Big Mac sobbed loudly as he sat in the farmhouse kitchen, on his eighth cup of cider. His heart was in pieces, and though he knew it was impossible, he had hoped that the cider would fill the void left by what he had overheard Sugar Belle saying in town. Spike paced in tight circles behind his friend, wishing that he could do something to help even though Discord had vanished without even a half-hearted attempt at cheering up the red stallion. Knowing it was weak and would probably just sound idiotic, he voiced the only thing he could think of, "Okay. Things seem bad. Maybe they're really not. Maybe "we're finished" was about the day. Ponies say that, right? Like-like, "Hey, remember yesterday? That's finished, 'cause it's today!"
Big Mac just glared at him, his bloodshot eyes mirroring his broken heart. Spike sighed, "Maybe not that," but then perked up again seconds later, "Oh, I know! Maybe Sugar Belle has a wacky cousin who's never been on his own, and she has to leave him in charge of her shop while she apprentices with Mrs. Cake, who does that, like, two days a week. N-No, no, three. That's why she won't need you to come to her village anymore, because... she'll already be here!"
Oblivious to how Big Mac had raised his head, hope in his eyes at the words, Spike scoffed, "Nah. I don't even buy that one."
Across town, Pinkie Pie was helping Mr. Cake with all Sugarcube Corner's Hearts and Hooves Day orders. She was about to pick up a tray of cupcakes and place them in the oven, when her whole body started to shake madly, lifting her off the ground in the process. As the shakes started to subside after a few moments, Pinkie started to giggle, causing Mr. Cake to look over at her in concern. Grinning at him as her hooves returned to the floor, Pinkie exclaimed, "Whew! That one was a super, extra big doozy! Will you be okay if I leave Mr. Cake?"
A knowing smile on his face, Mr. Cake nodded, leading Pinkie to vibrate with excitement. "Thanks so much! I've gotta go tell Twilight!" Already halfway out the door, she shouted back over her shoulder, "I'll help out double, no triple super duper hard the rest of the week! That's a Pinkie Promise!"
Speeding out of the bakery and down the streets of Ponyville towards Twilight's castle, Pinkie suddenly ran into Sweetie Belle. Literally. Shaking her head from the sudden tumble, Sweetie Belle gasped when she saw who had collided with her, "Pinkie! You've gotta help me! See, I've got a secret admirer, he sent me a heart-shaped pie and everything! And the other Crusaders and I are having trouble figuring out who he is, but since you know everypony in Ponyville, you can help us find out who we missed!"
Back on her hooves, Pinkie did a little jig in place as she spoke at breakneck speed, "Sorry Sweetie, but you don't really have a secret admirer cause that pie really was meant for Sugar Belle from Big Mac, but the address got smudged and you got it instead and I can't stay because Pinkie Sense Doozy Emergency!!"
Leaving nothing but a dust cloud and a very confused unicorn filly in her wake, Pinkie doubled her speed towards Twilight's castle. She burst through the doors a few seconds later and raced into the library where Twilight had just sat down with a cup of tea and a new book. Before Twilight could speak, Pinkie shouted, "Twilight! Where's Spike? Is he here? I need to speak to him right now! It's an emergency!"
Blinking rapidly as her brain tried to catch up with the frantic pink pony, Twilight got up and put a hoof on her friend's shoulder, "Calm down, Pinkie. Spike is out helping Big Mac with something. I'm not sure when he'll be back. What's this emergency about anyway?"
"It's a Doozy Emergency! A really super duper gigantic one!"
"A doozy?" Twilight looked confused for a moment before her eyes widened, "You mean your Pinkie Sense?"
"Yeppers! The biggest doozy I've ever had! Which is why it's an emergency Twilight!"
"Do you know what the doozy is about this time?"
Pinkie nodded vigorously, "I do I do I do! Spike got Pinkie Sense! Or, would that be Spikey Sense?" She pondered silently for a moment before shaking her head, "That doesn't matter anyway. What matters is that Spike got Pinkie Sense and he didn't believe in it!!"
Twilight sighed, "Pinkie, if that is what really happened, I don't think that qualifies as an emergency. Or at least not one that is worth interrupting Spike and Big Mac. He told me that what they were doing was really important."
Pinkie's eyes grew three sizes and filled with tears, "But, but...Doozy Emergency!"
"Pinkie," Twilight smiled, "Spike promised he'd be back by the end of the day. You can just wait here for him and figure it out then. It'll be a lot easier than running around town trying to find him with everypony out celebrating Hearts and Hooves Day."
The tears vanished from her eyes as Pinkie bounced into the air, "You're a genius Twilight! I know you just wanna relax and read, so do ya mind if I go bake us some cookies?"
"Go ahead, Pinkie. I'll make sure to come and get you as soon as Spike comes back."
"Thanks Twilight! You're the bestest friend ever!"
Hours Later, in the center of Ponyville
Discord leaned down next to Spike as he asked, "Are you busy for the rest of the night? Calico's Ring of Imperceptibility is going to reclaim itself, you know."
Spike grinned, "Ogres & Oubliettes? I thought you'd never ask! Oh, and... just wondering. No biggie, but... is Skellinore gonna be there?"
Raising an eyebrow, Discord lost some respect for his friend at those words. "Spike, she's an imaginary one-dimensional paper cutout skeleton."
The young dragon shrugged, "Well, nopony's perfect. But, before we play, I told Twilight that I would be back at the castle after helping Big Mac. Do you think you could pop us over there real quick so I can let her know I'll be spending the night with you instead?"
In answer, Discord snapped his claws and the two appeared right in front of Twilight and Pinkie who were giggling over cookies and hot chocolate. "I was so mortified that I set Princess Celestia's tail, flanks, and cutie mark on fire! Thank Celestia she's fireproof!"
Pinkie snorted at Twilight's words, "No, thank Celestia you have Spike take notes and write letters for you!"
Discord looked at Spike who sighed, "Trust me, you do not want to know."
At those words, Twilight and Pinkie turned to look at the new arrivals, both trying to catch their breath from laughing. Spike turned to Twilight before she could get any words out, "Hey, Twilight, I know I said I'd be back after helping Big Mac, and, well, I guess I am, but I'd like to spend the night with Discord if that's okay. He and I have got some gaming to catch up on."
Twilight nodded, "Sure, that's alright with me Spike. I wasn't planning anything that I needed your help with tonight."
"Thanks, Twilight," He was silent for a couple seconds before he looked at Pinkie, "Oh, Pinkie, I didn't believe it at first, but Big Mac confirmed it before he and Sugar Belle started their date. Apparently, I-"
Pinkie grinned as she bounced out of her seat, "You got Pinkie Sense earlier today! But you didn't believe it at first, which is super bad of you anyway cause Pinkie Sense is super duper important and super duper accurate, but it's even worse this time cause your not believing it caused Big Mac to not believe it which made him have a broken heart for longer than he had to which is super duper sad but they finally worked it out and are happy again so YAY!"
Latching onto the only part of that stream of words he had understood, Spike raised a claw, "By the way, Pinkie, do you have any idea how I got Pinkie Sense in the first place?"
"Actually," Discord interjected before Pinkie had a chance to respond, "that would be my doing. You see, not only did I break Sugar Belle's wagon wheel, but I gave you Pinkie Sense for a few seconds as one of my first ways to try to help Big Mac cheer up. The funny thing is, it actually might've worked, and we could've been playing Ogres & Oubliettes by now had you not immediately made reality seem absurd."
After a short pause as the knowledge sunk in, Discord rubbed his paw and talon together as he grinned at Spike, "Besides, making reality stranger than imagination is my thing."
Pinkie came to her senses and pounced on Discord before he could escape with Spike, "Hey buster, Pinkie Sense isn't something you can just mess around with! It's mine, so you gotta ask me before you go sharing it around next time. Pinkie Sense is serious business, you got that?!"
Discord gulped under the pink pony's paralyzing stare, and nodded fervently as he shakily snapped himself and Spike into his dimension. He sincerely hoped that a good, long game of Ogres & Oubliettes could cleanse the strange, new sensation of fear from his soul.
