One-Horse Town: A My Little Pony Story

Chorus awoke to the sound of music emitting from his own horn. The pleasant jingly melody indicated to him that the alarm spell that he cast the night before had indeed worked. Chorus climbed out of bed and stepped towards his mirror. He grabbed his brush and began to groom his pink mane until it was perfectly coiffed. He shook off whatever remaining sleepiness he had, and gave himself a big smile.

“Good morning, me!” Chorus said to himself.

Chorus trotted over to his window and gazed outside. The sky was clear, and the sun shone brightly. The pegasi must’ve cleared the skies early that morning. It was sure to be another lovely day in Ponyville. The warm sun on Chorus’s spotty pink fur made him feel rejuvenated and ready to start the day. He stepped down the stairs of his humble house and breezed out of the door, eager to spread his music with the ponies of his town, as he did every day.

He searched for a perfect spot to play his music, and he settled on a grassy meadow on the outskirts of town. He concentrated on the new song he was preparing, and let the arrangement sound out of his horn, covering the surrounding vicinity with a calming melody. He let the music play for a couple measures longer before beginning the lyrics:

The sun shines so bright today
The grass sways in the breeze
I look outside my window
And there’s nothing more I need

I see so many smiling faces
And that’s why I sing this song
I love it here in Ponyville
Where everypony belongs

Several passing ponies stopped to clap their hooves as Chorus finished his song. Some tossed coins in his direction.

“Thank you, everypony!” Chorus bowed for them.

He sang and played his music in the meadow all day, occasionally taking breaks to rest and eat. He loved to play music for other ponies. His cutie mark was a music note, after all. He didn’t have many friends, but his music kept him good enough company. The cheers and admiration from the ponies in town also helped. When he was done serenading the town, he bowed for the final time and maneuvered through the streets of Ponyville to get back to his house.

When he arrived back at his place, there was a letter waiting for him in front of his door. It was from Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie was one of Chorus’s childhood friends. They hadn’t spoken in a while, since Pinkie had become kind of a major presence in Ponyville. Nevertheless, Chorus sent her a letter to check up on her, because he did miss her. He figured this letter must be her response. He brought the letter inside.

He sat down at the pink table in his bedroom and opened the letter.

Hi, Chorus! I’m doing well, thank you for asking.

Love, Pinkie

Chorus squinted in confusion at the letter. He flipped it over to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. He searched every corner of the letter, and there was nothing. That was really all she wrote. Chorus didn’t know Pinkie was even capable of saying that little. This was too strange to ignore. Chorus set the letter down and left his house once more.

Chorus quickly arrived at Pinkie’s house as the sun was setting in the sky. He knocked on the door and waited for Pinkie to open it. He heard Pinkie’s hooves clomp toward the door.

“Who is it?” Pinkie asked from behind the door.

“Um, it’s Chorus,” Chorus replied.

“Oh,” Pinkie opened the door to face Chorus. “Hi, Chorus. Did you get my letter?”

“Yes. That’s actually why I’m here. Are you sure everything’s going well? I don’t know, it just felt like that letter wasn’t really… you.”

Pinkie blankly stared at Chorus. She had the slightest hint of nervousness behind her blue eyes.

“Oh, I guess I’ll be sure to make my next letter more me! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some baking to do. It was good to see you, Coral!” Pinkie laughed. Pinkie waved goodbye and closed the door in Chorus’s face.

Coral? Did Pinkie forget his name? They hadn’t seen each other in a while, but how could she forget his name? A memory suddenly resurfaced in Chorus’s mind. The last time Pinkie acted this strange was when Ponyville was overrun with Pinkie clones after an unfortunate duplication experiment that Pinkie had conducted. Chorus had been personally visited by one of the Pinkie clones, and it was a strange experience. The clone was more fidgety than usual, she kept misremembering some pretty basic things, and something about her seemed off. It felt similar to the interaction that just took place at Pinkie’s house. Was it possible Pinkie had duplicated herself again?

Chorus tried to remember how exactly Pinkie created all those clones of herself. Deep in thought, another memory resurfaced of a childhood playdate at Nana Pinkie’s house where Nana Pinkie told Chorus and Pinkie Pie “The Legend of the Mirror Pool”. The legend tells of a way for one pony to become two. Chorus remembered the whole situation. What was confusing, though, was that Chorus remembered hearing that Twilight Sparkle had sealed the entrance to the Mirror Pool. Was the entrance open again? Chorus needed to figure this all out.

He stepped away from Pinkie’s house and set out for the Everfree Forest just as the sun had set in the sky.

The darkness of the night made the Everfree Forest seem even scarier than it already was. Chorus swallowed his fear and charged into the trees. He recited the directions to the Mirror Pool as he searched for it.

“Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find, a pond beyond the most twisted of vines,” As soon as Chorus finished repeating the directions, he stumbled upon a mess of brambles and vines forming a wall in front of him. This seemed like the right spot. Chorus pushed through the greenery in an attempt to reach the other side. The plants pushed and pulled at him, making it difficult to traverse through them, but eventually Chorus popped out on the other side. He stumbled around, disoriented from the vines, and fell to the ground. His head landed inches away from a deep hole in the ground. A hole that was, contrary to popular belief, completely open. What was even stranger, though, was that Chorus was not alone.

Chorus looked up from the ground to see two ponies on the other side of the hole. What could other ponies possibly be doing at the entrance to the Mirror Pool?