Closer

"... Pinkie, dear?"

Reality drifted back to her as she came out of a brief and dreamless sleep. She felt a hoof shaking her awake. "Somepony's here for you."

Dash. She screwed her eyes shut, pressing her pillow against her head. "Who... who is it?"

"Rainbow Dash. She said it couldn't wait."

Pinkie sat up, and kicked off the covers. "Right. I think I know what she wants. It shouldn't take long."

She could see Mrs. Cake's face creased in worry even in the dull moonlight streaming in through the window. "Just come back to bed when you finish up, alright? You need to rest."

"I'm not sick or anything, just - just a bit exhausted, I guess," Pinkie commented quietly, sliding off the bed to her hooves. "I'll lock up behind me. And - and Mrs. Cake?"

"Uh-huh?"

"I... well, I'm sorry, but it might be kind of private."

"I won't listen in."

"... Thanks."

A rush of thoughts and possibilities bounced in her head as she walked down the stairs. Dash was all over the place. There was some kind of complication she didn't quite understand, and she wished she could. What was she doing here anyways? And so late at night?

She finally reached the door, and shook her head, pushing everything to the back of her mind. As she opened the door, Dash looked down at her hooves. She rubbed at her eyes, stifling a yawn.

"Uh..." Dash began, her voice noticeably wavering. "Uh... h-hi, Pinkie."

Pinkie looked away too, off at a tree in the distance. "Hi."

Dash kicked at the ground, an awkward silence hanging in the air. "Um, I - I can't sleep," she began again. "I c-can't stop thinking about... y-you know."

Pinkie chewed on her tongue out of nervous habit. "Yeah."

"I was just... um, you - I don't want to - I - I just don't know what to do. I don't want to make the - the wrong decision or anything," she continued in almost a murmur.

"You know..." Pinkie said, to her own disbelief, "we don't have to do anything."

Dash looked up, finally. "What?"

"We can just, you know, forget about it." She felt a burning behind her eyes. "It doesn't need to be anything important. It was just... just an accident," she finished, lying through her teeth.

"But - but, no, no, it wasn't. It - I don't know, it just wasn't an accident," she said, sounding angry, or frustrated, or something. Pinkie felt an odd pang in her chest when Dash dug her hoof into the dirt. "I don't want to talk about feelings or whatever, but..." She trailed off into a sigh. "You know, I haven't really been in a good relationship."

Pinkie drew a forehoof along the floorboards uncomfortably. She had no idea. In fact, she might not have even tried anything if she'd known.

"I was always drawn to the wrong ponies, and - it just never worked out." She rubbed at her mane. "A few years ago, I just kind of gave up. I just couldn't take it."

The silence prompted Pinkie to say something, but she had no idea what. "I - I'm sorry -"

"B-but I..." Dash stopped her, again looking up at her. "Well, do you think we should- could; g-go out sometime?"

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, thirteen thousand times yes. But something, an itch in her mind she couldn't scratch, kept her from blurting that out. "Dash..."

Dash looked again at the ground, and Pinkie could see the furious blushing. It was too hard for her. Pinkie couldn't force herself to say yes, not if Dash wouldn't be happy. "You don't have to." She felt a sad little smile tugging at her lips. "If you don't want to, I mean, you don't have to. Don't feel obligated to do something if, well, you don't feel comfortable with it. It would probably just be easier if you - if you just forgot about everything, and we could both still just stay friends, and..."

She could sense she was babbling, but she didn't care. What else could she say? 'No'? 'I'm blatantly lying'? 'I've been in love with you since I met you and I can't see myself being with anypony else but I'm being far too dramatic and -'

"Pinkie."

She stopped, and shuddered. What happened to her voice? Was she suddenly angry for some reason? Why? "Y-yeah?"

"Shut your mouth for a second."

She'd done so well holding back the tears, but now she wasn't sure she could anymore. "Wha -"

Suddenly, she went absolutely numb. All she could feel was a muzzle against her own, a gentle pressure. Kiss - what - She felt lightheaded.

Dash didn't even give her a moment to recover. Within seconds, she felt a steady hoof on her cheek, and as it slowly made its way down her neck, pushing back some stray strands of her mane, she felt herself moan. It was unintentional, of course. Completely unexpected. Out of nowhere.

In a moment, she felt herself being guided forwards and the back door being shut behind her. Before her wound-down mind could even process this, she was pushed backwards up against it, and felt Dash lean onto her, breaking off for a moment and going in again.

They were still too far apart. She wanted - she needed her to be closer. She was boiling, but not boiling enough. Without thinking, she reached around her and pulled her more tightly to herself, memories of the lake flashing back to her more vividly than she'd remembered ever even living them before.

Suddenly, she pulled away. Pinkie's mood fell almost dramatically. Please, please, please don't let anything ruin this.

"I'm - I'm - I'm really, really sorry, Pinkie," she murmured below her breath, turning away slightly, her ears flattening. "I shouldn't have done anything - so quickly, and -"

"Dashie," she interrupted, holding her tighter. Dash turned back towards her, her muzzle touching her own lightly. Her eyes against the moonlight were incredible. Like gemstones, but moving, glimmering, alive. She felt a burning behind her eyes yet again. "It - it's okay."

She felt a tear fall onto her cheek, and Dash reached a hoof around, wiping it away. "You've... got a..."

She screwed her eyes shut and rubbed at them herself. "S-sorry."

Without even thinking about it, she'd leaned in for another kiss. And another. "We - we can 'go out' tomorrow if you want to."

"Y-yeah," she heard, and her heart leapt into her throat.