Psychological Analyses Entry Five: Pinkie Pie

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

Psychological Analyses Series Links:

1. Fluttershy

2. Applejack

3. Rarity

4. Rainbow Dash

 

Pinkamena Diane Pie is not a pony that makes good first impressions. She can come across as rude, obnoxious, an air-headed chatterbox that never stops being annoying. Many in the fandom, including the writer of this analysis, initially disliked Pinkie Pie because of her first impressions from the pilot, where she acts particularly like an idiot that invades people's privacy for no good reason. The Element of Laughter, as one of the hardest elements to understand, does not help with these impressions as it seems to support the interpretation that she's simple and easy to understand. But Pinkie, she may very well be the most complex of all the Mane Six.

 

Psychologically speaking, Pinkie Pie is difficult to understand, made worse by the fact that Party of One can, on the surface, suggest she's bi-polar, or worse, schizophrenic, poised on a razor's edge where she might snap at any time. Her actions in that episode stand in contrast with her actions in most others, where she's constantly bouncy, happy, and laughing at anything and everything, when she's not spouting off nonsequitors or otherwise acting out. Yet, on careful examination, when taking into account all of the available information, Pinkie Pie does actually have serious mental and emotional issues. Said issues are not, however, Bi-Polar Disorder or schizophrenia. She suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder.

 

To quote Wikipedia, "The disorder typically involves an unusual degree of instability in mood and black-and-white thinking, or splitting. BPD often manifests itself in idealization and devaluation episodes and chaotic and unstable interpersonal relationships, issues with self-image, identity, and behavior; as well as a disturbance in the individual's sense of self. In extreme cases, this disturbance in the sense of self can lead to periods of dissociation.

 

Splitting in BPD includes a switch between idealizing and demonizing others. This, combined with mood disturbances, can undermine relationships with family, friends, and co-workers. BPD disturbances may also include harm to one's self." [1]

 

Pinkie Pie is unusual amongst BPD sufferers in that she is primarily an extrovert, rather than an introvert. She comes alive through interacting with others, and hates being alone.

 

Pinkie's issues are primarily a result of her foalhood. As a filly, she lived on a rock farm. She states during her Cutie Mark story that there was "no talking, no smiling, only rocks." The story makes it clear she expected to live her entire life on that farm...born a rock farmer, live a rock farmer, die a rock farmer, a bleak and terrible existence. One does not suffer that kind of psychological trauma, without developing serious issues as a result. Though there is little real evidence, I suspect she did not often get along with her family, due primarily to the fact that she is so different from them in physical appearance. The others are all various tones of gray, while she is vibrant, electrifying pink. Being so set apart is not likely to promote getting along, though this could manifest either as the rest of her family treating her terribly, or simply Pinkie feeling all the more separated from them, possibly both.

 

Pinkie's whole life changed the day of the Sonic Rainboom. Up until then, she had lived an unhappy, meager existence, directionless, without passion or joy. The Rainboom awakened a real reason for living: to bring happiness to others. Through seeing others experience joy, she can experience it herself. She states it clearly in her image song, "Smile."

 

When she moved to Ponyville proper, or how she came to live and work with the Cakes, is unclear. She became employed as a pastry chef and lives with them in their home, working for room and board, as well a small salary on top. This allows her to throw parties whenever she can, and she throws them with an almost reckless abandon, happily taking advantage of any and all possible reasons to hold a celebration.

 

Unfortunately, prior to meeting Twilight, she had no close friends. The life of a partygoer can provide acquaintances aplenty, and she knew everyone in Ponyville in a distant sense, but she didn't have anyone she could rely on to talk to, to hang out with on a day to day basis outside of her parties. This is consistently backed up by canon: notice how she pursues Rainbow Dash around all over the place in Griffon the Brush-Off, or even how she initially reacted to Twilight when they first met. Although her reaction appears on first glance to be a simple cartoon gag, when viewed in retrospect with the information about her Pinkie Sense, I suspect it was actually her Pinkie Sense going off. After all, meeting Twilight was one of the most important events not just in Pinkie's life, but in the life of everyone in Equestria. Had she not become friends with Twilight, Pinkie wouldn't have been present later in the library during the discussion on the Elements of Harmony, would not have ventured into the Everfree Forest, and likely Twilight and anyone else who accompanied her would have died trying to face off against Nightmare Moon, with the rest of Equestria soon to follow thanks to the neverending night. So Pinkie naturally reacted by doing her utmost to try to make friends with Twilight, resulting in the invasion of privacy that was the party at the library, much more understandable when viewed within this lense.

 

But if any single canonical event makes it clear just how few friends--ie, none--Pinkie had prior to meeting the rest of the Mane Six, it was the events of Party of One. Within that episode, Pinkie acts out in a number of ways, just like any BPD sufferer would. When she spent a great deal of time with her close friends, all she wanted was to spend more time with them, so she decides to throw another party, inventing one of the silliest possible reasons for it and even outright forgetting her own birthday, because her own birthday wasn't important. No one would want to celebrate her, after all, not in her mind. It didn't even occur to her.

 

So when she saw her friends acting suspiciously, she did what any BPD sufferer would do: she immediately leapt to the worst possible conclusion: they hate her and want nothing to do with her anymore. She is naturally outraged, and expends a significant amount of effort chasing Rainbow Dash around Ponyville as a result, only to eventually end up at Sweet Apple Acres and find Applejack lying, badly, to her face. Like with many scenes from Party of One, it is multilayered, with various levels of storytelling and significance not able to be properly appreciated without multiple viewings. It's metaphorical, rather than literal, as Pinkie Pie isn't really able to teleport around Ponyville at will. For the target demographic, it is comedic and silly: look at how funny Pinkie Pie can be! To adults, on the other hand, it speaks to the depth of her emotions.

 

Though she seeks out Spike to demand he explain what's going on, she's not looking for real answers. All she wants is confirmation of what she suspects, because she wanted to hear from someone else what she figured she already knew: her friends don't want to be her friends anymore. And when she hears it, she falls apart, suffering a serious psychological breakdown.

 

The party she holds in the next scene, commonly held up as the clearest example of her alleged schizophrenia, is actually something that BPD sufferers do all the time: invent a way to try and cope with the emotions. For Pinkie, because she's an extrovert and enjoys parties so much, she created several imaginary friends and held a fake party. She didn't want to be alone. But she knew it wasn't real. It's just an outwardly reflection of her own internal issues. She argues with herself, through the party guests, about how angry she is that her so-called friends betrayed her. It's not schizophrenia at all: just an internal debate, expressed through a party with fake guests because that's just how Pinkie Pie does things. Notice how the voices of the other party guests are the other voice actresses. Like with the previous scene, the party has layers of subtlety not easily grasped on first viewing.

 

Naturally when Rainbow Dash showed up, Pinkie was already so angry that she wanted nothing to do with Dashie. All Rainbow Dash did was present a real, physical reminder of Pinkie's hurt and sorrow, a reminder that Pinkie just wants to leave, immediately. She fights and struggles until Rainbow Dash drags her to the barn at Sweet Apple Acres. When she sees her friends, she rants and raves until she's told they're throwing the party for her, as a surprise party. Upon realizing this she makes a sudden transformation back into her cheerful self. While on first glance this can appear contrived, absurd even, it actually makes perfect sense when placed in context. She's so suddenly happy that her friends haven't actually betrayed her that her moods shifts dramatically, just like it would for any BPD sufferer. Combined with the fact that she's an extrovert, and suddenly her transformation isn't contrived: it's just another metaphor for how she feels in her heart.

 

I also suspect, however, upon further examination of the scene, that she didn't desire to burden her friends with her emotional issues. There's little to no evidence to suggest she ever discussed how she felt with her friends, partially because she probably felt--even if it's not the truth--that her friends might not want to listen, but also because she knew discussing her emotions wouldn't make them happy. It'd make them sad. And if there's anything Pinkie Pie refuses to do, it's make her friends sad. So she hides her depression, the depression she admits to in her song, because she would rather suffer than cause others to be unhappy.

 

Pinkie has demonstrated aspects of suffering BPD in many other cases as well. For example, in Baby Cakes, where she fails to initially realize how much responsibility is involved in caring for children. She sees it as more time to play around with the twins. When she is confronted by reality and Twilight offers to help, she reacts with scorn. Instead of viewing Twilight's offer reasonably, she sees it as Twilight insulting her, saying that Pinkie is incapable. Or in other words, she views Twilight's words in the worst possible manner. When she finally realized she couldn't handle the twins, she broke down crying, out of frustration, a perfectly understandable action that almost anyone in that situation would have done, BPD sufferer or not.

 

Notice, too, how sad she became when confronted with Fluttershy's accusation in Putting Your Hoof Down. She was accussed of being obsessed with parties, essentially told by one of her closest friends that her life was meaningless. Though we did not see it touched upon in the episode, I suspect it took Pinkie a long time to calm down, and that, like with her experiences in Party of One, she didn't speak too much about it with her friends.

 

When Pinkie encounters someone she's unable to make happy, she becomes frustrated and confused. Consider how much she pursued being Cranky's friend despite the fact that Cranky clearly wanted nothing to do with her. She couldn't accept that she was making someone unhappy, so she continued to do everything in her power, despite the fact that she wasn't seeing some of what she was doing wrong. Her inability to understand that some of her actions were inappropriate is another clear sign of BPD. Truth is, Pinkie likely would have been devastated beyond belief by what she'd done if she hadn't gotten lucky with the knowledge of Matilda.

 

Pinkie's knowledge in that episode backs up something I stated in my original analysis regarding her Pinkie Sense. Her Pinkie Sense is clearly magical, far beyond the normal magic of Earth Ponies. It influences how she thinks, how she acts. While she often flits around, seemingly paying little attention to everything around her like a hyperactive squirrel on crack, she's actually just being bombarded with too much information. This is how her Pinkie Sense functions, I suspect...it grants her something of a sixth sense, an ability to perceive everything around her more deeply than others can. She has experienced bouts of wisdom, possesses an eidetic memory--what is known in layman's terms as a photographic memory--and can occasionally create something wondrous and new on the spot, as she did in Griffon the Brush off when she built a flying machine in mere MINUTES. She might very well be the second-smartest of the Mane Six, or possibly even the smartest, depending upon how one views her able to intuitively understand everything around her on a deeper level. That's not to say she can see everything: she's often blind to some of the more obvious things around her. One cannot rely upon intuition alone to always solve a problem, as she demonstrated when she attempted to use it to figure out the culprit that mutilated the MMMM cake. But the magic of her Pinkie Sense is quite special, a useful tool she uses in her pursuit of making others happier. Though little evidence exists to suggest it, I am willing to believe that the Sonic Rainboom unlocked her Pinkie Sense, and that prior to the Rainboom she was unable to access it. It is arguably a power only the Element of Laughter could have.

 

The Element of Laughter, as I stated, is the most difficult to understand. Though all of the Elements are more than they appear on first glance, Laughter especially seems like it shouldn't be a virtue at all, at first. It's not just about laughing at the world, nor is it about the act of laughing itself bringing joy, though certainly laughter can do that. It's about being able to stand strong in the toughest of circumstances, the ability to cope no matter what life puts you through. It's the ability to stand against life's trials and refuse to be rendered helpless, the refusal to give into depression and hopelessness. It's about not giving in. Pinkie, for whom life itself is a struggle, epitomizes Laughter because she understands what it truly means. She strives to make others happy, to put a smile on their faces whenever they are down, because she knows how hard it is to cope with tragedy and sorrow. Her entire life is all about expressing the Element of Laughter through everything she does.

 

Questions still remain about Pinkie's background. I would like to see, in Season Three, more episodes that go into her life, especially her life on the rock farm. We never saw her grandmother during her Cutie Mark story, after all--I'd like to know more about her Granny Pie. Most importantly, though, I feel Pinkie just plain deserves more screentime. She can be hard to appreciate, harder still to like, but she's a fantastic character all around.

 

[1]http://en.wikipedia....nality_Disorder

[I used to be a stranger 7,993]

[HomuraBL 851]

Yay my fav Character! Nicely done!

 

Now, I do think Pinkie is best pony/fav pony. Its a shame she is a hit or miss character.

 

She's a hit if you like a "cartoon" character.

 

She's a miss if you hate how she can come off as annoying, (Not to me), and naive.

 

Also, its speculated that Pinkie's fantasy in the cutie chronicles didn't happen.

Edited May 19, 2012 by RaccoonBL

[Nas 2,873]

Once again, you have blown my mind with another speculational essay that could not be any more thorough. Good work. I agree wholeheartedly on every single word in this post.

 

You got everything right and understandable, Pinkie, like most other charcaters at some point, can be a little hard to understand (but especially Pinkie in this case), but with a complete look-over on every single one of her pros and cons, background, summary, feelings, personaility, etc., you have made every single character a lot more understandable and likeable so far. Please keep up the immeasurable amazing work.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

Pinkamena Diane Pie is not a pony that makes good first impressions. She can come across as rude, obnoxious, an air-headed chatterbox that never stops being annoying.

 

Truth be told, that's the exact vibe I got when I first started watching. I didn't like her one bit... and now, as you know, I love her almost romantically.

[HomuraBL 851]

Truth be told, that's the exact vibe I got when I first started watching. I didn't like her one bit... and now, as you know, I love her almost romantically.

 

While I do love her romantically.

 

 

Though, I guess I must say, I didn't find her annoying, just uninteresting going the first time through. Later, she became best pony.

[Abstract 832]

I'm no psychologist, but I would call that review spot on. Makes it much easier to understand her character and why she acts like she does.

 

That said, I'm still not a fan of her. Extroverts in general annoy me.

[Queen Cassie 3,057]

Everyone else, thank you for your kind words.

 

 

Also, its speculated that Pinkie's fantasy in the cutie chronicles didn't happen.

 

I'm aware of this bit of speculation...I've even seen a couple of stories that speculate along those lines. However, we've never seen anything in canon to contradict what she told the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Therefore I see no reason to disbelieve what she says, especially since prior to talking about the Rainboom with the others, she had no way of knowing about its existence. Plus, without it, we would be left with nothing to go on when it comes to her Cutie Mark story. If she left anything out, it was probably her describing painful memories, or possibly abridging the events, rather than directly misleading the CMCs. I don't see why she would lie about anyway...what is there to gain?

 

Besides, the rock farming, when viewed in light of my previous speculations about both the importance and ubiquity of gemstones in magic, makes perfect sense. The gems may be something more grown than forming by the processes they do in our world, and a rock farm may very well promote harvests of these gemstones.

[Guest]

(Note: didn't read entire article)

 

I still don't like her.

 

Constant energy makes me sick =w='

[HomuraBL 851]

Everyone else, thank you for your kind words.

 

 

I'm aware of this bit of speculation...I've even seen a couple of stories that speculate along those lines. However, we've never seen anything in canon to contradict what she told the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Therefore I see no reason to disbelieve what she says, especially since prior to talking about the Rainboom with the others, she had no way of knowing about its existence. Plus, without it, we would be left with nothing to go on when it comes to her Cutie Mark story. If she left anything out, it was probably her describing painful memories, or possibly abridging the events, rather than directly misleading the CMCs. I don't see why she would lie about anyway...what is there to gain?

 

Besides, the rock farming, when viewed in light of my previous speculations about both the importance and ubiquity of gemstones in magic, makes perfect sense. The gems may be something more grown than forming by the processes they do in our world, and a rock farm may very well promote harvests of these gemstones.

 

I do like the Rock farming to be true. Especially since I want to see what Inkie and Blinkie are like. Hopefully season 3...

[Proctra Music 335]

Pinkie pie has been up there in my rankings. And as I've mentioned, your analysis hasn't changed my opinion, probably because I completely agree with you. I love these.

[Crystal Sparkle 344]

A PA on my pony twin? Yes, please!

 

She can come across as rude, obnoxious, an air-headed chatterbox that never stops being annoying.

 

Just like me!

 

The party she holds in the next scene, commonly held up as the clearest example of her alleged schizophrenia, is actually something that BPD sufferers do all the time: invent a way to try and cope with the emotions. For Pinkie, because she's an extrovert and enjoys parties so much, she created several imaginary friends and held a fake party. She didn't want to be alone. But she knew it wasn't real. It's just an outwardly reflection of her own internal issues. She argues with herself, through the party guests, about how angry she is that her so-called friends betrayed her.

This may sound wierd, but I've done something like that once, though when I'm pissed at someone, I just talk to myself until my mom, comes in asking, "Are you talking to yourself...again?"

 

I get bored easily...teehee...

Edited May 21, 2012 by Crystal Sparkle

[Iris Melody 90]

Pinkie Pie is best pony <3

 

When I first saw the pilot, I thought she had the best first impression (I mimicked that anti-gravity gasp for MONTHS with my friends, whether they knew what I was doing or not) and her No Fear song sealed the deal (I NEEDED that song when I was three!) By Griffon the Brush Off, she was officially solidified as my number one favorite pony - Pinkie has such an amazing attitude! Only super enforced by Feeling Pinkie Keen! I love her.

 

I always felt like I understood Pinkie, even though I'm not very much like her. I'm certainly not an extrovert. I pegged her personal insecurity and her not-very-big opinion of herself. I grew up in a terrible home, also as the "different" one. (My mother would alter my appearance and had my hair dyed. I finally changed my body and my hair color back to normal when I was 20! and I cried for a week and a half in fear, since I didn't have permission to do it, so I did it without saying anything...) Among other abuses, my parents were pretty big on mental abuse - about how no one likes me, no one will ever like me, no one wants me around, if someone asks me, "how are you?" they don't actually want to know, it's just a normal greeting, and I shouldn't even pretend to be worth wasting anyone's time. Shut up, never speak, don't act like I'm worth interacting with others, I am always inconvenient and unwanted, but I better appear to be normal/fine. I was completely miserable and alone, no close/real friends (until later high school - a whopping two people) and I couldn't envision a way out.

 

I also completely know how Pinkie feels about not confiding her feelings to others. The only purpose to exist is to make others happy, since to exist without benefiting others means there is no reason to exist. To confide what horrors are happening within my own life would only make others horrified/sad. Why do that? I didn't want to be a downer. If I was a downer, then no one no one would ever want me around. I think there is much significance in her Smile song - especially how she pulls herself out of that sadness. She even admits how some days are "dark and lonely."

 

I think very highly of Pinkie. When she saw that rainbow (full symbolism included of seeing the rainbow at the end of the storm) it made her so happy. She could have been like, "how can I make myself this happy more often / all the time?" but she didn't. Her first thought was, "I'm so happy, how can I spread this to everyone else? I want everyone to be this happy, no one should feel the loneliness and suffering that I have." That speaks volumes of her character. It became her personal reason for existence - to spread happiness. It validated her existence and gave her a sense of purpose. "Cheering up my friends is just what Pinkie's here to do... all I really need is a smile... from these happy friends of mine" - the only reason she's "here."

 

I personally suspect her family may have been somewhat abusive, if not physical then at least neglectful with mental and emotional harm (whether intended or not, definitely there). When I was a kid, I thought that if I could make my parents happy, then maybe the abuse would stop. (HA! NOT!) so that's why I think Pinkie started first with her family on trying to make them happy with a party. Would making them happy make things better? At least she earned her cutie mark succeeding in making them smile (I believe her balloons are symbolic of her uplifting others, two blue on bottom with the upraised yellow - taking a plural of sadness and uplifting them to a collective happiness - it even goes with her lyrics "fill my heart up with sunshine" so that when others are uplifted to the happy yellow balloon metaphor, so is she). Even though the party was a success, it didn't change the rock farm conditions or how she was treated. Were her sisters envious of her getting her cutie mark first? Did her parents punish her for outshining her sisters? (I was frequently punished for "outshining" my brothers, better grades in school and whatnot, because how dare I make them feel bad about themselves when I never meant that.) I fully suspect that Pinkie ended up running away. I sure as heck fled. I suspect Pinkie ran away with the notion that, on this farm, she could only try and fail to keep her family happy, which would put her through such mental anguish, or she could run away and try her hoof at making strangers and the world happy- as many people as she could! Oh hey look, that's exactly what she did. Found employment that gave her a place to live, allowed her to be useful (as the cook) while giving her the opportunity to spread happiness to an entire town. She hit the ground running with that and succeeded. She may have not known what she was lacking in the best-close-friend department until she finally got close friends with the mane 6. And then we see her not knowing how to handle the "rejection."

 

"There's one thing that makes me happy, and makes my whole life worthwhile, and that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile." So naturally, if she perceives herself failing at that one thing, goodbye Pinkie sanity.

 

Any abused person knows that the sentiments long past will still sneak up on us and haunt us - the "dark and lonely" days of which Pinkie sings. How on earth to make it go away, to quit following me? Distraction can be an effective method, though much effort needs to be put into it. If that high amount of effort isn't there, if one isn't "always busy" then those depressing thoughts have more time to be present... and it's a downward spiral. Pinkie puts an uncharted, endless amount of effort into "chasing down people to make them happy" at any cost. "I'll work real hard and do my best to turn that sad frown upside down." I think this insane amount of effort is 1) one way to run away from her own dark thoughts and sentiments that have followed her since her foalhood as a distraction and 2) because maybe if she's good enough and can make absolutely everyone she meets happy, then maybe these terrible memories and sentiments will go away. Sure, making others happy makes her happy, but her motive is not to chase down her own happiness. She's subconsciously validating herself. Also, in order to make others happy, one has to appear happy, and it's easier for one to appear happy if one is happy in order to spread that happy - even though it's a cycle, her own personal happiness isn't the point. "I give a smile, I get a smile, and that's so special to me."

 

The line in her song that really holds up a flag to me is, "Tell me what more can I say to make you see?"

 

"Yes a perfect gift for me is a smile as wide as a mile, to make me happy as can be" to make her as happy as she possibly can be...

 

I agree with your analysis on Pinkie; I just felt like adding some

Edited May 21, 2012 by Iris Melody

[WildCard 1,037]

Awesome analysis, though I found out that I probably have light BPD.

Execpt that I don't really like parties and I am not that extrovert I share a few traits with Pinkie and my behaviour often was very similar.

[MVC NVMXD JVRXD 2,406]

Yet another great analyses! And my favorite pony too

Good job, Kyronea.

[NyxTheShield 91]

 

Really, my mind blew

[Zerul 554]

Oh pinkie you so crazy <3

[BobCoffin56 20]

this is probably why Pinkie Pie is one of my favorite characters. i also have BPD and if Pinkie does it would explain why i feel a connection to her.