"Horseon's Choice," Twilight read from the textbook in front of her. She flicked a glance upwards. "Can you tell me what that is?"

Pinkie Pie swallowed her lemon cake and tapped her chin. "Um... is that the thing where you get two choices, but one of them is really icky and bad, so it's like you only have one?"

"Exactly!" Twilight said. "The illusion of choice. Can you give me an example?"

Pinkie spent another moment thinking before exclaiming, "It's like if I walked into a grocery store, and the only things they sold were cake and brussels sprouts!"

"Not exactly," Twilight said. "You'd still have two choices in that situation."

"Huh? No I wouldn't!" Pinkie said, grabbing the last slice of lemon cake from the dish beside them. "Who in Equestria would ever eat brussels sprouts? They're, like, barely even a food!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, but smiled all the same. She opened her mouth to respond—but her words were smothered by a long yawn. "Augh," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. "How long have we been at this?"

"Five hours, fifty-seven minutes, and twenty-four seconds!" Pinkie said, mouth full. She frowned and looked away. "No, wait... thirty-four seconds!"

"In other words: a long time," Twilight said, chuckling. She polished off her cake and closed the textbook. "I hate to stop all the fun, but it's getting pretty late. I think it may be time to draw this study session to a close."

"Thanks again for helping me out with all this," Pinkie said. "It's so cool studying with you! After all, what other teacher lets me eat lemon cake while studying?"

"No use learning on an empty stomach, I always say." Twilight stacked their dishes. "I must admit, when you first asked me to help teach you about philosophy and psychology, I was bit skeptical. But you've really picked it up quickly! I guess an imagination as durable as yours is pretty well suited to all this, huh?"

"I just like the funny names," Pinkie said. "Like Neightzsche! What kind of silly name is that?"

"I think it's Germane," Twilight said. She walked back over to the desk and sat down. "But seriously, if you don't mind me asking: why all the sudden interest in such advanced fields of study? I don't suppose you're planning on going back to school, are you?"

"Nah. I already have my PhD in Party Science—why would I need another?" Pinkie shook her head. "I have my reasons. It's kind of a secret, though."

Twilight's ears pricked up. "A secret? Really?"

"Yep!" Pinkie took a few quick glances around the room before smirking and leaning forward. "Do you wanna hear it?"

Twilight shrugged. "Why not? I did ask, after all."

Pinkie's smirk only grew wider. She darted a few more glances around, then motioned for Twilight to come closer. Pinkie leaned into Twilight's ear and whispered: "I have a crush!"

"A crush? And you're learning all this to, what, impress her?"

"Yeppers!" Pinkie chirped. "She's super-duper smart. She might be the smartest mare in the world! She even went to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns!"

Twilight raised a brow. "Really...?"

"And not only is she smart, she's cute, too!" Pinkie Pie giggled and wrapped her forelegs around herself. "You wanna pick her up and hug her all day long. She's got soft fur, and this pretty mane with three colors in it..."

Twilight glanced down at the blue, purple, and pink in her tail. "Yeah?"

"And, y'know, she used to be really awkward and shy and stuff, but now she has loads of friends, and is really fun to be around and study with!"

A thick heat had filled Twilight's cheeks. She nodded.

"And you wanna know the best thing?" Pinkie asked. She leaned forward until their muzzles brushed, until Twilight could smell the sugar on Pinkie's coat. In a slow, quiet voice, Pinkie said, "She loves lemon cake—just like you."

Twilight gulped, breathing heavy. "P-Pinkie Pie," she murmured, holding a hoof to her heart. "This... this is all so sudden."

"I know," Pinkie said, closing her eyes and nodding. "Sometimes love is sudden, y'know? Sometimes it comes out of nowhere, just when you least expect it."

A moment of silence. For the slightest of seconds, their hearts beat in unity.

"And besides," Pinkie said, "I only met Moondancer last week! So, like, that's gotta prove that love at first sight is a real thing! It's gotta—hey, Twilight, where are you going? Twilight!"