Twilight Sparkle thought she could move past it, but she just couldn’t.
I mean, Pinkie Sense is one thing, but how in the hay…?
She furrowed her brow and sighed. It was the middle of the night – early morning, really – and she hadn’t slept at all. Yesterday, she and Rainbow Dash had reminisced about Pinkie’s birthday a few years ago, when they had been trying to throw her a surprise party. Rainbow had laughed as she recounted fleeing from Pinkie as fast as she could, only to find her already waiting in the spots she’d choose to hide, no matter how remote or inaccessible to earth ponies. Twilight had not known of this part, however, and was in logic shock – an all too common occurrence for her since she moved to Ponyville. Such a thing made no sense, even by magic standards.
An earth pony, even one as… interesting as Pinkie Pie, simply should not have the ability to travel that fast. She couldn’t have been flying, or teleporting… That’s it; I have to go see her tomorrow. I need to figure this out! “Aaaaugh!” Twilight groaned in frustration.
“Aaaaugh!” Spike responded. “Oh man, I was having the best dream! Sapphires and emeralds everywhere… Thanks a lot, Twilight.” He rolled over, attempting to mumble himself back into his dream. “Nnn… rubiiiies…”
“Sorry, Spike,” Twilight said flatly. “I’m gonna figure you out, Pinkie Pie… mark my words...”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sugarcube Corner was practically deserted for the middle of the afternoon. Pinkie Pie was working the counter. She gave a young pegasus the chocolate chip cookie she asked for. “That’ll be one bit, Whisper Wing! Thank you! Enjoy, I know I will!” With that, she scarfed five of the cookies at once.
Twilight Sparkle burst in suddenly and shouted “All right Pinkie Pie, I want some answers!”
“Mm kfthh bthh thmdm!” Pinkie beamed, cookie bits flying out of her mouth. Twilight gave her a look indicating she was not impressed. Pinkie quickly swallowed. “Sorry!” She giggled. “What answers do you need, Twilight?”
Twilight scooted right up and stared into Pinkie’s bright blue eyes. “I need you to tell me how you… how you… well, how you can possibly do any of the things you do!”
Pinkie giggled again. “Oh, Twilight. We already talked about my Pinkie Sense, remember? You were following me around all day and you said ‘You don’t make any sense, Pinkie Pie!’ and then I was all ‘But Twilight, you just don’t get it!’ and then YOU said-“
“I REMEMBER, Pinkie!”
“Good! I’m glad your memory came back, Twilight. La lala lala…” she started to bounce off, but Twilight nabbed her tail with her magic and stopped her.
“That’s NOT what I meant. I understand your Pinkie Sense. Or, actually I don’t… Whatever! The point is…” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed, and suddenly she and Pinkie Pie were up in Pinkie’s room. Gummy paused his dedicated chewing of a knotted bit of rope that looked like it was intended for dogs, but only momentarily.
“The point is that I know you’re hiding something, something that explains everything about you!” Twilight realized from Pinkie’s expression that she was pressing a little too hard, and she turned away. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been losing sleep over this. Rainbow Dash…” She faced Pinkie Pie again, who still wore a look of confusion. “Rainbow Dash told me about a time she tried to run from you, but you always knew where she was headed and you beat her there every time. This is Rainbow Dash we’re talking about… Pinkie Pie, please, I have to know…”
Pinkie had been ready to lightheartedly brush off Twilight’s question again, but somehow the sincerity of it all cracked her façade. Twilight was too smart; she couldn’t hide it forever. Now seemed as good a time as there would ever be.
Pinkie Pie sighed a long sigh. The silence was deafening. When at last Pinkie spoke, it was very unlike her natural tone – slow, low, and calculated.
“Twilight… do you ever get the feeling that none of this is real? Like, it’s all a dream?”
“Pinkie Pie, I don’t-“
“When I was young… hah, I’ve never told anyone this… when I first moved away from my parents and came to Ponyville, on the way, something happened to me. Something that changed my life… changed me, forever.”
Twilight was silent.
“I was walking down a path, when I spotted a tall rock. I thought it would be fun to climb up on top of it, but when I tried… Twilight, when I tried my hoof went right through it. Like it wasn’t there at all. But that’s not the worst part.” She turned to face Twilight, her eyes starting to brim with tears. “The worst part is that it disappeared. It disappeared, Twilight! My hoof went through it and then it was gone. I thought I was going crazy.” She started to approach Twilight, who was still speechless and more than a little unsettled about how Pinkie was acting. “But other… things kept happening. I saw a butterfly go right through a tree. I saw a bird whose head was floating next to its body, and it was flying around like nothing was wrong.”
“Pinkie Pie, if this is some kind of joke, it’s not-“
“IT’S NOT A JOKE!” Pinkie’s nostrils flared. She closed her eyes for a moment and calmed herself. “It’s not a joke, and I can prove it.”