Prologue: Not that kind of party
Not that kind of party
The party was a tremendous success, but after all it was a Pinkie Party, so anything less would be a big surprise - and although Pinkie Pie didn’t have anything against surprise parties, surprising her friends with insufficient amount of dances, music games or cake (ESPECIALLY cake) wasn’t something Pinkie would ever consider - and everypony was quite grateful for it.
Pinkie took a quick glance around the Sugarcube Corner hall, which served as the ballroom this evening. All seemed great, as usual - the dance floor was a little bit empty though, but duh! It was just the very beginning of the party, and it was Pinkie who usually started “shaking those groove thangs”, and (as she quickly realised) she was not on the dancefloor yet, so of course, the dancing hasn’t started, you silly!
But other than that oddity, everything looked right - the tables bent under the weight of delicious treats, and Pinkie couldn’t see a single face with a frown on it. However, just in case somepony was actually playing the part of Saddy McTeary FrownyPants, she started her routine Party Patrol - a quick round across the gathering to determine, if there’s anyone who needs an extra cheer.
There’s nothing worse than not being able to fully enjoy the party you attend, Pinkie thought between her cheerful jolts and jumps, oh, maybe Nightmare Moon’s return could top that by a tiny whiny inch, or maybe a reawakening of the demonic lord of chaos trying to ruin everypony’s lives, or that time when some cheesy-legged shapeshifting vile ponies attempted to suck the love out of all Equestria, but nothing that unusual ever happens twice, and even if it does, then chaos comes with chocolate milk and cotton candy, and only really silly filly could think these things are evil.
“Great party, Pie!”
“This is what this day called for!”
“Such a lovely gathering, darling!”
“I’ve been waiting for an evening like that!”
The words of praise and applause heard from almost each pony she passed by, were making the smile on Pinkies face wider each second, to the point that one could worry if the corners of the pink pony’s mouth would eventually meet at the back of her head. Up to the point the Pinkie Patrol was a huge checklist with a green tick next to each pony’s grinning face.
Some young fillies and colts she hopped by were admiring the famous Party Cannon, which unleashed its barrage of joy about fifteen minutes ago. “The most cheerful gun in her arsenal”, as Pinkie called it, or “a weapon of mass celebration”, the name Rarity came up with, was indeed a peculiar device. A salvo of streamers, balloons, glitter and confetti was indeed a great party starter, but what was special about it, was that it seemed to ignore closed doors and other obstacles in order to fill all the house with party decorations. Twilight used to have her doubts about the precise nature of the mechanism, or the fact that it shot fully inflated balloons, even if Pinkie loaded it with empty ones, but as she learned some time ago, not everything Pinkie-related has to make sense.
Suddenly, something caught Pinkie’s attention.
She saw A CAKE.
Of course, it wasn’t something that unusual or astounding at a party, especially not on ones held at Sugarcube Corner; Pinkie had the habit of entering a baking frenzy before each of her parties, which resulted in a somewhat intimidating amount of desserts. Sometimes, she couldn’t even remember the exact number of them, or the whole list of flavors she aimed for - but making that particular cake, oh, she’d definitely remember that one.
The cake was magnificent, towering over other desserts with its tiered structure. It was almost as high as the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, and each of its four tiers was decorated with different goodies. The lowest tier was covered with candied fruit and flowers, forming the most delicious and beautiful confectionery garden in all of Equestria; the second tier was home to the most meticulously crafted chocolate and marzipan designs. There were marzipan houses with dark chocolate roofs, a marzipan riverbed filled with liquid chocolate, little chocolate mountains covered with whipped cream and multicolored frosting... Pinkie just couldn’t take her eyes off it, but when she finally looked up a little bit more she was blinded by the kaleidoscopic riot of colors, that the third tier radiated. “I should definitely leave this part of the cake to Spike”, Pinkie thought, as the third tier was encrusted with a decorative mosaic of tiny gems.
Though gems sure are pretty, they are nothing that special to a confectioner, and the party mare decided to postpone admiring the third tier of the cake, quickly turning her eyes to the top tier.
Pinkie gasped.
The top tier was filled with figurines. Not just any figurines, like those you might have seen on a regular wedding cake, these wouldn’t astonish Pinkie, oh no, these figurines were so exciting, Pinkie couldn’t remember when she’d last been so excited, well, maybe the moment when she grew her first rock on the farm where she was brought up could compare, or when she finally understood the very essence of rock farming, but seriously, what could EVER top that one, right?
The figurines on top of the cake were having a party. And they were moving. Little chocolate pegasi were dancing, staying close to the border of the tier, and sometimes lifting themselves to flap their wings a little and do a small aerial stunt. The other figurines were apparently speaking to each other, and enjoying a cake of their own. In the center of the miniaturised party Pinkie could see a chocolate stallion with a mane made of blue icing dancing with a pretty mare in a dress made of something that looked like a thin layer of cotton candy.
“Oh my gosh!”, Pinkie thought, “My party is that super-duper outright fantastic, that it starts to have parties on its own! Well, duh! Everypony knows, that Pinkie makes the best parties, so a... partyception was just a matter of time! Hurray!”. Pinkie’s heart was filled with joy, so she did a little cheerful jumping. The cake was a wonderful addition to the party, but this wasn’t Pinkie Pie’s making, but fear not! Pinkie’s head wasn’t that high in the clouds all the time, so she knew exactly who to thank for this work of art.
“RAAAAAARIIIITYYYYY!!!” Pinkie shouted and her sparkling eyes started a wild hunt for the white unicorn.
She spotted her friend in almost the very moment she started her search; the fashion pony, or rather, her back, stood a few feet away from her, and the purple, twisted mane and tail assured Pinkie she didn’t make a mistake.
“Oh my gosh, Rarity, it is absolutely A-MA-ZING, I mean, at first I was like ‘is that a cake I made, and forgot about it?’ but then I was all...” *gasp* “... like no, I wouldn’t ever forget doing that, and for a moment I was like ‘if Forgettie Pie didn’t bake that cake, who did’, but it was of course you Rarity, duh! You’re the element of Generosity, and only a pony as generous as you could bring THAT thing to a party and not even say a thing ” - Pinkie’s words came out of her mouth at incredible rate “... and can you belieeeeve for a moment I thought it was Twilight, because those figurines are filled with magic, but then I....” *gasp* “... then I thought ‘silly me! Rarity is a unicorn too!’, and the third tier is filled with gems, and don’t get me wrong, they are pretty and shiny, but not everything that looks delicious is delicious, trust me, I was trying to eat a sapphire once and it tasted almost like a rock, can you believe that!?!?”
Pinkie stopped her stream of words for a moment, to give Rarity an opportunity to respond and say something like why, thank you darling, it is not a big deal, just a small token of my appreciation for the fabulous parties you’re always throwing, but instead she remained silent.
“Uh, Rarity? Are you listening?” asked Pinkie, noticing, that her friend didn’t even turn to her, so she was still talking to the back of her head.
“Is that about those few weeks in the desert? I thought we both had a great time! Like that time we met that gecko, who totally had Gummy’s eyes, and I nicknamed him Gummy Two, even though it was a gecko, not an alligator, and it was golden instead of green, and it had teeth, not just gums, you know, since he was biting your tail all the time and you were all ‘’I HATE GECKO TAG!!!...” … Pinkie tried to buy herself time with another lengthy talk to figure things out. If Rarity was ignoring her, she must be angry with her, but if she is, why would she bring such a wonderful cake to the party? Pinkie couldn’t make any sense out of it, and she regretted that she didn’t have her toy pipe, which always made thinking a little easier.
“You know what? Fine! Just don’t expect me to bake you prickly pear cupcakes any time soon!” Pinkie shouted, and turned away from Rarity. “I bet she didn’t even bake that cake, just told Twilight to do some magic she couldn’t”, thought Pinkie, but she didn’t actually believe it, not at all.
“Twilight!” Pinkie cried out, and saw the lavender unicorn across the room. If anyone had any answers to Rarity’s odd behaviour and the wondrous cake, it was the Princess’ prized pupil.
Crossing the Sugarcube Corners hall seemed to take forever.
“Twilight, I spoke to Rarity about the cake and she didn’t even turn around to speak with me, speaking of which, why don’t you turn around either? I mean it is rude thing to do when speaking to somepony, even if it is just me who is actually speaking, and yes, Rarity didn’t say a thing, but I don’t think she didn’t hear me or something, the music isn’t that loud and-”
“Calm down, Pinkie! What are you even talking about?”
“The cake of course! The one with this garden on the lowest part, and the second party on top! Now that I think of it, it was kind of rude to bring another party to the party, like this one wasn’t enough!”. Pinkie’s joyful disposition started to deteriorate.
“Oh, just show me the cake, Pinkie, and then we will speak to Rarity together, okay?”
“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie exclaimed, changing her mood back to her usual in a second, and started to toddle alongside Twilight towards the dining room, where all the cakes were stored.
“So anyway, Twilight, isn’t your voice a bit off? I was wondering, if anypony had the skills to make all those figurines dance, it would be you or Rarity, because you know like all the magic possible, but Rarity seems to know all the pretty magic, and oh, my, that cake IS a pretty beast! So here it is!” Pinkie said and opened her eyes, only to doubt them once more.
On top of the cake, where the figurines used to have their own ballroom, only three remained. And they weren’t pony figurines, not at all.
The top tier of the cake belonged now to small, animate Diamond Dogs, made from an almost black, gooey matter, with shining, yellow eyes. The dogs were tearing out the gems out of the lower part of the cake, eating them, and growing bigger after each bite.
“Twilight, if that’s a joke, then know it is not a nice one!”. Pinkie tried to reach her hoof towards the cake to stop the Diamond Dog figures from eating out all of the gems, when she realised, that some of these gems had pupils. The cake was staring at her. Pinkie let out a silent nervous squeak.
“Is something wrong, Pinkie? The cake looks really nice!” said Twilight.
“Is something wrong? IS SOMETHING WRONG? You can't possibly be se-AAAAAAA!!!!!” Pinkie shouted her lungs out, trembling in terror, when she turned to Twilight.
“What is it Pinkie? You look like you’ve seen a ghost”.
The mare talking with Pinkie was NOT Twilight. Pinkie wasn’t sure WHAT she was speaking to anymore.
The creature looked almost like her friend, but in place of eyes, a pair of mouths was present, and a single eye wide open was gazing at her from the creatures’ muzzle.
“Is everything all right?” the creature asked using both of her mouths at the same time.
Shocked Pinkie gathered all her strength to turn away from the hideous, but strangely hypnotizing visage. “Yes, e-e-everything a-all right, sure”, she stammered. “Now let’s go find Rarity, okay?”
But Rarity was right behind her, reaching her hooves out to the strange cake. “Just a moment darling” - mysterious voice said - “I just need a quick fix... oh, there they are!”. The creature resembling Pinkie’s white friend grabbed some black gems off of the cake and stuck them into its forehead. The gems sparkled for a while, and Pinkie saw tiny white dots in them. “Were you looking for me? Because I was looking for you for quite a while, but it was so hard without eyes of any sort”, the voice seemed to appear in Pinkie’s mind on its own, because there were no mouth to produce it either. ‘Rarity’ had no face at all.
“Everypony run!” Pinkie shouted. “Eat the last pieces of cake, if you must, but then run away!!!”.
“Why? Are you not having a good time?”. The voice Pinkie heard didn’t belong to anypony she knew, that was for certain. “Just look around you. All of your best friends are here.”
Pinkie stood and observed, as the guests she thought she recognized started to turn to face her, revealing their true identities; she saw three rocks atop of each other; then there was a bucket filled with turnips, a big clump of lint and a sack of flour, all wearing party hats. For a brief moment Pinkie could swear, that she could see... herself among them.
One pony she thought it was Fluttershy, turned out to be a small and dense swarm of yellow Parasprites, which quickly abandoned the pegasus form and started to crawl on the walls and the ceiling instead.
“You see, Pinkie” - the voice kept on speaking, and the curly-maned pony still couldn’t figure out its source - “Your parties have become a little bit boring recently.”
“Well, first of all” Pinkie said, “it’s quite rude and uncouth to judge a party before fourteen. Second thing...”
“My dear, I strongly doubt there are more than twelve hours” - the voices’ source switched back to faceless Rarity.
“Well, duh, that’s why I added two extra hours so we can party more.” Pinkie was quite astonished, she needed to explain something this basic; “Anyway, the second thing is you didn’t even wait for an invitation song. Of course, to do an invitation song, I must first know your name. Besides, I’m almost certain, that the ponies that I spoke to are not the real Rarity and Twilight. Raritys’ face is little off.” Pinkie Pie waited for the voice to burst out in laughter in reaction to this brilliant pun, but only silence followed, so she continued - “So, in order to make things right, I must sing the what-is-your-name song. Then you will tell me your name, and hear the party-invitation song, after that, I think I’ll start asking some questions, and then, I suppose, we will finally be able to get back to the party.” Pinkie wasn’t exactly sure who, or what she should address, so she chose to smile with her eyes closed, as she often did.
The voice answered, only this time a purple mare with a yellow mane and the looks of a Canterlot pony was the one to speak the words.
“Young lady, this is not that kind of party. I’m not sure, if you even know where...”
Our party has just started
And I’m feeling kind of shame
It appears you were invited
Yet I still don’t know your name
Situation is quite awkward, I am sure you’re really nice!
It was Granny Pies’ instruction
You need a proper introduction
So we’d better listen to her, say your name, let’s break the ice!
Give first letter, second letter
I imagine how it sounds!
Then fourth after the third letter
(Every letter makes it better)
Cause their meaning is profound!
Tell it, say it, enunciate it,
Scream it, shout it or exclaim!
Just don’t keep it as your secret
We don’t need a guessing game!
Yay!
Pinkie was really proud of her song, and smiled even wider after finishing it. The voice spoke again, this time multiplied, coming from a bunch of balloons, which somehow appeared in Pinkies’ hooves. The balloons appeared to have faces drawn on them and looked disturbingly familiar.
“I think that a little guessing game is not a bad idea, actually. Where are we?”
“Where... are we?” unwittingly, Pinkie repeated a question and took another look around her.
Now she was sure, the place she was in, was no longer Sugarcube Corner. It was still a party though; the cake, which caught her attention earlier, was almost entirely gone; what was left of it, was a big, black stone, covered with the cake’s remains. Artificial Diamond Dogs were now almost the size of real ones and were eating the remains in a careful manner, as if they were cleaning the stone. The crowd of guests didn’t contain any of Pinkies’ friends anymore. The creatures forming the crowd looked a little bit like ponies, but the cold, gray color of their fur and empty eyes resembling large pieces of coal said otherwise. The walls were made of stone, and Pinkie suddenly thought she must be in a cellar of some sort. Abruptly some kind of gray, moving substance began to cover the stone walls, and Pinkie realised moments later, that the stone walls were actually burning with black and grey flames. She heard the voice say:
“So where do I put those streamers?”
“Streamers?”
* * *
“Yes, Pinkie, streamers, where do you want them? Pinkie?” Twilight Sparkle turned to her joyful friend, while the other ponies kept on decorating Sugarcube Corner.
Pinkie Pie was twitching like an alarm clock, her ears were flapping at incredible rate, and on top of that her teeth were chattering.
“What’s wrong with Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash dropped the “10 years of Sugarcube Corner” banner she’d been holding in her hooves, surprising Fluttershy in the process, and flew to her pink friend.
“The parrrtttty cannnn wawawaittttt girrrrls” Pinkie mumbled, and after a while her seizures stopped. “The party has to wait. I think there’s something you should know about.”
“I don’t know why, but I have a bad feeling about it” said Twilight.
Out of night, out of mind
Chapter 1: Out of night, out of mind
in which Twilight must be reminded of a very important lesson.
(and the drawing is kind of better)
* * *
“So let’s hear it again, ” Twilight said, “You’re calling off the party because you had a bad dream?”
“Well, it wasn’t actually a dream. I guess.” Pinkie exchanged looks with her surprised friends, surrounding her in the Sugarcube Corner’s hall. “I think that I was quite awake about ten minutes ago, and suddenly it was all a big doozy”.
Twilight sighed. Over the last couple of years she got used to being constantly surprised with Pinkie “being Pinkie Pie”, but Pinkie Pie actually calling off a party - now THAT was something she didn’t see coming. Twilight Sparke had a stable and coherent vision of her friends in her mind, and now the mare with cotton candy mane decided to directly contradict Twilight’s idea of her. If Twilight had a checklist for each of her friends’ traits, the “Always wants to party no matter the circumstances” would be on Pinkie’s one.
“Um, Pinkie, I really don’t want to say anything that could make you upset, ”, said Fluttershy and gently put her left front hoof on Pinkie Pie’s forehead, “but aren’t you usually a little bit... dreamy?”. The yellow pegasus turned her head to the rest of the ponies, and gave them a meaningful look. It was, after all, a fact. Pinkie’s behaviour was always a little bit odd, sometimes leaving her friends wondering if she is even concious of her words or actions.
Applejack looked in Fluttershy’s eyes and slowly nodded.
“Shucks, Ah’ don’t want to offend ya either, but Fluttershy has a point. And, ya know, we’ve been here all day already, and seeing all day’s hard work go for nothin’ is...”
Pinkie Pie mirrored Fluttershy’s movement and put her left front hoof on Fluttershy’s forehead as well.
“No, you don’t understand! We can’t have a party now, it would be irresponsible!”
Twilight shook her head in denial. Hearing Pinkie talking about responsibility was still something unusual, even with her being a foalsitter for baby Cakes. She couldn’t make a thing out of this mess.
The ponies went silent for a while, and Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up.
“Well, after all Pinkie DID shake a little. Maybe we should check for some loose ceiling beams, or maybe we should close the windows so the doors don’t ambush us with... opening” Rainbow chuckled and winked at Twilight. "Is that the reason you left Spike at the library, Twilight?"
“Or maybe it was all about the dream Pinkie had? You know, like a side effect of all those bizzare and, might I add, ludicrous things she told us about” Rarity wasn't probably content with her part within Pinkie's vision. "I suggest we move along, and figure things out after the party. An anniversary such as this longs for a celebration"
"I'm with Rarity on this one." Twilight said. "We already put a considerable amount of energy into the preparations, and..."
"Sheesh, Ah may sound like Ah'm contradicting mah'self" Applejack interrupted, "But you, girls, are just foolin' yourselves, don't cha? First of all, everypony's seen what happened here. Ear flappin'? Body shiverin'? And, that's a new one, teeth chatterin'? I say to you, nopony gets slammed by a door today, and nopony has to watch out for fallin' things whatsoever! There's just one pony here, who actually knows what it is all about, and that pony ain't no unicorn!"
"Thanks, Applejack. At least someone here listens to the voice of reason. So, let me tell...."
"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted.
"What?" Rainbow Dash seemed surprised.
"Ah was talkin' about Pinkie Pie..." Applejack said, gritting her teeth.
"Gosh girls, I wish I had any idea, what my Pinkie sense was trying to tell me. But I can't. All I know is that something is going to happen. And when I say something I mean... " Pinkie took a deep breath and made her most serious face - "SOMETHING".
Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind Rainbow Dash.
"Listen Pinkie, I know, that your Pinkie Sense can be trusted... at least in a way, but how can you be sure it has anything to do with that dream you..." Twilight didn't seem to be bothered by Pinkie at all.
"A VISION. I've seen THINGS." Pinkie kept on opening her eyes wider and wider, and right now they resembled two big, black saucers with azure edges.
"Dream slash vision. Anyway, give up with this ominous voice already, you're scaring Fluttershy. And as for your... vision, why are you so sure there is a correlation between the two?"
Pinkie frowned a little, put her front hooves in the air and shrugged. "I just know! Isn't it logical?".
"It most certainly is not! Pinkie, you had a bad dream, and dreams don't follow any kind of logic. It is just our brain visiting random places in our mind and displaying them." Twilight was always more than happy, when she could present her smarts to her friends.
"But Twilight, if it was only a dream, then why I couldn't make anything happen? When I'm dreaming, I can do any kind of things by just thinking about them, because I know they are possible!" Pinkie was tenacious in defending her point of view.
"Darling, I believe you are speaking of lucid dreaming" Rarity said.
Twilight smirked, and continued her little lecture. "Yes, Pinkie. Rarity is right. You see, 'lucid dreaming' is different from a regular dream, because you are aware of your state. This knowledge alone allows you to perform things you imagine."
"Well, duh!" Pinkie responded, "Twilight, why are you telling me, how a dream works? You aren't that smarter than us, Professy McScholarson!"
"Pinkie, what I was trying to say, is that you shouldn't be surprised when you don't have control over your dreams!"
Pinkie looked surprised. "Say... what?"
"Pinkie, there are different kinds of dreams, and lucid dreaming is just one of them, and it's fairly rare" Twilight said.
Pinkie Pie went silent for a little while and squinted her eyes. "I'm not sure if you're serious..."
"Um, Pinkie, " Fluttershy said hesitantly, slowly making her way in front of Rainbow Dash, "but if, as you're saying, all your dreams up to this one, were the... lucid ones, how do you even know when you are NOT sleeping?"
"That's an excellent question. Long story short, I keep a Dream Diary when I'm awake!" Pinkie was helpful as always.
"You mean that diary which you told me you started, and then couldn't find it in your room, when you wanted to show it to me?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, due to some miscalculations, it was an Awake Diary for a short time" Pinkie pondered for a while. "But today changes everything! I think, that I have to take some time with my pipe for a while", said the party mare, and started walking upstairs to her room, leaving her astonished friends behind. The five ponies looked at each other in silence until they heard Pinkie slam her bedroom's door.
*
"Well, that was... unusual. What do you think we should do about her? I'm quite concerned." Rainbow Dash asked.
"Personally, I think we should just go home already. There's not much we can do right now, until Pinkie calms down." Rarity said. "That being said, I'm yet to decide what to think about the whole situation."
The other ponies agreed, and started to depart.
"Cakes will want an explanation, I s'pose" Applejack said. "Can you stay in here, until they come back, Dash? My workday is not over yet."
"Sure, you can count on me, AJ."
Twilight sighed again, and left Sugarcube Corner.
* * *
The sun already started it's journey down the horizon under the Celestia's supervision a few hours ago, and Twilight was sitting with her nose in the books as usual. Spike was in the same room, standing in front of the mirror.
"Twilight?" said the lavender unicorn's assistant.
"Yes, Spike?" Twilight asnwered.
"Do you think you can change the color of my scales?" the little dragon asked, turning head around to take a look at his back.
Twilight raised her head from above the book and lowered her reading glasses with magic.
"Why exactly would you want a color change?"
Spike gave his reflection a sceptic look.
"It just doesn't look to manly."
Twilight sighed, for the third time this day.
"Spike, you are a baby dragon after all. And you're colors are fine, you look cute."
"Well, maybe I don't want to be treated like a baby anymore. And 'cute' doesn't help with it" Spike said, and crossed his arms.
"Spike you look fine" Twilight said, but moment later she spotted Spike's disgruntled face, so she concludet that she can spare some time for her assistant. "All right, Spike. I'll try to change you to a true stud. Or a dragon version of it."
Spiked jumped in the air and let out a cheer. "All right, Twilight, you're the best!"
"Coming from you, it must be true. So, black and red, I presume?" Twilight asked.
"Actually," said Spike, showing Twilight a crumpled and stained sheet of paper with a drawing on it, "I was thinking something more blue".
"Pretty neat, huh?"
Twilight looked at the drawing, and frowned. "Yeah, it's really sleek, Spike. I'm guessing the blue color was inspired by..."
"Yes, Twilight, by Rarity's eyes!" said Spike, and his own eyes turned into two hearts momentarily.
"Right. I'm not even asking why you drew those eyebrows this way." Twilight said and started to think about the right spell.
"One word, Twilight. Manly. Now change the color already."
"Spike, you really should cut down on this whole 'manly' thing", Twilight said and lit up her horn, preparing the spell. "I already give you fake facial hair every evening so you can shave it off in the morning." Twilight started the spell, and a cloud of magic surrounded Spike.
"Yes, I know Twilight. It's just I'm fed up with all our friends patronizing me" Spike looked down at the magic whirlwind surrounding his knees and slowly moving up, changing the color of his scales in the process. "So I figured out that if I act like I'm a grown up, and look like a grown up, the others will start to treat me as such".
"So why not just wait to grow up the natural way? It doesn't require fake magic beards and mustaches", Twilight said, focusing on the colors in the picture.
"Yes, I tried growing up the natural, dragon way once" said Spike. "It wasn't as fun as I imagined". The spell was already halfway through.
Suddenly, the library's door bell rang.
"Excuse me Spike!" Twilight stopped casting her spell and run to the library's entrance. She opened the door and spotted her prismatic friend.
"Rainbow?" Twilight was quite surprised to see the cyan pegasus.
"Yes, your favorite daredevil-turned-egghead, at your service!" said Rainbow Dash. She trotted inside, and then flew to the bookshelves.
"So, what's you doing here, Rainbow?" Twilight asked, while Rainbow stared at the bookshelf with letter "D" on it. "Did you speak with the Cakes?"
"Oh, yes, I did. They were quite upset, but understanding. D-A, D-E, D-O..." Rainbow mumbled while browsing the books.
"Dash, if you seek the Daring Do novels, they are in the adventure section, on the opposite side. This is the science section". Twilight started going upstairs, to finish her own studies.
"Daring Do? Well, I think I'm finished with them. Besides, in the last book I read included some writing I don't like", said Rainbow not turning away from the bookshelf.
"It did?" Twilight stopped, and went back to Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, you know, it was like the nineth Do novel I read, and in the end they introduced a completely new character, and the author claimed, that it is Daring Do's lifelong friend, and there wasn't even any foreshadowing of the character... I hate those things. Anyway, how's your brother doing? Did he come back from his honeymoon?" Rainbow clearly tried to redirect Twilight's attention.
"My brother's fine, Rainbow." Twilight was way too smart to be distracted like this. "What's you're really up to?".
Rainbow Dash turned away from the books and found herself standing eye to eye with Twilight.
"What do you mean 'what's your up to?' " Rainbow said and tried to avoid eye contact.
"Well, if you have nothing to hide" said Twilight, "then you can tell me, what exactly you are looking for".
Rainbow Dash gulped, and replied. "OK, stop with this interrogation! I'm looking for some scientific books on dreams."
It must be fourth sigh today, Twilight thought after exhaling the air. "Just as I thought. Rainbow Dash, there are no truly scientific books on dreams. There's not much research on the matter, and if there is any, I doubt it has any value."
"Look Twilight, I'm just trying to help Pinkie Pie out. She spent all day over her diary, and she said she won't go to sleep until she figures out the... things she saw."
Twilight was about to respond to Rainbow Dash, when she heard Spike shout. "What's taking you so long, Twilight?! You can't leave me like that!".
Twilight and Rainbow looked up at the entresol, where Spike stood, blue up to his waist. Rainbow Dash burst out in laughter.
"What kind of sorcery is THAT?" she asked.
Twilight smirked. "That's... work in progress".
"Hi Rainbow. What are you doing here? It is kinda late. By the way, I'm changing colors to better... express myself". said Spike, trying to hide his blue legs and tail behind entresol's railing.
"Ha, fine by me, " said Rainbow, still laughing, "The more colors, the better. I'm here to convince Twilight to help Pinkie Pie."
"And what kind of help Pinkie needs?" asked Spike, and looked through the window. The light of the sun has already been replaced by the gentle glow of stars and the moon.
"Absolutely none." Twilight interrupted, "She just had a bad dream in the middle of the day, and now she just goes out of her mind trying to attach some hidden meaning to it". Twilight turned to the cyan mare. "Rainbow, I believe, you can leave us for now, if there's no other book you want."
"Great Twilight" Rainbow said while making her way to the door. "You acted even more OOC than Pinkie today" she said angrily and slammed the door. Spike looked at Twilight.
"OOC? What does it mean?"
"It's an abbreviation for 'out of character' " Twilight explained, joining Spike upstairs. "It's a popular term among us, literature fans. And she had a point. Pinkie never cancelled a party, at least as important as today's, not to mention locking herself up in a room for a whole day, paired with desire for scientific research." Twilight continued, and she was back by the book she was reading earlier.
"Yes, Rainbow was right about you too." said Spike. "I never expected to see you deny your friends help. At least she wasn't OCD. I think she was being loyal to Pinkie Pie"
"She is the Element of Loyalty after all." said Twilight, turning another page of the book. "Let's hope she is not the Element of Memory and Holding Grudges too." Twilight looked at the clock. "I think you can make a few cups of tea. It is going to be a long night."
"Well, I'm sure you are not the Element of Memory" Spike was clearly displeased with Twilight's behavior. "All you do all day long is studying, and I get the feeling you don't learn much". Spike went downstairs to the kitchen annex, and started to fill the kettle with water.
Twilight felt a shiver down her spine when she heard Spike's statement. "What do you mean I don't learn much?".
"It's easy. You keep forgetting important things!"
"No, I'm not!"
"So, if you really don't" Spike said, "Then tell me, what is the name of my little pet phoenix".
Twilight went silent for a while and calmly answered. "It's Peewee."
Spike's jaw dropped. "Wow, Twilight. I honestly didn't think that anybody remembers his existance, not just name!"
Twilight smiled, and went back to her book. "Any more things, that I apparently forgot?"
Spike was a little bit confused. "Actually, I wanted to crow a little by proving that you don't remember your own friendship reports."
" It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends' opinions and perspectives... Even when they don't always seem to make sense. That one?" Twilight asked.
Spike opened his eyes wider. "Yes, that and..."
"Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn." Twilight smiled to herself. "This one is a quite fresh lesson. I think it is an appropriate one. Although we are talking about Pinkie's instincts this time."
"I don't understand." The water in the kettle started to boil, and Spike started to put tea leaves in the cups, "Why you refused Rainbow the book on dreams? Why did you let her believe you don't care about Pinkie's dream - or whatever it is?"
"Well, I didn't want her lend her the book mostly because I am reading it at the moment" said Twilight, and raised the book in front of her with a baxic levitation spell. The book's title read: "Slumber Science: Interpreting Dreams". "She was searching in a wrong section anyway. And I tricked Rainbow Dash, because I didn't want her to interfere tonight. If she knew that I treat it seriously, she'd never leave, and I need some silence to focus. But again, she is the Element of Loyalty."
"Well, talking about Elements... today you proved, that you are at least a half of the Element of Magic" said Spike, looking at his blue legs.
"Right. Stay still for a while, Spike". Twilight lifted Spike's picture from the ground and finished the spell. "Now you are one, blue piece of a heartbreaker". Twilight looked at the clock again. "Is the tea ready? Pinkie Pie should be here any minute now".
Just as Twilight spoke these words, the doorbell rang.
"Just in time. Please, Spike, open the door. And don't get overwhelmed by the compliments."
Spike opened the door, and saw Pinkie Pie. The party pony had dark circles under eyes, presumably because of lack of sleep. She carried a saddlebag, and Spike could see a thick, hard-covered note sticking out of it.
"Oh my gosh, Spike, you're blue! It's not my favorite color, but it's like my second favorite, and if I wasn't all pink I think blue would the way to go, and I think you look fantastic, and I don't want to say that you did not before, and..." Spike blushed a little when he heard the last part.
"Yes, Pinkie, I think that Spike looks ravishing too." said Twilight. "Now come here, we have A LOT to talk about." Twilight lifted three cups of tea and put them on the desk, where "Slumber Science" lied. "But first let's get rid of the sleepiness". Twilight casted another spell, and a subtle, blue fog surrounded the cups of tea. Pinkie Pie quickly drank the the, and the dark circles under her eyes disappeared.
"The spell keeps sleepiness away from you for some time" Twilight explained. "It is useful, when you have to study hard, and you can't allow yourself to sleep".
"Or if you don't want to." said Pinkie Pie.
"Unfortunately, it can't be overused" Twilight continued. "Each consecutive brew will have a restrained effect. It's a safety measure to protect pony's body from a complete exhaustion".
"So let's not waste our precious awake time!" Said Pinkie Pie and put out her Dream Diary out of her saddlebag.
"Just one more thing, Pinkie. Spike take out a scroll. We need to write a letter". Twilight went to a window and opened it with her magic to let fresh air in.
"Twilight? Are we already informing Celestia about... whatever you will discuss now?" Spike hesitated, but approached the chest where the empty scrolls were stored.
"Actually, " said Twilight, looking out the window, "I was thinking about someone else".
The moon shined in it's fullness, covering the world in silver, cold light.
