The Laughter Games [Vote-driven]

Parallel Black
Solar Supporter - Fought against the New Lunar Republic rebellion on the side of the Solar Deity (April Fools 2023).
Princess of Love - Extra special version for those who participated in the Canterlot Wedding 10th anniversary event by contributing art.
Non-Fungible Trixie -
A Really Classy Artist - 250+ images under their artist tag
Twinkling Balloon - Took part in the 2021 community collab.
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2020) - Took part in the 2020 Community Collab
Dream Come True! - Participated in the MLP 9th Anniversary Event
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2019) - Celebrated Derpibooru's seventh year anniversary with friends.
Not a Llama - Happy April Fools Day!
Friendly Griffon - For helping others attend the fifth anniversary party

Premise: An alternate ending to the Pinkie Clone pandemic. Instead of simply sending them all back to the Mirror Pool, the clones are put to use as lemmings in order to map out the inner sections of the Everfree. Helping each one through to the other side safe and sound falls to you, the readers.
 
The route this story takes can change with each clone. So long as the current clone is alive, that’s who we follow, no matter how far she strays from the set path. You know how it goes when a clone survives for too long…
 
This story contains some violent scenes, but nothing NSFW.
 
Commenting in between each story section is fine!
 
 
Intro part 1 - Hoof and Tail  
Twilight sat in the middle of Ponyville’s town square. Beside her was a large box full of odd metal collars, and in front of her squirmed a makeshift cage brimming with the captured clones Pinkie Pie had made earlier that week. The repairs to Ponyville had begun and the question of what to do with the clones had been discussed for the past few days, with the residents eventually leaving it to Twilight and her friends to decide their fate. Some had been worried about keeping them around considering Pinkie Pie’s appetite, but the clones didn’t seem to need sustenance. They simply lived off the magic in the air like a bunch of insane, sort-of-but-not-really-sentient plants.
 
At first Twilight and her friends had opted for the natural choice: Become friends with them. The Pinkies were certainly friendly enough in their own right, and once the ire of the townponies had settled down attempts were made to converse and interact with them. Alas, the clones proved too limited in their vocabularies and wants for most to bother with. Next, the original had come up with what originally sounded like a fantastic idea in which a Pinkie Pie would be placed into each home to try and integrate them - and if that failed, to keep as a pet.
 
The destruction had been even worse than the first time. Curiosity lead the clones to grab whatever caught their eye from the homes, only to drop it all as soon as they escaped back into the street. They were like the instinct of an animal mixed with a child’s lack of responsibilities, and it took the rest of the day to re-corral them all. Everyone simply got sick of them, and so it fell to Twilight and co’ to think of their own way of getting rid of them.
 
Twilight thought on her decision for a few minutes, considering all the ramifications it might have depending on the variables that would come into play. She looked down at the collar in her hooves before reaching toward the bars. The clones immediately took notice, gathering and pushing themselves against the side of the cage to receive the next “present”.
 
Said present was actually one of countless metallic collars Celestia had dredged out of one of the palace’s storage dungeons. Transmitting a signal back to a central receiver, the collars would broadcast each clone’s position 24/7 as well reading basic vital signs via the rhythmic pulsing of the veins in the neck. A happy, babbling Pinkie Pie grabbed the collar and innocently locked it around her own neck, as she’d seen done to her many sisters.
 
Twilight brought out another collar and hoofed it over. Celestia’s plan was to use each Pinkie Pie to map out the depths of the Everfree, and, assuming the individual survived, make it to a collection point just north-west of Dodge Junction to be put back into storage. The latter was assuming this all worked out and the Pinkies turned out to be a viable, expendable source of test subjects.
 
The unicorn paused, discovering a tiny spark of what almost felt like jealousy welling up inside. Not of heading into the Everfree, of course, but of Pinkie Pie for being the one to use the Mirror Pool in the first place. What would her clones have turned out like? Would they be just as brainless as Pinkie’s, or would they have taken on her smarts and been able to assist her and the rest of Equestria with all manner of scientific and magical studies?
 
What if they cloned Big Mac instead, and overflowed Equestria with an army of all the work ponies it could ever need? Or Rainbow Dash for a fighting squadron, or Fluttershy for pet sitting and medical services? There were so many possibilities that could have, no, should have been explored before the Mirror Pool was classified as forbidden ground.
 
Another collar clicked into place and the Pinkies collectively rejoiced. Not a single one had been left out of this round of gift-giving except for Twilight, so they quickly began looking around and amongst each other for something to give in return.
 
The sight was an amusing one, gaining a small smirk from Twilight. There were still plenty of collars left, so she hoofed an extra one over to the nearest Pie. “There, now you can give that back… to…”
 
“Fun!” the clone exclaimed in joy, enjoying its second super-special present that was now firmly sealed around its neck. It looked back at Twilight’s confused face and immediately realized its horrible mistake. “Fun, fu-… fuuaaa! FUUUUUUUUAAAAAANNN!!!” it wailed in anguish as it tried to pry the second collar off its neck.
 
“H-hey! Hey! It’s ok, let me just…” Twilight wrapped the second collar in her magic and released the internal lock, popping it off the clone and locking it onto her own neck. The clones stared at her silently. “Gee, thanks for the gift! It really… - chafes, actually - feels nice against my brachiocephalicus…”
 
At that the cage lit up once more with shouts of “Fun!” and “Fun! Fun!”, the Pinkies over the moon at what they saw as a new sister.
 
“Of course. Fun.”
 

 
Princess Celestia glided through the sky above Ponyville. If not for her mane she might have been mistaken for a large swan. Either way it was to her benefit that there were more ponies sunbathing than flying in this hot weather; less to witness her swooping around like some common goose. She craned her neck and focused her gaze on the edge of the Everfree Forest, adjacent to Ponyville and spotted a tiny speck of lavender next to a writhing mass of pink.
 
Twilight had just finished carrying the cage and its contents into position. The cage door was pointed down the rarely-trodden path leading into the forest, ready to spew out its first trotting pink horror. With silent grace Celestia landed. She sidled up behind her student in an attempt to surprise her, but a sudden round of cheering from the clones alerted Twilight to her presence.
 
She was still surprised to see her mentor standing mere inches from her. “Oh! Princess, you’re here! Everything’s ready for the test run. I’ve checked each and every collar to make sure they all work, and I’ve positioned the cage and cleared away any vegetation obscuring the path to provide optimal chances that the clones will head in the right direction!”
 
Celestia smiled and nodded in approval. She noticed the extra collar around Twilight’s neck and chuckled. “I think you’ve done enough to impress me, little Twilight. But joining your new friends is not one of them.”
 
Twilight looked at the collar as if just noticing it for the first time and blushed. “Aha, that was… well, the Pinkies wanted to give me something after all the ‘gifts’ I gave them.”
 
Celestia chuckled again and peered at the contents of the cage. “Golems can be quite… personable every once in a while.” She looked back to her student. “I trust we’re both ready to begin the experiment?”
 
Twilight removed the collar and nodded, taking Celestia’s unspoken advice on not getting too attached. It was unlikely that all of these clones would make it to their destination, after all. She levitated a notepad and a small, white-tipped paintbrush and looked to the Pinkie closest to the door. “001” was written on its collar, marking it as the very first contender for the gauntlet ahead.
 
Without further ado the door was inched open. As predicted the clones swarmed for the exit with glee, eager to escape and have more fun fun fun with Ponyville and its residents, but 001 found herself floating out instead of bouncing, surrounded by an aura of golden magic while the door was quickly shut behind her.
 
Her hooves contacted the ground and she immediately bent her knees and tried to boink. Her eyes flicked about every which way and her mane and tail almost seemed to buzz with uncontainable energy. A tiny crystal set within her collar began to glow, earning an excited “Oooh!” from the clone. At Celestia’s behest, a large, circular hologram appeared between them, displaying whatever the collar was pointed at. This way they could explore alongside the clone and see whatever she saw.
 
The golden aura faded and the clone slowly began to trot, her face brightening up even more as she felt the resistance slowly disappearing. Off she went into the forest, soon switching to the clones’ maddening bounce as she vanished amongst the trees.
 
“Now, we wait and see what happens…”
 
 
(The first choice will come at the end of the next section)
Parallel Black
Solar Supporter - Fought against the New Lunar Republic rebellion on the side of the Solar Deity (April Fools 2023).
Princess of Love - Extra special version for those who participated in the Canterlot Wedding 10th anniversary event by contributing art.
Non-Fungible Trixie -
A Really Classy Artist - 250+ images under their artist tag
Twinkling Balloon - Took part in the 2021 community collab.
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2020) - Took part in the 2020 Community Collab
Dream Come True! - Participated in the MLP 9th Anniversary Event
Friendship, Art, and Magic (2019) - Celebrated Derpibooru's seventh year anniversary with friends.
Not a Llama - Happy April Fools Day!
Friendly Griffon - For helping others attend the fifth anniversary party

Intro part 2 - Tooth and Nail
 
Pinkie Clone 001 bounced happily into the Everfree Forest. While at first the myriad of dark shades - different to the ones she had grown used to - clogged up her limited senses, she soon began to chant, “Fun! Fun! Fun!” to herself. The trees ahead bent out of her way and the canopies seemed to open up, letting the sun in on this normally dreary place. Everything she saw glowed and sparkled with positivity, and it seemed like there wasn’t a shadow to be seen.
 
The reaching, grabbing branches she shook like offered hooves and the thorn-covered flowers she devoured without a hint of regret. “Yurmhy!” she exclaimed. She didn’t know how to describe the taste, but whatever her tongue was telling her, it was fun.
 
At the entrance, the clone finally vanished into the darkness between the trees, the hologram lighting up what it displayed to account for the Everfree’s unnatural shade. Twilight watched and took notes on everything the clone did. It had quickly left the beaten trail that lead into the forest, choosing - though perhaps she didn’t even think about it - instead to wander into the aimless depths of nigh-impenetrable thorns, trees and other plants that thickly blanketed the ground.
 
Twilight frowned, feeling concerned. “I was expecting her to have a better sense of direction than this, and I definitely wasn’t expecting her to eat something like a Rashroot.”
 
“Understand, my student,” Celestia began, “that these clones are not Pinkie Pie in any way save for appearance. Any skills or experience she has were not copied over when she made them. They have no sense of reason; they are nothing more than instinct.”
 
They watched as 001 bounced straight into a solid row of trees. The trunks were strangely intertwined, looping over one another as if they’d grown with the intent of blocking access to whatever lay behind them. The clone, of course, could have simply wandered around them and continued forward, but instead she spied the small gap between the trunks and stuffed her head through it. With a bit of wriggling and a loud crack, the Seeing Eye crystal splintered and fell to the floor along with the rest of the broken collar. Through its split vision the two observers watched in mild disbelief as Clone 001 pranced away into the unknown.
 
“Thirty minutes?” Twilight asked.
 
“And twenty seconds,” Celestia confirmed. “I was hoping for a longer lifespan, both for the clones themselves and the collars, though I suppose the latter haven’t been used for eons.” With a sigh she turned back to the cage. “Shall we release the next one?”
 
“Go right ahead,” Twilight replied. She looked over the myriad of notes she’d managed to squeeze out of the short timeframe and smiled. “Maybe we could use a strengthening spell to protect the collars?”
 
Celestia nodded as she brought the next one out. With a quick flash of magic the collar around its neck gained a soft, golden glow and the clone was placed upon its hooves. A quiet creak alerted the two of them to the cage door being opened. What was attempting to become 003 had been slowly opening the door behind their backs, and she looked at them with a face suited to someone who’d been caught red-hoofed.
 
“Back in the cage, please,” Celestia asked sternly.
 
The Pinkie Pie nodded and slightly closed the door, its eyes locked on the princess’.
 
“A little bit more?”
 
squeak
 
Celestia’s expression took a turn and she pointed her horn at the door. But before her levitation spell could apply any force 003 pushed it wide open, and before they knew what was happening the clone was speeding into the woods and out of sight.
 
“Well shit.”
 
Twilight looked panicked. “Ah! Th-that’s ok though, right? We can still track her position, can’t we?” she asked, looking between the princess and the path a few times.
 
The princess wore a plain old scowl of annoyance on her face. She hadn’t been bested like that in a long time. She paused for a moment to consider her options. She could have easily teleported after the fleeing clone and dragged it back, but the other option was just as viable; she projected a second holographic representation of what 003 was seeing alongside the one belonging to 002.
 

 
002 had seen all this happen and was now itching to be let loose, wriggling as hard as she could against the princess’ magical grip but getting nowhere. Her off-colour sister and the giant swan creature weren’t doing anything fun and she needed to be free. She could feel the energy coming off her trapped counterparts in waves as they each felt the same. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she was released and she leapt into the bushes and vines.
 
She bounced and cried happily through the leaves and the thick grass. She slid across patches of mud and swung through the vines, apologising to them in her own simple words whenever they tried to make her stay. She couldn’t stop yet, she wouldn’t stop. Not when there was so much to see and experience in this new world.
 
The forest was just as beautiful as everything else she’d seen, but one thing it really needed to fix was the quiet. Beyond her own hoofsies and the brushings of her mane whenever she graced against something, there was silence. There weren’t any ponies here to talk to or play with, nor were any of her sisters within hearing range. With a singular thought in mind 002 slowed to a stop, the first time she had done so by choice, and listened.
 
For a while there was nothing. Then, through the stillness came a faint pat… pat… pat off in the distance. Something of size with soft footfalls. 002’s face contorted into a look of sheer joy and surprise as the image of a giant teddy bear filled her mind. And so, abandoning her previous thought in favour of this new, funner one, she sped in the direction of the noise as fast as her legs could carry her.
 
Back at the cage, Twilight peered into 002’s hologram with a quizzical stare. Why had that one stopped moving for so long? The behaviour was unlike that of any other clone she’d seen so far. “Maybe she ran out of things to look at, or… something?” she mused to herself under her breath.
 
002 skid to a halt just shy of a clearing amongst the trees. She smelled something… odd. Different and potentially fun, but something caused her to hesitate, to take another whiff. The greens and blues of the Everfree were joined by a pool of red and 002 found herself inching backwards. Suddenly, this didn’t feel fun, this felt not-fun, something she couldn’t even bring herself to describe. But still, curiosity drove her to peer through to see what had been making the sound and her eyes went wide at the sight of a giant, red-maned… kitty? It was curled up for a nap with one of her sisters sleeping next to it. Its orange coat faintly shimmered in the sunlight, suggesting it had recently cleaned itself, and its strangely bulbous tail wrapped around its front to cradle its own head. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen, and 002 knew she wanted to play with it.
 
She boinked out into the open and the creature’s ears flicked. It opened one lazy eye to see what small, edible thing had dared to approach it and was surprised to find its vision full of pink. 002 stared back with a gigantic smile. She liked the look of this giant kitty, with its poofy mane and its giant, reddened paws…
 
What should Pinkie Pie do with the Manticore?
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