The Pink Monstrosity
-A/N-
First, I want to say thanks for all the comments. I read all of them even if I don’t respond to them all. It’s interesting to see what you guys think is happening, lets me know how well I communicated my story.
A few things
1 – There is going to be a shift in attitude for this chapter, it explains some of the things happening in the background so that you guys get a better picture of what is going on. Dexter is a JERK, but considering the circumstances I think this is an accurate portrayal of his character and how he would react to Pinkie Pie.
2 – Dexter will have his laboratory (at least a part of it) by next chapter, I want him to have it so the real shenanigans can begin. But alas, only four days have passed for Dexter, despite the six chapters. But I aim to speed things up.
Dexter continued to stare wide-eyed at the pink mass attached to the window, which gazed back down at Dexter with the biggest smile he had ever seen. Her eyes shone with glee and anticipation.
The only sound Dexter could hear was Rarity laughing. “May I introduce you to Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Rarity said with a satisfied smile. “And with this, Dexter, you are forgiven. Do not blow up my boutique again, Darling” She warned. Dexter only glanced at the white unicorn in confusion, before turning back toward the window.
The pink blob was gone.
“Gone!?” Dexter asked in surprise and confusion to no one in particular. “What the?” The entire situation was completely baffling to him, what was the pink thing that had been on the window? Where did it go? What did it mean it said he needed friends?
Dexter turned back toward the mares, only to be startled into another heart attack. He could have sworn that there were only three mares and a baby dragon in the library a moment ago, none of them pink.
However, now there was a pony in the center of the group bouncing up and down rhythmically. Her mane and tail were fluffy, and her entire body was covered in the same jarring color of bright pink. But her most unsettling feature was her blue eyes. They were bursting with excitement, and far far too happy. Dexter immediately recognized that her eyes belonged to the pink blob that had been pressed against the far side of the window a moment ago.
“Who the heck are you?!” Dexter nearly shouted in surprise, pointing a hoof straight at the pink mare.
“Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie!” She began, almost in song. The pink mare continued to bounce in place, keeping her eyes trained on the colt before her. “And I’ve never seen you before! Which means you must be new in Ponyville! I know you’re new because I know everypony in Ponyville, and everypony in Ponyville is my friend! But you’re not my friend, yet, which means you must be new to Ponyville! What’s your name?” She abruptly ended verbal onslaught with the question.
Pinkie Pie really liked making new friends, and she made an effort to befriend every resident of Ponyville. So, a new pony meant a new friend, a new friend she could make smile.
“Umm ... Dexter,” the colt answered tentatively, looking over the bouncing pink pony as his eye twitched. Something about her gave Dexter’s stomach a sinking feeling. It was as if the universe felt pity for him and was trying to send him a subtle message.
Unfortunately, the last time the universe interfered with Pinkie Pie, she divided by zero. It made a point to stay out of her way from then on.
“Dex-stor? Dexter? Dexy! I’m so glad to finally meet you! My pinkie sense told me a new pony had come to Ponyville when my ears went twitch-twitch exactly four days nine hours thirty two minutes and eleven, no twelve, no thirteen, no fourteen, fifteensencondsago!” She finished with a wide smile.
“Um ... What?” That was all Dexter could say, barely able to comprehend the river of words that came spewing out of Pinkie Pie. Though he had managed to catch the last part of what she said, and was a little unnerved by the apparent fact that she had been timing how long he had been in Ponyville.
However, none of this registered with Pinkie Pie. She only made a great inhale, before starting to sing.
---
As the pink pony assaulted the colt’s ears with a friendship song, bouncing around him in a circle, the three other mares only watched as Dexter clamped his hooves to his ears in a futile attempt to keep the girlish song out. It was not that the song was bad; Pinkie Pie was actually a good singer, but rather Dexter trying to regain the ability to hear his own thoughts.
However, Rarity noticed both Applejack and Twilight casting a grimace in her direction.
“What?” Rarity asked, half-defensively. “Don’t look at me like that.” She already knew what the two other mares were going to say. Mixing Pinkie Pie with a nerdy scientist is almost like mixing water and oil.
No, that’s an understatement. More like mixing fire and gunpowder.
No, still an understatement. More like mixing high speed neutrons with densely packed uranium.
“Rarity ...” Applejack deadpanned. “Ya shouldn’t be so hard on ‘em, the mess at the Boutique wasn’t only Dexter’s fault. The Crusaders helped.”
“I know, Applejack, and Sweetie Belle was punished accordingly, as I’m sure Scootaloo and Applebloom were,” Rarity admitted.
Applejack nodded, she had given her younger sister a week’s worth of chores because of it.
“Nevertheless, he was the one that started mixing household cleaners,” Rarity went on. “And unless he is some sort of chemistry genius, mixing chemicals like that could be very dangerous. So, steps had to be taken to ensure he wouldn’t do it again, especially in the presence of our younger sisters. I would hate to see any of these precious foals get hurt.”
“Yah okay, Ah can understand that.” Applejack admitted reluctantly, still upset. “But did ya have ta use Pinkie Pie?”
“Well, why not?” Rarity asked.
“Because, ya know how science-types react ta her.” Applejack went on. “When they finally realize they can’t wrap their head ‘round her they have a meltdown, jus’ like Twi did.”
“True, but ...” Rarity said, motioning toward the scene between Dexter and Pinkie Pie unfolding before them. “This was bound to happen sooner or later, whether I made the introduction or not.” Rarity defended herself. “How long do you think it would have been before Pinkie Pie found him on her own?”
“Ah would have liked ta put it off fer a few more days at least,” Applejack complained, resisting the urge to give Rarity another annoyed look. “But Ah have ta admit, there’s no keeping Pinkie Pie away from giving a new pony in town a new pony party.”
“Yes, well, Pinkie has been all twitchy about a new pony in town for the past four days.” Rarity went on. “At least this way you and Twilight are here to make sure things don’t get ... too out of hoof.” She finished dismissively.
“Ah suppose you have a point fer what it’s worth...” Applejack sighed, before turning back toward the scene of the singing pink pony who started dancing with the colt. The colt in question was trying desperately to escape. “But he’s just a colt yah know. He’s smart, but he’s also like yer sister an’ mine. He’s a bit too young ta have much sense. So no more revenge, okay?”
“Agreed, Applejack.”
---
Pinkie Pie was now bouncing circles around Dexter while still singing, the colt in question had managed to wrestle himself free and had resumed pressing hooves to his ears. No matter how hard he pressed down on his ears, the pink pony’s song kept getting through. He could curse his new pony ears, that were better at hearing than his original ones and not easily plugged with a hoof. He was starting to visibly tremble out of frustration and annoyance.
“Stop! Stop! Stop!” Dexter shouted over the pink pony’s song.
It took him a moment to realize that everything had stopped just as he had demanded. Pinkie Pie was no longer singing. In fact, she was no longer bouncing. At Dexter’s words she had frozen in place; in midair.
“B-but but but…” Dexter stammered as his train of thought derailed for a third time in a row, completely baffled by the now floating pony who only stared back at him. She tilted her head in response to his confusion, as though Dexter were the confusing one.
Was this some sort of magic? It had to be. Dexter couldn’t think of any other way to explain the pink pony’s continued defiance of gravity. After a moment, he blinked, prompting Pinkie Pie to blink back before falling back to the floor after another second or two.
“Since you’re my new friend, I baked a new friend cupcake just for you!” Pinkie Pie continued, resuming her torrent of words. “But then I realized that I was going to be your only friend in town, not just your first friend. But if I’m your first friend, and only friend, then that means I’m going to be your best friend! So, I needed something extra super-duper special for the occasion, and the regular cupcake wouldn’t do, so I decided to bake you a friendship cake! But then I realized that I would end up making you two cakes, so I decided to make you a friendship pie instead!” She exclaimed as she produced the pastry, seemingly pulling it out from her mane.
However, the moment Pinkie Pie had started talking again, Dexter had gone back to clasping his ears, but that didn’t stop the colt from noticing a few things. The first thing he noticed was her color scheme, pink, pink and more pink. The only exception was her crystal blue eyes. This reminded him of his dumb sister Dee Dee, who had the same shade of blue eyes and always wore a pink outfit.
The next thing he noticed was her behavior. She evidently liked singing and dancing, which was another similarity that Pinkie Pie coincidentally shared with Dee Dee.
There was only one more fundamental trait of the Pink Terror that was missing from this new Pink Monstrosity, and Dexter was sure that she had it.
“Get that away from me!” Dexter half-shouted, slapping the pie out of Pinkie’s grasp. It fell to the floor with a splat. “Will you shut up!!!” Dexter shouted. “You’re sooooo stupid! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!” Dexter stopped shouting, only to pant for a moment. “Oh, and let’s not forget. YOU”RE SO STUPID!!!”
Unfortunately, that was a kneejerk reaction. A response ingrained into his mind after years of defending his lab from his older sister. Said older sister was genuinely stupid.
His stupid sister.
A sister that a part of him loathed.
A sister that a part of him was terrified he might never see again.
However, that was his error. Pinkie Pie was by no means stupid; she was actually very intelligent and had an astounding memory. This was a fact that Pinkie Pie had proven true on multiple occasions, displaying the ability to recall names, birthdays, favorite foods and favorite songs of every person in the entire town.
Nevertheless, Dexter didn’t know any of that. All he knew was that this Dee Dee like pony had started assaulting his mind with an onslaught of words, singing, dancing, and generally science defying acts, and pie.
“Hey!” Applejack admonished. “Yer not allowed ta talk to Pinkie like that. Say yer sorry right now mister, or yer gonna ... “Applejack stopped as Pinkie Pie waved her off with a hoof.
“It’s okay Applejack,” Pinkie Pie said in a much more subdued voice, her smile had been replaced by a sad grimace. She turned back to look at Dexter. “I’ve seen his type before, he’s not used to having friends and a part of him just doesn’t know how to respond, maybe even a little afraid. But I can handle it.” Pinkie Pie explained, before getting down on level with Dexter. “Don’t worry Dexter, I’ll be your friend and I’ll make you smile.”
The colt merely folded his forelegs and fixed Pinkie Pie in a vehement glare.
“The presumption that ‘we can be friends,’ ” Dexter began. “Is indicative of the incredible misconception that you possess sufficient cognitive capability to facilitate adequate interchange between my prodigious intellect and your utterly inept, and repugnantly ineffectual, excuse for a mind. In fact, my prior statement is likely incorrect as it premises on you possessing a cognizance when it is more accurate to say that you merely retain an inundation of errant contemplations haphazardly garbled into a semi-functioning consciousness capable only of producing an inexhaustible stream of abominably bad ideas.”*
The whole room went silent. Pinkie Pie’s expression only got sadder, and Twilight wore a look of shock. Rarity and Applejack only looked at each other, utterly confused.
“What in the world did he just say?” Applejack asked the still dumbfounded looking Twilight. However, after a few moments, Twilight shook it off.
“He just insulted Pinkie Pie ... bad.” Twilight replied, a hint of anger growing in her voice as her ears splayed back and pressed against her skull.
“Bad?” Applejack asked in response.
“Real bad” Twilight confirmed as she glared at the colt.
“A translation, darling? Preferably with words using two syllables or less.” Rarity asked.
“He said Pinkie Pie was too dumb to be his friend, after implying or calling her stupid in at least five different ways.” Twilight explained, not taking her eyes off the offending colt.
“I know, Twilight.” Pinkie Pie replied, her once poofy mane had become flat as her eyes drooped to the floor. “I understood what he said.”
“But don’t worry Dexter, I forgive you” Pinkie Pie turned back toward the colt, and her smile started returning alongside her poofy mane. “But you shouldn’t be mean to other ponies, especially your friends.” Her smile had returned completely. “And that’s what we are now Dexter, friends!”
“I’m not your friend.” Dexter growled.
“You might not be my friend, yet, but I’m your friend. But don’t worry, you will be my friend soon enough.” There was a hint of foreboding certainty hidden beneath Pinkie’s cheerful tone, though Dexter didn’t get the chance to respond before Pinkie Pie pulled another perfectly made pie out of her mane and placed it in front of Dexter.
“No, get that away from me.” Dexter protested, backing away. “I don’t eat strange pies made by pink weirdoes.”
“Mmm, okay.” Pinkie Pie said with a knowing smile as she pushed the pie closer to Dexter and looked away innocently.
Dexter eyed the pastry; it was close enough for him to smell it more clearly, despite it being well out of his reach. Another benefit of now having a pony’s nose, the smell of anything nearby immediately flooded his nose whenever he merely thought about it.
The pie smelled delicious, and his mouth started to water. Though he made an effort not to show it.
“Listen, I don’t like pink. I don’t like you. You’re not my friend.” Dexter declared. “And for the last time, I’m not going to eat your stupid pie!”
“If you say so, Dexy.” Pinkie Pie replied, innocently pushing the pastry closer.
“Go away!” He shouted through a mouthful of pie.
Pinkie Pie only smiled at him in response.
“Huh?” Dexter said despit the pie in his mouth. His eyes crossed momentarily in confusion. Somehow, without him even realizing it, he had stuffed his face with the pastry. Half of the pie’s fruity contents were smeared across his face as he furiously chewed what he managed to steer into his maw.
It was actually so sudden it surprised him, and he would have spat it all out instantly if it were not for every taste bud in his mouth screaming in ecstasy. It was the most delicious thing Dexter had ever eaten, and would have been perfect if he just had a—
With a clink, Pinkie Pie put a glass of milk in front of the colt. Again, it appeared as though she pulled it out of thin air from somewhere behind her mane.
“How are you doing that?” Dexter asked.
“Doing what? How did I get the milk?” Pinkie Pie replied mischievously. “Or how did I know you would want some?”
What was left of Dexter’s mind was instantly blown apart.
Pinkie Pie raised a very good question, how in the world did she now he even liked milk? In fact, how did she know he’d eat the pie when he surprised himself by eating it?
“Oh Dexter,” Pinkie Pie started. “I think we’ll become the best of friends. You just don’t know it yet.”
Dexter attempted to protest, but the pie in his mouth made his response nothing more than unintelligible sputtering.
“And Dexter?” Pinkie Pie said, motioning toward the pie. Specifically to the portion of the pan revealed by the bite he had taken out of the pastry. There was a row of numbers, written in some sort of glaze or icing. They read: 742360413 “Pi in pie, from Pinkie Pie!” She said cryptically, before bouncing away from the completely baffled colt. “Enjoy the sugar rush! You’re not getting any sleep tonight.”
Then he realized what she meant, and it hit him like a train.
Those were the last nine numbers in fifty thousand and one digits of pi.
---
After another half hour of Pinkie Pie’s shenanigans, Dexter’s brain had thoroughly melted down. This was the point in which Applejack decided enough was enough and took Dexter home. Though before they left, the mares got Dexter to apologize to Pinkie Pie for his outbursts. Though it took some convincing.
Rather rough convincing.
“Yah well, maybe I’m not sorry.” Dexter replied flippantly, failing to notice the nod Applejack gave to Twilight. “I’m not apologizing to that pink moron, and if you think—“
-ZAP-
“OW!” Dexter yelped, rubbing a place on his rump that just received a healthy dose of electricity from Twilight.
“And that, Dexter…” Twilight began, lifting her horn away from Dexter’s flank. “… is how unicorns discipline naughty foals. Now, don’t you feel you owe Pinkie Pie an apology?” Twilight repeated.
Dexter apologized rather quickly after that, and the pink mare seemed all too eager to accept his apology. Soon after, Applejack and Dexter left for home.
“I suppose that ... may have been a little much.” Rarity admitted as she watched Applejack and the colt depart. “Using Pinkie Pie on Dexter like that, I mean.” Rarity clarified as a small part of her cringed internally, the memory of Dexter shouting at Pinkie Pie replaying in her mind.
“No, I don’t think so,” Spike chimed in, all to ready to reassure his crush. “You were right before, Pinkie Pie would have found him eventually. And he is kind of nerdy ... Well no, he is really nerdy. More so than Twilight was. He was bound to react badly to Pinkie Pie.”
“Thanks Spike,” Twilight said as she found herself deadpanning for a second time after being called nerdy. “But that’s not to say Rarity should have done it.” The lavender unicorn shot the white one an annoyed glare. “You knew he would react badly.”
“I know I don’t have the best track record with foals ...” Rarity started to admit.
Twilight deadpanned and looked directly at Rarity.
“Alright! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have done it.” Rarity admitted, pouting. “At least the three of us got to meet the foal Applejack was taking care of, and if his knowledge of vocabulary is any indication, he’s a smart one.”
“He is definitely one of the smartest foals of his age I have ever met. ” Twilight said, remembering her conversation with the colt and his incredible understanding of science and mathematics. “Though I don’t know how honest of a pony he is, so it’s probably a good thing that he is with Applejack. She’ll set him straight.”
“Why do you say that?” Rarity asked, with an eyebrow raised.
‘Well, he said earlier that he had memorized fifty thousand digits of pi.” Twilight began to explain.
“So, I remember hearing somewhere that pi is infinite.” Rarity replied. “But while memorizing fifty thousand numbers is impressive, it also seems somewhat pointless.”
“It’s a thing some ponies do to show off how smart they are, but that’s not the point,” Twilight said, beginning to explain. “We know pi is infinite, but in all of Equestrian history it has only been calculated out to about four hundred digits. And that was done by well-respected mathematicians. Despite a considerable number of ponies with special talents in mathematics, no pony has been able to calculate it out to a thousand, let alone fifty thousand, digits.”
“I see, so he lied.” Rarity said.
“He must have. Calculating the next digit of PI used to earn a pony a Ph.D. in mathematics.” Twilight explained.
Of course, Twilight and Rarity didn’t know that Dexter was actually telling the truth. Dexter had come from a world with computers, which had calculated pi to twelve trillion, one hundred billion and fifty digits by the time he left. It was a good thing the ponies didn’t know that, otherwise their mathematicians would drown themselves in their own tears.
“But despite that, He clearly has the mind of an academic,” Twilight said, thinking back to the conversation she had with the little genius. “Maybe even that of an engineer or inventor of ...” The words hung in Twilight’s mouth as something clicked inside her mind.
“Wait, wait a second,” Twilight said to herself before calling out. “Pinkie Pie! Can you come here?”
“Yup Twi!” She answered cheerfully, bouncing over to her friend. “What’s up?”
“You said your pinkie sense told you that a new pony had come to Ponyville?” Twilight asked the pink mare, who replied with a nod. “Did your pinkie sense detect anypony else coming to town before today?”
“Nope!” She replied with her characteristic happy tone, before bouncing off again.
“Could he have ...” Twilight muttered to no one in particular as she started to recall details of her morning. She had been sent to inspect a device, one found in the Ponyville Clinic...
---
Earlier that morning:
“C’mon Spike, hurry up. They said it was in room twelve.” Twilight urged, trotting by a nurse’s station at a brisk pace.
“I’m coming,” Spike panted, struggling to keep up with the excited unicorn.
They rounded a corner to spot a room with four armor clad ponies guarding the door. Two unicorns beside the door and two pegasi facing the door from the opposite wall. The guards eyed her and the baby dragon carefully the moment they had appeared.
“Hi umm ...” Twilight began, taken aback slightly by their stern gazes. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess C-Celestia sent me here because she wanted to me evaluate the device you found.”
They were immediately surrounded by the four guards as the two unicorn guards enveloped them in auras of magic; they were casting standard search spells meant to reveal anything out of the ordinary. However, that knowledge didn’t stop Twilight from being startled or unnerved by the sudden search.
“Hey, you guys recognize us, right?” Spike asked.
“We are aware of the Princess’s protégé’s position and her relation to Prince Shining Armor,” One of the guards spoke. “But Prince Shining Armor has made it abundantly clear that the contents of this room are of great strategic importance and are a possibly a priority target for changelings, every precaution must be taken.”
“That means, no pony is allowed in that room without their identity being verified.” The guard finished, staring directly into Twilight’s eyes. She shrunk under his gaze for a second, feeling uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere generated by the guards now surrounding her.
“Oh, right!” Twilight said suddenly. “The passphrase is ‘solar wind.’”
The guards glanced at one another before backing down. “Right this way Miss Sparkle.” He said, motioning for them to follow as he entered the room.
“Wow, you think those guys are being a little paranoid?” Spike asked, glad to be away from the other guards.
“It’s possible,” Twilight admitted at a near whisper. “Shiny must have said something to them to get them to be suspicious of everypony.”
“It’s not paranoia if they’re actually after you.” The guard said, pointing toward two cages in the corner of the room, a changeling in each one. “Do not pay attention to them, they’re secured in those cages and can’t hurt anypony. The device is over there,” He pointed. “Let us know if you require any assistance.” He finished before turning away, his stoic expression never changing.
“Right, well. Let’s see what this thing can do.” Twilight said as she approached a large metal box connected to a ring mounted on the floor. A rotatable semicircle inside the ring. The main body of the device had a number of screens as well as a slot to produce printouts.
It was Dexter’s ‘Medical Diagnostic Module’ that he had built during his first night in Equestria.
Twilight spent the next couple of hours examining every aspect of the device and taking notes of how each part of the device worked. However, she quickly found herself well outside her knowledge base, as every aspect of the device functioned with absolutely no magic.
A fact which stumped her supremely.
Ever since the ancient pioneers of magic, such as Star Swirl the Bearded, started documenting and exploring the uses of magic, magic had been in every facet of Equestrian science and technology. Only very rudimentary pieces of technology had ever been produced without the use of magic.
However, the device sitting in front of her was obviously decades more advanced than any other piece of technology she had ever seen before. The fact that it didn’t use magic only astounded her more, and she wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t seen it.
“This thing is incredible Spike!” She exclaimed, jotting down more notes as she peered inside the device’s case and traced the path of several wires.
“I’ll say,” Spike said, as he pushed the device’s scan button again before hopping into the ring. He couldn’t get over seeing his internal organs up on the screen displays.
“I just ... I just don’t know who could have created such a device.’ Twilight finally admitted, remarking at the fact that she could find no identifying marks on the device. Whoever built it obviously didn’t care to leave a logo or name on it. “I don’t know of anypony in this town, or all of Equestria for that matter, who could have built it. Was there a resident genius in Ponyville or something that I never knew about?”
---
Present:
Was there a new resident genius in Ponyville?
“Spike, can you go get my notes from this morning? Specifically the list of patients who spent the night in the same room that the clinic’s device was found in?” Twilight asked.
“Um, sure. Why?” Spike asked, out of curiosity.
“I have a sneaking suspicion that Dexter spent the night in the same room that the device we looked at this morning was found in,” Twilight said. “Oh, and prepare to take a letter to the princess.”
---
“What? The device was destroyed?” Princess Celestia asked, forcing her tone to remain calm. Only years of practice allowed the white alicorn to successfully hide her disappointment at hearing what her captain had to say. It was unwelcomed news that had come in the middle of her meal, interrupting one of the few moments of quiet she got to spend with her sister.
“Yes, your highnesses. I just received a report ten minutes ago saying that the ’Mark One’ device found in the Ponyville clinic has been completely destroyed,” Captain Valiant repeated. He was a dark grey unicorn that wore a set of golden armor. To the average pony he was rather large, but he appeared rather small in comparison to the alicorn princesses.
“How did this happen?” Princess Luna questioned, taking her eyes away from her older sister. The dark blue alicorn wasn’t hesitant to let her disappointment show through her voice.
“According to the report, four changeling infiltrators ambushed and overpowered the guards protecting the device.” The captain explained. “They released their comrades and immediately destroyed the device. The attack itself lasted less than two minutes, and the changeling attackers disappeared before any of the other guards nearby could pursue. I’ve sent another detachment to Ponyville, but I’m afraid there is little chance of catching the attackers.”
“This ... is completely unacceptable, Captain.” Princess Luna began, her tone was sharp as she spoke quickly. However, she had paused for a moment, which gave the captain a chance to respond.
“With respect, your highness.” His expression remained stoic as did his voice. “Once Prince Shining Armor learned about the device’s ability to detect changelings, he took over managing the operation directly despite the considerable distance between himself and Ponyville. “The captain defended himself. “I was relieved from overseeing how the device was handled, and from conducting the operation to bring it back to Canterlot.”
There was another moment of silence, as Luna considered his words. He was right and she knew it, she should not have vented her frustrations on him about the matter.
“That will be all Captain, thank you.” Princess Celestia said, dismissing the guard. As he left, the white alicorn stood up and walked over to the window. She wore a grimace of contemplation. Once the guard left the room she spoke again.
“It’s rare to see the changelings respond to something so quickly; it only goes to show that the ‘mark one’ was invaluable.” Celestia sighed, sounding frustrated as she turned toward her younger sister. The dark alicorn was still sitting at the dining table, no longer eating but rather studying her older sister. “A method to reliably detect the changelings would have been a game changer. It would have given the ponies outside Canterlot some form of defense against them, as well as forced Queen Chrysalis to the negotiating table for the first time in this country’s history.”
“Its destruction was an immense loss.” Luna agreed.
“And yet, the changelings have proven again, as they have many times before, that they have our intelligence infrastructure hopelessly compromised and can act within Equestria’s borders with impunity.” Celestia rubbed her temple with a hoof, at times she felt like the entire changeling situation was a hopeless mess. “Which shouldn’t be a surprise, I suppose. The existence of changelings was considered merely a myth for centuries. They kept their entire existence secret from us until the day an army of them appeared on our doorstep.”
“I think it was a mistake, on our part, not getting directly involved sooner.” Luna replied,
“I agree Luna, but we couldn’t take the chance of drawing attention to the device.” Celestia admitted , starting to pace about the room. “Though now I see it was too optimistic of me to think that the changelings hadn’t noticed it already. They may have even known about it before we did.”
“Either way, now that the device is destroyed, we need to find out where it came from. Maybe it is possible to procure another one.” Luna suggested.
“We don’t know exactly where the device came from.” The white alicorn responded, turning back toward her sister.
“Why not?” Luna asked, despite the fact she had a good idea why. “What do we know?”
“Ever since the ‘Mark One’ was discovered, the focus had been on figuring out how it worked in order to replicate its technology, so that we could build devices that could detect changelings. The origins of the device were not of high concern, as it didn’t matter where the device came from so long as we could reverse-engineer it.” Celestia explained. “As for what we know about its origin, we have some sketchy reports.”
“The hospital staff said it appeared in a patient’s room overnight.” Celestia went on, reviewing the information for herself as she went. “According to what the hospital staff reported, one of the patients claimed to have built the device and the other claims to have witnessed him building it. However, the one who claimed to build it was diagnosed as a compulsive liar, Munchausen Syndrome, prior to the discover of the device, and the other was drowning in half a pharmacy’s worth of narcotic pain medication due to an abnormally high number of broken bones.”
“I see,” Princess Luna answered, her eyes narrowing in thought as she processed her older sister’s words. “Not the most credible of witnesses I take it?”
“Unfortunately.” Celestia confirmed. “The rest of the hospital staff didn’t witness anything that could tell us where the device came from, and many of them understandably didn’t believe the patients’ story. Though a few of them think one of the patients may have had something to do with it.”
“Either way, one of us needs to become directly involved in this. We’re the only two ponies in Equestria that have enough raw magical strength to break through a changeling’s illusion magic,” Luna replied. “If even the guards in Ponyville are compromised, I don’t think we can risk anything less at this point.”
“And I think we both know who is going,” Luna finished flatly.
“Luna, your duties here are important. Don’t be so quick to think of yourself as—“ Celestia began.
However, she was cut off abruptly by the dark alicorn, who had traces of bitterness in her voice. “Please, sister, don’t patronize me. I know my night court gets only a quarter of the traffic your day court does, and half of what I do is sent to the day court for review and approval at the request of the court petitioners anyway. I have much more time to spare than you do.” Luna replied, failing to hide the resentment and frustration seeping into her tone. “I’ll go, and investigate this.”
“Thank you, Luna,” Celestia said, approaching her younger sister before nuzzling the lunar princess. “I know you’re trying Luna, but earning back everypony’s trust is going to take time. I know it will happen though.”
“I know, it’s just hard to believe sometimes that everypony has forgiven me for Nightmare Moon,” Luna replied, almost at a whisper this time. “Sometimes it almost feels like they don’t.”
“In time Luna, in ti—“ Their tender moment was interrupt by a flash and a pop, a blaze of green flame had appeared before the two alicorns and produced a scroll fell before extinguishing.
“hmm, what do we have here?” Celestia mused, as she raised an eyebrow and retrieved the scroll with her aura of yellow magic.
“What is it?” Luna asked as Celestia unfurled the scroll. “Has Twilight something new to report?”
Celestia unfurled the scroll before reading it aloud.
Dear Princess Celestia,.
I am writing concerning the device you and Shining sent me to study this morning, given that you requested to be informed of anything I believed to be significant concerning said device.
Although I have nothing to add to the technical specifications I sent you earlier, I do have an idea as to where we can learn more about where the device came from.
I have recently made the acquaintance of a new resident to Ponyville. An eight-year-old foal named Dexter.
After meeting him today, I do not hesitate to say that he is probably the smartest colt his age I have ever met. He was far more knowledgeable about math and science than I was at his age, and when I spoke with him I felt like I was speaking to a university professor, despite his rather immature attitude.
Normally, I would not bother you with this as even I would not think much of it. However, I have also recently discovered that he was one of the patients that spent the night in the same room the ‘Mark One’ was found.
Now, I know it sounds very far-fetched to say that an eight-year-old earth pony colt, with no known scientific or academic history, built an extremely advanced device overnight—especially factoring in the knowledge that said device is possibly decades more advanced than anything else in Equestria—and that he did not use any magic in its construction or design.
However, whether or not he was involved in building the device, I do not believe it was a coincidence that somepony with his considerable knowledge of science just so happened to spend the night in the same room that said device suddenly appeared.
I believe he, at the very least, had the opportunity to inspect the device and may provide us with some valuable insight on its operations or origins.
I will attempt to investigate his connection with the device’s appearance, as well as whatever he might have learned about the device during his time with it. But, as it stands now, I will continue to focus on the device itself until it is shipped to Canterlot.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
“She doesn’t know the device has been destroyed.” Luna said, as her sister rolled up the scroll.
“I know, I’ll send her a letter in a moment. However, somepony will need to speak with this colt on the chance that Twilight’s suspicions are correct,“ Celestia paused, as she took a moment to think. Luna didn’t need her to speak to know what was on her mind. “I am skeptical to the idea that he knows anything of value, but at this point, I’m unwilling to leave any stone unturned.”
“I shall go and question the colt first thing tomorrow morning,” Luna replied.
“No,” Celestia replied.
“No?” Luna asked, slightly confused.
“What I mean is, go to Ponyville and investigate the origins of the device,” Celestia began to explain. “Even question the colt named Dexter if you feel it is necessary, but don’t jump to conclusions. And be subtle about questioning the colt if you do.”
“Why?” Luna asked.
“Hopefully, Twilight hasn’t shared her suspicions about the colt with anyone else. And I’ll ask her to keep it that way.” Celestia went on. “But if you, in the course of your investigation, make Dexter a pony of interest, then the changelings will take note of him as well. I shudder to think what they’d do to the colt if they mistook him as a threat, especially if they think he built the device or could lead us to whoever did.”
“I see,” Luna replied. “I have a relationship with the foals of Ponyville, since I visit them every Nightmare Night. It wouldn’t be seen as too unusual if I were to visit with them, especially since Nightmare Night is in two weeks.”
“I understand, but nonetheless, don’t drag the foal into this if you don’t need to.” Celestia cautioned. “We should avoid turning him into a target if we can.”
“I understand,” Luna answered. She was about to get up and leave when another green flash deposited another scroll in front of her sister.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Just to clarify, this is a friendship report. Today I met a foal who was completely and utterly unwilling to make friends, on top of being one of the most insulting ponies I’d have ever met ...
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wooo update!!!
Great chapter, can't wait to see more.
The problem is that Dexter cannot recognize intellect that isn't interested in engineering; he's thus a very short Sheldon with a fake German accent he picked up from watching a Schwarzenegger marathon. Also, good catch on Pinkie's significance sense detecting an anomalous input....which leaves us wondering why he didn't immediately think of her as being what'd happen if they put Dee-Dee and Spider-Man into a blender and poured them into a pony.
4962241
If you watched Dexter's lab before you would remember the episode where he turned into a series of different creatures/aminals because of a device he built that can turn people into animals. Thus, once he gets his lab he could (in theory) turn back into a human at any time. (just build the device again) So dont be TOO aggravated dude, if the universe didnt force him to be a pony at any point he would never be one - he would treat them as animals given his treatment of talking ponies in his own show.
While Equestria does not high tech they have shown to have some low grade ones such as arcades, x-ray machines and movies, placing them in the 19th century in technology. So they should have some idea of what computers are.
No wonder Dexter broke down. Pinkie Pie reminds min too much of Dee Dee.
this chapter's execution is simply perfect.
really, really, perfectly perfect!!!
i can't stress enough how relieved i was to see an update for this story, and even more so i cannot stress enough how much i love this freakin chapter.
boy oh boy... where do i start?
i agree. t'was very spot on. thankfully this accuracy was further reinforced by this part here:
damn... i can see how that can be dexter's conditioned response to the likes of dee-dee (or to anyone/anypony that even remotely resembled dee-dee).
finally someone recognizes the genius that is dexter!!!
i love how their cunning minds work. but more importantly this decision they made helps the plot and pacing of the story.
LOL
dexter would be proud
tl:dr epic chapter bro. you made me want to fave this story all over again.
I sympathize with him.
I have a feeling that Dexter will soon find himself actually liking Pinkie, then promptly yelling at himself for actually liking something that reminds him so much of his far less intelligent sister. I think Dee Dee actually is quite smart, not up to the level of Dexter or Pinkie smart, but more intelligent than she lets on. I've been of the mindset that while Dexter exemplifies intelligence, and to lesser extent a highly competitive approach to things, Dee Dee is the other half the mental realm, wisdom, and in fact she has helped show the plausibility of that particular head cannon in a number of episodes, also to lesser extent she is shown to be an example of cooperation. In one episode in particular she strongly supports my head cannon, in said episode (I forget the title, it's been a while since I've seen that episode) Dexter actually ends up in the part of his lab where all his finished then abandoned projects that declared "my greatest invention" have some how wound up, including his first invention ever, Dee Dee doesn't show up to the last three minutes of that particular episode, but when she does she give an expository speech about how Dexter is so focused on moving things forward that he doesn't take the time to sit back and enjoy what he has accomplished or look back at what has lead him there (it's actually a beautiful speech
, and I just wish I could remember it 
, maybe Pinkie will end up saying it in a future chapter). Pinkie and Dexter seem to building towards a similar relationship Dexter has with Dee Dee, and it wouldn't surprise me if some of the insightful things Pinkie says mirror similar words of wisdom Dee Dee gave in a few episodes.
4962315 never trust bloodestia's opinions!
4962842 I see a foal that needs to be gobbled up!
4962850 if you haven't figured out I am lunas brother! I am in fact a full grown alicorn male
Great
I knew that's the way Dexter would react to Pinkie Pie.
I don't actually feel bad for Pinkie (having to deal with Dexter's reaction). You can't force friendship like she tries. It has to be a natural thing or it looses meaning.
As for the upcoming chapter, I can't wait to see Luna's reaction to a colt whom has no idea who Nightmare Moon really is...
4962228
)
From where?
(phrasing
I can see it now, "PINKIE GET OUT OF MY LABORATORY!"
Regarding Rarity, you have made a powerful enemy this day.
I have a brand new chapter to enjoy, I can re-read it to my leasure.
And yet I'm already whining for another one.
I'm sorry, I just love your story sooo much!
Pretty soon, the Changlings and Queen Chrysalis are going to beg for mercy in front of Dexter.
Let's play how to write Pinkie Pie as an annoying character.
This weeks episode is "Don't make her a Mary Sue with infinite knowledge of everything' a.k.a Equestria Girls Syndrome
Pinkie Pie is a good character in herself. Giving her a magic "know everything" power, it makes her seem less interesting. In this case it's made to prove... I actually don't know why Pinkie Pie has a magical super intelligence around 2500 times more than any equestrian mathematician. This is a very big f
k you to anyone who believes that she's more than a magic plot device used to propel the story forward, but this story doesn't even do that. It seems to be setting up a Dexter/Pinkie friendship subplot that has the air of every single Human in equestria friendship subplot/arch/entire story. In which the Human is forced into some macabre abomination of friendship by Pinkie and the Mane six. Given that I have faith in humanity I'd like to believe it's not that. This will end either badly or boringly. Coming form a story I really liked it really makes me feel sad. Hopefully the author can make something interesting or original from this, but for now this it's going down the road into just another HIE crossover fic with a bad poorly written "Pinkie Sue"
I find myself confused. Why is Shining Armor being permitted to give orders and control the guard and any other possible going ons in Equestria when he left the Royal Guard when he married Cadence and is the prince of another nation entirerly? The Crystal Empire should be all that he controls if he was given the Crown Matrimonial and was upgraded from being just a Prince-Consort.
This assumption that he can control the guards/military of another nation would seem to be an insult of a very high order to Celestia and Luna. The lack of reaction about this from either princess is very off putting to me.
4963546
This made me groan, because it feels like you skipped over 90% of the interaction between Dexter and Pinkie Pie.
I put into the story multiple paragraphs that showed the very unique (unique because of Dexter) circumstances forming around Pinkie Pie's 'relationship' with Dexter. Likening it to other Fics that dont include Dexter is ignoring Dexter's character completely.
If you still dont understand the very unique circumstances, read Dracon's post.
4962788
But to say his interaction is typical of the garden variety HiE's - Id have to disagree, so PM me if you really think there is something wrong (or typical) about it.
As for Pinkie Pie being a Pinkie Sue - take that up with Hasbro, they decided how she would react to jerks in the episode with Gilda the Griffon - who, despite being an EXTREME jerk, was met with kindness and hospitality by Pinkie Pie.
4963614
Cadence is Celestia's adopted niece, and since Cadence married SA, they are all in the same royal family - the royal family the guard is sworn to serve. Ergo, Prince SA gets to give orders. I hope i dont need to add an "Alternative Universe" for that.
About SA - (Spoilers)
On top of this, as it will be revealed later, Shining Armor has some issues with Changelings, and he's taken it upon himself to fight them. (I wonder why? its almost like he has a reason to hold a grudge against them.) Thus he watches for, and responds to, anything about changelings when he can.
4963632 I never said Dex's interactions were typical of HiE, I think you tagged me as the response to someone else. I was talking about the relationship between Dexter and Dee Dee in Dex's Lab and how I like to think they both are examples of two different mental aspects, Dex being intelligence and Dee being wisdom. They don't always get along, but when they do amazing stuff happens. I foresee something similar in regards to the relationship Dexter will have with Pinkie. Think about Dexter and Dee this way for a moment and you'll understand why my fan theory/head cannon for Dex's Lab. Dexter is always looking for an explanation for everything when he's not playing mad scientist with his inventions, much the way science operates, Dee Dee seems to have a certain level of understanding, much the way wisdom operates, and tries to use that understanding to get Dexter apply himself differently, usually through wrecking his lab. Because as wise as Dee Dee is she is still lacking enough intelligence to give some level of common sense, although she does display a certain level of uncommon sense that somehow allows her continue to access places she shouldn't. If Dee Dee didn't have an amazing perceptive skill, much like Pinkie, she wouldn't be able access Dexter's Lab as often as she does. Her perception is tied into her wisdom and as unlikely as it may sound she acts as a means for keeping Dexter in check so he doesn't go to far and act as the voice of experience and wisdom when he does inevitably end up crossing certain lines. As crazy as it might sound that is how I see as Dee Dee, and I think Pinkie will be acting as similar countermeasure system
. While Pinkie is probably almost as smart as Twilight, she also as an amazing level of understanding that can only come from having true wisdom, there have been times when other aspects of her nature have a tendency to override her wisdom and we saw what those have done (but when you think about with level of information she was written to have in those episodes she came to some very logical conclusions, that were merely flawed because she didn't have a key piece of information as part of her deductions). Without Dee Dee, the voice of reason (as unlikely as that sounds), Dexter made some very real mistakes that took him a bit longer to realize without his sister's input. Now that I've gotten that out of the way I think it would be hilarious to see Pinkie dragging Dexter into the bakery and persuading him to help her bake some very odd dessert items, a few of which Dexter actually finds enjoyable. Considering how much Dexter likes Root beer, which we all know Pinkie will figure out at some point in the near future, I think it would be hilarious if half the dessert items along with the beverages were made with root beer.
4963632 I was talking about the idea of Pinkie having super intelligence or powers for no reason other than 'cause Pinkie Pie. This bugs me more than a scorpion up my urethra, but really saying that she was able to figure out almost fifty-thousand digits of pi. Saying she was better than people whose entire lives were based around numbers. Not going to beat around the bush, that's almost depressingly Mary sue like.
___________________________________________________________________________
Pinkie had a unique relationship other than the Friendship-Cultist that forces relationships on everyone? Let me check.
...I hope this will not set the theme of their relationship. Crazy and one sided don't work well together
___________________________________________________________________________
I actually did like that interaction, it showed Pinkie as someone who understands the intricacies of social interaction and knows how much insults mean.
4963692 Thank you?
Personally I had no problems with this chapter and can't wait for the next one.
4962403
According to this story, we might believe that their 'computers' are only part of the machine and that the higher-function of even the most basic computers are actually handled by magic.
4964023
Oh, okay. I misunderstood your post. I understand that, the "Pinkie Sense" issue where she apparently knows about things she shouldn't, or even can tell what is going to happen in the future. I can see why it would be frustrating.
The reason, I think, you find this as a 'typical' problem is because authors are caught between staying true to the Pinkie Pie character depicted in FIM and whats logical. Pinkie Pie does things like 'walk on air' (episode when Iron Will is holding her tail) and seems to randomly know things (Pinkie sense, playing those instruments to control the parasprites.)
So I include what felt like Pinkie Pie to me, my proof readers / editors didn't object or say it was over the top, and she didnt come across as a mary sue (a fact which you awknowledged by acusing her of having a flaw - forcing friendship on people.) Oddly enough I plan to have another member of the mane six call her out on this flaw, specifically
So, please forgive me for not getting it perfect. My goal was to make the story interesting, and that scene with Pinkie Pie is the foundation for three major upcoming plot points Dexter explaining the 'Pinkie Sense' scientifically to the best of his ability, and Dexter's character flaws, specifically those of trust and friendship. My lips are sealed about the third.
As for Pinkie Pie knowing 50,001 digits of PI. She doesn't. She knew only 9 digits of pi while her 'Pinkie Sense' told her what to write on the cake. She wrote the last of the 50,001 digits of PI to show Dexter not to call her stupid because he said, last chapter, that he only remembered 50,000.
4964118
Thats actually correct. Their computers, as far as my story is concerned, run off of magic and are inferior by all measures. This is not because I portray ponies as stupider than humans, just that they never needed such things because they have magic. Who needs a computer to keep track of your library books when your a unicorn like twilight sparkle and can cast a spell to get the books to sort themselves?
4963669 That still doesnt make sense. Adopted or not they have seperate guards sworn to serve different royal families/Princesses. We see it in the show as well when Discord got sick. If we go by fancanon there is the Solar, Lunar, and Crystal guard. Or they're different shifts or branches of one whole for the first two. It just doesnt make sense.
Going by your logic all the other pony nations can control the guard irregardless of the nation they rule. We've seen at least three or four representives of other pony nations aside from the Crystal Empire with Saddle Arabia and French and German analogues. They are bound to have a guard of their own sort as well. Your logic just flies in the face of how this works.
You just need to look at Medieval records or Game of Thrones if thats more familiar. Just because they're related by blood or adoption doesnt mean they can control the same guard or each others guard when they gain a province or section of their own to rule.
The only way to do so would be to be higher ranking royalty. It would be the height of arrogance to do so otherwise and undermine the others authority. The only way I could see this working is if Shining pulled some strings with some friends he had in the guard to do what he did or the guard was still used to him being in charge of them and followed his orders irregardless.
4964247
No it's more of when authors use it as a plot point and have it predict more than "vague, immediate events", and use it to explain away pinkie knowing more than she should
What would be the body ticks for numbers anyway?
This
Knowing Pi isn't funny it's illogical.
Oh... this is... um okay?
The fact that you see forcing friendship on people is a flaw to be addressed and dealt with is already a step in the right direction.
THIS IS NOT A VAGUE IMMEDIATE EVENT. This is personal, extremely specific, and a suggested course of action. The actual Pinkie sense warns her of whats to come, but doesn't give her advice.
Also can I have a body tick for each of the things she wrote on the cake because I want to know?
*Spoilers*
___________________________________________________________________________
So she isn't actually intelligent but a liar? +3 manipulative jerk for Pinkie.
4964466
With respect, one of the first things we are going to have to accept about the 'Pinkie Sense,' like many other things in the show, is that it is not consistent across episodes. For example, something informed Pinkie Pie about the exact time and place Twilight would finally be tempted to break her promise and reveal Fluttershy's/Rarities respective secrets (very specific information). Or did she just pop out of random objects shouting 'FOREVER!!!' at random times and was lucky enough for it to fit into the context of the situation?
According the mlp wiki, Pinkie Pie regularly performs cartoonish acts. That, in and of itself, dispels any and all forms of logical consistency with Pinkie Pie's behavior.
As for knowing 'pi' being funny. I get it that YOU dont find it funny, so it didnt work for YOU. Other people who are giving positive feedback either liked it or didnt mind. Probably the latter for most, since in the last chapter Dex said he memorized 50K. This chapter, he is being a jerk and gets taken down a notch by someone who did 50K +1. -Now I get thats very specific information, kind of like the specific information Pinkie Pie produces when she shows Twilight the location of a spell in a spell book which happened in cannon (Why would an earth pony memorize the location of spells in a spell book?) She just spectacularly randomly knew were the spell was. If it (or things like it) happen in cannon mlp episodes, i dont feel it requires explanation.
Though, writting out pi may seem manipulative (or PRANK worthy? I dont know if Pinkie Pie does pranks.), it was done to facilitate the plot line that Pinkie Pie was blowing Dexters mind and causing a 'mental meltdown.'
The force feeding friendhship thing was preplanned well before this chapter. My point to you was that you were calling Pinkie Pie a 'Mary Sue' at the same time as saying she had a flaw (forcing friendship on others.) Thats inherently incorrect because 'Mary Sue's' dont have flaws, thats the problem with using them.
Now, if you still think im off feel free to PM me. But I am going to ask that you PM me ONLY. Ive already typed a paragraph worth of spoilers to you about it. I'll give away spoilers to whoever asks, just not in the comments section right below the story were it could ruin it for others.
So, Luna is going to discover him?
4965017
Luna will play a part in all of it. The princesses were always going to be part of the story line because them dealing with Dexter would be the logical outcome of his discovery. I just didnt tag them until I used them in a chapter.
Dexter isn't completely clueless when it comes to friends, he had 2 people in a few episodes that shown to be his friends, admittedly they didn't show up all that often and it feels a bit like missed opportunity now. I'm talking about Lucky, the kid was basically I parody of the popular culture' interpretation of the leprechaun myth in the episode were first see him (the episode with the bully who hates people with funny accents), and Pierre, a cooking fanatic with an Italian accent. Just to be clear we have a Science genius with a French accent (they never explained how or why his accent was French when the rest of his family clearly didn't have a hint of the accent), a kid who dresses all in green with an Irish accent (like I said, most likely a parody of leprechauns in popular culture), and a cooking genius with an Italian accent, most likely a comment on how the best professional chefs in the world seem to all be of Italian heritage. Dexter does have friends, he just hasn't hung out with them as often as he should have.
A bit late to be bringing this up, but you are aware that there is an actual "Author's Note" functionality built right into the chapter editor, right?
4965339
Yes, but some things i want said before the chapter and others afterward. the built in functionality makes me only pick one, as you can see I have used it before
Hmmm... Phrases. As per your contest, this is indeed more than five insults. But they overlap across phrases as some of the phrases only work as an insult due to the context of the previous or following phrase.
Sentence 1 contains six alone. Calling her mistaken, her mind insufficient, inadequate, inept, and ugly (repugnant) as well as ineffective. Seven if you count 'excuse' implying that it isn't even worthy of the title 'mind'.
Sentence 2 contains the remainder that starts by effectively multiplying all the insults from sentence one by 2 in saying they aren't even sufficient insults in themselves. And then at least six more context sensitive phrases are railroaded together creating another six or seven insults.
If I say seven from each sentence plus the multiplier, that comes to a total of 21 direct insults.
If you then take in the fact that he fired off a stream of large words he likely thought she couldn't comprehend, add one more blanket insult. Then you can count each word choice itself, focusing on uncommon words that are three syllables or larger, that adds an additional 26 insults.
*inhales*
In short... He insulted Pinkie no less than 48 times. Give or take 3 or so for interpretation of what word choices constitute insults.
And he did it without listing, but while making them ALL coherent statements.
I bet that paragraph was a bitch to write too.
I'm just waiting for dexters giant robot, a massive dexbot vs giant changing fight, and well... dexters giant robot.
4965432
You got it on this right here:
Congratz, you won contest. Though what you put after was analzying the insults to the next level, which was rather impressive. The flesch readability calculator rated that paragraph at a 10.9 (Anything under a score of 30 typically needs university graduates to understand it after reading it only once without stopping.) - Yah, it was a bit tedious to write.
What you've won - You get to ask a question that would be a plot spoiler for what I have planned, the logic behind said spoiler, and give feedback if you want. That, or you can shoot me down in Star Citizen if you have it. But knowing you, you're probably too busy - l really REALLY like your stories. So keep up the good work.
4965691
The funny thing about an intelligence insult like the one Dexter threw out, is that it is actually an insult to himself. He thinks he's being insulting by communicating on a level above what he thinks others can understand. However, in doing so, he is completely misunderstanding the very purpose of communication.
To put it in a simpler sense: If you talk to a wall. Who's the more foolish? You or the wall?
To put it EVEN SIMPLER: He's outsmarted even himself.
That being said, I'm personally looking forward to his interactions with Chrysalis. I can somehow see him getting along with her in terms of social behavior. She's a ruthless jerk, and he's a ruthless jerk. But I can also see just a few seconds of anything he talks about causing her to glaze over.
If I am to project onto the plot of this story. The Fate of Equestria isn't really at stake so much as we can already write off large chunks of it as collateral what will soon be nothing but a battleground of personal anger issues between Dexter COLT GENIUS! Chrysalis, not so genius queen of the changelings, Twilight Sparkle, magical Prodigy, and Princess Luna, extremely peeved at being awake for days and denied her coffee.
All while Pinkie's trying to defuse the situation, and failing. Despite easily matching Dexter in the intelligence department. (But being so much like Dee Dee that every time he starts to take it seriously, she does something goofy and non-sequitur, causing him to 'Vietnam Flashback' and push her away.)
Meanwhile, Applebloom takes notes on his engineering prowess.
hmmm.. i wonder what would happen when discord abd dexter meet??? i mean we saw how he reacted to pinkie right? hmn
4962228
i hope lyra gets thrown into the mix as well.
4965796
True
His intent was the openly insult Pinkie Pie while conveying his contempt for her. He hates Dee Dee, and saw Dee Dee in Pinkie Pie. He knew that someone didn't need to be super smart to understand that he was insulting her, but he proceed to verbally eviscerate Pinkie Pie because - if she were stupid - the fact that she couldn't understand the depth of his insult would serve as a present example of her stupidity. So, he was trying to call her stupid and prove it at the same time - with the goal of hurting her feelings. But it backfired because she knew and understood what he meant entirely. Pinkie Pie took Dexter down a notch in multiple ways during this chapter, but thats not to say Dexter didn't score his own hits.
But go ahead an PM me the spoiler question you want answered. Dex is going to deal with the changelings (they were actually supposed to be a minor story arch). So they're plenty of things to do, and that can happen. I'm still debating on how the princesses are gonig to react to a colt like Dexter, and Ive still got to introduce him to fluttershy (Thats going to be fun.)
Well putting Dexter and Pinkie in the same place at the same time it's like making matter and anti-matter collide, it results into a devastating holocaust
anyway good chapter :) and i'm totally looking forward for the next one :D
that was Dexter in his (early) finest state.
methinks he will be entertaining in a few (dozen) chapters.
Dexter is pretty out of character in this.
I mean, for the first few chapters he's pretty spot on. But after chapter 3 his personality devolves into that of an asshole. Extremely prevalent in the entirety of the School scene in Chapter 4.
If you're trying to keep as close to his personality as possible then, well... you're honestly not doing a very good job.
4967294
Dexter IS a A**hole. The part where he calls Pinkie Pie stupid repeatedly is an almost word-for-word quote from a Dexter's lab episode (Thats why I included the link in the A/N - You're calling him out of character when I almost copied him from his own show exactly 'word for word.')
I made a blog post specifically addressing the gripe in your comment ->http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/359816/dexters-character-comments-section-and-welcomed-criticism
If you still dont think he is a jerk, remember, In one episode he TRIES TO KILL HIS SISTER. (Episode: Ego Trip)
I'd be more than happy to discuss his character - But I dont think portraying him as an egotistical jerk occasionally is incorrect. He was a jerk at the school because he felt ponies are dumber than he is, and he acted a jerk to pinkie pie because he saw too much of his own sister in her - "A sister which a part of him loathed."