Previously, on The 「Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness」: Pinkie's Story...
https://pastebin.com/m1PkYVRD

>You gather up your little group (with Applejack with you as well? What is going on?), beginning to run to the clearing
>"How's that for a lesson, Princess Celestia?"
>There's no mistaking it; 「Pride and Joy」 has copied you to fit in with your friends
>Twilight nudges the other Pinkie's side, before looking to the cake
>"Care for a bite?"
>"I don't mind if I do!"
>Jumping into the air, Pinkie II devours the entire cake, which leaves a burst of anger coming from your heart
"WAIT RIGHT THERE, YOU FIEND!"
>Applejack appears next to you, shocked at a doppelgänger eating the cake
>The entire clearing becomes silent as the now-bloated Pinkie looks upon you and burps
>"Huh? Who're you?"
>Twilight looks upon you in shock, before looking back at the other pink party pony
>"P-Pinkie? Is this your Pinkie Sense acting up again?"
"Pony Joe! You've REALLY made me mad this time, you dang monster! Using goons to take care of my newfound friends, leaving me to perish on the tracks... Get out here before I tear you to pieces!"
>「PPP」 by your side, you begin to feel another bout of fighting swell in your chest
>Princess Celestia moves away, just as shocked as Twilight is
>The doppelgänger looks around, before pointing at you with a horrified expression
>"T-Twilight! Is that one of those changeling things you were talking about? I thought you said they were fake!"
>"They are, but... Which one of you is the real Pinkie? Which one is the real APPLEJACK?"
"THREE GUESSES, AND THE FIRST TWO DON'T COUNT!"
>Rushing forward before the group you were with could stop you, you get 「PPP」 ready to inflict hurt on your enemy
>This 「MMMystery」 is about to be solved, and you're going to catch the culprit
>ゴ ゴ ゴ ゴ ゴ ゴ ゴ ゴ...

--------

>You are Pinkie Pie, loyal friend to five other ponies
>And you are going to kick a donut baker's ass so goddamn hard they won't be able to walk for a week
>The pony you're going to beat up looks like yourself, so you're going to feel weird during this fight
>With Applejack being impersonated as well, it's a recipe for disaster

"ROKA!"
>Channeling all your rage into that one attack, your Paradox socks your other in the face
>"Whoa!"
>Flipping off of the table, the doppelgänger runs off, clearly not wanting to be confronted so early...
>But you've been wanting to show him what's what for a while now, and you're not letting this opportunity pass
>Well, you weren't, but then Applejack kicks you in the face, damn near breaking your skull
>Or is that the other Applejack?
>Either way, 「PPP」 takes you through the hammerspace, appearing above your enemy and falling on them
"Which Applejack are you? Hm? No need to say anything more, I already know."
>You guardian spirit holds the other AJ up, taking it to Princess Celestia
>Interestingly enough, she's looking at the pony like it's floating in midair
"Princess, hold him until I get this other psycho! It'll be over soon, hopefully!"
>Silently, the Princess takes the AJ clone, alternating between glancing at you and her
>"Pinkie Pie, what is the meaning of this? Is this one of your pranks again? It's awfully rude to interrupt a competition for a prank."
"And it's awfully rude to patronize me while we have a cake-eater on the loose, but you don't see me complaining!"
>Turning around before Twilight throws a shitfit, you run off into the crowd after the Pinkie clone as the rest of the Mane 6 remain slackjawed
>The only one that snaps back to attention and follows you is Blaze, judging by her yelling of "YOU JUST DISRESPECTED THE PRINCESS, YOU IDIOT! GET YOUR FLANK BACK HERE!"
>You swear you hear Applejack running after you as well, but it's hard to tell with all the adrenaline coursing through your veins
>Serves Celestia right for not taking something like this seriously like a twat
>You're going to have to blame your actions on stress once the battle's over, but you don't care at the moment
>What matters to you the most is finally bringing Pony Joe to justice
>(And maybe the hospital if you get your hooves on him)

>Running into the bustling cloud, you realize too late that there's no hope of finding the other Pinkie in this state
>"But Pinkie," you can hear the reader rudely interrupting your train of thought
>"It's incredibly easy to find a pink pony in a sea of grey and white ponies when you're in a place like Canterlot!"
>First off, that's racist, because there's an assortment of colorful ponies here because of the competition
>Secondly, you're assuming 「Pride and Joy」 has taken another form as another pony since there's no point in staying the same pony when you've already seen the Paradox
>Lastly, 「Pride and Joy」 is a ticking time bomb in a place like this, you'd be arrested for assault if you attacked the wrong pony
>You would kill to have a mind-reading Paradox, maybe Kishihay Rohoof could help you
>You snicker to yourself as you imagine a painter helping you find a dangerous Paradox
>What would he do, paint a mural of 「Pride and Joy」 to embarrass it?
>It's not like anyone can identify a shape-shifting pony anyway, it's like fishing in a glass of water
>Precariously, you ponder the possible locations the Paradox could be as you prance around the crowds
>Suddenly, a plain-looking stallion in a suit with a black-and-white mane bumps by you, glancing towards your way
>He seems quiet, and could be a salarypony like you've heard down at the rock farm once upon a time
>You swear you've never heard Mom be so angry over a profession like that
>"Excuse me, do you know where the offices in Canterlot are?"
"Hm? Oh, they're probably somewhere in the centre of the city. Um... Take a right!"
>"Thank you. I'll be out of your way... Or would you be out of mine?"
"Huh?"
>"I can't help but notice you're looking for someone. They wouldn't happen to look just like you, yes?"
"I... HUH? How did you find that out?"
>"I'm the one you're looking for."
>Disappearing into the crowd, you run after the salarypony before stopping in your tracks
>He's gone for good, because you can't even find his weird hair

>You look around at the multiple ponies, gobsmacked by how easily you're getting duped
>You can't even use your Paradox to find 「Pride and Joy」 without arousing suspicion, which is a massive hinderance
>You must inspect every pony closely if you want to gain the upper hand on your opponent
>But how can you do that when he can change his form at will?
>Someone taps you on the shoulder, causing you to turn around and face whoever it is that needs you
>It's Burning Blaze, and she looks PISSED
>"ALRIGHT, NOW YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO TELL ME WHY YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD IDEA!"
"SHHHH!"
>SOFUTO ANDO WETTO
>You couldn't resist making that little quip, but you quickly shake your head and place a hoof on Blaze's face
>"Mmph!"
"Keep quiet. This is like a warzone, except nopony's harmed and all of us have to keep on guard!"
>"Mmmph mmph?"
"'Why'? Because 「Pride and Joy」 is going to hurt us if we make ourselves bait!"
>Blaze tilts her head at your statement, almost out of confusion
>Did you tell her what 「Pride and Joy」 is yet?
"A bad Paradox that can hurt our friends if we don't think this through. Stay quiet when I let go, okay?"
>She nods, so you slowly put down your hoof until Blaze asks you a stupid question
>"I'm going to use my Paradox to find him. Is that alright?"
"What? No! No, that's not alright! We can't do it in the open! People might see us!"
>"Who cares? People without Paradoxes can't see them anyway, so it's a... Hm... Yeah, it's worth it."
"No! It's not worth it anyway, because just 'cause they can't see them doesn't mean that they won't get hurt!"
>You see a few ponies' heads look towards you, but you don't care if you're causing a scene or not
>"Fine, fine. But we don't have a plan right now, and Celestia knows that the thing you're chasing can hurt you."

>Looking around once more, you catch a glimpse of Applejack running towards you
>"Ah came as quickly as Ah could! Shoot, Pinkie, you're dang near gonna give us a heart attack if you run off one more time!"
"It was worth it, okay?! There's no time to argue! Keep quiet."
>"Quiet? By Tartarus, ain't no one got time for keepin' quiet! You KNOW what he did to you before, and you're gonna WAIT?"
"Yeah! I know, it's not like me to think this through, but this is serious! We have to keep quiet!"
>Applejack silently fumes, before gently poking your chest
>"Pinkie, Ah respect your decision, but you know that he's out there! In a crowd of ponies, he's ready to strike at any time! Three Paradoxes can't beat a shapeshiftin' parasite!"
"Not if we try hard enough."
>You all fall silent, listening to the chatter and clip-clopping of the hooves on the ground
>Part of you wishes you never baked this cake in the first place as all of this wouldn't have happened, but there's no time to dwell on the past
>Racking your brain to find his weakness, Applejack calls out to the air, going against what you said
>"SURE MUST SUCK TO BE A SLAVE, HUH?"
"APPLEJACK!"
>"Excuse me?!"
>The void pops out with an angry expression, dissipating from an elderly pony's form
>Slowly attracting pebbles and rotating them around, it comes closer and closer towards you menacingly
>"A slave? A slave, am I? A slave that only does his master's bidding, not acting autonomously?"
>You try to keep your cool, Blaze doing the same as the threat of perishing comes ever closer
>Strangely enough, the crowd's allowed a bit of space between you, almost like a ring of sorts, allowing space to move around
>The only one not moving is Applejack, who has a hard, stoic expression, almost as if she knows what she's doing
>(For your sake, you hope she does)
>"Would ya kindly leave mah friends alone for good? You're dang annoyin'. You're worse than the flies in the summer."

>Backing her up, Blaze nods, adding her own two cents
>"I haven't seen much of you, but you already seem like a pain in the flank. Why this 'Joe' person would keep somepony like you around is beyond me."
>One word to describe 「Pride and Joy」 right now is "pissed", particularly from the way he's holding the pebbles
>Of course, you're not going to let your friends get in the action, so you quickly think of a oneliner and smirk
"Even for a Paradox, you're kind of lacking. Shapeshifting? We already have a race that can do that, and they do it better than you do! What kind of slave does that?"
>"A GOOD ONE! Unlike those Luna-forsaken roaches, I've done my part and helped my user many times in the past! They can't even save their race! Shut up! Shut up, you useless wastes of space! I'll kill you!"
"Takes one to know one~"
>"ARGH! Take this!"
>It throws three pebbles at you, striking you in the head and the hooves (yet not enough to draw blood)
"OW!"
>"That's what you get for being a complete and utter fool!"
>Taking the form of you (again), it rushes towards you and attempts to jump on you
>"Not on mah watch! 「Bad Apple!!」"
>Her Paradox materializing in front of her, it throws the Pinkie clone off of you into the crowd, everything going back to square one
>Blaze clops her hooves on the ground, "clapping" for her quick thinking
>"Good job on saving her, but now the guy we're up against is back in the crowd! We're sitting ducks here!"
"Not if we think this through! I'm not a meticulous pony, but what I know is that he'll come to us... and then we ATTACK!"
>"Ah commend ya for the plan, Pinkie, but Ah still think we should go after him. He can take any form, right? Who's to say he didn't dispose of a pony or two before?"
"It doesn't matter. The only thing we can do is take this fight step by step. Who knows when he's going to strike?"
>All of you fall silent, listening to the chatter and the sounds of bustling ponies
>Of all the fight's you've ever been in, this has to be the most one-sided
"...But he can't hurt us, though."

>"What makes ya say that?"
"We're in a crowd. If we get hurt and bleed, all the ponies will freak out and he wouldn't want that no matter how much we provoke him."