Dear Twilight Sparkle
As requested, I've conferred with Luna over the issue, describing the situation to her of Pinkie Pie and your theory of nightmares along with the accidents happening around town. Luna has suggested that Pinkie Pie could have a very special, very specific type of magic, few Earth Ponies possess.
She has suggested that Pinkie Pie could have a power called 'precognition' and it certainly fits from what you've described to me of her in the past. Luna further explained to me that there are numerous ways this power can develop and if Pinkie uses this ability often, with or without realizing it, it could become more and more potent. This could indeed potentially affect her dreams and if this is the case, Pinkie's constant 'nightmares' may, in fact, be future scenarios she is forced to watch play out as she dreams. Luna has offered to look into these matters the next time Pinkie goes to sleep. Please contact me if further issues of this nature develop. Luna says without training, the overwhelming knowledge of future events can prove to be devastating on the mind.
Your proud mentor
Princess CelestiaP.S.
Please forgive my late reply. I have been very busy preparing for The Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot tomorrow. I hope the Celebration in Ponyville goes smoothly and you are able to enjoy it. If time permits, I may stop by.☀
Twilight rubbed her chin, thoughtfully letting her gaze draw itself back to the scroll Spike had parked in front of her on the kitchen table. She gave a vexed snort, scanning across the shapely ink over and over again. 'Precognition?' Could that really have been Pinkie's problem? She'd been suffering from seeing the future? How did that make any sense? How could a pony suffer from knowing what would happen tomorrow?
The mage gave a haggard groan and looked across the kitchen table where numerous books and various scrolls stretched across it. The same table she'd been sitting at for the last six hours, trying to figure out how to help Pinkie. She'd spent the better part of the day searching through town for signs of the pink pony but had no luck in her endeavors. Her ears perked at the sound of the door opening in the library. Spike was back. He'd gone on an errand to the store for a fresh bottle of milk even though it was getting late in the evening. Something to go with the cookies he'd baked to help cheer Twilight up from the situation at hoof. Celestia how she loved that little dragon. Before he left, he'd given her the scroll that now rested in front of her. Now he was back and she hadn't made any progress. No, she was lost in thought, going over the data again and again and again, hardly noticing when he'd stepped into the kitchen behind her.
Precognition. Was it really possible? She'd not believed Pinkie's 'Pinkie-Sense' when she'd first showed it to her, but time and time and time and time again, Pinkie had proven to have an uncanny knack for predicting things before they happened. Was it really so far fetched that the 'power' could affect her dreams? Impossible. That was impossible...right? What Earth pony could use dream magic like Luna could? No, that wasn't it. Impossible. Twilight groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. Why was that impossible? Obviously, because there was no real documented evidence to support such a power actually existed. Aside from Pinkie's bizarre habits, there was just nothing that could scientifically prove that-
Twilight stopped herself and shook her head with a growl bubbling in her throat. She was doing it again. Doubting things. Doubting her friends. Not trusting her friends. Hadn't she learned her lesson the last time something like this had happened with Pinkie? First the para-sprites, and then the Pinkie-Sense, and now? Now she was doubting Pinkie again. She was failing Pinkie again when she needed Twilight the most. For Celestia's sake, she'd tried to force her to go to sleep thinking it was for her own good without actually listening to what she was saying. What was she saying?
Twilight let her mind drift back to the encounter, plucking the events from her memory one by one. In the bakery, Pinkie had claimed she couldn't wake up, and everything was a bad dream. In her room, she'd claimed she 'couldn't take another one,' Twilight frowned. Another 'what', though? Another dream? Another vision of the future? Was it really so bad to know what was going to happen tomorrow? Twilight scoffed. Pinkie could win the lottery if she wanted to with powers like that.
The mage snarled quietly and shook her head. No. That wasn't it. There was something else here. She was close to something. She could feel it. Come on, Twilight, think. You have to help Pinkie! Think!! OK. Step by step. Sort out the clues. The answer is here. It's staring you in the face. You just need to see it. Come on. You've got this. One: Pinkie has Pinkie-Sense. Two: Pinkie can predict the future, especially when danger is near her. It was how she dodged the rocks during the Mare-Do-Well fiasco. Three: Pinkie's Pinkie-Sense could potentially be triggering in her dreams. That's why she didn't want to go to sleep. That makes sense. Ok. What else? Four: The accidents around town lately had something to do with Pinkie. The fire, the explosion, probably several others. What's the connection? Was Pinkie seeing those things before they happened? That was silly. Why would she? Her Pinkie-Sense only extended to her. Right?
...Right?
Twilight's eyes shot to the scroll in front of her and she yanked it to her in a fierce grasp of magic. Nonononononono!! 'If Pinkie uses this power often, with or without realizing it, it could become more and more potent' by the circle of the sun! What if Pinkie wasn't just seeing danger happening to her? What if she was seeing it happen to the town? Was that what was happening?! If Pinkie was only seeing dangerous things, could it be Pinkie was seeing the outcome as well? Gruesome fires and grisly explosions? Each vivid, horrifying death, night after night after night after night every time she closed her eyes? By Celestia, that was it! That's why she didn't want to sleep! That was what all the caffeine was for!
Twilight rested her head in her hooves, a sudden sense of nausea twisting her stomach in on itself. Oh, god, the stress that must have caused the pink pony. Poor, poor Pinkie Pie. That mare loved everypony in town. Everypony. Of course she'd be running herself ragged trying to stop these things from happening and every time she'd try to rest all she'd see was more carnage. More suffering. More death. Did she see the ponies burning in the fire? Did she see the explosion and the mangled bodies in the aftermath? What else had she been seeing? How many accidents had she stopped? Pinkie would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try to help. It was in her nature. That beautiful heart of hers would force her forward, regardless of the exhaustion that was killing her! Failure wasn't a option, and the only reason things would be in the paper is if she'd failed. Failing would have driven her crazy with guilt. Knowing what was about to happen yet being unable to prevent it? Such a thing It would have broken said beautiful heart into a thousand pieces. The two ponies that died in that explosion? Had Pinkie been there, trying to stop it? Was she the reason the third had survived? That was a burden no pony should have to shoulder and Pinkie was doing it all without help. No. No, she had screamed she didn't want to do this anymore. That had been Pinkie asking Twilight for help, no, not asking, begging Twilight for help, and Twilight had tried to put her to sleep in response! She'd tried to sentence Pinkie to more cruelty without even realizing it! Of course Pinkie wouldn't have told her what was going on! Of course Pinkie didn't trust her! Of course Pinkie wouldn't let her help!
"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND!! YOU REFUSE!! YOU NEVER BELIEVED ME! YOU NEVER BELIEVED IN IT!"
It made sense. It all made horrifying, terrifying dreadful sense. Pinkie hadn't been causing those accidents. She'd been trying to stop them. Who would have believed her if she said anything? Not after the huge stink Twilight had made in the past about her powers not being real. Why would she trust Twilight? How could she? She was right not to, Twilight wouldn't have believed her if she said a fire was going to break out and ponies were going to be burned alive! But there was a solution! Luna! All Twilight had to do was find Pinkie and tell her she knew what was going on. Tell her that she believed her and she could help and Luna could help and everything would be okay! That was it!
"SPIKE!!" Twilight hollered. Standing up from the table, looking at her books and scrolls.
"Spike I'm going out to look for Pinkie again!!" Twilight screamed.
"I'm right here," Pinkie said quietly. Twilight whirled around, and her heart stopped dead in her chest. They stared at each other. Pinkie was standing there quietly, glaring daggers. Her hair was down, her fur was in shambles and she reeked of coffee and vomit. Twilight couldn't blame her. Nervously, the mage mare swallowed. Her first instinct was to hug Pinkie as tightly as she could and never stop apologizing, but her brain overrode that desire and instead simply commanded her to do one thing: run.
"Pink-" Twilight couldn't get the words out. Pinkie pounced viciously, tackling Twilight to the floor where they wrestled for a moment. Just like before, Pinkie's girth won the contest with an easily decided victory. Did Pinkie see this too? No. Of course not. Twilight wasn't in any danger. She wasn't going to hurt her. This was a preemptive strike.
"Pinkie!! PINKIE PLEAS-" Twilight squealed, before she found something firmly pressed across her muzzle. A cloth of some sort that smelled strongly of flowers. Lovely, cozy flowers that made her feel warm and sleepy. Somewhere in the back of her head, alarms were going off and red flags were waving. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she needed to cast a spell, and she needed to do it now! But nothing came to mind. There was nothing on her mind. Certainly not spells. The only thing she could concentrate on was keeping her eyelids open, but even that was a losing battle. Sluggishly, Twilight slumped to the floor and Pinkie stood over her.
"It has to be this way, Twilight. I can't let you stop me. I have to finish my work,"