On a field outside Ponyville, Twilight was busy testing out a magic spell that involved a rock. And as it just so happened, the spell was for Spike. The intent was to transform the rock into a top hat for him to wear.
"Okay, Spike, remember what we discussed," Twilight cautioned the little dragon. "Hold still, please. This is gonna take a great deal of concentration."
Spike was, needless to say, a little concerned about having a rock levitated over his head even if it would be transformed. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Twilight? I mean, why don't we just get Rarity to make me something for the gala? I'm sure she won't mind." He advised.
But the unicorn only shook her head. "Spike, you know as well as I do that Rarity is swamped just trying to complete all those extra orders for Hoity Toity. This is her chance to get her hoof in the door with the fashion world and make her name known," And then she added. "What are you worried about? Just hold still and this won't hurt."
Reluctantly, Spike obeyed even though the little dragon would've rather run for the hills. He watched as the light purple glow of Twilight's magic surrounded the rock while also giving him a black tuxedo jacket and tie, as well as a cane. The rock was slowly lifted above his head as it transformed into a black top hat, and was lowered onto him.
Suddenly, there came a giggle and Twilight's concentration was broken. The spell ceased and the top hat reverted back to its original rock form. Poor Spike had only seconds to react before he was hit on the head with it. Fortunately, his thick scales protected him, but it still hurt.
Twilight let out a groan of frustration. "Spike, I thought I specifically said not to interrupt me during the spell. I need to concentrate."
"It wasn't me, Twilight, I swear." Spike protested as he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead.
"Oh really? Well if you didn't giggle, who did?" Twilight asked. Just then there came another giggle. "Like that." She pointed out.
"Don't know but it wasn't me." Spike insisted.
Suddenly, who should come darting past but Pinkie Pie herself? For some strange reason she had a rainbow colored umbrella hat on her head and was darting about from place to place while eyeing the sky.
"What the heck is she doing?" Spike wondered.
Twilight only shook her head and sighed. "With Pinkie Pie it's anypony's guess. She does things that shouldn't be possible, especially for an earth pony."
"Well there's only one way to find out for sure. Let's just hope she's in one of her 'straight answer' moods," The dragon suggested. "I'm in no mood for a game of fifty questions."
So Twilight and Spike approached Pinkie Pie, who was examining her tail as it appeared to be twitch inexplicably. "Hm. Twitchy twitcha twitcha twitch." She muttered to herself as if she knew that signaled something.
"Pinkie, what are you doing? And why are you staring at your tail like that?" Twilight questioned her friend. "You're acting like you expect it to fall off or something."
Pinkie only replied. "My tail's not gonna fall off, silly. But my tail is twitching, and that means my 'Pinkie Sense' is telling me that something is gonna fall."
"Oh really?" Twilight arched an eyebrow upward. "What sort of something? And just how do you know your tail twitching means that? Maybe you just have a flea problem or something."
Pinkie snorted. "Were you not paying attention, Twilight? I just told you, my 'Pinkie Sense' is how I know. Whenever my tail starts twitching, that means that something is gonna fall. I don't know exactly what, but something always ends up falling. And usually it's from the sky."
Twilight looked up at the sky. "I don't see anything, there's not even a cloud in the sky today," She remarked. "No offense, Pinkie, but I'm getting the feeling your 'Pinkie Sense' is just something you made up. After all, this is the first time I've ever heard about it. And I don't see how something can fall from the sky if there's nothing in it."
But that at moment something did fall, namely a frog. It landed right on Twilight's nose and let out a croak.
"Uh, Twilight, you've got a little something on your face there." Pinkie observed.
The unicorn with a coat of purple simply commented in reply. "Oh really, did your 'Pinkie Sense' tell you that?"
The pink coated earth pony only giggled. "No, silly, I can see it with my own eyes. The 'Pinkie Sense' doesn't tell me the present, it only predicts the future," Then the frog croaked again. "Oh and by the way, he just said 'Nice catch.' in frog."
Twilight only groaned in annoyance. "Is this some kind of joke?" She thought to herself, not suspecting that the 'Pinkie Sense' was something far more than just a random phrase. It was a fact she was about to learn the hard way.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, Twilight!" Fluttershy apologized. She was currently hooked up to a cart full of frogs. "I didn't even see you there!"
"Hiya, Fluttershy," Pinkie cheerfully greeted. "Whatcha doin' with all those frogs?"
Fluttershy gave a warm smile as the pegasus with a coat of butter yellow explained. "A lot of frogs have been born recently and the local pond is getting too full. I'm taking some of the older ones to Froggy Bottom Bog, Zecora told me all about it."
"But isn't there where hydras dwell?" Pinkie questioned.
Fluttershy only laughed. "Everypony knows there's no such thing as hydras, those are just myths. Don't you think Zecora would've told me about them if there were?"
"Not if she's never seen them before," Pinkie cautioned. "You be careful, Fluttershy. My 'Pinkie Sense' hasn't detected any danger there, yet. But you never know."
The pegasus mare simply nodded. "I will be, thank you for the warning, Pinkie Pie." She then scooped up the frog that had landed on Twilight's face, placed it back in the wagon, and took off with a flap of her wings.
Spike, for his part, was filled with amazement. "Did you see that, Twilight?!" He exclaimed as his eyes grew wide! "That was unbelievable! Pinkie said something was gonna fall and it did! I guess her 'Pinkie Sense' really can predict the future after all."
Twilight was anything but convinced she only laughed off the suggestion. "Spike, haven't I taught you that one random coincidence doesn't prove a connection? For all you know Pinkie just made a lucky guess. She might have had advanced knowledge about Fluttershy and her overflowing cart of frogs. It would not be unreasonable in that case to predict that one of them might fall out and thus descend from the sky," She shook her head. "Besides, if this 'Pinkie Sense' can really do all of that then why am I only now hearing about?"
The pink party pony paused and shot a puzzled look at her unicorn friend. "Huh, I was so sure I told you. Maybe I told somepony who looks just like you but really isn't you? Or maybe I thought I told you but I actually didn't tell you? Or maybe I did and you just forgot?"
The unicorn let out a sigh. "Just tell it to me straight, Pinkie. What is this so called 'Pinkie Sense' of yours and how does it work?"
Pinkie chuckled. "Oh that's easy, Twilight. And here I thought you were gonna ask a hard question," She cleared her throat and explained. "It's quite simply, really. We Pies have always had a sixth sense for certain things and they all manifest themselves in different ways. For me, my sense lets me predict when things are gonna happen and sometimes even who they're gonna happen to. You already know a twitchy tail means that something is gonna fall, but there are all sorts of other signs I'll get. I've got a whole list of 'em."
"If you can predict the future then would you by any chance know if things are gonna work out between Rarity and I?" Spike questioned. "I mean... not that I really want to know or anything... j-just curious is all."
But the pink coated mare only replied. "My 'Pinkie Sense' doesn't work like that, Spike. It's only good for the immediate future, like say minutes or seconds before something happens. Maybe sometimes I'll get an hour or two of warning if I'm lucky."
Twilight groaned. "Sounds to me like you're making this up. It all feels like a stretch."
"So, there are lots of things you unicorns can do that earth ponies would find weird. Like magic for example." Pinkie explained.
Twilight shook her head. "Pinkie, we've been through this already. Everypony has magic, earth ponies have magic tied to the soil and to the ground, pegasi have magic tied to the weather, and unicorns have magic in the traditional sense. Heck, even alicorns have magic that's all their own. And there are plenty of things that can be explained that are not the result of magic."
Pinkie didn't appear to hear any of it, she was too busy looking at her tail which appeared to be twitching again. Then suddenly she came rushing up to Twilight and shouted! "Twilight, not another step! My tail's twitching again, that means something else is gonna fall!"
"Nice try, Pinkie, but I'm not gonna fall for that again," Twilight brushed off her friend's concern and continued trotting along. "I don't suppose your 'Pinkie Sense' predicted what's gonna fall this time, did it?"
But a gulp escaped the earth pony's lips as she ominously warned. "A-actually it's not a what, it's a who. It says it's gonna happen to you."
"Twilight, maybe you oughta take Pinkie's advice before something bad happens to you," Spike advised. "Let's just go back to the library and do some light reading, you'll like that."
The unicorn with a purple coat refused to listen to the little dragon. "Spike, you really need to stop putting so much stock into this 'Pinkie Sense' when we just found out about it. I assure you that nothing bad is gonna happen to meeeeeeee!" Just as she finished saying that Twilight fell into a ditch.
"Twilight!" Spike cried as he rushed towards the ditch. "Are you okay?!" A response came in the form of a groan. Twilight was not badly hurt so that was a good sign, but there was still one thing that bothered the little dragon. "Is it safe to help Twilight out, Pinkie?" He asked her. "Nothing else is gonna fall, right?"
Pinkie nodded. "My tail's not twitching anymore. Go help her out."
Applejack came on the scene just as Spike was helping Twilight out of the ditch. "What in the hay's all this?" She questioned. "What in tarnation were you doin' in that there ditch, Twilight?"
Twilight could only groan, still smarting from the fall. Fortunately for her, Spike was more than willing to explain to Applejack what had just transpired. "Pinkie's tail was twitching, that's all."
Upon hearing the words "tail" and "twitching" the farm mare was stricken with a sense of sudden dread and let out a gasp! "Gah! Duck and cover!" She screamed and dove underneath a nearby stand. "Why didn't you say that in the first place, Spike?! What's gonna fall?!"
"It's okay, Applejack," Spike reassured the frightened earth pony. "Nothing is gonna fall, something already did. Or I should say someone." He pointed a claw at Twilight.
"Oh, is that so? Well ya could've mentioned that sooner." Applejack declared and breathed a sigh of relief, before she crawled out from under the colorful (but also abandoned) stand she'd hidden underneath. She proceeded to dust off her stetson before putting it back atop her head.
Finally able to do something other than groan, the frustrated unicorn with a pink skunk stripe in her mane approached her orange coated friend and complained. "Don't tell me you believe in the 'Pinkie Sense' too, Applejack? Am I the ONLY pony around here who questions it?!"
"Don't take it too personally, sugarcube," Applejack reassured her troubled friend. "I know it's a hard sell, especially for an intelligent pony like you. I tried my hardest to understand that darn 'Pinkie Sense' for years but no matter how hard I tried I could never deduce a connection. Eventually I decided the risk wasn't worth the reward, I was gettin' nowhere in a hurry and just was spinnin' my wheels. So I've made peace with the fact that the 'Pinkie Sense' makes sense. After all, there are some things in life that defy explanation, even if you try your hardest to give 'em one."
Twilight only shook her head. "It's ridiculous. Two times in a row Pinkie happened to make a lucky, perhaps even educated guess. I wasn't watching where I was going, so of course you could predict I would fall into that ditch," And then she added in frustration. "I fail to see how a twitchy tail could at all predict that things are gonna fall, it could all just be coincidence."
But Pinkie and Applejack shared a laugh, which only served to further fluster the unicorn. "Mind telling me what's so funny?!" She growled as steam escaped her nostrils.
"Ya wanna tell her or should I?" Applejack asked her fellow earth pony.
But Applejack needn't have asked, because Pinkie proceeded to explain to Twilight. "It's not just a twitchy tail, Twilight. My 'Pinkie Sense' can predict other things as well."
"Such as?" Twilight pondered.
Just then Pinkie's started doing what could only be described as a flopping motion. "Well, right now my ears are flopping," She explained. "And that means somepony's gonna need a bath. I better go start one." And she bounced away without another word.
"Whoa! The 'Pinkie Sense' can predict all kinds of things, can't it?!" Spike wondered aloud.
Applejack laughed. "You'll have to ask Pinkie Pie about that, she knows more 'bout her 'Pinkie Sense' than anypony else. Even the Cakes don't understand it as well as she does."
"So who do you think Pinkie was referring to when she predicted somepony would need a bath?" Spike questioned. "And how does she know it's not gonna be her?"
"Maybe it's a self fulfillin' prophecy or somethin'," Applejack suggested. "Ya know, Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense' predicts she'll need a bath and tells her to go prepare one, so then she's all ready to get cleaned up. But I get the feelin' it's gonna be poor Twilight that'll be the one needin' a bath. Or maybe it'll even be me, I might slip and fall in the pigpen. Wouldn't be the first time it happened."
Spike gagged. "Gross! Keep that to yourself!"
Meanwhile Twilight was only shaking her head. "Just because the 'Pinkie Sense' was right twice in one day doesn't mean it's gonna be right three times in a row. No one's that lucky or unlucky."
"Luck has nothing to do with it, Twilight." The little dragon answered.
"I believe in luck, Spike. Sometimes there's no better explanation for how somepony defies the odds," Twilight answered. "What I don't believe in is a random sense I've only just now heard about. There is no way Pinkie could know somepony will need a bath, let alone that I'm the one who will need it."
But just then a cart came rushing past and inadvertently splashed Twilight with mud from a puddle. Her beautiful purple coat and lavender mane and tail with a pink skunk strap were now covered with thick, brown mud. She didn't look like a splendid sight at all. "Don't you dare say a word about any of this." She muttered under her breath to both Spike and Applejack, before she reluctantly trotted off to Sugarcube Corner where she knew a bath awaited her.
"I should've guessed my 'Pinkie Sense' was warning me about you," Pinkie commented to Twilight as the unicorn soaked in the bubble bath Pinkie had prepared for her. The Cakes had thankfully not questioned her muddy state of appearance and simply directed her up the stairs to Pinkie's bathroom. "Seriously, three times in one day. What are the odds?"
"Are you absolutely sure you're not making up this 'Pinkie Sense' just to target me for some reason?" Twilight complained.
Pinkie innocently shook her head. "I swear I don't know why you've been the target of all three warnings of my 'Pinkie Sense' today, this has almost never happened before."
Twilight simply sighed and sank further into the warm bath waters as the mud rinsed off her coat. "Okay, so let me see if I get this straight so far. Your 'Pinkie Sense' gives you vague warnings about immediate future events, and they manifest themselves as inexplicable body quirks like a twitchy tail or floppy ears?"
"Yesarooni!" Pinkie cheered. "Now you're starting to get it, Twilight! But there are plenty of other warnings I get via my 'Pinkie Sense'. For example, whenever my back is itchy that means it's my lucky day. And whenever my knee gets pinchy that means something scary is about to happen.'
A gulp escaped the unicorn's lips upon hearing that and she couldn't resist asking. "Uh your knee isn't pinchy now by any chance, is it?"
"Nope," The party pony sincerely smiled. "But my shoulder is achy."
"And that means?" The unicorn mare pondered.
"That there's an alligator in the tub of course!" Pinkie cheerfully explained. Then she stuck her head into the bubbly waters and pulled out a small alligator with her teeth.
Twilight yelped, leaped out of the bath waters and stood on the edge of the tub! "Why didn't you warn me about that before?! Heck, why didn't your knee get pinchy over that?! That's not just scary, that's downright dangerous!" She shouted in fright!
The pink party pony simply giggled. "Oh don't be silly, Twilight. This is my pet baby alligator, Gummy. He doesn't have any teeth, see?" Gummy proceeded to nibble on Pinkie's leg, her snout, her mane, and then her tail. But just as his master had said he had no teeth and Pinkie didn't feel a thing. "That's just his way of saying how much he loves me," She explained. "Now say hello to Twilight, Gummy."
Gummy looked at Twilight and just blinked his big purple eyes, shooting her a blank stare.
"How does a pony like you obtain a baby alligator in the first place?" Twilight questioned. "I hope you didn't steal him from an alligator's nest."
"Of course not, Twilight, what kind of pony do you think I am?" Pinkie retorted with a huff. "Fluttershy gave him to me. She's always taking care of baby or stray animals. She found Gummy one day down by the pond, but she couldn't find any alligators' nests anywhere. I always wanted a pet but my parents never let me have one, they said I wasn't responsible enough. So Fluttershy was kind enough to give me Gummy, and so long as I keep him away from the customers Mr. and Mrs. Cake don't mind."
Twilight eyed the baby alligator with suspicion. "You're absolutely sure he doesn't have teeth?"
Pinkie nodded firmly. "If he did do you think I'd be allowed to keep him?" Twilight said nothing more on the subject.
After her bubble bath Twilight decided to head back to the Golden Oak Library just as Spike had suggested earlier. Maybe some reading would help to take her mind off of Pinkie Pie's 'Pinkie Sense' and how little sense it seemed to make to her.
"I still don't know what to make of that 'Pinkie Sense', Pinkie," Twilight grumbled as she trotted along the path leading toward the library. "It seems to just be a bunch of random feelings that come and go, there's no connection."
Pinkie replied to Twilight's inquiry by saying. "Well actually it's not always just one feeling, sometimes it's a whole bunch of different feelings one right after the other. I call 'em 'combos'."
"'Combos'?" Twilight questioned.
"Yes, 'combos'," The party pony nodded in response. "I learned what each sign meant from repeated experience, it took years and years to realize what each sign and each combo meant. Here's a good example of a combo and one that was pretty easy for me to figure out: Ear-flop, then knee twitch and then eye flutter in that order."
"And what does that mean, exactly?" The unicorn with a now pristine coat of purple questioned her pink coated friend.
"That the sky is about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow of course!" Pinkie proudly declared. "Although I don't think there's gonna be rainbows anytime soon. Rainbow Dash is busy training for some upcoming competition."
Twilight couldn't help but comment. "When does she ever find the time to train? Seems like whenever I bump into her she's either hard at work or lounging about on a cloud."
The party pony just giggled. "You'd be amazed at how much downtime a pegasus like her can have, Twilight."
The unicorn simply sighed. "Well, whatever. I guess today has been... interesting to say the least, Pinkie. But if you'll excuse me I have some good books to read and other things to hopefully dwell on. Not to mention wondering just what I'm going to write to Princess Celestia for my next friendship lesson. I seem to be drawing a blank."
But just as Twilight trotted off, it happened. Pinkie began to receive a series of random signals. "Ear flop, then eye flutter, and then knee twitch," She said to herself and then gasped when she realized what that specific sequence warned of! "Twilight, watch out!" She shouted!
But it was too late, before Twilight had a chance to react she suddenly found herself being flatted by a door as it swung open! And out came Spike, walking backwards and making strange noises as he carried a huge stack of books in his arms. "Heavy load coming through, make way." He barked out as though he were a construction forestallion giving order to his workers.
Pinkie immediately rushed to the scene! "Twilight?! Twilight! Are you okay?! Please, speak to me!"
Dazed and battered (but thankfully not seriously harmed) the unicorn straightened herself out and shook her head. She had heard Pinkie's comments earlier and groaned. "I thought you said that combo meant the sky was about to be graced with a beautiful rainbow. Now I know you're just making this up to mess with me."
"What?! No, no, no! You've got it all wrong!" The pink party pony protested! "The combo for a rainbow is: Ear-flop, then knee twitch and then eye flutter. Not: Ear flop, then eye flutter, and then knee twitch. That's the combo that means: Beware of opening doors."
Upon hearing that explanation, a rather sinister (not to mention creepy) grin formed on Twilight's face. "Well that's good to know, because now I think there's a way we can finally put the mystery behind the 'Pinkie Sense' to rest once and for all."
Pinkie couldn't help but let out a gulp, Twilight's expression was creeping her out quite considerably. "Twilight, are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"Never better, Pinkie," The unicorn replied with a creepy giggle. "Say, how would you like to help me out with a little science experiment? I have a hypothesis I'd like to test."
The party pony started to back away slowly and nervously. "Gee I... I'd love to, Twilight, really. But uh... I... think I left the stove on and I should probably go turn it off before it starts a fire." She weakly replied.
"Oh come now, Pinkie. There's nothing to be scared of," Twilight attempted to reassure her frightened friend. "I won't hurt you. And don't friends do favors for friends from time to time?"
Pinkie gulped again. "Well... when you put it like that..."
Twilight didn't bother to wait for a proper reply. "Excellent! I knew you'd see it my way, Pinkie! Don't worry, this won't take more than a few minutes. Thank you in advance for your cooperation."
Twilight led Pinkie down to the basement of the library where no natural light could shine through, the only source of light were the electrical ones hooked up to switches. All sorts of strange machines and beakers of unknown substances cluttered up the room at the bottom of a winding staircase, giving off the vibe of a mad scientist's lair. None of which did anything to ease Pinkie's nerves.
The party pony quickly had her front hooves strapped into one of the devices, preventing her from moving as a giant metal helmet with blinking lights all around it was placed atop her head. Attached to the helmet and the metal cuffs was a huge machine that gave off an audible beep every few seconds to pierce the silence, and a slot of some sort appeared at the bottom.
Twilight switched on the device and it whirred to life with an eerie hum. "Comfortable?" She asked her friend.
"Sort of I guess," Pinkie answered. "W-what are you gonna do to me?"
The unicorn only laughed, though the laugh did little to alleviate her friend's worries. "Relax, Pinkie, I'm not going to do anything to you. This is simply an observation," And she proceeded to explain. "I have a hypothesis that your 'Pinkie Sense' is a traceable thing, something that has an explanation beyond random body quirks. So to test my hypothesis, I'm going to use that combo you just revealed to me a short while ago. You know, the one about opening doors?"
Pinkie gulped. "And what's gonna happen when you test that?"
"Why, this very machine here will record all sorts of scientific data on the reaction of course," Twilight proudly explained. "And then I'll look over the data and see if it matches my prediction. Ready?"
"Uh... I think so..." Pinkie trailed off in uncertainty. The helmet felt very funny around her head, almost tingly you might say.
"Good," The unicorn smiled and then she called up. "Okay, Spike, you know what to do!"
"You got it!" Spike declared. He rushed to the basement door and flung it open. Twilight observed Pinkie's reaction, watching as just like last time the party pony's ears began to flop, then her eyes started to flutter, and finally her knees began to twitch. The reaction lasted less than a minute, but the few seconds for which it did last was more than enough time for the machine to document and record it. The results were then printed out on a sheet of paper from the slot at the bottom of the machine.
Spike came rushing down to join Twilight as he asked. "So, did you manage to find anything out, Twilight? Anything that might be helpful?"
Twilight didn't say anything for a moment for she was far too busy looking over the printed data. But at last she threw the sheets aside and groaned! "Urgh! I don't believe it! The data is completely indecipherable! The reaction was so quick the machine barely even noticed it! I'd have to run the test over and over again all day long just to try and see if there was anything close to a pattern! It could take weeks, maybe even months or years before I could even begin to piece together the 'Pinkie Sense' and form a valid hypothesis!"
"So I'm guessing that's a no then?" Spike couldn't help but question.
A painful, longing sigh forced its way out of Twilight's lips. "I'm afraid so, Spike. It seems for now that my attempts to understand the 'Pinkie Sense' have hit a dead end."
"Does this mean the experiment's over and I can take off this helmet?" Pinkie questioned. "My head's starting to get all itchy from wearing it."
"Yes, you can take off the helmet, Pinkie," Twilight reluctantly replied. "In fact you can do whatever it is you feel like doing. Just leave me alone with my thoughts, okay?"
"Okie dokie lokie, Twilight!" The pink party pony nodded her head. She proceeded to remove the helmet as her hooves were freed from the cuffs, and she then bounced up the stairs and out of the basement lab. Soon she was completely out of sight.
Spike, meanwhile, decided to turn his attention towards Twilight. He had seldom seen her this upset before, and never over something she couldn't understand. "Are you okay, Twilight? You just let Pinkie go, just like that. You could've tried to experiment on her more with other things, maybe test out some other combos." He advised.
Twilight shook her head. "Pinkie wouldn't like being caged up like some wild creature at the zoo. I have no right to demand that she be kept here against her will," Another sigh left her lips. "I just don't know what else there is to do. I had hoped that if I could get some actual recorded data when a reaction occurred, I could at least form a hypothesis and start working on testing in the field. But now I'm right back to square one with no explanation and no clue what to do."
"So that's it? You're just gonna throw in the towel like that?" Spike remarked. "The Twilight Sparkle I know would NEVER give up that easily!"
"I don't want to give up, Spike. I want to understand the 'Pinkie Sense'," Twilight explained as a hint of sadness creeped into her tone of voice. "But what can I do that isn't crossing some kind of line with Pinkie? She's my friend first and foremost, I don't want to lose her friendship for the sake of my scientific pursuit. Especially when I'm the only one who seems to want to understand the 'Pinkie Sense' more in depth."
But the little dragon simply replied to Twilight. "Whoever says you have to study Pinkie in some lab? Maybe if you studied the 'Pinkie Sense' when it occurs in the real world, you'd get real data and a real hypothesis to test."
"But if Pinkie Pie finds out I'm stalking her, she's sure to take it the wrong way." The unicorn protested.
"Not if she doesn't know you're there." Spike suggested.
And so it was that, taking Spike's advice, Twilight attempted to conduct studies of Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense' in the real world. To that end she pursued her friend from afar as Pinkie wandered about Ponyville, enjoying the lovely day the pegasi had brought forth.
However the subject (dubbed "Pinkieus Pieacus" by Twilight) proved to be difficult to study. The 'Pinkie Sense' elicted plenty of different warning signs, but all of them seemed to target Twilight before she had a chance to determine what they warned of. For example when Pinkie suddenly stopped rolling in the grass and dove for cover near the school house, poor Twilight barely had time to react before a swarm of angry bees surrounded her and stung her. And when Pinkie got the combo of ear flop, then eye flutter, and then knee twitch, poor Twilight tumbled down a flight of stairs and ended up in Applejack's cider cellar. And lastly, while in a wheel-chair and after noticing Pinkie's tail stared twitching, Twilight was struck by a flower pot, an anvil, and then a piano in that order.
All the while the unicorn could never draw anywhere close enough to extract a strand of Pinkie's hair. For she hoped that studying such a DNA sample might offer hints as to the true nature of the 'Pinkie Sense' and whether there was something in her pink coated friend's genetic make-up that allowed the warning signs to manifest themselves in the way they did.
Sometime later, Applejack came trotting past with a bucket full of apples and happened to spot Pinkie as she was just humming a tune to herself. "Howdy there, Pinkie Pie. How goes it?"
"Hey, Applejack," Pinkie greeted. "Going great. Whatcha doin'?"
"Oh, just takin' some apples to my family's new cider cellar of course," Applejack explained to her friend. "Makes for a pretty nifty storeage space if I do say so myself. What have you been up to?"
Pinkie giggled in response. "Just letting Twilight follow me around is all."
"What?!" A very angry Twilight snorted as she came trotting up to the pink coated earth pony. The unicorn was covered from head to hooves in bandages. "You mean to tell me that you've been letting me tail you this whole time?!"
"Duh," Pinkie retorted. "I made sure you weren't hurt, though. Who do you think bandaged you up after all those bee stings, or when you fell into Applejack's cider cellar, not to mention when all those heavy objects fell on top of you?"
The bandaged unicorn only groaned. "I suppose I should be grateful for that much, Pinkie. But believe it or not, despite your 'Pinkie Sense' seeming to target only me I was able to collect some valuable field data."
"And what did you manage to find out?" The party pony innocently questioned.
To the surprise of all gathered Twilight seemed to pause as though unsure of herself, even though just a moment earlier she had been the very model of self-confidence. "Well..." She stuttered and spoke in a tone of voice so soft it could give Fluttershy a run for her money. "You're not going to like it, Pinkie. From what I was able to uncover, there is no 'Pinkie Sense'. Those warnings you receive via your body quirks may simply be a byproduct of similar warnings on a much smaller scale, too small to be seen by the naked eye. Your 'Pinkie Sense' was simply your attempt at explaining these events in a way that you could understand."
Those words were slow to sink in, but when they did Pinkie felt like she had been stabbed by a dagger. All the joy in her body left her and her overall presence started to become slouchy and sulky. "You really think so?" She glumly asked Twilight.
"I wish it wasn't so, Pinkie, but it's the only conclusion I can come to at the moment," Twilight explained. "It wouldn't surprise me if that sixth sense you mentioned your family sharing, all fell into the same category as your 'Pinkie Sense'. A manifestation and attempted explanation of events that couldn't otherwise be explained by the naked eye."
"But... but... it can't be..." The pink party pony stuttered. "My 'Pinkie Sense' can't be a ruse."
"If it makes you feel any better, Pinkie, it's not a one hundred percent guaranteed thing," Twilight attempted to reassure her friend. "It could take years for my hypothesis to be proven true."
But Pinkie only shook her head and wandered off. "Thanks, Twilight, but you don't have to lie to me to make me feel better. I suppose it was silly of me to believe that things like a twitchy tail held any kind of significance. Guess that's what I get for believing in things without ready proof."
"Pinkie..." Twilight sighed.
"You can leave now, Twilight. You've gotten the answers you wanted so badly," Pinkie interrupted. "I'll be okay, I promise." And she trotted away until she was once again out of sight.
Applejack, meanwhile, glared firmly at Twilight. "How could you do such a thing to Pinkie? Believin' in that there 'Pinkie Sense' wasn't doin' anypony any harm at all."
"I just wanted to try and understand it, Applejack. To do what you and everypony else couldn't," Twilight defended. "When I couldn't prove my initial hypothesis I thought for sure I'd hit the same dead end that you must've run into. But tailing Pinkie all afternoon, I saw things that nopony else had seen before. Suddenly it all seemed to make sense."
"But did you ever stop to think that maybe it was you who was makin' guesses and stakin' claims without ready proof?" Applejack protested with a shake of her head. "Ya said it yourself, you're not one hundred percent sure your little claim is actually true. So why not keep it to yourself until you knew one way or the other? Imagine how foolish you're gonna feel if it turns out you were wrong, that even this hypothawhatever isn't valid."
The unicorn hung her head in shame. "I suppose you're right, Applejack. I shouldn't have made such a claim when I was the only one who'd made the hypothesis and nopony else had tested it," Then she sighed. "And now, because of my short sighted pursuit of knowledge, I may have just cost myself the first friend I ever made here in Ponyville."
But just then who should come running up to the two ponies (as well as Spike who remained silent) but Pinkie Pie herself?! Her entire body seemed to be shaking like crazy.
"What's the meaning of this, Pinkie?!" Spike exclaimed with worry! "Are you okay?!"
"I... don't know..." Pinkie commented between shakes. "This has never happened to me before! I don't know if it's 'Pinkie Sense' or something else, but it just suddenly flared up and now it won't stop!" She began to shake so much that she appeared to lift off of the ground.
But then, as mysteriously as the shaking had started it stopped. Pinkie breathed a momentary sigh of relief. "Whatever that was just now, it was quite a doozy," She commented. "And it sounds like whatever the doozy involves is gonna go down at Froggy Bottom Bog!"
Twilight, Applejack, and Spike all collectively gasped together! "But that's where Fluttershy is!" They realized!
"Then we've got no time to waste!" Applejack insisted! "Fluttershy might be in danger! We need to get Froggy Bottom Bog and warn her before it's too late!"
"I know the way, follow me!" Pinkie shouted, and Applejack, Spike, and Twilight all tailed her as they made a mad dash for Froggy Bottom Bog!
At the bog itself Fluttershy was letting the frogs out of the cart, having set it down near some lileypads. She did not seem to be aware that lurking behind her was a massive figure, one that set its sights on her.
The journey to the bog did not pass in complete silence for the rag tag group of friends. Spike couldn't help but ask Applejack. "What do you suppose might have happened to Fluttershy, Applejack?"
"Honestly, Spike, I don't know and I'm tryin' my hardest not to think about it," Applejack replied. "And I reckon you ought to as well."
"W-well yeah, obviously I've been trying to do that," Spike retorted. "But uh... I'm still thinking about it anyway."
Applejack sighed. "I'm probably gonna regret askin', but what do you think might have happened to her, Spike?"
"I... actually hadn't considered that, I was kind of hoping you might answer..." Spike explained and then he paused. "Hm... well, what if... she exploded?!"
Twilight tried her hardest not to roll her eyes at the dragon's statement. "Really, Spike? Just exploded? For no reason at all?"
Spike reluctantly nodded his head. "Um, yes. I know it doesn't make much sense but you never know. It could happen."
Then Pinkie let out a gasp! "What if... she exploded, and then exploded again?!"
"Can you do that?! Can you actually explode twice?!" Spike exclaimed with worry!
"Oh for goodness sake, Spike!" Twilight scolded. "Ponies don't just explode for no reason, and they most certainly do not explode twice. I understand you're worried about Fluttershy, but that's no reason to let your fears get the best of you. Let's just get to Froggy Bottom Bog and make sure she's okay."
The group reached the clearing leading to said bog just a moment later. There was Fluttershy looking perfectly fine and in no sign of imminent danger. At least, she didn't appear to be in danger.
Spike still couldn't resist running up to the pegasus with a coat of butter yellow and hugging her tightly! "Fluttershy! Oh thank the stars you're alright!"
Fluttershy smiled and returned the hug. "Well it's good to see you too, Spike. But what are you talking about?"
"Pinkie Pie's 'Pinkie Sense' got a doozy," Spike explained. "It said it was gonna happen at Froggy Bottom Bog. We thought you might be in danger."
"Oh my," Fluttershy blushed. "Well as you can see that is clearly not the case, I'm absolutely fine. But thanks for coming to check up on me, it does get a little lonely out here in the bog."
"You're sure you haven't seen anythin' out of the ordinary 'round here?" Applejack questioned her animal loving friend. "Anythin' at all?"
The pegasus shook her head. "Not since I arrived here. If there was, I think I would've noticed it."
Twilight, for her part, found herself at a near loss for words! "I don't believe it!" She exclaimed in a tone that sounded almost like she was boasting! "Pinkie was actually wrong for a change!" As she went on she did not seem to be aware of a looming, snake like figure slithering up behind her. "I do hope this experience has taught us all to be more careful about putting stock into things that appear to lack explanation."
"Uh, Twilight?" Spike gulped.
"What is it, Spike?" Twilight innocently asked as she noticed the worried expression plastered on his face. It was the same expression that Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy all seemed to be wearing for some reason.
"S-see w-what's b-behind you!" Spike stuttered out the explanation!
"Don't tell me," The unicorn gulped. "There's something big and scary standing right behind me, isn't there?" And when she spun around to look, her worst fears were realized! Starring down at her was a three headed snake like creature, which she recognized at once as a fearsome hydra! "I see it... but I don't believe it!"
The hydra let out a fierce roar!
"Run for your lives!" Pinkie squealed at the top of her lungs! And that was the only motivation the friends needed to take off at a break neck speed!
Despite having three legs and a massive body, the hydra proved to be a very fast mover on both land and water. It easily kept pace with the fleeing ponies and dragons (though it thankfully paid no attention to the frogs, it didn't think they were worth the lack of effort).
On at least two occasions Twilight had to stop and go back to help Spike (who got stuck in the bog and began to sink) and Pinkie (whose twitching body made it difficult for her to keep moving at a constant rate of speed).
But the delay only caused the hydra to draw closer. Too close for Twilight's taste, she did not like how little distance there was between her, her friends, and the three headed monstrosity that was chasing them. So she skidded to a halt even as her friends continued to run.
"Twilight, what in tarnation are you doin'?!" Applejack cried! "Come on, we need to get to safety!"
"The hydra's getting too close, we'll never make it if we keep going like this!" Twilight protested back! "Get the others to safety, I'll see if I can't slow this three headed beast down!"
"Are you nuts?! You won't survive!" The farm mare bellowed at the top of her lungs!
Twilight shook her head. "I'll be fine, my brother serves in the royal guard and I've learned a few tricks from him! I won't be long! Now go, quickly!"
"Alright, but if I can help it I'm comin' back for ya! I ain't leavin' ya behind like this!" The earth pony mare insisted and then she grabbed Pinkie and Spike, and rushed up to some nearby cliffs. As luck would have it a series of pillars were spaced out across a pit, giving the ponies just enough space to leap across to the other cliff and to safety.
As her friends all leaped to safety one by one, the unicorn turned back to the hydra as it drew close. A sudden sense of dread started to fill her but she knew it was too late to change her mind. "Oh, what would a brave pony like Rainbow Dash do in this situation?" She wondered aloud.
A moment later, Twilight came charging into the hydra's path, screaming out a war cry! But she didn't stop when she was almost face to face with the beast, she continued to run right past it as one of its heads tried to chase after her. Then she turned around and ran back towards the hydra again, as a second head tried to chase her. The resulting confusion gave her enough of an opening to light up her horn and topple the three headed creature so that it now rested on its heads.
Twilight came rushing back up to the cliffs, preparing to make the leap to safety! But suddenly the third hydra head swung at her from out of the blue! She dodged the blow but the resulting impact from the hydra head knocked away the cliff side, now cutting off her only escape route. "Oh no!" Twilight gasped and started to panic! She tried to light up her horn for a teleport, but it phased out. "Not good! I used up too much magic trying to take down that hydra!" She realized! "What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?!"
From the other side of the cliff Pinkie's voice cried out. "Twilight! Y-you have to jump!"
"Are you crazy?!" Twilight shouted back! "It's too far! I'll never make it!"
"It's your only h-hope!" Pinkie insisted. "Jump and I promise you'll be safe!"
"I will not!" The unicorn mare protested! "I'll fall into the pit and go splat!"
But then Pinkie explained. "Twilight, look down at the pit. Do you see those bubbles?"
"Bubbles?!" Twilight exclaimed before her roving eyes happened to notice various giant bubbles rising up from the pit below.
"Bounce on them and you can make it across!" The party pony explained! "But you've got to time it right!"
Timing was a luxury that the unicorn mare did not have, however. The hydra was closing in and preparing to lunge at her once again. So after backing up as best she could, she leaped off the cliff and into the air, flailing her hooves as she began to descend! "Oh no! No no no!" She cried and shut her eyes, waiting to hit the bottom.
But the unicorn mare never did. Instead a huge bubble caught her and bounced her up. She then continued to bounce from pillar to pillar and didn't stop until she smacked into a rock wall on the other cliff. Luckily she was dazed but otherwise unharmed.
"Twilight! You're okay!" Spike happily exclaimed and threw his claws around her.
Twilight shook off her dazed state and brushed off the dust she'd collected from her impact. "Yes, Spike. Thanks to Pinkie Pie and her wonderful 'Pinkie Sense'," And she breathed a sigh of relief. "I don't know why you bothered to help me after I earlier discredited your 'Pinkie Sense' for the time being."
Pinkie just laughed. "Oh Twilight, I know you meant well. I could never hold a grudge against you. And even if I could, I certainly wasn't going to leave you to become a hydra snack. But it wasn't really my 'Pinkie Sense' that told me to tell you about the bubbles," And she explained. "That was something I noticed while jumping across the pillars. I was gonna try it out but Applejack wouldn't let me."
The mare with a coat of now dusty and bruised purple simply said in response. "Well 'Pinkie Sense' or not you said there'd be a doozy at Froggy Bottom Bog and there sure was. That hydra was quite the doozy alright."
But just then Pinkie's entire body began to shake again even though the hydra had long since left. "No, wait, there it is again," She commented. "Whatever the doozy was, it still hasn't happened yet."
At that Twilight felt something inside her snap. She'd been through a lot already today and that little detail was enough to set her off. "Huh... but I... what?!" She angrily remarked as she felt one of her eyes start to twitch! "You mean the hydra wasn't the doozy?! How could it NOT be the doozy?! What could possibly be more of a doozy than that?!"
"Don't know but the hydra just wasn't it I'm afraid." Was all Pinkie had to say in reply.
Growling and gritting her teeth, Twilight felt her anger boil over. She leaped into the air as her entire body started to burn brightly, as though she'd been lit on fire. This continued for several minutes, much to the alarm of her friends. But then, covered in soot and ash she weakly proclaimed. "Oh, I give up. I've tried and I've tried, but it seems the answers are beyond my reach no matter what I do. I don't know how or why but Pinkie Pie's 'Pinkie Sense' somehow just makes sense, even to me."
"Twilight, are you saying you believe in my 'Pinkie Sense' now?" Pinkie asked Twilight, who nodded in confirmation. That caused Pinkie's shaking to increase rapidly! After a very unusual display in which Pinkie Pie's body blew up like a balloon and then deflated, Pinkie Pie stop shaking. "That's it! THAT'S the doozy!" She proudly exclaimed as she twirled Twilight around! "You believing in the 'Pinkie Sense'! Ooh, and what a doozy of a doozy it was!" Then she and Twilight shared a laugh.
"All the same, don't think I'm gonna completely give up the search," Twilight cautioned to Pinkie. "I'm gonna keep trying to figure out how that 'Pinkie Sense' of yours works. I'm just not going to pursue it so obsessively."
"I had a feeling you'd say that, Twilight." Pinkie commented.
Later that day, after coming home from Froggy Bottom Bog, Twilight decided to invite Pinkie over to the Golden Oak Library. And when Spike entered, he was surprised at what he saw.
"Ah, good, you're here, Spike," Twilight cheerfully greeted. "Take a letter please, I now know what I want to send to Princess Celestia."
Spike didn't say anything.
"What's wrong, Spike?" The unicorn mare giggled. "Never expected to see me wearing an umbrella hat like Pinkie's? Well Pinkie's tail is twitching, so what else can I do? I invited her over for a few mores studies on the 'Pinkie Sense' and it looks like I know what reaction I want to explore next."
"Alright, ready when you are." Spike declared as he grabbed a scroll and a quill.
Twilight cleared her throat and began to dictate her letter, and this is how it went:
Dear Princess Celestia,
There's nothing wrong with wanting to know how or why something works, there are things in life that remain unanswered and they'll likely stay that way until somepony is willing to devote themselves to asking the right questions.
But curiosity can be a curse as much as it is a blessing, it can lead to obsession and that can lead to all kinds of terrible things. So if someone close to you tells you to step back and think about what you're doing, you should listen.
It's important to get all the facts before you draw a conclusion, and sometimes you'll have to accept that your initial idea or your initial thought about how something worked didn't turn out to be true. Like with friendships, it's important that you keep on trying even if you don't get it right the first time.
Also it is important to realize when you and your friend see the world differently, and how important it is to accept that your views may not change. Just because you don't believe in another way of thinking doesn't automatically mean others are wrong for thinking it. Understanding other view points is a key part of any good friendship.
Your fateful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S.: Pinkie says 'Honk!'
Twilight and Pinkie then made their way down to the basement as Twilight wondered. "So what do you think is gonna fall this time, Pinkie?"
"Don't know, the 'Pinkie Sense' doesn't predict those kinds of things," Pinkie answered. "But whatever is at least we know it's not a doozy."
Meanwhile, Spike went up to the balcony to send the letter to Princess Celestia, only to be surprised when the mighty alicorn herself landed on the balcony with a smile. "Hello, Spike," She greeted as she took notice of the dragon's surprised look, and let out a giggle. "Don't worry, I'm just here for the friendship letter. Be sure to tell Twilight I said hello." And with that she took the scroll into her magic and then flew off, leaving a speechless Spike to wonder what had just transpired.