"Rarity," he said to me bitterly.

        My suspicions were confirmed. The only thing that could leave Spike in this kind of mood was some kind of harsh realization like this.

        "Rarity is taken. She's already going out with somepony," he continued.

        "Well...I wouldn't worry about it. It's not like you've completely missed your chance. Maybe it won't work out between them..."

        I hated myself for saying that. After the fiasco with Prince Blueblood, I rather hoped that Rarity would find somepony more tolerable. She deserved somepony better, nicer, more chivalrous. And as much as I hated to say it, she deserved better than Spike.

        At the moment, though, Spike was the issue, and I had to keep his spirits up.

        "Who's the stallion, anyway?" I proceed to ask.

        "No, you don't get it...not stallion...mare."

        The words took a minute to sink in. Something...was definitely wrong. There was no doubt in my mind now, there was something in the water that was doing this. One such instance instance was already extremely unlikely. Two individual such instances meant there was some unseen factor, something which was twisting the likelihood and making the near impossible a reality.

        Indeed, there was no longer any denying: something was was completely amiss.

Decision

        I waited about a week before I decided I needed to take serious action.

        By the end of that week, things had passed unlikely and were already on their way to absurd. "FlutterDash Incident" no longer referred to a single event. They now numbered up to "FlutterDash Incident #6". It wasn't until the 3rd time that they realized I knew. Even then, I decided not to push the matter. Involving myself with a single case could compromise my viewpoint of the entire issue.

        What worried me more was that I might soon find myself acting the same way. Would I have to leave town until it was cleared up, to avoid clouding my thoughts with my involvement?

        My questions were answered uncannily on the 8th day after FlutterDash Incident #1. Pinkie Pie ran up to me appearing to be under severe duress. Until now, I had never known what it looked like when Pinkie was exerting serious self-control.

        "Twilight...you were right..."

        "What?"

        "There's something wrong! Completely wrong! I believe you now, I believe that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy might not have willingly kissed, but that something else caused them to!"

        "How can you be sure?"

        "Because..." she faltered, and her expression was pained, "BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT'S AFFECTING ME, TOO!"

        I was shocked, but yet, not surprised. Unfortunately, my reaction came a moment too soon.

        "Ever since you told me there might be an issue...at first I passed it off, but the idea has been swimming around in my mind and it's taken hold of all my thoughts and feelings, and now...oh, this is all wrong, Twilight, I've developed feelings for you!"

        I stepped back a pace. Now THAT surprised me.

        "Twilight, what I'm about to say to you is actually me speaking, not the feelings speaking for me...I need you to help me. I need you there so you can stop me if I try something I might regret. These feelings...they're not mine. They're stronger than my own. I love parties and pastries and candy and all the simple things in the world that bring ponies joy. But these feelings...they love you. I don't know if that makes any sense. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm still the same Pinkie Pie as ever, but that something else is trying to dominate my thoughts and make me have these feelings. And Twilight, I know that if there's a solution, you'll be able to find it, because you're the smartest pony in all of Ponyville, maybe even in all of Equestria! So I have faith in you, I know you'll find the root of the problem!"

        "...Thanks, Pinkie. But I can't help you control yourself. I need to leave Ponyville in order to find the answer-"

        "Then I'll come with!" Pinkie Pie stared me in the eye, seeming to plead for me to hear her out, "I'll join you and help find the root of the problem!"

        I thought it over for a moment, then smiled.

        "Alright! I leave tomorrow at dawn. Bring any supplies you may need, we may be gone for several weeks."

        In my past experience, I had only ever heard Pinkie Pie cheer due to excitement. But at that moment, Pinkie breathed a sigh of relief; then and there I realized that her fear was genuine.

        I needed to help her. I needed to help all of Ponyville.

Something Amiss (Part 2: Adieu Ponyville, But it Won't Be Forever...)

        "So you're leaving."

        "You can come, too!"

        "...really? Awesome."

        And that was the only complaint I would hear from Spike on the matter.

        Bright and early, I was up and ready to go. Pinkie Pie was waiting for me outside the library. What surprised me was that she wasn't bouncing or jumping, or even smiling. No, in fact, she was reading a book.

        This was a side of Pinkie I'd never seen before. Was this what Pinkie was like when she had a genuine concern and a motivation towards a serious objective? Was this how Pinkie dealt with bigger problems, the ones that couldn't be fixed with laughter and parties?

        I kind of liked this side of Pinkie better.

        At that moment I began to worry that my thoughts were becoming a tad too fond. Pinkie Pie was counting on me, and if I lost my self control, who would help her with her own?

        The three of us stopped at the edge of Ponyville.

        "So where are we headed?"

        "We're starting with Zecora's place. It's close, and Zecora may have important information on this phenomenon. It wouldn't be the first time she's had crucial details that could help us."

        "Zecora? Leave me out of it. I'll wait outside Everfree," Spike seemed upset, and dead-set on not going anywhere near Zecora's place.

        "Why? What's wrong with-?"

        "I don't want to talk about it. Just go on without me, I'll meet up with you afterward..."

        Dawn was starting to grace the horizon. Our journey had begun.

To Be Continued in Act II: "Star-Crossed Ponies"!