Pinkie Pie had to hoof it to Twilight. This watching paint drying thing was a pretty good idea.

Pinkie had never expected such disastrous results when she’d decided to bring her reflection to life in the Mirror Pool. But regardless of her intentions, here she sat in a room full of copies of herself, staring intently at the large glob of wet paint that was, ever so slowly, becoming dry paint.

It was the most boring thing Pinkie had ever seen in her life.

And judging by all the fidgeting from the other Pinkies, they felt the same. It was only a matter of time before they all looked away, allowing Twilight to determine which of them was real.

It was the perfect plan.

It wasn’t long before one of her duplicates cried out “Oh hey! Lookit the birdie!” The first of many similar outbursts Pinkie was sure. But now that one of her many lookalikes had revealed herself, all that was left to do was have Twilight escort her away and-

A beam of energy shot out of Twilight’s horn, inflating the offending Pinkie up like a balloon before exploding into nothingness.

Pinkie was unable to believe what she had just seen. Twilight Sparkle, one of her most bestest friends ever, had just murdered a pony that looked just like her.

And nopony else seemed to care.

Over the next few minutes, dozens of Pinkie Pies, unable to restrain themselves, took their eyes off the paint for one reason or another, only to share a similar fate. Before Pinkie knew it, only a scant few remained.

Pinkie’s mind raced. How could Twilight do such a heinous act? Was the friend that Pinkie had known all this time really a cold blooded killer? Was everything they had ever done together a lie?

She wanted to scream. To cry out. To tell Twilight that she was a monster who had dared do what was normally an unthinkable act for any pony. But instead she sat there, frozen. Unable to do anything but stare blankly at the paint before her, hoping that somehow it would dry before anypony else did something that would get them killed.

Before she knew it, only two Pinkies remained.

The pair of pink ponies sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Neither daring to take her eyes off the glob that was their only hope for salvation. Pinkie wished she could say something, to tell the remaining doppelganger that everything would be fine so long as she didn’t dare take her eyes off the paint. But she remained silent, knowing that even a simple act of passion and protection would get her blasted.

Instead, her thoughts returned to Twilight. There was no way she could actually do something as horrible as murdering ponies, was there? Certainly the Twilight she knew wouldn’t do something so horrific unless she felt it was the only course of action. Which meant blame for this tragedy lied elsewhere. No, the actual cause for all this was Pinkie.

She was the one who went to the Mirror Pool. She had decided to bring a new pony into this world. She had the idea to do it again, leading to the eventual birth of dozens of new lives. She was responsible for all of them. They were, in a way, her children. And her carelessness had gotten them all killed. Twilight may have been the one actually casting the spell that caused their deaths, but she never would have had to if Pinkie hadn’t brought them to life in the first place. She had failed everypony: the townsfolk, her doubles, and most important of all, her best friends. Everyone was miserable, and it was all her fault.

Unable to take the guilt any more, Pinkie glanced at the other version of her. She may not have been the real Pinkie, but at least her soul wasn’t tainted with the knowledge that she had caused the terrible events of the day. She was exactly what her friends were looking for: a normal, regular Pinkie Pie who would do nothing but bring them joy, laughter, and parties, day in and day out. Which was something that the real Pinkie Pie had clearly failed in today. Maybe she could be a better Pinkie than Pinkie had ever been.

Determined to make things right, Pinkie knew what she would have to do. And after one last blast of magic, only one Pinkie remained.