One Hug
Zodiac slowly comes to, groggy as he gets his bearings. He looks down the hallway he finds himself in, then notices Pinkie Pie, still wearing her custom-made wings and horn, staring back at him.
“Rise and shine, sleepy-head! Feeling better?”
Zodiac feels at his forehead. “Wha … what happened? Where’s Sunbolt?”
“You collapsed after opening a box containing a pebble, and Sunbolt left about ten minutes ago to prepare for my leading a group of alicorn-looking earth ponies to Paradise and Utopia.”
“What???” The news snaps Zodiac back to reality. “So I failed the test? But that’s impossible!”
“It was unfortunate,” Pinkie corrects, “but wouldn’t ‘impossible’ mean ‘not possible’?”
“But my reasoning … my reasoning was flawless. For the pebble to be in that middle box, that just makes no sense.”
“It’s just a pebble. Physically, it could have been in any box. Why were you so sure?”
“Because of the tablets, Pinkie! I remember quite clearly what the messages on those tablets said: Box 1’s tablet read ‘This box is empty,’ Box 2’s tablet read ‘Box 3 contains the pebble,’ and Box 3’s tablet read ‘The messages in front of at least two of these boxes are false.’ It should not have been possible for the pebble to be in Box 2.”
“Why not?” Pinkie innocently asks.
“With the pebble in Box 2,” Zodiac explains, “Box 1’s tablet is true since that box was empty. At the same time, Box 2’s tablet is false since Box 3 didn’t contain the pebble. But then Box 3’s tablet made no sense!”
“Why not?” Pinkie innocently repeats.
“Because that message has to be true or false. If true, then at least two messages are false … but only one is false: the one for Box 2. If false, then at most one message is false … but now two messages are false: the ones for Box 2 and 3. So again, the message makes no sense!”
Pinkie ponders Zodiac’s argument for a minute. “Did Sunbolt state that the messages had anything to do with the location of the pebble?”
“Well … uh …” Zodiac eventually stumbles to a ‘no’ response.
“And why did you assume that that last message was either true or false? Couldn’t it be neither? I mean, I know that the statement ‘I hate baked goods’ is false, and I know that the statement ‘I love Gummy’ is true, but what about the statement ‘This statement is false’?”
“Well,” Zodiac starts, “if true, then it’s false. If false, then it’s true. So that statement makes no sense, either.”
“And yet here I am, telling it to you. They’re just words, right. Words formed from letters, like the one I was going to write to Princess Celestia while I was in Utopia. But why do you assume that every statement ever made is either true or false?”
“I …” Zodiac goes quiet for several minutes. He then suddenly erupts: “SUNBOLT TRICKED ME!”
“More like you tricked you.”
“Pinkie Pie, I … I am so sorry that I got you into this mess. If you can ever forgive me …”
“Well of course I forgive you. Now how ‘bout a hug?”
Before Zodiac can satisfy Pinkie’s request, Sunbolt appears from a passage and approaches the two. “It is time. Where is Twilight?”
“She’s still inside,” Pinkie replies.
“Then she has lost her wager,” Sunbolt cheerfully concludes. He opens the door to the room, and notices that Violet now stands in its center, alone. He also notices Yellow, Green, and Indigo standing in one group to the left, and Red, Orange, and Blue standing in another group to the right. Twilight sees Sunbolt, Pinkie, and Zodiac enter the room and addresses Sunbolt.
“I got them grouped by place of residence. If you prefer, I could have Red and Yellow paired off as the unicorns, Orange and Green paired off as the pegasi, and the others grouped as the earth ponies. but either way, a deal is a deal.”
“You know, Twilight, Filthy Rich could make a lot of bits by selling smelling salts to these towns. Are there any ponies here that don’t pass out?”
“I suppose Sunbolt learned what I did while coming here,” Zodiac remarks. “Don’t underestimate Twilight’s incredible sense of logical reasoning.”
“I must admit, I got caught up by Violet not saying anything. But once I settled down, I realized that I had all the information I needed.”
“We seem to have some time while Sunbolt comes to. Please, Twilight, you must share your reasoning with me. The way you explained this task, I have to know how you figured everything out.”
Twilight smiles as she speaks. “OK, but hopefully this is the last time I do this for a while!”
“The key was starting with Yellow’s first statement: ‘I am not from Elysium.’ If that was false, then Yellow would be from Elysium … but the only pony from Elysium was a truth-telling earth pony. That meant that Yellow spoke the truth, so her other statement, ‘Indigo and Violet are the same pony type,’ must also be true. From there, I focused on Indigo’s two statements.”
“Suppose Indigo was truthful. Then she would come from Paradise, and that would force her to be a pegasus. That, in turn, would force Violet to be a pegasus too, since they must be the same pony type. Also, Violet would be from Paradise, as Indigo stated as much. But that would mean there were two Paradisian pegasi, and that contradicts the stipulations of the wager. Therefore, Indigo was lying about both statements: neither she nor Violet was really from Paradise. And since they are the same pony type, they cannot also come from the same town; one must come from Utopia, and the other must come from Elysium … but only one pony really does come from Elysium, and that one is an earth pony who speaks the truth. Since Indigo lies, it must be Violet who is the Elysian earth pony. That, in turn, forces Indigo to be the Utopian earth pony.”
“Now I can look at Green’s first statement, ‘I am from Elysium.’ As Violet has been shown to be the one Elysian, Green must be lying; that makes his other statement, ‘Orange is not telling the truth,’ a lie as well. That means that Orange is truthful … and since there are only three truthful ponies, namely, the Utopian unicorn, the Paradisian pegasus, and the Elysian earth pony, it follows that Orange, Yellow, and Violet are the only truth-tellers; the others are all liars.”
“Since Orange is truthful, she really is as she claims: she is the Paradisian pegasus, which forces Yellow to be the Utopian unicorn. That just leaves Red, Green, and Blue to be, in some order, the Utopian pegasus, the Paradisian unicorn, and the Paradisian earth pony.”
“Blue made two separate statements that must each be false, so Blue is not a unicorn and does not come from Utopia. The only possibility is that she is really the Paradisian earth pony. And since Green lied, she and Blue come from different towns; Green cannot be the Paradisian unicorn, so she can only be the Utopian pegasus. And that leaves Red to be the Paradisian unicorn.”
Zodiac, mesmerized by the solution Twilight meticulously presented, smiles broadly. “I have run out of superlatives for you, Princess of Friendship. You really are one-of-a-kind. Well done!”
He then turns to Pinkie. “You would do well to learn from one as wise as her. You might offer much in terms of exuberance and enthusiasm, but a little rational thought would serve you well.”
Twilight, insulted at the comment, starts to speak … but Pinkie stops her.
“You’re probably right, Zodiac. It’s just who I am, I guess. But hey, you still owe me a hug, right?”
“I suppose I do,” Zodiac replies, and starts to wrap his forehoofs around his fellow faux-alicorn … but Pinkie stops him, much to Twilight’s surprise.
“You’re all about ‘true’ and ‘false’, right? Well I got one more proposition to make to you.”
“Proposition?” Zodiac looks at Pinkie quizzically. “What sort of proposition.”
“Allow me to make one statement to you. If I make a true statement, then you give me a hug. If I make a false statement, then you don’t give me a hug. Deal?”
“Pinkie,” Twilight asks, “what are you doing?”
Pinkie turns to Twilight. “I like to have fun; it’s who I am. You know that, Twilight!”
Twilight notices a glint in Pinkie’s eyes, then shrugs and turns back to Sunbolt, who begins to come around.
Pinkie turns back to Zodiac. “So, we got a deal?”
“I see no harm in that,” Zodiac replies. “So make your statement. Something like ‘I like hugs’, no doubt.”
“Let’s leave the room for a minute, so Twilight can talk to Sunbolt.” Pinkie walks out of the room, with Zodiac following behind.
Twilight shakes her head, then turns to Sunbolt. “Are you OK?”
“I’m fine,” Sunbolt dejectedly replies. “I guess I should have known better than to challenge your intellect. I just wish I could bring my fellow earth ponies to the forest towns.”
“You have my word, Sunbolt, that Pinkie and I will not rest until we have fixed this friendship problem.”
“I thank you for all you and your friend are trying, but it seems hopeless. Nothing can get ponies like Zodiac to come around to our way of thinking … what’s going on with your cutie mark?”
Twilight checks her flank, and is stunned to see the glowing icons which normally indicate that a friendship problem has been resolved. “WHAT??? I … I don’t understand. We’ve solved nothing yet. What’s going on with my cutie mark?”
Pinkie Pie pronks back into the room, her smile stretched from ear to ear and her cutie mark emitting the same glowing pattern as Twilight’s. Zodiac follows her inside and approaches Sunbolt.
“On behalf of the Alicorn Society, and on behalf of all the residents of the twin-towns, I cordially invite you and all your fellow earth ponies to come to our fair forest towns.”
The statement nearly causes Sunbolt to pass out again, but he keeps his composure. “Wait … are you serious? Just like that? I don’t understand.”
“We can discuss details on the way back to Utopia. You should speak to Cloudstitch.”
The two leave the room, followed by the Rainbow Seven.
“Pinkie Pie, what’s going on? What did you say to Zodiac?”
“Not much. I just made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
Twilight takes a final look towards the forest, then back down the road leading to Elysium, before turning back to face Cloudstitch and Sunbolt. “I thank you both again for seeing us off. It’s a shame that Zodiac was too busy to do the same.”
“He, Spiral, and the rest of the Alicorn Society have much to prepare for, with the upcoming meshing of pony types throughout both the forest towns and Elysium,” Cloudstitch soothing replies. “But they are all eager to put the past behind and start fresh, with everypony involved in the healing process this time.”
“What you and Pinkie Pie were able to accomplish, the earth ponies of this area cannot thank you enough for,” Sunbolt adds.
“And thanks again for the wings!” Pinkie interjects. “Too bad I never got to meet the pony who actually created them.”
“What makes you think you haven’t?” Sunbolt asks with a sly grin. Twilight and Pinkie gape at the news.
“You created those wings, Sunbolt? The horn, too? Wow … leader of the earth pony movement AND a master seamstress.”
“What can I say, Twilight. I learned from the best … didn’t I, mom?”
“MOM!!!???” Twilight and Pinkie exclaim in unison.
“Indeed,” Cloudstitch admits, “though it has been so many moons since I adorned myself as such, I don’t know if I could remove them by now. They really have become a part of me, no matter the lack of function.”
“So you really are an earth pony,” Pinkie restates, still shocked from the revelation.
“Yes. I and the other earth ponies were shunned by the unicorns and pegasi and forced to begin anew, far from the forest. I bore no ill will; the fact is, many earth ponies preferred it that way. But I knew in my heart that all pony types were meant to mingle with one another, to bring out the best in all.”
“But I don’t get it,” Twilight states. “How did you ever get the ponies of Utopia and Paradise to accept you as one of their own?”
“It wasn’t easy,” Cloudstitch replies. “I knew myself to be an excellent seamstress and craftspony, but in my first visit to the twin-towns, I was unprepared for the level of sophistication that their reasoning had evolved to.”
“And that first trip,” Twilight asked, “you clothed yourself as a pegasus?”
“Indeed … but I made the mistake of heading to Utopia first. Merely speaking the truth betrayed my true nature, and I was cast out. I had to start over, but not before building a better foundation for my logic abilities. I vowed to never be found out again.”
“When I felt I was ready, I headed to Paradise … but this time, I created wings AND a horn. I spoke little this time, letting them ask me about my true nature. And I was able to convince the townsfolk that I was either a unicorn or pegasus, but that my true nature be kept hidden, for the good of a town that still had infighting. Once I felt that I was accepted, I founded the Alicorn Society; my hope was that if all ponies looked the same from the outside, all would be treated fairly on the inside.”
Sunbolt’s expression darkens. “But that didn’t work out as you intended, did it?”
“I think all the ponies initiated into the Society had the best of intentions … but there were some who thought that the mission was to help only unicorns and pegasi mend their differences, and not earth ponies. Zodiac was probably the greatest exponent of this belief; I tried to convince him in private to be more open-minded, but I dared not reveal my true nature to him or anypony else, for fear of being cast out yet again. No, I thought it best to bide my time, and hope that he and the others would come around.”
“But patience was never one of my virtues,” Sunbolt interjects. “I remember the first time my mother was forced to return. I could see the disappointment in her eyes, in her walk, in the way she carried herself. And I remember when she left the second time, adorned as you see now … and I didn’t hear from her again. I had to know what had become of her, so I created my own set of wings.”
“Wings? But you have a horn now.”
“I have both, Twilight. I tended to use wings in Paradise and the horn in Utopia, mostly so I would not be so easily recognized by those who frequented both forest towns. And I brought fellow earth ponies with me on these trips, trying to piece together what happened to my mom. And to this day, I never knew that she had risen to such a position within their ranks.”
Sunbolt turns to Cloudstitch, a fresh tear forming. “I missed you, mom.”
Cloudstitch hugs her son tightly. “I’m sorry I’ve been away for so long. You know I had the best of intentions, for us and for all of pony kind.” She tilts her head to Twilight and Pinkie. “Once again, we cannot thank you enough for all you’ve done.”
“Just glad that we could help,” Twilight replies.
“And thanks again for the wings and horn, Sunbolt!”
“You’ve earned them, Pinkie Pie,” Sunbolt replies. “I’d like to think I do good work. Almost as good as you, mom.”
“Almost nothing,” Cloudstitch retorts. “Ever since I gave you your first bolt of cloth to work on, I knew you inherited your mother’s special talent.”
“Well, we need to head back to Ponyville while the sun still shines. I hope to visit your towns again someday … and maybe have more on my mind than logic puzzles.”
The four share one final laugh and group hug, before Twilight and Pinkie climb into the balloon and sail back home …
“I see a sheep down below. It’s got black wool … or at least it does on the top. Hey Twilight, you think it’s possible for a sheep to have black wool on top and white wool underneath?”
“Uh … that would be new to me, Pinkie. But I suppose anything’s possible.”
“And all the trees … all I see from up here is green. Maybe one of those trees is green all over. Green trunk, green branches … or what about red? A red tree with green leaves? Wouldn’t that be perfect for Hearthswarming?”
Twilight chuckles to herself at Pinkie’s usual silliness. A thought then occurs to her.
“Pinkie, you never did tell me what you said to Zodiac after my last test. Whatever you said, it sure must have been persuasive.”
“Not really. He just agreed to give me a hug if I told a true statement, and not to give me a hug if I told a false statement.”
“Yes, I remember that … but what did you say?”
“Simple,” Pinkie replied, “I said ‘If you give me a hug, then you must invite all earth ponies to come and inhabit the twin-towns.’ ”
Twilight paused for a moment to ponder Pinkie’s statement. “That’s IT? Zodiac changed his entire belief structure because of that statement?”
“Well I don’t know if I got him to change his ponial beliefs. I just know that he had to invite all the earth ponies to come and inhabit the twin-towns, at least according to his own set of rules.”
“I still don’t understand,” Twilight admits. Pinkie proceeds to explain:
“Well my statement to Zodiac was either true or false. Suppose it was false. Well the opposite of the conditional statement ‘if A then B’ is ‘A and not B’, so my statement being false would be equivalent to the statement ‘You will give me a hug, but you will not invite the earth ponies’ … but he agreed that he would not give me a hug if my statement was false. That meant that my statement couldn’t be false without Zodiac going back on his word, so my statement had to be true. Now since my statement must be true, he had to give me a hug … and yes, Twilight, he did give me a super-squeezy hug! Well, now he had to invite the earth ponies; if he didn’t, he would make my statement false, but he already gave me a hug, proving that my statement must be true. Next thing I know, our cutie marks flash to show a job well done.”
Twilight’s head starts to spin as she attempts to process the explanation. “Pinkie …”
“Basically, ‘A’ and ‘If A then B’ implies ‘B’ … and here, ‘A’ is that I get a hug, and ‘B’ is that the earth ponies are invited.”
“Pinkie,” Twilight continues, “how did you know all that?”
“Well, logic was part of my schooling as a filly back on the rock farm. When the time came for testing, I was told that I had a pony intelligence quotient of 217.”
“You have a pony IQ of 217??? Pinkie Pie, that’s higher than mine! You really are a genius!”
“Well, I don’t like to talk about that. It’s just a number, after all; it doesn’t define who I am. And all that logic and reasoning is just boring and a lot of work to me. Now, applying that knowledge … like knowing the perfect mixture of ingredients for a cake batter mix, or the precise temperature and timing for baking … that’s where I like to show off!”
“Wow … I am speechless, Pinkie.” Twilight looks towards to horizon, and sees the skyline of Ponyville in the distance. “Hey, guess where we are!”
“Well duh … we’re in a balloon! And I thought you were speechless. Oh, what do you think Rarity will say when she sees me? Or Rainbow Dash? Do you think they’ll think I’m an alicorn? Hey ‘corn’ is in ‘alicorn’ … but it’s also in ‘unicorn’ How come ‘alicorn’ doesn’t use any part of ‘pegasus’? Maybe the term should have been ‘pegacorn’. Or maybe ‘unisus’. But what would the plural of ‘unisus’ be? ‘Unisuses’? That’s a lot of esses at the end, isn’t it. I like the letter ess. It’s so fun, with its curvy nature, and it turns a friend into friends. I like friends better than friend; more to enjoy, and …”
Stats
Page generated in 0.171 seconds
Total duration
1,114 users online
1,716,904 hits today, 1,960,719 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Bravo! An excellent life lesson, delightful logic puzzles, and an interesting political struggle with personal ramifications. I'm impressed.
Another of the hidden gems of this website. Well done indeed.
I would imagine that Rainbow and a lot of other ponies would either faint or scream and start running.
Good work. I thought that the puzzle was impossible--another trick question--but once I saw where I made an error in logic, I was able to solve the puzzle. And I was able to do it within Twilight's time limit.
Well-crafted, well-written, and well done.
Well I read it. Now if you’ll excuse me. *head explodes*