Pinkie's Game

by AdrianJNovelle

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other
Length: 7428

The legendary Dark Ponies wreak havoc in Equestria. Can Pinkie Pie save the day?

Once again, Equestria is under attack. When Nightmare Moon brought on nighttime eternal, it seems that was the last of the darkness. However, the legendary Dark Ponies - physically superior counterparts of the ponies - have gained the upper hand when Nightmare Moon declined. Now it is up to the ponies to summon a greater power than the Elements of Harmony (as they will be defective) and circumvent them with an ancient power Pinkie Pie has been empowered with, thus putting an end to the darkness once and for all. Can Pinkie Pie - the most boisterous and party-crazy pony in Ponyville - be trusted with this journey? Will Twilight find out where she has heard of the Elements of Harmony prior to her transportation to Ponyville for the Annual Summer Sun Festival?

Published 2012-12-03 07:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-12-03 07:40:01 UTC

Part 1

It was a normal day in Ponyville. Rainbow Dash had already cleared the sky of clouds for the day. Rarity’s new order of materials had just arrived, and she had just started working on some new dress designs. Applejack was of course busy bucking apples. Fluttershy was in her home, repairing the nest of a few birds who lived in her cottage with her. Pinkie Pie was busy baking cupcakes…again. And Twilight Sparkle was on her balcony, reading. Spike ran upstairs to the balcony, in his hand: a letter, from Princess Celestia herself.

“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed, panting. “A letter…from Celestia!”

“Hmm?” Twilight turned her head and used her horn to bring the letter closer to her so she could read it. Her eyes started out calm and relaxed, but widened and widened as she read through the letter further and further.

Spike couldn’t see Twilight’s eyes from where he was standing, but he was curious about her prolonged silence.

“What is it?” he asked. “Is Princess Celestia alright?”

“That she is, Spike,” Twilight finally replied. “And so is Princess Luna. But it’s us ponies who are not alright.”

“What did the Princess say?”

“She says here that she wishes I not say a word about this to anypony until her arrival in Ponyville tomorrow. She will be making the announcement to everypony then.”

“Why, why doesn’t she want anyone to know?” Spike asked.

“She says that it is much better if she tells everypony personally, and that transmitting the information to somepony else may draw some unwanted attention.”

“So, why did she send the letter?”

“She’s leaving me in charge of gathering everypony for the speech tomorrow, and she wanted to give me a little notice, since it is very urgent.”

“I wonder what it’s about,” Spike said, stepping closer to Twilight Sparkle, who used her magic to destroy the letter before Spike laid his eyes upon the words.

“You will find out tomorrow,” Twilight began, rising to her hooves, “like everypony else.”

Twilight did her best to keep the purpose of Princess Celestia’s announcement a secret while trying to inform the Mayor and many other ponies about the arrival of both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Fortunately, an arrival of Princess Celestia is automatically never questioned.

“Celestia is coming!?” asked the Mayor.

“That’s right,” Twilight replied, “she’ll be coming over tomorrow to make an announcement: of which I am unable to speak.”

“Hmm. That probably suggests it’s of great urgency!” the Mayor exclaimed. “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle, I am in your debt of gratitude.”

Most of the ponies reacted to be very astonished by Twilight’s cautioning of the arrival of royalty. It was her friends, however, who began to question it; Pinkie Pie more than any other pony.

“I could throw a party!” she exclaimed, bouncing in position.

“I highly recommend you didn’t,” Twilight remarked, “the Princess isn’t exactly coming for a casual visit.”

“Oh. Why is she coming, then?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“She requested I not tell anypony,” Twilight said, attempting to evade Pinkie’s curiosity. “You will find out everything you want to know tomorrow when she arrives.”

“And why is she bringing Princess Luna? Luna doesn’t overrule Equestria like Princess Celestia does.”

“She didn’t tell me that,” Twilight said, “all she said is that both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming to make an important announcement – that’s all.”

Twilight Sparkle was hiding something about her letter from the Princess from Pinkie Pie. She knew that if she spoke out, Pinkie’s interrogation would never end.

“Still, I don’t know why the Princess is giving you so much notice all for a little announcement.”

Twilight’s expression looked completely blank.

“That’s probably because it’s more than just ‘a little announcement,’ Pinkie Pie.”

“I would hope so,” Pinkie remarked, still bouncing in place. “Well, thanks for letting me know. What time will she be here?”

“She didn’t say. But I would imagine first thing in the morning.”

“Okie, dokie, Loki,” said Pinkie Pie, bouncing up to the porch of Sugar Cube Corner.

The worst was over for Twilight’s quest of information. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy all questioned her comment to a point, but no one as curiously as Pinkie Pie.

Once everypony knew of the big announcement, Twilight returned to the library to read, hoping to lose herself amongst the pages. But her mind remained on Pinkie Pie. Princess Celestia mentioned Pinkie Pie numerous times in her letter.

“Did Pinkie Pie know she was mentioned personally in the letter?” Twilight asked herself aloud, staring up at the cloud overhead, “or was her curiosity just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie?”

Twilight only feared the worst. If she asked Pinkie herself, she would have to tell her that she was mentioned in Celestia’s letter. And then the big announcement would have little meaning, even if it is from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

Twilight could only hope that Pinkie didn’t know.

And that she would not find out.

Twilight, for the first time in months, did not sleep well the previous night. Her mind was too busy hypothesizing and theorizing to rest; her brain too stimulated to slumber. She could not wait for morning to come and for the royalty of Canterlot to arrive in Ponyville that morning.

Just after sunrise, Princess Celestia’s chariot was visible over Ponyville, Princess Luna right by her side.

“She’s on her way!” Twilight exclaimed to Spike, looking back to him from her window, “quickly! To the town center!”

Everypony in Ponyville was gathered around as the Princesses’ chariot landed nearby the town center, both Princesses stepped out and approached a podium, Celestia prepared to do all of the talking. Twilight and her friends were right in the front row.

“Ladies and gentleponies,” began the Princess, “where is the pony named Pinkie Pie? I wish to address her.”

“Right here!” Pinkie Pie said, raising her hoof.

“Come here, Miss Pinkie Pie,” said the Princess, “the crowd must see you.”

Pinkie stepped out of the crowd and onto the stage, seating herself right next to Princess Luna.

“It has come to my attention,” continued Princess Celestia, “that an evil pony is among us. Her intentions are to bring all that is happy and gleeful to an end, and surround all of Equestria with night eternal, much like Princess Luna did when she was Nightmare Moon. Unfortunately, this villain is worse than Nightmare Moon: she is powerful, she is strong, she is bold, and, most importantly, she is Pinkie Pie!”

“Me!?” Pinkie exclaimed.

Princess Celestia quickly turned to the frightened Pinkie, “Not you, Pinkie Pie,” she said, then returning her focus to the audience, “this pony is an evil version of Pinkie Pie, one who, instead of living for laughter, lives for sorrow. Only Pinkie Pie herself can vanquish such a villain…”

Rainbow Dash nudged Twilight Sparkle.

“Does any of this sound familiar?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Twilight answered quietly, “she mentioned all of this in her letter. She’s about to talk about the Dark Ponies in a few moments, I’m sure.”

“And now, to explain the Dark Ponies to you all, please put your hooves together for my sister, Princess Luna.”

The audience applauded the guest Princess. Princess Luna began her speech.

“I am Princess Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna. And, as Nightmare Moon, it probably appeared to you ponies that we differed completely in our senses of harmony in Equestria. That was true. Unfortunately, that is a one-time event, for everypony in Equestria and the world has a version of their own that is completely the opposite. These ponies are known as the Dark Ponies.

"For centuries now, we have known about the Dark Ponies, but the presence of harmony in the world brought their reign of terror to a minimal, our own generations of ponyfolk almost completely unaware of their presence. However, during my brief reign of night eternal, the Dark Ponies gained some power that was otherwise impossible for them to obtain: a dimension of magic even more powerful than the Elements of Harmony. The Elements of Harmony may have stopped Nightmare Moon, but they are futile against the divine forces of the Dark Ponies.

"We have come here today, as soon as we could, to inform everypony of the Dark Ponies’ presence, so we could prepare for their attack, whenever that shall be. In the meantime, we plan to conquer them personally. Pinkie Pie here, the most friendly and least harmful of all the ponies in Ponyville, is the leader of the gang of Dark Ponies, including Rainbow Slash, Twilight Moonlight, Fluttercry, Applebuck, and Diamond, the Dark Ponies of Pinkie’s friends.

"It is in your best interest to defend Ponyville at any and all costs. Meanwhile, ponies Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity will join Pinkie Pie on a quest to put an end of the Dark Ponies evil scheme once and for all. Never again shall darkness surround the skies of Equestria!”

Pinkie was dismissed from the stage and sent back into the crowd, where she united with her friends. Before they began their journey, the ponies returned to their homes and packed their bags of some provisions. Once they were all packed up and ready to go, they gathered at the outskirts of Ponyville, where Pinkie Pie was directed from Princess Celestia to go.

“Alright, everypony, this is it,” she said, staring confidently into the vast plains ahead, “the game has begun.”

Part 2

The ponies ran at first, determined. After several minutes of trotting at full speed, the earth ponies and unicorns slowed to a gradual walk, the Pegasus ponies either walking at the same speed or hovering overhead.

“I noticed that Princess Celestia was talking to you the whole time Princess Luna was giving her speech,” Twilight remarked to Pinkie. “Mind telling us what that was all about?”

“Not at all,” Pinkie replied. “She actually said to tell you guys before we found the Dark Ponies’ lair. The first thing she said was that the Dark Ponies are very powerful ponies of a massive size and will be undefeatable by standard battle plans, like when Rainbow Dash kicked that dragon in the face. That hurt the dragon more than it would hurt the Dark Ponies.

"Second, she said that the only way to defeat the Dark Ponies is to overpower them. And the only source of magic strong enough to do overpower the Elements of Harmony is the Oracle, an ancient stone of magic and magnificence she mentioned. She said it was several miles off of the city limits of Fillydelphia. So I guess that is where we’re headed first.”

“Alright,” Twilight said, reaching into her backpack with her horn, “luckily, I brought a map.” Twilight read the map in search of Fillydelphia’s location. “Ah-hah! According to this map, we just keep following this trail for the next ten miles. That should take us straight to Fillydelphia.” Twilight put her map away.

“Is there anything else Princess Celestia mentioned?” Fluttershy asked, her head lowered.

“Oh, yeah, there was!” Pinkie exclaimed. “She said that the Dark Ponies are completely opposite of us regular ponies. Rainbow Slash, for example, keeps Rainbow’s mane, but instead of being proud of her flight abilities, Rainbow Slash remains mostly on the ground , and uses her hooves to defend herself instead of her wings.

"Then there’s Twilight Moonlight, who is a total dunce.”

“Why is my Dark Pony a dunce?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“Isn’t it obvious, Sugarcube?” Applejack asked, “You’re a braniac. And since the Dark Ponies are opposite of us regular ponies, your Dark Pony must not be very bright.”

“Ironically,” Pinkie began, “she is bright – with her horn. Twilight Moonlight is still a unicorn, and is good with magic, but a buffoon at everything else. Next, there’s Fluttercry. She is Dark Pinkie’s assistant, since she is violent and dangerous; mischievous and cunning.”

“Oh…” Fluttershy began, “that doesn’t sound like me at all.”

“Of course it doesn’t!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Rainbow Slash doesn’t sound anything like me, either. Every Dark Pony is the opposite of one of us. Since you’re graceful and delicate, the Dark Fluttershy is….not…very graceful and delicate.”

“Oh, that makes sense,” Fluttershy said.

“Moving on,” continued Pinkie Pie, “we come to Applebuck, who hates apples. She bucks apples not to eat and make into apple desserts, but to cause harm to other ponies by bucking them forcefully with her hooves. Other than being her weapons, she wants nothing to do with apples.”

“Boy, howdy,” Applejack began, “Ah’ve never met a pony who doesn’t like mah apples.”

“Finally, we come to Diamond. Since our friend Rarity is passionate about fashion, clothing, design and beauty, you can imagine what Diamond is passionate about.”

“Oh, my, I can’t!” Rarity exclaimed, “I could not begin to imagine how ugly a pony could look if she doesn’t care about fashion!”

“Technology,” Pinkie Pie answered, “she is passionate about covering herself with technology and armor to the point that her actual body is unseen.”

“That’s disgusting!” Rarity cried.

“Disgusting it may be, Rarity, but it is the truth…as far as I know. I mean, we haven’t met any of the Dark Ponies yet, so I can’t quite tell for sure. But that is what Princess Celestia said.”

“Did the Princess say how the Dark Ponies came to be?” Twilight asked. “Ponies who are completely opposite of us don’t just appear out of nowhere.”

“They didn’t appear,” Pinkie replied, “they were born, just like we all were. For example, Twilight Moonlight was born from Dark versions of your parents. For every pony, there is a Dark Pony.”

“Even Dark Granny Smith?” Applejack asked, “And Dark Big Macintosh? And Dark Apple Bloom?”

“All exist somewhere in the underbelly of the Dark Equestria.”

“Dark Apple Bloom?” Rarity asked. “If there’s a Dark Apple Bloom, that means there’s also a Dark Sweetie Belle!”

“That there is,” said Pinkie Pie.

“And a Dark Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash remarked. She slowed her flight speed. “My own apprentice is going to be turned against me.”

“There is one more thing Princess Celestia mentioned to me,” Pinkie Pie continued, “and that is how we should treat this whole predicament.”

“And how’s that?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

Pinkie stopped walking for a moment.

“Like a game,” was all she said.

A huge pony, her fur of blue; resembling Rainbow Dash, her mane of black, and her Cutie Mark of bullets paced anxiously down the long hallway.

“Status, Fluttercry,” she commanded, her eyes sharp and vigilant.

A Pegasus flew forwards down the hall, landing brutally on the steel flooring below her hooves, her fur and her mane of the same color scheme as the pony in front of her; only her Cutie Mark was of knives.

“Operation: Darkness Eternal is ready to proceed,” Fluttercry said, following right behind her leader.

“Excellent,” began the first Dark Pony, “it’s only a matter of time before the whole country is at my hooves.” She paused. “How are the others? Are they ready to engage in the heist? Everypony and every detail must be carried through to the letter if this plan is going to work.”

“Before I answer,” Fluttercry began, “might I make a suggestion based on some evidence we have revealed?”

“Proceed.”

“According to our surveillance, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Canterlot sent our six opposites after us. They are on their way as we speak.”

“And? Your suggestion?”

“It appears that before they reach our stronghold, they will seek out the Oracle, an ancient, mysteriously powerful crescent-shaped stone of wonder which could, in theory, overwhelm our defenses. It is in our best interest to prioritize the task of obtaining the Oracle for ourselves. Without access to such power, our opposites will be defenseless.”

“Marvelous strategy,” the Dark Pony replied devilishly, “but too risky. What if they get there first? We cannot risk dropping everything for one little stone.”

“We can send only one Dark Pony after it,” Fluttercry suggested, “that way we still have most of the fleet at the helm.”

The Dark Pony stopped walking and turned around to face Fluttercry. “Hmm. Who do you have in mind?”

“Rainbow Slash.”

“Rainbow Slash? That worthless gumball!? I suppose we could send her if the ponies are slower than snails.”

“What’s wrong with Rainbow Slash?”

“She hates flying,” the Dark Pony answered sternly, staring daggers at Fluttercry, “and she’s too slow on hoof to make it before the others do to that stone.”

“That may be,” Fluttercry began, “but, she’s also going on a special mission, to obtain a powerful emblem of desecration. She may consider it a high honor, and put her passion for destruction over her hatred to fly.”

“Rainbow Slash!” roared the Dark Pony.

“You called?” asked a large, dark-furred Pegasus with wings of steel, zooming in from somewhere else in the clearing the Dark Pony and Fluttercry had stopped at within the stronghold, the two Dark Ponies standing on a balcony; Rainbow Slash hovering just overhead.

“I need you to do us all a special favor.”

“What do you need?”

“The Oracle!” exclaimed the Dark Pony angrily, “Fetch me the Oracle! There is no telling what our opposites could do to us if they gain access to that much magic. That is why we need you and your wings to fly over there and nab it before they do.”

“Very well,” Rainbow Slash began, saluting, “I shall return.”

Rainbow Slash flew off, disappearing as she soared into the darkness of the Dark Ponies’ stronghold.

“Now,” the Dark Pony began, turning again to face Fluttercry, “the status of our fleet? Is everypony ready?”

“I shall see to it that they are,” Fluttercry answered, lifting her wings and soaring into the darkness.

“We’re here!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing gleefully at the sign she was standing in front of, “Fillydelphia!”

Twilight Sparkle withdrew her map. “Hmm…there are a lot of obstacles we would have to overcome to get to the Oracle and the Dark Ponies’ hideout. I suggest we stop here for a break and ask for directions.”

“Wait! Are you telling me that we’ve only arrived at Fillydelphia, and now we’re going to take a break!?” Rainbow Dash asked anxiously. “At this rate, we’ll never get there!”

“Anxious, are we?” Rarity asked her flying friend.

“Yes, we are,” Rainbow Dash replied, “all of Equestria resides in our hooves, and we’ve elected the slowest leader of all time to lead us to the Oracle!”

“Actually, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight began, “Pinkie Pie’s leading this journey.”

“Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle – like there’s a difference! If the Dark Ponies go after the Oracle, we’ll never catch up!”

“If you’re so anxious, Rainbow,” Applejack began, “then why don’t you just fly there yourself at your own pace and we’ll catch up with you later?”

“You know what, Applejack, that’s a great idea!”

“No it’s not,” Twilight interjected before Rainbow Dash flew off, “it’s best if we stay together; power in numbers.”

Applejack turned to Twilight. “Twi, I think it’s best for all of us if Rainbow goes her own pace. She gets to fly, and we still get to save Equestria.”

“Uh!” Twilight exclaimed in exasperation. She looked over to her leader.

“What do you think, Pinkie? After all, you’re the leader. You can decide what we do.”

“Hmm…” Pinkie Pie began, pondering, “I guess Rainbow Dash could fly ahead. That way if there’s any danger, she can alert us.”

Twilight turned back to Rainbow Dash.

“You heard her.”

Rainbow Dash did a somersault in midair.

“Woo!” she exclaimed happily, followed by dashing through the skies at lightning-fast speeds, a spectrum of color riding right behind her.

“Uh-oh,” Twilight began, analyzing the map.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I think she just went the wrong direction.”

The ponies remained at Fillydelphia for only a spell. They had a quick snack to recover after all that walking, bought some food, and Twilight asked around for the route to the dungeon which beholds the great Oracle.

“Ugh!” she pouted, “Nopony knows about the Oracle! How can we be expected to find something nopony knows anything about?”

“Remember, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie began, “it’s all about how we look at this world: treat this experience like a game. Who do you ask when you don’t know where to go? Random townsponies, of course!”

“You have got to be-” Twilight began.

“Excuse me,” Pinkie Pie said, approaching a random pony, “do you know about the Oracle?”

“Why, yes,” replied the pony, “the Oracle is hidden deep within a chasm inside a dungeon, just west from here.”

“Thank you,” Pinkie Pie said with a smile, hopping back to her friends.

Twilight was dumbfounded.

“Westward!” Pinkie exclaimed, hopping to lead her friends in the direction they intended to go.

I wonder if Rainbow Dash realizes where she is Twilight thought to herself. I hope she wasn’t captured by the Dark Ponies.

Rainbow Dash had gone the wrong direction when Twilight believed she did. For about five minutes of continuous flight, Rainbow Dash noticed that she was backtracking every step her friends had taken before. The Pegasus flipped right around and had been soaring west ever since. By the time her friends were on the road again, she was already ahead.

It took Rainbow Dash countless minutes to reach a destination of any kind, having wandered aimlessly across the plain, all the while in the air, flapping her tireless wings. Where she ended up: Appeloosa.

“Appeloosa,” she whispered to herself as she landed on the ground, “what the hay am I doing here?”

Somewhere behind her, Rainbow Dash left a trail of confusion and perplextion. There was almost a guarantee she would not make it back to either Fillydelphia or the cave without a map. Rainbow Dash was officially lost. Fortunately for the pony, she was in a town of young and helpful ponies…and buffalo.

“Sheriff!” she shouted, approaching the pony with a mustache wearing a blue jacket, silver badge, and red bandana.

“Rainbow Dash,” said the Sheriff, shocked, “what are you doing here in this corner of Equestria?”

“I’m a bit lost,” she said earnestly.

“Oh. Do you need some directions back to Ponyville? I’m sure I could wrangle up some-”

“That won’t be necessary,” Rainbow Dash began, “all I need is…”

Rainbow Dash noticed the widespread field of apple trees just over the hill, a large herd of buffalo charging through the paths, then feasting on the apple pies they were promised.

“Yes?” the Sheriff asked.

“Pardon me,” Rainbow Dash said, walking away from the Sheriff and continuing to the buffalo herd. The runner inside her awakened, and she ran fast enough alongside the herd to catch up to Little Strongheart.

“Little Strongheart!” she cried.

The small buffalo turned her head, seeing the Pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash? Is that you?” asked Little Strongheart.

“Yup, it’s me! Can we talk?”

“Sure!”

Little Strongheart jumped out of the herd and stood stationary nearby, Rainbow Dash catching up.

“What do you need?” the buffalo asked.

“Do you buffalo know about the Oracle?”

Little Strongheart did not reply right away, but Rainbow Dash could get the insinuation from the way Little Strongheart’s pupils shrunk in astonishment.

“I’m gonna take that as a ‘yes’.”

Little Strongheart sighed. “Yes, we know about the Oracle. What-what business do you have with such an object?”

“Well, if you guys know where it is, you can help me break into the walls with an army of buffalos. I doubt it’s left-”

“Wait, you don’t know where it is?”

“Well…I had a map. And then I took off without my friends and forgot to grab my own map,” the Pegasus began to perspire with embarrassment.

“Wondering off on your own was a stupid thing to do,” Little Strongheart began, “however, the buffalo and I are in your debt for standing up for us to the ponyfolk when our lands were of a conflicting principle. I shall gather an army of buffalo. We ride out this evening.”

Part 3

“Finally, we’ve made it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, exhausted from the journey she and her friends made to the dungeon which beheld the Oracle. The ponies devolved into the chasm, finding a giant stalagmite in the center of a cave flooded with a mucky water, fire emitting around the center stalagmite, guarding the Oracle. A phrase was carved into a giant rock engraved into the earth overhead.

The Oracle shall be within reach

When all the Elements of Harmony preach

A spark is all that is required

For a pony to gain her desire

“What does that mean?” Pinkie asked.

“I think it means that we will only gain access to the Oracle when everypony’s present,” Twilight said.

“You mean we can’t get the Oracle unless we find Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked.

“That’s what it says,” Twilight replied.

“Great, we’re doomed!” Rarity exclaimed. “Who knows where in Equestria Rainbow Dash could be!”

“She’s right here, ponies!” a dark voice roared from above. A giant, dark-furred Dark Pegasus Pony lowered herself from the ceiling of the chasm, a pair of shades over her eyes, her Cutie Mark of fire, and her whole body of a gigantic size compared to the ponies at the front of the chasm.

“Who are you?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“You don’t know who I am?” asked the Dark Pony, perching herself upon a pointy stalagmite. She ignored her own question. “I am Rainbow Slash!”

“Rainbow Slash?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nudged her friend.

“I…I think that’s supposed to be Rainbow Dash’s Dark opposite, Rainbow Slash,” she said.

“Oh, that Rainbow Slash.” Twilight gasped. “Rainbow Slash!?”

Rainbow Slash snarled vigorously.

“I was told by my leader to retrieve the Oracle for myself. But apparently, not even a group of five Light Ponies can do the work of a single Dark Pony!”

“We’re missing Rainbow Dash!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, “and there’s no way we can access the Oracle without the Element of Loyalty!”

“Speaking of loyalty,” Applejack began, stepping forward next to Twilight, “what kind of ‘loyal’ friend ditches us like that, just to go her own path to the same destination? I thought that pony was loyal! Guess she ain’t what she was back when Nightmare Moon was around!”

“Rainbow Dash is missing, you say? The Rainbow Dash: my opposite?”

“The very same!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm,” guffawed the great pony, “it appears that close minds think alike. I volunteered to fetch the Oracle for Dark Pinkie myself!” lied Rainbow Slash, still flapping her vibrant wings of steel. “But you Light Ponies: you are feeble without any defense of any kind, and now you tell me you don’t even have all of the Elements of Harmony at your hooves. Well that’s just pathetic!”

“You can’t intimidate us!” Twilight exclaimed, buffing herself up.

“What, do you think that a giant army of enormous buffalo are going to burst through these walls and strike me down or something?”

“Sounds like a plan!” a familiar voice roared from afar.

The voice was Rainbow Dash’s, who was standing with Little Strongheart atop of the foremost buffalo of the army-sized herd she and Little Strongheart had gathered.

“Charge!” she roared at the top of her lungs.

The buffalo bolted as fast as their short legs could carry them to the Oracle Cave, Rainbow Slash too mesmerized and overwhelmed by the massive army to move. She was trampled by over a hundred buffalo hooves and stricken down. The buffalo stopped all at once, allowing the Pegasus pony to leap off and land safely near her friends.

“Hey, guys,” she said.

“Rainbow Dash!” everypony exclaimed.

“Rainbow, where the heck have you been?” Twilight asked exasperatedly.

“Well, I kinda got lost and somehow I ended up at Appeloosa. Little Strongheart and I formed an army of buffalo. Luckily, she knew where this cave was.”

“Twilight!” Pinkie interjected, “the spark! Do it now!”

“Girls,” Twilight began, moving into position at the edge of the ledge everypony was standing on, “you know what to do.”

The five other ponies gathered horizontally behind Twilight Sparkle.

“Laughter!”

“Loyalty!”

“Honesty!”

“Generosity!”

“Kindness!”

“Magic!”

Twilight ignited a spark from her horn less than a second after she finished her statement. The fire that surrounded the stalagmite where the Oracle was vanished, the lightning sparking from Twilight’s horn reaching the Oracle. Acting like a magnet, the spark brought the ancient stone right to the hooves of the ponies.

“We did it! We did it!” Pinkie cried in glee, bouncing.

“Not yet,” Twilight said, keeping the Oracle suspended in the air with her horn, “we have to defeat Dark Pinkie first. Then our mission is complete.”

“Little Strongheart,” Rainbow Dash began, “thanks for the help!”

“No problem!” Little Strongheart replied. She whistled, the enormous herd of buffalo fleeing all the way back to Appeloosa.

“C’mon, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, turning to her friend, “let’s go kick some Dark Pony flank!”

“Which way, Twi?” Applejack asked.

Twilight pulled her map out of her backpack. “This way, everypony,” she said.

The ponies exited the cave.

Rainbow Slash had been trampled and was badly injured, but still living and breathing. She painfully rose to her hooves.

“They’re going to the Stronghold!” she exclaimed to herself aloud. “Dark Pinkie: she was be warned!”

Rainbow Slash climbed up from the ground, ascended to the entrance of the cavern, and flew as fast as she could back to the Dark Pony Stronghold.

“We’re here,” Pinkie Pie said, staring daggers at the great, bricked building. “I can feel it.”

“I can see it,” Rarity remarked.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“I’m certain of it,” Twilight said, double-checking her map.

Pinkie Pie advanced ahead while the others stayed behind with Twilight as she verified their location.

“Great,” she said exasperatedly, “just great. A drawbridge. Just how are we supposed to get inside?”

“I’m afraid the map doesn’t answer that, Pinkie,” Twilight said, putting her map away. Everyone backed into each other as a mob of ashen-colored Dark Pony guards gathered in a huge circle around the ponies. “But I don’t think we’ll have to go far to find out.”

Everypony, even Pinkie Pie, was escorted into the Stronghold, surrounded by guards. They were all thrown into a cell together, the cell scarcely big enough to fit everypony. Two guards – large Pegasus Dark Ponies, resembling the guards of Princess Celestia – stood by the cell every minute. Hoofsteps were heard down the long hallway as an unfamiliar figure in the dark shadows approached the ponies. No one knew of this figure, but it was not difficult to guess.

“Hello, ponies,” the figure said, peering into the cell, only her blue eyes visible in the darkness.

“Dark Pinkie,” Twilight said, staring angrily at the Dark Pony.

“You are fond of me? That is good. Of course, by now, I would expect nothing less.”

“Let us go!” Pinkie Pie cried.

“I will not!” exclaimed the agitated Dark Pony, “I have no reason to. It’s not like you possess anything I desire; and nevertheless, your feeble minds are useless to me…” Dark Pinkie paused, taking a few steps closer to the cell, her eyes locked onto Twilight Sparkle. “…Except yours.”

“Excuse me?” Twilight Sparkle asked out of confusion.

“Your opposite – Twilight Moonlight – is a total buffoon. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize that if the Dark Pony is a buffoon, the Light Pony must be blessed with intellect and brilliance.”

“Apparently,” Twilight Sparkle began, grinning, “a pony of such intellect and brilliance is even able to outsmart the resourceful Dark Pinkie.”

“What?”

“You have overlooked our progress, Dark Pinkie.”

“How so?”

“Duh!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “we have the Oracle!”

“Pinkie-”

“What? The Oracle? You’re bluffing!”

“Am I?” Twilight asked, lifting the Oracle from her backpack.

“Rainbow Slash!” Dark Pinkie roared for her inferior.

The Dark Pegasus Pony zoomed in from above, crashing on the ground nearby, walking the rest of the way to her leader.

“Yes, Master?” she asked.

“You told me that they didn’t have the Oracle, you liar!”

“No. I said that they hadn’t figured out how to use the Oracle. They definitely have it!”

“Yes, I can very well see that. Go!”

“Go where?”

“Away! I don’t care where!”

Rainbow Slash bolted away from the hallway as fast as she entered.

“As Rainbow Slash informs me,” Dark Pinkie continued, “you don’t know how to use the Oracle.”

“That is hardly a prevention,” Twilight replied. “You will still be defeated.”

“Technically, I won’t be defeated…I will be defeated again. And that is only if you succeed this time, which is practically impossible.”

“Wait, again? What do you mean again?”

Dark Pinkie only laughed devilishly.

“All within time,” she said, departing.

The ponies were now alone, with no one around except the guards.

“Girls, we have to figure out how to use the Oracle’s power!” Pinkie Pie commanded, “it’s the only way we’ll defeat my opposite!” Pinkie Pie turned to Twilight. “Do you have any clue on how to use your magic to provoke the power?”

Twilight shook her head.

“You would think I would know…but I have no idea.”

Twilight lifted the Oracle out of her backpack and levitated it a few inches off the ground using her horn, taking a seat nearby to study it. She stared at it closely, concentrating. Suddenly, it all came spiraling back to her.

She was there. So was Pinkie Pie. The Elements of Harmony. The Oracle. It was all part of the game.

Twilight’s head hurt unbearably, disrupting her concentration. She quickly developed a migraine.

“Ow!” she said.

“Are you alright, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“I will be,” Twilight replied. She rose to her hooves, still mildly disoriented. She walked over to the bars of the cell. “I wish to speak with Dark Pinkie,” she said to the guards.

“No one speaks with the Master,” a guard replied.

“Especially those who are prisoners,” the other guard said.

Most ponies would have given up then. But Twilight took a deep breath and shouted as loud as she possibly could: “DARK PINKIE!!” Her plan worked. Dark Pinkie returned to the cell.

“Of all the abomination-” she began, peering into the darkness. “What be your problem, Miss Sparkle?”

“Dark Pinkie,” Twilight began, “I wish to speak with you in private.”

“The Master-” began one of the guards. Dark Pinkie raised her hoof to his mouth.

“Bring her to my chambers,” she said, “in chains and with no arms.” Her eyes returned to Twilight. “You will have ten minutes with me. Then it’s back in the cell.”

One of the guards left momentarily to get some chains for Twilight’s departure from the cell. Twilight grabbed the Oracle with her horn.

“Here,” she said to Pinkie Pie, inserting the Oracle into her backpack, “take this in the meanwhile. It is your game, after all.”

The guard returned a moment later and opened the cell, chains wrapped firmly around her legs, her horn imprisoned in the metal material found everywhere within the Dark Ponies’ Stronghold. A muzzle was put around her mouth as the guard brought her to Dark Pinkie’s chambers upon her request. She was standing in the center of the room, reading a book that was placed on a pedestal when Twilight was brought in.

“Guards,” she said, gesturing with her hoof to leave. Once the guards were gone, she began.

“What business do you have here with me?” she asked, “It’s not every day that a prisoner wishes to speak with her captivator.”

“I was trying to figure out how the Oracle’s power could be provoked,” Twilight began, “when my mind seemed to race around in flashbacks. I was starting to remember.”

“Remember what, exactly?” Dark Pinkie asked, grinning fiendishly.

“It was that word: again. You were right.”

“About?”

“About this being a second time.”

“Keep going. What else do you remember?”

“I remember that Pinkie Pie was there with me. And Princess Celestia. And the Elements of Harmony. And the Oracle.”

“Keep going…”

Dark Pinkie, facing away from Twilight, took a few steps forward to close the book she was reading earlier, a faint beam of light shining in from a dusty window above, reflecting not just a mane on Dark Pinkie’s head…but a horn. Dark Pinkie was not an earth pony: she was a unicorn. And with that, Twilight remembered everything.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Dark Pinkie said, returning to her position in front of Twilight Sparkle, “in the beginning of this whole ordeal, you were wondering where you had heard of them before. And all you knew was that your knowledge of them was present long before then. You were right about that all along, but you never did discover where you heard of them before.”

“This all happened before,” Twilight said. “But it wasn’t Pinkie…it was me.”

Twilight knew why the Dark Pony in front of her was a unicorn and not an earth pony like her opposite. That was because Dark Pinkie was not really Dark Pinkie at all: she was a reincarnated spirit of Dark Twilight Sparkle, rendering Twilight Moonlight to just be a diversion and a dimwitted assistant.

A long time ago, Twilight Sparkle had stopped Nightmare Moon from taking over Equestria. It seemed that the harmony in the world would never cease. But sometime after, Twilight became less and less harmonious; and became more and more villainous and enraged. She studied dark, more powerful magic, becoming an even bigger threat to Equestria and Princess Celestia than Nightmare Moon could ever hope to be.

Princess Celestia had sent Pinkie Pie, the happiest, zippiest, most cheerful pony of them all to find the Oracle: she knew how to use it. She told Pinkie Pie how to unveil its divine powers. Pinkie Pie did so, making it her game as she conquered the great beast that was Twilight Sparkle, putting an end to the reign.

Thereafter, Princess Celestia returned the Oracle to the cave where it was found originally, so that if this ever happened again, she could send the most trustworthy of ponyfolk after it, and put a stop to the horror once more.

But the Princess feared the return of the evil Twilight would be too simple to not occur. She felt it was imperative that she take extreme measures to prevent such disaster from occurring. She found the evil Twilight shortly after her defeat by Pinkie Pie. She turned her around, changed her appearance, destroyed her wings, stripped her of her villainy and claimed her name was Twilight Sparkle, a pony of social isolation whose job it was to discover the magic of friendship and unite the most powerful emblems in Equestria: the Elements of Harmony.

What is happening now was no different than what was happening before. Everything Twilight knew was just repetition of a life she had lived before.

“It’s all a lie,” Twilight began, “the fact that you’re in charge of the Dark Pony league. You’re a hoax!”

“That may be,” Dark Pinkie replied, “but I am not in the wrong. I was chosen to be the leader because your opposite – Twilight Moonlight – is a dunce. Pinkie Pie – my opposite – has a personality so perfectly balanced between happiness and sadness, work and play, joy and misery that I was able to take command. In addition, she is not the brightest of ponies when it comes to global domination. I, being her opposite, am.”

There was a bright light illuminating behind Twilight Sparkle, at the entrance to Dark Pinkie’s quarters. The wall collapsed from the immense force of a gemstone levitating over Pinkie Pie’s mane.

“Guess who discovered how the Oracle works,” she said, bouncing in position.

“Uh…you did?” Twilight asked.

“The Oracle? No! How is this possible!?” Dark Pinkie asked, approaching her opposite, a dark shadow following in her hoofsteps.

“Nopony could have predicted how Pinkie Pie actually discovered how to provoke its hidden powers,” Rainbow Dash began, putting her hoof on Pinkie Pie, “but when we figured it out, it could not have been more obvious.”

“What provokes the power?” Dark Pinkie asked angrily, “Tell me! I demand to know!”

“Duh,” Pinkie Pie answered, “a teardrop!”

“A teardrop?”

“It was an exceptional discovery!” Rarity exclaimed. “Pinkie’s mane popped like a balloon and she became very sad when she refused to stop thinking about Twilight and how she may never see her again. The very thought of that even caused Pinkie Pie to shed a tear. Right at her hooves was the Oracle. And, well, the rest is self-explanatory.”

“Sadness is the key!” Twilight exclaimed, “that’s why Pinkie Pie was chosen to guard the Oracle! She is the only pony who is incapable of sadness unless in a desperate situation. It all makes perfect sense!” Twilight limped over to Pinkie Pie, still chained. “Pinkie, would you like to do the honors before we sent your opposite out of her misery?”

“What honors?” Pinkie Pie asked, uncertain.

Twilight whispered something into Pinkie’s ears.

“Ah! I got it now!” she exclaimed. A dark look of victory and confidence came across Pinkie that moment as she stared at Dark Pinkie in the eyes. “Game over,” she said.

The Oracle rose overhead, becoming increasingly bright as it lit up the otherwise dark and gloomy scene.

And so, the Oracle had vanquished Dark Pinkie’s empire in a spectrum of bright light as it showered the world in brightness.

Pinkie Pie completed her task as the guardian of the Oracle by returning it to its rightful place in the archaic cavern, just in case this predicament was ever to break out again.

Princess Celestia stood at the entrance of the cave where Pinkie Pie was returning the Oracle. She watched in contentment as Pinkie Pie gently set the Oracle in the middle of the giant stalagmite with her hooves.

“Miss Pinkie,” Princess Celestia said.

“Princess Celestia,” Pinkie Pie said.

“There is one last precedent we must address,” the Princess began.

“Oh? Which is…?”

“Princess Luna and I wipe the memories of everypony who was involved with this event, to minimize the probability of its recurrence.”

“And how does that concern me?”

“This includes you.”

“It does? But…but why?”

“You’re the guardian of the Oracle. It is in your nature to not know that. You will have the privileges of controlling the divine powers of the Oracle. Whether they be for good or evil, we cannot risk anypony getting their hooves on such power. I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, but I must: for the safety and welfare of everypony.”

“How about instead, I ‘forget’ this whole thing ever happened?” Pinkie Pie suggested.

“You expect you will have amnesia?”

“No, I mean I pretend to not remember that any of this happened.” Pinkie eyed the Oracle. “This adventure was the single most exciting thing that ever happened to me! I don’t want to forget it, even if I do have access to the Oracle’s powers. I promise not to abuse this privilege.”

“You will try to forget your guardianship?”

“I will.”

“You will not bring it up with Twilight or any of the others?”

“I won’t.”

“And you will not speak of this event to anypony, no matter how much it manifests your memory to do so?”

“I won’t. I promise.”

“Very well then, Pinkie Pie,” Princess Celestia began, “Princess Luna and I will forego the wiping of your memory of this event. You will recall everything you have experienced these long, dark hours. But, if you ever mention this to anypony – especially Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy or Applejack – I will not hesitate to proceed with the wiping of your memory. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” Pinkie Pie said.

Later that afternoon, Pinkie Pie and her friends had a tea party; Pinkie’s idea.

“I had the weirdest dream last night,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“Oh? Tell us about it,” Rarity said.

“Well, we were all in it, I remember that much. And Equestria was under a dark haze. Pinkie Pie! You were the leader of this evil group of ponies called the Dark Ponies, which we vanquished by the end of the dream.”

“That almost sounds…” Applejack began.

“Vaguely familiar?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“Yeah!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “Almost as if-”

“It really happened?” Twilight asked.

Everypony turned their attention to Pinkie Pie.

“You know what they say about dreams,” she began, “they always seem so real.”

Everypony then laughed – except Pinkie Pie – who only winked.