//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Confusion and Cupcakes // Story: The Pony of the Mind // by Crazy-Eyed Sharpshooter //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Confusion and Cupcakes Psi looked throughout his new home, his mind racing a bit as he sensed the number of people in his home, and worst of all, their thoughts entering his mind. The colt shut his eyes in pain; He could hear everything, and it was giving him a massive headache. His brain throbbed, feeling overloaded from the overflowing capacity his mind could handle when suddenly, the smell of sugar to his snout seemed to ease that pain and slowed down his throbbing. His eyes slowly creaked open to see a cupcake, frosted in a light red frosting and strawberry sticking at the top. In one swift movement, he grabbed the cupcake and ate it like a savage, the CMC as well as a few party guests watching as he voraciously tore through the cupcake. He swallowed the strawberry in one final gulp, sighing as he managed to compose himself. He blinked a bit as he looked up at the kind pony who fed him such a soothing and tasty treat. He was met by a big smile surrounded in pink, a mane and tail resembling fluffy clouds made of cotton candy, and big, blue eyes that shimmered with joy and energy. He didn't have too much time to react before he was swept in a massive, bone-crushing hug and a flurry of words. "Omygoshomhygoshomygosh! Welcome to Ponyville, PsiPsi! Auntie Clair told me you guys were coming and I wanted to give you the official Ponyville welcome party!! Do ya like it??" The colt stared at the pink pony talking in a rapid manner, feeling his brain throb and become cluttered as she talked on and on. Just like... "Okay, Pinkie. That's enough." Psy looked up as the mare was lifted off of him, his vision focusing on the kind-looking face of his mother. Clair giggled a bit and looked up at this... Pinkie, saying, "Why don't you get some of the festivities started? Psy will join up, don't worry." Pinkie gave an affirmative nod and chirped, "Okay, Auntie Claire!" before dashing off to one of the many party games set up. Psi was picked up and dusted off by his mother, his mind trying to recover from the onslaught of chaotic mental energy as he sputtered out some nonsense. The Crusaders looked in concern, Scootaloo poking him in his slightly derped out expression. "I-Is he alright?..." Sweetie Belle muttered, to which Psi's mother giggled and placed her horn on his head, a light surrounding his head. "No worries. He's just suffering from a bout of confusion. It'll wear off in a few moments." "TheE ballOONs aRe tUrnING the SnoWconES inTO froGSs!!" "Don't worry, dear. The snowcones will be fine. Here, have some cake." A few bites of cake entered the colt's mouth and slowly, his mental state seemed to return to him. He blinked and looked around. "Wait, where am I?" Applebloom chimed in. "You're atta party! Seems like Pinkie Pie wanted to throw ya'll a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!" "Pinkie Pie? Who's that?" They blinked, slightly confused. Scootaloo perked up. "You know, the pink mare, frizzy mane? Made you say something about... Balloons and frogs? Or something." He shook his head, rubbing it. "I uhhh... I forgot." He blushed sheepishly as Clair patted his shoulder, giving him a loving smile as she pointed to the wild mare in the crowd. "You remember cousin Pinkie, right? She was at your fourth birthday and she threw you an amazing party?" He blinked a bit. He recalled a vague memory with a similarly vague sense of disorientation and sugary concoctions. He tapped his hoof on the ground in realization. "Ohhhh! I remember now! She always gives me a headache." "Now now, just because she emits large amounts of cognitive distorting energy doesn't mean you should be rude. Now, you four have fun! I'll be looking for your sister. I get the sneaking suspicion she tried to run off again." She sighed and wandered off, leaving the four at the party. Psi turned to his new friends and spoke. "S-So... What should we do first...?" &&& Parties weren't usually Psi Onyx's forte, mainly due to never being invited to parties in the first place. Those he ended up in were usually weird adult parties that his parents were invited to and usually ended with him lighting something on fire or a cake being launched in a face. Thankfully, he had friends this time. He learned to play party games, he tried Pinkie's amazing cupcakes, and he even made more friends from school who thought his psychic abilities like some cool superpower. It was such an alien experience, that the only thing he could do was burst with happiness, which caused his body to radiate light. As he shone like a star, Applebloom approached Clair, who had just come back downstairs. "Ummm... Ms. Voyance? Can I ask ya a question? Somethin' was buggin' me." "Hmmm? Oh, of course, Applebloom." "Wait, how did-?" She stopped herself as she already knew the answer to the question. "N-Nevermind. Ah was just wonderin'... Is Pinkie really Psi's cousin? Does that mean Psi's dad is a Pie or is it like with mah family and the Pies?" "Ahhh, I see," She giggled and took some punch, swirling it around. "No, Pinkie isn't my actual niece. However, Siddy and I were... Involved in the study and protection of colts and mares who displayed very strong psychic powers, and we were once tasked with helping take care of Pinkie." "Wait... Pinkie's psychic??" Applebloom looked genuinely taken aback by that. "Ah mean, ah figured she musta had some kinda magic to do the crazy things she did, but..." "Well, of course. It's a bit difficult to explain, but it probably has to do with something in her past that caused her such strong emotions that her mind just... Blossomed. Ever since then, she'd been able to hold a lot of chaotic mental potential." She took a bite of a cookie. "Of course, when she declared her mission to spread cheer across Equestria, we needed to find a way to keep her more secure in a location so we could learn how her brain works. That... Took a while, however." She chuckled as she recalled the number of candidates who quit after less than a month. "Anyways, while we're here, I'm hoping that Psi will learn how to use his powers properly and make more friends. And that's why I'm happy to speak with you." She turned and smiled at Applebloom. "You're a very ingenious girl, Applebloom. You always work hard to help ponies with their problems. I thank you for helping my friend." Applebloom blinked in confusion. How could she have known that much about me? Was she... She looked over at the mare, who moved a lock of her shimmering silver mane aside and watched her son play with some of the school children, giving a soft smile. She stepped in my head so easily... she pondered, looking where she looked. I wish I knew what she was thinking 'bout me... I think you're destined for great things... She looked back at her in a bit of surprise but smiled. She was a very nice pony and a very good mom. Maybe she was like that too... &&& Eventually, the party began to wind down, and as ponies poured out, Ob began to clean up the mess. "Siddy, dear..." Claire approached her husband, throwing trash away in a bag. "We've got this. You don't need to worry about it." "No no, I got it," he said as he moved with his mouth, puffing his chest up with a smirk. "I'm not out of action just yet." "No, but you're going to be if you strain your body too much." She tried to swipe the bag, but Ob gripped it hard, holding it up high and out of her reach. "I'll be fine. I'm not going to collapse from picking up trash. Just relax and help me out." Claire scrunched up her nose and lit up her horn, focusing on Ob and gazing into his eyes with absolute concentration. Ob, in turn, stared right back with a deadpan expression. They shared this intense stare-off for 10 minutes before Claire's horn eventually gave out, with her sitting and breathing out a sigh of defeat. Ob smirked and pressed his nose against hers. "Good try again, dear. Still not happening any time soon. My mind is as hard as a rock." "No, a rock I can crack. Your brain is harder than that. Seriously, what did they teach you??" He just smiled and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll tell you when you can crack through my mind." "Jerk..." she muttered with a smile as she got up, tossing a few pieces of trash into the bag. Meanwhile, Psi grumbled in the kitchen as he was put into a pink apron and was scrubbing the dishes alongside Pinkie. "Don't you have any boy's colors...?" "Nope! I left those at home!" "I saw you take out a cannon out of your head a while ago!" Psi pointed to the curly mane in complete confusion. "You know how to get it!" Pinkie's response was to giggle and pat his head with a wet hoof, causing him to shake his dampened mane. "Silly Psi-Psi! Using powers for something like that is kinda pointless, don't ya think?" "What..." He looked at Pinkie in utter bewilderment. "What are you talking about?" To which her reaction was to smile and pat him. "Oh, I'll explain it later! It's not that important right now, I think." Psi shrugged and looked over at the disorganized chairs, each one trembling and quickly being stacked up into rows. Pinkie piped up excitedly, "Wow! You've gotten really good! It's gonna be really exciting to teach you more powers!" That comment was enough to throw off the colt's concentration, a number of chairs stumbling about. "Wait, what?" "Hehe, didn't your mom tell you?~ I'm one of your teachers!" Psi shifted in place in discomfort. He knew of the Princess of Friendship and saw her immense powers. It only made sense to ask her for help. The prospect of Pinkie teaching him made him... Nervous. Pinkie tilted her head with a smile, this one a bit more unsettling than the others. "Ohhhh, I see. You think I'm not good enough!" "W-What? N-No!" Psi stuttered as he immediately started barricading his mind. This didn't do much as Pinkie leaned in, her pearly blues meeting his shimmering greys and grinning. "Tell ya what! Why don't we take a break from working and have ourselves a bit of fun?~ A little test to see if you reeeally need me as a teacher!" W-Wait wait, I-!" "Auntie Claaairie~ Can we do a little practice in the backyaaard~?" "Just be careful, please! If you seriously injure him or his brain, we're going to have words, missy!!" "Okie dokie!" Hey!" Psi stomped his hoof down, causing a small tremor as the faint grey aura he possessed slowly engulfed him, turning red in the process. "I won't fight you!! I don't wanna fight anyone!! I just wanna make friends and learn like a normal pony!! I hate these stupid powers!! Just sto-!!" "Quick!! Think fast!!" Psi's rant was cut short when Pinkie seemed to explode in a mass of pink-green energy, surrounding Psi in a colorful fog. His mind started warping, and he stumbled around as it slowly engulfed him... &&& When the colt came to his senses, his entire world was completely changed. The ground was rubbery, the trees looked as if they were made of candy, his house looked like a gingerbread home, and the pink. Oh GOD, was everything so damn pink. He couldn't explain it, but the color was aggravating him and made focusing harder. Just then, the sounds of Pinkie's telltale giggle could be heard. "The game is simple! Whoever pins the down first in a psychic grip wins!!", she called out before her voice vanished like an echo in the wind. He looked around, trying his best to focus, but with all of the sights and sounds, his brain simply screamed, causing him to let out a roar, nearby objects being set alight. The sounds of high-pitched screams as some nearby shrubbery disintegrated into ashes, and Psi would just keep charging around, the ethereal disembodied claws showing up and slashing at various giggling objects. "Rrrrrgh..." His irritation grew as he fired kinetic shots at any nearby sound, but nothing was hitting. Just then, his vision was clouded by a bright, fluffy concoction. Shouting in surprise, he rubbed at his face to get the creamy mess off, only to be hit by a rush of psychic energy. He stumbled around, using his will to try and fight back, but without his vision, it was only a matter of time before he was hoisted in the air. "H-Hey!! No fair!!" He flailed and tried to focus on the source, but the second he did, his brain got scrambled, sending his flames in separate directions before dying out completely. He flew about, soon meeting the ground with a THUD!, as he found himself caught under some kind of weight. He flailed about, but Pinkie's voice one out. "Three! Two! One!" The sound of a bell echoed as the world around him shifted again. The pink fever dream he found himself in was gone, replaced by his backyard with burnt bushes, broken objects, and Pinkie Pie sitting on his back, a coy smile on her face. "Hehehe, you're not bad! You almost had me a couple times! Buuuut..." She booped his nose and giggled. "You just couldn't see past all my energy!" Psi looked down a bit, feeling dejected at his loss. It felt... Weird. Pinkie noticed his expression and quickly hopped off of him, helping him up and dusting him off. "B-But don't worry! We're gonna help you get loads better at using your powers." His ears perked up. "Wait... We?" "Pfffsh, well duh!~ You think I was going to be your only teacher?~ Don't worry, Twilight has this all set up! You just need to show up at the castle tomorrow after school, like Twilight told me to tell you!" She reached in her mane and pulled out a watch, looking at it and jumping up. "Oh shoot! I need to finish cleaning up and head back to Sugarcube Corner! I gotta watch Pound and Pumpkin!" With that, she zoomed back inside to complete their chores, leaving her soon-to-be student alone in the backyard. He slumped back on the ground, looking up at the perfect blue sky. He was finally having a train of thought again, and his mind began to ask questions. Who were the other teachers? The Elements of Harmony? Somepony else? What was going to happen? Why did he need to learn to be better with his powers? Did she mean, more in control, or something else? And most importantly... "Wait, what was the point of ANY of that???"