My Little Pony: Nine Elements
Written by Brandon Nell and Blake Hawkins
Additional suggestions by Rachel Ravens
Chapter 15: Feeling Pinkie Keen
It had been a week since Rarity’s fashion debut with Hoity Toity. In that time, April had come and Rarity’s birthday was the previous day. Twilight was training with Spike to sharpen her magic skills. This time, she was working on transfiguration.
“Now, remember what I told you, Spike,” Twilight said. “I need you to stand perfectly still to avoid any mishaps. I don’t want to accidentally transfigure your shoulder.” She then added with a twinge of regret, “Again.”
“I will, Twilight,” Spike said. “Believe me, the last thing I want is my shoulder being turned into a cat again.”
So, Twilight had gently put a rock on Spike’s head, covered his chest in leaves, and had him hold a stick. She focused her energy into her horn. The leaves turned into the top half of a tuxedo while the stick became a walking cane. As Twilight was about to turn the rock into a top hat, Spike thought he heard something. Though, he kept as still as he could. The rock on his head was partially transfigured. It took the shape of a top hat, but, still had the rock’s mass and texture.
“Come on~” Twilight said, straining. “Just a bit more…” However, her concentration was broken.
“Twitchy twitchy twitch-a-twitch!” A familiar voice exclaimed. The voice disrupted Twilight’s concentration to the point where instead of finishing the transfiguration, Twilight blasted the rock, splitting it in two.
“Oh my goddess!” Twilight exclaimed before getting close to Spike. “Spike, are you okay?! Did I hurt you?!”
“I’m okay, Twilight,” Spike said. “No part of me has been transfigured.” He then felt the scales on top of his head. “And all the scales on the top of my head are still there.”
Twilight sighed in relief. “Oh, good,” she said. “That voice sounded like Pinkie. We better see what’s going on so that we don’t get distracted again.”
“Right behind ya, Twi,” Spike said. He then thought of something. “Hey, Twilight?”
“Yes, Spike?” Twilight said.
“Why didn’t we just practice the spell in the library?” Spike asked.
“The supplies I needed were outside,” Twilight said. “The book lists this spell as a Godmother Miracle spell. Those have best results outdoors.”
“You know, I never understood the inclusion of ‘miracle,’” Spike said. “I mean, just by definition, wouldn’t a miracle be something good that happens with no natural or scientific explanation?”
“By definition, yes,” Twilight explained. “But, even miracles take time and effort and sometimes, it doesn’t always last. It’s like the aspects of breezies’ tales to some level.”
“I’m going to assume this conversation will go nowhere?” Spike said.
“Only if you keep overanalyzing things,” Twilight said. “The irony is NOT lost on me.”
They soon saw Pinkie looking up at the sky nervously. Her bouncy plume of a tail was twitching wildly and she was wearing a rainbow-colored umbrella hat. Pinkie looked at it as if it were a dangerous omen.
“Pinkie?” Twilight asked. “Are you alright?”
“My tail’s twitching,” Pinkie said. “You know what that means!”
“Actually,” Twilight said. “I don’t know what that means. Do you know what that means, Spike?”
“Maybe she needs a flea bath?” Spike said in an offhand manner.
“My twitchy tail means something’s going to fall from the sky!” Pinkie explained in a worried manner. “It’s part of my ‘Pinkie Sense!’”
“That’s not really clearing anything up,” Spike said.
“I told you about it, didn’t I?” Pinkie said.
“We’ve been here for over nine months and we’ve literally never heard of it before today,” Twilight said.
“Oh,” Pinkie said. “Well, long story short, my ‘Pinkie Sense’ is a sense in my body that tells me what’s going to happen.” Her tail twitched again. “My tail twitching means something’s about to fall from the sky!”
Twilight was having difficulty believing this.
“I’m sorry, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “But, I don’t see how something is supposed to fall from the sky on a day like this. There’s hardly a cloud in the sk-” Smack! She was interrupted by a frog landing on her face. After this happened, Pinkie’s tail stopped twitching.
“That was it,” Pinkie said.
The three looked up, once Twilight gently moved the frog to her head, to see Fluttershy with a cart of frogs in tow as well as frogs in her saddlebags and in a basket.
“Oh my!” Fluttershy exclaimed. “I’m so sorry about that!” She gently landed near them and spoke to the frog on Twilight’s head. “Now, come along, Francis.”
The frog named Francis croaked and jumped into Fluttershy’s saddlebag.
“Hey, Fluttershy,” Spike said. “What’s with all the frogs?”
“Oh, I’m relocating them, sweetie,” Fluttershy explained. “Their pond’s been getting overpopulated, so, I’m moving them to a place Zecora told me about. Froggy Bottom Bog.”
“Can I come and help out?” Spike asked.
“I’m sorry, Spike,” Fluttershy said. “Zecora said not to bring you there under any circumstances. I don’t know why, though.”
“Hmm,” Spike said. “Well, if that’s what Zecora said, it must be for a good reason. She knows the wild better than any of us.”
“Tell you what, Spike,” Fluttershy said. “I’ll make it up to you by making you some andalusite shard cookies at our next tea party. Is that okay?” Andalusite shard cookies were a gem-based alternative for chocolate chip cookies for Spike, who enjoyed them very much.
“Yeah, that’s okay,” Spike smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy.” The grateful little dragon hugged the demure pegasus.
“I’ll see you guys later,” Fluttershy smiled. Once Spike let go of her, she took off slowly so as not to drop any more frogs.
“That was really sweet of Fluttershy,” Pinkie commented. “I’ll have to talk to the Cakes about making treats with gems in them for Spike.*”
“That would be nice,” Twilight smiled. “You could do that for his birthday or something.”
“Say, Pinkie?” said Spike.
“Yeah, Spike?” Pinkie responded.
“Is your ‘Pinkie Sense,’ kind of a Mystic Eyes-type deal?” Spike asked. “You know, a random chance occurrence ability that only a select few ponies have?”
“A little bit,” Pinkie said.
“Well, that checks out a bit,” Twilight said. “I read that there’s a few earth ponies capable of things their race is normally incapable of.”
“Yep,” Pinkie said. “So far, I’m the only pony in Ponyville that I know of that has a ‘Pinkie Sense.’ Of course it’s different to the individual. I just named it after myself when I was a filly.”
Suddenly, her tail started twitching again.
“Uh-oh!” Pinkie yelped. “Something else is going to fall!”
At that moment, Ash was approaching with a small wagon of milk bottles in tow. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be putting in a lot of effort. “Okay, I just need to deliver my mom’s milk to Sugarcube Corneeeeeeeer!” On the last word, he fell into a ditch.
Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie heard the sound. Pinkie’s tail stopped twitching. Twilight and Pinkie then helped Ash out of the ditch. “Are you okay, Ash?” Twilight asked.
“Yeah,” Ash said. “We cattlefolk have pretty thick hides.”
“Good to know you’re not hurt,” Pinkie smiled. “My tail was twitching before, but, it looks like it stopped now.”
“That ditch needs to be filled up or something,” Ash commented. “Or at least have some boards over it.”
At that moment, a group of Earth pony stallions arrived. They were working on the ditch, but, they were on a lunch break until now. “We’ll take care of it,” one said.
“This ‘Pinkie Sense’ is interesting,” Spike said. “If you can see the future—”
“I can’t sense the future any longer than an hour or two,” Pinkie interrupted. “Normally, I know only a minute or two in advance.”
“Oh, I see,” Spike said. Ash carried on to deliver the milk to Sugarcube Corner after Twilight levitated the wagon to the other side of the trench. At that moment, Applejack arrived.
“Hey, y’all,” Applejack smiled. “How’s everyone doin’?”
“Well, Ash fell in the ditch after Pinkie got a twitchy tail,” Spike explained.
“Twitchy tail?!” Applejack gasped as she hid under a stand. “Is it still a-twitchin’?”
“No,” Pinkie said. “It stopped after Ashy-boy fell in the ditch.”
“I see you’re more familiar with ‘Pinkie Sense’ than Spike and I are, Applejack,” Twilight said. “It makes sense since you’ve lived in Ponyville longer than we have.”
“Wait,” Applejack said as she got out from under the stand. “Y’all didn’t know ‘bout it?”
“We only just found out about it today,” Twilight said.
“Everypony in town knows ‘bout it,” Applejack said. “Even them non-ponies ‘round town.”
“Are you sure you’re not pulling my leg?” Twilight asked.
“Did you really ask Applejack, the pony who wields the Element of Honesty, if she’s teasing you?” Spike asked. “She’s a terrible liar. Whenever she tries, it makes her sick to her stomach. Believe me, you don’t want to know how I know that.”
“Ah can prove it,” Applejack said. She then called out to Doctor Whooves, who was on a stroll. “Hey, Doc! Ya hear that Pinkie’s tail was a-twitchin’?!”
“Pinkie’s tail was twitching?!” Doctor Whooves gasped. He then made a mad dash to cover his head.
“It stopped moments ago,” Pinkie said.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Doctor Whooves panted. He then resumed his stroll.
“See?” Applejack said. “Ah know it don’t make a whole lot o’ sense, but, anypony who’s lived in Ponyville a while comes ta learn that if ‘Pinkie Sense’ is goin’ on, ya better listen.” She then spoke more pointedly. “Don’t try disprovin’ it. Smarter ponies went crazy tryin’.”
“Thanks for letting us know, Applejack.” Twilight said. “Instead, I’m going to try to understand it better.**”
Suddenly, Pinkie’s ears started flopping.
“Ah!” Pinkie yelped. “My ears are flopping!”
“What’s that mean?” Spike asked.
“It means someone is going to get covered in mud,” Pinkie answered. “I’ll start a bath.”
After she left, Twilight had a puzzled look.
“This ‘Pinkie Sense’ is going to be hard to understand,” Twilight said. “But, it would still be an interesting learning venture.”
At that moment, one of the earth ponies filling the trench threw mud onto Spike.
“Oof!” Spike exclaimed. “Looks like that bath that Pinkie’s running is for me.”
He headed in the direction Pinkie left with a bit of a smile.
Soon, Spike was soaking in the bubble-topped warm bath. As Spike was bathing, Pinkie explained more of her “Pinkie Sense” to Twilight. Though, she commented on Spike’s attitude first.
“Spike’s pretty happy about this,” she said. “I thought he’d complain or need more convincing.”
“Trust me,” Twilight said. “Spike loves taking baths. He’ll do so for hours if you let him.”
“Wow,” Pinkie said. “That must make things easy.”
“We’re trying to keep it under seven hours***,” Twilight said. “To save on hot water.”
Pinkie was confused. “Wouldn’t he just be bathing in the same tub for that long?”
“He feels the water cools down too quickly,” Twilight said. “So, he drains the cooling water and refills the tub again.”
“Oh~” Pinkie said.
“Now,” Twilight said. “What other signs are there?”
“Well,” Pinkie explained. “I get little tingly feelings giving me vague ideas of what’s going to happen. Like, if my back is itchy, that means it’s my lucky day. And if my knee gets pinchy, that means something scary’s about to happen.”
“Is it pinchy now?” Spike asked.
“No,” Pinkie said as she looked at her left shoulder. “But, my shoulder’s achy. That means there’s an alligator in the tub.” Sure enough, a small alligator emerged from the bubbles.
Twilight instinctively used her front hooves to get Spike out of the tub.
“How come your knee didn’t get pinchy?!” exclaimed Twilight. “That isn’t just scary, that’s downright dangerous!”
“Not with this alligator,” Pinkie said. “His name’s Gummy.”
The alligator, whose name was Gummy, opened his mouth to reveal that he didn’t have any teeth.
“He hatched the day before my 15th birthday,” Pinkie explained. “Fluttershy gave his egg to me as an early gift.”
“When was that?” Twilight asked.
“Oh, about two weeks before you two came,” Pinkie answered.
“Ah, how nice,” Twilight smiled. “Wait, you’ve had him that long and we’re only seeing him now?”
“He usually stays under my bed,” Pinkie explained. “He has a little baby gator bed he sleeps on. Well, it was a kitty cat bed that I configured into a baby gator bed, but, you get the idea.”
Gummy proceeded to gum at Pinkie’s mane and tail.
“It looks like he likes to bite,” Spike said. “Probably getting some practice before his teeth grow in.”
“And he’ll bite anypony nearby,” Twilight commented. “Didn’t you consider that?”
“I did,” Pinkie said. “But, I’m training him to make sure he bites food and not living folks.”
“Maybe he’ll grow up choosing not to eat meat,” Spike said. “It worked for me.”
“There are lots of other yummy things that gators can eat,” Pinkie smiled. “He sometimes gets a few bugs to tide him over.”
“Alright,” Twilight said.
After finishing Spike’s bath, Twilight carried him on her back to the Golden Oak Library with Pinkie following.
“So,” Spike said. “Your ‘Pinkie Sense’ manifests in various body quirks?”
“Yeah,” Pinkie said. “And sometimes, it’s a bunch of different things happening to my body. I call them ‘Combos.’”
“What’s an example?” Twilight asked with genuine curiosity.
“One of my favorite ones is an ear flop, then a knee twitch, then an eye flutter,” Pinkie explained. “That means that the sky is going to be graced with a beautiful rainbow. But, only if those happen in that specific order. If the eye flutter happens before the knee twitch, that means watch out for opening doors.”
“I imagine it was confusing when you were first learning about this,” Twilight said.
“It was,” Pinkie explained. “It took me years to pin down individual signs and I’m still trying to figure out Combos. Some have different signs happening at the same time, making them harder to pin down.”
“I see,” Twilight said. “Say, Pinkie, would you like to be part of a series of experiments I’m conducting?”
“Uh, I don’t know,” Pinkie said nervously. “The last time somepony asked to experiment on me, I ended up having something crammed in my—”
Twilight could see where Pinkie was going and quickly cut her off. “No, no, no,” she said. “Trust me, we will not be doing that kind of experimenting.”
“I was going to say ‘mouth,’” Pinkie finished.
“Oh,” Twilight said, an embarrassed sweatdrop on her head. “Well, I won’t be doing that.”
“What did you think I was going to say?” Pinkie asked in confusion.
“Well, I thought that—” Twilight said before stopping herself. “Never mind. It’s too weird.****”
A short time later in the basement of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight was hooking Pinkie up to a machine. There was a helmet on her head that looked more like a colander with Hearth’s Warming bulbs. “So, how does this work?” Pinkie asked. “Do you just wait for me to start twitching?”
“That would be very unproductive,” Twilight said.
“So…” Pinkie started, still confused.
“We’re going to trigger events that make your ‘Pinkie Sense’ go off,” Twilight explained. “The machine will record scientific data on the reactions.”
“Oh~” Pinkie said. “That makes sense.”
“Spike’s behind the door right now,” Twilight said.
Pinkie then felt a combo coming on: ear flop, eye flutter, and knee twitch. At that moment, Spike opened the door.
“Did it work?” Spike asked.
“Yes, it worked,” Twilight smiled. “Her ‘Pinkie Sense’ did the combo she mentioned which means watch out for opening doors. Thank you, Spike.” Twilight then checked the data printed. “Good, good.”
Spike came down the stairs. “What are the results?” he asked.
“This step was a success,” Twilight said.
“How many steps are there?” Pinkie asked.
“That depends,” Twilight said. “How many ‘Pinkie Senses’ have you counted for yourself so far?”
“I never actually kept count,” Pinkie admitted. “But, I did make a list of the signs after connecting the dots.”
“Ah, this is good information,” Twilight smiled.
“Can I be unhooked now?” Pinkie asked. “I’m starting to feel like a guinea pig.”
“Yes,” Twilight said. “This may carry on for a long time if we researched every single one of your twinges.” She unhooked Pinkie from the machine. “Where do you keep your list, anyway?”
“I feel like it would be in her room or something,” Spike said, hazarding a guess.
“Actually,” Pinkie said, reaching into her mane and pulling out a journal. “I keep it in my mane. Never know when a new sign or combo will come up.”
“Mind if we look through it together?” Twilight asked.
“Tell you what,” Pinkie offered. “Follow me around and watch me. You can check my journal for signs and what they mean.*****”
“I can do that,” Twilight said. “Just act natural.” Pinkie began bouncing around like a monkey. “Not that natural!”
Pinkie couldn’t help but giggle.
After lunch, Twilight and Spike were observing Pinkie, who pretended to be oblivious. Pinkie even let Twilight borrow a spare pith helmet. Presently, Pinkie was rolling in the grass in the playground by the Ponyville Schoolhouse.
“Hmm,” Twilight said. “So far, nothing too exciting is happening.” She then saw Pinkie get an itchy nose before looking around nervously. “Spike, anything on an itchy nose?”
Spike skimmed through the pages of the journal and he came across an entry. “Itchy nose,” Spike said, reading aloud. “Equals a swarm of wasps is approaching. Take shelter.”
At that very moment, Ash was walking by them when he spotted a swarm of wasps.
“Oh, jeez!” Ash exclaimed. He then ran for his life with the wasps in pursuit.
“Well, that checks out,” Twilight said nervously.
“When Fluttershy gets back from Froggy Bottom Bog,” Spike said. “She’ll have to tend to Ash’s stings.”
A few minutes later, Twilight and Spike were observing Pinkie at Sweet Apple Acres. Pinkie was happily smelling a flower.
“Looks like Pinkie’s smelling a flower,” Twilight said. “I don't think that’s one of her ‘Pinkie Senses,’ though.”
Spike looked through the journal. “I’m not seeing it,” he said. “Though, I kind of expected that since she’s doing something within her control.”
Just then, a combo of Pinkie’s happened: ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch. Twilight observed this. “Ear flop, eye flutter, knee twitch,” she noted.
“That’s the one to watch out for opening doors,” Spike said. He looked to see a barn door nearby. “It can’t be that one. We’re not in the path of the bottom half of that door.”
“So, that ‘Pinkie Sense’ must be a warning of a different opening door,” Twilight said. “So, be on the lookout.”
At that moment, a cellar door opened as Caramel was approaching it. “Oh, hey, you two,” he said to Twilight and Spike, forgetting to watch where he was going. “What brings you two heeeeeeere~?!?!” Distracted, Caramel tripped and fell down the cellar steps.
“Caramel!” Applejack’s voice exclaimed from inside the cellar. “Are ya alright?!”
“I think I broke something,” Caramel grunted. A painful crack was heard. “Yep, I definitely broke something.”
“Hang on, Ah’ll help ya,” Applejack said. She came out of the cellar with Caramel on her back before making a beeline for the hospital.
A short time later, Twilight and Spike were observing Pinkie again, this time at the park. Berry Punch was stumbling around. “Looks like Berry Punch hit the bottle again,” Twilight said.
“She must have been at some shindig,” Spike said. “That or the local tavern. One or the other.”
Suddenly, Pinkie’s tail started twitching.
“Spike, watch your head,” warned Twilight. “Twitchy tail.”
Upon hearing that, Spike clung to Twilight instinctively.
“What was that about a twitchy—” Berry Punch began before a flowerpot landed on her head. “Oof!” Then, an anvil fell on her head. “Uh!” After that, a cart of hay bales. “Ow!” Finally, a grandmaster piano. “Oof!”
Twilight and Spike looked up to see some pegasi with a moving cart in tow. One of the ponies was Derpy Hooves. The forestallion looked at her with disapproval.
“That explains where those things came from,” Spike said. “I think we should get Berry to the hospital.”
“Good idea, Spike,” Twilight said. She levitated the objects to reveal the battered, but, still alive Berry Punch. “Berry Punch, Spike and I are going to take you to the hospital.”
Later, Pinkie was sitting around when Rarity and Rainbow trotted up. “I told you, Rarity,” the pegasus said. “I’ll pay you in full once my bank account has the bits I need.”
“Yes, I understand,” Rarity said. “It is a good thing I just finished the last ensemble for Hoity Toity’s boutique.”
“Ahead of schedule, too,” Rainbow said. She then spotted Pinkie. “What’s going on here?”
“Oh, letting Twilight follow me around while she learns to understand my ‘Pinkie Sense,’” Pinkie answered with a smile.
“Okay, that sounds kind of creepy,” Rainbow said as Applejack stepped up.
“Hey, Applejack,” Pinkie said. “Is Caramel doing okay?”
“His front legs’re in casts,” Applejack said.
“Well,” Pinkie said. “We’ll make sure to bring him some get well soon presents when visiting hours are going on.”
Twilight and Spike stepped up.
“Hey, Twilight. Hi, Spike,” Pinkie smiled. “How are you handling watching my ‘Pinkie Sense?’”
“Every sign matched the listed predictions,” Twilight said.
“That’s good,” Pinkie smiled. “So, what do you guys want to do no-w-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa~!” Pinkie was about to offer an invitation, when suddenly, her entire body began to shiver.
“What’s that mean?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know,” Pinkie answered honestly. “I never got this feeling before, but, whatever it was, it was a real doozy! And something tells me it’s going to happen at Froggy Bottom Bog!”
“That’s where Fluttershy is!” Spike said in alarm.
“She might still be there!” Twilight exclaimed. “We’ll have to find her and warn her!”
“I’m going, too,” Spike said bravely. “I may have been told not to go there no matter what, but, I can’t let my friend be in possible danger!”
“I know the way,” Pinkie said. “Don’t ask me how.”
“Lead the way, Pinkie!” Rainbow said with determination.
With that, Pinkie led Spike and the mares to Froggy Bottom Bog. Rarity even put aside her fear of getting messy for Fluttershy’s safety.
“What do you think happened to her?” Spike asked Applejack.
“Hopefully nothin’,” Applejack said. “Ah’m tryin’ not ta think about it.”
“Yeah, me, too,” Spike said. “But, I can’t help but wonder.” His expression grew more afraid. “What if she exploded?!”
“Just exploded?” Applejack asked. “Fer no reason?”
“I may not be a genius,” Rainbow said. “But, I’m pretty sure that makes zero sense.”
“But,” Pinkie added in. “What if there was a reason why she exploded?! Maybe some creature made her explode and explode again!”
“That makes even less sense!” Twilight said. “Even if something made her explode, she couldn’t possibly explode twice.”
“Indeed,” Rarity said. “I’m certain Fluttershy will be alright and we’ll protect her from any possible disaster.”
“Froggy Bottom Bog ahoy!” Pinkie said.
Indeed, they had reached Froggy Bottom Bog. In a short distance, they saw Fluttershy helping the last of the frogs get adjusted to their new home. She was perfectly fine.
“Fluttershy!” Spike said, hugging her tightly. “You’re okay!”
“Of course I’m okay,” Fluttershy said with a slight gasp. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
At that moment, Zecora entered the bog and approached Spike.
“Spike!” Zecora gasped. “I thought I had told Fluttershy this morning to stay away from Froggy Bottom Bog! Did you not get my warning?” The ponies all stared up in Zecora, who was devoid of her usual rhyming. Something really was up if that was the case.******
“She did, but, I was too worried about her,” Spike said.
“If you remain here,” Zecora said. “A young death is guaranteed! I implore you, little dragon! From this place, you must flee!”
“Why me specifically?” Spike asked.
“A hydra calls this bog his home,” Zecora warned. “He feasts on young dragons that heedlessly roam.”
At that moment, three serpentine creatures arose from the bog.
“Y-you mean like that one?” Rarity stammered.
The middle of the three heads turned its attention to Spike. “Well,” it said in a snake-like voice*******. “It looks like a little fly found its way into my web.”
“You’re not eating our friend on our watch!” Rainbow called to the hydra. The Hydra responded by breathing a foul-smelling gas at her. Rainbow coughed and gagged at the stench.
The right head sniffed at Spike. “Not molting yet,” it said in a similar voice. “But, I bet he’ll taste just as good.” It grabbed Spike with a long tongue while Zecora and the ponies were busy choking on the gas.
“Ahh!” Spike screamed. “Help!”
The ponies and Zecora regained their senses just as the head started to swallow Spike whole.
“Like Tartarus!” Rainbow said as she charged at the head that swallowed Spike. She flew so fast, she cut the head clean off before Spike reached the stomach. The beast roared in agonizing pain as his severed head fell to the ground and a hydra drool-covered Spike emerged near Zecora and the other mares.********
“I… was not ready for today…” said the shaken drake.
“I don’t think any of us were,” Twilight said.
“Cauterize the wound!” Zecora called.
The two remaining hydra heads glared at Rainbow.
“Do you know…” the first head said. “How long it’ll take to repligenerate that?!”
Rainbow was confused. “Come again?”
At that very instant, the hydra grew two new heads from the spot where the severed one was cut. “Thanks to me being a hydra,” the beast’s heads said in unison. “An ultimately futile effort. But, if it’s any consolation, that hurt like Tartarus!”
“That is what I was trying to warn you of!” Zecora called.
“I vote we run like Tartarus,” Rainbow said.
The others quietly agreed and they began to run away from the hydra. Zecora reached into her cloak pocket.
“Alright, beast!” Zecora called. “Leave my friends be! Go back to whence you came!” She threw a vial of a purple liquid that shattered against a rock, releasing the smell of lavender.
At the fresh smell, the hydra reeled back in fear.
“No~” gasped the middle head of the hydra. “My one weakness outside cauterizing my wounds: lavender!” The beast ran away from the smell as Spike, Zecora, and the ponies got to safety.
“Thanks, Zecora!” Spike called. “I owe you one!”
“But, why did it run away from lavender?” Rarity asked.
“Odors that can choke the likes of you and I,” Zecora said. “Are the what hydras breathe in order to thrive.”
“So,” Applejack said. “They thrive on stinky smells, but, retch on fresher smells?”
Zecora nodded.
“Well,” Twilight said. “Pinkie said a doozy would happen in Froggy Bottom Bog and that hydra definitely qualifies.”
However, Pinkie began to shiver again. “Actually,” Pinkie said. “The doozy still hasn’t happened yet.”
“Huh?” Spike asked in confusion.
Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “WHAT?!” she shouted. “The hydra wasn’t the doozy?! How could it not be?! What could be a bigger doozy than that?!”
“I don’t know,” Pinkie said, shrugging her shoulders. “But, it just wasn’t it.”
Twilight’s temper began rising until she jumped into the air with her coat turning burnt white, her irises losing their pupils and turning red, and her mane and tail turn into flames. She didn’t even have a visible Cutie Mark.
“Whoa~” Applejack said. “Maybe there are some instances of ponies explodin’.”
Before landing again, Twilight reverted to normal with some burn marks. She then exhaled an exasperated sigh. “I give up.” And she collapsed onto the ground.
“Give what up?” Spike asked.
“The fight,” Twilight said softly. “It’s clear to me that ‘Pinkie Sense’ somehow makes sense. I don’t need to understand it in depth.”
“Y-y-you mean it-t-t-t?” Pinkie asked mid-shiver.
“I was just trying to understand it,” Twilight said. “But, every time I think I have it down, something new comes along.”
Pinkie continued to shiver, until she zonked out and even briefly inhaled like a balloon. She is back to relative normalcy and she looks over herself. “That’s it!”
“What’s it, Pinkie?” Rarity asked.
“That was the doozy!” Pinkie said. “Twilight admitting she can get by with a basic understanding!”
“So, that’s that taken care of,” Fluttershy said. “We better get back.”
“No argument from me,” Spike said. “When we get back, the first thing I want to do is take a bath and put being almost eaten behind me.”
“I still can’t believe there’s a creature that can eat dragons,” Fluttershy said.
“I didn’t even think that was possible,” agreed Rainbow.
“Of such beasts,” Zecora said. “The hydra is one of three, though they can only feed on dragon babies.”
“There’s three creatures that prey on dragons?” Spike said, his worry increasing.
“Only when they’re small,” Zecora said. “Should they face a grown dragon, they’ll stand no chance at all.”
“I see,” Twilight said. “I’ll have to learn more about this to make sure Spike is safe.”
“After what happened today,” Spike said. “I’m not going anywhere within ten hoofs of Froggy Bottom Bog.”
“Good idea,” Fluttershy said kindly. “I can give you some aromatherapy candles for your bath if you want.”
“Sounds great,” Spike smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy.”
Later, Spike was being bathed by Twilight and Fluttershy. He breathed in the soothing aroma of the candles, feeling much more relaxed.
“Spike’s certainly enjoying his bath,” Fluttershy said.
“He’d take a bath for hours if you let him,” Twilight said. “We’re trying to keep it under seven hours.”
“I see,” Fluttershy said. She washed behind his ear fronds and Spike seemed to relax as if he were a dog. This made Fluttershy smile with giddiness. “He’s so adorable!”
“He really is,” Twilight smiled. After the bath, Twilight dried Spike off and embraced him. “Please don’t scare me like that again, Spike.”
“I won’t, don’t worry,” Spike said.
Later, Spike was getting the supplies for a friendship report. He looked to see Pinkie and Twilight both sporting umbrella hats. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Pinkie’s tail’s twitching,” Twilight said. “I have to be prepared for it.”
“Okay,” Spike said. “I’m ready.”
“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, some things simply can’t be explained in depth and in such cases, sometimes a basic understanding is enough.*********
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 viewpoints is a key part of any good friendship.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S.: Pinkie says 'Honk!'”
“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight smiled.
“Is it okay if I send it from the balcony?” Spike asked.
“Of course,” Twilight smiled. “But, be careful.”
“I will,” Spike said. “I’ll catch up with you guys to visit Caramel after I’m done.”
As Spike headed for the balcony, Pinkie and Twilight wondered what would fall. “I wonder what it could be this time?” Twilight said.
Before Spike had a chance to breathe his fire breath, Princess Celestia landed on the balcony from the sky. This caught Spike by surprise.
“You know about ‘Pinkie Sense?’” Spike asked.
The alabaster alicorn nodded. “If you’ve been around as long as I have,” she said. “You tend to learn that stranger things exist.”
“Holy guacamole!” Spike exclaimed with amazement as he handed Princess Celestia the letter. “Uh, can I ask a quick question?”
“Of course, Spike,” Princess Celestia said soothingly.
“Why did you show up to get the letter instead of letting me send it?” Spike asked.
“Oh, I just felt like switching things up today,” the princess admitted.
“I guess that’s understandable,” Spike said.
The princess then took off and Spike waved goodbye to her. He then made his way downstairs to catch up with his friends.
End of chapter.