Pinkie's Kooky Quest

by TheThirdBomb

「Weird Science」(Act 2)

"Ow! What the hay is that, Pinkie!?" came the startled yelp as the arrow made its mark, dropping to the floor harmlessly after its work was done with a clatter. Twilight's horn lit up as she checked the injury for anything unclean and to seal the cut as best she could, resolving to go to the doctor later anyway. Even though nothing hurt, a sudden feverish heat seemed to course through her body, skin tingling. Pinkie, meanwhile, had no idea what just happened. Queenie had been holding the arrow firmly until it shot out of her grasp, and weirdly Pinkie could sense her companion's surprise as if it were her own, but didn't have the time to call out. Biting her lower lip, the pink pony led Twilight inside her castle, taking her into the throne room. Or as Pinkie called it, 'the-room-which-totally-has-like-seven-thrones-in-it'. One title was definitely more popular than the other.

"Oh gee, Twilight, I just don't know what happened. Queenie was holding it really tight, I don't understand how..." she said, forcefully taking the lavender forehoof and examining it closely. Closely enough that her eye was only a few millimetres away before Twilight pushed her away a small bit for some breathing room. Upon being satisfied that Twilight had suffered no real injury, Pinkie set about finding the arrow again, and she guessed that Queenie had it. Materialising the doll beside her, Pinkie heard a heavy gasp come from the table, and looked up to see Twilight scrambling away, horn lighting up as her wings unfurled, ready to flee if need be.

"P-Pinkie! Run! There's something there!" the bookish mare shrieked, firing a bolt of energy that arced through the air like lightning, causing Pinkie to emit a gasp of her own as the attack flew straight towards Queenie, the porcelain lady having no time to react as the bolt...Passed through her harmlessly. The pink mare deflated in relief, exhaling deeply before turning to her friend with an upset frown.

"Twilight, why'd you shoot at Queenie?" she pouted, before perking up within an instant. "Wait, you can see her now?!" Pinkie gasped, willing the suddenly hesitant doll forward to approach Twilight, who continued to back away slowly, though held off on firing any more magic as the previous attempt proved fruitless. "Hey, hey now, Twily, there's nothing to be worried about." she said, approaching slowly so as to not intimidate her friend.

"Pinkie Pie...Explain. What...What is that t-thing! Why couldn't I see it before, what is that arrow, why are you not scared, why did my magic not work, why, why why why-" Pinkie cut her off before she fainted, yet again shoving her hoof in Twilight's mouth, slightly regretting having to do it so often.

"It's like I was telling you Twilight! I found the arrow with my super duper new Pinkie Sense, and I accidentally got cut by it, and then poof! Queenie appeared. Say hi Queenie!" she called, waiting for the doll to give a hesitant polite wave before holding up a hoof, preventing the lavender mare from interrupting, "And then I was attacked by Timberwolves and Queenie totally saved my flank with a super awesome power and then I came to Ponyville and said hi to Applejack and Applebloom, and neither of them could see Queenie so I went to see you and now i'm saying hi to you and you fired at Queenie. Now i'm explaining all this to you. Simple, right?!" she grinned widely, a squeaking noise emitting from nowhere in particular. To give Twilight credit, she at least processed the full story first before collapsing onto the floor, twitching violently and muttering something about 'impossible', 'anomaly', 'hot', and other such things which Pinkie could never quite wrap her head around. She knew better than to stop this fit, though. It was far better for Twilight to get over things before moving on.

Once Twilight had ceased the worst of her spasms, she stumbled shakily to her hooves, staring warily at「Dancing Queen」through reading glasses that she'd not removed from last night. "O-ok, let me sum up what you just told me. You!" she pointed accusingly at Pinkie, "Managed to develop a new Pinkie Sense, which let you find the arrow, which cut you, which gave you...That...Thing." she shook the hoof now at the china lady, who seemed to frown even though her lips did not move.

Pinkie frowned as well. "That sums it up, yep, but...She's not a 'thing', Twily."

"Well what IS she then?"

Pinkie pondered. Thinking all the way back to what「Dancing Queen」had said to her when they first met. About how she'd never leave her side, and always stand by her. That's when the gears clicked into place in Pinkie's mind. She couldn't keep calling Queenie a doll forever, so this seemed like the next best thing. "Simple! She's a 「Stand!」" she exclaimed triumphantly, quite proud of herself for coining the term, not that Twilight knew she had just made it up on the spot.

Twilight, meanwhile, switched into investigation mode, deciding to view this situation from a logical, scientific point of view above all else. "Alright. What is a Stand? My magic didn't affect her, and I couldn't see her bef...ore...Oh my gosh. Oh. My. GOSH!" she exclaimed, suddenly standing nose to nose with the surprised Pinkie Pie. "I got cut by the arrow! That means i'm getting one of her too! Wait, you claim that nobody else could see her either? " Pinkie nodded, somewhat taken aback by her new enthusiasm, and the odd thing on top of Twilight's head. "So that means that you need to be cut be the arrow before you can see, what did you call them? Stands. You can't see them unless you get cut too. So how did you make her appear afterwards?"

Pinkie, realising she had a turn to talk, eagerly pointed a hoof at Twilight's face. "You've already made yours appear, silly! It's on your head."

Twilight considered that as she reached upwards, humouring Pinkie even though it didn't make sense. "Pinkie, don't be ridiculous. How could a huge porcelain thing fit on my hea- OH CELESTIA WHAT IS THAT!?" she screamed, reflexively tossing the thing in her hooves away from her, sending the convulsing grey cube flying until it splattered on the wall about five meters away, pooling on the floor before taking the shape of a cube once more, resting dormant as the mares stared at it.

Pinkie shrugged, looking back up at Twilight. "I think that's your Stand."

The latter pony cringed away slightly, unwilling to draw closer. As if responding to this demand, the cube lost form, turning into a pool of liquid and attempting to flow away, yet unable to pass through the wall. "But...But it's nothing like yours!"

"Well maybe they aren't all the same, Twilight. I guess they can all do different things. Like Queenie here can take control of inan...Inanum..." she glanced over to her Stand helplessly. Staring silently at each other for a few seconds, Pinkie seemed to nod along with some quiet syllables before returning her attention to Twilight. "In-an-i-mate. Inanimate objects. She can control those. That's how she beat those meanie Timberwolves, by taking control of the sticks and twigs that they're made of." the pink mare recalled, a faint grin crossing her lips at the memory of「Dancing Queen」socking the wooden wolves right in the face. Getting bitten was very much worth it.

The Alicorn gulped slowly drawing closer under the assumption that her own...Stand...Couldn't hurt her. She couldn't comprehend the insanity of this situation. Pinkie was crazy enough on her own, now she'd gained another of the Pinkie Senses that drove Twilight insane, but found a magic arrow that gave her some crazy new ability and gave herself...A rather more underwhelming one. A grey pool of silvery, reflective liquid. Honestly, Pinkie was absolutely ridiculous. Twilight only wished she could understand that silly mare. Reaching out slowly, the tip of her hoof made contact with the strange liquid, and to Pinkie's horror, Twilight, one of her best friends, melted away into the puddle, which grew bigger as she seemed to be absorbed into it. "Ah! It's got Twilight! Quick, Queenie, hit it!" she said, her Stand obliging at once, winding up a punch with launched forward at high speed only for the goo to reform into a ring, Queenie's fist passing right through the target. The liquid then constricted itself around Queenie's arm, the convulsing liquid feeling very strange on Pinkie's fore...hoof. That was strange. It felt like she could feel what Queenie felt.

"Mistress Pie, this is very uncomfortable. Permission to dematerialise requested." the Stand spoke hesitantly, a very disturbed undertone to its voice as her mistress nodded, allowing the doll to fade away into nothingness as the puddle flopped to the ground with a splash. It didn't take long to start shifting, moving towards Pinkie herself. The aforementioned mare let out a squeak of fright as she jumped away, running away from the pool that ate her friend by leaping over the table, getting「Dancing Queen」to strike a chunk out of the crystal table, taking control of the gems quickly enough to deflect a piece of the puddle that had detached itself from the rest of its mass, launching itself at Pinkie. The pink mare kept the chunk of precious table floating next to her as she played avoidance, soon requiring the aid of two more bits of crystal to keep the liquid from touching her.

Pinkie was absolutely distraught. Twilight...She'd been so scared at first, and then she got super duper excited, only to be...Be eaten by her own Stand! That wasn't fair! Queenie was so awesome and cool and caring, why did Twilight have to...To...Pinkie couldn't bring herself to think the 'D' word, she would not give up on a friend so easily! She'd find a way to get Twilight out of that puddle, if it was the last thing she did! "Alright you stupid little puddle, me and Queenie are gonna get Twily outta you, and then punch you! A whole lot! Wait that might not be a good idea because if I can feel what Queenie feels then maybe Twilight will too!" Pinkie frowned, leaping away from another attempted lunge, blocking the following attack with one of the floating chunks. The puddle was fast, really fast! It definitely moved quicker than Queenie did, but didn't look like it had too much power behind it. Obviously if you could devour whatever you touched, then that point seemed a little moot.

The liquid continued its chase around the room for a good few minutes, but something had to give eventually. The puddle split into 5 smaller versions of itself without warning, launching themselves at the running Pinkie Pie. The three chunks plus Queenie herself came out to defend her, but before she knew what was happening the silvery liquid changed, flowing over the crystal until the puddle had completely covered Pinkie herself. 'Sorry Twily, I let you down...' she thought, clenching her eyes shut as she prepared to be devoured by the grey fluid.

When nothing happened right away, Pinkie cracked one eye open. Then the other. The liquid was just sitting on her, feeling very odd as it undulated on her fur, spreading over her skin as though examining her fully. Queenie stood a short distance away, looking on in confusion. Pinkie could only shrug at her Stand. A minute passes before the Puddle was satisfied, flowing off of her body leaving no traces of its presence before pooling on the floor a meter away. A shape started to take form, and then colour, and then life. Twilight lay on the floor, gasping for breath, staring at Pinkie with a dazed expression. "Twiliiiiiiiiiight! You're OK!" the pink mare squealed happily, hugging the lavender pony, who flinched at her touch, causing Pinkie to back away quickly, slightly concerned. "...Twilight?"

Coming to a sitting position, the grey puddle materialised again, forming a ring around the Alicorn. "I was always OK... Pinkie... I get what it does now!" she shouted, a wide smile on her face, like a filly opening the biggest book she could ever dream of for her birthday. "It's all about information! When I touched it, the last thing I wished for was to understand you! So it did just that! When I touched the crystal table chunks, it filled me with information about its chemical makeup, the particle model, everything down to the magical signature within!" Twilight jumped up, shaking Pinkie's face in excitement. "My Stand examines things! It's a real scientist! When I was in that puddle, I was scared at first, I admit, but it still did what I asked of it and nothing more. It gave me information about your DNA, your date of birth, date of conception, the date you got your cutie mark, everything!"

Pinkie stood, completely astounded at her friend's happiness at being sucked into a puddle of formless liquid, but...As long as she was pleased with the end result, Pinkie could appreciate it all the same. It really did seem like the kind of thing Twilight would enjoy having, anyway. "Sooo...Did it talk to you? What's it called?"

Twilight frowned briefly before waving the thought away. "Nah, no talking, but don't you see! This power is a huge discovery, just think of the possibilities! It gives ponies superpowers! These Stands are absolutely bizarre, but they could be a huge benefit to society! And...And to recognise it's strange nature..." she cleared her throat, pausing for dramatic effect as Pinkie awaited her words with bated breath. "I hereby dub my Stand:「Weird Science!」"

...
"So did you figure out how I work?"
"... ... No."

Author's Note:

Stand Name:「Weird Science」 Stand Master:「Twilight Sparkle」
Destructive Power: E
Range: A
Durability: A
Speed: B
Precision: A
Development Potential: E
Abilities: Weird Science posesses the ability to analyse any object it touches. The more of its mass covering the object, the more complete the analysis. Weird Science's user can also melt into the mass with no negative effects.

「Dancing Queen」Ability Update: Dancing Queen seems to be unique in the ability to talk out loud.

---

So yeah, my longest chapter to date, though not by much. A lot of exposition about Stands for the newcomers, a bit of action, the usual fare.

I do hope that most of the next few arcs are longer than two acts, however.

Hope you enjoyed!

Comments

[Cloverleaf]

8380641
Stand : Sound of Silence
Stand user : ?
Destructive Power: D
Range: D
Durability: C
Speed: C
Precision: B
Development Potential: B
Ability : precise control of sound waves, allowing it to manipulate what is heard by its user and others nearby, as well as volume of sounds heard.

Potential development to being able to allow and block specific noises only, and target specific individuals.

I'd imagine a pair of headphones, and maybe he one of the 'anyone can see it, not just stand users' ones. (Like Strength in Stardust Crusaders)

...honestly, I'd see Fluttershy with it.

[TheThirdBomb]

8380668
I could definitely see that fitting. I should state, while I don't think I intend on copying any Stand suggested on a 1:1 ratio, I can definitely incorporate some ideas.

Given that you're one of a few commenters as of the time of writing, it's pretty high on the list of considerations, though!

[Graglithan The Greater]

... "So did you figure out how I work?"
"... ... No."

[TheThirdBomb]

8388696
I'm sorry to look a, erm, gift comment in the mouth, but i'm not sure what you meant by quoting that bit. Was it good, bad, incomprehensible? I'm just curious, is all.

And now that you've posted that, I have to wonder if I should start linking the music references in the comment section...