Chapters "Anyone coming?" asked Pinkie, her voice slightly muffled by the small paper bag she held in her teeth. She stood beside Applejack's bed, empty save for a disposable cup she had put on top of the sheets.
Rainbow Dash resumed her lookout at Applejack's bedroom window. The Apple family were currently all either in town or in the fields and the house was vacant. They were taking the opportunity to set up a few pranks for their unsuspecting friend.
"Nope," she replied. "The coast is clear."
Pinkie upended the bag into the cup and a torrent of sparkling confetti filled it to the brim. She tucked the empty bag into her mane and picked up the cup, smiling widely.
"Okie dokie lokie. Come on, we need to be on the other side of the door when I balance this on top."
Dash turned away from the window and matched Pinkie's mischievous grin.
"Oh, this is going to be hilarious. She'll be picking glitter out of her mane for days ."
The two headed for the bedroom door, which was painted orange with three apples at head height (a gift from Apple Bloom for her big sister's birthday). Passing the bed, Dash spied a small piece of paper peeking from beneath.
"Hey, Pinkie, you dropped your bag." she said, bending down and picking it up.
Pinkie patted the back of her mane and was met with a crinkling sound.
"No, I still have it."
"Then what's this?" asked Dash, turning the piece of paper over and checking the opposite side. Her eyes widened.
"Uh, Pinkie? You should take a look at this."
Pinkie looked curiously over Dash's shoulder at the paper she held. It was a pencil sketch of a pony sleeping in the sun. The subject was immediately recognisable: her long silk mane flowed about her head and three butterflies adorned her flank.
The sketch dominated the page but the eyes of the two viewers were drawn to the top-right corner, where the artist had drawn a large love heart in heavy pencil.
Dash and Pinkie stared dumbly at the drawing for a minute, letting the significance sink in before Dash finally broke out of the trance. She hurredly shoved the paper back under the bed and turned back to Pinkie.
"Oh, man. That's a bombshell. AJ and Fluttershy. Do you really think -?"
She stopped. Pinkie was frozen with her eyes wide and her mouth gaping.
"Pinkie?" said Dash, waving a hoof in front of the pink pony's unseeing eyes. "Equestria to Pinkie Pie! Come in Pinkie!"
Pinkie's eyes widened further and her chest swelled as she took in a huge lungful of air in the loudest gasp that Dash had ever heard, rattling the window in its frame. Her hooves left the floor and hovered a few inches above the boards for a moment before clattering back down.
"Oh wow!" squealed Pinkie, dancing giddily in a circle. "This is so unbelievably incredibly huge! Applejack's got a crush on Fluttershy! That's so sweet. They'd be adorable together!"
"Whoa! Pinkie - quiet down. Remember we're supposed to be sneaking here." Dash furtively glanced at the doorway. Applejack could take a prank but she dreaded the wrath they would face if they were found leafing through her sketches.
"Yes but - eeeeee - do you think Fluttershy knows?"
"I dunno. The picture could have been drawn from life or it could have been original."
"Only one way to find out!"
Pinkie raised her hoof and knocked on the wooden door of Fluttershy's house for the second time. Silence responded from within.
"I don't think she's home."
Dash released a breath that she didn't realise she had been holding.
"Thank Celestia for that. What did you intend on saying to her anyway?" Dash raised her voice in a falsetto imitation of Pinkie. "'Hi Fluttershy, we were just snooping on your personal relationships and I was wondering if you were dating Applejack, tee-hee.'"
Pinkie ignored the parody and circled around to the back of the small cottage. Dash followed after a moment. By the time she caught sight of Pinkie again, the pink pony was cutie-mark-deep in one of Fluttershy's compost bins.
"Pinkie! What the hay? Have you gone mad?" she hissed. "Wait, what am I saying? Of course you have."
Pinkie emerged again with a banana skin balanced precariously on her head and several stained pages of writing paper in her hooves. Her normally bright coat was discoloured a sickly green. Dash stepped back involuntarily from the stench of rotting food that wafted toward her.
"Hnngh," she choked, holding her nose in her hooves. "Whad have you god dere, Pinkie?"
"I've a twitchy feeling," replied Pinkie cheerfully, "that there's something juicy right here."
She smoothed out the pages on the ground, doing her best to remove half-eaten carrot slices and bird seed from the paper. The top page was a letter written in elegant cursive.
Applejack,
I'm writing these words because I worry I would stumble over them in person. I don't think I would even have the courage for this if it weren't you I was writing to.
The last line had been crossed out. Pinkie turned over the second page.
Applejack,
I'm writing these words because I worry I would stumble over them in person. I love you. I've always loved you. When I think of you, it's like a rock - a steady constant in my life that
She flipped to the third page.
Applejack,
I'm writing these words because I worry I would stumble over them in person. I love you. I've always loved you. When I think of you, I feel stronger - like I can do anything if it were for your love. You've always been kind to me, been supportive of me when I struggle with my fears, and I know I do that a lot
The rest of the pages continued the theme. The final draft was still barely a few lines and it looked like it had been balled up before being dumped.
Dash, reading over Pinkie's filthy shoulder yet carefully trying not to touch it, widened her eyes in astonishment.
"Guess that answers that. Fluttershy feels the same, but neither of them has told the other."
Pinkie whirled in place and placed her hooves on either side of Dash's head, holding it there while she stared into her eyes with a grave look on her face.
"Rainbow Dash, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Gah! Pinkie let go of me, your hooves are covered in sh- !"
Pinkie suddenly released the struggling pegasus, who slumped heavily to the ground, wiping muck from the side of her face. She reared back on her hind legs and raised one soiled pink hoof to the sky.
"We'll make sure those two get together!"
"I don't know how you talked me into helping with this crazy plan," growled Rainbow Dash, irritably trying to force a large, red candle into a holder that was far too small for it. Behind her, Pinkie Pie hummed a cheery tune while she dragged a tablecloth over one of Sugarcube Corner's many tables.
Pinkie had suggested setting up a romantic dinner for Applejack and Fluttershy, but soon revealed that she had a skewed idea of what constituted "romantic". She had initially decorated the dining room in bright streamers and balloons and was in the process of hanging a banner that read "HAPPY FIRST DATE" when Dash intervened. After much animated discussion on the difference between a romantic dinner and a party, the decorations were removed and they attempted a more subtle atmosphere.
Subtlety, however, was proving to be difficult for Sugarcube Corner. Even with the curtains closed and candles lit, Ponyville's premiere party palace still seemed too festive. The walls were painted garish colours; the only available tablecloth was bright red and festooned with cartoon ducks; even the candle holder that Dash was struggling with was in the shape of a smiling whale. Dash idly wondered what it had found to be happy about with a gaudy glitter-dusted candle stuck in its blow-hole.
"Really, Pinkie? You don't have any other candle holders?"
"Nope. Sorry."
Dash sighed and placed the whale with the rictus grin on the table. "I guess it can be a conversation piece. Wait, what are you doing now?"
"Putting a flower on the table. You said -"
"In a vase , Pinkie. That's a sippy cup that says 'I'm 1 today '."
"I don't have a vase," she pouted. "I normally put flowers in paper baskets and give them away as prizes at the end of the night."
"I'll lend you one from my - " started Dash, but trailed off. She didn't actually have any vases herself. She was surprised to discover that, like her, Pinkie had little interest in frou-frou ornaments for her home. All her decorations were outlandish and very disposable.
"... never mind," she finished. "Just use a glass tumbler from the kitchen. Other than that, I think this is as good an atmosphere as we can manage. How's the dinner coming along?"
"It's simmering. It'll be ready in about twenty minutes."
Oh, the dinner. That had been another argument. Dash had to explain to the pink pony several times that, while romantic, a tiered wedding cake was not appropriate for a first date, though she had been impressed by the tiny diorama that Pinkie had sculpted from sugar and corn syrup and put on top. It was of Applejack and Fluttershy sitting, gazing into one another's sugary eyes across a tiny table that was laden with another, smaller cake. On top of that cake was another pair of candy figurines and a still smaller cake. And on top of that ...
Dash shook herself from her reverie. It wasn't important now. Pinkie's terrifyingly recursive confectionary had been abandoned in favour of a simple pasta dish served with wine or, if the diner preferred, some sparkling water. All that remained now was collecting the couple-to-be themselves.
Dash rubbed her front hooves together triumphantly. "All right then. You go get Fluttershy while I find Applejack. Let's have them back here in twenty minutes for their first date."
Dash knew that the best place to find Applejack mid-afternoon was in the orchard. Frankly, it was probably the best place to find her morning, noon and night. AJ was a bit of a workaholic.
Swooping low over the treetops, she spied an orange figure by the barn and landed nearby, cantering the rest of the distance. She smiled widely at her friend and waved a hoof.
"Hey Applejack! How's it going?"
Applejack looked up from the cart and waved back, a little shakily. Beads of sweat ran down her forehead and she blinked them away with tired eyes. She was harnessed to a small cart piled high with apples and was in the process of backing it down a steep ramp into the cellar.
"Hiya Dash. Busy at the moment. A lot of the apples came down in the storm last night and me n' Big Macintosh have been working since dawn gathering 'em all up."
"Maybe you should take a break. How about you come on down to Sugarcube Corner for lunch? My treat."
"That's mighty generous of you, Dash, but if we leave 'em out, the birds will ruin the best ones. Better to get it all done now."
"But -"
"Sorry, sugarcube. Maybe tomorrow."
Applejack resumed her work, slowly backing down the ramp so as not to topple the precarious stack of fruit in her cart. Not one to be dissuaded, Dash moved closer, grabbed one of the leather harnesses in her teeth and tugged at it.
"Rainbow Dash! What in the hay are you doin'?"
"C'mon, AJ. I can do the apple-picking for a couple of hours, but you need to head over to... oops."
With her last pull, the strap had come undone and released Applejack from the harness. The cart, given extra slack, suddenly rolled down the ramp and yanked the strap from Rainbow Dash's teeth. As the two ponies watched in horror, the cart struck the stone floor at the bottom and flipped over, scattering the apples everywhere and bruising many of them in the process. Dash turned sheepishly back to Applejack, who was making a low guttural noise through gritted teeth that slowly rose in pitch before the farmer exploded with fury.
"You daft filly, Rainbow Dash! It took me an hour to gather all those. Now I got ta to it all again!"
Bristling at the tone, Dash felt herself get defensive.
"I was just trying to help," she yelled back. "It wasn't my fault you overloaded the cart!"
Applejack's eyes widened. If such a thing were possible, she would have exploded again.
"You sayin' it's my fault now? Of all the nerve!"
Dash opened her mouth to reply, but chastised herself for losing her temper. She was here because she needed Applejack to come with her. She kicked a hoof guiltily and dropped her gaze.
"Sorry, AJ. I'll help pick them up."
Applejack's snarl faded to a thin frown, but she turned her back on the pegasus.
"You've done enough. Just... leave me alone for now."
She trotted a few paces down the ramp and kicked away the pole that held the trapdoor up. The heavy door slammed shut, leaving Rainbow Dash alone and feeling very foolish.
Dash landed softly on the cobblestones outside the front door of Sugarcube Corner and shuffled dejectedly up the steps. What was she going to tell Fluttershy? Heck, what was she going to tell Pinkie? She wasn't sure why, but she hated letting Pinkie down even more. Perhaps it was because she had invested so much effort into this scheme. She'd been so excited at the prospect of playing matchmaker for her friends. An image of Pinkie's cheery face rose in Dash's mind and she found herself flushing at the realisation that she was only participating in this scheme to see that pretty smile again.
The door opened with a creak and Dash stared into the darkness beyond. The candles had been snuffed out and the building was left in total darkness.
Strange, thought Dash. I'm sure we left them lit.
"Pinkie? You in here?"
No answer. Fumbling awkwardly, she felt her way through the gloom to the counter where her outstretched hoof grasped hold of a paraffin lamp and then a box of matches. She touched a match to the wick and the sudden light turned the room into a parade of dancing shadows. Dash swallowed nervously, glancing about as the shades flickered back and forth, skipping around her while she placed the lamp on her back between her wings. It was strange how the same atmosphere had seemed so merry when Pinkie had been with her, like a pair of schoolfillies up after their bedtime, playing and laughing at the dark.
A soft weeping broke the silence. Dash swallowed a scream and whirled towards its source at the table they had set up in the middle of the room. Flicking a wing aside, the lamp illuminated a figure in one of the chairs, hunched over the table with its head in its front hooves. Its lengthy, pink hair spilled about the tablecloth and over the sides. Its back heaved with another sob.
"Fluttershy?" ventured Dash.
The figure lifted its head and regarded her with two dull blue eyes, stained with tears.
"No," replied Pinkie Pie.
Dash felt her stomach sink to her hooves.
"Oh, no. What's wrong? What happened?" she asked, moving closer to Pinkie and placing a kindly hoof on her back. She knew first-hand what it took to upset her friend like this.
Pinkie lowered her head. Her long, straight mane shrouded her face like a funeral veil.
"I did something bad," she said between sobs. "I was so excited about the date that by the time I found Fluttershy near the rabbit burrows I was just babbling and making no sense and... and... she couldn't understand me so I grabbed her hoof and tried to lead her here. But I was impatient and I pulled at her too hard and..."
Pinkie convulsed with a loud sob. Dash watched as tears dropped from beneath the mask of her hair and pooled on the wooden floor.
"... and she screamed . I dropped her sprained hoof and stepped back and she looked at me like... like I was a monster. She was afraid of me. Then she turned and flew away, crying because... because I was careless and stupid and I'd hurt her. I got too excited and I didn't think. I never think and this time it hurt somebody and she's going to hate me now and I'm a terrible friend and..."
Pinkie's ranting became incoherent through wails of misery. Dash carefully placed the lamp on the table and leaned forward, putting both her front legs around Pinkie Pie and hugged her close. She pressed the side of her head against Pinkie's and whispered small comforts as her friend wept. Their silhouettes danced merrily on the wall, oblivious to the distress.
Minutes ticked by as Pinkie's crying died down. Dash didn't let go and continued to whisper soothingly in Pinkie's ear.
"You're not a bad friend. It was an accident, that's all. And, believe me, you can't possibly have hurt her so much that Fluttershy won't forgive you. I've known her longer than anypony and I've said some stupid, hurtful things to her over the years, but she's always forgiven me."
Pinkie sniffed. "You didn't see the look in her eyes. It wasn't just nasty words. It was... sticks and stones."
Dash released Pinkie from her grasp and placed a hoof under the pink pony's chin, lifting it until she could look her in the eyes.
"It was an accident," she said firmly. "That's all. Fluttershy will understand that. We all understand that. You get overexcited sometimes but we wouldn't change a thing about you because you're a big party waiting to happen and we love you for it, not despite it. We'll give Fluttershy a few hours to get what happened straight in her head, then we'll both go over to her house so you can apologise and everything will be fine. I promise. I Pinkie-promise."
Pinkie was smiling now, and her eyes brightened a bit. She pressed her cheek gently against Dash's hoof.
"Thanks, Dash," she said. "I'm glad you're here."
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? C'mon, dry your eyes and blow your nose. You look a mess."
She ran a hoof through Pinkie's long, straight mane. "And how do we fix your hair?"
"It'll go back to normal soon. Just give it some time."
"Nah. I've got a faster way."
Dash inhaled deeply and, before the earth pony could object, buried her face in Pinkie's mane and blew a long, loud raspberry. Pinkie shrieked, then broke into a fit of giggles.
"That tickles! Get off!"
"Ah-ha!" cried Dash. "I think it's working!"
She pressed her lips to the back of Pinkie's neck and blew again, her cheeks puffing out and producing a thunderous flatulent noise. The pink pony struggled beneath her grip, howling with laughter as they repeated the process again and again until finally Pinkie's hair had returned to its normal, curly state. Pinkie kicked Dash off her back and wiped away tears of laughter that dropped to the floor and washed away their sorrowful predecessors.
Dash clambered to her feet and grinned at Pinkie.
"I guess Applejack and Fluttershy's first date's a bit of a washout, huh?"
"Yeah. The food's still good, though. Join me for dinner, Rainbow Dash?"
"I'd love to," she replied with a smile.
"Rainbow Daaaaash!"
Dash rolled over in her cumulus bed and murmured softly.
"Rainbow Daaaaash!"
She opened her eyes with reluctance. By the sickly orange light coming through her window, she judged it to be the crack of dawn. It was not a sight familiar to the cyan pegasus, who preferred to sleep in until breakfast became indistinguishable from lunch. Smacking her lips, she clambered out of bed and leaned out a window. Far below on the ground, Pinkie Pie was looking back up at her with wide, blue eyes and an even wider smile.
"Puh. Pinkie?" mumbled Dash sleepily. "Why are you up at this hour? It must be... "
Her addled mind tried to recall what time dawn was scheduled for this week, but the memory turned over and went back to sleep.
"... early," she finished lamely.
"Come on, Dash!" yelled Pinkie. "We need to get started as soon as possible to get the wheel built!"
Dash decided not to try and process the non-sequitur lest her tired brain shut down altogether. Instead, she swooped lazily to the ground and landed in front of Pinkie.
"Wheel," she echoed flatly.
Pinkie nodded, dancing from hoof to hoof excitedly.
"What wheel?"
"The Ferris wheel, silly."
"Ferris wheel, right, right. I get it... No, I tell a lie. I don't get it. What Ferris wheel?"
"For the funfair."
Dash rolled her eyes.
"Let's pretend, just for a second, that I can't read your mind, Pinkie. What are you talking about a funfair for?"
"Ohh." Light dawned in Pinkie's eyes. "It's for Applejack and Fluttershy. Since Plan A fell through, I was up all night thinking about Plan B and what would be a romantic first date for them and it came to me just like that! A funfair! It would be a great place for a date! But then I remembered that there's no funfair right now, so I -"
Dash cut her off. "So you decided to build one. And I'm sure that sounded like a great plan in that wonderful fantasy land inside your head, Pinkie. But here in the real world, you can't build a funfair by yourself in a few hours."
"I'm not doing it by myself. You're going to help me, right?"
"Sorry Pinkie. I may be fast, but even I have to follow the laws of physics."
Pinkie Pie frowned sulkily. "Dumb physics. Always ruining my fun."
"Look, go get some sleep. We'll think of another plan later and then we... can..."
She trailed off, staring past Pinkie's left ear. Pinkie followed her gaze and saw, far off in the distance in the pre-dawn light, a grey mare with blond hair flying erratically over the rooftops of Ponyville. Across her back was a pair of satchels with the Post Office logo on the side.
Dash turned back to Pinkie.
"I think I have an idea."
Derpy Hooves tried desperately to follow what the rainbow-maned pegasus in front of her was saying, but she spoke in strange, rapid tongue-twisters that made her nearly incomprehensible. The two of them hovered high above the ground, where the wind forced them to shout to be heard properly. Even then, it was difficult to catch every word.
"Um... so the pink one goes to Blues?" she ventured, fidgeting with the two envelopes that she had been given.
"No! The pink one goes to Applejack and the blue one goes to Fluttershy . But if they ask, you tell them that the blue one, which I wrote, is actually from Applejack to Fluttershy and the pink one, which Pinkie wrote, is from Fluttershy to Applejack. You know Fluttershy, she's the pink-haired pegasus and Applejack's the earth pony on the hill above. Look, I gotta dash. Pinkie's waiting for me below."
The strange pegasus dropped out of sight, leaving Derpy with her head - and one eye - spinning.
"Dash and pink is waiting for your blue? What?"
She stared at the letters and tried to put the jumbled pieces of their conversation together.
"Blue one to the pink-haired earth pony Pinkie below and pink one to the blue pegasus Dash above and if I get asked, they came from Flitterwick in Appleshire, got it."
Pinkie Pie unlocked the doors of Sugarcube Corner and pushed them open. Inside had been tidied up and was looking its usual cheery self. She flipped over the sign in the window from "CLOSED" to "OPEN" and picked up the small pile of mail from the floor.
"Let's see," she said to the room at large. "Bill, bill, junk, bill, love letter, junk, junk, bill. Huh. Nothing exciting here."
She discarded the letters on the counter and went into the kitchen to turn on the ovens for the day of baking ahead. A moment later she poked her head back into the shop and stared at the letters.
"Wait a minute..."
Trotting over, she picked up the pile and flipped through them again, trying to decide what had caught her eye. She stopped half-way and held up an envelope triumphantly.
"Ah-ha! This stamp hasn't been postmarked! Free stamp!"
She smiled happily. A bit saved was a bit earned, after all.
With the sun high in the sky now, Rainbow Dash decided that she couldn't keep putting off getting up. Slinging the bedsheets aside, she rolled off the bed and onto the floor - a layer of cloud which was nearly indistinguishable from the cloud that had been designated the "bed". Groggily, she wandered through the hall and retrieved the mail before continuing into the kitchen for breakfast.
As she dropped the pile of circulars onto the table, one caught her eye. It was bright pink.
"Aw, don't tell me..."
She placed a hoof on the letter, pinning it to the table, and tore it open with her teeth. A single sheet of white paper fell out. She could see the first line immediately:
My dearest Applejack,
Dash smacked a hoof to her forehead. Derpy had delivered the letter back to her instead of to Applejack. Still, she hadn't taken the time to read Pinkie's handiwork before passing it off to the mailmare. Curiosity got the better of her and she continued to read.
Big Macintosh watched from his corner table as the last customer of the lunch hour left Sugarcube Corner. Now was his chance. Standing up, he crept as silently as his large frame allowed to the counter and gave one last glance to make sure nopony else was around. Satisfied, he lightly tapped the service bell and winced at the noise it made.
"Coming!" said a voice from the kitchen. Mrs. Cake, with a tea-towel slung over one shoulder, trotted into view and beamed at the red stallion.
"Hello, Big Ma-"
"Shh," he hissed. "No names. Do you have my order?"
"Why, yes, I do. One moment, please."
She opened a cupboard under the counter and pulled out a small, brown paper bag, laden with something square inside. She placed it on the counter and Big Macintosh snapped it up, spiriting it away under his mane. He dropped five bits on the counter and started to slink away. Mrs. Cake shook her head disapprovingly.
"I still think you're being very silly about a bit of carrot cake."
"You don't know my sister like I do, Mrs. Cake. She... just wouldn't understand."
The bell jangled as he left. Mrs. Cake put the five bits into the till and took a moment to examine the mail. A blank blue envelope lay on top.
"Pinkie Pie? Do you know anything about this letter?"
"Which one?" replied Pinkie from the kitchen.
"This blue one."
"That sounds familiar. I'll take a look."
Rainbow Dash smoothed out the letter.
My dearest Applejack,
I wish that coarse words could express how I feel about you. When we are together, I daren't speak of my feelings because I fear that they would fail me and condense my bubbling emotions to a mere expression of fondness. So I babble instead because what I feel is more than that. Much more.
I love you.
Dash nodded. This was the usual sappy stuff you expected in a love letter, though Fluttershy could hardly be accused of babbling. Perhaps Pinkie put more of herself into this letter than she thought.
I love you with all my heart and soul. I love you for your kindness when I was in need and your patience with my failings. But still more than even that: I admire you. I admire everything that you do with such power and grace that draws me into your world of excitement. When I see you fly I almost feel that I can, too.
What was this nonsense? Applejack can't fly! She shouldn't have trusted Pinkie to write the letter. She'd obviously let her mind wander and gotten Applejack mixed up with...
...with...
Dash felt her heart beat a little faster as she continued.
For so long I have kept my feelings to myself because I find expressing them so difficult. In this letter I have bared them all and I hope, I pray, that they will find their way to my true love's heart.
Love always,
A "P" was crossed out.
Fluttershy
Her heart was pounding in her ears now and the room seemed to spin. She told herself that the letter wasn't for her - that the words inside didn't mean anything. She told herself that this was all a mistake and fate wasn't guiding the mailmare's deliveries today.
But deep down, she hoped that she was wrong.
Pinkie Pie brushed aside some flour and placed the letter on the tabletop. She continued to stir batter in a bowl as she read.
Dear Fluttershy,
Ever since I was a little filly, I have been accused of being brash and a little too honest with my feelings. Though I never felt that this was something to be ashamed of, it has gotten me in trouble more times than I care to remember when my opinion of someone was less than pleasant.
It was with surprise, so, that I found you to display the same honesty and yet never have a bad word to say about anyone.
This letter was Dash's fiction for Fluttershy but, just for a moment, Pinkie imagined the athletic pegasus speaking the words to her and she felt her face flush.
You live your life for others, showing them kindness and wonder beyond measure. And for once, I find myself speechless. That someone like you could exist in this world is a gift from the heavens, and I thank them every day that this pink-maned angel walks among us spreading cheer.
It was not hard to envisage the letter being for her. Pinkie's breath became a laboured effort as her heart caught in her throat.
But the words that I long to say feel foolish on my tongue. And so if I must be honest - and I must - I give you this letter and these words: I love you.
I consign them to Celestia and ask that she bear them to you whom I adore above all others.
Forever yours,
Applejack
Pinkie closed her eyes and wished. She wished that fate could be so kind to her. But when she opened them again, the letter still had the names of Applejack and Fluttershy.
In the sparking, chaotic realms of her mind, she wondered whose names she had wanted it to say.
Pinkie's hair blew in front of her eyes again, temporarily blinding her in a haze of pink as she struggled to secure the flapping picnic blanket with rocks. This high up I-Spy - one of the many large mountains between Ponyville and Canterlot - the breeze was brisk, chilly and making her work very difficult.
Tossing the curls aside, Pinkie lay a fourth rock on a corner of the cloth and rubbed at the fabric to smooth out any wrinkles. Satisfied, she sat back for a breather and admired the view. I-Spy, though not the highest mountain around, afforded one of the best views of Ponyville and the surrounding countryside she had ever seen. The scenery stretched for miles in all directions, domed by the vast, blue expanse of the sky and was unmarred by clouds.
This must be how Dash sees the world all the time, she thought. With a view like this, it's no wonder she doesn't spend much time on the ground.
On cue, Rainbow Dash appeared over the curve of the viewing point. Her wings were beating a rapid tempo against the steep incline, but her athletic body betrayed no sign of tiredness. She caught sight of Pinkie and broke into a grin, landing softly beside the earth pony and nuzzling her forehead against the side of Pinkie's neck in an uncharacteristic show of affection. Pinkie smiled contentedly and shivered as she felt a bead of Dash's warm sweat trickle down her chest.
"So how're the preparations going?" asked Rainbow Dash, pulling away to stretch her wings with some cool-down exercises.
"All set! There's no point in opening the picnic basket until Applejack and Fluttershy get here or the food will just blow away."
"And the bugs might get at them, I suppose."
"Nope. I made them their own picnic. It's over there."
Dash followed Pinkie's pointing hoof to a small handkerchief that had been pinned down in the grass a few feet away. It was piled high with crumbs which some insects were happily chowing down.
"Uh... right. Good idea. Then we'd better go get the lovebirds."
Pinkie looked confused. "I didn't pack anything for the birds. Should I have?"
"I meant AJ and Fluttershy, you doofus," replied Dash, laughing. "But this time I'll get Fluttershy and you get AJ or they'll be suspicious. And we need to get our stories straight first. So I'm going to tell Fluttershy that she needs to rescue AJ from a cockatrice and you tell AJ that she needs to rescue 'Shy from a..."
"... rampaging apple tree," finished Pinkie, nodding in agreement.
"What? No. A stampede."
"That's silly. Why would there be a stampede up here?"
"Why would there be a rampaging apple tree ANYWHERE?!"
"It could be a crab apple tree."
Dash buried her face in her hooves. "You can't tell AJ that it's a rampaging apple tree."
"But I don't think she'll come if I say it's a pear tree."
"Pinkie Pie! Make up something sensible!"
"A big nasty dragon, then."
"She hates dragons. I'm sure she'd come anyway, but we don't want to scare her."
"What if she was being attacked by..." Pinkie glanced around for inspiration, turning a full circle in place and ending up where she started. "... a rampaging Rainbow Dash?"
"I wouldn't!"
"I know, silly. I'm just kidding!"
Pinkie broke into a fit of giggles. After a moment, Dash began to laugh, too. She raised her front hooves above her head and loomed threateningly over Pinkie Pie.
"Graaar!" she roared. "I'm Dashzilla and I'm going to gobble you up !"
Pinkie smiled. "Nuh-uh! I know your weakness! Tackle hug!"
Dash felt the wind being driven out of her lungs as Pinkie slammed into her midriff and sent them both to the ground. She found herself flat on her back in the grass with Pinkie sitting on top of her, their noses scant inches apart. Their eyes met and Pinkie's mischievous grin faded into a soft smile as they gazed at one another. Dash could feel Pinkie's breath against her face and the intoxicating smell of...
... smoke?
Rainbow Dash turned her head to the right and saw two slitted, golden eyes looking back. A scaly green head rose from the grass, closely followed by a long, thick neck and a powerful winged body. The dragon had been perfectly camouflaged in the dark grass until it was disturbed.
The creature snarled and lashed out at the two with a clawed hand. Rainbow Dash was left flat on the ground, but Pinkie found herself snatched in a vicelike grip and drawn closer to the dragon's face and its bared fangs. Rather than screaming in fear, she was shocked by how sudden the situation had gone bad and her expression seemed confused that this could possibly be happening to her at all.
Dash, however, took wing, let out a warlike cry and threw herself at the dragon's head, driving her front hooves painfully against its jaw. It roared and blew a gout of smoke at the cyan pegasus, sending her reeling onto the grass, then turned back to its captive. Dash rolled to a takeoff stance and rose into the air again, blasting the smoke away with a gust.
Again she hurled herself at the dragon, which swatted her away with its free hand. Stunned, she barely kept herself aloft and watched helplessly as the creature held Pinkie high and opened its colossal mouth...
"NO!"" she cried. "PLEASE!"
The dragon turned its gaze back to Dash.
"Please," she repeated. "Please don't hurt her."
"Now see here..." the dragon started in a rumbling voice.
"You can eat me instead. Just let her go."
The creature's narrow eyes widened in surprise. "You want me to kill you so she can live? Why?"
"Because I love her !" yelled Rainbow Dash. Tears stained her cheeks.
Pinkie Pie stopped her struggling and stared at Dash. "You... love me?"
The dragon cleared its throat loudly. "If you'd let me get a word in edgeways, I'm not going to hurt either of you. I just had a few choice words to say to this one about big nasty dragons ."
Pinkie looked embarrassed and apologised, which seemed to satisfy her captor, who set her down gently.
"Now, please take your picnic somewhere else so I can get some sleep."
The two ponies rapidly gathered up the blanket and basket and set off at a run down the mountain until they judged themselves to be a safe distance away. They collapsed on the grass, panting as the adrenaline wore off. Pinkie turned her head to face Dash.
"Did you mean that, when you said you loved me?"
Dash flushed and stammered out an incoherent response.
Pinkie smiled, then pulled herself close. "I love you, too."
She placed a kiss on Dash's lips, brief and tentative, then pulled back and looked into the pegasus's eyes for any sign of reciprocation. Dash looked back into the earth pony's sky-blue irises in shock. She licked her lips, savouring the sugary aftertaste, then wrapped her hooves around Pinkie's neck and pulled her close, locking them both in a long tender kiss.
Pinkie opened her eyes and pressed her forehead against Dash's.
"It's not too late for that picnic."
Dash smiled warmly. "I can't think of anywhere else I'd want to be."
Applejack paced nervously in front of the door to Fluttershy's cottage, struggling with an internal conflict. Anxiety wasn't a common trait for her, but she had never made a confession of love before.
"Come on Applejack. Nopony else is going to do this for you."
She knocked on the door.
