“Oh come on it wasnt thaaaat bad hehehe!”

“It was so scary, you could have blown my face clean off! I told you to put the party cannon three more inches to the left, it was in the plans!”

“Oh oops! I think I forgot to quadruple check! Hehehe! The frosting was yummy at least… right?” The pony didn't respond, and looked around nervously, Pinkie Pie giggled thinking it over. The head of the duo and precious perfect professional party planner Marble had picked out some gourmet frosting from a bakery a couple towns over for a now ended special foals birthday party today. Hoping to cool down the confrontation she did the only thing she could think of - try too brighten up the situation and make Marble feel Laugh.

“Its super duper special and that little colt loved it! I'm glad you took up that offer for the retirement party we had!! Cake Joe's frosting is super duper delicious!” Pinkie said with a large grin. Marble Pie shook her head, not in disagreement but in an attempt to get the pen lodged in her coily hair out to mark off another box on the party duos checklist before sighing.

“But we didn't really have time for me to cleaned up before out next party…?”

Pinkie could tell her sister was already stressed out their next gig before the mornings party had even started, and now she was radiating anxiety that permeated in the air like a foul odor. Usually the pony could calm her down before her stresses consumed her, but today was different. Pinkie Pie wished she could weasel her way into her twin sisters head and shake out the negative thoughts, and give her brain a couple kisses and pats. Though she knows that thoughts fears had already made their homes in there, and Pinkie already knew fear of her party cannons firing a little too close to her head was a new fear that was already cuddling up with the rest in there… Marbles anxiety had tight grip on her, Pinkie wished things could be easier for ever nearly every day. She was a fantastic - if not the best - party planner in Equestria! However the young mare was so, so scared of everything, most of all was attention. Pinkie was the party host and so kept the attention to herself; She was a party clown, the game master, the conga line starter, the life of the party. But they’re a duo, and Marble was the reason why she was able to bring that joy. Without her dedication and planning, Pinkie would just be a hyper traveler. Pinkie beamed and wrapped a leg around her sisters neck, pulling her in close.

“Marby don't you worry! Once we get to the hotel the pink will come out of your coat! Besides we match now isn't that just a fantastic frosting miracle!!”

The gray party planner shied away from the energy of the party performer. Her hair moved to cover her face, loosening a thick glob of, and expensive, frosting drooped down her muzzle and splatted on the street. It left a long pink stain going down her mid-line. The twins can read each other perfectly most of the time, and so in an instant she could feel the emotions building in the quiet pony’s body in her own. Pinkie’s smile faltered for a moment. She hoped she was able to calm down the brewing tension, so gave her sister a tight, claustrophobic, hug.

“Oh my little Marby Warby, it'll be all okay! We have -”

“Pinkamena.”

That was the only word Marble had to say for Pinkie to know she messed up, majorly. The pastel pink pony’s hair deflated in a moment. As the baby pink mane dropped, the party banners entangled in the mess following it that created a grating noise of plastic rubbing against plastic that grated on the gray pony’s ears. Even though it was for only a second the noise made her more overwhelmed than she already had been! It was within an instant the rush of the everything that happened this morning came back to her; the sounds of cheer for pinkies party cannon, laughter, mockery, and then crying. The mare had been made the punchline and all the feelings she held inside of her finally reached its boiling point, spilling over and starting to drown her easy going twin in waves of anxiety.

“Marbry.. I'm sorry today was such a mess, i should've followed your instructions to a T! How about when we get back i’ll plan it all out for tomorrows party?”

The pink pony had pulled back, trying to give her sister some room, stopping for a moment. Marble didn't stop walking though, she kept her eyes fixed on the ground. Each step marble took she could feel her heart beat faster, and despite the quiets streets each murmurer from the passing ponies felt all directed at her - a target on her back. It felt like she was getting stabbed by a syringe filled with adrenaline, which just fulled her uneasiness and made her dread grow more and more. It caused her chest to ripple with pain, familiar and alarming roots wriggled across every nerve in her body. The pain of everything, the anxiety from the party, and Pinkie Pies relaxed attitude made her break. marble spit out words she wouldn't have otherwise. Pinkie knows that, but it still struck like she has blown her face off with the party cannon.

“I wish I never left the rock farm with you!”

“Marby, don`t say that! I'm sorry it was just one bad party you don't really mean that do you?”

“No Pinkie! It was one bad party this morning, one yesterday and one the day prior! I work so hard to keep your stupid party business alive but then screw the whole thing up! You keep saying you'll listen to me, go by the plans I set up, then don't give a rats flank and go against it.”

“Marby..”

“Today it was the party cannon, yesterday it was the music, the day prior it was the geese, last week it was the crummy clown makeup and the tea and the party cannon again!”

As Marble listed off each time pinkie had gone astray from her plans, she watched as her sister began to spiral more, and more thinking about each and every event. Her twin, her baby sister was in tears, she never spoke like this and it hurt. Each word spoke volumes that could have shaken Pinkie off her hooves in strength, but spoken in a volume that was barely audible between sobs and hiccups. Her voice sounded like it was and miles away. Pinkie couldn't help but feel like they were - like she was growing miles away from the only member of her family that really cared about her. Marble then stopped in her tracks, Pinkie tried to stop as suddenly as her sister did, to give her a bit of space, but her hooves kept her moving forward.

“Marbles, i'm sorry, i've been a very bad sister to you, i should've paid more attention.I…” the words caught in the mares throat, not because she didn't want to say them. She was desperate to apologize, to make her Marble laugh again. The party pony drooped her head down, in the distance she saw the lakefront that sat on the outskirts of town. They were only a couple feet away, and Pinkie couldn't feel any worse for making her sister sad from one side of the town all the way to the other! She heard Marble trotting up from behind to catch up with her.

“You what, Pinkie?” her sisters voice was soft, drenched with guilt. Pinkie knew that Marble already felt guilty. She tried to look up from the water, to apologize and make things right, to say anything, but it felt like someone ripped the vocal cords out of her throat.

“Pinkie what are you looking at?” The mares voice had picked back up the anxiety she was feeling before, but it was drowned out by a sudden buzzing. Pinkie felt a bolt of unidentifiable feeling run through her body. Perhaps fear? Whatever this was, she imagines her twin must feel all the time… and stops smiling.

“Marble i'm so sorry, i have been a awful big sister recently,I shouldn't be treating you so bad, you plan everything out so easily and i-”

“P-Pinkie there's nothing there, what are you looking at?” Marble cut her off like it was nothing! Shes never… done that before… or so Pinkie thought, she realized that the words never left her mouth, the only thing that did was a thick glob of drool that puddled into the lake below her. The words, the apology, her love she wanted to express to her sister, they all rattled around her brain clawing and trying to get out, but she couldn't voice it. She could see her sister move… in front of her? The gray party planner now stood in front of her twin, hovering above the lake. Pinkie didn't understand! It was like it was plain ground Marble was standing on! Her confusion and fear would grow more as Marble began to speak again.

“Please, I don't understand, i'm sorry I didn't mean to snap at you...” she head a sniffle, “P-Pinkie? Are you okay?”

Pinkie tried, fought, and failed to look up. It felt like she was trying to pull herself out of molasses, only able to take greedy sudden breaths of air. She felt each individual mussel in her neck lock up, freeze, and painfully fight against her desperate attempts to communicate with her best friend. So desperately did she want to give her a sign that something was wrong, but the only one she could give was a brief glance with pinprick pupils. The brief glance she got from Marble was fighting, the mares face was one from a nightmare. Horrified. Finally after what felt like she had fought for hours the pony was able to pry open her mouth. She tried to force the words out,through the pain and the feeling of drowning she tried to call out for her sister. Instead of a plea for help, words foreign to her crawled their way up from her throat; their nails digging into her throat lining, pulling at the sides of her mouth, tears forming and drool pooling. It was like she was being moved like a tattered hand puppet. The words vomited themselves out causing the mare to begin to cry. The words burned, but they came flowing out. It took her a moment to be able to understand what tumbled out, but in her horror, the words were foreign to her tongue.

"into her own reflection she stared,

Yearning for one whose reflection she shared,

And solemnly sweared not to be scared

At the prospect of being doubly mared."

One the ritual was done, Pinkies body acted on instinct. She dipped her front hooves into the chill water, seeing her reflection on the other side. And before she could realize it she had stepped down into the deep blue body below her. The water was cold and numbing, the noise from the street she no longer stood on grew farther and farther into the distance. the last thing she heard was Marble`s shriek.

As her hooves made their way through, she was harshly pulled out of the water. She gagged, taking a deep breath before being embraced by… herself? No… that cant be right. The pony held her hoof and pulled her out of the water looked exactly like her, but slightly off. Her coat texture looked and felt the same but was the pinkest of pinks. Her hair bright and coily, not the almost powder pink of hers. Pinkie pie couldn't shake the feeling that she was looking in a mirror however. The pony that held her hoof - the version of her that is, smiled so wide it looked like her face would split into two. In a state of fear Pinkie backed up almost crashing back into the water before being almost scooped back up by her neon doppelganger, who cradled the party pony in her arms like a foal.

“Awwe this ones so cute!” the look-a-like cooed with a loud squeal. Pinkie Pie had started to tremble, her mind rapidly spun and raced as it desperately tried to catch up to her surroundings and comprehend the horror of where she now was. Pinkie had closed her eyes, but even with her vision blocked her heart still began to beat faster as a chant started. One voice followed by a dozen. It was a choir of chirping and squealing pink ponys that hopped around in circles. They all matched the visage of herself, and the pony that had held her, their voices all matched the tone of her own. It sounded like she had been recorded and her and was listening to the playback bounce off every wall, becoming the only thing she could hear. They were chanting the word “fun” over and over. It almost was like a cyclone of pink, and Pinkie was in the eye of it. The look-a-likes bounced around her so fast it made her head dizzy, her eyes couldn't even follow a single one for more than a moment. It was to a point she felt nauseous. The party pony could already feel the migraine forming from the sound of the everlasting repeating phrase, and ponys neon pink bodies.

Not another second had passed before her strange counterpart dropped Pinkie onto the ground. The pastel pony scrambled onto her hooves, quickly turning back to the mare that had now hopped off. She had returned to the body of water she had been brought from. The neon pony began to chant a little tune, the final words mirrored the ones that forced themselves out of her mouth only moments ago. Despite the volume she chanted her mantra in, the choir of her voice still shouted the word fun, over and over. However they stopped their rapid bouncing to stand in place and watch, acting as midwives to another version of them… of her… that was birthed from the water. Unlike herself, none of the ponies seemed to feel even a twinge of the pure terror that wracked the through the party ponys body. They seemed excited, an emotion that seemed a great distance from the fear, bewilderment, and dread that made Pinkie stand out ever more amongst her doppelgangers. The idea that this was to be celebrated, or was a party, wasn't even an idea that could have crossed the party ponys mind as she watched the strange, cursed, nightmare unfold in front of her. Another one of them crawled out of the lake, squealed in joy, before repeating the ritual herself.

Pinkie couldn't take it anymore, and took a step back, she now finally started to take in her surroundings. The party pony felt like the was in danger, she felt like a wounded seagull who was pulled from the safety of her sky; crashed into the sea below that was foreign, strange, and endless. She felt like just below her, something hungry laid, just barely in sight - circling her frail frame, sizing her up, preparing to feast. She didn't know where she was fully or where she was going to go, but the primal instinct of flight took over her body. Before she knew it she was sprinting up the moss covered unkempt ledge to the mouth of the cavern. As she approached the top she finally let out the breath she had held ever sense she had stopped in the street. Her hooves grazed the opening of the cave, the sunlight shining onto her pastel pink fur for only a second before she head something behind her. Her look-alike, she couldn't tell which one of them she had been, had grabbed onto her tail and began to stroke her deflated coils. One of the predators that circled her in the ocean below had struck.

“Pretty! Shiny banners!” the threat cooed, her high pitched voice mimicked pinkies own. She could hear herself saying those words, in that exact tone from back when she had last gotten party supplies. Out of fear the ripped her tail away with a quick flick, which caused the pink mimic to whine and frown. Matching her own hair now, the pony's mane popped like a balloon, and cartoonishly deflated to an unnaturally straight state.

“pinkiieeee”

The party pony froze, she felt herself go pale, the color and warmth draining from her body, “How do you know my name.”

“Hehehe! That's because you're one of us!”

“What.. what do you mean?”

“You're pinkie pie! Hehehe!” the pony seemed to move unnaturally, stretching and warping her body so suddenly Pinkie didn't have the time to react. The pink pony booped her on the nose before continuing, “You're my double, well the double of a double of a double of a double of a double of a double of a double of the lead mare pinkie! You're the least pinkies of the pies we've seen so far though!” the pony let out a joyful cackle that made the party pony’s heart sink.

Pinkie didn't want to hear anymore of it. Right as the pony began to laugh louder, she made an attempt to wrap a hoof around Pinkies body - she shoved the laughing pony off and sprinted out of the cave as fast as her chubby body would let her. Unfortunately for her, she didn't know the horror that would face her as she left the cave.

Over the next couple hours the party pony would try, and fail to hide away from the alternate versions of herself. They seemed to posses some sort of omnipotence, some internal compass that brought them all back to her. Each time the ponies would hop from place to place, like a frog with fresh head trauma, spinning aimlessly chanting the mantra that she heard when she initially was pulled from her home. How could any of this be “fun”. The ponies acted almost like a plague of locus moving from one field of ripe crops to the next, devouring the joy and laughter of one home to the next. After a while, Pinkie couldn't take it any longer. She found a dark corner tucked behind a now abandoned store. It sat adjacent to a building that shared the same loving appearance to the home of her foster parents who she only lived with for a short while. Her head buzzed when she peered up at it, for whatever reason she could not remember the names of the couple who had taken her and her sister in… they had been only fillies while they lived there after all. They hadn't even stay there for more than a couple months before the twins would start their vagabond party filled lives. The thought of her sister now made her hiccup back a tear. Pinkie tried to wipe the tears from her eyes with one leg, while she used the other she used to cover her ears. Before the pony could begin to weep, she felt a heavy force impact into her side, with such power that caused her to skid slightly away. Pinkie suddenly unfurled from her ball, preparing to sprint away from one of the tormentors that claimed to be her before fully coming into focus on a pony that looked like a pony she had thrown a party for only a couple weeks back.

“R-Rainbow Dash?” the party pony stuttered out. As soon as her eyes had fully settled on her, pinkie felt a wave of joy fill in her chest, breathing life back into her. Pinkie galloped over to the crashed pegasus and wrapped her legs around her. Finally, this was the first pony she had seen that she knows, that's not one of the mimics.

“UGH get off me! I am so sick of these Pinkie Pie clones!” the blue pony started to thrash around, Pinkie immediately backing off. She took a few shaky steps back, now that she really looked at her, even though they sounded the same, the pony was a pastel blue with a long rainbow mane, and did not look like the Rainbow Dash she knew. Before she could even muster out another word the pony flew off, leaving a trail of color and glitter in her empty space where she had previously filled. Pinkie turned around and didn't look back, she was done with this. Pinkie wanted nothing more that to go home, and started to make her way to the cavern that brought her into this alternate world. Each step she took the more determination and worry shook the insides of her chest, the emotions thrashed against each other like waves in the harshest of storms. Her heart was the ship being rocked by the onslaught of the waves, by the storm of emotions that filled her shaken body. As she approached the cave, she was prepared to fight through a never ending field of pink doppelgangers however she was met by a completely different sight. The cavern was quiet. No sound sung through its mouth, not her own, nothing. For a moment, Pinkie Pie felt as if everything would be okay, and she would be able to return home without a fight. However, as her hope grew it was squashed by a noise that climbed its way up from the dark depths.

“Hm, so this is where they're all coming from!” a cheerful voice

“So what now?” that raspy voice…

“I have a spell that’ll get rid of them! Rainbow if you round them all up and bring them to the town hall and we will fix this.” there was a slight pause after that, as if the pony was trying to find the right words.

“Annoyance?” those words shot through her heart.

“Normally I wouldn't say so but annoyance might be the proper term.”

“Look I think you want to exterminate them more than I do and-”

Pinkie ran, ran and ran and ran. Her body acted on instinct before her mind could even catch back up, her chest rapidly rising and falling. They were going to exterminate all of them!! She wouldn't stick around to see that massacre, as much as she was frustrated with the mirror versions of herself she refused to stick around to see the macabre murder of many mirrors, or mmmm. It was only when she was past the home of her cousin on sweet apple acres far, past where the parallel Everfree forest entry lay did her legs begin to tire. She had found herself deep within the the trees now, the dark greens and teals of the forests flora were a rest from the bright pinks and blue that flooded the Ponyville streets. The party pony slumped back onto her flank, then fully onto the ground, splayed out like a bear hide in a hunters home. Pinkie`s legs were tired, and begged for a moment to pause and breathe. The pony closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the quiet that surrounded her. There was a soft rustle of wind in the trees, a chirp of birds, the scattering of squirrels and other wildlife. After a moment, a grin stretched across her face, the sounds of the banners tangled in her fluffy locks swayed ever so slightly in the breeze. Finally, she had gotten away from everything. She knew that she needed to go back into town, to get back to the lake, but she needed to lay low for a while - she didn't want to get “exterminated.”

“Oh Pinkie Pie,” she referred to herself in the third person, “ What mess have I gotten us into!” a swell of comfort softly tucked itself over the pony, free from the chaos she could breathe again, get her thoughts in order. Talking to herself was habit she had unintentionally picked up from her, um… she had picked it up from… No, that's not right.

“Why cant I remember?”

Author's Note

i hope yall enjoy this!! i havent posted a fanfiction online in many years, i usually delete them so im excited to hear the response for the first chapter!! there will be more to come but not suuuper fast. ill probably post more art about it on my tumblr first haha! thank you for checking this out!