Today was the day, thought Twilight to herself. That dreaded day that comes once a year. The day that instills fear into the toughest and most resilient stallions. The day that even mentioning the name makes anypony cringe and wince in agony. She put another pillow up against the door and made sure it was secure.
"Spike, get me my helmet," she said. "It's April Foals' Day."
Spike raised an eyebrow a bit and asked, "Aren't you overreacting, Twi? It's just a few pranks."
Twilight rushed up to him and stared into his eyes until their noses almost touched. "Just a few pranks? Do you even know how Pinkie Pie acts on this day? She goes BERSERK with the pranks! Don't you remember the incident last year?!"
Spike winced as he recalled the scene aptly dubbed "The Pie-in-the-Face Incident."
"I can still remember the terrifying smell of banana cream."
"Exactly. So this year, I'm going to be extra cautious and make sure I don't, nay, NOPONY suffers the fate of Pinkie's holiday spirit. Now hoof me some more pillows to block the windows! We need to get everypony safe in here!" Twilight reached her hoof back to grab a pillow, checking to see if there were any flaws in her work. She felt a pillow in her hooves as she said, "Thank you."
"No problem!" giggled a feminine voice.
Twilight stiffened as she slowly turned her head. Behind her stood the pink pony herself, Pinkie.
"Why do we have all these pillows by the way? OOH! Are we having a pillow fight?"
Twilight sighed. "No, Pinkie. I'm just-" she stopped herself, knowing that Pinkie was sensitive when it comes to her pranks and jokes. "N-Nothing, it's nothing!"
Pinkie smiled mischievously and raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Nothing? Or a praaaank?"
Twilight sighed in relief and then quickly tried to act distressed as if she was caught in the act. She didn't want her to know that she dreaded this day. It was her favorite day of the year. Moreso than her birthday! She would be so disappointed if she knew she hated April Foals'! "Oh jeez, Pinkie please don't look! This was such a good prank!"
Pinkie giggled. "It's okay, Twilight! I understand what it's like to have a prank ruined." She suddenly turned around as her smile diminished immediately. She looked up towards the ceiling, and like a veteran suffering from wartime flashbacks said softly, "I understand all too well..."
Twilight shifted a bit uncomfortably as she stood still for a whole minute. She was just about to call the paramedics when she quickly looked back at her with a smile. "So, you're probably wondering what myyyy prank is, aren't'cha?"
Twilight gulped and nodded, still keeping a smile. "Do you...have a good one planned?" she asked, beads of sweat forming across her forehead.
"Oh my gosh. Twilight, this will be my best. Prank. Yet." She gave a determined grin as she continued, "This prank will blow the Pie-in-the-Face Incident right out of the water!"
Spike fainted in distress as Twilight's eyes widened as her pupils dilated. Somehow, she was able to keep her smile and squeak out, "Really?"
Pinkie couldn't help but laugh at Twilight's reaction. "I can see you're super excited! Well, I won't disappoint you! I Pinkie promise that this will be the best April Foals' Day EVER!" She jumped in the air in glee and gasped, hovering in the air. "I forgot! I need go get the others! They do NOT want to miss this!"
Twilight stood up straight a bit more when she heard this. "Wait, Pinkie!" But it was too late, as Pinkie easily opened the door and sped outside. Twilight looked outside in fear as Spike slowly got up from his mini-heartattack.
"Urgh...what'd I miss?"
"Pinkie's going to get the others! I can't let them be apart of Pinkie's dangerous pranks!" She quickly started chasing after Pinkie and yelled out to Spike, "CANYOUCLEANTHISUP,SPIKE? THANKS,BYE!"
He looked down at the pillows and sighed. He then got an idea as he dragged the pillows across the room and into the corner. "This is going to be the best pillow fort everrrr..."
Twilight sighed and mumbled to herself, "Dang it! I lost her!" She kept walking forward, hoping to find Pinkie bouncing around somewhere when she came to Fluttershy's cottage. She looked inside the window and saw Fluttershy and Pinkie sitting down on a table and chatting. "There you are!" She quickly bust the door open...actually scratch that. She ran into the door, bruised her head, and teleported into the house and quickly sat down nonchalantly into an empty seat at the table.
Surprised and a little concerned over Twilight's bruise, Fluttershy asked, "Twilight, what are you doing here? N-Not that there's anything wrong with you coming in here."
"Oh, I just wanted to join you girls~" Twilight said.
Pinkie narrowed her eyes and looked deeply into Twilight's soul. At least, that's what it felt she was doing from Twilight's perspective. "I see what you're trying to do, Twilight. I see through your ruse..."
Twilight started to get even more nervous than she already was. "Wh-What ruse, Pinkie?"
"...You're trying to learn some of my pranking secrets so you can become a professional pranker, too!"
Fluttershy looked at Pinkie and asked, "Oh dear, you were going to prank me?"
"Uhh...noooooo..." Pinkie looked away slowly. "OH WAIT THAT REMINDS ME!" She quickly sped out of her seat and into the kitchen.
Fluttershy moved her head towards Twilight and said, "Well, I'm glad you're here, Twilight! We were just discussing-MFF!"
Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof quickly so she could talk. She lowered her voice so Pinkie couldn't hear. "Fluttershy, Pinkie is going to pull the biggest. Prank. Ever."
As she let go of her muzzle, Fluttershy smiled and whispered "Oh...good for her..."
Twilight looked surprised and taken aback. "No! This is bad! This prank could kill everypony! Bring Ponyville to rubble! It could wipe the whole pony race!" Her mane started to get a bit frizzy as her voice rose a bit in volume.
Fluttershy stuttered a bit, feeling a bit intimidated by Twilight. "Um...aren't you overreacting just a teensy bit?"
Twilight laughed sarcastically, "Oh ha ha! Good one! EQUESTRIA IS IN JEOPARDY HERE, FLUTTERSHY!"
"Girls, I've got a surprise!" Pinkie slowly came out of the kitchen with a pie in her hoof, causing Twilight to freeze up.
Pie in the face! PIE IN THE FACE! she yelled in her mind as she quickly got up from her seat and tried to tackle Pinkie to stop her evil deeds. Unfortunately, she miscalculated the trajectory of her jump and knocked the pie over with her face, meeting the ground, covered in banana cream. And if it wasn't humiliating enough, the pie was scalding hot.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, suffering from second degree burns on her face.
"Twilight, what are you doing? I was just giving Fluttershy the pie the Cakes made to thank her for watching Pound and Pumpkin!"
Twilight tried to act calm, ignoring her burning face and answered, "I-I was trying to get to the bathroom when I tripped. S-Silly me!"
"Twilight, are you sure you're okay?" Fluttershy asking, acting concerned.
"IT'S JUST A FLESH WOUND! RGH!" She put her hooves over her face, trying to stop the burning.
Pinkie sighed and smiled again. "That's okay! I'll make you both pies tomorrow! But now, I have to get going to see Applejack and Rainbow at the barn to...test something..." She smiled sinisterly as she turned to Fluttershy and whispered in her ear.
"Ooh! Right! I'll be sure to be there!"
"Great!" She quickly sped off, leaving Twilight confused.
"What did she say to you, Fluttershy?!" she asked in desperation.
"Oh uh...s-sorry, Twilight. I Pinkie promised that I wouldn't tell anypony." She smiled sheepishly as Twilight sighed.
"Well, I better find Pinkie then!" She quickly chased after Pinkie, hoping to catch her this time.
She didn't. By the time she caught up to them, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Applejack were already a few minutes deep in conversation, Pinkie and Rainbow on the roof of the barn and Applejack on the ground. Exhausted, she slowly walked up to them and breathlessly yelled, "Wait!"
All three turned around as Rainbow said, "Yo Twi! What's up?"
"Yeah, Ah didn't expect ya to come over!"
"Girls! We need to talk!" Twilight exclaimed.
Before, Rainbow and Applejack could ask why, Pinkie suddenly held up a bucket and yelled, "HEY APPLEJACK!"
Twilight's heart skipped a beat as she yelled in her mind, OH DEAR CELESTIA NO! NOT THE WATER BUCKET PRANK! She quickly tackled Applejack hoping to take the fall for her. However her lack of depth perception failed her, as she met face-first with the wall. The force of hitting the wall at such a fast speed caused Pinkie to lose her balance as she accidentally dropped the bucket, which landed on Twilight's head. When she felt the substance on her head, she came to the terrifying conclusion that this wasn't just water, it was gutter water.
And it started to burn her face scars.
"AAAAAHHHH!" she screamed, her face burning some more. She threw the bucket on the ground as she held her face with her hooves.
"Woah! Twi, are y'all alright?!" Applejack asked.
"OH MY GOSH, TWILIGHT!" Pinkie rushed down the ladder and to Twilight's side. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I was just helping Dash clean Applejack's gutters and was all like, 'Hey where do I put this bucket full of gutter stuff?' So I was going to ask Applejack and then you tackled her and I dropped the bucket and...waaiiit...why did you tackle Applejack?"
"Oh...um...I was showing Applejack how good I am playing hoofball!"
"...Twilight, there's no hoofball around here," Rainbow deadpanned.
"Exactly! I'm so good at hoofball I don't need a ball to win!" she exclaimed. Applejack tried to hold back her laughter, imagining Twilight trying to play a sport when Twilight suddenly grabbed her two friends with magic.
"Hey! Twi, put us down!" Dash croaked.
"Whiiich reminds me, can you excuse us for a second?"
"Sure, Twi!" Pinkie smiled.
Twilight walked behind a nearby apple tree, levitating Rainbow and Applejack with her. She put them down, and quickly started to explain the situation. "OkaysoPinkie'sgoingtotrytoprankusandthisone'sgoingtobethebiggestprankeverandyoutwoneedtogettosafety!"
Both of them looked at each other and then back at Twilight. "Could ya explain it again, only slower, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.
Twilight groaned. "Pinkie. Big prank. Cover. GO!"
"Pinkie's pulling a big prank? Aww yeah! This is gonna be sweet!" Dash exclaimed.
"No it's not! You two need to get to the library quickly!"
"Uhh...sorry, Twilight, but we got plans to meet with Pinkie later tonight," Applejack said.
"Meet her for what?!"
"Pinkie promise," Dash stated.
Twilight put a hoof to her head, trying to relieve her stress. She turned around and noticed that Pinkie was gone. "Where'd she go?!"
"Oh, she said she was going to Rarity's after she got the gutter cleaned," answered Dash.
Twilight sighed and started to run after her when it finally hit her. She mentally facehoofed as she yelled, "WHY AM I RUNNING? I CAN TELEPORT!"
One spell later, Twilight ended up in the middle of Rarity's boutique. She looked around to get ahold of her bearings and saw Rarity stitching a dress up and Pinkie sneaking up behind her with a pair of scissors. She's gonna cut off a chunk of her mane! she yelled in her mind. She quickly grabbed the scissors with magic and levitated them away from Pinkie's hoof. "Phew, glad I didn't jump in front of that one! That would've been painful!"
Then a ceiling tile fell on her head out of pure chance.
Rarity turned around and gasped in surprise. "Oh darling! I'm so sorry! These tiles are getting looser and looser by the minute!"
Twilight rubbed her head as her eyes spun around. She shook her head, making her eyes fall back into place as she looked Rarity in the eye. "YOU!"
"...Twilight?"
Before she could speak anymore, Twilight quickly grabbed Rarity with magic and took her into the bathroom, leaving Pinkie very, very confused. "Rarity, Pinkie is going to throw a big prank!"
"Oh she is? Well, I hope it's not TOO outgoing, if you know what I mean."
"Rarity, this could end life as we know it!"
"Darling, I don't think life will end after this prank..."
"Rarity. Come to the library. We'll be safe! We can drink hot cocoa and watch the carnage outside! Please!"
"Uhh...thanks for the offer, but I'm going to be with Pinkie tonight. Pinkie promise stuff and all that."
"I understand Pinkie promises are important, but this is really one of those urgent times when you need break one!"
Pinkie suddenly opened the door. "What's this I hear about breaking a Pinkie promise?" she asked seriously.
Rarity's eyes widened. "N-Nothing! I won't break it! Honest!"
Pinkie smiled again. "Well good! Oh! I need to get ready for the event!" She quickly ran out of the boutique, leaving Twilight alone with Rarity in the bathroom.
"...Darling, out of context this scene is truly awkward..."
Twilight sighed as she got back to the library. She was too saddened to even notice the sudden pillow fort in the corner of the room. "Oh Spike, what am I gonna do?"
Spike took out one of the pillows to make his eyes visible. "About what?"
"Pinkie! She's gonna throw a devastating prank and it's all my fault because I wasn't there to stop her! I don't even know where, or even what this 'event' is that everypony's talking about!" She laid on the ground in distress. "It's hopeless...I'll never find her..."
"Oh, that reminds me. You got mail from Pinkie."
Twilight's eye twitched as she turned around slowly to face Spike. "When did you get this mail?"
"Today before you woke up."
"...You forgot to give me mail...from yesterday...from Pinkie? ...YOU FORGOT?"
"Uhh...not really forgot. More like, I didn't want to disturb your little freak-out over April Foals' Day and all."
Twilight stood silent before breathing in and out, trying to stay calm. "Spike...can you please give me the letter~?" Spike nodded and slid the letter under the entrance to the pillow fort. She grabbed it and read it to herself. "You are invited to an exclusive April Foals' Day party at Sugarcube Corner at 7 p.m. Bring your smiles and a good sense of humor." She quickly turned toward the door and smirked, "Well, Spike. I'm off to save Equestria."
"...Whatever," he replied, covering up the hole he made in his fort with a pillow.
Twilight made her way to Sugarcube Corner, smiling big and somewhat creepily. She opened the doors when she was greeted by a smiling pink pony. "Twilight, you made it!"
"I'd never miss a party, Pinkie~!" She twitched a bit, making Pinkie flinch.
"Well, uh...the others are right over here!" she said, leading her to a big table where the other four were waiting. The table was complimented with a few glasses of punch and plates and was adorned with a special party cloth with balloons on it.
"Sup, Twi?" Dash asked.
"Ohh nothing really! Just a boring old normal day for me~!" She twitched again, making all her friends a bit worried for her.
"Um...I-I saved you a seat, Twilight," squeaked Fluttershy.
"Thanks, Fluttershy!" She sat down next to Fluttershy and asked, "So does anypony know anything about what Pinkie's planned?"
"Oh Twilight, you silly goose! It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you!"
"Eheh...right..." She looked away and sighed, knowing she'd have to put the pieces together herself. She took a sip of her drink and then looked at it, noticing that the punch was warm. "Uhh...can I have a couple of ice cubes in my punch, Pinkie?"
"Oh sure!" She took her punch and added, "I'll also be sure to get the cake, and then we can get onto the...surprise~" She smirked, giving Twilight a chill down her spine.
As she left to get cake and ice cubes, Twilight whispered to the others, "Girls, this is your last chance! We need to get to the library!"
"Twilight, what is your problem with Pinkie and the prank?" asked Rarity.
"Yeah! If this is all about the Pie-in-the-Face Incident, you need to remember it was an accident!" said Rainbow.
"It's not just that! Every year, her pranks have gotten more and more extreme! I'm afraid this year it's going to be too intense!"
"Girrrrls! I got the caaaaake!" Pinkie trotted out of the kitchen slowly, carrying a big pink cake with the words "April Foals' Day" on the side of it. She set it down on the table gently and smirked. "Shall I...make the first slice?" she asked.
"If ya wanna, Pinkie! This is your favorite day of the year!" answered Applejack.
Pinkie giggled. "M'kay!" She took a knife out of nowhere and held it steady over the cake.
THE CAKE! THE PRANK IS THE CAKE! Twilight screamed in her mind. WHAT'S IN THE CAKE?! A BOMB? A BEEHIVE? A BOMB INSIDE OF A BEEHIVE?!
Pinkie slowly cut a slice into the cake as Twilight waited for something to happen. There was silence for a few seconds and nopony moved. Then Pinkie made another cut and laid the slice onto Twilight's plate.
"Ooh, what flavor is it? NO WAIT DON'T TELL ME I'LL FIND OUT!" Twilight said. She used her horn to analyze the cake, seeing if it was tainted with any chemicals. However, the only thing different about this cake from other cakes was the unhealthy amount of sugar in it. "...Huh...v-vanilla...heh..."
"...Twilight, you look a bit stressed. Are you okay?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm fine...totally fine..." she answered.
"Maybe some punch will calm you down," Pinkie said as she gave Twilight her punch back.
She sighed and took a big drink of the punch, leading Pinkie to burst out with laughter. Twilight flinched and put her beverage down on the table. "Wh-What?!"
"APRIL FOALS!" exclaimed Pinkie.
Twilight's eye twitched. Her mane went completely frizzy as she tackled Pinkie to the ground. The others gasped while Pinkie kept laughing. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY DRINK?!"
"I...pfft...I-I..."
"YOU WHAT?!" she yelled.
"You asked for a couple of ice cubes in your punch...and I only put in one!"
Pinkie continued to laugh as Twilight slowly got off of her. She twitched again and started to laugh quietly and uneasily. She had finally snapped as she rose her voice at her. "YOU HAD ME RUNNING ALL AROUND PONYVILLE JUST FOR THAT ONE STUPID PRANK?!"
Pinkie immediately stopped laughing as she looked at Twilight confusedly. "Why were you running around Ponyville?"
"I was trying to stop you from destroying Ponyville because you said this would be the best prank ever! And then...THIS!"
Pinkie's ears lowered a bit as she asked, "Why would I destroy Ponyville?"
"Because your pranks on April Foals' are usually destructive and...I was a bit paranoid, okay?!"
"A bit?" asked Rainbow.
"Okay...a LOT paranoid!"
Pinkie's ears completely flattened as her mane flattened. "Twilight...I'm sorry you don't like my April Foals' Day pranks. I wanted to make you laugh by building up this big prank and then doing something really small. I...just wanted to make you smile, you know?"
Twilight saw the state Pinkie was in and abruptly stopped her angry tone. She looked at her friend in the eyes and sighed. "Pinkie, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It was my fault for thinking you would even think of doing something so...dramatic. I love your pranks, but sometimes I just can't handle them."
"Well, I'll try to tone them down for you, Twi. I didn't know you felt this way about my pranks."
"It's okay, I should've told you honestly in the first place." Twilight smiled a bit, making Pinkie's mane poof up again.
Pinkie giggled and looked down at Twilight's plate. "Oh! Hang on!" She moved Twilight's seat and took the plate off her table. Underneath the plate was a hole that shot out flour into Pinkie's face. She gave the cake back to Twilight as she smiled even more. "There! Prank-free!" Twilight stifled a laugh, which soon turned into all-out giggling. Her giggle was soon followed by the laughs of the others as they all started to eat the rest of the cake.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that sometimes the best way to deal with problems is to be vocal about them. However, if we choose to be vocal about our problems, we need to make sure we're saying it in a way that doesn't hurt other ponies' feelings. Then hopefully, those ponies can come to an agreement that doesn't leave an entire town smoldering in flames!
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
Princess Celestia read the letter again, making sure she comprehended it correctly. "An entire town smoldering in flames? What the-" She was interrupted by another scroll that materialized in front of her. She unraveled it and read it.
April Foals'! It was Pinkie!
She rolled her eyes and suddenly remembered. "Oh right! I need to prank Luna." She slowly smirked and asked, "Now where's that pie recipe?"
