One Year

by BunkerBuster

Rating: teen
Tags: Human, Romance
Length: 5750

The joy in love comes from the journey it takes to get there. Sometimes, that journey is started unwittingly.

The joy in love comes from the journey it takes to get there. Sometimes, that journey is started unwittingly.

And sometimes it's something that you just can't seem to get your head around.
After high school, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all head off to college in Canterlot, unhappily leaving their other friends in Ponyville. But life goes on and so does their friendship. Their relationship grows and evolves as time goes on, and for two, it develops in a way they never thought it could.

Disclaimer: The titles of the chapters- and the story itself- are currently under my working title for them, which means that I have no idea what a good title would be so I decided not to have one. Anywho, they are subject to change at any point, so don't fret too much if a chapter name changes.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-12-31 03:00:04 UTC

February Pt. 1

Chapter I

February

As usual, Pinkie's party was far more chaotic than anyone could have expected it to be. After several years of knowing her and how wild she could be, her five closest friends thought they had seen just as crazy as it could ever get. This year, however, she went all out for it: balloons covered the ceiling, streamers could be seen in empty spaces like a web, various colors of concoctions- spiked, of course- filled one buffet table while another was overflowing with sweets and (as per Twilight's urging) one vegetable platter that was obviously left untouched, not to mentions the horde of people dancing to the DJ's dubstep or rap or some mix. This year was definitely bigger than before. Of course, Pinkie's Valentine's Day parties always were her biggest bash.

Rainbow opted to stay hovering around the drinks, knowing better than to venture out in the tumult of the dance floor. The one upside to such crazy antics was getting watch her more docile friends let their hair down. Twilight's dancing always gave her a few giggles; this party was no different. Twilight was completely wasted, which is only three or four shots for her, and trying to do something like looked familiar while making everyone around her laugh. Fluttershy was in a corner nearby chatting with, or rather being chatted to, by some good looking guy. Her cheeks were red with drink and probably heating up at being so close to some stranger who couldn't see her discomfort. Rarity was lounging around some chairs taking care of Spike. Since he was just under the drinking age , he couldn't have any of the beverages Pinkie had laid out and Rarity was keeping an eye on him. A job she volunteered for and took quite seriously for about ten minutes. At this point in the night, she was laying across his lap, obviously drunk, and probably regaling him with some fashion story or another. He looked like he was listening intently to her, and, to his credit, he probably was. His crush on her was alive and well and, if her behavior toward him recently meant anything, maybe not totally one-sided.

"Hey there, Dashie!" A loud, high-pitched voice rang in her ears. Instinct said to strike at the disturbance, but the rainbow-haired girl choked in down.

"Hey, Pinkie. Awesome party." She responded, downing what was probably her sixth full cup of what looked like punch.

Pinkie was practically jumping up and down in her excitement. "I know, right! It's so full and packed and fun! Are you having fun, Dashie? Areyahareyahareyah?" If a whiff of her breath was any indication, Pinkie had downed at least a gallon of her mixtures. The smell of it nearly knocked out her buzzed friend.

"I'm having a great time." Dash did her best to hide her nose from the smell without making it obvious. It worked not at all.

Pinkie grabbed Rainbow's hands and started dragging her toward the dance floor. "Come on! Dance with me!" She belted over the loud music.

The lithe Rainbow escaped her grip before they entered the fray and said that she wasn't really in the mood to dance. Whether or not her friend heard it over the music was questionable, but the bouncy, pink-haired girl shrugged and melted into the mass of people.

Now that she was closer to the group, Dash spotted her other best friend dancing with some guy. He looked so familiar but she couldn't place a name to the face. Either way, he was hot. Like, really hot! A pang of jealousy shot through Rainbow. Applejack, without even trying, gets a stud like that and she couldn't get someone half as attractive if she tried! The jealousy didn't last long, but it did leave enough of an affect for her to go back to her stop by the drinks. She refilled her empty cup with the punch-like liquid, though it probably was closer to pure vodka than the fruit punch it had originally been. After a quick test sniff, Dash drank half of it in one gulp, leaving a tender burning in the back of her throat.

The music slowed and came to a stop, everyone giving a wild cheer to the DJ. Twilight stumbled out of the throng, laughing her head off at the poor guy assisting her. Rainbow grew a sly grin as she watched her drunk friend try to thank the guy with a kiss so horribly aimed that she couldn't even see her target. Instead, it ended up a few inches to the left and met air, something that was quite upsetting to the inebriated girl.

Dash looked back at the group to see Applejack heading toward her, bearing a wild smile. Dash tipped her head up and returned the smile, leaning back against the table in the coolest way possible.

"'Sup." She said as her friend drew closer. "Havin' a good time?"

Applejack nodded and grabbed a drink of her own. "Ah guess so. It's a mighty fine party."

Dash nodded. Then she realized something. "Where's your partner?"

Her friend shrugged sheepishly, hoping that would be enough of an answer. When she saw it wasn't, she sighed. "It was nice and all fer him ta dance with me, but he didn' take being turned down so well."

"Ditched yah?"

"He'll get over it soon enough." As if to punctuate her point, the guy was now leaving the mob with another girl, getting pulled away by the hand. "See?" Applejack giggled. She swallowed a good portion of her drink while the music played. All that dancing was start to take its toll on the girl. She looked over to Rainbow, seeing the girl leisurely sipping at the punch in her cup and watching the dancers. "Why don' you get out there?"

Dash chuckled and gave Applejack a light push. "'Cause I'm not gettin' all the hotties wanting to dance with me, that's why." It's not that she couldn't get guys, she could get lots of them. Most were even kinda good-looking. But none of them really did anything for her, so she decided it would be a waste of time. Besides, it's easier to be awesome on your own than have to teach the other person to be awesome too.

Applejack blushed at her remark and went back to the drink in hand. They stayed silent for a moment, watching the people dance to the overly-loud music. It was getting late enough that most, if not all, of the party-goers were hammered, so the performance was less than spectacular, but it was enjoyable to see. Even Fluttershy was out there now with the guy she had been talking to earlier. There was more open air about her as she dance with the guy than when they were talking. It was good for her to loosen up every once and awhile. The quick song was replaced by a slower, more romantic song and various couples clung together, some looking more like they were holding each other up than actually dancing. As the floor emptied for people getting beverages or food, Applejack grabbed Rainbow's hand and marched into the opening space.

"AJ, what are you doing?" Dash fought against the pull, but the lithe athlete was no match for the farmer's strength. "I really don't want to dance."

"Yah need to enjoy yourself. And Ah'm gonna make sure yah do!" Applejack twisted around and brought her friend closer to her in a slow dance, the rainbow-patterned hair just brushing her nose. "There? Is that so hard?" She teased.

Rainbow tried to stifle her laugh with a fake shudder. "Eww. What will people say if they seen me dancing with a girl?!" Dash gave another fake shudder and did her best "disgusted" face, which was not very good.

Applejack just chuckled good-naturedly. "Ah don' know. But Ah reckon no one'll mind." She gestured toward another part of the floor with her head. Rainbow followed the movement to see another pair slow dancing, far closer than she and Applejack, their fingers intertwined and foreheads pressing together with a shared smile. It took a second, but she knew exactly who the couple was. The neon blue hair and pale skin against the olive-toned brunette.

"Are you comparing us to Octavia and Vinyl?" Dash's voice switched almost instantly from teasing to a more alluring, though saturated with sarcasm, tone. "Oh my, Applejack," she sing-songed, channeling Rarity. "Why didn't you tell me you felt that way?" An eyelash flutter sealed the deal.

The farm-girl was taken aback by the sudden shift and floundered for an explanation. "What?! No, wait... Ah, um..."

Rainbow refused to let it go, taking a half-step toward her dance partner, now pressed against her chest."Applejack, you don't have to hide it anymore. I'm so glad you finally told me." Another flutter, though this time, Dash had trouble keeping from laughing as her friend's cheeks turned as red as her apples.

"Sh-Shut up, RD! Ah was just sayin' no one would give a hoot is all. Jeez!" She pouted a bit, apparently not getting the joke.

"Relax, AJ. I was just joshing you. Never thought you'd get so defensive." Rainbow let a mischievous smile play along her lips. "Though you did compare us together to the couple." There was heavy accenting of the word "couple" that was ignored by her companion.

Applejack just huffed and had her own grin on her lips. "Can't ever let a thing go, can yah?" She allowed her discomfort with their proximity to pass and continued dancing. It was far more enjoyable dancing with her best friend than that random guy she just met. Really, it was better dancing with Rainbow than any other guy she'd dance with before. Their closeness was hardly an issue with that in mind, though it was annoying dealing with a lighter girl gently stepping on her feet every few steps, something she couldn't image was completely accidental.

The song was relatively short, an upbeat dance song bleeding into it. The two separated some to allow more movement. Within moment, though, their dancing became a competition to out-do their partner. Dash held her cocky smile, making Applejack's grow in response; this wouldn't be easy for either of them. Their movements fell into a rhythm between the two, each one's motions mimicking the other as the music pumped and the floor filled once again with people. A few of the party-goers drunkenly hooted and hollered, not that they noticed, as their dancing grew more heated. Beads of sweat trailed down their bodies from the exercise and heat of the mass of people.

"Getting tired?" Rainbow panted heavily, leaning in toward her friend so she could hear, illicting a few cat-calls from some of the nearby guys.

Applejack, panting just as hard as her friend, shook her head. "Not at all. Yer lookin'a might tired though. Wanna take a break?" She shot back.

Dash huffed and tossed her head nonchalantly. "Please. This is just a warm-up for me."

The large number of people pressed them closer, making their competition quite a bit harder, but that didn't stop either of them. Bing so close seemed to only excite the dancing more as their bodies ever so slightly rubbed together. Their breaths were starting to come a bit ragged and with their faces being so close, some ended up shared. Again, the guys nearby were enjoying the show the two were unknowingly putting on, their audience growing as the competition went on. But the music started to slow, and that gave the girls a much-wanted break. The crowd around them cheered and a few let out more cat-calls toward them.

"I... I totally... won that." Rainbow took a few heavy breath to calm herself down. Whether she would openly admit it or not, she was obviously relieved that it was over.

"Not.... on yer.... life." Applejack protested between breaths as she pushed out of the crowd that was getting ready for another loud song to move to. She needed something to drink.

The two made it out of the crowd unscathed and found the drinks table and its accompanying line. Applejack looked around for their other friends while Rainbow cut the line to get beverages. She found Rarity and Spike pretty easily: they were still off to the side on some chairs, Rarity now fast asleep on the boy's lap. Applejack and Spike made eye contact and she gave him a knowing wink, causing the boy to blush and quickly look back down at his passed out crush. A look at the DJ booth and Pinkie was easy to spot, being right up there getting in the way of the poor guy running the system.

Rainbow gave Applejack a friendly nudge to get her attention. "Got the drinks! I'd be careful though, that blue one is probably pure alcohol by now." She said, handing the cup in question over. A quick sniff proved her right.

Applejack chuckled a bit and looked over at her friend's cup filled with the same stuff. "Bottom's up!" She said, downing her drink. The burn from the potent alcohol was stronger than expected, making the farm girl cringe a bit. Nothing like her Granny's moonshine, but it was definitely powerful. She looked over to see Rainbow having a similar reaction.

Dash let out a slow breath after it went down. "Wow. That was awesome." She sputtered suddenly for a second, a blush heating her face when she noticed a chuckling Applejack giving her a once-over. "It's uh... it's got a kick." She tried to recover.

"Uh-huh."

Dash pouted and looked over to the DJ, who had just recently removed a pink party girl from his set-up. Even in the dim light, his scowl was pretty evident. That same party girl was bouncing around on the group of dancers, obviously still energetic and ready to go. More so than her friends, at least. Rainbow checked for Twilight without success, Rarity was drooling in Spike's lap over in the corner (no surprise), Fluttershy was.... Well she looked to be enjoying herself.

Rainbow elbowed Applejack in the ribs and pointed out their normally timid friend who was currently making out with the same guy in a doorway half-way across the room. "Never though 'Shy could loosen up that much, eh AJ?" She laughed.

Applejack wasn't nearly as amused, but she did allow a smirk when she saw the unusual behavior. "Doin' better than either o' us."

"You already hit on me once, AJ. Stop trying to push it." Dash pointed a accusatory finger at her friend, who was ready for the teasing this time.

"Dash, you know Ah just can't keep my hands off yah." She deadpanned.

"It's no fun when you don't react."

"You'll live." Applejack threw an arm over her best friends shoulder and let out a yawn. "But if you wanna take me home, Ah ain't gonna complain."

Despite her best effort, the rainbow-haired girl let out a yawn too and leaned into her friend. "You gotta buy me dinner first, babe. I'm not that easy." This earned a well-deserved push from Applejack, who shook her head with a smile and started walking away.

"C'mon, RD. It's gettin' late. Let's get Twi and Fluttershy."

At first, it was just a slight throb in her left temple, but it quickly grew into an enormous, raging, earth-shattering migraine that no amount of painkillers seemed to quell. Twilight vowed silently to never, ever, EVER drink again in her life. She didn't even bother to get dressed into something more civilized than her pajamas, instead wrapping her blankets around her like a cloak before walking out to the diminutive kitchen. It was nice to live on her own (well, mostly), but she really missed her parent's food and cooking. It was slow going at first as her body got used to functioning on minimal power, but each step proved easier than the last. Until she reached her destination.

"Howdy, Twi!" Applejack greeted her happily, gaining a very distressed hushing from her friend. "Oops, sorry, sugarcube. Want some pancakes?" She whispered this time.

Twilight nodded almost imperceptably. Grabbing the waiting orange juice from the frige and a glass, she set herself up on the couch in the connected living room/dining room. Then she noticed someone else lounging on the couch looking just about as miserable.

Rarity was cocooned under a mountain of blankets, groaning slightly as the couch shifted to accept the added weight of another occupant. "Please end it." Came a muffled plea. She popped her head out of the covering to see the intruder. "Oh, hello." She whispered before going back under.

Twilight just glanced over with an almost straight face, her mouth was pinned in a permanent frown. "What happened?" She asked no one in particular.

"Well," Applejack began quietly. "You and Rare got too drunk to function at the party last night, so me, RD and a barely conscious Fluttershy picked you two up and brought you home." She held back most of the story about Rarity drooling and Twilight hugging the toilet. That would be for after they weren't wishing death to take them.

"Spike?"

"Took 'im home after we got you girls back. He was a bit disappointed." She said, chuckling silently.

Another groan came from the cocoon as Rarity's head popped out again. "Mmm, Spikey-wikey was such a darling last night. I should do something nice for him soon." She mused.

Applejack bit back the response she had all set for that, replacing it with a far more innocent remark. "Ah don't think he minded." She winked at Twilight knowingly and the poor girl's look-o-death almost cracked. Almost.

Rarity obviously didn't notice this exchange. "I still should do something. He is really good to me." She groaned loudly at her volume and dropped down to a whisper. "Later. Much later."

Applejack laughed and went back to the cooking. The first few pancakes were done, so she set them aside on a plate then put more of the batter on the little griddle. "If yah feel up ta walkin', Ah got the first batch done." Neither of the girls moved, so she left it there, set on the end of the bar that separated the kitchenette from the living-dining room. She continued  cooking, looking over at the zombie that used to be called Twilight and the cocoon that housed what was left of Rarity and shook her head. "Girls can't hold their liquor." She mumbled to herself with a smile. Pinkie's parties usually ended up with them like this the next morning. Despite how much work it could be to take care of her friends, the farmer knew it was good for them to unwind every once in a while.

There was a shuffling coming from the short hallway that held the bedrooms caused by a shy, pink-haired girl who was not nearly as bad as the other two but was still feeling an uncomfortable twinge in her head. She saw the food and immediately perked up. "I'll have some of those. Um, I mean, if you don't mind."

"It is yer food. Go on, take as much as yah want." Applejack offered.

Fluttershy didn't skip a beat in getting her utensils and plate before taking about half of the stack and lathering them in syrup. She ate slowly, deliberately, as if watching for the food to run off the table she sat down at.

Applejack glanced at the clock on the stove. 9:14. Which meant Rainbow would be out for another three hours or so. She always enjoyed staying at her friends' apartment, but she really did wish they had more room. Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow each had their own room since they lived there, but there wasn't a whole lot of places for guests to sleep. With Rarity taking the couch, it meant Applejack had to share a room with Dash, which either meant a late night or a fight over who got the bed since both wanted the other to take it, usually arguing for an hour before joking about sharing it then Applejack begrudgingly taking it with Rainbow sleeping on the floor. There was a certain enjoyment in those exchanges. Something... warm...

"Applejack? You okay?" Fluttershy asked timidly.

"Huh?" Applejack snapped out of her thoughts at the girl's insistence. "What is it?"

"Oh, um, nothing. Just, uh, you're pancakes are burning."

She looked down at the food and hastily flipped them to reveal the blackened underside. With a light laugh, she looked back at her friend. "Ah guess these are mine then."

Twilight managed the strength to get off the couch and appeared next to the girl, taking the remaining pancakes that sat on the bar and tried to give Applejack a smile unsuccessfully. "Thanks for breakfast." She said through gritted teeth.

Rarity, still under the blankets, just groaned again and shifted slightly but never got up.

The farm girl clicked off the griddle and placed the burnt pancakes on a plate, joining her newly-awakened friends. "So how're yah feelin', 'Shy?"

The timid girl shrugged. "Fine, I guess. But um...." She cringed and squeaked. "I can't remember what I did last night." She chewed at her cheek, eyes firmly down at her emptying plate.

Applejack stopped mid-bite and looked to the girl. She didn't seem sick, so she couldn't have had that much to drink. Then again... "You don't remember anything?"

The girl blushed and starting fidgeting in her seat uncomfortably. "Well, um, not much. I mean, I remember someone talking to me for awhile, but after that, it's all a blur." She glanced up through a canopy of pale pink hair at the farmer. "I was just wondering if you knew. I mean, if you don't mind telling me, that is."

"Um, nothin' much.  Nothin' at all." Applejack chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head, knocking her ever-present Stetson askew. She noticed Twilight raise an eyebrow quizzically in her direction, but kept looking right at Fluttershy. "Yah looked like yah were having a good time." She adjusted her hat back to its position, shrugging.

"Oh, okay. Just checking." Fluttershy smiled tenderly, either not noticing or not acknowledging Applejack's obvious tells.

Twilight's skeptical eye remained on her friend for awhile longer as if trying to scry it in her gaze. It trailed off after awhile, much to Applejack's relief, but the girl was still not convinced. "So. we weren't too much trouble for you and Dash?" she asked.

The farm girl shook her head with a smile, quickly back to being herself. "Not at all, sugarcube. Not that yah were in much a' condition ta be." She winked with a swift gesture toward the couch with her head.

As if on cue, the blanket cocoon groaned again assuring them that Rarity was, in fact, still alive.

They continued talking while eating, Twilight noticeably recovering quickly from her hangover. Rarity was also recovering, moaning less and eventually poking her head out of the blankets and joining the conversation. Since it was a Saturday and no one had any pressing business, they made plans to get together as a group later that day, assuming they could find Pinkie. The only interruption was after a couple hours, there was a loud bang and some thrashing coming from down the hall before a disheveled and pajama-clad Rainbow appeared in the archway. After a few greetings and her complaining about not getting Applejack's famous pancakes, she joined them happily; though her jokes about Twilight and Rarity's expense were not as well received.

"I do NOT drool!" Rarity was glaring daggers at the laughing Rainbow.

"Oh yes you do! There was a puddle on Spike's lap last night to prove it!" Rainbow guffawed despite the unsavory looks her friends were giving her.

Rarity crossed her arms over her chest and huffed angrily, turning away from her tormenter. "I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about."

Dash's smile shifted subtly and her eyelids dropped casually. "Unless you were drooling over something else..." She let her voice trail off.

The fashionista straightened suddenly, going as rigid as a board. A deep red revealed itself on her cheeks. "Um- what, what do you mean?" The blush deepened just as Rainbow had known it would.

"Come on, Rare. A certain egghead told me Spike's been going over to the boutique a lot more recently," The egghead in question's mouth opened a bit before closing and deciding it would be easier to just let it go. "and you two do talk a lot when he's around. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that-"

"Well, Ah better be headin' out. Got some chores to do around the farm before t'night." Applejack interrupted. Standing and throwing in a loud yawn just for good measure.

Rarity gave a thankful smile to the farm girl and quickly stood as well, maneuvering to get her things around. "Yes, yes. I should get something done today as well. Otherwise I'll just feel totally useless." She giggled lightly.

Rainbow just scowled at the farmer who threw a wink at the unhappy girl before walking down the hallway to retrieve her own belongings. Applejack noticed just how disheveled the rainbow-haired girl's room actually was: it seemed like a tornado ripped through and tore out a closet, throwing everything it contained madly about. She shifted some of the piles with her feet before realizing that this job would require hands. It didn't take long to find her raggedy old coat underneath the pillows Rainbow had used last night. Why it was there was a mystery, but it did cause an unconscious smile to cross her lips.

"You know, we could have found out some good stuff if you hadn't interrupted." Came a mocking voice from the doorway.

Without skipping a beat, Applejack responded with her former grin morphed into a teasing smirk. "Yeah, and Ah'd be peelin' what's left o' yah off the walls when Twi and Rarity got done beatin' the daylights outta yah." She watched the girl cross to her bed, ignoring the piles littering the room, closely. Something about the way she walked...

"Pssh, you know they couldn't take me." Rainbow flopped onto the bed and leaned back, hands propping her head up. "And seeing Rare fidget was too good to pass up." A short chuckle. "Besides, if they wanna start something, they should just say it. Not like any of us are gonna care." Rainbow idly flicked at a spot in the sheet covering the bed, some loose thread or another.

"They will when they're good and ready... No need tah get jealous."

Rainbow's eyes shot immediately to the farm girl, confused then with a kind of restrained annoyance before settling on confident. "I have every right to be jealous. I didn't have guys hanging off me all night like some people I could mention." Her brows furrowed as her lips formed a wicked smile.

Applejack wavered under the gaze for a moment. Those eyes... She coughed, bringing a hand up to itch right under her nose to hide the blush quickly developing. "Yeah, well, it's only cause yer so dang picky!" She shot back, unwilling to lose this one.

Rainbow waved dismissively toward her and shrugged. "I just know what I want."

"Oh? And what's that?"

This actually took some thought. Rainbow had almost no idea what to answer will that. What did she like? It wasn't very much of a thought. Not with classes she was already barely passing and practice with her team and what little free time she divided amongst her friends. She stroked at her chin as if stroking a sagely beard as her eyes wandered the room in thought. "Well, I guess he should be smart. And definitely an athlete. I can't have the guy lagging behind." She gained some confidence as she continued. "Competitive too. I want someone who can really challenge me! Oh yeah, and hot." She grinned wildly. "Big muscles. Abs. Tanned and toned." A small sigh escaped her in reverie.

Applejack watched with bemusement as her friend's tie with reality slipped away into daydreaming. Though she did run a hand over her stomach. Do I have abs? She felt gingerly at the barely perceptible outlines of muscle. Another hand went over her arms. Not very big. Kinda slender, actually. Toned though. Very toned.

A knock a the doorway made both of them jump. Rarity stood there, dressed to go out in the snow and looking more than a little confused at the daydreaming Rainbow and awkward Applejack. "Um, did I interrupt something?" She asked gently, eyes shifting between the girls.

"Eenope." Applejack recovered. "Not a thing. Ready to go? Great. Ah'll see you later, RD. "the farm girl gave a small wave before scooting out of the room with Rarity and back home.

Not much really happened for Dash as the time waned into night. The only remotely exciting news was when Fluttershy called to inform everyone that she had found Pinkie safe and sound at Vinyl's place where they went to the party last night. Evidently, the DJ caught Pinkie trying to escape and corralled her in the bedroom where the party girl passed out. Vinyl mentioned something about paying back a special favor, but when asked about it, Pinkie went on her rant about secret-keeping being important to friendship. The good news is the Pinkie was safe. The bad news is that the pink-haired girl was starving and at the apartment rummaging through the fridge to devour anything she could easily warm-up.

Dash watched absently as the girl plowed through half a loaf of bread, a quarter of a meatloaf, a chicken breast, and whatever leftover pancake mix they hadn't used earlier, which had been microwaved to become a flat, brown slab of dough covered in syrup. It was strangely amusing to watch the girl eat though, so Dash volunteered to keep and eye on her (so she wouldn't eat everything) while Fluttershy and Twilight took a nap.

A queer thought popped into her head that the athlete couldn't get rid of though. Something about Applejack's dismissal of being with such a good-looking guy last night, even the thought of her being with that guy in the first place, made Dash acutely aware of her jealousy. And her happiness and joy when she was dancing with her best friend. So close and slow together, inches away from- No. Nope! Over-thinking it. Over-thinking it!

Her plight hadn't gone unnoticed however as Pinkie slowly stopped eating and put down her barely used utensils. "Dashie, are you okay?" She asked tenderly, eyeing the thought-engrossed woman before her. "Dashie? Hey, hey Dashie! Are you okay?"

Dash's realization that she was being spoken to came suddenly and she was kicked out of her thoughts by a high-pitched call and a literal boot to the shin. "Ow! What? Yeah, Pinks. I'm fine."

The look on the party girl's face remained a mixed visage of concern and annoyance, but she stayed silent.

She knew that look. After all these years being friends with Pinkie Pie, she knew the look of 'tell me what's bothering you now!' Only once had she seen it used, but there were stories of people who didn't tell her what was going on. "It's just... I don't really wanna talk about it." Dash offered sheepishly.

Pinkie stared for  moment longer before slowly returning to eating with a shrug. "Alright. When you wanna talk about your crush on Applejack, I'm here."

"W-WHAT! No! N-No! That's not what's going on!" The athlete's eyes were wide and hand splayed out in front of her, waving as if trying to shoo away the sudden comment. "I don't think of her like that. She's- She's just a friend."

Pinkie shrugged again, still eating slowly, but she kept an eye her nervous friends who was doing such a terrible job of hiding her thoughts. "If you say so, but I think it's pretty obvious you like her. And that she likes you too."

"I don't like her that way I just... Wait, did you say she likes me too?"

An eye roll from her companion gave the short answer. "Well it was pretty obvious last night. She left a suuuuper hot guy she was dancing with the dance with you. A slow dance. Then spent another dance with you practically squished together and all hot and sweaty. It doesn't take a genius to notice this stuff." She bobbed her head in the general direction of the bedrooms to accentuate her point.

Dash was dumbfounded. In a brief minute, her friend had just lain every thought the distressed girl had been  having for the past twenty-four hours on the table and figured them all out without even a waver in her voice. "Pinkie... how... when...when did you get so smart?" She managed to say, picking her jaw up off the ground.

A bit of bounce seemed to generate itself in the hair of the party girl as she grew a wide grin and giggled. "I've always bee smart, silly filly! You just gotta ask! Now where did that syrup go?" Upon locating the bottle she desired, she let out a girly squee before covering a plate filled with something (spaghetti maybe?) in the sugary liquid. With renewed gusto, the girl dove into the food with happy smacks of her lips, earning a chuckle from her companion.

The sound of a shower running made Dash check the time. 4:37. They would be heading out to meet the other two soon. It also made her realize that she had yet to shower or even get out of her pajamas. With a word of dismissal and a few quick steps, she made it to her room, followed by a warning of how cute she should look for tonight and a fit of giggles from Pinkie. Looking around the trashed room reminded the girl of how little she actually had clean. Picking through and eventually resorting to the famous 'sniff-test', she managed a slim long-sleeve and a pair of worn jeans.

I can try to look cute.

It's not like I have to try hard.

She offered her reflection a cocky smile and posed a bit for the mirror that normally hid behind her diminutive closet's door.

Maybe I could try a little harder.