The Incredibly Convoluted Relationship of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash

by JJ GingerHooves

Rating: teen
Tags: Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life, Sex, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Romance
Length: 19673

In the aftermath of the changeling invasion, Pinkie dwells on life and love, with the end goal being furthering her relationship with Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have been dating for a good while and although there have been a few rough patches here and there, the pair remain extremely close to one another. Even a whole changeling army couldn't tear them apart! But could it have been the catalyst to deepening their relationship?

Follow Pinkie Pie as she dwells on life and love in the aftermath of a beaten Canterlot and finally answer perhaps the most tantalising question of all...

Will Rainbow and Pinkie finally bang?

(Part of the Winningverse, but only the RainbowPie 'arc', of sorts, is needed to understand this fic. Heck, you could probably just read this straight up actually.)

Published 2014-04-22 10:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-28 03:26:50 UTC

The Ponies Who Kicked Bug Butt

Life is kinda funny.

We live our lives, but life itself kinda does its own thing. So do we really, but life’s bigger so it affects us more; we don’t really affect it so much. We just go along with the flow in our own unique way, like fishies in the sea.

Life is funny, but it’s not a joke. Jokes have punchlines, which you can kinda predict. The most I can predict is what my Pinkie Sense tells me. I don’t think the filly me would have ever imagined finding the Elements of Harmony after leaving the family rock farm.

Which is why I find it a little funny that I ended up looking over a beaten Canterlot after a changeling invasion. I’m not being mean—the invasion was—but it’s not like I ever imagined being involved in a battle like that. It was scary, but I know that’s how life works. It’s our job to react in the best way we can.

Through the whole invasion, I had tried my hardest to put on a brave face for my friends. But now that Cadance and Shining Armor had saved the day with their magical love blast of power, I was feeling a li’l tired. A few things were in my mind, trying to grab my attention, and a Pinkie like me doesn’t feel too well when that happens. Makes it hard to focus on the important things like your friends, y’know?

So that’s why I was looking down at the streets of the city, way up high on one of the castle balconies. Leaning on the side, I wasn’t quite sure what to feel. Those icky cheeseleg bugs had ruined what was supposed to be a happy day for a happy couple, and that made me really mad. But what was even worse was that they hurt a lot of innocent ponies in their attack, and I felt sad for them.

Although at the same time, we fought them off and true love saved the day. And that was so great and made me feel so happy ‘cause it was so inspiring! But—

I sighed and rubbed my head, starting to feel thinky pains. Twilight said she sometimes gets them when she’s thinking too hard on some complicated math sums, and when that happens, she tries to do something else to give her head a time to cool down. I wasn’t sweating—actually it was kinda cold since Luna was getting ready to put the moon up—but maybe it could’ve done me some good.

The whole crazy cheeseleg battle had worn me out anyways. Party cannons are not easy equipment to use, even if they are tons of fun. I had to use explosive confetti ammo to fight off the nasty bugs, and trust me when I say that has a lot of kickback.

Rubbing my face, I turned away from the balcony and headed back inside.

Okay, it was time to find my friends. Dashie most of all. Maybe I could convince her to have some private cuddling time. I smiled at the thought, like I always do when I think of her.

I knew where they were, of course; waiting in the main wedding hall. They thought I had gone off to frolic in the castle garden’s flowers. It was a pink lie (a white lie except friendlier), but after everything we had all gone through, I couldn’t have them worrying about my muddled mind.

They were still sitting together, the Princess gone to do Princess-y things. Except Cadance, I think she went with Shining for snuggly times—snuggly times are probably part of the Princess job description too. But first…

“I’m back, girls!” I chirped, making my way over to them. They gave me tired smiles, plates of food in front of them.

“Hey Pinks,” Dashie said, calling me over with a wave of her hoof. I gladly popped down next to her, spotting that she had a nice salad sandwich.

“Aaaw, I missed dinner?” I pouted, my stomach feeling the rumblies.

Rarity chuckled quietly. “I wouldn’t really call it that. It was a light repast at most. Although I’m sure there’s a lot of spare wedding cake to go around.”

I giggled at that, ‘cause it was kinda funny. But I don’t think anypony else did. Dashie nudged me in the side, which made me aware enough to spot that Twilight was looking at Rarity, and that made Rarity look down at her sandwich.

I scrunched up my muzzle—doesn’t look like I’m frowning so much then—the awkward silence strangling the area around us. Ick.

Surprisingly, good ol’ Fluttershy broke the silence. “At least the sandwiches are nice.”

“Er, yeah,” Applejack replied, taking a bite of hers.

My stomach rumbled louder this time. Dashie poked me again, then pointed down as I stared at her. Then I saw that she’d given the rest of her sandwich to me! I smiled and slammed down on the edge of her plate, flipping up the sandwich and catching it in my mouth midair.

“Wow,” Dashie said. She’s seen all this stuff before, so I wasn’t worried by lack of anything ‘awesome’.

Sandwich in my belly, I was full for now. But the problem of the awkward silence was still persistent, like an itch you just can’t scratch. Luckily, I was brilliant at breaking the ice.

“So, what a day, huh?” I asked. Nopony really looked at me, and I just got a few nods and murmurs of agreement in return. I knew they were tired, but this was just worrying. It was time to step it up a notch.

“And we kicked major cheeseleg flank, didn’t we? Twilight was all like, fwoosh, bam, sizzle with her cool magic! And Rarity was kicking them super elegantly in the face! And then Dashie was all, zoooooooooooooo—”

Dashie’s hoof covered my mouth, and I held back the urge to kiss it. She’d kill me if I said this, but Dashie is soft. Like, baby’s bum soft.

Well, cuddly things could wait. Applejack was talking. “Sugarcube, maybe it’s best to hold back the enthusiasm until after we’ve all had a good night’s rest?”

Twilight was staring at me now, like she had at Rarity. Eesh. It was kinda unnerving.

“I’m just trying to cheer you girls up,” I defended, but I kept calm. Getting defensive would get them defensive, and then things would turn offensive. “I know it’s been a long day, but it’s not all bad—we won!” I threw my hoofsies in the air, throwing a little bit of confetti.

“Yeah, we know, Pinkie,” Dashie replied. “But, y’see, the thing is—”

“I’m going to get some rest,” Twilight announced, standing up. “Like Pinkie said, it’s been a long day.” Then she just kinda… left.

My ears lowered. I tried to reach out after her, but Dashie unhelpfully put my hoof down. Silly Dashie. Doesn’t she know when there’s a friend in need? Well, I guess she does, but…

“Let her go. Things have been… pretty rough today,” Dashie explained.

“Especially considering her brother was mind controlled by that… beast,” Rarity said, frowning with disgust.

“Y’all know what’s the worst thing?” Applejack asked us. My stomach turned. I could see the others wince. We all knew the answer. “This could’ve all been prevented if we had just heard her out in the first place.”

I held my tummy, feeling like I just got hit in there by my party cannon. Dashie and Rarity weren’t looking at anypony, while Fluttershy just fiddled with her hooves.

Again, I broke the silence. “We should go talk to her, girls.”

“We should, but there’s a time and place, darling.” Rarity held up a hoof before I could respond. “We’re all tired. A good night’s rest should give us time to formulate our words properly. This isn’t something we can just blunder into.”

I nodded and sighed. A very deep sigh. Like a whoopie cushion, but without the funny.

Dashie wrapped a wing around me. She felt warm and secure. Kinda what I needed right then.“You okay, Pinks?”

“Tired,” I answered. “Might go to bed and rest my head.” That little rhyme was funny, but it didn’t matter much right then.

“Yeah, me too.” Dashie patted me on the back, then stood up. I went with her, giving everypony else a small smile.

“Nighty night, girls. Don’t worry about bed bugs; I think we kicked all of their nasty little flanks.” I felt a little better seeing my joke raise a few smiles. Kinda like a weight that was clamped on my heart got a tiny bit lighter, y’know?

Dashie led me to the rooms we were staying in. ‘Cause she still had her wing wrapped around me, I guessed she wasn’t gonna let me sleep alone tonight. Dashie’s protectiveness over her friends is where her loyalty really shines. She just never shows it off a lot—that’s funny ‘cause her ego is like an airship. Really grand!

She took me to my room—well not really my room, just the one I had there—and we sat down on the bed. Not as bouncy as the one back at Sugarcube Corner, but it was comfortable enough, and big enough for the both of us.

Even with Dashie’s protective wing wrapped around me like a snuggly blanket, I didn’t really know what to say. I guess she didn’t either. We were probably still taking in everything that had happened that day, before trying to move onto the next. I sighed, deflating like one of my balloons, and flopped down on the bed.

“Hey,” Dash said, lightly rubbing my mane. “It’s over now, right?”

“Yeah. I’m glad it is, don’t get me wrong, buuuut…” I lazily waved a hoof around. “Long day, y’know? Maybe Celestia put up the sun longer so we wouldn’t have to fight in the shade?” The bad black bug busters could’ve hidden really well in darkness.

Dash snerked a little. “Yeah, probably. She’s cool like that.” She paused, then lay down next to me. “Something else is eating at you, isn’t it?”

I shuffled on the bed, trying to avoid her pretty eyes. But I just couldn’t. She was cuter than even Dinky, and I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I don’t like to talk about myself much because…

It’s hard to explain, ‘kay? Because it’s not like I dislike myself. I actually think I’m kinda neat. But I live for my friends, and I don’t think I should drag them down with my problems. And living for my friends is what I love to do, so living for them is living for me! You geddit?

Dashie was special though. She was probably the only pony who could break that and make me confess. And she could do it without a lamp.

“It’s just that…” I started, then stopped to pull her close. “I…” Licking my lips, my tummy trembled. “I could’ve lost you.” Even imagining it made me feel sicky, so saying those words… I shivered.

Dashie tightened her wing hug on me. “Hey, don’t worry about me. I’m super-awesome, remember?” After a small bit of silence, she added, “And so are you, so we were both fine from the beginning.”

I tried to smile, I really did. It never happened. Thing is, I could deal with any of my other friends—and I mean this in the nicest way ever, honest—passing. Dashie though… if she ever went, I dunno what I’d do. I’d be lost, and I haven’t been lost for a very very long time. Almost forever long.

I rubbed my eyes. No tears, Pinkie. It’s time to say it again. “I love you.”

“Love ya too, Pinks.” Dashie smiled.

And then so did I.

“How about we get some sleep, huh? Luna’s put the moon up, so that’s kinda our cue…” She stood up, then flapped her wings and hovered over the bed. Then she picked me up and used her hindleg to kick back the covers. I felt really warm inside as she tucked me in, then settled in next to me.

“Love ya, Dashie,” I said again. I just really wanted to ‘cause she’d done all that for me!

She grinned, patting down her pillow. “Yeah, I know. Hard not to love me.”

“I don’t think you get it, silly.” I giggled, then leaned forward and planted my lips on hers. Maybe I should’ve asked, ‘cause Dashie gets kinda awkward about these things. But right there, right then, I needed to show my love to her the best way I knew how.

Best thing was, she actually returned it! Okay, it was a teensy bit awkward. And yeah, she did look as pink as I did after. And yeeeah, she was mumbly and grumbly afterwards, but we had shared that kiss. That moment was ours.

“Night…” Dashie mumbled, turning over so her back faced me.

Smirking, I leeeeaned over and whispered in her ear. “Nighty night. Love ya.” I may have nibbled her ear afterwards.

Dashie grunted, her ear flicking. “Okay, Pinkie, I think I get the message by now.”

Peering over, I could see that her face was still red like a cherry. Giggling quietly to myself, I wrapped my legs around her and closed my eyes, my head resting against her. It was weird; while we slept together, the troubles of the world outside seemed like they were in a whole ‘nother dimension.

I didn’t mind too much. We’d go back after our trip together in dreamland. And then we’d make things better.

When I woke up, Dashie was still asleep, snoring away real cute like. She was also facing me now, her hooves wrapped around me. The grogginess that I had felt was instantly replaced by that warm happy feeling I had last night.

If I didn’t have a Pinkie Plan cooked up in my head already, I would’ve stayed and cuddled her. But when a Pie has things to do, they ‘just do it’. That’s Dad’s phrase, by the way. He used to say that a lot to me.

I slipped out of Dashie’s hug, then tipped on my hoofsies towards the door. It opened with a little creak, but Dashie’s snoring drowned that out. Hehe, silly Dashie.

The castle kitchens was where I was heading, ‘cause I had an important mission to fulfill: Operation Pancake, Code Twilight. I knew eating pancakes in the morning had cheered her up before, but she seemed to be feeling even worse than she was then! So there was only one thing better than pancakes in the morning.

Pancakes in bed!

Also my stomach was making the rumblies. That was something I had to sort out too.

Guards were awake already, unless they had taken the night shift or something. Either that or royal guard armor came equipped with special emergency coffee beans and a cute li’l mug.

I trotted down the loooong halls and soon found myself in the castle kitchens. I was kinda shocked to see that nopony was even in here. Not even a janitor with his trusty mop! Just how early had I gotten up anyway?

Shrugging, I skipped to the fridge to get ingredients for pancakes. Twilight never slept too much anyway. She liked to stay up so she could get the most out of her day. Just like me!

There was just one more thing I needed and luckily, it was hung up everywhere! Taking down one from a hook, I put it on. It was a chef’s hat (Rarity calls them a toque for some reason)! Wearing a chef’s hat always ups your cooking skill, duh. Why do you think chefs wear them in the first place?

Mixing bowl and cooking tools at the ready, I got to work, humming a chipper tune as I went about my business. I put my pancakes in a whole lotta pans and started flipping them about, sometimes even switching pans for each pancake, ‘cause I was just that good.

My ears twitcha-twitched and I glanced over at where the sound came from. Somepony was staring right at me, with a plate carrying a slice of cake in their hoof.

“Hi Princess!” I cried, bouncing over to her. “Whatcha doing down here?”

She looked at the cake, then at me, then the cake, then me again. “Early morning snack.”

“Those are always great!” I replied. “You doing okay after…” I waved my hoofsie around. “The thing yesterday.”

“Chrysalis may have knocked me down, but I’m far from done just yet.” Celestia split off a slice of cake with a fork and ate it. She was covered in a few bandages, but overall, she looked as radiant as ever. “And what might you be doing down here?”

“Making pancakes for Twilight.” Seeing Celestia’s eyebrow raise somehow urged me to explain. “It was a long day yesterday and…” I sighed as I faced the truth again. “We could’ve stopped a lot of that if we had just listened to her in the first place. Now she’s probably mad at us and feels really hurt.” The thought alone made my smile drop.

Celestia put her cake to the side and approached me. “No relationship is ever perfect, Pinkie Pie. Sometimes even the strongest of friendships slip up, and ponies make mistakes. Even I do. But what’s important is that the fire of friendship gives them the drive to move forward, and repair what was damaged.”

She gently put her hoof under my chin and raised my head, so I could look into her amazing eyes. She was warm, like being back home all snuggly in bed with Gummy. I still had to keep flipping the pancakes though. “This simple act of making pancakes is a good first step.”

I smiled, just a little. She was just so lovely and kind. “You think she’ll like them?”

“I do not doubt your cooking abilities.” She smirked and ate another piece of cake. “But it will show her that you still care, at least. That alone is a good start.”

My smile got bigger and I could smell that the pancakes were almost done. “Yeah, you’re right! And then we can have an apology party and—” Celestia nudged me gently and I stopped. Time to take a breath. “First step, right. We got to do some serious talking.”

Celestia nodded in approval, just as I flipped the pancakes right onto a plate.

“Pancakes are done!” I announced, then scurried over and inspected them. I took in a big whiff of that lovely smell, and I think I heard Celestia doing the same. “They look great! Now for the final touches.” I put the pans away and got out loads of different flavoured syrups, and sprinkles.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Celestia gracefully start to make her exit. Quickly, I turned and held my hoof. “Celestia! Wait!” She stopped and spun to face me.

I gulped and hesitantly asked her a question. “Are… are you mad at me?”

She actually blinked at that, which made me blink ‘cause I didn’t expect it. “Why would I be mad at you, Pinkie?”

Okay Pinkie, deep breath… and go! “‘Cause I didn’t listen to Twilight which meant that everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong, and then you got hurt and then we tried to get the Elements of Harmony, but we failed so we didn’t even save the day like we usually do!” I finished and sucked in some air for my poor airbags.

“Considering the circumstances, and what you did to try and fix them, don’t you think it would be a bit unfair to get angry with you?” Celestia smiled and cupped my cheek. “My little pony, you did everything that could have been expected of you.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

But I still wasn’t convinced. “Pinkie Promise that you’re sure.”

Amazingly, I didn’t even do the gestures and she knew them already! “Pinkie Promise,” she said, with one of her Celestia Smirks.

“Well okey dokey lokey.” I started loading the finished pancakes onto a plate and tray. “I gotta get these to Twilight before they get cold. Thanks for the morning chat!”

Celestia smiled. Warmly. Duh. “Have an excellent day, Pinkie. Remember to take things easy and slow.” Then she took her cake and walked off with it.

Balancing the tray on my curly wurly puffy fluffy mane, I skipped all the way to Twilight’s room. There was only one little problem.

The door was locked.

Eugh, what was with my friends always locking their doors when they go to sleep? Don’t they want a sleepy snuggle buddy? Or breakfast in bed? Nevermind, ‘cause I had a plan: lockpicking!

I got out a strawberry flavored lollipop and proceeded to lick it down for a few moments.

Once I had chewed up the core, I put the stick in the lock and twiddled it about a bit. After a lot of trying, I succeeded and opened up the door. Twilight, of course, was sleeping away in bed.

Obviously it would’ve rustled her pretty bad if I had just jumped on the bed and shouted at her. So I got on the tips of my hoofsies and sneakily snuck around the bed, placing the tray just under Twilight so the sweet smell of the pancakes would gently wake her up.

She did take a whiff, but then she rolled over, which was not in my plans. Another thing that went unplanned was my tummy, which was starting to rumble. I bit my lip, staring at those delicious pancakes… I licked my lips.

Some movement in the bed (luckily!) distracted me. Twilight let out a tired groan and pulled up the covers to hide against the sun, which was shining down right on her. I grinned—Celestia is real good.

That meant that I could start getting Twilight to wake up, since she was gonna do that soon anyways. “Twiiiiiiiliiiiiiiight,” I whispered.

Another groggy groan. “Pinkie?”

“Yep. Morning, sleepy head,” I greeted her, but I was careful to make sure I said things softly.

Twilight sat up with a groan and rubbed at her eyes. “Is it morning already?”

“Yeah. Guess what I got you!” I pointed at the pancakes I had put just below Twilight.

She stared at the tray, blinking a couple times. I held back a giggle. “Pancakes?” she asked, with that snarky Twilightness she often has. Twilight Sparkle? More like Twilight Snarkle, am I right?

“Pancakes... in bed! It worked so well when you were all sad about that accident with your eyes, but you were feeling even worse yesterday, so there was only one thing better than pancakes in the morning to cheer you up,” I did a little twirl and presented the tray, “pancakes in bed!”

“Pancakes do sound good, I have to admit.” Twilight didn’t exactly sound enthusiastic about them, but she had just gotten up, so…

So she needed a little prompting! “Then eat up, silly! Then we can talk.”

“Do you have any for yourself?” Twilight levitated up the knife and fork, despite her grogginess, ‘cause she’s super great like that.

Oops. Kinda forgot about that. Oh well. “Nope, all for you!”

“I wouldn't mind sharing.” Twilight gazed at the big stack o’ pancake I had made for her. “It looks like there's plenty here. At least for me. Not sure about you though. And Celestia help us if Spike comes in...”

“It's all for you! Not for me,” I insisted.

“Well alright then.” Twilight stuck her cutlery in and got started. “Thanks.”

“No problem!”

I stood by and let Twilight chow down on the pancakes. Even if she got a little less tired, she never became really perky. She ate slowly and really didn’t pay attention to me.

I frowned, fearing the worst. “You okay? Didn't I use enough sauce? Are they too thick? Too thin? Too much pan and not enough cake?”

“No, they're perfect, really. Just a bit worn out from... everything.” Oh great, that was what I expected her to say. Imperfect pancakes were easy to fix, but I knew this was a whole different pan to fry.

It took me a couple seconds to realize I actually hadn’t said anything yet. “Yeah. Everything's a li'l crazy right now.”

“You can say that again.” Twilight stared at a piece of pancake on the end of her fork for a little bit before eating it. “And here I thought planning a wedding at the last minute was going to be the worst of my problems.”

I actually nearly repeated what I had said, but thankfully my brain held up the stop sign just before my mouth crossed the road. “Mhm…” I felt my ears lower and I exhaled a small sigh. It was enough with the fluff. It was time to say what I came here to say. What I had to say. “And, um, I just wanna say that I'm really sorry, Twilight.”

Twilight’s fork and knife stopped, but she didn’t look at me directly. “What for?”

“'Cause I didn't listen and believe you when you said something fishy was up, and because of that everything went way worse and ponies got hurt and your brother got mind confuddled for even longer and we all thought you were crazy and—” Pause for a breath. “—we could've stopped it all if we had just listened!”

There was a pause. Then a long sigh from Twilight. “Yeah, I wish I could say that didn’t hurt, or that it wasn't a big deal, but... it was.”

I nodded. But it was barely noticeable, and my mane sagged a little. “So if you wanna shout at me or throw a pancake in my face or something, I'll understand.”

Twilight stopped to think about it, which was better than an awkward silence, I guessed. “Even if I wanted to, I just don't have the energy for it right now. Besides, I don't think being mean to you would help with anything that happened.”

“Yeah…” I bit my lip and confessed, “Honestly, I didn't think those pancakes would help anything either 'cause it's already done with. But I made you them for you anyway, 'cause I wanted to, and you deserve some kindness right now.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Yeah, thanks for that at least.” She absently ate a little more, cleaning her mouth with a napkin when she developed a chocolate moustache. “So why didn't any of you believe me? After everything we've done together? Doesn't my word mean anything to all of you?”

“It does! Really!” I exclaimed. “But—” I went down onto my rump, then scratched my head. “I can't speak for the others, but... I guess I didn't wanna believe that anything was gonna go wrong. I really wanted this wedding to the best for Cadance and your brother, and then that'd make you happy too.”

Twilight grumbled, readjusting herself in bed. “Kind of got the impression you were all wound up in the whole thing.”

“I'm not gonna make excuses.” I held up a solemn hoof. “I let myself get distracted, and that made me neglect your concerns, and I should've been a good friend and heard you out. But since I didn't, that makes me a bad buddy, and I'm super seriously sorry for that. If I could move the sun and moon backwards to go back in time and change everything that went wrong, I'd do it.”

Twilight made a grunt of agreement. “I guess I can forgive you then. It's just ... going to take some time for me to get over this. Given everything that happened.”

That was it. I couldn’t take it any longer. My body was literally crying out to me that I had to do this. “I'm sorry!” I cried, then leapt over and hugged Twilight.

She returned it… but it was kinda stilted. Like she was holding back. It wasn’t a happy hug. “We'll work through this, I promise. You girls are my best friends, and I don't want to lose that.”

“And I Pinkie Promise that I'll keep working at it until it's fixed.” I performed the usual motions. “I love you, Twilight—not in a Dashie way—and I don't wanna stop being friends ever!”

“Yeah, I love you too.” She smirked. It wasn’t as confident or as clever as the ones she usually did… but it was something.

I didn’t say anything else, I just wanted to hold and cuddle her. She was one of my best friends and I had just—just… ignored her! And now she was hurt because of it. Because of me. My stomach twisted and I squeezed her lightly. Call it a gut reaction.

I told myself to change subject. Start small, start casual, and build things up from there. Otherwise the dam was gonna break and that’d be messy; soggy pancakes aren’t tasty at all. “So whatcha gonna do today?”

“I'm not quite sure yet. I was thinking of seeing Shining and Cadance. And my parents. You know, check up on the family.” Twilight shrugged. “Maybe see Princess Celestia if she isn't too busy.”

“You should try talking to everypony else. I'm sure they really wanna say sorry too.” If I knew them like I thought I did (and I do), I was right in assuming that.

Twilight fidgeted a little, placing down her knife and fork. “Probably. I guess I wanted a bit of time to cool down. I was worried if I talked to them right now I'd just go off on them and go into a big rant. It might make me feel better, but…”

“At least ya didn't rant at me.” I rubbed her shoulder gently. “But you could. If you want to.”

“I'm just upset all of you didn't listen to me. It's like everything we've been through didn't mean anything because all of you just wanted to try on wedding dresses.” Twilight sighed again, then spoke a little more quietly, “Every time I come to everypony with a big problem, it seems like they ignore me more often than not.”

My heart skipped a beat when she said that. And not in the good way when Dashie flies by my bedroom window. “It's—um... how to explain it…”

“Explain what?” she asked, flicking her ear.

“Mind if I ramble a little? 'cause it's just a theory. And I don't even know if it'll fit yet.” Sometimes the ol’ Pinkie noggin gets a little crowded, ‘cause there’s so much in the world to think about. So I occasionally quietly ramble to myself to think things through. Some ponies might call it crazy but listening to myself helped me file things more orderly. Also I already had a reputation for being crazy. A crazy good time that is.

“Go ahead,” Twilight replied, waving a hoof.

“Okay, 'cause I think that maybe—just a teensy bit—we didn't listen 'cause we think you're really super and amazing and talented enough to handle anything life throws at you! You handled Nightmare Moon, the ursa, winter wrap up, saved us all from being Discord meanies... loads of stuff!” I frowned. Now that I had said it, it did sound like a really dumb excuse. “But, that doesn't excuse us from ignoring you and being really dumb so…” I sighed and rested my head on the bed. “I dunno.”

There was a moment of silence where nothing really happened. Twilight didn’t even eat the pancakes. We just sat and thought. Twilight would normally be like that, but this was more important—thinking with the heart.

“Doesn't mean I don't need the help of my friends when I ask for it,” she finally said, rubbing her foreleg. “It got pretty bad there for a while.”

“I know…” I rubbed my chest, feeling some pretty bad emotional heartburn. “I wish I knew what to do right now, 'cause I don't think an apology cake is gonna work right now.”

“Probably not,” Twilight agreed. “This might be one of those things that takes time.”

That sent a shiver down my spine. It sounded way too… bad. “Don't leave Ponyville because of us. Please.” I leant forward and nuzzled her, but she didn’t return it.

“I won't,” she enforced. “I promise. I'm not really into impulsive decisions like that.”

“Goodie. 'Cause I'd miss you a lot.” Things in the library just wouldn’t be the same without a dorky librarian to scare every time I hid in the bookshelves. And if Twilight went, that’d probably mean Spike would too, and I really like Spike. He’s cool.

“Yeah, so would I. I couldn't imagine my life without all of you.”

“Phew,” I whispered to myself. That was something. Twilight didn’t wanna leave, so we had a chance to patch things up before they got too sour. I felt the need for another hug, so I did so. And this time, she actually embraced it properly. It felt comforting.

“What do you want me to do right now?” I asked, still cuddling her.

“I don't know... maybe just be here for a bit.” Twilight rubbed the side of her head. “Yesterday was a long day.”

“I can definitely do that,” I replied eagerly, giving her a quick nuzzle. She gave one back, which felt very nice, and I flopped onto the bed beside her, resting on my back.

“It's going to be okay, right?” Twilight asked. I could hear the edge of nervousness in her voice.

“Me and you? The wedding? Or, like…” I dangled my hoofsies in the air. “Everything?”

“The first, then the second, and a lot of the third,” Twilight answered, pushing down my legs.

“The first: for sure.” That was an easy question! “'Cause I'd never give up on a friend.” I gave her a smile and continued, “The second? I dunno. Kinda depends on what Cadance and Shining are feeling like, right? And the third?” I nodded in the same way Twilight does when explaining a really hard math problem. “Yeah. I think the one kinda li'l good thing the whole big bad invasion showed was how tough we are, and how we'll keep fighting for goodness, joy and stuff like that.”

“I… guess?”

“I mean, that's why we're here, right?” I offered.

“I thought I was here to help arrange a wedding for my brother that I didn't know about until a few days ago.” Huh. Y’know, for a mare who’s so good at planning, you would’ve thought all her family was like that.

I giggled a little. And it felt kinda good to laugh again. “No, silly. Like, here in general.”

“That's a big question, Pinkie,” she said, smirking. “One I'm not allowed to get into since Princess Celestia forbid me to study philosophy without supervision.”

I blinked. “Really?”

“There… may have been an incident where I started studying existentialism, and then ran around the palace screaming ‘I'm not sure I exist!’” I could see a faint blush paint itself on her cheeks.

Cute as it was, I was very confuddled. “Extendalism?” I extended a lot, sometimes. Even if my body did things I was never sure about, I never asked myself ‘Well Pinkie, do you reeeally exist?’

“It's a school of philosophy. It's kind of complicated.” After a frown she added, “Very complicated. I’m not sure why I even wanted to study it. But I guess I didn’t have the benefit of hindsight then.”

“Oooooh right. Well I think that if you feel, you laugh, you smile, you're you.” My tummy rumbled, reminding me of my own existence. “And right now I feel hungry.”

Twilight pushed the tray my way. “You can have the rest if you like. I'm full.”

I was skeptical. I mean, I had made them just for her. “You suuuuure?”

“Couldn't eat another bite,” Twilight said, contently patting her belly.

“Okey dokey.” And then I unleashed the beast. The pancakes never stood a chance. The bed sheet didn’t either.

“Sure thing…” I think Twilight shuffled away from me a little. Couldn’t tell for sure. Too busy eating.

I was done moments later, covering my mouth to prevent a burp from coming out. “Mmmmm.” Resting against the bed head, I rubbed my tummy and looked at Twi. “Are you feeling any better?”

Twilight levitated the tray off the bed. “A little. Good enough to face the day anyways.”

“With a smile?” I asked, brimming with hope. “'Cause I think your smiles are really lovely.” Everypony’s smile tells a different story. Fact.

“Okay, a little smile.” Twilight meant what she said, smiling just for me. Her smile was great: getting across her amazing brainpower and wit while also revealing that she’s a mare who really loves to be around her friends.

“Yay, a Twismile!” I hugged her. Final Twihug of the morning, I reckoned. “I better let you get ready for the day, huh?”

Twilight gave me a hug back. Yay! “Yeah, I need to get cleaned up and everything. I think I just about collapsed when I got to my room.”

“I don't blame ya.” I hopped out of the bed and picked up the tray, putting it on my back. “I’m gonna go to the hospital and cheer some ponies up.” I decided a while ago that it was the best way to spend my day. Just because the battle was over didn’t give me a reason to just lay around and rest. A lot of ponies fought hard, and some got hurt, so it was up to ponies like me to help them feel better.

“Good luck with that,” Twilight said.

“I'll do my best!” I cheered, giving Twilight a firm salute.

She nodded and slided out of bed, stretching her limbs. “You always do. I’m always a little amazed at how you can constantly keep going but…” Oopsie. It looked like a yawn really wanted to get out of her. “I guess you’re Pinkie Pie.”

I snickered to myself. “That and working on a rock farm really develops your stamina.” That’s the honest truth, but I decided to hold off on telling Twilight that my sisters probably had more stamina than even I did. They were definitely stronger. “See ya later, Twilight. Hope that smile of yours gets even bigger soon.”

“I suppose that's two of us.” Twilight started heading towards a door. Probably her en-suite. “Have a nice day, Pinkie.”

“You too!” I chirped, then hopped out, feeling a little better going out than I did sneaking in.

Author's Note

While I realize a lot of this chapter isn't majorly RainbowPie... bear with me. Context cannot be ignored, especially in the aftermath of an invasion. Expect more though!

The Ponies Who Are Totally Awesome Together

Canterlot was eerily quiet. Most of the ponies on the streets were guards, their eyes scanning the area for any nasty cheeselegs. Occasionally I saw other ponies, but they just looked like they were going somewhere and not much else. Canterlot’s normally full of happy ponies going about with their lives. Kinda like Ponyville but much busier.

Things weren’t completely clean yet. Rarity would probably do a lot of ‘tsking’ and ‘complaining’ if she saw the gooey stuff still on the roads and buildings. But most of the changeling bodies were gone by now.

I didn’t take my time out there. It felt wrong. Canterlot was normally such a vibrant city, but now it felt like a ghost town, except even the ghosts had packed up and gone on vacation.

The hospital was packed. Like, wow. How many ponies could they fit in there? Were that many ponies really hurt by all the fighting? I calmly walked in and saw that the reception desk looked like a mess, as if Dashie had decided to take over organisation for the day. Stacks of paper were everywhere. Nopony was even behind the desk, although there were a lot of hospital ponies running around.

It was tricky to tell where to start, but my instincts told me that the children had to be seen first. Hospitals are really scary for them, since they’re so bland and full of strangers. And they’ve gotta trust those strangers with their lives! That’s a really scary thought.

I followed the signs through the long halls. Nopony questioned what I was doing here. I guess if they knew me, they wouldn’t question me. The janitors were in top form, ‘cause everything looked so clean despite the constant rush. I told myself to give them all a ‘Well Done for Keeping the Hospital Squeaky Clean’ cake later for all their hard work.

The children’s ward was probably the best I’d ever seen in a hospital. Once I entered through those double doors, it was almost like I’d entered another world. Or at least a mini-world in the hospital world. All the walls were painted nice colors, with animals and fun characters. It was quieter here, but still a bit crazy. I smiled at a few balloons that were tied around the place.

There was a cosy looking reception in the corner of the main hub and luckily a stallion was sitting there. So I hopped up to him and said, “Hi. I’m er…” Okay, I wasn’t exactly a visitor. I kinda just strolled in. “I’m here to help cheer up the children.”

He looked up at me, then raised an eyebrow. “Are you Pinkie Pie?”

“Sure am!” I planted my butt on the desk and pointed at my cutie mark. “Lookie!”

The receptionist shuffled back in his chair. “Right. Yes, I see.” He ‘mmm’d acceptably. “Princess Celestia said you’d be coming; your help would be appreciated in keeping up the children’s spirits. Ah, let me see…” He moved about some papers, but I really don’t think he had a clue on what he was looking for. He looked back up, at somepony behind me, and called out, “Ah, Nurse Redheart!”

My ears perked up. Redheart was here? I twisted around and got off the desk to see her approach us. I grinned.

“Could you escort Pinkie to some of the children, please?” the stallion said. “She’s here to cheer them up.”

Redheart looked at me, then back to him, then back to me. “Very well then. This way, Pinkie.”

I squee’d and gladly followed her. “Whatcha doing here, Redheart?”

“I’d ask you the same question, but I suppose it’s fairly obvious why you’re here. Plus with all the chaos, I’m not surprised you got in easily,” Redheart explained as we passed several rooms. We’re all focusing on taking care of the patients, not the bureaucracy, so that means I got called in from Ponyville to help matters here.”

“The doctors have been working nonstop during the invasion and afterwards. Some of them need breaks, so that’s why myself and other ponies are getting called in from all over Equestria to help.” Redheart sighed. “It’s… tough, considering we all have patients back home. A bit of a mess really, but so was the invasion.”

“Did you get here today?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s not particularly bad here. Most of the injuries the civilians have experienced are minor. The worst casualties are from the soldiers, and even then most of them are nothing we can’t fix. It’s just the sheer quantity.” We stopped just outside a room, and Redheart peered sadly into it, looking at the kids. “Not to mention the missing ponies.”

My heart sank like a stone that just didn’t skip right. “Missing ponies?”

Redheart nodded. Grimly. “Given that it was a surprise attack, the Guard didn’t have much time to get all civilians to safety. I suppose you can put two and two together?” I did. Actual math seemed happier. “In addition, given that changelings can disguise as anypony, that made things even messier. Speaking of…”

Redheart held up a small knife. I cringed as I watched it in her grip, somehow sitting there hauntingly. The lights even made it have a sinister shining to it.

But at least she looked sympathetic. “Sorry, Pinkie. But I can’t let you in there without being sure.”

I closed my eyes and nodded. Then I felt it cut across my foreleg, in a flash. Biting my lip, I opened my eyes to see a tiny trickle of blood leak from the cut. I don’t like blood. It’s inside us for a reason. Seeing it anywhere else but that just makes me feel all nervous.

Redheart nodded in satisfaction while I fidgeted there, ‘oooo’ing and ‘aaaah’ing in pain. It really did sting! She had the answer to that problem though: a band-aid. Carefully, she applied it over my cut and stopped the bleeding. I like band-aids ‘cause they feel nice, they’re simple and do their job well, and when you peel them off, your fur looks all funny and pale for a while. It hurts though, yeowch.

Then again, licking the frozen candy cane lampposts in Canterlot hurts more. They’re such a dirty trick that many young foals fall for.

Speaking of, it was time to see some kids. Redheart opened the door and I skipped in, putting on a calm smile. Always start with a nice smile. A big smile too soon is like using your best prank to start a prank war: nopony’s ready for it so it gets messy fast. Usually literally, too.

All the kids were awake, so that was something. It meant I could play some music and sing songs. Children love music the same way adults do—it’s just great to go all out and dance! Twilight’s a terrible dancer but I will always love seeing her dance because she’s having so much fun.

Their cute li’l faces turned towards me, eyebrows furrowed or raised in confused curiosity. The gears in my noggin’ had slowed. I had cheered up children in hospital before, but just after a whole big bug battle? Different story. Or stories, I guess. What was worse was not knowing which ended happily.

Names! It was good to know names. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie and I’m here to cheer you all up!” Sometimes it’s best to just say things, even if you look a little silly. Even being silly breaks the ice. “But first I gotta know your names!” I looked at the foals expectantly, four in total.

Aaw, they were all shy, bed sheets tucked up close to them. A sure sign it was time to tone things down just a niggly notch. “Don’t be shy. We’re gonna have lots of fun, you’ll see.” I took down a balloon from one of the beds, then squeezed, stretched, twisted and twonked it into the shape of a puppy.

“Wow, that was amazing!” spoke up one of the kids. A chippy colt, with a blue coat and scruffy brown mane. I couldn’t tell what was wrong with him exactly, but I wasn’t going to ask questions.

Well, except one. “And what’s your name?”

“Er, Bright Spark,” he answered, kinda losing his mojo there, but quickly got it back when I gave him the balloon.

“And I’m Silver Skip!” another colt sounded. I whipped around, seeing a delightful little white colt with freckles on his cheeks. “And I want a hippo balloon! Please.”

“Sure can do!” Grabbing the green balloon at the end of his bed, and I worked my magic and soon it looked like a cuddly hippo.

“Gee, thanks!” he said as I passed the hippo balloon over.

There were two others, who were quieter. One was an adorable filly with a bright red mane and a pale lilac coat, bandages wrapped around her head. The other was another colt, dark green with a lighter green mane.

I asked the colt his name first. “And who are you?”

“Er, Tumble Leaf.” He stopped to take a sniff. “And you smell like bubblegum, miss.”

“Y’know, a lot of ponies tell me that,” I replied, then turned around to the last little pony. “And what’s your name?”

“She doesn’t talk much,” Bright said.

“Hush,” I told him. Not too forcefully, I wasn’t mad or anything, but he needed to quiet down for just a teeny bit.

“Um… Cherry Top,” she mumbled under her covers.

“Aw, that’s such a cute name,” I said. “Do ya like stories?” She nodded. “Me too! Especially adventure-y ones, and I know a bunch of them! Soooo…” I whirled around and went to the middle of the room. “How about I tell you all stories while you eat some tasty cupcakes?”

Cheers went around the room, some quieter than others, but that was okay. I tossed around a cupcake for each bed, every cupcake landing perfectly on the children’s laps. They were too busy eating to say a proper thanks, but I didn’t mind! Story time was more important anyway.

“So,” I started, sitting my rump down. “I know this great one about a pony called Rainbow Dash…”

I was trapped in a bubble when Redheart came back.

Of course I had moved rooms, ‘cause there were more kids to cheer up. And these kids really liked bubbles. I liked them too, especially bubble baths! But getting trapped in a bubble wasn’t exactly in my plans. I did wanna make bubble animals, but, eh. They were having a great time so it didn’t really matter.

Redheart didn’t look very happy when she saw me though. She just tsked and rolled her eyes, and popped my bubble with a needle. Pop it went and plop went my tushy on the floor.

“It’s nearly night hours,” she announced, looking at the children. “So you know what that means.”

A wailing chorus of ‘aaaaws’ went around the room.

“Don’t worry, kiddies! I’ll go and open the gates to dreamland for ya, and you can have fun adventures in there when ya sleep! Plus, my super smart friend Twilight says you grow when you sleep!” I giggled when all the children were suddenly ready to go to bed. “Nighty night, everypony,” I said, going around and hugging each of them in turn.

“Thanks Pinkie,” they all said, warmly hugging me back. A little filly even gave me a sweet little peck on the cheek. I didn’t wanna go—there was still so much more fun to do—but all things have to end sometime…

I waved at them reluctantly, following Redheart while keeping my eyes on them as well as I could, until we exited the room and went around the corner. Quietly sighing, I focused on the floor.

“You did well back there,” Redheart complimented.

I smiled at her. “Kids are great. They don’t need to worry about usual silly adult stuff, so they can just focus on fun.”

“Usually.” Redheart’s face darkened. She blinked and shook her head. “Thanks for cheering them up, anyway. Although getting them to sleep might be more difficult now…”

I shrugged at her, seeing the goodness this could provide. “Hey, if they see it more like a fun sleepover and not, like, some boring camp…”

“True, true,” Redheart said, stopping just at the exit of the children’s ward. “Thanks again, Pinkie. I know you weren’t running logistics, but the atmosphere really helped today.”

“Aw, stop.” I batted a hoof at her. My coat usually hides my blushes. Sometimes. “Just having some fun.”

“And that’s what you do best.” She opened the doors for me. “Stay safe, Pinkie.”

“You too! And keep up the good work!” I hopped out of the ward, catching a smile from Redheart before the doors closed behind me. All in all, I felt pretty good! Today had gone excellently. The quietness of the city today didn’t even bother me as I went back to the castle. It was kinda late though, but at least most of the lights were working to guide my way.

Then suddenly, the ground went away from me, my hoofsies dangling in the air oh so freely. Then I looked up a realized Dashie was carrying me up into the castle. “Hi Dashie!”

She grunted. Uh-oh.

“Dashie…?”

Still nothing. Not good. Normally she’d be showcasing her awesome, but instead it was her grumble.

We landed on one of the balconies and Dashie just glared at me. “Pinkie, I’ve been looking everywhere for you! What the hay are you doing back here so late?”

“Stuff,” I answered. “Involving things.”

Dashie ‘grred’ a teeny bit. Hum, maybe I should’ve been more specific.

“You talk to Twilight today?” I asked.

“Yeah—” She blinked and snapped back to grumbly mode. “Wait, why would you even ask that?”

“Well did you ask her where I was?” I kinda knew the answer already, but if you act like a know-it-all around Dashie, she gets upset.

“No...” she grumbled, scuffing a hoof along the ground.

“Then of course you didn’t know where I was, silly billy!” I went forward and nuzzled her cheek. “But I was doing something very important.”

After a bit, she lightly nuzzled back. I contentedly hummed while she talked. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I was cheering up the kiddies at the hospital all day.” I kept nuzzling her ‘cause it felt nice and ‘cause it felt super good to see her after a whole day.

“Oh. Well that’s pretty cool in my book, Pinks.” A reward nuzzle was gladly given, and happily accepted by me.

Not that it answered what got her so grumbly, though. “So why the grumble mumble?”

“Eh…” Dashie shrugged me off. “It’s stupid, don’t worry about it.”

“It’s not stupid and I will worry about it if you’re worrying about it.” Couples do a lot of worrying, now that I think about it. But that’s kinda good ‘cause it means they care for one another.

“I just…” Dashie rubbed her face. “I just didn’t wanna lose you to those stupid bugs.”

“Aaaw.” A hug and a squeeze was the best way for her to know I was still here. “But we beat them all back! Poof. Gone!”

“Yeah, but they’re a sneaky sort. You remember how I told you that one that was disguised as Cloud’s mom in Ponyville?” I nodded slowly. Those were some bad times for a lot of ponies. “Yeah. Sneaky.”

I could tell that poor Dashie was scared for me, just by the little things. Ever since I hugged her she had kept at least one hoof on me, just lightly touching. Her voice wasn’t exactly full of her normal bravado either, just a li’l shaky.

So the best solution to calm her fears was to buff her ego! “Yeah. Even if—iffy if—one had disguised as me, I think you’d see through it instantly and then you’d zoooooooooooom and whooooosh to save me, just like how you carried me up here!” Her ears perked up; a sure sign it was working. “And then do you know what I’d do?”

“Er… throw a party?” Aaw, she was so cluteless. That’s when you’re cute and clueless.

“Well, maybe. But first…” I drew in and pecked her on the lips.

She didn’t flinch back or yelp or anything. That phase of her was almost through. But the adorable blushes remained. She tried to play it off cool though, with a daring grin. “Guess I should save you more often.”

Wow. Now she got me blushing! She was definitely learning things. Maybe if…

No. That’s what I told myself. She wasn’t ready for a proper night of loving yet. That wouldn’t be for a long time. At least flirting was a good start, though.

“Bedtime now?” I asked to quickly flip the subject off my mind.

“Sure,” Dash agreed, and we started walking together. Guess we were snuggling together again tonight.

There was a thought nestled in the corners of my mind, that had kinda made a bed in my brain, seeping into everything else. It wasn’t completely on my mind, but it was always just kinda there. And now with nothing else to really say or do, it was taking over.

“So, whatcha think about kids?” I said.

“You know what I think about them,” Dashie said, as if it was obvious. “They’re pretty cool. Especially Dinky.”

Oh. Yeah, now that I think about it, that was a dummy question. Dashie loved her goddaughter to bits. But Dinky wasn’t my goddaughter. She was super cute, sure, but only a friend. She wasn’t exactly mine to look after and care for.

“Would you want your own kiddy someday?”

Dashie shrugged. “Eh, being a parent? Not really my thing. Would tie me down, y’know?” Nope. “Being a godmom is enough for me.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Humming quietly, we entered our room and got settled into bed. It was comfy like last night, but… I dunno. I just felt tired.

“Night Pinks,” Dashie yawned, turning over in bed. Stole some of the covers too. Oh well.

“Night Dashie.” I got myself ready for entry into dreamland, making the most of what covers I had. “Love you.”

“Me too,” Dashie said contentedly, letting out a content grunt. I know she meant well, but she could’ve said that better. Then again, Dashie has a way with words. The wrong way, but it’s a way all the same.

I closed my eyes and tried to get some relaxing rest. Thoughts of the children in the hospital crossed my mind, in real specific images. I could remember them all. And I missed them all, even if only a small bit. But—and this was the strangest thing of all—something else kept nagging my noggin’...

I kept feeling like I was missing somepony that hadn’t even existed yet.

I’m actually a deep sleeper really. I like dreams, ‘cause they can let me do things I’d never do in real life. A lot of ponies call that lucid dreaming, apparently. And then before I know it, it’s the morning and the start of a bright new day!

So yeah, I don’t wake up a lot unless it’s morning time. Or if I’m hungry. But it was kinda odd that even when sleeping next to Dashie, I just… woke up. No nightmares or nothing, my body just decided to switch on in the middle of the night for some reason.

I shrugged a groggy shrug and looked down at Dashie snoozing away beside me. It actually took a few moments for my eyes to switch to night vision mode, but I could definitely hear her already. Dashie’s so silly when she sleeps. Her legs were sprawled all over the place, and I thought I could see a li’l bit of drool around her mouth.

Holding in a giggle, I resisted the urge to cuddle her there and then. She needed her sleep, after all. And maybe I did need something to eat, or at least a walk to get myself all sleepy again. So I slipped out of bed and snuck out of the room.

The castle is always lit up at night, although by now it was just torches burning around. The white day guards were replaced by the really cool night guards. I really need their contacts so I can make my eyes all bat-like too! I heard rumors that they were, like, another pony race but that’d be silly. Why would all the members of a type of pony be stuck in one castle?

I crept down the hallways and was about to head to the kitchens when I saw somepony standing outside, on one of the balconies. It wasn’t a guard, ‘cause it was slimmer and taller.

My eyes lit up. A Princess!

I always liked talking to them, ‘cause I rarely got the chance and they were really nice. I bounded up to the mystery Princess and put on my best smile. “Hi!”

She jumped, then turned and face me. It was Cadance! The pink one who for some reason I’d never actually known too well before recently, but oh well! Cadance!

“Oh, hi Pinkie,” the real Cadance said. “What are you doing up so late?”

“I dunno! You?”

Cadance chuckled, her laugh sounding like a note to a real nice song. “Pre-wedding jitters, you could say.” Her gaze turned to the bright lights of Canterlot below, and her smile faded.

Even I could feel the guilt pouring out from her right then.

“Hey… it’s not your fault,” I offered. “Blame the icky bugs. The ones that have to steal love ‘cause they’re too mean and nasty to make any for themselves! I guess they wanted you ‘cause you’re so nice. Well, you seem like that anyway, and I barely know you!”

The corner’s of the alicorn’s mouth turned up, if only slightly. “Thank you, Pinkie.”

“And tomorrow’s gonna be super fantastic! Best day of your life quality! I just know it!” I encouraged. Maybe I was getting a little loud, but eh, I think Cadance really needed the cheering up.

“Best day of my life? More like the beginning of the best of my life.” She totally winked at me after that.

“Ooo, nice pun. But that’s good!” I broke the contact barrier and patted her on the back. “I’m glad you’re excited for it! You must be really happy to be with a stallion like Shining Armor!”

Honestly, I wasn’t really sure what was involved in being ‘like Shining Armor.’ I only just met the guy, and even then he was brainwashed. But he got points for looking nice, so that was something at least. Hey, Cadance knew him a lot better than I did anyway. And she seemed real lovely, so I bet they were a perfect match!

“I am, honestly,” Cadance told me. “He might not seem like much at first—in fact, he’s adorably dense at times,” she gave me a total girl-talk smirk, “but he has a very good heart. The fact that he’s drop dead gorgeous? That’s a big plus.”

“So you’re happy?” I just had to know.

Cadance nodded, and I can say with confidence that it was a most joy-filled nod, especially since her mane seemed to kinda bounce along with her. “Very. I’m not going to pretend things are perfect, but love will guide us through the dark times, like it has now.”

Love, huh? Hum… “So you’re the Princess of Lovey Dovey stuff?”

“I wouldn’t call it that exactly... but yes,” she answered, with a smirk. “Matters of the heart are my talent, you know.”

“Thought so, ‘cause you’re all pink and that’s usually the color of love.” I sat down and pointed at my chest. “I’m pink too, and I know a little about love, but not everything. Suppose that’s why I’m not an alicorn like you, right?”

“Maybe,” Cadance agreed. “How’s your relationship with Rainbow Dash going along?”

I gasped, sucking in the cold night air, which made my tummy feel chilly. How did all of the Princesses manage that?! “Yeah! I was gonna ask about that!”

Cadance waved a hoof at me. “Then ask away. I’d be happy to help.”

“Great! Because, um…” I went quieter now; serious thinking time. “Dashie’s the best fillyfriend ever in the whole word. She’s super cute, super awesome, super brave, super funny, super loyal, super super. But…” I fiddled with my hoofsies. They felt kinda cold now. “She’s not very good at the cuddly stuff. The lovey dovey stuff. And I know I gotta respect her space ‘n’ all, it’s just…” Sighing, I sank down. “I really want some cuddly time with Dashie. And by that I mean…” I poked my forehooves together. “Love. I think it’d be the best thing in the history of ever for the two of us.”

Blinking, I sat right back up. That was kinda weird. Normally I don’t like throwing all my problems onto somepony else, ‘cause they’re my things to deal with, all backdoor like. It’s not fair if I burden others, ‘cause some ponies can’t carry too much by themselves. I can though. Rock farms will do that to ya.

Buuuut… kinda had to admit I did feel kinda good to ask for help. I looked to Cadance, and thought I saw something sparkle. Dunno though, can’t remember much. Expect that knowing smile she had on her face.

I’m glad the Princesses are weird. Makes them totally the opposite from ponies like Blueblood.

“Well she does love you, that much is obvious,” Cadance said.

I got a bit of a frowny face. “Duh.”

“But obviously something is preventing her from making that big push towards intimacy. Making love is…” She took a few steps forward, thinking thinkingly. “Like a contract, only not nearly as boring. Or as cynical. You need a lot of trust to make it work, as when it happens, you both take an essence of each other. It’s not just a union of the body, it’s a union of the mind and—much more importantly—the soul.”

Everything was slanted at an angle now, ‘cause I tilted my head. “Is that why a simple, but still really fun bang, doesn’t feel the same as love making time?”

“Yes,” she answered simply. “A quick bang,” she grinned when she said that, “is nothing like the act of making love. No magic is involved, and nothing gets taken away from the ponies involved, but something new blossoms as well. It’s much more primal, while making love is a lot more magical, if you get what I mean.”

I nodded. It made sense, ‘cause I banged Cloud Kicker once, and I did a lot of growling and rawring during that.

Cadance turned and stepped towards me. “Because of the powerful nature of making love, it can be unnerving for some. Do you think there’s anything that might make Rainbow Dash nervous about it?”

Oh, I knew alright. Dashie had told me about it before. Those were some dark times for there, but I was her nightlight. So I didn’t exactly spread the word about it. “Er, yeah… but I can’t say.”

“So, it’s private?” Cadance asked. I nodded. “Aah. Then I suppose that shows how good a partner you are, if you’re willing to keep her secrets safe.”

“To the grave!” I replied cheerfully.

She blinked. “Right. Well, the most I can suggest is that you two take the time to talk this through.”

My brow felt kinda heavy. “No! We already did, lots and lots of times but they didn’t work.”

“And neither of you budged?” she asked.

“Er, kinda.” I drew tiny little circles on the floor with my hoofsie. “I told her I could wait. It’s been months and months, but I can keep waiting.” I bit my lip, not wanting to say that I thought I could anyway.

“So maybe it’s Rainbow’s time to budge?” Cadance suggested, gently lifting my head up.

“No!” I jumped back and gave her a deadly point with my hoof. “I mean, that just sounds like she’s the bad guy. But she’s not! She’s just scared and I don’t wanna hurt her anymore!”

Cadance just smiled, putting down my hoofsie. She felt warm to the touch and it kinda calmed me down slightly. “That’s the right answer. It shows you’re aware of her feelings, but I think you need to consider your own. It sounds like you really want this.”

I nodded and nodded until my neck started feeling kinda springy. “Yes! More than anything!”

“Then it’s time for a compromise.” Cadance walked past me, heading inside. She jerked her head, telling me to follow her. So I did! “Whatever Rainbow’s fear is, you need to tell her to try and conquer it for your sake and her own. And in return, you’ll guide her through it.”

“So be more assertive?”

Cadance shook her head. “No no, the opposite. Try to be her support, in case her defenses break down. Tell her that even if she fails in getting over whatever her fear is, that it’ll be okay because you’ll always be there for her. That’s love. And hopefully, the magic of it will grant her the strength to go forward.”

“Sooo…” I waved my hoof around as I came to the conclusion. “Magic’s gonna save the day again?”

She chuckled, shaking her head again. “No, Pinkie. Love is a complicated magic. It’s barely noticeable by most ponies.” For a second, she just stopped. “In fact, don’t think of it like a magic at all. More like a driving force for ponies.”

“Ooooh, okay okay. I got it.” Kinda. To me, love was just friendship, but different. Like flavors of ice cream. But maybe that’s what Cadance meant by ‘driving force’, and friendship was just a different kinda force.

“Take it slow and easy, there are plenty of options for you two,” Cadance told me. We stopped outside my door and she gave me the slyest wink ever. “Start with light foreplay.”

I felt my cheeks reach maximum pink overload. “Oh, haha, um… thanks Cadance!” I kept a hoof on the door handle.

“Don’t worry about it, Pinkie. It was lovely talking to you. Best of luck to you and Rainbow Dash.” Then she did the Princess Walk down the hall. Y’know, head held high and walking real regal like. But then froze and turned her head back. “Oh, one more thing? If you wouldn’t mind, that is.”

“I’m listening!” My ears wiggled.

“Do you mind helping me with the wedding tomorrow? I have a feeling everypony will enjoy something more light hearted this time around.”

Me? Helping with a wedding? “Oh I am so there!” I exclaimed, pumping a hoof into the air. “Hit me up tomorrow and I’ll make sure it’s the bestest wedding ever, girlfriend!”

“Thank you. Really, it does mean a lot to me.” Cadance snickered and started heading off again. “See you there, girlfriend.”

“See ya!” I called after her. Aw, she was fun. I was definitely gonna chat with her later on.

I was just about to go back into the room when I felt something soft whap me on the head. Even though it was a puffy thing, it hit me hard enough to make me all woozy for a few seconds. On the floor was the pillow, and standing in the hallway was an angry Rarity.

“Pinkie. Some of us are trying to sleep!” she hissed.

“Oh, uh, sorry!” I stage whispered.

“Hmph.” Rarity went back into her room. All of that was pretty amazing, considering she still had her eye mask on. Then again, I guess living with Sweetie Belle, she had to do that a lot.

Luckily, none of that woke Rainbow Dash. I found her, still snoozing away, adorable as ever. She’s such a heavy sleeper, which is super helpful when I need some midnight snackage without disturbing her. Dashie loves her sleepy time.

“Aaaw… my Dashie.” I moved to her, wrapping my forelegs around her and cuddled. She was warm, comfortable and very familiar. Closing my eyes, it wasn’t very hard to get back to sleep at all.

Even though wedding bells were gonna ring ring ring today, I felt like sleeping in. A lot of ponies who first meet me think that I don’t even need it, but trust me, I do; lucid dreaming is pretty fun! Besides, Cadance wanted to help me party plan, which meant less time with Dashie. I didn’t wanna just ditch her two mornings in a row. That would’ve been real mean of me.

Actually, now that I think about it, this was all kinda special. Dashie liked her space, so we usually slept together for one night before she went back home. Or I went back home. Dashie preferred the former though, since she found it odd how I can walk on clouds. (The trick is to act like a pegasus or the clouds will know you’re faking!)

I rubbed my eyes, morning light going through the gap in the curtains like some sorta beam. There was something moist on my mouth. Hmm. Drool. I scrunched up my muzzle and wiped the drool off. Then I stretched all my legs and scratched my ear. With my hindhoof ‘cause only that can reach the special itchy spot.

All that dealt with, I shuffled and placed myself right next to Dashie, putting a foreleg over her. I nuzzled the crook of her neck and hugged her. She was asleep, but I’m pretty sure she enjoyed the cuddles ‘cause she made the cutest of happy sighs. Now if only somepony could bring us some breakfast in bed and it would’ve been perfect.

After a few moments of just lying there together, and silly ol’ me nearly dozing off, Dashie stirred with a groggy grumble. Her eyes flickered open, then immediately shut. I think she said something kinda like ‘good morning Pinkie!’

“Morning Dashie,” I replied. If she said what I thought she said anyways. “Wedding’s today.”

“Mmm… cool…” Dash drawled. Then her eyes suddenly went fully open and so did her wings. It happened so suddenly, she actually managed to push me out of bed. My mane cushioned the blow for my head. Thanks, mane!

“Wedding?! Today?!” She frantically flustered, hopping out of bed and pacing around.

“Er… yeah.” I got up, scratching my noggin’. “Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s. Remember?”

“Oh. Right.” Then she let out one of the most relieved sighs I’d ever seen. Normally that was a good thing. I suddenly felt pretty hungry right there, or—I dunno. Something in me felt real unsettled. I guess I wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding that, though. Dashie winced. “Er… looking forward to it.”

“Me too. Let’s grab breakfast,” I said, leaving the room.

“Gimme a few minutes and I’ll be right there!” Dashie called out after me.

Breakfast was kinda a buffet thing. For me it was, anyway. I probably should’ve sat down with everypony else at the table, but I wanted my breakfast in bed today. I filled up a plate with haybacon strips, steaming fresh vegetables and some waffles.

I walked past Dashie in the hallways. She gave me a pretty confuddled look and pointed towards the dining room. Shaking my head, I told her that, “I want breakfast in bed, silly. It’s gonna be a big day.”

Blinking, she stared at my plate and licked her lips. “Sure, works for me.”

I gave her a small smile and went on my way. Back in the room, I fluffed up the pillows and got myself real comfy. Then I started eating without a knife and fork ‘cause I kinda forgot about those parts. There was a cute little ensuite I could wash up in anyways, so it was cool.

Speaking of that, she entered the room a little while later and settled down next to me. Dashie had more haybacon than I had, but no vegetables of any sorts. She’s weird because sometimes she’ll eat really healthy stuff, then the next day she won’t be bothered with it. But hey, whatever keeps that slender figure of hers! It’s very good for cuddling and probably even better for cuddling.

“Hey Pinks?” she asked.

“Mmm?” I responded, chewing my haybacon. It tasted real good, but I’m not sure if it was better than Ponyville’s or not.

“Guessing you’re gonna be sorting out wedding things today, huh?”

“You bet!” I said. I didn’t arrange every party in Equestria, but a lot of ponies went to me for advice on them so it kinda seemed that way.

“Cool. I was gonna ask how you’d manage that in less than a day, but you’re, y’know, Pinkie,” Dashie said, then took a bite of haybacon. Her cheeks puffed up as she savored her brekkie.

“Weeeeeeell…” I started, then stopped and tapped my chin—I hadn’t exactly thought what I was gonna say first. “You can help too!”

Dashie swallowed with a gulp. “Er, I’m awesome and all, but I’m not exactly—”

“Not like that, silly billy.” I shook my head. “But you could do a Sonic Rainboom over the wedding, and then the fireworks would go off, but you’d be back down on the ground safe and sound!”

“Oh, that,” she said. “Yeah, already had that in mind; I was practicing yesterday while you were gone. I think everything could use a bit of the ol’ Dash charm, after all those stupid bugs ruined everything.”

I smiled and leant over, resting against Dashie’s fluffy chest. “And I could use some too.”

I felt her stiffen against me. “Er, Pinkie?”

“Huh?”

She grabbed my head and turned it so I faced the bed. All over Dashie’s lap was the remains of my breakfast. “Oopsie.”

“Yeah, oopsie,” Dashie snapped. Then she gave me a short laugh and ruffled my mane. “Goofball.”

“That’s me!” I flashed her the most cheesiest grin I could, then stopped. “Wait, can I be a gumball instead? They’re tastier.”

Turns out planning a wedding is preeeeeeeetty hard.

Luckily, Twilight was helping with planning and organising stuff, so things went way more slicker than they probably should. Plus, we had the might of the Royal Equestria Guard behind us! Hahaha!

What? I was excited, okay?

Cadance was totally cool with pinatas, and even Vinyl Scratch was coming along! Which is good because I think some of the kiddies might have been bored with romantic music all the time; this was a party for everypony.

Everypony did their part to help. Rarity helped accessorize; she’s got beautiful and brilliant eyes for that sorta thing. Applejack was cooking up all sorts of apple-y treats. They always tasted great and felt familiar to me… which was kinda weird ‘cause I couldn’t remember a time when they weren’t familiar. Fluttershy was also getting a chorus of birds together, but she still hadn’t gotten me that barber shop quartet of chipmunks she promised me!

And Dashie? Well, Dashie was right in front of me after practicing a sonic rainboom, waaaaaaay down below Canterlot’s cliffs.

“Alright, I think I got it pretty much down,” Dashie said, landing before me.

I titled my head. “Didn’t you get it down when you saved Rarity from smushing into the ground that one time in Cloudsdale?”

She flexed her wings, stretching her leggies. “Yeah, but I gotta keep practicing or I’ll get rusty.”

“How does a Sonic Rainboom ever get rusty?”

Dashie shrugged as best she could while stretching her forelegs. “I dunno, the colors get faded?”

“Suuuuure,” I drawled out, through my teasing grin.

“C’mere you.”

If I blinked, I would’ve missed it. Dashie flew right towards me, sweeping her hooves under my forelegs, carrying me up with her as she swooped right back up towards the castle like a shot from my party cannon. The ride was pretty smooth, especially since I got a good view of her chest. I didn’t dare kiss it though, since that might’ve totally spazzed her out or something.

We landed right where the wedding was gonna take place: the royal gardens. Dashie put me down gently, landed next to me, and I was about to kiss her thanks when…

“Rainbow! Pinkie!” Rarity cried, storming up to us. She was in her wedding dress, which she’d probably spent all day cleaning and ironing and stuff. I found it a little funny that out of all of us, she was the only one who didn’t have to change her manestyle for the wedding.

“Er, what’s up, Rarity?” Dashie asked.

“The wedding!” She huffed and shook her head. “It’s in an hour, so you need to get ready—now.” Rarity meant business. I always forget how strong she was until she starts pushing us around. Literally, she started dragging me and Dashie into the castle to get ready.

Obviously it wouldn’t have taken me an hour to get ready, but y’know, Rarity. If she wanted us to look perfect, then I was happy to let her work ‘de magickz’.

The wedding was packed full of ponies, but it was one of the few times in my life where the outside world seemed even more busy. Ponies had lined the streets, the buildings, even the clouds! The normal chit-chat while they waited for the happy couple sounded like a constant drumming in my ears.

And wow, had they waited for a while. Everypony had to be taken into the room, then we had to wait for Shining and Twilight, then we had to wait for Cadance! But good things come to those who wait, and her entrance was the best.

Fluttershy had done a real good job with those birds, tweeting along beautifully as they carried up her really long wedding dress. Did she really have to walk so slowly though? I was just waiting to burst out with the congratulations. It was nearly impossible to stay still!

Celestia did all the wedding talk, her wings spread wide. Not sure why she did that though. Dashie says keeping them in that position for too long without moving them is unhealthy. Then again, Celestia can get away with a ton of stuff.

Spike took care of the rings (he looked so adorable in his suit!) and gave them to Cadance and Shining, who put each one on their horns.

Look, I don’t pretend to get unicorn things, okay?

Finally, Celestia said the immortal words: “I now pronounce you mare and colt!”

The moment they kissed, the room—no, the whole city burst into cheer. From the windows, I could see confetti being thrown into the air, hear the pure joy the whole of Canterlot had for these two ponies. And I could finally move again, waving my hoofsies in the air and cheering as loud as I could!

The crowd in the room shuffled out to join the festivities outside, but me and the girls decided to wait behind for a bit, watching as Cadance and Shining went onto the balcony to wave and do some more kissing. But mostly kissing.

Celestia let them take all the glory, turning to Twilight. “This is your victory as much as theirs.” Twilight blinked and faced her. “You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to you being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn.”

Somehow, I had the feeling that Celestia was doing her usual sneakiness to try and get Twilight to warm up to us even more. But I had no doubts that it’d happen anyway, so I put on a smile and gave Twilight a quick hug. “You did great, hero gal!”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” she said, the best kind of tears welling up in her eyes; happy tears. She looked over at her brother and Cadance, smiling fondly. And that’s when I knew for sure that things would be okay.

Celestia, meanwhile, put a wing around Dash, leaning in to quietly talk to her. “Rainbow Dash, that’s your cue!”

After a brief look of surprise, Dashie wasted no time in literally dashing out of her clothes and soaring towards the air. I saw her fly higher and higher, a vibrant rainbow trail behind her, getting more colorful and colorful until…

BOOM!

The sonic rainboom erupted, sending color everywhere! Dashie just kept going, her rainbow trail looking better than ever, as she went around the city in a loop. The funny thing was that she hadn’t even practiced doing a rainboom up before! Only down, then up!

“That’s my Dashie,” I whispered proudly to myself, walking along with the others.

The celebrations moved to the castle gardens, which weren’t so public this time. You could still hear the parties being thrown in the streets through. The city was alive. And so quickly after being beaten too! I got a warm feeling in my heart and an energetic spring in my step—I felt so great!

There were things I wanted to do—probably too many to count—but it was still early in the evening. The sky was just only now turning a bit orange. And that meant there were kiddies to look after. See, in a big royal party like this one, it was easy to forget about the little ponies among us. Adult parties can get real boring for them. Or, even worse, adults can get drunk and say things they shouldn’t say.

I knew the children here would have their parents or caretakers with them, but I wanted those adults to have a good comma too. So I just hovered about, keeping the kiddies’ attentions when I could. Dashie wanted to go see the Wonderbolts anyway, so it worked out pretty well for the both of us.

I worked out plenty of fun things for us to do. It wasn’t especially hard. I like diving into the oh so innocent world of children, where they don’t have to worry about boring stuff like taxes and insurance…

Actually, I’ve never had to worry about those things ever.

I was just about to grab some balloons to make all sorts of balloon animals with, when Twilight stepped in my way. She looked real nice, her mane curled with lovely green flowers in them, which worked well with her deliciously looking raspberry colored dress. But best of all was her smile. Calm and warm.

“Hey Pinkie. Enjoying things so far?” she asked.

“You betcha! I’m having a great time with the kiddies. You seen any spare balloons around?” I glanced around and could only see inflated ones. “I don’t wanna ruin any of the nice ones.”

“Actually, I was wondering if you could kickstart the party.” She looked over at Cadance and Shining, who had the dance floor all to themselves. “After they’ve had their moment, of course.”

“Well sure thing, Twilight!” I eagerly replied, and skipped over to where all my friends where. Including Celestia! But not Luna. “Hey girls! Where’s Luna at?”

“Well it is the evening right about now,” Applejack said, staring up at the orangey sky. A few stars had already come into view, twinkling away. “So I’m sure she’s just getting ready to raise the moon.”

“She’ll be here shortly.” A smirk appeared on Celestia’s face. “My sister is never one to miss a good party.”

“Then we’ll hold things off until she gets here,” Twilight said. I took my place right next to her. “But for now…” She trailed off, just watching the newlyweds dance it away.

Well, it wasn’t really a dance off. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t as powerful as one. They moved together slowly, but it was kind of the concentrated slow, not the lazy kind. Their bodies swayed in time, controlled and precise. Their eyes were closed, happy smiles on their faces, and their bodies never lost contact.

It was impossible not to feel happy for them. It was so beautiful, it brought Rarity to tears. Real, happy ones. Not the drama ones she sometimes has.

We all heard the rustling of wings and something big land next to us. “Hello everypony, did I miss anything?”

That was my cue! Twilight nodded to me and I squeed in excitement, rushing over to the unused DJ set up that had been there since the start of the festivities.

“Let’s get this party started! I ducked in between the boomboxes and found Vinyl tampering with the discs, probably trying to see which song fitted best.

“Pick that one!” I pointed at one titled ‘Love is in Bloom.’ Vinyl just shrugged at me and held it in her mouth.

Things between me and Vinyl were pretty tight. If there was a party big enough, we’d both be there. We didn’t even arrange things, we just happened to keep turning up at the same bashes. It wasn’t long before we both thought ‘yeah, this was pretty sweet’ and decided to work together to make our parties even more awesome. We didn’t even question it anymore. Questions leave less time for hanging out and having fun.

Vinyl put the disc on the turntable and the music started to play. I felt the energy of the tunes start to run through me, and I just knew that this was a Twilight song. So I grabbed a microphone and tossed it over to her. She caught it in her magic and—whaddya know?—she started singing.

From her first words, everypony started dancing. My friends joined Cadance and Shining in the center, and they all did their own cool dance moves. More confetti rained down over them, as I stood by the turntables and clapped my forehooves together to the beat.

After a bit of just grooving to the tunes, I looked to Vinyl. It’d been a while since I saw her last, so it was probably a good time to do a bit of catching up. I wasn’t worried about the sound of the music muffling our voices. We’re used to this kinda thing.

“How’ve ya been, Vinyl?!”

“Oh, you know.” She shrugged while pumping the air with a hoof. It looked odd. “The usual. Getting gigs, partying hard, all that good stuff.”

“That’s good!” I shouted over the music, staring at Dashie. She was dancing awesomely, obviously. “Hey, you mind if you handle this solo in a bit? I really wanna have a dance with Dashie!”

She nodded and flashed a wink at me. “Yeah, sure thing! How’s it going between you two, anyways? Finally popped the cherry?”

I felt my cheeks flare up like a winter’s bonfire. “Vinyl! Don’t ask stuff like that…” I rolled with the embarrassment. The best way to deal with it is to own it. “Not before I’ve had a few drinks in me, anyways.”

I’ve never gotten drunk before. The most booze did to me was loosen me up. Apart from that, nothing. Not even after drinking down a whole barrel of Berry’s wine in one go! A lot of ponies had their own guesses why, but I think Twilight had the best one. She said ‘alcohol lowers your inhibitions’, and I don’t really have any of those!

“Just sayin’, girl. I’ve been feeling all that pent up tension from over here,” she commented.

I frowned and slapped her on the foreleg. Not too hard though, obviously. “Is this really the time?”

Guilt flashed over Vinyl’s face. Even if she was wearing her glasses, I would have still seen it. “No, I guess not. Sorry, Pinks.”

I sighed, gently rubbing where I had hit her. “It’s fine. I’m not gonna pretend it’s not bugging me. Tonight will be the night, I’m sure.”

“You’re sure?”

“Duh. That’s what I just said. I mean, it’s a wedding.” I leant on the equipment and stared at the dancing Dashie. “So it’s gotta be on her mind at least a little bit.” I felt my brow go all heavy. Bother. “But this morning, she accidentally thought we were getting married. She freaked out a bit.”

“Whooooa party girl,” Vinyl drawled out, resting a hoof on my back. “Rainbow’s fast, but nopony can keep up with your pace, if you know what I mean.”

I snorted. “I wasn’t gonna ask that question tonight.”

“But Dash might not know that,” Vinyl replied. “You know her better than me, so…”

She was right. I did know Dashie better than she did. Better than anypony, even. Maybe even her parents… “Oh. I didn’t even think of that.” Hooves were applied to face. “I need to stop acting dumb about these things.”

My hooves were suddenly grabbed away from me, and I found myself staring into Vinyl’s eyes. They were a close contender with Dashie’s for best eyes ever. “You’re not dumb, Pinks. Sometimes you’re probably the smartest pony out of anyone. So get out there and dance already,” Vinyl said, patting her equipment. “I got this.”

Her encouragement brought a smile out of hiding. “You wanna do some dancing to?”

Vinyl let go of me and gazed over at Twilight who was… er, I think a doctor would call it a fit or something, but I’d call it a ‘freestylin’ fun’. “Yeah, I think I’ll avoid the dancefloor for now.”

“Okey dokey lokey!” We knocked hooves and I vaulted over the DJ set, bouncing towards Dashie. She was dancing with the others, but not really with anypony yet. Guess the music wasn’t calling for those kinda dual dances though…

“Pinkie! About time you got here!” she said as she stylishly strutted her stuff.

“Yeah, I was just sorting out the tunes!” I replied, moving my hooves right next to her grooves.

“They’re pretty cool!” Dashie swayed along to the beat, grinning happily. It did made me wonder how she’d react to the couples music.

I put those thoughts to the back of the queue and just focused on the dancing. Occasionally I’d brush up against her, and sometimes she did as well, but those moments were pretty quick ‘n’ slick. It wasn’t romantic really, but we were having fun all the same so that’s what counted.

Eventually though, Dashie was getting tired. None of her moves had the same speed and class that she had earlier. She’s totally deny it, but Dashie’s pretty good at dancing. It’s like her body’s totally in sync. And don’t think that she gets tired quickly, ‘cause today was a real long day for her. Practicing the rainbooms, plus the one for reals was probably wearing her down some.

So I nodded at Vinyl and when the last song was done, she switched the music over to something slower and much more lovey. A lot of ponies left the dance floor, leaving just the couples together. I could see Dashie tense up and nervously move towards the edge of the dance floor.

“No,” I said. I tried my best not to be forceful, so my grip on her hoofsie was kinda weak. “Can we dance? Please?” I pleaded.

Her eyes darted to our friends, who were grabbing some grub. Then shifted her gaze to Cadance and Shining. Then back to me. After a few seconds of silence, she cleared her throat and said, “Yeah, sure. That’d be cool.”

I held back a squee and a giddy giggle, instead just pulling Dashie in close. I rested my head against Dashie’s, and we slowly took steps in tandem.

I could feel the heat from her cheeks flare up. “I’m not very good at this type of dancing…”

“Neither am I,” I reassured her, nuzzling her warm cheeks. “But that doesn’t really matter. Only pony who miiiight complain is Rarity.”

“Heh, guess she would.” Dashie’s voice took on a poshy tone. “Rainbow Dash! How in the heavens above did you get your dress all over the floor with your—your freestyling!”

I giggled and stepped even closer, resting my head right by Dashie’s neck. She did the same to me, and we become one unit, taking careful steps in a square.

“Y’know…” I couldn’t see her face, but it looked like she was looking around. “This is nice.”

“Sure is,” I agreed, closing my eyes and sighing with content.

“Hey Pinkie?”

“Yeah?”

“I just want you to know that…” I felt her neck go down. “I’m sorry.”

My eyes shot open. “What for?”

“For being dumb.” She sighed. All that calm joy I had felt coming from her was getting washed away by tension and anxiety. “I know that you want… more from me. And I do try, but—” She stopped, growling. “No. No making excuses for myself. I should be making a much better effort for you.”

“Dashie, we’ve been through this.” I pulled up to her, wrapping my forelegs around her neck and hugging her. “I just gotta be more patient and understanding with you. That’s all.”

“And you have, Pinks. You’ve been great. Real awesome, in fact,” Dashie said. “But the whole wedding thing, the invasion… it’s put things into perspective, y’know? And I think that, deep down, I don’t wanna…” A shiver rippled through her, and then she said very very quietly, “Die alone.”

I hugged her. I held her so tightly, that nothing in Equestria would separate me from her. “I won’t ever let that happen. Ever ever ever, times infinity. Because I love you, and that’s a fact.”

“I love you too, Pinkie.” She nuzzled me, then did something truly special. Dashie nudged my head up, looked into my eyes, then went forward. Our lips locked together and stayed that way for a few moments. It wasn’t a very long kiss. It wasn’t the most passionate one either. But it was ours, darn it.

We broke off, both of us smiling. I think a part of her wanted even more, but now wasn’t the time. This wasn’t exactly our night.

“So,” I started, my hoof on hers. “What did you want to do?”

Dashie bit her lip, trying hard not to look away. “I… I dunno, Pinks. Maybe—”

“Girls! Shining and Cadance are leaving!” Twilight interrupted, gesturing to the alicorn princess and her groom, getting out of the garden together.

“Be right there...” Dashie mumbled, trying to wave her off. Twilight blinked, stared at the both of us, then quickly nodded and galloped off. Bless her heart.

“No worries, Dashie.” I patted her hoof. “We can talk about this later. But for now…” I smirked and leaned into her ear. “You’re a real good kisser.”

Her wings twitched. “Well y-yeah, ‘course I am.” A brief pause and she added. “Thanks.”

“No problem! Now, we should get going, huh?”

Dashie nodded. “Right, let’s.”

We were just about to catch up to everypony else, when we saw Spike struggling on his stubby little lizard legs. “Hey! Wait up!”

“Spike!” I called out. He stopped, and I knelt down and bowed my head. “Hop on, ring bearer!”

He looked skeptical, tapping his chin with a claw. It was really easy to see Twilight’s influence on him when he did stuff like that. He rolled his shoulders. “Eh, why not?” Hopping on, he patted my puffy mane. “Rarity would’ve made sure it was all clean anyway,” he joked.

I giggled, but Dashie was quick to retort. “Hey, that’s my fillyfriend you’re dissing there.”

“Whoa, touchy,” Spike said, putting extra emphasis on the ‘y’. “If I didn’t know any better, the next wedding is gonna be your’s.” He was still just a kid, but daymn did he have some good comebacks sometimes.

But this time, Dashie was prepared. “I’m not so sure about that. I mean, I did see you hang out with Sweetie Belle for quite a while. Showing off your swagger strut and all that.”

Dashie grinned evilly, while Spike just fell into a series of embarassed mumbles. “You got me there…”

“Of course I did.” Dashie flew up and presumably rubbed the top of Spike’s head. “Nice try though. You almost had me.”

I couldn’t see Spike, so I’m just gonna imagine he folded his arms and looked real bitter. “Yeah yeah…” He patted my head a few times. “C’mon Pinkie, we’re gonna miss them leave!”

“Okay, master ring bearer!” I set off at a faster pace, and I could feel Spike’s claws dig into my mane as he held on. It didn’t hurt. Much. Dashie kept up with me as we joined the other girls, who were watching Twilight and Shining say their goodbyes.

Shining and her sister shared a sweet embrace, then he stepped into the carriage. Suddenly, Cadance’s bouquet flew out of the carriage, and the next thing I knew, Rarity had gone completely crazy!

“IT’S MIIIIIIIINE!!” she screamed, pushing loads of other ponies out of the way. Then she flailed around a lot like a fish out of water, before actually catching the thing. There was a small moment where she looked real proud of herself, but surrounded by angry glares from miffed mares, that quickly changed to awkward laughter.

I heard Applejack mutter something about bridezillas, while Rarity re-threw the bouquet into the crowd. Then it was their turn to go crazy. Rarity returned to us, badly trying to pretend nothing had even happened.

Then the carriage was off, horseshoes trailing behind it for luck.

“Now this,” Twilight said, looking off after them, “was a great wedding.”

“Oh yeah?” came the voice from ontop my head. “Just wait until you see what I have planned for the bachelor party!” Spike announced, with a chuckle.

Then everypony started laughing, so I joined in, ‘cause it was just a silly little joke from good ol’ Spike. We laughed together for a few moments, all together under the stars, soaking up the joyous feeling that was lurking everywhere.

Then we kinda just stopped. I don’t think any of us had actually planned out what we’d say after laughing so much.

“Well…” Twilight started, levitating Spike off my head. Suddenly my neck didn’t feel so sore no more. “Probably about time I got some sleep.” She smiled, then took the time to nuzzle each and every one of us. Aw. “Thanks for helping make this their best night ever. Means a lot to me.”

“Shucks, after those two saving the world, it was the least we could do,” Applejack said.

“And they do really deserve their happiness,” Fluttershy added.

“That they do,” Rarity said, edging away. She wasn’t exactly looking at us, but lots of mares definitely still were. “But now… I need my beauty sleep! Yes! See you tomorrow!” Her exit was a pretty hasty one.

“Guess that ain’t a bad idea. It has been a long day, after all.” Applejack rubbed her brow, then stepped up to Twilight and hugged her. “Glad to know we’re still on good terms, sugarcube.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied, gladly returning the cuddle. Then she went to Fluttershy and hugged her. “What kind of pony would I be if I didn’t give my best friends second chances?”

“Oh, that’s a relief. For a while I really was worried about you…” Fluttershy said, squeezing Twi.

Twilight patted Fluttershy on the back reassuringly. “I’m fine, really. Tonight’s made me feel a lot better about everything.”

“That’s because it was a funnerific party!” I cried, bounding up into the air. “Parties are the number one way to make a pony feel better!” Kinda, at least. Depended on the pony. Like, I wouldn’t throw a huge party to cheer up a pony like Fluttershy. She deserved something better than that. Maybe a tea party with her animals though…

“Yeah, what Pinks said.” I let Dashie have her turn at hugging Twilight. “Seriously though, we cool?”

“We’re cool,” Twilight answered.

“Awesome.”

Dashie stepped aside, and I glomped Twilight straight away. If you dunno what a glomp is, it’s just a tacklehug. Not sure why I call them ‘glomps’ but it just kinda fits, right?

Twilight grunted under my weight, but she’s used to this sorta thing by now. “I’m suuuuper glad you’re feeling okay now! And if you’re ever starting to feel down again, just come see me, ‘kay?” I propped her up back on her hooves. “‘Kay.”

“Thank you,” she said to me specifically. Then she said to all of us, “Thank you everypony. I feel blessed to have such great friends by my side.”

“Yeah, and you better get to sleep before you start getting even more mushy,” Rainbow Dash snarked, winking at Twi. “Any minute now you’ll start crying like Rarity was.”

Twilight snorted a laugh. “Fine, fine. I was just expressing my appreciation for you all. Good night, everypony.”

Another round of goodbyes and we all made our way back to our bedrooms. I walked side by side with Dashie, sticking close.

“Good wedding. Even better party,” she said. Then she slowed down and let out the biggest yawn I’d ever seen! It was like she could swallow the moon whole or something. “Eesh, I’m beat. Can’t wait for bed.”

“Uh, yeah!” Dashie’s words had kicked the butterfly hive in my stomach, and now they were darting all over the place. “Me too.”

We walked back towards our room, the butterflies doing absolutely nothing to prepare me for what would come next.

Dashie shook her hooves through her mane, ruffling it back up to her normal style. My mane just ‘poofed!’ itself back to normal, like it normally does. That was thanks to the special shampoo I used for it. The secret ingredient is rocks, but don’t tell anypony that.

“There. Back to my usual, awesome self,” Dashie said, doing a little admiring in the mirror.

“I dunno…” I pounced upon her, forelegs wrapped around her chest. “I kinda liked wedding-style Dashie.”

“But what about normal awesome Dashie?” She pouted at me. It was clearly a fake, and this Pie wasn’t about to fall for it.

“That’s just as good, silly,” I told her, getting off and walking along to the bed. “But now normal awesome Dashie and normal awesome Pinkie need to get to bed.”

“Yeah, yeah…” she grumbled and settled into bed. I joined her, all nice and snug. It felt nice. Until Mr. Awkward Silence decide to stumble in.

I think we must have been thinking the same kinda things. Not in a ‘great minds think alike’ way (even if that’s true for us most of the time), but in that awkward ‘we both know what’s coming’ way. Dashie wasn’t quiet like this unless something was really bothering her.

I sighed. Maybe we didn’t have to do it tonight. It had been a tiring day, and we didn’t need anything getting in the way of the good times we had. “If you don’t want to do it, we won’t.”

Dashie gripped the covers tightly. “I’m not taking the easy way out of this,” she growled to herself.

I blinked, moving up towards her. A one legged hug might have been enough to give her a li’l confidence boost. “Then let’s chat about it.”

“Uh, yeah,” she said. She took a deep, if shuddered, breath. “You remember when I told you about Flight Camp?”

I nodded and squeezed her. The Flight Camp incident was probably one of the most sad things I had heard ever. I’m not gonna go into much detail about it, but basically Rainbow Dash and Cloud Kicker got into a bad fight when there were kids. It was all a big misunderstanding that spiralled out of control.

“Well…” She muttered a swear under her breath, her grip getting even tighter. So did my hug. I could see droplets that threatened to take a dive from the corners of her eyes. “I-I hit her, Cloud hit me back a few times, then…” Frustration flashed on her face. “Buck. Why am I being so pathetic about this?”

“You’re not,” I told her. I repeated it a few times just in case. “You’re being brave, facing your fears, without even making a joke like I normally do. I’d never think you were pathetic, Pinkie Promise.” I didn’t need to make the motions. She knew I meant every word.

“R-Right…” It took her a couple more moments to get it all together, but I never left her side. “Pinkie, I think it’s past time you heard the whole story. You deserve it.”

I nodded. “Take your time. I’m right here,” I said soothingly, but with a filling of utter serious. I’m not an energetic enigmatic pink party mare all the time. Happiness takes different forms, and sometimes you need to take slightly different paths to get to them. I just went for the more vibrant ones most of the time, ‘cause that was where my passion lied. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be serious and sensitive too.

“Cool,” Dashie replied. With a few more moments and breaths, she was ready. “The fight got bad. Real bad.” She winced, so I nudged her lightly. “I might have said before that I could’ve killed her if I didn’t stop, b-but, truth is…”

She stared down at herself, her lower body hidden below the covers. But her eyes didn’t look like they noticed that. There was a real fear to them, her pupils shrunk to tiny dots. I could notice cold sweat start appearing on her face, and her body shivered slightly. My stomach twisted when I realized there wasn’t much I could do for her right then other than hold her.

“She nearly killed me. S-She feathering…” I bit my lip as I waited for her. “She kicked me so hard.” Her eyes closed, tears trailing down her cheeks. “So hard. D-Down below.” A shaky hoof pointed down near her mare areas, hidden under the covers.

I put two and two together instantly. I came up with something far, far worse than the number four. But I was too shocked to say anything about it.

“I-I made it. Somehow. B-But… buck, Pinkie, I-I—” The words caught in her throat. She sobbed once. “I don’t think I can ever have k-kids.”

I couldn’t help it. I started crying too. But the tears didn’t stop me from holding onto her. Dashie leant onto me and we stayed there, together.

“S-So that’s why I don’t like… y’know…” Dashie said.

If only I had known earlier. It wasn’t her fault. None of it was her fault. She was just the victim of really bad times. And I had kept asking her to make love, when she already felt so vulnerable down there. Now it truly made sense.

I think I might have cried a little harder. I dunno.

“I-I’m sorry Dashie,” I managed. But I don’t think I sounded very reassuring. “We don’t have to do it. Not now, n-not ever. I’m happy just being with you.”

Dashie shook her head. She pushed herself away from me, but not in a mean way. I think she just wanted to rise on her own. “No. That’s… that’s the easy way out, l-like I said.” She turned and faced me, determination breaking through her tears. “I don’t wanna be ruled by this anymore, Pinkie. I love you. I always have… even when it didn’t look like it. Because I was too busy being d-dumb and scared. Scared that, somehow, I’d get hurt again. Scared that I’d have another repeat of Flight Camp, and we’d lose what we have.” I think saying all that out loud helped her, because by the end of it, she sounded a lot more like herself.

I wiped my eyes and put on a little smile. Mostly because I saw hope for the both of us, burning brightly. I could see it in her beautiful eyes. “O-Okay… do you wanna start tonight? It’ll be okay if you want to do it later.”

“No. Tonight,” she said firmly. But I could see her fiddling with her hooves, and then she said in a quieter voice, “I just don’t know how…”

“That’s why you have me.” I kissed her lightly on the nose. “Silly.”

“Heh, yeah.” She rubbed the back of her head, her wings twitching. It was the nerves. “Do you wanna…”

“Start?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and pecked her. Surprisingly enough, that didn’t affect her too much. “That’s nice ‘n’ all, but… kinda used to that already.”

“Oh, right.” I grinned reassuringly. “Then you’re already on your way, my beautiful brave Dashie.”

“Less with the sappy and more with the… er…” Her short burst of confidence quickly faded. Probably because she knew what I’d do next.

“I’ll start when you’re ready,” I told her, sitting patiently.

“R-Right.”

A couple more moments of fidgeting, deep breathing, and closing her eyes were needed before she was ready. I knew it was time when we locked eyes. I dunno what it was about it that told me we were ready but… it just sorta felt right. They say eyes are the windows to the soul, right? Then maybe ours started coming together at that moment.

I saw a small smile on her lips, right before I slowly leaned into them. I made sure her eyes were closed before closing mine. She looked willing, ready to accept my love. And I was more than ready to give her it.

I felt it the moment our lips touched. It was a tingly feeling that I had never really felt before in any of our other kisses. But it felt good. Maybe this was the magic of love Cadance had talked about? Whatever. I didn’t care for anything else right there but Dashie.

I wrapped my hooves around her. Dashie flinched a little, but then slowly placed a hoof on my chest. I fell back onto the comfy pillows, taking her with me. Her wings twitched, and I knew that she was ready to pounce in an instant.

My tongue knocked at her lips, waiting entry. She hesitated, her lips clamping shut. I stroked her chest delicately and that was enough for her lips to part ways. The intimacy got more intense after that. I felt more of the tingly feeling, it buzzing around in my tummy, and in my head.

You know that feeling when you really want something? And there’s nothing else in the world that could compare to you wanting that something? That’s what I felt right then. A powerful want had taken over me, and I don’t think I had felt anything as strong in my life.

Then she faltered, flinching away from me. She rolled off, laying down on the bed by herself, curling up. “S-Sorry Pinkie, but…” Her words died and her eyes clamped down tight. She looked like she was in some real pain.

“Dashie…” I said softly, approaching very carefully. “It’s okay.”

“I-I can’t do it… I can’t, I-I’m such a screwup,” she scolded herself. Her tail had folded over, trying to cover herself.

I was still feeling really tingly from what brief intimacy we had, but that didn’t stop me from seeing sense. I kissed her cheek, then whispered into her ear, “Could a screw up do Sonic Rainbooms in her sleep?”

Dashie sniffled. “N-No… but that’s different.”

“No it’s not.” I took her hoofsie in mine and squeezed it. “‘Cause you thought you couldn’t do that too, remember? But then you did, and you were awesome. Everypony loved you. They still do!” I kissed away a tear on her cheek. “Especially me.”

“B-But—”

I cut her off. “Think of this as super-extreme cuddling. Cuddling is never dangerous, and I know you’ve done way more dangerous things than this. That’s why you were in hospital all those times. But the worst that could happen here is… I dunno, you burp in my face and I giggle a little?” Okay, I wouldn’t giggle at that, but sometimes teeny tiny white lies can help.

“O-Okay… if you say so, I’ll trust you,” Dashie said, breathing deeply. “Can we try again?”

I smiled at her. “Always. Take your time, ‘kay?”

She nodded and turned over to face me. Her mane was messy, her eyes bloodshot, and now her feathers were all ruffled. All in all, she looked pretty bad. But I didn’t really care how she looked right then, I only cared how she felt.

Instead of kissing her, I’d wait for her to kiss me. It took her a while, eyes closed and hoof gripping onto mine tightly now. She got so close, that I could feel her shaky breath on my lips for what seemed like forever. Then, super tenderly, her lips met mine. Very very slowly, her tongue reached out and entered my mouth. I didn’t move, I just let her do the exploring. The moment our tongues touched, I felt her relax a little. That’s when I properly replied.

That really strong feeling of want came flooding back to me. Dashie felt it too, I knew it. She had pushed herself onto me, getting even more passionate with her kiss. It wasn’t a desire, like lust. It was a need. She needed me, and I needed her. So, together, we took that need and used it to feed our passion. And with our passion, we made something truly special and unique together, something that we’d always share.

Dashie pulled back again, but this time her cheeks were hot red. “So… er… I guess that was kinda fun…”

I grinned at her, feeling a little hot too. “You can say that again!”

She blinked, hesitating before speaking again. “Another?”

“When you want,” I replied.

And so she kissed me for the second time and with a lot less of those awkward anxieties out of the way, it felt even better.

It was a long night. It had to have been—we couldn’t have just done it and then gone to sleep, dreaming together. We had to experiment, to take our time with it. For Dashie’s sake. I think it might have been just before the roosters woke up before we both fell asleep.

But I won’t give you the details. They didn’t matter. Not as much as the fact that on that night, me and Dashie made love for the first time. We shared a part of ourselves with each other, and we’d keep that forever and ever. We showed our love in a beautiful, intense, passionate, fun, intimate... too many words to count ways. It was awkward, maybe even a little silly at times, but I didn’t really care.

It didn’t go on for very long because it was Dashie’s first time; baby steps and all that. But that didn’t matter. Not when we were sleeping in each other’s legs, dreaming of our future together.

Author's Note

Big ol' thanks goes to the following:

Chengar for letting me finish this, er, 'saga' I guess? Also thanks to him, Comma and Ponibius for helping me along with this and putting up with my madness. Then thanks goes to all my pre-readers, who put up with even more of my craziness and awful grammar with commas. They love killing them, the psychos. And finally, thanks to you for reading! After weeks in development, hopefully it'll be worth the ~~weight~~ wait.