dark, tree trunks loomed forlornly in the darkness, and strange sounds echoed around the pair. Twilight’s nerves were frayed enough as it was, even without the Everfree by night to add to that.

“Uhh, Spike, are there any shortcuts, or other ways to get to the spot Pinkie chose for the party?” Twilight asked nervously.

“Hmm? Oh wait a sec, if we cut through here… and then make a right turn, and then a left one… Yeah, we should be able to make it there.” He mused.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, and with Spike’s guidance, trekked on through the forest. There was a point where a thick mist rolled in, obscuring most of the way ahead, and a point were she was sure that was poison ivy Spike had stepped in, or when she ran straight into a huge spiderweb. One hoof in front of the other, she continually reminded herself. One hoof in front of the other and it would be just fine.

Pinkie Pie was a little concerned. Sure, she was mostly focused on the party, or on one of Rarity’s cider-fuelled tales, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. It was night already, and the clearing was illuminated partially by the peaceful glow of the crescent moon above, but mostly by the strings of fairy lights thrown haphazardly on the surrounding trees, or the fireflies Fluttershy had called in for a bit of light. And Twilight Sparkle still hadn’t shown up. She had RSVP’d alright, but there was still no Twilight. And no Spike either, for that matter, but he was probably with Twilight. Hmm, it was unlikely but there was the possibility the two could’ve been eaten by cragodiles, which would be pretty awful.

There was a rustle a thicket off to her right. The leaves jostled violently, before an equine shape pulled herself through. The pony was covered in leaves, the odd scratch, and a large spiderweb was strewn in her mane. A smaller, more draconian figure pushed through the thicket just behind her, looking just as worse for wear. But most importantly, it was-

“Twilight! Spike!” The gathered ponies exclaimed upon seeing her.

“Darlings wherever have you been! You two look simply awful! And your mane is atrocious!”

“What took you so long? We were waiting like, forever!”

“Twilight! Spike! Are you ok? You were gone for so long!”

“Heya Twi, you ok sugarcube? You took a long while ta get here. And Spike, you good?”

“You came! I was worried you wouldn’t come but you RSVP’d yes and I was waiting for so long but it turns out you weren’t eaten by cragodiles sooooooooooo everything’s ok!”

Pinkie beamed at the bemused pair. In any case they were here now, despite the delay, and the night was young! It was time to have some fun!

Pinkie bounced over to the victrola Rarity had brought, and set a record spinning. Oooh, this one was a classic! The gramophone-like contraption started up, and began belting out the words of the song.

A true, true friend helps a friend in need, a friend will be there to help them see-

With the music sorted, and the food already out on the picnic rug, all that was left was games! Up first on Pinkie’s list was spin the bottle! There was no way this could possibly go wrong!

Author's Note

Another day, another chapter, and this one was a little late, so sorry about that.
Cheers to my friends and family for their support and cheers to you for making it this far.
Glory to Queen Luna!
-MT

Brillo Del Lago

Twilight’s eyes tracked the movement of the green bottle as it spun, the lights from around the clearing reflected and distorted in it’s emerald glass. The bottle spun once, twice, three times more, losing vigour with each spin. Eventually, it slowed down. Fourteen eyes were trained on it, as it completed one last turn, landing between-

“Fluttershy? Oh but darling, I simply couldn’t! I heard you were dating Rainbow! It would be most insípida of me to, well, kiss you.”

Fluttershy let out a small meep.

“Where did you hear that? Never mind. Uhm, Rarity, if you don’t want to, you know, then it’s fine. But I’m not- we aren’t- it’s not official that Rainbow and I are together.” Fluttershy’s cheeks were getting redder by the minute, a light pink blush quickly turning the colour of strawberries, then to a rich ruby red.

“Uhhh, well… if Fluttershy’s OK with it… I can look the other way. It is spin the bottle after all. I should have been prepared for something like this.” Rainbow Dash said quickly, a light pink spreading across her face.

“Well, if it’s in the rules, I guess…” A bright scarlet-hued Fluttershy replied softly, before leaning in to brush lips with Rarity. The pair pulled away after barely touching each other, eyes still locked in what would have looked like a staring contest, under any other circumstance. Fluttershy was the first one to look away, muttering apologies to Rarity.

“Dreadfully sorry about that, Rainbow. What terrible luck for the bottle to land between me and Fluttershy dearest.” Rarity said, her voice just a few octaves above a faint murmur.

Pinkie shook her head amusedly, before setting the bottle spinning once more. The warm amber light of the fireflies flitting about the clearing and the clear light of the speckling of stars above seemed to catch in the glass, spinning with the bottle and drawing the eyes of all present. For a minute, the only noises to be heard was the far-away noises of cicadas, the odd rustle in the bushes or the quiet whooshing of wind blowing through the trees around the group. The bottle spun once. The bottle spun twice. It made it through one last, dizzyingly slow rotation, before stopping between who else but Rainbow Dash and-

“Oh no. Tartarus no. Ya want me, to smooch, HER?! Sorry Dash, but I just ain’t gonna do it. Ya dating Flutters here anyway, ain’t ya? Fluttershy, back me up ‘ere! There’s no way in Tartarus I’m kissing Rainbow!”

The technicolor-maned mare in question wasn’t answering, instead just staring incredulously at the green bottle in front of her. The green bottle indicating that she should currently be kissing her friend, Applejack. Rainbow snapped herself out of it, before shaking her head and grumbling about her luck.

“Yeah whatever. This was a stupid game anyway. Stupid game. Stupid bottle. Don’t worry AJ, I’m not going to kiss you. I wouldn’t want to anyway. Have fun with your stupid game, guys. I’ll be over there, helping myself to the snacks, far away from any of that bottle nonsense.” Rainbow’s voice was at a noticeably odd pitch, which, paired with her wide eyes and rose-coloured face, made Rarity snicker slightly.

Applejack’s face was largely obscured by her hat, but that did a poor job of hiding the fact a small smile had crept onto her face.

Pinkie was quick to grab the bottle, and send it into another spin. With one less player in the game, the bottle almost seemed to spin even faster. Emerald glass spun around and around and around, before finally, finally pointing squarely at the empty space between one shockingly purple, winged unicorn princess, and the one and only pink party pony herself. Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie.
Twilight could feel Pinkie’s enchanting, sky-blue eyes on her, and did the temperature just raise a little, or was it just her? She muttered a hail Celestia under her breath, before turning to face that gorgeous, vivaciously pink mare. Oh, wow, had she always been sitting so close to Pinkie? Twilight could feel a small bead of sweat trickle down the side of her forehead.

“Twilight? Pinkie? You’re up. I had my turn, now it’s yours, darlings. Don’t keep us here all night, really.” Rarity sounded so far away, like she was a kilometre away instead of mere metres.

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat, as Pinkie shuffled forward slightly, getting that much closer to Twilight. Sweet Celestia her eyes were so absolutely stunning up close. She could feel warmth radiating off the pink mare’s beautiful cotton-candy coloured coat. She could feel herself move unconsciously closer, closer to that gorgeous, intoxicatingly amazing pony. Pinkie leaned in, tilting her head to the side, and before she could stop herself, Twilight did the same.

Centimetres. Mere centimetres. That beautiful, stunning mare was mere centimetres away and Twilight’s mind had to ruin it. Thoughts about the last kiss she had shared. Thoughts about who her heart yearned for with ever passing hour. Thoughts about the human Pinkie Pie. Thoughts that ruined her perfect, beautiful moment with the pony Pinkie Pie.

Twilight jerked apart from Pinkie, stumbling to her hooves. She turned and ran. Away from her friends, from Pinkie Pie. Into the cold, dark and unforgiving Everfree Forest.

Her head was filled with thoughts of that night. It wasn’t so long ago now. That night, alone with the human Pinkie Pie, where the two of them had-

THUNK

She crashed headfirst into a tree. Oof that was a concern for tomorrow, Twilight hastily decided. Backing up a bit, and now more aware of her surroundings, however dimly lit those may be, a glint of light through the trees grabbed her attention. Moving cautiously towards the light, Twilight soon found herself in a miniature glade, in the middle of which sat a clear pool, catching the bright moonlight on it’s surface. The glade was near-silent, and the pool was almost a perfect mirror of the marvellous night sky above. Comets, galaxies and Luna’s bright moon were only disrupted slightly by the odd ripple or minor disturbance on the, well it was more of a pond or a really small lake, in actuality, and Twilight doubted it would be warm enough to justify swimming, henceforth, not a pool.

She made her way to the edge of the pond, eyes transfixed on it, but mind lost in an ocean of never-ending thoughts. Thoughts that kept coming back to, time and time again, that just kept coming back to who else but Pinkie Pie.
The way her smile lit up the world around her. The way she burst into melodious, beautiful song at the drop of a hat. Her crazy, but endearing way of justifying the madness around her. All the little ways she managed to make Twilight smile, without even noticing it herself.
And most of all, those sparkling, enchanting, incredible sky-hued eyes filled with warmth and laughter. Oh, Twilight could get lost in those eyes. She actually had, on a few occasions.

The voices of her friends searching for her sounded so far away. She had, after all, run away into the dark, foreboding woods, and there was at least going to be more than one worried pony hot on her trail. And that probably also meant Pinkie Pie. Well, maybe she could stay here a little longer, Twilight mused. After all, going back to her friends would be so complicated after she had run off. She sat down at the edge of the ~~pool~~ very small lake and sighed deeply. Since when had romance become so Celestia-darned complicated?!

On a whim, Twilight looked back, over her shoulder at the gloom of the forest. The darkly verdant leaves and deep shadows surrounded her on all sides. Suddenly, a flash of light caught her gaze (again). Was that..? Oh Celestia. A pair of all too familiar sky-blue eyes pierced the darkness.

That was probably about when Twilight’s brain stopped working. She slumped forward onto the ground, unresponsive. The sky-blue eyes widened in shock, and the pony they belonged to rushed forward to help her.

Pinkie Pie didn’t like dark forests. She didn’t like getting lost in them, and absolutely hated it when dark forests swallowed up lavender alicorn friends. To be fair, she didn’t blame Twilight, she just blamed the forest for eating her alive. Meanie-pants forest.

As her body traipsed through the thick tangle of trees and bushes, her mind returned to just before Twilight ran away. Whose idea was it to play spin the bottle anyway? Certainly not Pinkie’s. Where was Twilight? Why had she run away just as they were about to-

Oh. Well, that certainly brought a small, hopeful smile to Pinkie’s face. She had been about to kiss one of the most spectacular, adoration-worthy ponies she had ever met! Too bad she ran off though. A small glint of light attracted her gaze through the trees. She shook her head and moved on. It was probably just a puddle or something.

Where could Twilight possibly be?!

Author's Note

Sorry for the wait. I had to deal with some personal stuff. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of this gay disaster. Thanks for reading this far, and for bothering to read this fanfic at all. Cheers to my friends for being my friends even though I’m writing pony romance on the internet, and cheers to all of you.
Glory to Queen Luna,
-MT

The Heart Wants What It Wants

It was a little known fact that Twilight Sparkle feared quesadillas above most else. It was even less known that she was prone to fainting when under significant mental duress. Only a select few, like her brother, Spike, Cadence and her parents, knew this was even a problem for her. Celestia, having been her primary caregiver and teacher for a number of years, had also known about it, as her fainting spells had been quite pronounced through her years of magic tutelage, due to both assignments and various crushes on mares and stallions alike.

It was now, in the night-cast Everfree forest, that another came to Twilight’s rescue, as she slid, lifeless, towards the frigid waters of the pond. Rarity burst from her cover in the dark growth of the woods to catch the alicorn before she slipped into the cold embrace of the water. Rarity’s horn lit up with brilliant blue light, mirroring the glowing aura that wrapped itself around Twilight, pulling her back from the edge.

Of course, Twilight wasn’t aware of any of this. For all she knew, Pinkie had finally found her, and was about to confront her for running away from spin the bottle. And thus, her brain had malfunctioned.

Rarity’s magic gently lifted Twilight onto a patch of dry grass, well away from the edge of the pond. She took a few steps closer to her unconscious friend, concern written clearly across her face.

“Twilight?”

When she didn’t respond, Rarity decided to take things to the next logical step: shrieking and violently shaking Twilight’s shoulders, in a slightly-misinformed attempt at waking her up. When her eyes finally fluttered open, widening first in alarm at the visage of the stark white figure of Rarity against the starry void of the night sky above, before she realised who it was, and calmed slightly.

For a few blissful minutes, Twilight was at peace. It was so quiet, so serene, and the only things she was aware of was the beautiful speckling of stars adorning the sky, the bright light of the moon, the somewhat hazy figure of Rarity, and her own, comparably loud, breathing. There was no Pinkie Pie, least of all two of them, to complicate things. There was no stress of saving Equus, no way-of-life ending threat to deal with or villainous spell to put a stop to. For a few minutes, she had a reprieve from everything. And of course, like all good things, it had to end.

“Darling, are you quite alright? You could have drowned, Twilight! I was ever so worried about you.” Rarity’s voice cut through the near-perfect silence like a hot knife through icing.

Twilight’s eyes drifted slowly to her. It took some prompting in the form of Rarity nodding earnestly at her for Twilight to finally collect her scattered thoughts, and answer her.

“Y-yes. I’m fine. Wha… what h-happened to me?” She asked tentatively.

“It was simply terrible! You fainted- Celestia knows why -and I had to stop you from falling into the lake! I do think you’re not quite ‘fine’, darling” Rarity exclaimed.

Twilight gave her a half-hearted smile. So she had fainted then. That made one more creature who knew about her little problem with fainting. Ah well, she trusted Rarity, and there was one more thing she wanted to get off her chest. Rarity was probably the most experienced in matters of the heart, when it came to their friends, and she would probably understand, or at least help Twilight understand what in Celestia was going on in her love life.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Twilight gathered the courage to speak up.

“Rarity, can I run something by you?” She said quietly.

“Mm? What was that darling? Do you mind saying it again?”

Twilight took a deep breath and tried again, louder this time.

“Rarity, can I run something by you?”

“Sure, dear. What do you want to talk about?” Rarity replied.

This was it. She was going to tell Rarity the problems weighing down on her heart. She was going to confide in her friend about the kiss she had shared with human Pinkie Pie. She was going to talk about how the equine Pinkie Pie made her feel. About who her heart yearned for, about who she could feel a yearning for in that very moment. But something made her pause. Rarity, sensing her hesitation, lay down on the grass beside her. Staring up at the stars and moon above, she made a guess.

“Is it Pinkie Pie?”

Twilight let out a deep sigh, before turning her head to look at Rarity. Had it been that obvious?

“I… Yes. I think- no, I know I’m in love with her. But not just her. It- it’s her human counterpart from beyond the mirror. Me and her, her and me, we… We kissed. I love her, Rarity. But I can’t help my feelings… I feel something for Pinkie Pie- equestrian Pinkie Pie- as well. What do I do? I love them, both of them, and it just feels. So. Complicated! Argh!” She finally answered. It felt so good to get it of her chest, but Rarity did love to gossip. Was this such a good idea? She could only hope so.

“Can I give you a little advice, darling? The heart wants what it wants, you can’t deny it, but I think you should tell our Pinkie that you love her. The other Pinkie obviously know you have feelings for her. And if it worked out well for the other one, maybe it’ll work out even better with our one. In truth, I don’t really know what to tell you. I’ve never faced an extra-dimensional love triangle, Twi. But I think you and Pinkie Pie, the one from our world, have a chance. More than a chance, even. Darling, you simply must give it a go before you decide one way or another. At least it’s not any worse than anything you’ve already faced down. You have that to be glad about, at the very least.” Rarity finally answered. She wasn’t looking over at Twilight, but rather, up at the night sky.

“Thanks Rarity. I appreciate your honesty, even if you don’t exactly know what to do. Do you want to talk about your troubles? I noticed you and Flut-” Rarity cut her off brusquely. “No, no darling. There is nothing besides my dear Sweetie Belle troubling me right now. Thank you for your concern, but I’m afraid we must be getting back to the others as of now. They were so terribly worried at your departure!”

Twilight blinked in confusion, before shaking her head and pushing herself up off the ground. She offered a hoof to Rarity, which the fashionista took gratefully.

“And, Twilight? If you ever have any more romantic drama you need my advice on, don’t hesitate to run it by your friend Rarity! And, I recognise that look in your eyes, don’t fret, not a word of this will reach anyone else unless I have your permission. Oh don’t give me that face, I can keep a secret!”

Once the pair were ready to head off, Twilight lit her horn, which emitted a wide beam of magenta-tinted light, similar to a torch, illuminating the forest in front of them. Once they really started to look for the clearing, it was quite easy to see the light and hear the muted sound of music drifting mirthfully through the forlorn trees.

After a few minutes of wandering through the dark woodland, the two finally made through a break in the trees and safely back to the clearing. It was safe to say the party was well and truly dead at that point. Rainbow Dash was passed out on the ground next to the refreshments table, apple cider still in hoof, Fluttershy was talking tiredly to a small bat hanging off a nearby tree, and Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Spike must still have been out there looking for her. She mentally apologised to an image of the three conjured in her thoughts.

The sudden alarmed squawking of a bat drew her attention to where Fluttershy had been standing. A drunken Rainbow was now over with her, trying to serenade the mortified other pegasus, who just kept a forced smile on her face, though her eyes were wide in alarm. A few of Rainbow’s heavily slurred words reached Twilight’s ears, much to her wishing the contrary.

“One *hic* miiiiiiile to every inch *hic* of
Youuuuuurrrrr skin like *hic* porceliaaaaaan
One pairrrrr of *hic* candy hips no that’s *hic* not right ergh whateverrr
Youuuurrrrr bub- bubblegummmm toungue *hic*
And if you *hic* waaaaaaaannnt loooooove-“

Oh by Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Faust this had to stop. Poor Fluttershy looked just about ready to let the ground swallow her up. No-one (except Rainbow Dash perhaps, but she was a little too drunk to complain) protested in the slightest when Rarity stepped in, guiding Rainbow gently away from Fluttershy, who smiled gratefully at the unicorn.

“Oh, there you are Twilight! We’ve been looking all over for you!” A voice chirped from behind Twilight.

She slowly turned to look. Her fears were, unfortunately, confirmed. Behind her stood a party consisting of one joy-filled poofy-haired pink pony, a tired-looking orange one, and a young drake, excited to be allowed up past his bedtime, despite the deep shadows under his eyes.

Twilight sighed deeply, Rarity’s advice in mind. Time to face the music.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed, wonderful anonymous ponies of the internet. This one strayed far from my original framework, but I have it in my mind that this was even better than intended.
Cheers to all of you for reading this and cheers to my Mum and my friends for supporting me.
Love yourselves! Glory to The Moon Queen!
-MT

Is this an ‘Us’?

Pinkie Pie strode through the dark forest, dejected. Applejack trotted beside her, and Spike trailed behind. How had she lost Twilight? She was wearing her special detective hat! She had been using her special magnifying glass! And yet the lavender alicorn had eluded the search party.

Her mane, while still puffed and curly, had fallen to the side of her head, the miniature deerstalker still nestled within it’s hot pink clouds. Her tail, while still bouncy and fun, dragged across the ground. A frown took up most of Pinkie’s face, which was disconcerting, even for Pinkie.

“Aww, sugarcube, Ah’m sure Twi’s just fine. She’s an alicorn. You an’ me both know she can handle herself out there. She’s taken on some o’ the biggest bads Ah’ve ever seen. Don’ worry ‘bout her.” Applejack tried to reason with Pinkie.

Pinkie sighed. “I know, I know. But what if she’s lost?! Or hurt?! Or needs our help?! Argh I can’t stop worrying about her!”

As she talked, Pinkie’s mane seemed to lose some of it’s volume, looking flatter by the second. Noticing this, Spike stepped in to try and prevent a full-on Pinkamena episode.

“C’mon Pinkie, if there’s anything being Twilight’s assistant for so many years has taught me, is that she can handle herself. My guess is that she’s just found some rare plant, or strange magic worth checking out. Like AJ said, don’t worry about her. In fact, she’s probably back in that clearing we had the party in.”

Pinkie didn’t respond, her head just hanging lower. The many lights of the fairy lights and fireflies of the clearing pierced through the trees, and the low sounds of music and laughter finally reached her ears, as the trio grew closer to the clearing.

Stepping past the tree line into the clearing, Pinkie’s head rose to look at the creatures milling about the clearing. Rarity was standing over by the food with a very intoxicated Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy was gazing over at the pair, a sad longing written clearly across her face. But most importantly, a lavender alicorn stood with her back to Pinkie, silhouetted by light and colour from around the grove, reminding Pinkie of an angel descended from The Elysian Fields,

At the sight of her friend, safe, sound and not lost or in danger, Pinkie’s frown lifted slowly into a smile, and her mane and tail rose to their usual cheeriness. But something niggled in the back of her brain. Why did Twilight look so shocked? And why did Pinkie’s heart beat that much faster now she was around Twilight? But the biggest question yet to be answered was undoubtably this: why did Twilight run away from the kiss?

“Hey uh, Pinkie, I, um have something to tell you.” Twilight’s voice suddenly sounded so quiet.

From across the clearing, Rarity’s ears pricked up and she turned to face Twilight, a slight smile forming on her face.

Twilight tried again, louder this time. “Pinkie. I- I need to tell you something!” She practically yelled.

“Yeah, what do you wanna tell me?” Pinkie replied.

“Can we- can we go somewhere else?”

“Are ya sure ya can’t just tell ‘er here? Ya know ya can trust us, Twi.” Applejack piped up.

“No, no it’s fine, if Twilight wants to tell me somewhere else, I’ll go somewhere else with her!” Pinkie chirped.

Her heart rate picked up a little, almost minutely, at the thought of being alone with Twilight. What did Twilight want to tell her? It was probably the reason she ran out on spin the bottle. Or maybe she discovered a delicious recipe for cupcakes! Pinkie hoped it was cupcakes, as much as she wanted to hear the reason Twilight ran off. Muffins were good too, she supposed.

Twilight nodded at Pinkie, before glancing over at the far side of the clearing. The unspoken words in her gaze made it clear where else she wanted to go: into the forest. By now it must have been around seven at night, and the Everfree wasn’t getting any less spooky. Pinkie’s eyes widened and she shook her head. Twilight’s eyes drooped, and she seemed to silently plead with the pink mare. A small frown started to form on Twilight’s face, and Pinkie relented. She sighed softly. Ok. They would go back into the woods. She nodded at Twilight, and Twilight seemed to breathe a sigh of her own, one of relief.

The lavender pony turned and walked across the clearing, Pinkie trailing behind her. Rarity gave a nod of approval to Twilight as she passed, and Applejack shouted something about caution from behind her. When the two approached the ring of trees surrounding the clearing, Pinkie started to have second thoughts. She had been in those woods once already that night, and that had had it’s fair share of spiderwebs and sticks that crunched beneath one’s hoof. Ah well. She hoped that cupcake recipe was well worth it. As she stepped through the barrier of dark trees that separated the serenity of the clearing and the gloomy uncertainty of the forest, Twilight began to speak.

Some years ago. Moondancer.

“You know, you aren’t the first pony I’ve fallen for. You certainly aren’t the greatest. In fact, I don’t even know why I love you!
You are always so cold. Why do you keep shutting me out Twilight? I can be here for you! I want to be here for you! Why won’t you let me love you…”

Even longer ago. Fancy Pants.

“I do say, Twilight, you may be a fantastical sorcerer, but you are an awful lover! You just can’t take your eyes off that mare Moonprancer or whatever her name was! I can’t believe you! Out with you! Out, I declare! This relationship is OVER!”

So many years ago now. Rosy Shade.

“Twi, why can’t you just be content with me? I feel so far away from you… And you keep getting further. I love you. At least I want to… if you keep pushing me away, this whole thing we have, yeah it’s going to be over. Please Twilight don’t do this!

Back, back and further back. So many spurned, scorned and broken hearts. How many nights had Twilight spent in tears? When was it that she finally asked Cadence for a spell to take away the pain of a broken heart? Of many broken hearts? She had been so horrified at the request.

And now it was going to happen all over again. Pinkie Pie. Twilight hoped beyond all hopes and dreamed beyond all dreams this would be different. Hoped that her eyes wouldn’t wander once again. Dreamed that she wouldn’t grow too cold again. Hoped and dreamed that this would finally be The One That Worked.

It had to. She couldn’t keep doing this to all those ponies, to herself.

As the pair walked on through the forest, Twilight spoke. She explained everything that had happened to her since that fateful kiss in the human world. Her thoughts, feelings, everything. She could feel Pinkie behind her, listening. When Twilight talked about her feelings for Pinkie, she could hear the hoofsteps behind her slow. Her heart cracked a little at the thought of whatever negative response the pink pony would give her.

Finally, when her tale finished and her words dried up, she stopped, and turned to face Pinkie. This was it. It was finally time.

“Pinkie, I… will you- will you- I mean- well I- would you- can you consider- I-“

Pinkie cut her off. “Twilight, I would, gladly. Love to go out with you I mean. I think I might be in love you too! Ooooooooooh! Let’s throw a newly-coupled-couples party! We can invite the other new loves from Ponyville! This. Is. So. EXCITING!”

Well. That actually went well. Marefriend: Achieved. Now all Twilight had to worry about was actually keeping this relationship.

It would work.

It had to work.

Why wouldn’t it work?

Author's Note

Whoooooooo! You’ve made it to the bottom of another chapter!
Cheers to my friends for being delightful people, and cheers to all you for reading this far into this madness!
Glory to Luna the Eternal Empress of Night, and see you next time.
-MT